Author Topic: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v21!).  (Read 186679 times)

Skeletor

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v19.2!).
« Reply #375 on: October 31, 2018, 01:53:26 AM »
Next release could be awhile yet, yet will be loaded:

https://www.reddit.com/r/InfraArcana/comments/8s9fag/thoughts_about_the_new_gui_redesign/?st=jnsv317f&sh=b658206b

That's good to hear getter.

*update*
I tried right clicking into the folder.. can do "run into terminal" from there. Typed "./ia" but got this error:
"./ia: error while loading shared libraries: libSDL2-2.0.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory"
What a pain in the ass is linux.
* update #2*
Just accepted I have to play the windows version via Wine emulator.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2018, 08:54:51 PM by Skeletor »
What I enjoy the most in roguelikes: Anti-Farming and Mac Givering my way out. Kind of what I also enjoy in life.

Skeletor

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v19.2!).
« Reply #376 on: November 03, 2018, 12:44:18 AM »
I really like the clever use of minimalistic graphics and sound.. minimal indeed, but contributes immensly to the atmosphere of the game. Infra Arcana has much more immersiveness than several mainstream million dollar games.
Very nice classes and skills system as well; each class requires a different approach to the game and makes it a new overall experience. (However for the sake of plot it's a bit weird to think about a ghoul getting phobias and finding psychological comfort by holding a flare and things like that - also why the heck was a ghoul venturing there)
I also like that the game is now quite hard. There's almost no zero-challenge enemy.. minimal backtracking, and the new xp system is clever, fun, and ensures there's no grinding. Reasonably good also for how much the mechanics are made clear to the player (damage input per weapon, chance to hit modifier.. and also chance to hit per single enemy, however it's a bit tedious to check as one needs to press a few keys).
As Legends said, the game rewards exploration rather than mindless killing of enemies. So many times however I found the stairs early but died in the process of exploring the dungeon a bit more before descending. Possibly the game rewards equally exploration and getting the hell out of there as soon as the stairs are found..!

Absolutely excellent game, and a pure roguelike.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2018, 12:54:49 AM by Skeletor »
What I enjoy the most in roguelikes: Anti-Farming and Mac Givering my way out. Kind of what I also enjoy in life.

Skeletor

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v19.2!).
« Reply #377 on: November 06, 2018, 06:45:13 AM »
By the way.. did anyone understood if there's any use for statues and altars?
I kind of like it though that there's no wiki whatsoever.
These days I've been experimenting different Ghoul builds.. so far I quite like the standar progression melee fighter + ravenous + foul + toxic.. after which I usually go for vigilant as an incredible amount of my ghouls die by invisible stuff.
Frenzy is crucial.. with it in corridors most enemies are tasty snacks.. another very nice perk of it is that phobias stop being such a hindrance since the frenzy status automatically removes terrified (and also weakness). Seeing in the dark is also neat as. And no diseases also super good. Wounds and low hp can be fixed by feeding off opponents, dead or alive (with ravenous + claws). With all of this melee fighting, armour is usually what makes the difference. Friendly worms are an excellent perk as well when running away from invisible stuff (those things kill at least 1/3 of my characters), spirit/life leeches and in corridors when not frenzied. Saving potions of blindness once identified can be a lifesaver to get out of unconvenient situation while frenzied.

@NON:
On the next update, please make it that on level up, the ENTER key has to be pressed in order for the trait to be picked. Otherwise when someone is playing fast they might accidentally get the wrong trait.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2018, 12:44:20 AM by Skeletor »
What I enjoy the most in roguelikes: Anti-Farming and Mac Givering my way out. Kind of what I also enjoy in life.

getter77

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v20!).
« Reply #378 on: December 18, 2019, 09:52:31 PM »
v20  8)

