The Temple of Torment

[Aukustus]

I uploaded the 12th beta with the above change log: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95372567/TToTd20_Beta12.rar

[BigBadBadger]

Your Temple of Torment is somewhat too RPGish for me to realy like it, but that's mostly matter of personal taste and it's still very solid, polished and playable game, and its mechanics are interesting. I haven't got very far yet, but I'm definately going to play some more in the evening, it's quite enjoyable.

One minor thing about iterface that still realy annoyed me: sometimes you can exit shell screen with escape, sometimes you can't, sometimes it exits by itself. And when you can't exit with escape, you have to check what exact button is the one this time. This is tiresome, especially because it requires a lot of keystrokes anyways.

[Aukustus]

Your Temple of Torment is somewhat too RPGish for me to realy like it, but that's mostly matter of personal taste and it's still very solid, polished and playable game, and its mechanics are interesting. I haven't got very far yet, but I'm definately going to play some more in the evening, it's quite enjoyable.

One minor thing about iterface that still realy annoyed me: sometimes you can exit shell screen with escape, sometimes you can't, sometimes it exits by itself. And when you can't exit with escape, you have to check what exact button is the one this time. This is tiresome, especially because it requires a lot of keystrokes anyways.

Thanks for your input. Yeah. The main point is to build a full rpg in a roguelike environment as I feel that mostly roguelikes have not enough roleplaying.

I'd love to know about the interface more. The ESC closing is a bug in inventory screens. Talent and targeting ESC cancel is deliberate. Otherwise it should be the next free character in menus, where it happens that it exits by itself? I can't remember a place where it happens.

Edit: I tried and I was able to make a menu that returns with ESC always as seen in this screenshot: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95372567/ESC.png . Would it be good?

[Samildanach]

One minor thing about iterface that still realy annoyed me: sometimes you can exit shell screen with escape, sometimes you can't, sometimes it exits by itself. And when you can't exit with escape, you have to check what exact button is the one this time. This is tiresome, especially because it requires a lot of keystrokes anyways.

Agreed. I'll have to check on which screens that's true of, but it is something I've noticed as well. To my mind, Esc should always exit whatever menu you're in, but it's particularly noticeable when it exits some and not others. A minor niggle but a persistent one.

[Aukustus]

I can do it so that all menus are exited by ESC. I'll put it in the next version.

[Aukustus]

Any ideas for new content/features or fixes? I'm starting to run out of ideas.

Any new quests I come up with I have trouble to make them plausible or not pointless.

Sort of writer's block I'm having.

[getter77]

How about class specific quests(lines) that unlock unique abilities, bonuses, etc?   Always good to have extra hooks to entice folks to sample/challenge all of the classes for some unique content as well as a way to get more powerful other than just "normal" level gain and loot acquirement.

[Aukustus]

How about class specific quests(lines) that unlock unique abilities, bonuses, etc?   Always good to have extra hooks to entice folks to sample/challenge all of the classes for some unique content as well as a way to get more powerful other than just "normal" level gain and loot acquirement.

Class quests are something that I've been wondering about too. I already have some in my mind, it really takes a long time to come up with 11 (includes new classes barbarian and warlock) plausible class quests that somehow relate to the classes. Paladin and Druid ones I've figured out.

What my problem really is is that should I release all the class quests in one patch or gradually? Releasing in one takes a long time but releasing gradually is unfair to other classes that do not receive quest in same patch.

[koiwai]

Just played the game about a week ago, and it felt very solid. Did not play the whole thing, but I cleared the bandits cave, and finished the first section of the main dungeon. Also, I only played as a simple warrior, and probably might miss some cool features. The game felt well balanced.

I liked the bandits' cave generator, but not that much the Temple's dungeon generator, which has a lot of unnecessary doors and duplicating hallways. Maybe, it can be improved.

1. Since there are many character classes, it may be intersting to see mobs who belong to those classes. They may be enemies, or allies. It makes the player become intersted in trying those other classes. You free a paladin from a prison or cage, and you together find the way from the dungeon. Or you have to defeat a sorcerer, and to do so you may seek help from another sorcerer sitting somewhere in a hut in the overworld map. Alternatively, you may find sorcerer's family member or his loved one, who will convince the sorcerer to give up his evil ways.

