Author Topic: Zorbus  (Read 78695 times)

Halkrath

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #75 on: July 23, 2020, 05:21:11 PM »
Hi guys, love the game Joonas, I have been in this roguelike-discovering spree for the last month, trust me when I say I have played dozens of them, both well-known and obscure, link-deleted 7drl's and all, and this one has been my clear favorite! I recently found employment so the first thing I get the chance I'm supporting this gem.

I imagine this is the correct place to post feedback so I will, hope it's welcome. A point I wanted to make as I've been retrying for ascension:

-Races seem a tad inflexible. I know, some choices are clearly not supposed to be as flexible (half-troll), but I feel like some others could be more so (elf, half-orc, saurial). If I want to make a half-orc death-knight (melee guy with animate dead basically), with the -3 mind and -2 magic, it's REALLY tough to make one work. "Why not use Saurial, they are tough but they don't get magic penalties?" True, but they do get mind penalties, which restrict your stat allocation, which is also fine, as my OP class needs tradeoffs, but the "free" camouflage I get is somewhat useless with a shambling horde of corpses right behind me!
 Those races were just examples. My ultimate point is, the classless system is cool, but it feels like the game either requires a lot more races and sub-races, and/or a bunch more talents to be a lot more replayable and flexible. When I'm not playing a human with no penalties, 2 free talents completely up to me to choose, AND free bonus skills to start with, I feel like I'm missing out and handicapping myself or playing in hard mode. I'm sure you guys have a lot more planned down the line, but I hope this little bit will help. Cheers!

-Unless I'm missing something, every base one-handed sword type weapon is outclassed by a rapier or a shortspear? Some weapons seem like the "no-brainer" types.

Edit: -I also should mention that I feel like this kind of design would amazingly benefit from "negative talents" just like in Qud or C:DDA to balance and mix and match!
« Last Edit: July 23, 2020, 05:47:43 PM by Halkrath »

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #76 on: July 23, 2020, 06:34:15 PM »
Thanks for the feedback, Halkrath!

I see what you mean with the races. A brutish warrior with Animate Dead or any other spell is problematic also because heavy armor affects the Magic-skill. So there would need to be talents that have other pre-requirements / skill-checks than Magic. Maybe alternative versions of Animate Dead and so on.

According to the leaderboard, human as a race is not that popular actually.

I'm currently really out of ideas for new races / talents so any ideas you have are really welcome.

Does negative talents mean "flaws" that give you both a bonus and negative modifier / restriction?

Halkrath

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #77 on: July 23, 2020, 07:12:54 PM »
 I just had a 4 dungeon level success (my furthest...) with a human "death knight" (melee talents, high intelligence for frequent talents, 3 magic for animate dead). I found a +1 flail and enchanted it with scrolls, got shield bash and used spiked shields and elemental blade (?) talent. Key talent was lone wolf for +2 all attributes, since I'd have my undead horde to assist me anyway. It was LOTS of fun to play with! What a blast! The problem is, I believe this playstyle is only possible with a human. This makes the game race-ist ;D. In a game with colorful races to pick from, especially from a game with a well done classless system, I have grown to expect being able to pick whatever race I want and mold it with talents. It really surprised me people didn't prefer humans! (Tip: just remove your armor to prepare your undead horde, then don your plate armor again :) )

 Yes, that's exactly what I meant, "flaws", such as losing 1 body (or 2) to gain 1 talent points, or losing a racial trait such as darkvision, to get another talent point, you get the idea. I feel like the more easily customizable the character you want to play, the more interactive, the awesomer. To prevent abuse of these "talents/flaws", they'd have to get progressively aggressive; "blink tic" from Qud that randomly teleports you against your will, amnesia that makes your character forgot some parts of the map after some time, schizophrenic that makes your character hear and see things in the fog of war that aren't really there, phobias (just like DnD rangers' hated enemies) for creatures that make you weaker against them, or if taken multiple times, forces you to flee if you fail a spirit save.

 Oh I have lots of little ideas floating around my head, glad you've asked! So, I haven't been able to go past level 4, but from what I've seen so far an overwhelming majority of creatures are "evil", thus making the unholy enchantment or related roleplaying/alignment concepts obsolete. You automatically have to play as a selfless hero, not a selfish villain (mind that this is what I feel from my impressions so far, might be completely false; still felt like would be valuable feedback), because even if I go out of my way to swarm a recruitable character's room and murder him for his gear, I get no experience. I can't make deals with devils, I can't seduce/recruit demons, I can't use a talent that is essentially an "animal friend" talent for undead creatures, etc.

