AstralHex RL

[abecedarian]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to announce a new in-dev roguelike, AstralHex RL. It's a graphical roguelike with hexagonal tiles. A youtube video of early gameplay is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDtEvpKV7-8

And I've progressed a lot since that video was made, but I've still got a ton of work to do. The tileset is huge already, and wilderness and city areas are going to be a large part of the game. The graphics look pretty freakin cool already, but right now I'm putting a ton of effort into refining gameplay. It's being programmed in freebasic which is a great language for developing roguelikes, or just about anything else.
I'm still working on the basics... haven't even started the random map generator... or an equivalent of a magic system. But after the basics I'll beef it up with tons of items, abilities, etc. I've been programming for a long time and am totally capable of creating all aspects of this game, although it's not like I'm working full-time on it. I usually get to at least tinker with it every day though.. Anyway, I'm actively working on it, and a fun playable demo shouldn't be more than a few months away at the most.. I cant be more specific than that right now.
A link to the early version that the youtube video was made from can be found in the development thread at the freebasic.net forums here, but it's not really worth playing unless you're just super-curious:

http://www.freebasic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13893

Anyway, words of encouragement, if you are sufficiently intrigued, are my biggest motivation.

Thanks!
-Ian

[getter77]

I bid you my utmost encouragement as this looks fantastic.  Granted, I say this pretty often, but that's because I mean it!

Be sure and keep us posted!

[Vanguard]

Hey, that looks cool.

[abecedarian]

Hey you guys are good at this encouragement stuff.. i feel SO encouraged that i just whipped up the random dungeon generator AND solved several other issues.. it's moving right along.

[getter77]

Hurray!   

[Anvilfolk]

Cool stuff!

Out of curiosity, how are the controls? I can figure it out with regular keys and a normal matrix, but hexagons?

[abecedarian]

Hiya Anvil thanks for the interest. The movement is controlled by the four arrow keys. There is a little yellow indicator triangle next to the hero that indicates what direction he's facing. The left and right keys rotate the triangle around the hero. Up moves forward in the direction he's facing, Down moves back. You can see what I mean if you look closely at the new video (link below). The movement is very intuitive and you can be totally adept at it within a minute.

A youtube video of a randomly generated dungeon is on youtube here:
(Nothing fancy, but it's progress.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwR5PiCbkrw

[Vanguard]

What about adding a 789 + 123 (on the numeric keypad) control scheme?  There are six directions you can move in, so that way it should be pretty intuitive.  You'd be able to make your moves in a single keystroke.

[Anvilfolk]

How about you implement both and a toggled option? The more the merrier xD

[abecedarian]

You got it Anvilfolk. I'm developing it on a laptop, so this is what's convenient for me right now, but I'll try to cater to everyone's needs and wants as much as possible. Numpad will definitely be available. I figure that you guys, the roguelike community in general, are probably going to be the most likely people to end up playing it, so I definitely value your advice and want it to be fun for you. That being said, I'm definitely trying some new things, and bending some rules, and I don't feel strictly compelled to follow the official standards of the genre.. Don't worry, it's going to rock.

[ido]

Seems really great, keep up the good work!

[abecedarian]

just wanted to mention that development is still actively happening, although I'm having to rip out certain parts of the code and start over due to bad planning - no worries though, most of the engine is fine, it's just the combat stuff.. then i need to sit down with a pencil and paper and just work out the gameplay mechanics.. but it is happening, and this won't turn into [edit: removed to avoid jynxing] (which is a term i just found on wikipedia) :-p

[Anvilfolk]

Oh nooo, not the dreaded vapourware! It is that which shall not be named, lest it jynx the project! HUSH HUSH!

[abecedarian]

edited =D

[getter77]

Heh, hang in there and stay feisty on it!