It's been awhile since I've made a post here, but that doesn't mean I haven't been playing roguelikes lately. On the contrary. I've been nearly obsessed with DCSS over the past month, more so than ever before. I was fortunate enough to beat my all time high score just last week with Grurn the Troll Monk of Trog. I really thought I'd make it to Zot for the first time. I really did. But it was not to be.
I did learn some valuable lessons, though.
1) Trolls are awesome. Troll Monks are killing machines. Troll Monks of Trog are so powerful it's almost not fair.
2) Kill Ogre Mages immediately. They can ruin your game by banishing you to the Abyss. It happened to me twice, the last of which did me in.
3) Blinking and teleportation scrolls and abilities do not work normally in the abyss. At least I don't think they do. I had a blink scroll crumble right before death.
4) The Abyss really is escapable and Labyrinths aren't as intimidating as they sound.
So it's back to the drawing board. I'm already trying some more Trolls, both Fighters and Monks. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully, I can come up with another high score. Until next time...
Rogue On!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
2009 7DRLPC - Fruits of the Forest
I must admit, the more I play Fruits of the Forest the more I like it. Initially, I had some issues getting it to run on my main RL playing machine, a Samsung NC10 netbook running Fedora 10, but all seems to be working fine now.
FotF is really a nice and enjoyable roguelike. And challenging too. I'm still amazed that fully functioning games can be written in a mere 7 days.
Things I Like:
- Ability to run on Linux & Windows using the same executable, thanks to Java
- vi/vim key controls
- Challenging gameplay around the simple idea of: collect berries, kill bandits, feed villagers, repeat
Things I Don't Like So Much:
- There is a delay between when a directional key is pressed and when the character moves. This could be due to some issue with my system or just an issue with Java. Slightly annoying, but does not kill the gameplay experience.
- My NC10 has a funky display resolution (1024 x 600) and I need to 'cursor move' the window upward after starting each game in order to see the messaging at the bottom of the screen.
- If there are no Healberries near the starting location, you are pretty much hosed and don't have much of a chance in getting very far. This imbalance seems to exist in most of the games I've played so far.
It is easy to see how FotF can be expanded out a bit into a more robust game. I'm looking forward to a new version. Thanks to Ido Yehieli for a very nice roguelike.
FotF is really a nice and enjoyable roguelike. And challenging too. I'm still amazed that fully functioning games can be written in a mere 7 days.
Things I Like:
- Ability to run on Linux & Windows using the same executable, thanks to Java
- vi/vim key controls
- Challenging gameplay around the simple idea of: collect berries, kill bandits, feed villagers, repeat
Things I Don't Like So Much:
- There is a delay between when a directional key is pressed and when the character moves. This could be due to some issue with my system or just an issue with Java. Slightly annoying, but does not kill the gameplay experience.
- My NC10 has a funky display resolution (1024 x 600) and I need to
- If there are no Healberries near the starting location, you are pretty much hosed and don't have much of a chance in getting very far. This imbalance seems to exist in most of the games I've played so far.
It is easy to see how FotF can be expanded out a bit into a more robust game. I'm looking forward to a new version. Thanks to Ido Yehieli for a very nice roguelike.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
2009 7DRLPC - DungeonMinder
I wrote about my first impressions of the 2009 7DRL entry DungeonMinder a few days ago, but wanted to post a more formal review of the game for the 2009 Seven-Day Roguelike Playing Competition (7DRLPC).
DungeonMinder is a very engaging roguelike with a twist on how the player interacts with the environment. The player's job is to control, not the adventurer, but a fairy in charge of ensuring that the adventurer is able to make his way through the dungeon safely. This is a bit of a challenge, as our hero isn't the brightest bulb in the pack. He's apt to swing his sword at anything he sees both near and far. In between his slashing and posing, he just needs to open two treasure chests, which are randomly located on each level. Once these chests have been opened and pilfered (oh, and the treasure stinks...but don't dare tell our hero), the hero will hopefully find the exit to the next level where new dangers await.
So how does our fine fairy keep that brave, yet clueless, hero alive? By mastering a total of nine spells that either directly affect our hero, his foul targets, or the dungeon itself. There are three different spell buckets, each controlled by a different mana type. There is plenty of strategy to be had here...enough, for sure, to keep the replayability at a high level.
One word of warning: This game is difficult. Initial reports on rgrd indicated this was the case and it seems they were dead on, but the game is winnable. Don't let the difficulty level keep you away from this fine roguelike.
