NotEye 4.0

Necklace of the Eye 4.0 is released!

The focus of this release is a streaming protocol. You can use it to record and view recordings (which you can also annotate with messages, or perform simple editing), or use it over network, allowing clients to watch you while playing, or share a game between two or more people. You can let the viewers use their own mode (plain ASCII, tiles or FPP) or make them use a specific one. I suppose that, for simple uses, it is easier to set up than a SSH server, although some care needs to be taken for safety.

My next goal will probably be to make libtcod able to communicate via the NotEye protocol, thus allowing NotEye to work with libtcod roguelikes, not only system console ones.

Have fun!

Vapors of Insanity 0.54

Vapors of Insanity 0.54 has been released!

The focus of this release is to try to become a bit more friendly to newbies. The right side of the main screen has been reworked, and it contains icons, which can be clicked to perform some action. You can also right click on objects to open an extra window about the given objects, which show actions available and contents for the given object. Also most common uses can be executed by simply dragging one object to another. As always, this is still a work of progress, but I want to release a version before Christmas to show what is being worked on.

As for more changes...

• You can now choose from several modes of movement input. There is still a VI mode for hardcore roguelike and VI fans, but you can also select two simpler modes.
  
• A 'Rogue' specialization is added. Rogues are good at hiding in shadow, striking from the back, and they know a simple teleportation spell. Overall, the facing mechanics used by VoI are supposed to allow a nice stealth-based game, and Rogues exploit that. (Although it seems it is quite hard to actually perform a backstab.)
  
• Mouse navigation of the main menu.
  
• Tooltips are shown when you are trying to use the mouse in an in-game menu, so you no longer need to guess what a click does. Anyway, when playing with a mouse, you probably won't need to use menus that much especially item selection menus).
  
• Widemap now covers fullscreen (and can be navigated with the mouse, of course).
  
• Spells obtained via concatenation now have icons which present what they do.
  
• Some new icons. Armor icons are mirrored now.
  
• Players no longer start with hooded cloaks (since they restrict vision, and I don't want to give bad impressions about FOV).
  
• Fixes with AI (to make backstabbing more playable).
  
• "Power of sight" can now be used to see the FOV of another creature.
  
• Items in the backpack no longer lose color (unless you want this).
  
• Some other minor bugfixes.
  
• Tutorial now has two modes, for keyboard and mouse users.
  
• "Spells" now shows mana, and "skills" shows XP and free XP pool.
  

So, not many gameplay chnages, but I have not had much time recently. And of course... there is not much time left, but fans are recommended to vote for Vapors of Insanity and my other games on Roguelike of the Year. Happy Holidays :)

Hyperbolic Rogue in action

This video by ortoslon shows Hyperbolic Rogue in action, and how to get a score of 138$. Thanks!

My current high score is 163$. Other scores I have seen posted in Internet seem to be around $60. Are there any better scores?

I am planning to write a bigger game based on Hyperbolic Rogue geometry one day, but it will have to wait (I am thinking about the next 7DRL challenge)...

Hydra Slayer 13.0 + NotEye 3.1

Hydra Slayer version 13.0 and Necklace of the Eye 3.1 are released!

This version of Hydra Slayer introduces bloody hydras, which are just like normal hydras, except that you don't know their type, resistances, or susceptibilities. Two of them should appear before the first boss, and more should appear randomly later.

Additionally, Potions of Knowledge can now provide "real" information instead of just hints: they can fully identify bloody hydras, and suggest three first attacks when you are under a shadow hydra attack.

The graphical (NotEye) version has been updated. Whole game should be mouse controllable now (this includes all the menus, and all gameplay actions). Also the hydra slayer picture is now displayed in the main menus, hydra list has been moved to the top left corner in the FPP mode, and the hex mode is centered better.

Also a bug with Ambidexterity + sword + axe has been fixed, and Trollish inventory now displays free keys even if the inventory is almost empty (potentially helpful for mouse users).

I have not tested it very thoroughly, but I hope there are no big bugs.

As a side result there has been a minor update to NotEye:

• NotEye menus now can be controlled with a mouse.
  
• NotEye no longer lags as a result of moving the mouse.
  
• drawtile function has been introduced, so you can now draw individual tiles without creating a screen.
  
• Some other minor technical changes.
  
• As mentioned above, Hydra Slayer 13.0 is included, and its noe file is updated.
  

Vapors of Insanity 0.53

Version 0.53 of Vapors of Insanity is hereby released!

Unfortunately I have not worked much on VoI recently, due to lack of time (I have worked a bit on my other roguelike projects though, Necklace of the Eye + Hydra Slayer, and Hyperbolic Rogue which seems to have turned out to be much more popular than I expected). Still, I have made some progress, and since there is currently a discussion on Bay 12 Games Forum about VoI, I have decided that I should release what I have instead of waiting until I have time to develop more. I am quite tired now, but I hope nothing is seriously broken.

