Golden Krone Hotel

[jere]

It's my 2nd year entering and I am pretty happy.

Play online here (ideally with resolution > 1200x700 and Chrome): http://humbit.com/gkh/

And feel free to ask questions! I did my best to make the mechanics clear, but while watching playtesters I realized there are still some confusing aspects.

[jere]

I wasn't expecting to have to throw a release out so fast, but I found a huge bug: the game ended if you hit a certain key. Whoops!

v1.1

• Time slowed down 2X, making it easier to utilize sunlight.
• Click-tile-to-describe: Describes the tile and anything on it.
• Changed stained glass sprite from solid blue to clown vomit. I think people were assuming it was a regular window, but it behaves differently.
• Changed "tutorial" area from 3x40 area to single 1x10 hallway. Hopefully, more info conveyed in less time with fewer people thinking the game is non-randomized.
• Fixed bug that initiated end game accidentally
• Fixed bug where death took an extra turn to process
• Minor spelling mistakes fixed.

The click to describe feature is pretty nifty and should make things much clearer. Still sorting out a few key binding bugs....

[Adam Perry]

There are some interesting mechanics at work in your game, and hopefully I get a chance to spend a bit more time with it (currently trying to push through the PDJ voting). In my brief play, I wished the potions menu had descriptions/tooltips/something. The human/vampire transformation seems pretty cool, but it strikes me as odd to forget the identities of potions you previously knew. I liked the graphics and enjoyed burning enemy vampires in the sunlight.

[jere]

Yea, the way I wanted to do potions is based on an intelligence threshold on each potion, which goes down every time you quaff potion. But then vampires in this universe take a huge intelligence penalty (counter to vampire tropes), so you can often dip back below the threshold. I guess you could look at the identification more of an active process each time rather than acquired knowledge that works flawlessly.

One small hint: you start with 2 soul elixirs (the item that lets you turn back human) and on your first transformation, you can use that number to make a reasonable guess on which potion stack is your soul elixirs.

You're definitely right that the potions menu is sorely missing descriptions. That was one of bit of polish I didn't have time for and will be the next thing I add. Thanks for playing.

[jere]

I found a really fun Let'sPlay of GKH. It covers a lot of material in a short time. Might not want to watch if you're bothered by profanity.  http://youtu.be/Lc_4M_fxxZ4

It's interesting what different people pick up on quickly. Still it seems no one has noticed the "?" indicator.

[Vanguard]

This is really solid.  I like how distinct the two forms are.  Humans are better overall, but green men are the real master race.  You let one of those sit in the sun for a few minutes and nothing can stop them.

[jere]

Thanks. 

I'm guessing you got a nasty surprise when a Green Man hit you? They can be pretty brutal. I wanted something in the mid-game that would turn sunlight into a liability, even if you were human.

[Vanguard]

Yeah I got nailed for like 300 damage in one round.

I like how the vampire form is initially more desirable until the lack of regeneration becomes a problem.  It creates a sort of rhythm to the game where you go through periods of empowerment and vulnerability.

[jere]

Ouch. Didn't expect it to go that high. I need to put a cap on there.

I can't tell from your post, but I wonder if you've figured out you can drink from pools of blood. Combined with strategic manipulation of torches, vampires can be really good. Still, I think it's necessary to swap back and forth to maximize XP gain.

[jere]

v1.2 released (Green Man fixed!) and postmortem written: http://7drl.org/2014/04/12/golden-krone-hotel-update-and-postmortem/

[jere]

I really was going to leave this one alone but I keep seeing LPs where people complain about the game being too easy and asking for some more development. So I've made a nice sized update. If I should take this out of the 7drl forum, please let me know.

I'm still working on balancing. I'd love to hear feedback if you find this is too easy because of something I didn't think of.

http://humbit.com/gkh/ or http://jere.itch.io/golden-krone-hotel

• "Dungeon branches" added; harder difficulty; and new monsters, spells, and potions.
• 4 single-level branches added: Library, Mausoleum, Pharmacopoeia, and Greenhouse.
• Vampires and humans now seek out dark and light areas respectively. This makes them significantly more challenging.
• 5 new enemy types and a "boss"
  • Bat - surprisingly dangerous early game enemy.
  • Brawler - tough, but slow vampire that can throw you back one tile.
  • Hunter - a human who carries a lantern to negate your attempts at hiding in the shadows.
  • Blood Golem - continuously bleeds everywhere.
  • Balaur - 3 headed dragon that can only see in darkness.
  • Varcolac- ??
• 3 new spells
  • Glow - gives you a fleeting magical light.
  • Detect - lets you temporarily detect the presence of nearby creatures.
  • Fortify - buffs your stats temporarily.
• 2 new potions that create unnatural darkness/sunlight.
• Music now plays on all floors.... too much?
• Critical strikes and more variability added to attacks.
• Nobles will drink blood off the floor or take blood from Runners.
• Added various floor types, wall decorations, and destructibles (e.g. statue).
• Items are now drawn on the map!
• Grimoires stay on floor if you decline learning their spell.
• The game should now be fully playable on keyboard (excluding examining tiles/potions). Quaffing and stat upgrades can be done with keys.
• Enemies can now walk on stairs and will follow you up them.

[jere]

I've wanted to do this for a while, but the update was a good excuse: http://youtu.be/Mc7wxNPSXi8 

[Vanguard]

Seems like the best strategy for this version is to invest in dexterity and stay in vampire form as much as possible.  Human form suffers a lot from how rare equipment is, and maybe it's just me, but the human form feels weaker in general.

I killed the Varcolac and it seemed like something was supposed to happen when it died, but I never figured out what it was.

The balaurs are my favorite addition.  They're scary and you can't deal with them the same way you deal with any other enemy.

[jere]

Oh cool, thanks. The Varcolac is a sort of lock on the last staircase to prevent you from sneaking straight up. I'm thinking about adding a separate boss to each branch because it's still too easy to take out that one boss and run for the top.

I want to keep equipment rare, since it's a flat bonus without tradeoffs. The mausoleum is a good place to find more. You're probably right though. I suppose I'll buff humans spells and make enemy humans tougher. And perhaps higher dexterity should only marginally improve your action speed....

[Samildanach]

Seems like the best strategy for this version is to invest in dexterity and stay in vampire form as much as possible.  Human form suffers a lot from how rare equipment is, and maybe it's just me, but the human form feels weaker in general.

The vampire form was always vastly more powerful. I found when I played the 7DRL version that the game was pretty easy once you became a vampire, as long as you stayed that way. Hoovering up blood from slain enemies mostly made survival a non-issue.

This version does seem more challenging but I haven't played it extensively yet. Still, it's a very pleasant surprise to see that more work has been done on it!