The game has been released under the BSD licence and receives extra points for having both a Windows and Linux download available and also for supporting vi/vim key commands.
The hope is that the developer, Adam Gatt, will continue development on this title. It would really be worth the effort because this RL has so much to offer already. Some ideas for enhancement would be the inclusion of additional spells and mana types, varying levels of difficulty, and additional mob types.
Overall, this submission to the 2009 7DRL offers gameplay that is fun, humorous, filled with strategy options, and challenging. Great job on this one.
DungeonMinder is a very engaging roguelike with a twist on how the player interacts with the environment. The player's job is to control, not the adventurer, but a fairy in charge of ensuring that the adventurer is able to make his way through the dungeon safely. This is a bit of a challenge, as our hero isn't the brightest bulb in the pack. He's apt to swing his sword at anything he sees both near and far. In between his slashing and posing, he just needs to open two treasure chests, which are randomly located on each level. Once these chests have been opened and pilfered (oh, and the treasure stinks...but don't dare tell our hero), the hero will hopefully find the exit to the next level where new dangers await.
So how does our fine fairy keep that brave, yet clueless, hero alive? By mastering a total of nine spells that either directly affect our hero, his foul targets, or the dungeon itself. There are three different spell buckets, each controlled by a different mana type. There is plenty of strategy to be had here...enough, for sure, to keep the replayability at a high level.
One word of warning: This game is difficult. Initial reports on rgrd indicated this was the case and it seems they were dead on, but the game is winnable. Don't let the difficulty level keep you away from this fine roguelike.
The game has been released under the BSD licence and receives extra points for having both a Windows and Linux download available and also for supporting vi/vim key commands.
The hope is that the developer, Adam Gatt, will continue development on this title. It would really be worth the effort because this RL has so much to offer already. Some ideas for enhancement would be the inclusion of additional spells and mana types, varying levels of difficulty, and additional mob types.
Overall, this submission to the 2009 7DRL offers gameplay that is fun, humorous, filled with strategy options, and challenging. Great job on this one.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Crawl Is Brutal
After playing my fair share of DoomRL over the last couple of weeks, I got sucked back into Crawl again this weekend. Tired of succumbing to deaths by poison, I tried playing a Naga Venom Mage and found some early success.
But, man...is this game brutal. After acquiring some really nice items for that 1st Venom Mage, I made some bad decisions and wound up as a pool of blood on DL5. An artefact piece of armour, 2 spell books, and a ring of magical power (!) just weren't enough to keep me from ruining this character's chances for glory.
So after a couple of re-rolls, I'm playing another nice Naga Venom Mage, slowly and surely gaining power. Confidence creeps in until about DL6 when I just can't get rid of a pesky imp, then again at DL7 when a zombie ant scares me down to DL8. "Ahh, the orc mines...Let's hit that! That is definitely doable, even though I've got the rot and am down 15HP. I got this!"
It was all going so very well, until I found myself in too open of an area. A warg, resistant and closing fast, with 3 orc cronies close behind back me into a corner. I zap the warg and it magically transforms into an ogre. Ouch! Not what I was hoping for.
Like I said, this game is brutal. But I'm not giving up on this race/class combo. Not in the least.
But, man...is this game brutal. After acquiring some really nice items for that 1st Venom Mage, I made some bad decisions and wound up as a pool of blood on DL5. An artefact piece of armour, 2 spell books, and a ring of magical power (!) just weren't enough to keep me from ruining this character's chances for glory.
So after a couple of re-rolls, I'm playing another nice Naga Venom Mage, slowly and surely gaining power. Confidence creeps in until about DL6 when I just can't get rid of a pesky imp, then again at DL7 when a zombie ant scares me down to DL8. "Ahh, the orc mines...Let's hit that! That is definitely doable, even though I've got the rot and am down 15HP. I got this!"
It was all going so very well, until I found myself in too open of an area. A warg, resistant and closing fast, with 3 orc cronies close behind back me into a corner. I zap the warg and it magically transforms into an ogre. Ouch! Not what I was hoping for.
Like I said, this game is brutal. But I'm not giving up on this race/class combo. Not in the least.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
2009 7DRL
Well, the deadline for the 2009 7DRL has passed and the results have been submitted to RogueBasin. It seems to have been a record year for submissions to the contest, so there are plenty of games to try out.