Quote
Gameplay
* Maps can have different size, the standard map size is bigger than before
* Some maps built from templates (such as the "Egypt" level)  are randomly flipped and rotated for more variety
* Added more special levels
* The intro map is much smaller
* Trees appearing beneath the first few levels are now "giant fungi" instead
* Added swimming
* Added "Temple Gongs" - striking a Gong gives a significant bonus and penalty
* Removed passive shock for carrying or wearing certain items - unique items may instead have a curse on them
* Spotting hidden doors or traps now gives a small amount of XP (except when traps are revealed by triggering them)
* The blessed/cursed status effects no longer affect spell casting, and instead give +/- 10% to to melee hit chance, ranged hit chance, evasion, stealth, and searching - their descriptions now also say explicitly what they do (instead of "is generally more lucky")
* Fountains now have different names and colors when tried, and they are no longer guaranteed to dry up immediately if bad
* The Occultist traits to improve spells (such as Lesser/Greater Invocation, Summoning, etc) have been removed - instead there are now multiple Occultist domains to choose from at character creation, which get free upgrades at certain levels for spells belonging to their respective domains
* Dispelling magic traps grants spirit points
* When carrying Manuscripts, the player eventually gets a "feeling" for which spell domain it belongs to (similarly to Potions)
* Added more spells
* The spell "Animate Weapons" has been changed to "Spectral Weapons" - instead of animating weapons on the floor, it summons a living copy of melee weapon in your inventory (which will simply disappear after a while, without dropping any weapons on the floor)
* The spell "Enfeeble" now only causes Weakening (instead of a bunch of different things)
* The "Searching" spell lasts multiple turns, but detects in a smaller area (and never across the whole map)
* Spells cast from manuscripts are always cast at least at "expert" level
* Casting spells while adjacent to an altar allows casting at one skill level higher (stacks with casting from manuscripts)
* The Staff of the Pharaohs gives a passive ability to convert mummies, instead of granting a spell to summon mummies
* The Spirit Dagger now does extra damage based on the attacker's current spirit, and drains spirit from the attacker on succesful attacks (instead of giving spirit to the attacker)
* Added a new "Strange Device"
* Added trait "Ruthless", which is an upgrade of "Vicious" with even more backstab damage
* Removed some player traits
* Added more monsters, and removed some redundant monsters
* Deep Ones can throw a net which entangles the victim (instead of throwing a spear)
* Deep Ones usually spawn in much smaller numbers than before
* Deep Ones are not delayed when moving through liquids
* Spiders become aware of the player when the player gets stuck in a spider web
* Spiders can use pathfinding to move to their target
* When Ghosts attack, it says they are "reaching" for the player instead of "clawing" - the old "reach" effect which they did in addition to their normal attack has been removed
* Strange Colors only cause confusion while the player is adjacent to them
* Death Fiends now do a more sensible amount of damage (and the part of their description which said their attack "means almost certain death" has been removed)
* Ravens only have 50% chance to cause blindness on a melee hit (instead of 100% chance)
* Locusts no longer "breed"
* Some monsters are now rarer than others (previously all monsters which could spawn on a certain level had equal chance of spawning)
* Many monster descriptions have been completely rewritten (thanks Renan Nunes!)
* The time system is more predictable and simple - creatures can only have 50%/100%/200%/300% speed (never something like 110%), and all types of actions take the same time to perform for a creature (no +10% melee attack speed for example)
* Traps are always triggered when bumped, and always removed when disarmed
* Updated trap placement - magic traps cannot be placed in blocking positions (since only Occultists can disarm them), traps tend to be more spread out in a room instead of clustered together, traps can be placed in corridors, and generally fewer traps are placed on the map overall
* Added more trap types
* When a creature opens a door, the door cannot be closed until this creature's next turn starts (i.e. you cannot shut a door in the face of a monster who just opened it)
* Improved check for if phobia of open places should trigger (for example it no longer triggers while standing in smoke)
* Completely removed the concept of dice rolls from the game, weapon damage is now specified as a range (e.g. 1-4) instead of dice rolls and sides (e.g. 1d4)
* Removed the phobias for open/confined places (they were too annoying from a gameplay perspective)
* Messages are now printed when monsters fight each other

