Land of Strangers

[AgingMinotaur]

Thanks for your feedback, Avagart. Disconcerting to hear, but hopefully something I'll be able to fix. Are you running the Windows executable? I'm using a new method for packing the exe since v.6, so it might be buggy with certain versions of Windows … Stupidly, I disabled my primitive debug messages for the last release, as they were spamming the terminal. I'll try to add a more convenient log file functionality for the next release, which might be helpful in cases like this.

One thing you might try, is to delete the game's local folder (should be something like C:\Users\Avagart\.Lost\). If your options file from v.6 is still lying around, that could cause trouble. Configuration will hopefully stay backwards compatible from now on

As always,
Minotauros

[Aleksanderus]

Why is there a "cocksucker" word in your GIF?

[Avagart]

@AgingMinotaur - OK, I deleted .LoSt folder, we will see... Yup, windows executable on 32-bit Win7 Ultimate. I will run LoSt via terminal - recently I saw something which could be form of traceback but it vanishes.

Maybe it not .LoSt in Users/user/.LoSt is source of problems.

Code: [Select]

WARNING: file already exists but should not: C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI17362\include\pyconfig.h
I deleted it, but message remains, just MEI folder changes.

e: Game crashes after try of loading fully loaded gun.
http://i.imgur.com/MsXJ02N.png

[AgingMinotaur]

@AgingMinotaur - OK, I deleted .LoSt folder, we will see... Yup, windows executable on 32-bit Win7 Ultimate.

Thanks, that's very nice to know. I have an old laptop with 32-bit Windows 7 stored away, so I'll be able to test the game on that.

Regarding the:

Code: [Select]

WARNING: file already exists but should not: C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI17362\include\pyconfig.hI'm a bit puzzled. The warning seems to be coming from Python or the OS. It may or may not be the source of trouble. I'll research and keep it in mind.

Game crashes after try of loading fully loaded gun.

Excellent. That is a bug I actually discovered and fixed yesterday, so it's already on the changelog for v. 9 which will probably be out in not too long. The working title is «Broken windows» (the wordplay would be to add houses with windows that can be smashed and used as gun slits).

Why is there a "cocksucker" word in your GIF?

It's a referance to the tv series Deadwood, of course I plan on implementing dialogue as speech bubbles, and taunting will surely be among the earliest content in that department. The work:fun ratio in letting angry NPCs shout insults at random is just very favorable, so it'd be a good way to test the basic functionality. I'm estimating that the intended audience of the game can take a «cocksucker» every now and then, although if anyone requests it, I may add an option to toggle off explicit cussing. But I'm aiming for a pretty rough and queer setting, anyway, with stuff like dual-shotgun-wielding bull-dykes and oiled-up body-builder-bum-buggering cowboys.

As always,
Minotauros

[AgingMinotaur]

Out now: LoSt v. 9 «Broken Windows»

So, I've uploaded a new release
windows
sources

This is kind of an urgent bugfix release. There is a bit more content, but the world is still very barren. It's becoming noticeable how stupid the NPCs are (they haven't quite understood how to use their equipment yet, but I'll be working on that for version 10). And dynamite is back on track, among other things.

@akeley: The positioning of the action log is now configurable, defaulting to go near the top, as per your request.

@Avagart: I did some crash testing on my old Windows netbook, but didn't find it notably more buggy than on the Linux computer I'm working on. I did however squash a few crashing bugs, and I got rid of the warning you notified me about, as well as another warning I was getting from Windows. And LoSt now leaves a fat old log file. Anyway, I hope this version plays better with your machine. Maybe you get the time to give it a spin during the holidays

I'm also experimenting with the tileset, replacing some placeholder art. In particular, I've made props look much more abstract, and they're now color coded. It may mean losing some of the comic-y style the game had in the previous build, but this will above all make it easier for me to add new props, and just telling the game to use tile number X with color Y, instead of hand drawing every single tile. In the long run, I'll probably try to make the visual design resemble a field map, with rather abstract representations of everything, houses perhaps modelled to look like blueprints. I'm always interested in comments, even from the most cursory observer. So there's a screenshot below, showing the direction I'm taking with the visuals at the moment.

Unless I get some very pressing bug reports, this will probably be the last release this year. I think I'll be working on AI and more content for version 10.