I've had a chance to check out only one of the submissions thus far, DungeonMinder by Adam Gatt. The fact that initial reports indicated that it was difficult to win (a definite plus in my book) and that a Linux download was available made it a no-brainer to try out immediately. The concept behind the game is novel and the gameplay unique and very challenging. And considering this is a game coded in 7 days, it is very impressive indeed. I've managed to get to DL3 do far. I'm hoping I can actually win this one, as difficult as it is.
Next on the list may be Fruits of the Forest by Ido Yehieli. This one looks very interesting and...well, it just looks cool. I'll be trying this one out sooner rather than later for sure.
I've had a chance to check out only one of the submissions thus far, DungeonMinder by Adam Gatt. The fact that initial reports indicated that it was difficult to win (a definite plus in my book) and that a Linux download was available made it a no-brainer to try out immediately. The concept behind the game is novel and the gameplay unique and very challenging. And considering this is a game coded in 7 days, it is very impressive indeed. I've managed to get to DL3 do far. I'm hoping I can actually win this one, as difficult as it is.
Next on the list may be Fruits of the Forest by Ido Yehieli. This one looks very interesting and...well, it just looks cool. I'll be trying this one out sooner rather than later for sure.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Never Been A Winner
I've been thinking a lot about the claim in my last post that I've never been a winner in a roguelike. There are a few reasons for that:
1) I tend to play more difficult roguelikes, like Crawl Stone Soup. Some older roguelikes are just not that challenging and get boring very early on.
2) I try my best to stay away from spoilers. I read some character dumps on oook and the rgrm and rgra newsgroups, but other that that, I'm on my own. The thought is that once something is spoiled, it can't be unspoiled; you lose the excitement of finding something out on your own.
3) I play to enjoy the gameplay itself, not to win. If I only wanted to win, I'd read the spoilers...or play another type of game entirely.
So, with all of that being said, my short term goal now is to actually build a winner just to prove that I can do it. I've started the quest by diving into the original Rogue, which in the past I found a bit boring.
1) I tend to play more difficult roguelikes, like Crawl Stone Soup. Some older roguelikes are just not that challenging and get boring very early on.
2) I try my best to stay away from spoilers. I read some character dumps on oook and the rgrm and rgra newsgroups, but other that that, I'm on my own. The thought is that once something is spoiled, it can't be unspoiled; you lose the excitement of finding something out on your own.
3) I play to enjoy the gameplay itself, not to win. If I only wanted to win, I'd read the spoilers...or play another type of game entirely.
So, with all of that being said, my short term goal now is to actually build a winner just to prove that I can do it. I've started the quest by diving into the original Rogue, which in the past I found a bit boring.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Favorites
As much as I'm a fan of roguelikes, I must admit that I'm not very good at them. Over the past few years of playing several different roguelikes, I've yet to win even one game. But that's OK...It's not winning that keeps me playing, but the discovery of the nuances of each and every game.
I played my first roguelike over 25 years ago as a kid. Probably on that old Vic-20 PC that I was lucky enough to get my hands on. Then, about 4 to 5 years ago, I discovered ADOM and soon after Zangband. I was hooked immediately. The depth of play and re-playability was incredible. And the fact that they were free in cost was a big plus too.
So now, years later, here are the roguelikes that I play most often and enjoy the most:
1) Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
This is the king-daddy of them all. So much choice. And so difficult.
2) NPPAngband
After playing several *bands, I quickly found this to be my favorite, thanks in large part to the quest system.
3) DoomRL
Wow. Simply incredible engine and a great take on the roguelike genre. The sound and music make this the one to have.
4) Entroband
Another *band, this one is no longer maintained, but it is still very good. Based off of Zangband/Hengband.
I played my first roguelike over 25 years ago as a kid. Probably on that old Vic-20 PC that I was lucky enough to get my hands on. Then, about 4 to 5 years ago, I discovered ADOM and soon after Zangband. I was hooked immediately. The depth of play and re-playability was incredible. And the fact that they were free in cost was a big plus too.
So now, years later, here are the roguelikes that I play most often and enjoy the most:
1) Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
This is the king-daddy of them all. So much choice. And so difficult.
2) NPPAngband
After playing several *bands, I quickly found this to be my favorite, thanks in large part to the quest system.
3) DoomRL
Wow. Simply incredible engine and a great take on the roguelike genre. The sound and music make this the one to have.
4) Entroband
Another *band, this one is no longer maintained, but it is still very good. Based off of Zangband/Hengband.
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