User interface
* The interface has a new layout, and there is a scrolling viewport centered on the player
* The tiles are 24x24 pixels, instead of 16x24
* The font size is no longer locked to the tile size (for example a smaller font can be used)
* The window can be resized
* Added option for input mode - default keys (numpad/arrows) or vi-mode (h j k l y u b n)
* Improved the game key bindings
* Dropping items is now done from a separate inventory screen, accessed by pressing "d" (which is a more conventional method than the old way of pressing shift+enter)
* Removed PgUp/PgDn/Home/End as alternative keys for diagonal movement
* ">" and "<" can also be used in inventory screens to jump between pages (in addition to page up/page down)
* All menus can now be scrolled with vi keys ("j"/"k"), and the currently marked menu entry can be selected with "l" (these three keys never occur as letter indexes in menus)
* "Auto moving" is used by holding shift and pressing direction keys, instead of repeatedly pressing "e" + direction (auto moving is not supported when using the arrow keys, where shift is used to move diagonally upwards instead)
* Added a minimap, accessed with "m"
* Holding shift while moving markers (e.g. "look" or "aim") jumps five steps
* Equippable items (armor, weapons, head-wear) can now be equipped by selecting them directly in the backpack, automatically swapping out any existing item in the target equipment slot (which of course takes more turns to perform)
* The "throw item" command ("t") always opens a menu to select throwing item, where the last thrown item is shown at the top with the "t" key assigned - in the throwing menu, this key is never assigned to any other item than the "last thrown item" (so you can for example safely spam throwing knives by repeatedly pressing the "t" key, without worrying about suddenly throwing another item)
* Removed the (ugly) hit chance tables from the monster description pages - only player melee hit chance is shown now, which is part of the description text instead
* The generated part of monster descriptions is printed in a separate paragraph, to make it easier to distinguish from the static handwritten part
* Reworked the tile for Deep Ones
* The player is asked for confirmation before stepping into fire or traps, or before moving into deep liquid while holding a lit explosive (which will extinguish it)
* The player is asked for confirmation when picking traits on gaining new character levels (but not when creating a new character)
* Added an option to always warn when a new monster is seen (and no other monster was already seen)
* While aiming firearms or thrown weapons, the game no longer prints info about map features, items, etc in the aiming location (only info about any monster seen there)
* Many types of messages are no longer added to the message history, such as messages printed when moving around the marker ("[f] to fire") or when asking for a direction ("Which direction? [space, esc] to cancel") - this keeps the message history more clean and focused on game events
* Many properties now have longer and more descriptive names on the map screen (e.g. "Fear Res." instead of rFear", or "LIFE SAPPED(4)" instead of "HP(4)")
* Added an option for if ambient sounds should be preloaded at game startup (otherwise each sound is loaded the first time it's played)
* Added option to skip the intro level popup message
* Added more sound effects

Misc
* Save files are no longer erased when loading a saved game (only when dying, winning the game, or when actively quitting), this allows players to resume from a previous save file if the game has crashed
* The game is auto-saved on each descent to a new dungeon level, so in the case of a crash, only the progress on the current dungeon level is lost
* Switched license to GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later, and added a reference to this license at the top of each Infra Arcana source code file, and a reference from the main menu
* User data (such as save file and highscore list) is no longer stored in the game directory, instead the user data location is based on SDL_GetPrefPath() and the current version/checksum of the game (e.g. "~/.local/share/infra_arcana/873f2d0e/") - the Infra Arcana game directory is now treated as read-only.
* Added in-game hints for some basic concepts such as treating infections or unloading firearms
Brian Emre Jeffears
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Atlazant

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v20!).
« Reply #379 on: December 21, 2019, 01:55:19 PM »
So is there no more 32-bit version?

Skeletor

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v20!).
« Reply #380 on: February 12, 2020, 09:24:39 AM »
Wow, what a meaty update.
What I enjoy the most in roguelikes: Anti-Farming and Mac Givering my way out. Kind of what I also enjoy in life.

getter77

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Re: Infra Arcana, a horror/Lovecraft roguelike (now at v21!).
« Reply #381 on: March 15, 2022, 11:21:45 AM »
v21

Quote
# Gameplay changes
##############################
# Backgrounds and traits
- Added a new background (class) "Exorcist"
- Reworked the "Resistant trait", it now gives +25% chance to resist paralysis, burning, and poison, and the duration of those effects is halved (also Tough and Rugged each give +10% chance to resist)
- Added trait "Crippling Strikes" - melee attacks have 60% chance to Weaken the target for 2-3 turns
- Added trait "Meditative" - applies a status effect which allows the next spell to be cast without spending a turn, and with the cost reduced by 1 spirit point - after casting a spell this state is reapplied again after some time has passed
- Clairvoyant Occultists also starts with the Premonition spell
- The Tough and Rugged traits give +6 hit points each, instead of +4
- Ghoul characters start with +8 hit points, instead of +6
- The Ghoul ability "Frenzy" no longer costs spirit to use
- The Ghoul trait "Toxic" has 75% chance to apply poison, instead of 25%