-Other playable races
 I personally find great joy in games that let me beat difficult enemies to unlock them as playable characters in a later playthrough. I feel like this game has a great potential for it, because we already have goblin and kobold kings and leaders that could issue us those unlocks. Let's say you unlock the goblin race. Sure maybe it won't be as strong as a human, but no goblin will be hostile to you, and any goblin you see will be recruitable! With the caveats, perhaps, of not being able to recruit "normal" recruitable characters (this race has the "weak but numerous theme after all), being automatically hated by all races (myconids & elephants automatically hostile) etc. all that good stuff. I was going to suggest deep-races such as deep dwarves (duergar), deep gnomes (forgot the traditional name), illithids, myconids as playable races or as enemies, but I've seen spoilers of some of them existing, although I'm not sure which ones specifically.

-New talent ideas
 Animal Friend for undead creatures. Possibly for a lot more creature types as well.
 Hated Enemy or however you wanna call it, just like the typical DnD ranger feat that gives attack and damage bonuses against a chosen race.
 Metamagic talents, which improve specific aspects of spells cast after the said talent being activated (range, damage, area of effect), at the cost of stamina
 Either a talent that lets you use your HP pool as magic fuel instead of stamina (Blood Ritual for example), or a seperate set of talents that use HP pool as resource (Blood Magic).
 Extra 1d5 HP per a tough monster's skull (kings, bosses, adventurer party leaders, special characters) you carry with you.
 Right to gain 1 kill contract per dungeon level from carillo tavern, which pays money (I'd say about 200 gold) to use in the store. Possibly spawns an extra difficult mob into the current dungeon level after contract is accepted.
 Cleave talent, which gives you a free attack roll as soon as you kill something and still got another thing to hit next to you.
 Language talents, that give you the chance to talk to the specific race you learnt the language for, and get to roll dice to convince it to join you or cease hostilities at least; maybe show you its personal stash! This could also go hand-in-hand with the ability for players to not understand what goblins speak for example, without knowing their language first.
 

-Other suggestions
 Altars and Gods would be amazingly awesome to implement for this game.
 A very barebones quest system would give more life. What I have in mind is the goblin king giving you a "slay this adventurer on this floor" quest if you are playing as a goblin, which spawns a rather buff random adventurer and maybe a small party of them, and if you succeed you get to gather more goblins to help you in your goblin dungeoncrawling. Or a bounty-hunter talent that gives you contracts in the tavern in Carillo once you visit them for each dungeon level. This could be integrated to a race just like that merchant race you got in Carillo; a bounty-hunting race that exist for the hunt (Predator franchise comes to mind). Another talent would be extra 1d5 HP per a tough monster's skull you carry with you, for example.


That's all for now. I don't know how well received fan ideas are for a dev, but if you'd like more I can always spawn more of these. Hope you like them!
« Last Edit: July 23, 2020, 08:15:02 PM by Halkrath »

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #78 on: July 24, 2020, 04:35:43 AM »
Release 39   (24-Jul-2020)
  • By pressing A you automatically approach and attack nearest seen hostile creature with a melee- or a reach-weapon. You can use autoattack just for approaching so you can use it to chase down a creature or to narrow the range to it for a ranged attack, spell, etc. If no openly hostile creature is seen, a target creature is selected from those who get gradually more hostile against you. Autoattack ignores creatures in areas blocked from autopilot. Autoattack is disabled if your current Health is under 30% of max Health (the percentage can be changed from the settings).
  • The default keybinding for autopilot changed to P. Blocking autopilot areas changed to O, clear all blocks to CTRL+O. If you use the game updater, it's best to reset keybindings because of these changes.
  • If the game crashes, it tries to save the game. A crash report is created into the Crash-folder.
  • Settings: Option to disable log top add (new messages added on top of the log instead of the bottom, on by default).
  • The game is saved if you select "Return to main menu" from the game menu and the setting "Save on exit" is on (on by default).

Thanks Halkrath, I'll definitely think about all that stuff for future versions.