OK, so the changelog for Version 0.53 follows...

• When you try to start a new game, you are told that you should try the tutorial, and how.
  
• You can now have several saved games, and see a list of them. Also this works in a more logical manner now.
  Playerfiles (*.apf) are now correctly linked to saved games (universe files, *.auh): their names now include universe names (to avoid collision) and are deleted together with them.
  
• Four directional movement works now.
  
• You can now select geometry (four-directional, hex, eight-directional) from the main menu.
  
• Input is now configurable. Currently you can switch to VI keys, and have more or less confirmations.
  
• Provided icons for vortices, vests and armors, skills, usages, actions, potions and elements, etc.
  
• Rune of Draining, which allows you to cast spells from sources other than your own mana.
  
• Spell of Charging, Spell of Zap.
  
• Rune of Anchoring has been renamed to Spell of Tagging, and is now a spell that can be cast at enemies (but also resisted).
  
• Improved the balance for the "spray" spell.
  
• Diaries are more frequent now, and they have a random thing/monster picture on their covers.
  
• The ordering in the list of actions ('?') is better now.
  
• Runes no longer work on non-spells.
  
• Fixed bug with melting doors with locks.
  
• Fixed missing parameters for some potions.
  
• Sponge spell now can steal potions from inside vials and dragon breath.
  
• Fixed designs. Fixed chasm arrows.
  
• Fixed a bug with stacking target signs which caused stack overflow.
  

Technical:

• Priority assigner in VaporGS. For now, used for initializer scripts, but all method priorities are planned to use it.
  
• Shift+F2 thoroughly analyzes icons now.
  
• Internal icon names are more standarized now.
  
• Wishing cheat improved. Can generate specific books, or bottles and cauldrons with specific potions now.
  
• Asking for a VaporGS symbol (mQSymbol) improved.
  
• Books are now methplexes as everything else.
  

HyperRogue 1.1

Based on the RogueTemple discussion I have added some keys to control the visual presentation. The previous version caused nausea when played for a long time, hopefully choosing to scroll instantly or manually will help to prevent that. (It's hard to find any guide about that, maybe making the animation speed match the screen refresh speed would help too.) I have also added an option of a 3D view using red and cyan glasses.

Hyperbolic Rogue

Most roguelikes allow 8-directional movement, like Rogue. Recently there are many new roguelikes which explore changing this geometrical structure. Some games use 4-directional movement, and there are also some based on a hex grid. My Hydra Slayer and Vapors of Insanity both allow the player to choose one of these three geometries.

I thought that it would be interesting to create something even more different. Hyperbolic Rogue is set on a hyperbolic plane, and the map is composed of hexagons and heptagons.

Another interesting feature of Hyperbolic Rogue is heat. Your body generates heat, which attracts ice wolves and melts down ice walls.

I wanted to wait with this for the 7DRL challenge, but could not resist the temptation and wrote it right away (in 5 days).

Hydra Slayer 12.9

Due to new features of NotEye, the graphical version of Hydra Slayer has been improved. You can now control movement and switch weapons using mouse, and use the tiles also in the hex mode.


Version 12.9 also includes a minor bugfix (last help screen was not displayed correctly) and a minor change (when a monster A kills another monster B, B's HP bonus does not go directly to you; instead, it is transferred to A's health bonus, so you need to kill A to get it),


Download Hydra Slayer version 12.9 here.

Necklace of the Eye 3.0

After more than a year, a new version of Necklace of the Eye has been released!

If you do not know what it is, go to its homepage.

If you know the older versions, this new version has the following new major features:

• Works not only under Windows, but also under Linux.
• Lua scripting. You now have much greater flexibility in adapting NotEye to new games, and also can use Lua scripting to change the game interface in other ways (e.g. create automatic players to do boring stuff for you) or even to create new roguelikes in NotEye itself (although I am not sure how this compares to other RL dev methods).
• Easier to use (press Ctrl+M to get the NotEye menu).
• Includes a nice menu from which you can choose the game you want to play (again, easier to use).
• Basic mouse control.
• Includes Hydra Slayer to show the capabilities. Hydra Slayer has a full tileset (both in orthogonal and hex mode) and basic mouse control (you can switch weapons and move).

Read more about NotEye and download it from here.

Good luck to all your Roguelike characters played via NotEye!

Small update to VoI

A small update: hex mode looks great but the eight-directional mode was not displayed correctly, this is fixed now.

Vapors of Insanity 0.52 (third preview)

The time of ARRP 2011 has come, and time to release a new version. Thus, a new version of Vapors of Insanity is released!