2. New characters may be unlocked gradualy. You may have to defeat such a character, or find an ally who belongs to this class, or do a quest that, for example, makes a druids sect move to the town, etc.

3. Some other random thoughts: It may be intersting to see mechanisms in the dungeons. Levers opening doors, lava rivers, a mob-producing factory (making iron golems, for example).

4. Collective mobs behavior (for example, when mobs run away if you kill one of them - the type of thing the Fallen Ones do in Diablo II).

The game's quest system is great, you don't see such things very often in RLs and other indie/free games, but it's a great thing. The game is very Diablo influenced.  Not sure is it good or bad, but it is quite amuzing that you can finally save the guy who is dying at the Temple's entrance.. )

A few more ideas:

5. Maybe, you may try to give the player more choice. Playing as a warrior class, my only tactical decisions were about trying to face only one enemy at a time. And always go to corridors to dispatch them one by one if they are in a group.

6. The time system can be improved. It feels that at the moment, all mobs have speed either 100%, or 200% (hounds). Some variety may make the game more tactical. It also gives more choice in picking your equipment.

Still, very solid game. I don't want to sound like I'm criticising it. It is immersive and you really get the atmosphere thanks to the dialogs and the quests, it's a huge plus. I think, it's good to add a new quest immediately after finishing the first section of the main dungeon, so the player gets a new big incentive for going deeper into the dungeon.

[Aukustus]

Just played the game about a week ago, and it felt very solid. Did not play the whole thing, but I cleared the bandits cave, and finished the first section of the main dungeon. Also, I only played as a simple warrior, and probably might miss some cool features. The game felt well balanced.

I liked the bandits' cave generator, but not that much the Temple's dungeon generator, which has a lot of unnecessary doors and duplicating hallways. Maybe, it can be improved.

The Temple dungeon generator is something that I absolutely do not understand as it isn't my algorithm. I have to see if I can at some point do something about it.

1. Since there are many character classes, it may be intersting to see mobs who belong to those classes. They may be enemies, or allies. It makes the player become intersted in trying those other classes. You free a paladin from a prison or cage, and you together find the way from the dungeon. Or you have to defeat a sorcerer, and to do so you may seek help from another sorcerer sitting somewhere in a hut in the overworld map. Alternatively, you may find sorcerer's family member or his loved one, who will convince the sorcerer to give up his evil ways.

Some of the class quests will involve dealing with a member of player's own class. There are later in the dungeon also mage enemies that use the same spells as player can. But I see that there could be fallen paladins or such as enemies. I've also fiddled with companion AI.

Speaking of convincing evil guys, I've had ideas for quests that can end with talking the way out of battle. That's something I do not have in the game but I like in RPG's.

2. New characters may be unlocked gradualy. You may have to defeat such a character, or find an ally who belongs to this class, or do a quest that, for example, makes a druids sect move to the town, etc.

I wish that all classes are available in the beginning, but I think subclasses could be included that way.

3. Some other random thoughts: It may be intersting to see mechanisms in the dungeons. Levers opening doors, lava rivers, a mob-producing factory (making iron golems, for example).

That's something I've been thinking about, at least in a scripted and hand placed way.

4. Collective mobs behavior (for example, when mobs run away if you kill one of them - the type of thing the Fallen Ones do in Diablo II).

That's cool thing, adds some crowd control.

The game's quest system is great, you don't see such things very often in RLs and other indie/free games, but it's a great thing. The game is very Diablo influenced.  Not sure is it good or bad, but it is quite amuzing that you can finally save the guy who is dying at the Temple's entrance.. )

My issue with other RLs are that there are usually no true RP stuff. Undershire is pretty much Tristram. You can even cure the corrupted well as a sort-of-hidden-thing. My design point is diablo-meets-baldur's-gate-meets-roguelike-engine. The game has some easter egg stuff, for example the main bad guy's name and the quest item it drops are related to music.

A few more ideas:

5. Maybe, you may try to give the player more choice. Playing as a warrior class, my only tactical decisions were about trying to face only one enemy at a time. And always go to corridors to dispatch them one by one if they are in a group.