A quick thought about altars and gods. Many have asked for these, but currently it doesn't really fit the theme as in the endgame you may not settle just for demigodhood, but can challenge one or several of the ruling gods. It feels a bit off if you have worshipped a god and then may challenge its position. Also, if you kill a god, then it's gone from the pantheon, and would not be available as a deity (the ascended character takes its place). Needs a lot of thought. Never say never, I've already changed my mind several times before.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2020, 11:32:15 AM by getter77 »

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #79 on: August 21, 2020, 10:38:00 PM »


Release 40
  • New setting: Never flee. If on, creatures other than companions never flee. Some creatures, usually those using ranged attacks or spells, still try to maintain distance. Character obituary will not be sent to the leaderboard if this setting is on or turned on during a game. Off by default.
  • New setting: Death splash animation. Procedurally generated death splash animation instead of the "skull on red square" animation on creature death. Off by default. Thanks to Lagi for the idea.
  • New setting: Brighter darkvision. If on, the tiles seen with darkvision are a bit brighter, but only if your lightsource is unlit. Off by default.
  • Fixed a bug where you could auto reach attack a creature behind another creature. Other autoattack tweaks as well.
  • Buffs are listed when you inspect creatures with the target cursor. Previously only harmful effects were listed.
  • Small tweaks here and there.
http://www.zorbus.net

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #80 on: August 26, 2020, 04:06:52 PM »
A new gameplay video showcasing some of the special areas, ambient sound and sound effects:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37BrD6Wz_0

Zero

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #81 on: September 04, 2020, 08:59:34 AM »
Hi Joonas, looks like the Amulet of Health is bugged.
Offers immunity to disease, but can still be diseased.

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #82 on: October 08, 2020, 11:25:02 PM »
Hi Joonas, looks like the Amulet of Health is bugged. Offers immunity to disease, but can still be diseased.
Thanks for that. Fixed in this release.



Release 41   (09-Oct-2020)
  • (Regular, not Greater) Amulet of Health was bugged, it didn't protect against disease. (thanks to Zero for reporting this)
  • Fixed a bug where the game unnecessarily created crash saves into the Crash-folder. You can delete your existing Crash-folder.
  • Duration listed in descriptions of items with duration effects.
  • New item: the Orb of Withering. This orb creates a necrotic field that prevents all creatures on the dungeon level from regenerating Health or Stamina (naturally, by talents, or by items) for the duration of the effect. Also affects vampiric attacks.
  • Added archetype characters (warrior and wizard) to character creation. These are pregenerated, quickstart character types.
  • Some new sound effects.
  • Small fixes and tweaks here and there. Some typos fixed.
http://www.zorbus.net
« Last Edit: October 08, 2020, 11:27:29 PM by Joonas »

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #83 on: October 17, 2020, 04:24:04 AM »




Release 42   (17-Oct-2020)
  • Fixed a bug where you would not get experience points from a creature (that you have damaged) dying outside of your view. A log entry is now also made in the style of "x dies elsewhere. (n XP)". (thanks to Robsoie for finding the bug)
  • Autoattack now functions on blocked areas if you and the target are already on that blocked area.
  • Two charm effect related bugs fixed.
  • Added mass loot function to level loot. When you press CTRL + ENTER on an item, all items of that same type are picked up. Autopilot automatically pilots you through the items and picks them up. Mass loot can be used with ammunition, devices other than books (potions etc.), keys, and trapkits. Most of these items are normally autopicked, but autopick isn't used when hostile creatures are seen. It's best used after the level is cleared of hostile creatures, and you want to collect the remaining coins, potions, etc. Remember that you can use "0" on level loot to filter coins, special or unique items and devices (potions, wands etc.).
  • Level loot now shows the distance to the item directly in the list.
  • New setting: Always bright Health bars. Normally Health bars under creatures are dimmed depending on the light amount of the tile. If this setting is checked, health bars are always drawn at full brightness. (off by default) (thanks to BenightedAlizar for the idea)
  • Added Archer and Leader quickstart archetypes to character creation.
  • You can now change the gender of archetype / random / past characters by pressing G in the first character creation screen.
  • Small fixes and tweaks.

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #84 on: November 27, 2020, 03:39:32 PM »


A tournament with Amazon eGift Card prizes is active from Friday 27-Nov-2020 to Thursday 31-Dec-2020.
For the rules and leaderboard check http://tournament.zorbus.net.

Release 43   (27-Nov-2020)
  • A tournament version of the game is included (Zorbus_Tournament.exe). You can not save the game in this version. The "hostile creatures never flee" setting can not be used in this version.
  • When you are about to use a Flask of Poison or a Flask of Slime, the item description shows which item it will affect.
  • The wiggle effect of partially seen multi-tile creatures was bugged. Fixed. (thanks to lemon10 for reporting)
  • If a default character name is set in settings, it is now used for archetype characters as well.
  • As usual, small tweaks here and there.
http://www.zorbus.net

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #85 on: December 05, 2020, 07:55:02 PM »
Release 44   (05-Dec-2020)

First of all, big thanks for all the feedback and bug reports!