Changes

* Bug: Game would sometimes crash when unloading gun in hand
* Bug: Chainhook critical hits could cause a crash
* Bug: Chainhooks could drag victims over/onto obstacles
* Bug: Crash when actions executed without a proper target/tool
* Bug: Spirit stone displayed false tile when carried
* Bug: Items would sometimes be generated in water
* Bug: Windows version warned about duplicate files
* Bug: Holy site animals would sometimes get "prickly plant" AI
* Props and features: Dynamite, rubble, smithereens, sledge hammer, elephant gun, sniper rifle, gun slits, windows
* Place template: pillbox bunkers
* Game: Inventory items can grant flags/intrinsics
* Game: Stackable inventory items
* Game: Simplified day/night cycle
* Game: Carrying heavy items encumbers the player
* Game: Demolishing house walls
* Game: Beings can trigger actions upon destruction/death
* Game: Worked on corpses and rubble
* Kits: Each species gets a random disposition (ornery, shy, docile)
* Kits: (Some) animal families now have set special abilities (cats sprint, dogs charge, horns penetrate, bears deal more damage etc.)
* UI: Placement of text log now configurable to center, top or bottom
* UI: Status line in menu displays timer for temporary flags
* UI: Menu displays current place and time
* UI: File structure for prop tiles now much more orderly
* UI: Testing out another style for prop tiles
* System: Game now keeps a log file
* System: Config and save files now track release version, tries to repair obsolete options

And if anyone wants to give me a piece of their mind, which looks best in the following image: the tiles on the left, or the tiles on the right?


As always,
Minotauros

[Avagart]

...I will spend my holidays in work :< But I have free time until this week ends, so I'm going to check latest version

[akeley]

arrrgh....for the love of all that`s holy...LEFT!

I just feel that new modern trend creeping in here on the right - mostly prevalent in web/app design but also slowly appearing in games - the one where everything is simplified to a kindergarten-level "symbols" and "clean" design *groan*...  And so the left side is full of character, while the right comes across as rather bland and generic. Look at the happy stone...awww.

As you might figure from the above, well...I`m not a fan - putting it mildly. Sorry...it`s a pet (monster) peeve at the moment. But that`s just me I`m sure if you stick with it, it will still make sense and be playable anyhow, but...

[AgingMinotaur]

Lol, thanks for your feedback, akeley. I think you almost completely convinced me just there. The main drawback of the gritty tiles is that they take longer to produce. Apart from a few I stole, they're painted with brush and ink. But I can always churn out a couple every now and then (and I'm rather slow to add new content, anyway). I might try for a middle way, using color to distinguish some tiles, and maybe trying to find a slightly less figurative style, but still drawing stuff by hand.

Akeley, work is the true devil. I hope you will feel amply compensated

As always,
Minotauros

[Zireael]

Well, I like the left hand side better apart from two things: dirt and that stone-something thing. As I can't tell what it's meant to be, a symbol would be better in this case.

[akeley]

painted with brush and ink

ARTISAN GFX! Think of the all-important hipster demographic - put that blurb on the cover and the game sells additional 200k, surely!

Seriously though, maybe you shouldn`t listen to some guy(s) from the internets and go with the gut feeling...but I`d still insist the game would lose lots of character and atmosphere by switching to the abstract way...so hopefully you`ll stick with the arts  & crafts. I`m sure it will payoff in the long run even if it means more "work" (come on - it must be fun, to draw that chain-hook for example! It looks great, like an imperfect print from an old newspaper...)

Downloading the new version now. I  didn`t have a single crash on the old one, and I`m on Win 8.1 x64, which I`d thought to be more prone to bugging out.

[AgingMinotaur]

Thanks again for comments, people. Just dropped by to mention that the Linux binary is now back on track: lost-roguelike.deb

I ran into some trouble with a halfbaked solution I was using to build the binary, but now I've learned the basics of how to do it from scratch, so there'll probably be no more bumps along the road on this department.

As always,
Minotauros

[Tzan]

Left 

[jim]

Definitely left.

[Avagart]

Left of course. Right symbols could be clearer than left, but they are... unatmospheric. First time when I saw these symbols in game I thought that this is bug/glitch and 'informative icons' accidentally replaced great tiles.

Windows' placing is weird.

edit: Looking at first row of images - these on left could be a bit bigger.

edit2: One suggestion. It's... 'harder than it could be' to manage items quickly. It's caused by - hard to explain with my poor English  - lack of a permanent assignment of weapons to eq-numbers. So, you know, sometimes my sixshooter is bind to '1', sometimes '2' or '3'. Maybe it would be more intuitive if owned items would be bind permanently?

[Tzan]

edit: Looking at first row of images - these on left could be a bit bigger.

Yes, bigger would be good, almost fill the hex.
Also increase the line thickness, or simplify the drawings a bit.
Make them bold compared to thin.

The pick is a good example of a simplified drawing, solid areas, it could be thicker.
Versus the knife which is fairly complex with thin lines.