Crowd control is a issue with melee classes at the moment. Pretty much half of the spells relate to either area-of-effect damage or confusion etc. but with melee classes it's a problem since Cleave, Circular Kick and upcoming Whirlwind come up later in the game as talents.

6. The time system can be improved. It feels that at the moment, all mobs have speed either 100%, or 200% (hounds). Some variety may make the game more tactical. It also gives more choice in picking your equipment.

That's something I have trouble with making different or better. Zombies have 50% speed too. I could make also a really heavy hitting boss that would need to be kited as it moves at 50% speed: hit boss, back off, wait until it follows, repeat.

Still, very solid game. I don't want to sound like I'm criticising it. It is immersive and you really get the atmosphere thanks to the dialogs and the quests, it's a huge plus. I think, it's good to add a new quest immediately after finishing the first section of the main dungeon, so the player gets a new big incentive for going deeper into the dungeon.

Criticism or not, it's really good to hear such stuff as you wrote and I definitely want to hear more as I wish to make the game really polished. Immersion is pretty much the problem as I want to make quests that are plausible: why would someone need 5 boar meats for example, can't they do it themselves? I've tried to make a quest related to all sections, the only section in the game without quest is the ancient ruins after caverns, but I have an idea about what it could be.

[getter77]

No harm in releasing gradual quest updates---beta is beta at the end of the day and this can allow you to fine tune as you go through each one in turn, get focused feedback on the one or 2 quest lines at a time, etc.

[Aukustus]

I'll do that as I have quests in my mind I'll start putting out. I also do not wish to have too much time between updates.

[Brigand]

Been playing around with it a bit, and having some fun. I would like to get a little further in before I make any substantial comments, but 1 tiny gripe I have that would make playing the game so much easier - would it be possible to add a consistent cancel or exit button? It seems like to exit a conversation or leave a shop, the key changes each time, always being the last alphabetic character in a list of options. Maybe the escape button or space bar leaves the current dialog screen without confirmation, rather than having a variable command. I know its a minor thing, but it slows things down a bit, and forces me to read through a list of options (at least scan to the end) when all I want to do is get out of that screen. You could add a flag for really important messages to require a keypress, but if I just want to exit a conversation I accidentally or have already read, it would be nice not to have to figure out the key each time. Just a very minor quality-of-life quibble
 
Other than that, it seems pretty cool so far. I especially like the way your light source fades off in strength the further it is from the player. The tiles are quite nice as well - the overworld is particularly nice looking. I will add some more feedback when I have gone a little further. In the meantime, keep hacking at it

[Aukustus]

Been playing around with it a bit, and having some fun. I would like to get a little further in before I make any substantial comments, but 1 tiny gripe I have that would make playing the game so much easier - would it be possible to add a consistent cancel or exit button? It seems like to exit a conversation or leave a shop, the key changes each time, always being the last alphabetic character in a list of options. Maybe the escape button or space bar leaves the current dialog screen without confirmation, rather than having a variable command. I know its a minor thing, but it slows things down a bit, and forces me to read through a list of options (at least scan to the end) when all I want to do is get out of that screen. You could add a flag for really important messages to require a keypress, but if I just want to exit a conversation I accidentally or have already read, it would be nice not to have to figure out the key each time. Just a very minor quality-of-life quibble
 
Other than that, it seems pretty cool so far. I especially like the way your light source fades off in strength the further it is from the player. The tiles are quite nice as well - the overworld is particularly nice looking. I will add some more feedback when I have gone a little further. In the meantime, keep hacking at it

I really like too the light system, I have also plans that outdoor areas have different length fov depending on the in-game clock.

Consistent cancel as ESC is in the next version. It's implemented in my current developer version. ESC is used when it makes sense, as in returning in menus, for example

• Open inventory
• Select Equipment tab
• Select Item but decide to cancel it
• Press ESC to return to Equipment Tab
• Press ESC to return to Equipment / Item choice
• Press ESC to close inventory

[Aukustus]

I made a quest to the Ancient Ruins part of the game. Now there's one quest for every theme of the dungeon.

The quest involves meeting with a friendly adventurer, belonging to Rogue class, working on the same quest and there's couple of options regarding what happens in the quest, good and evil.

I'm pretty happy about the quest as it is a simple fetch quest with a twist I can't recall in any other rpg I've played.