A tournament with Amazon eGift Card prizes is still running until the end of December.
For the rules and leaderboard check http://tournament.zorbus.net.
  • Target mode renamed to examine mode.
  • New setting: Furniture animations. Teleporters, lightsources and crystal formations are animated. On by default, can be disabled from the settings.
  • In the autopilot-screen (P command) you can move the target cursor by 10 tiles with CTRL + arrows / numpad. Same works in the examine mode. (thanks to ZXC for the idea)
  • Recruitable creatures no longer pick up devices (potions, wands, etc.). You can still give them devices, but can not transfer devices from them to you, so you can no longer recruit creatures just to get their potions. Companions may also have equipment that can not be removed.
  • Changed weapon autoequip so that only thrown weapons are re-equipped (if you're still unarmed). Thrown weapons are also autopicked if no hostile creatures are seen. The notoriously buggy autoequip is hopefully finally fixed. (thanks Masterox and others before for reporting)
  • Keyboard help screen is color coded: movement, combat, resting, items. The screen is quite crowded and couldn't really fit any description for the colors.
  • Keybindings menu has presets for DCSS-style keybindings. Might need more tweaking.
  • If mouse is disabled but mouse tooltips are enabled in the settings, you can now see tooltips of items / talents in the panels of the main game view. This makes it possible to quickly see descriptions of items / talents without risking accidentally using them. (thanks to ZXC for the idea)
  • Mouse hovering over the current weapon set in the main game view shows the same extended info as the equipment screen.
  • Fixed the behaviour of creatures animated / summoned by a charmed creature so that when the charm is broken they stay friendly with the animator / summoner. (thanks to Adam Skinner for reporting)
  • Dismiss no longer affects multi-tile creatures. Some creatures are now immune to dismiss. (thanks to Adam Skinner for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug related to Arrow of Dismiss / Bullet of Dismiss.
  • Fixed a bug with the ability point-buy method in character creation. (thanks to Pieter Kirkham for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where CTRL or ALT + NUMPAD 4 / 6 didn't adjust item amount in inventory. CTRL pressed adjusts the amount by 10, ALT pressed adjusts the amount by 50. (thanks to Adam Skinner for reporting)
  • Fixed several bugs related to multi-monitor setups. The game now remembers which monitor it was played on. (thanks to ZXC for help)
  • Removed the penalty to Search-skill check from having your lantern turned off when using autoexplore to detect secret doors. (thanks to ZXC for reporting)
  • Several typos fixed. (thanks to Tone and YARD, noticed them while watching / reading their let's play of the game)

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #86 on: December 10, 2020, 03:04:55 AM »


Release 45   (10-Dec-2020)
  • Autoexplore now picks up items that you would normally autopick, first from the current area that you're in, then after nothing to explore is found on the dungeon level, any remaining items from the whole level.
  • As the autoexplore in the game works in bursts, area by area, it may look like it skips nearby items, but those items are then likely located on a different area number.
  • If you press CTRL + ENTER in the level loot list when the selector is on the top position, it will automatically pick all items from the explored areas on the level that would normally be autopicked. Pressing CTRL + ENTER on an item in the lists picks up all items of the same type (only works with ammunition, devices, keys, trapkits and coins).
  • Negative modifiers from equipment to Search-skill are not taken into account when autoexplore is used to detect secret doors. So you don't have to unequip your helmet even if it has a negative Search-modifier. This only applies to searching with autoexplore, not to normal searching during movement.
  • You'll get no experience points from animated or summoned creatures that are created after initial level creation. These can be identified from blue Health bars if the setting "Blue Health bars" is checked.
  • The inventory encumbrance bar now has slots for better encumbrance level visualization.
  • Items show the price that they can be sold for. Items that can be sold are in green in loot lists.
  • Buy / sell price adjustments now use modifier from the base, unadjusted Spirit-value.
  • You can no longer transfer books or scrolls to companions.
  • If you have an everlasting ammunition in your possession, same type of ammunition of equal or lower enchantment won't be autopicked. Branded and coated ammunition will always be autopicked. If the setting "Pick all ammunition" is disabled, then only ammunition for your currently equipped weapon will be automatically picked up.
  • Changed a bit how Elixir of Experience works: now you get the needed for next level minus needed for current level xp added to your current xp amount. Previously it just set xp to needed for next level amount.
  • Trapkits are now autopicked.
  • Current dungeon level is shown in the corner of the minimap.
  • Added color group descriptions to the keyboard help image.
  • Keybindings menu now has some help text. Binding conflicts (same binding used twice) are in red. Changed the DCSS preset a bit as it had some conflicts.
  • Obituary files now have more detailed dungeon level statistics (kills, xp total, xp from combat / skill use / exploration / other).
  • Talent descriptions now list their speed.
  • You can autopilot to containers which are mimics. Note that if some destination seems unreachable in autopilot mode, try moving the cursor around a bit.
  • Fixed a bug where some creatures (guardian ghosts etc.) would forget their hostility against the player.
  • Hopefully finally fixed a visual glitch where a map cloud effect like web or slime could stay on the map forever.
  • Fixed a bug where enchantment chance to succeed was negative with some items. If chance is 0%, enchantment is automatically aborted. (thanks to ZXC for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where last log lines in obituary files would be wrong when "Log new messages on top" setting was no checked. (thanks to ZXC for reporting)
  • If your base Mind-ability increases, the talent counter will be recalculated properly. Previously it was reset when you got a talent-point.
  • Fixed a bug where taking the Lone Wolf talent didn't set the talent counter properly at the start of the game. (thanks to ZXC for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where using hoopak and the Dualshot-talent at an enemy in reach attack range resulted in a reach attack instead of two ranged attacks. There's still the problem that you can not make a normal ranged attack at that range, it always makes a reach attack. Sometimes you might want to make a ranged attack in that situation with special ammunition. (thanks to Cookedpoo for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where you could not reach attack using the mouse. (thanks to Cookedpoo for reporting)
  • Fixed descriptions of the Silver Spoon talent and the Wand of Fireball. (thanks to Tone for reporting)
  • Manual updated with some clarifications (experience, critical hits).
  • Several typos fixed.