# Monsters
- Added more monsters
- Some monsters have a smell that can be detected by the player
- Monsters no longer become aware of the player from negative properties (burning, etc) or from taking damage (they are alerted by direct attacks or by attack noises) - so now it is possible to for example throw a Molotov Cocktail at a monster, and escape with Cloud Minds while it is burning
- Small crawling creatures (rats, snakes, crawling hands, etc) can pass through some terrain types such as gates and piles of debris
- Cultist have a different tile depending on their wielded firearm, and their description states what weapon they are wielding
- Cultists have a kick attack
- Worm Masses and Mind Worms are now blind, slow (instead of normal speed), have much more hit points, are unsettling (causes shock to see), take much less damage from piercing attacks (such as pistol shots or dagger strikes), and have a very limited hearing range
- Worm Masses and Mind Worms can no longer split while burning
- Added completely new descriptions for all Ooze monsters, removed Black Ooze, changed Putrid Ooze to be weaker and spawn earlier, renamed Clear Ooze to Lurking Ooze
- Removed the spawn level part of monster descriptions ("they usually dwell beneath level...")
- Monster descriptions display more information, such as resistances, if it has the ability to see in darkness, or the chance to stay hidden from the monster
- A generated description is now printed for all monsters - previously some monsters (such as Crawling Intestines) used to have the generated part of their description completely disabled
- Ghoul monsters become allied to a player Ghoul when they see the player, instead of starting allied on the map (to avoid the player missing out on joining the Ghouls in combat and just finding the remains of a battle)

# Items
- Added weapons "S&W Revolver" and "Winchester Rifle"
- Removed the Flare Gun
- Added miscellaneous rare items and artifacts
- Completely reworked and renamed the Spirit Dagger
- The Electric Gun also disables passive hit point regeneration for a number of turns
- The Talisman of Resurrection also teleports the player when activated, to avoid leaving the player in the same situation that killed them to begin with
- The Vitality potion can no longer increase hit points above maximum, but instead it applies a status effect that increases hit point regeneration, and gives a small chance per turn to heal a wound
- The Staff of the Pharaohs also has a chance to apply Doom on hit (a stronger version of Cursed)

# Spells
- Casting spells can occasionally trigger random chaotic side effects, typically affecting the surrounding area (for example walls may appear or disappear, statues knocked over, etc)
- Added spell "Erudition" - the next spell is cast at a higher skill level
- Changed the "Opening" spell to "Control Object", which can do more things (e.g. open/close/jam/strike doors, or strike statues/braziers, etc)
- Changed the Azathoth's Wrath spell to Azathoth's Gaze, which causes small damage and fainting (instead of acting like a "mass Darkbolt")
- Removed the Searching spell - instead this is a permanent ability for the Clairvoyant Occultist (upgraded at levels 4 and 8)
- Added Curse as a spell available to monsters (Floating Skulls cast this now instead of applying the property directly, and mummies cast Curse instead of applying it on melee attacks, for example) - also added a stronger version of Cursed called "Doomed" which is applied instead when Curse is cast at master level
- The Teleport spell has a distance limit, which is increased with higher skill levels - also reduced the spirit cost of the spell
- The Summoning spell is no longer available to player characters (only to monsters)
- Added a message when spells are upgraded (e.g. by a Gong)

# Status effects
- Reworked the "Frenzied" property - instead of changing the player's movement direction on a move command, moves away from monsters are now simply prevented (not an action)
- The Cursed status effect also causes 5% chance to fail spell casting
- Being blind no longer immediately raises shock by 30% - instead the shock ramps up each turn up to 30%
- Players can melee attack monsters while nailed by a Spike Gun (but still not while entangled)

# Terrain objects
- Removed deep liquid and swimming
- Pylons now have different appearances, and it's possible to permanently identify their effects - also Pylons are now activated by touching them
- Hidden doors are always detected from adjacent positions (except if blind or confused)
- Standing next to a door will immediately reveal if it's stuck - if so it will change name and appearance
- Forcing a metal door open (e.g. with a Rod of Opening or the Control Object spell) also toggles all connected switches (this would previously leave the switches "inverted", so that it was hard to know if pulling the switch would open or close a door)
- A lot more terrain objects can be destroyed or lit on fire (for example altars or monoliths are destroyed by explosions, and wooden chests or bookshelves can be lit on fire)
- The stairs position is always lit, to make it less tedious to discover in huge dark rooms
- Statues no longer block line of sight, making them much easier to kick into monsters.
- The stealth penalty in lit positions is much higher than before (see also bug fixes below concerning stealth and darkness)

