Poll Concerning LambdaRogue

[mariodonick]

Hello everybody,

I'd like to know if you ever play(ed) LambdaRogue. Use the poll above. And please answer honestly

Thanks,
Mario (LR dev)

[getter77]

Yep, it pretty much got pushed back/lost in the shuffle and to this day I couldn't manage to come up with any nifty specific questing.   

Good to see you around again Mario.   

[roguewombat]

Never tried, but that's mostly because I haven't been on the scene very long.  Perhaps I should give it a try and then come update my vote.   

[Z]

It seems to be a game that I should try, but I have not done it yet.

I think one of the main reasons why I have not played it yet is the name. It strongly suggests to me that it is some clone of Rogue written in Lisp (Lisp is based on Lambda Calculus, and one of the most important operations in Lisp is named lambda), i.e., it is not interesting except for Lisp fans. I know it is not true and it is in fact an original game written in Free Pascal and lambda is probably just a coincidence (or maybe not? I don't know actually), but somehow... (I also don't like the name CalcRogue, which suggests that it is a clone of rogue that is playable on a calculator, while in fact it is a good original roguelike, no matter whether you play it on a calculator or on a PC.)

[corremn]

Yep, a good name is the first thing a project should get.  I never used to judge a RL by its name but nowadays I do more and more.   And Lambda Rogue has a fairly uninspiring name, to me the word lambda brings up visions of sleepy sheep, or my mathematics brains tell me something about empty sets.  However OTOH I would play a game with a name sheepRogue because it brings up to mind a comical mash of a fluffy white animals with hack and slash gameplay, hehe die you fluffy bastards!

[mariodonick]

This name thing is quite depressing *lol* Maths does not belong to my professional background, thus "Lambda" is just a beautiful greek letter for me. So now I ask myself: If I had given the game some menacing, heroic name, had it become more attention?

Well, it's too late anyway. Perhaps it's really time for something new.

[Nolithius]

It's never too late to re-brand your game! (as opposed to scrapping it entirely)

[ywgdana]

I think one of the main reasons why I have not played it yet is the name. It strongly suggests to me that it is some clone of Rogue written in Lisp (Lisp is based on Lambda Calculus, and one of the most important operations in Lisp is named lambda), i.e., it is not interesting except for Lisp fans.

Actually, that was my first thought too when I first heard of LambdaRogue

Mario, I was playing it a bunch at my previous job because I was frequently bored and slacking.  Not so at my current position and I don't have a Windows machine at home to play it on.

[mariodonick]

I don't have a Windows machine at home

If you have Linux at home, you might try the Linux version The source should also easily compile under BSD. (Somebody even made it run under MacOS).

[getter77]

It's never too late to re-brand your game! (as opposed to scrapping it entirely)

Pay heed to this man!   

For me when I saw "Lambda" I just reckoned a Greek backdrop of some sort, but then the big sell were all the various trailers which other Roguelikes didn't really have going.  I'm immune to most Maths references, being absolutely terrible and generally ignorant on the subject.   

[mariodonick]

Well. This night I was thinking about restarting LR development, leading to a 1.6 release, which then could be released under another name and version 1.0. Any suggestions for a proper name?

[ywgdana]

I don't have a Windows machine at home

If you have Linux at home, you might try the Linux version The source should also easily compile under BSD. (Somebody even made it run under MacOS).

Oh! If someone got it running on OS X, then there's hope for me!

[Vanguard]

One thing I meant to ask you earlier:

Do enemies level with the player or get stronger as time passes or anything?  I've played a few times, but it seems no matter how conservative I am, forces outside of my control conspire to destroy me.  Something feels unfair, as opposed to the good fair-but-merciless feeling roguelikes typically go for.

I think it would also help to explain more of the game's mechanics.  Doesn't one of the choices at character creation mean that you aren't supposed to kill a certain type of enemy?  The player doesn't have any way of knowing this as they make their dude.

[mariodonick]

Do enemies level with the player or get stronger as time passes or anything?

There is an option "growing enemies". If it is activated, enemies become "big", "strong" and finally "mighty", depending on the number of kills of this type. It is activated by default, but you can deactivate anytime.

I've played a few times, but it seems no matter how conservative I am, forces outside of my control conspire to destroy me.  Something feels unfair, as opposed to the good fair-but-merciless feeling roguelikes typically go for.

Can you give me an example? In general, surviving in LR means a lot of micromanagement, item buying/selling etc. Also, keep away from monster hives if you're not strong enough. Finally, read all the help pages.

Doesn't one of the choices at character creation mean that you aren't supposed to kill a certain type of enemy?

Yeah, Ares believers aren't allowed to kill caveworms, due to some strange religious codex. They don't get EXP for this.

The player doesn't have any way of knowing this as they make their dude.

They know it when trying to kill a caveworm as Ares-character for the first time Two or three accidently kills won't have any negative effect.

[dweller]

I've tried to play it, it looks great and atmospheric. But game always freezes in the second level or so. Maybe this is already fixed, because I tried it long ago. Another problem has been difficulty at even low levels and I absense of auto-run key. Some command to travel around the map in comfortable way would be nice too.