Joonas

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Re: Zorbus
« Reply #87 on: December 18, 2020, 07:07:29 PM »
Release 46   (18-Dec-2020)
  • After character death, a new statistics table and maps of visited dungeon levels are shown. The maps show unexplored areas in blue. The statistics table shows "actions/s" which is a sum of keypresses and mouseclicks per second. You can switch between the tables with up/down or mousewheel. In the "game over"-dialog there's also a new button for opening the character obituary file (opens in system default text editor).
  • New setting: Never blink. If on, creatures other than you or your companions never blink (teleport away). Off by default. Character obituary will not be sent to the leaderboard if this setting is on or turned on during a game.
  • Autoexplore now picks up items that you have thrown. (thanks to Boomaye for reporting)
  • Autoexplore now picks up items from nearby areas if the tile they're on is explored and near enough to current location.
  • Autoexplore should now find a path to secret doors that are blocked by immobile creatures such as fungi or plants.
  • If one of your companions has a higher Search-skill than you then it is used with autoexplore to detect secret doors. You can give equipment to companions to boost their Search.
  • When you examine a creature the description now says if there is no XP awarded from killing it.
  • You can press W in the autopilot screen to cycle between wells, thrones and switches.
  • You get XP from killing a creature after its charm effect has ended (if the creature awarded XP in the first place). (thanks to Cookedpoo for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where the max distance for a ranged weapon was calculated wrong. (thanks to Cookedpoo and Boomaye for reporting)
  • Fixed a bug where autopickup didn't pick up items with no weight when you were encumbered. (thanks to ZXC for reporting)
  • You can only have one clone (or simulacrum) at a time, a second clone will go berserk and attack you. Some update broke this, the clone would not turn hostile. (thanks to Dynast for reporting) Added warning about several clones to elixir and talent descriptions.
  • Fixed a bug where some unlikely creatures (golems, statues, etc.) were stealthy in darkness. (noticed from Tone's stream)
  • Creatures that follow you to another dungeon level are now ready to act faster after arriving. (thanks to Boomaye for mentioning) Their distance to you determines in what order they arrive on the new level. Companions still follow you from anywhere on the level, but that might change in the future.
  • Companions now react faster to creatures who slowly turn hostile against you. (thanks to Cookedpoo for reporting)
  • Shop restocking is now tied to several values, not just game rounds spent away from the shop level. (noticed from Tone's stream)
  • Skill tooltips in character sheet show the related key ability. Same for Zorbupedia skill descriptions. (noticed from Tone's stream)
  • In the level loot list, the "0" filter now also shows weapons with at least 3 enchantments.
  • Holy-damage now affects only evil-aligned creatures.
  • Fixed a bug where 1.5 x negative Body-modifier was added to damage with two-handed and versatile weapons (negative modifier should be added as is).
  • The visited dungeon levels table in the obituary files now show actions (keypresses / mouseclicks) per second per dungeon level.
  • Added some clarifications to skill descriptions.
  • Added examples of weapon combinations / sets to the manual. Also basic explanation of how the action queue in the game works.
  • There's now support for smaller patches that only replace the executable files. These patches are much smaller to download (below 5 megabytes). Autoupdate informs if a patch is available. Save files should be combatible but I wouldn't risk it so it's best to update only after you don't have any unfinished games.