# Map generation
- The standard map generator can also split rooms, for more map variety
- Added more room templates
- The map generator no longer tries to reveal doors on the path to the stairs (i.e. the stairs may be behind hidden doors)
- Winning characters show up as statues inside the church building on the intro level, instead of graves outside the church

# Other
- Improved the player character memory of explored map positions - it is now possible to view the names of terrain and items on previously explored positions, items seen on the floor in dark rooms are remembered on the map, and bumping terrain like fountains and doors while blind instantly updates their visual status
- Removed the "masochistic obsession" insanity effect

##############################
# User interface changes
##############################
# Convenience / quality of life features
- Bumping a stuck door now automatically tries to bash it (no need to press "w" first)
- Added a warning when the player attempts to fire/throw outside the effective range, informing the player that the attack will do 50% damage
- Added an option to warn when throwing "valuable" items - i.e. potions or equipped items (enabled by default)
- When standing in a dark position, "DARK AREA" is displayed in the status lines

# User input
- All menus have shortcut keys (either with "(Y)es (N)o" style, or "a) b) c) ...")
- The "i" key is skipped as a letter index in the inventory (and drop menu), instead this key can be used for closing the inventory menu again (to allow more convenient toggling of the menu and to help prevent key press mistakes)
- Added "l" or "e" as a shortcut command for toggling the Electric Lantern
- Added "," (comma) as an alternative pick up command
- "C" is the standard key for the character info screen, with "@" as alternative key
- In the options menu, left and right can also be used to change option values

# Graphics
- Added the ability for displaying idle animations while the game is waiting for input, currently this is used for flickering the player color when holding an activated Electric Lantern, or randomizing the color of burning tiles or tiles corrupted by Strange Colors - and also for auto-scrolling item descriptions in the (rare) case that they do not fit in the window
- Instead of the "stretched" fullscreen mode option, there is now an option for attempting to scale the graphics to 2x size when running fullscreen (if the graphics can be scaled depends on the user's resolution, and the current font)
- All fonts have been replaced with new ones (the reason for this is that the origins and license information of the previous ones was unknown - now this information is clearly listed in a font license text file distributed with the game)
- Added a tile for unarmed player
- Added tiles for Cultists wielding different firearms (see gameplay changes above)
- Removed the options to draw the walls as filled rectangles in tiles mode

# Design
- Changed the appearance of popups
- Many screens such as the background/trait screens and character info screen use a nicer positioning for drawing, and they handle window resizing better
- Added more elaborate border graphics (used for example around the player information panel), instead of only simple lines (these graphics existed in older versions of the game)
- Using coloring more for the player stats to convey information (such as drawing the current hit points paler the closer to zero they are, or drawing the weapon info as yellow if ammo is depleted)
- The infection status effect is drawn with orange color instead of the usual red, to make it more noticeable and to hint that it will get worse and not better over time - also added a warning message when infection nearly triggers DISEASE
- The message log uses three lines instead of two (thus causing much fewer "more" prompts)
- General messages for events outside of the player performing an action are drawn gray instead of white, and a newline is always forced after a player action
- Removed the "game over" menu - instead the game summary is first shown, then the high scores, then you return to the main menu
- Added an option to toggle if the view should always be centered on the player, only move when near the edge of the screen (default is to always center)

# Sound
- Added more sound effects
- Removed the generic spell sound effect
- Added a master volume percent option

##############################
# Fixes
##############################
- Fixed a bug that prevented messages for Rogues sensing artifacts on the dungeon floor (there were only messages for sensing artifacts in item containers, such as tombs)
- Darkness did not give a stealth bonus
- The effect of the Silent trait was inverted for melee attacks  - i.e. attacks were noisy with the Silent trait picked, and vice versa
- The Asbestos Suite was not protecting against gas explosions (from gas traps)
- Energy Vortex attacks has a paralyzing effect as they were supposed to have, instead of burning
- Fixed problem with popups not being re-drawn correctly when alt-tabbing back to the game
- And much more...
Brian Emre Jeffears
Aspiring Designer/Programmer/Composer
In Training