The Roguelike Thread

Lork

Wherein we talk about Roguelikes. You know the drill.

I don't think anybody noticed, but there's a new version of DoomRL out. There have been some significant balance changes. For instance, easy mode is now actually really easy. Like, I-beat-the-game-on-my-first-try-honest easy, and investing in shotguns isn't quite as futile anymore. Angel of Berserk and Impatience are still bullshit though. Try it out.

Mojo_Jojo

This reminds me that I should have a see what has happened with Incursion. It was very elegant and showed amazing potential.

Also: Herein we mourn for Jade, the roguelike that will never happen.

Edit: The last incursion thread had the game at 6.4A, we're now at 6.4E. So it's just a few tweaks.

Taramoor

Ah, so it's that time of year again. I wondered where this thread was.

I nominate Castle of the Winds

http://www.exmsft.com/~ricks/

Here's the homepage of the guy who made it, with complete free download of parts 1 and 2.

Castle of the Winds
Years ago, back in the late 80's I was trying to learn Windows programming to get off of DOS Word, where I was then working. Naturally, I decided to write a computer game. What I didn't expect was that Castle of the Winds would generate some 13500 registrations, and continue to generate fan mail to this day. At this point, I give the game away for free. Here's a zip with both part one (the free part) and part two (the part you had to register to get). Castl11A.zip Have fun!

Woo!

Also, I will never play Nethack again since dying on the first turn.

Mojo_Jojo

Nethack isn't a very good roguelike, and yet somehow it seems to have settled to the default game. I've never really understood it's attraction.

Lork

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

This reminds me that I should have a see what has happened with Incursion. It was very elegant and showed amazing potential.

Also: Herein we mourn for Jade, the roguelike that will never happen.

I never liked ADOM, so I don't really care, but what happened? It looks like it's still being developed as of 2008. Or are you making a vapourware joke?

Mojo_Jojo

Lork wrote: »

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

Also: Herein we mourn for Jade, the roguelike that will never happen.

I never liked ADOM, so I don't really care, but what happened? It looks like it's still being developed as of 2008. Or are you making a vapourware joke?

Wow, there has been a 2008 update. Amazing. On the main page anyhow, the Jade site itself hasn't been touched since 2004. We need more indy devs to be liked Toady.

Kelor

I've had Castle of the Winds on just about every PC I've had since I was about 5 years old, its still my favorite.

Just have to hope you score Heal Light Wounds or Magic Arrow tome early on.

Lork

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

Nethack isn't a very good roguelike, and yet somehow it seems to have settled to the default game. I've never really understood it's attraction.

It depends on what you mean by that. It doesn't really embody the qualities that are usually associated with other roguelikes very well, so I agree that it's not a very good representative of the genre. It's a much better game than any other roguelike, though, so it makes sense that it's the most popular one.

Taramoor

Kelor wrote: »

I've had Castle of the Winds on just about every PC I've had since I was about 5 years old, its still my favorite.

Just have to hope you score Heal Light Wounds or Magic Arrow tome early on.

I just pick Magic Arrow as my starting spell. There are so many enemies in the game that will fuck you sideways if you get close (especially early on) that it's pretty much necessary. You can be on the first level (which is after the first room in the mine which is always the same) and encounter one fucking viper that will sting you and watch you die like a little bitch.

CotW is not nearly as hard as the average Roguelike, but for some reason it was always just more fun for me.

LeumasWhite

I still love ZAngband. I don't know why, but I do. Probably just fond memories of my demonspawn who got +all attributes seemingly every other level.

CmdPrompt

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

We need more indy devs to be like Toady.

Sadly, Toady must drink the blood of his potential successors in order to survive.

I posed this question in the last thread with no success, but I'll try again here: beyond ADOM and NetHack, would anyone happen to know of roguelikes that will wok on Windows Mobile 6? My cellphone has a pull-out keyboard and that + mobile NetHack =

I will also almost certaintly be playing plenty of Incursion on my flight today.

Kelor

Taramoor wrote: »

Kelor wrote: »

I've had Castle of the Winds on just about every PC I've had since I was about 5 years old, its still my favorite.

Just have to hope you score Heal Light Wounds or Magic Arrow tome early on.

I just pick Magic Arrow as my starting spell. There are so many enemies in the game that will fuck you sideways if you get close (especially early on) that it's pretty much necessary. You can be on the first level (which is after the first room in the mine which is always the same) and encounter one fucking viper that will sting you and watch you die like a little bitch.

CotW is not nearly as hard as the average Roguelike, but for some reason it was always just more fun for me.

Manticores manage to fuck you up nine ways from Sunday if you don't have distance. The last thing you ever want to see on the other side of a door is a manticore looking at you. You fight up up close, odds are you're dead. You run away you get needles in the back for your trouble.

thorgot

I've gotten into UnAngband. It's great. Applying poisons to arrows? Arc spell effects? Following the LOTR plot? Yes, please!

Also, starting fires in forests and then watching all the monsters scream and die while their possessions burn up is always fun.

seabass

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

Nethack isn't a very good roguelike, and yet somehow it seems to have settled to the default game. I've never really understood it's attraction.

I think the big attraction is everyone playing on the same server with shared bones files, and the number of pre-existing servers and irc channels set up for that purpose. I really only play nethack because we talk about it at the office from time to time, and because we heckle each other while playing. If Incursion or ADOM had a set up like that, I imagine we'd play those too, just for varieties sake.

Rhesus Positive

I just died in a game of Iter Vehemens ad Necem - a kamikaze dwarf blew himself up on me. My Ring of Fire Resistance saved me from the blast, but it destroyed my Wand of Lighting, which then released its energy through my body, killing me.

I had 2 Thunder Hammers, a Helm of Brilliance uber-enchanted to give me 18 Intelligence and arm/leg strength in the mid-40s, too

Fallout

I am a pussy who can't play ASCII-based games (aside from Liberal Crime Squad)

However I did go through a little very-addicted-to-graphical-nethack phase recently

all starting a character and immediately dying, then getting to the fifth level before dying, then playing up until the oracle at which point I die horribly, deciding i'm done and really sick of it but then five minutes later i think i think playing a monk would be REALLY FUN right about now, etc.

VeritasVR

I started a game of Angband hardcore a few days ago. I have never beaten the game because I always get stuck right past the mass groups of zephyr hounds and a unique manages to kill me. My character is a High Elf Ranger.

However, this time I'm playing it much more aggressively. I'm diving to the next level when I am not challenged anymore instead of hanging around waiting for new artifacts. It's paid off very well, as I was able to pick my battles and still get amazing items. I'm addicted as hell now and I'm a little more than halfway through to Morgoth.

Billmaan

Fallout wrote: »

However I did go through a little very-addicted-to-graphical-nethack phase recently

all starting a character and immediately dying, then getting to the fifth level before dying, then playing up until the oracle at which point I die horribly, deciding i'm done and really sick of it but then five minutes later i think i think playing a monk would be REALLY FUN right about now, etc.

I went through the same kind of thing for most of December. However, I read just about every spoiler in existence, so I'd survive for literally 10-15 hours before dying a stupid predictable death. Then it would hit me how much of my life I'd just wasted, after which I'd weep silently for a few minutes and then start up a new game. I haven't touched the game since I (finally) ascended, but I still get the itch once or twice a day.