    Joonas

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    Re: Zorbus
    « Reply #88 on: May 21, 2021, 10:57:16 AM »
    Video:
    https://youtu.be/jEyJ-p9Hbug

    Release 47   (21-May-2021)
    • You can no longer return to the previous dungeon level. The reason for this was to remove tedious gameplay, where you returned to previous levels to find remaining secrets, and cheesy gameplay, where you returned to previous level to rest safely.
    • Support for game controllers. I've only tested it with Microsoft Xbox Wireless Controller, hopefully others will work too. Controller needs to be enabled from the settings, and you can configure / test various things from there. The last page of the tutorial shows the controls, and the same page can also be seen if you enter the game menu with the controller.
    • Replaced old raycasting-based field of view -routine with an algorithm by Adam Milazzo (http://www.adammil.net/blog/v125_Roguelike_Vision_Algorithms.html). If you are creating a game yourself, check it out. It's absolutely brilliant!
    • Removed the Map-command (V). Autopilot-command (P) can now be used for map. It can now be opened even when hostile creatures are seen.
    • Removed the map note- and journal note -commands.
    • Creature AI changes:
      • Some creatures can now track you by scent. Races have different odour intensities, shown in character creation.
      • When you blink away, creatures might spread around to nearby areas to search for you.
      • When searching for you, some creatures may lit a lightsource (if they have one), even if they have darkvision.
      • Creatures can now set up traps when they're fleeing from you.
      • Some creatures may enter a berserk-state if wounded enough. A wardrummer drumming may also trigger this state. In the berserk-state creatures get combat bonuses and never flee.
      • Lots of other small AI tweaks.
    • Challenge ratings for creatures.
      • When you see a creature type for the first time, its name is shown on top of it for a few game rounds.
      • The color of the name indicates its challenge rating, ranging from "harmless" (yellow) to "deadly" (red).
      • Examine-mode and fire-mode show the ratings of all seen creatures. Also shown in creature description in the right side panel.
      • A creature's rating is updated when its or your stats change.
      • Just remember that while there are quite a lot of calculations behind the rating, it still is just a rough estimate.
    • New effect: Tracking. Available as ammunition, flasks and as a talent.
      • Tracking forms a mental link between the attacker and the target. The attacker knows exactly where the target is for the duration of the effect (the target is marked on the navi- and autopilot maps). The target also glows as if wielding a lightsource, making hiding in darkness impossible. Only one creature can be tracked at a time. The latest hit creature always becomes the target. The tracking link to a creature breaks if the attacker enters another dungeon level or Carillo.
      • There's also a talent ("Teleport to Tracked") and potion ("Potion of Stalking", needs a better name?) which teleports the tracker near the tracked creature.
      • Monsters can use tracking too. One might shoot you with a tracking arrow and know your exact location for the duration of the effect. And of course it will also inform its friends of your current whereabouts.
      • This effect might not be as usable or fun for the player as I envisioned it to be, but at least the monsters seem to like it a lot.
    • Character sheet has some changes. Some new stats on the 1st page, 2nd page redesigned, now showing the weapon sets with stats. Equipment and talent lists now have tooltips.
    • Weapon and talent speeds are hidden from the player. Action Cost and APR (actions per round) are used instead.
    • Weapons now have APR (actions per round) and DPR (damage per round) calculations.
      • This was a UI nightmare since you can use some items one-handed, two-handed or dualwielded which changes the stats.
      • Attack and defense values include all current ability-, skill- and other modifiers. Separate values are calculated for melee / throw / shoot attacks and melee / ranged defense. Ranged defense is only used with shields.
      • Inventory item statistics for one-handed and versatile weapons are calculated with an (imaginary) off-hand shield in use. The actual statistics can differ when weapons are dualwielded or when a versatile one- handed weapon is used two-handed. Second character sheet page shows the actual in-use values.
    • When you now blink, your companions are also teleported near you. Tweaked the algorithm behind blinking as well.
    • The Health-bar and UI frame flash in green when you're poisoned.
    • Autoattack target is now marked with two red triangles.
    • Autoattack automatically swaps to the other weapon set if it has a melee weapon and the active weapon set does not, and there's a hostile creature next to you. This can be disabled from the settings.
    • Attack marked -command (R) automatically swaps to the other weapon set if it has a shooting weapon and the active weapon set does not, and the nearest hostile creature is at least minimum distance away. Minimum distance can be adjusted from the settings.
    • Throwable weapons are no longer thrown with the Attack marked -command (R) unless the weapon has the returning-property, so you no longer accidentally throw your weapon. You can make throw attacks with the Fire ranged -command (F). Why didn't I do it like this from the start?
    • If you for some reason end up being unarmed, a warning text is displayed on the top of you character tile.
    • Removed the extra 1.5 x speed duration for returning thrown items.
    • Off-hand thrown attacks get 1/4 of positive Body-modifier added, full if the modifier is negative.
    • Fixed various problems with the Multishot-talent:
      • You no longer shoot at creatures that are blocked by other creatures.
      • You shoot at creatures next to you if you have the Close Combat Ranged talent.
      • In gameplay, the talent is enabled when your current Ranged-skill is high enough for at least 2 targets, and there are at least 2 hostile targets that can be shot at (the lines of fire to them must to be clear).
