1621

I’m loving it. Had the most fun so far as a doctor who won’t use weapons but can knock people out from behind.

1622

I must be missing something, because I don’t understand what is really the point of the game, or what makes the mechanics interesting.
From my hour spent with it, it felt like Gauntlet against random more or less hapless targets, but devoid of most of the action. I get you can fiddle with some stuff around (in a very determined manner, like most games drawing inspiration from Deus Ex tend to do), but that felt random, thanks to no help and very little feedback, and not very deep.
I found the graphics and soundtrack quite appalling too.

1623

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I love how the game lets you choose your own way to complete each mission’s objectives. Do you rush in guns blazing or poison the air vent so you can sneak in during the chaos?

1624

I wish I had found guns! So far, my most potent weapon must have been… a knife?
Poisoning the air vent has been my main way of nuisance.
I guess I don’t really understand the setting either. It looks like an underground fortress? I really just don’t understand the game, it seems XD

1625

You aren’t the only one. I watched some gameplay and didn’t find it remotely appealing, but glad others are enjoying it.

1626

Which roguelike features the best level design? Most RL levels look like something you’d discover in a petri dish. OTOH, Dwarf Fortress levels tend to look really cool, but players make them themselves, so it doesn’t count.

1627

Take a look at Unexplored.

1628

Wizrogue is weird.

I’ll third @LordGek’s recommendation of Streets of Rogue. Really enjoying it so far.

1629

Thanks! Here’s a video from their site:

I don’t understand it, but the levels do look pretty good (for a roguelike). At least on par with your average Spiderweb Software game.

1630

So, The Unexplored is amazing. It’s Brogue (and I mean that… like, literally, it’s Brogue - drink unknown potions and hope one is a STR or one is a Life potion? Check. No levels, just whatever equipment from magic staves or wands to cloaks of stealth and daggers to massive two handed weapons? check check, and etc.) … but with graphics and real-time. I mean, it’s not “hey let’s make a game like Brogue!” it’s “hey, I hope we are the guys that made Brogue and this is our next game, because we are straight up going to copy EVERYTHING about Brogue!”

1631

Yeah, it’s pretty damn​ good. I suck at it, but it’s still pretty damn good!

1632

Brogue already copied those things. The unique thing about brogue was how they used ascii to create something relatively attractive.

Edit: The enchanting stuff mentioned down thread sounds cool. I wasn’t familiar with that, not having played it, but most of the fundamental aspects of roguelikes, as implied by the name of the category, have been around for a long time. It’s always cool to see new spins on things, though.

1633

I see. I hadn’t played the original Rogue, so I didn’t realize those concepts were not new. To me a Roguelike has always been a very vast, complex character creation system before you start (like ToME or Dungeons of Dredmore) and so just starting and going (like Spelunky!) was kind of a breath of fresh air to me.

EDIT - Also I remember reading prior to playing Brogue that the game used to have a level up system and went to potions of STRl, so I thought that was just a Brogue thing as well.

1634

Sorry to butt in here, but as Qt3’s resident roguelike expert I am duty-bound to confirm that @Scotch_Lufkin was absolutely correct.

I haven’t played Unexplored and don’t care to, so I don’t know what it lifts from Brogue. But Brogue’s system of character advancement, in which you always and only advance by finding items, AND also have the option to “create your own class” by selectively enchanting some of those items, was the first of its kind – not just among roguelikes, but, as far as I know, among all video games. Brogue absolutely did not copy those things. Brogue invented them.

Edit: every roguelike fan should watch this talk that Brian Walker gave at Roguelike Celebration. It’s great.

1635

Okay, excellent, I thought I was crazy. :) Thanks @justaguy2 for the clarification.

On the topic of Unexplored - this is so far proving to be an even better “Brogue” to me. They have taken a fantastic concept and given it a “face”, and the real time stuff actually makes it more fun than Brogue, because it’s fun to fight enemies (as opposed to fighting them by walking into them) so it’s got a little “Zelda” in there, but it’s every bit as deep (perhaps more so - the puzzles, forging itemss, crafting potions, all sorts of great stuff).

Also, the way it “feels” to play it, the measured pace of the game as you walk around, is perfect. They really nailed the gameplay.

I just had a great run (well, for me) getting to level 5, I had a cloak of wizardry, I forged my starting shortsword into one of Cunning, and further enchanted it with a scroll - and the rune of life I used in the forging meant it would occasionally heal me! I had a cursed scimitar that sometimes burst into flames (ouch) that I later removed the curse on and it became my go-to weapon. I found a cloak of protection! I defeated a mad alchemist! And then a room with a few spiders became a room FULL OF SPIDERS and I panicked and died. It was terrifying. I have a picture. Because I knew I was fucked I took the time to hit F12.

One of the best aspects though, something Brogue doesn’t do, is the idea of persistence. It seems the gold you pick up (which is indeed your “score” same as Brogue, though you can sometimes find vendors in the dungeon selling goods) actually seems to stock pile and can be spent when you start a new game on beginning equipment for that run. Best of all, earning achievements in a given run for the first time permanently unlocks new items for purchase for future runs. For example, reading your first Detect Magic scroll (an essential item in a game like this) allows them to be purchasable for new games.

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The Game Over screen let’s you review your achievements, check out your high scores, and even gives a neat little screenshot that was auto-taken when the achievement was earned.

I’ve put a few hours in and each game I play I uncover more and more about this that makes it just magical. Just amazing stuff. Anyone in this thread should be playing this.

Oh, and it’s only a ten dollar game. Seriously, what else did you have planned to do today?

1636

Since I’m here now, I will mention that in Brogue, you don’t just “fight enemies by walking into them.” :) Each weapon is used differently. With a flail, you do damage by walking past enemies. Rapiers do bonus damage if you “lunge” at a monster (approach it from one square away). Axes swipe all the way around you in a circle, doing damage to every enemy adjacent to you.

And that’s not even getting into the many non-weapon ways to kill enemies, such as using magic items, setting fire to grass-like fungus, detonating explosive gas, throwing potions at them, dragging enemies into pools of lava, etc.

If you’re looking for things Brogue lacks, “variety in combat” isn’t one of them.

1637

Feh, some expert. ;-)

1638

Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be dismissive - I adore Brogue. But I mean to say, the combat is literally pushing a key into the direction an enemy is in. That’s how you use all those wonderful weapons. Walk towards them.

By comparison, Unexplored works the same way (weapons behave very differently) but there is a lot more going on here, such as positioning, waiting for your chance to strike, luring an Ogre into swinging his big club so you can watch the weapon turn black (as they do when they are “cooling down”) so you can dart in with a one-two combo from your sword and dagger…

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…and fail spectacularly.

1639

Interesting, Unexplored stole that ogre thing from Brogue too.

1640

Sir, do you have a chip on your shoulder about this particular game for some reason? It’s a pretty great game.