    • When a large creature hits a smaller opponent, it's now possible that the opponent is pushed backwards by the strength of the blow.
    • You can bump into furniture that has a noted-indicator ("!") on them to "wake" up the creature (mimics, statue, etc.)
    • Autoexplore tries to struggle free from a restraining map effect (slime / web).
    • You can now try to escape a map cloud effect into the direction where your companion is standing. With (CTRL) + direction you can try the same with a hostile creature.
    • The inventory screen is no longer opened when you bump empty containers.
    • Empty barrels and barrels with only corpses or bones are automatically opened and marked as looted. Same with cauldrons.
    • Changes to quickslots:
      • The "F1" slot is automatically reserved for the lantern even if you have it turned off when clearing the quickslots.
      • Trapkits can be quickslotted for easier use, but they will never be automatically quickslotted.
      • A quickslot is dimmed if there's no sense of using it at that moment. Disabled if you can not use it at that moment.
      • (CTRL) + (D) clears set quickslots in the quickslot manager, but preserves player set quickslots.
      • You can toggle allow/disallow quickslotting of a device/talent with (DEL) in the quickslot manager.
      • You can lock a slot to certain item, which keeps it reserved even if you use the last of its type.
      • Related new setting "Hide corpses and bones". Hide corpses and bones from the "items on ground" side panel. This has the benefit that the "items on ground" side panel won''t be displayed when there are just corpses and bones on the ground, so the quickslots stay visible.
      • Remember, you can set up quickslots from the quickslot manager (F12), but also by pressing a quickslot-key that isn't yet binded to anything. For example, if the "5" slot is free, press it, and directly choose what to bind to it.
    • Some renovations in Carillo (the shop hub level):
      • Limited the amount of visits to Carillo per dungeon dungeon level. There's a chance that the teleporter is destroyed after you have visited Carillo 3 times.
      • The Tomb Raiders Guild has opened a shop in Carillo. Their prices are double to standard unless you have a guild membership card. No, you can't actually join the guild, but have to obtain a card somehow else.
      • The bouncer and the shopkeepers will tell you if they've added new items to their inventories. You can press (F10) when checking the shop inventory to filter only items that are new since  your last visit.
      • Speech bubble from a friendly creature in Carillo no longer stops autopilot.
      • When browsing a shop inventory, the item description states how many of those items you already have in your inventory (devices only).
    • Hiding (in darkness) near plants and fungi now give bonus to Stealth-checks. Each neighboring plant/fungus gives a +1 to Stealth. This is not shown anywhere, but is used in calculations. Mentioned in the skill description.
    • The amount that "Health Surge" talent will heal is listed after its name in parentheses (in quickslots panel and talent list).
    • Two new switch rooms: anchoring and withering.
    • You can no longer use teleporters when you're anchored or when there's a level-wide anchor effect active.
    • Sound effects revisited, again. Even after removing and replacing many, there are now over 4000 sounds effects. Main menu now has music. It can be volume controlled from the settings, disabled if you set the volume to 0.
    • There's now a name for the currency used in the game, instead of just "coin". It's now called "zorbit", of course.
    • New settings:
      • Closing doors by bumping at the wall tile right of them is now an option that you can disable from the settings (on by default).
      • Option to require (CTRL) + direction to be pressed to interact with furniture, instead of just bumping at them. Does not affect bumping at doors to open them. You might want to turn this setting on if you constantly keep accidentally bumping at map objects.
      • Option to pick up trapkits, on by default. Trapkits have no weight, but you may feel that they clutter the inventory, especially if you don't use them.
    • Keybindings-menu can now be filtered with a keyword.
    • Clairvoyance-talent didn't work when you used it from the talents-menu with a hotkey (happened in Tone's stream last year).
    • Animal bones and corpses removed. I had an idea for them to rise as animal skeletons and zombies when animated, but don't have proper tiles for those.
    • Life saving items (Amulet of Life Saving, Plot Armor, etc.) always save life even when you don't have any Stamina left. They also save you from death even if you're withered.
    • Potion of Antidote cures poison, but now also gives immunity against poison for a duration.
    • Potion of Extra Healing / Potion of Superior Healing give immunity against disease for a duration.
    • New potion: Potion of Life. "This powerful potion restores 100 Health-points, cures disease and poison, and removes withering effect targeted against the drinker (map-wide withering effect is unaffected). The potion also grants regeneration and immunity to disease, poison and withering for the duration."
    • Trapkits can now be set even if you see hostile creatures, as long as they don't see you. Trapkits can be quickslotted for easier use. Some new trapkits added.
    • Summoning items (horn, figurines, etc.) have a longer duration.
    • Small changes to the playable races. Odour listed in race descriptions (hostile creatures can track by scent).
    • Talent progression changed. You now need Mind-ability of at least 18 to gain 1 talent per experience level.
    • Lone Wolf -talent gives +1 to all abilities (was +2).
    • New ASCII-mode setting: "ASCII wall / floor color adjustment". Random adjustment to wall / floor base color.
    • Huge amount of tweaks here and there.
    • Game balance has probably changed a lot, so the leaderboard has been reset.
    • There's an external tool, "Zorbus Dungeon Generator", available at http://dungeon.zorbus.net. It's a random dungeon generator to create tabletop RPG -style maps. You can run it in step-mode to see how the algorithm creates the map.
    http://www.zorbus.net

    Joonas

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    Re: Zorbus
    « Reply #89 on: May 29, 2021, 04:50:24 AM »
    Release 48   (29-May-2021)
    • Added navimap and map preview to the level loot screen. It now shows a path to the item. (thanks to Cadex Emu for the idea)
    • New companion behavior: Regroup. When in this behavior, companions try to stay close to you, melee attack only nearby creatures, use ranged attacks or talents against distant creatures, and blink away only if surrounded. In the default follow-behavior, companions move around more, and when fleeing try to move to a nearby area or blink away.
    • Related new setting: "Companion auto regroup-behavior", on by default. Companions will automatically enter regroup-behavior from follow-behavior when they need to flee, trying to move towards you. Does not affect animated, summoned or charmed companions.
    • Related new setting: "Companion auto follow-behavior", on by default. Companions will automatically enter follow-behavior from regroup-behavior when in full Health, in at least half Stamina, and no hostile creatures have been seen for some time. This affects only companions that have automatically entered the regroup-behavior (see the setting above).
    • Companion list is now shown also on top of the "items on ground" list in the right sidepanel (thanks to Cadex Emu for the idea). Valuable (sellable) items are now on top of the list.
    • Added a new command: "(Toggle) mundane ground items in sidepanel" with default binding (CTRL) + (BACKSPACE). Toggles showing mundane (non-sellable) ground items in the sidepanel. If mundane items are not shown in the panel,  they're listed in the log, ensuring that quickslots stay visible.
    • Continuous resting won't start if you're poisoned.
    • Summoning traps set by the player should now be more useful as the summoned creature now attacks also other creatures that hate the player instead of just the trap springer.
    • Disabling your own traps is now always successful (and you get the trapkit back).
    • Creature wiggle is now asynchronous by default, controlled by "Wiggle synchronous" in the settings. (thanks to Lagi for the idea)
    • Hopefully at least reduced the low health / poisoned flashing frame flickering that happened when you used mouse / controller.
    • Hopefully fixed a controller error. (thanks to Renan for reporting)
    • Fixed controller sensitivity when entering side panel.
    • Added a note to (F)ire-mode's help-text: "A friendly creature needs to be manually targeted". So if you want to make a shoot or reach attack against a friendly creature, you need to manually target it. Cycling targets does not select friendly creatures.
    • Replaced Homepage-button with a Zorbupedia-button in the main menu.
    • Zorbupedia talent list is sorted to boost/combat/spell/utility-talents.
    • Added better explanation for (CTRL) + (TAB) to the help text in the inventory-list. The command changes the inventory list type: When looting stuff from the ground or from a container, use it to switch to your equipment & backpack, and vice versa. When exchanging items to a companion, use it to get to your or your companion's equipment & backpack (depending on which side is active).
    • Also remember: (F11) to switch companion in inventory-lists. (CTRL) + (E) to enter exchange-mode from your equipment & backpack -list. You can enter exchange-mode with a controller by pressing right thumbstick in personal inventory.
    • Several typos and errors in item/creature descriptions fixed. (thanks to Cadex Emu for reporting)