As you can see on the screenshot, the game now correctly displays hexes (as hexes, not as bricks), this is prettier and hopefully less confusing. Also a small icon shows health state and facing of all creatures (well, in this particular screenshot, only the player character). As for more changes...

• Reworked the 'use' command. It now includes relevant usages which were previously considered usages of different objects. It also returns automatically after performing an use. Thus, if you are robbing a body and want to search the backpack, wield its weapon and wear its armor yourself, read the map, drink the potion right away,  pick up or pocket some other items, then the 'use' command will allow you to do it more comfortably. Icons are added for some usages. Right clicking on the map now performs 'use'.
• Wands: Fixed some wands. Pocketed wands now recharge mana.
• Removed the copy of vapors.ini from config subdirectory (only the one in the main directory is used, which was confusing).
• Pressing up/down (or diagonals in the 4-directional mode) does more reasonable things now.
• Mutations: Changed probabilities of mutations. Mutagen potion. Mutant monsters now can be found randomly. Some mutations need to be identified.
• A spell with a big object bound now has as a big missile (thus it always hits creatures and cannot be shot through windows).
• Introduction story now mentions that you should go Southeast.
• Staves: there were some problems with enchanted staves, these are fixed. Runes of elemental brand.
• AI now can shoot through terrain features which block movement (but it still cannot go around them).
• Gems can contain enchantments now (as they were supposed to). The verb 'rub' is now used for touching with items (not with your body) instead.
• Display: Your damage is now displayed in the classical way (100/100 means full health). Damage percentage is displayed for other beings.
• Monsters: less cats, giant crabs appear, greater chance of weaker races to appear (especially for humanoids). Harpies are humanoids now as they were supposed to be. Melissans now start with a skill in stinging (similar for other races with interesting body attacks). Floating eyes now come in different flavors, which have shuffled colors.
• Map generation: Wells now contain some monsters and items (also going down them has been fixed), some minor treasures appear in beast lairs too. Fixed some huts generating inaccessible furniture. Materials for floors, walls, furniture, and roofs are now chosen with different distributions; also theme-dependant. Honeydew appears in formican farmers' inventories and farms. Potions more frequent. All floor runes are named 'floor rune' now. Hybrids now appear (they were implemented, but had no chance to appear). Featured hybrids: five randomly generated monsters which appear commonly. Some fixes and better icons. Furniture now has more reasonable weights (and hit methods).
• Fields a bit more interesting: they block vision, (slightly) missiles, and movement (although wielding a relevant weapon helps here).
• Books: different colors and images on covers. Updated the final chapters (which were not consistent with the game). Skills learned from books now work correctly right away without reloading. Other fixes.
• Many fixes with attacking, font is centered, 3D renderer, display, engine, descriptions. 

Get it here!

I expect the development rate will drop now... But as always, if you have any ideas for improvements, please send them to me, this will probably make the next include the suggestion, and be released faster :)

Vapors 0.51

A new version of Vapors of Insanity (0.51) is released!

Most focus went into making the development tools available, so players can see how VoI has been created, and (in future) create mods. Again, this is just a preview, as it is not documented very well yet.

I have also considered all the comments I have seen so far. Almost all ideas for improvements have been implemented (some have been implemented only partially, like improving the interface). So if you don't like something, please post a comment, I'll try to fix it in in the next version, after three weeks. :)

Many people don't like the interface. I have made some improvements, and improved the tutorial, so it is much better now (hopefully). But surely it needs much more work.

Other visible changes... well, the most visible one is that you can now see wielded weapons. ;) Also trees are more interesting now.

For a more complete change log:

- refactoring
- you are told how to quit after you die
- improved Elftown design
- you can now target spells in other directions by "rotating" the staff
- fixed wells
- big hammers as a starting weapon for blacksmiths (there was no good blunt weapon of suitable power)
- fixed learning designs from books
- you can now tell your allies to stay in place (and golems to stay in the forge)
- smiths start with some basic designs
- greatly improved the smithing interface (just go into a forge or furnace)
- fixed a bug with recognizing cells inside a room (which caused weird mixed-material huts)
- chimneys; you have to explicitly ask for it if you want to go down a well/chimney
- trees now have many different shapes (and some fixes added); the list of types has been extended
- some monsters are able to climb trees
- added some icons in menus
- dead beings no longer block or dodge
- roads and tunnels are now less twisty (the straightening algorithm was already there, but not active)
- you can  now 'talk to all'
- graphics: you can see weapons, shields, and helmets now
- target life now can target upwards or downwards
- lizards now able to climb chasms and dunes
- a much better tutorial
- Aiming (Archery skill) now reduces encumberance.
- some balance improvements
- decoration added for cells next to roads; roads work better on beaches (and ocean)
- some other minor modifications

Have fun :) And please submit comments, I need them to improve things.

donations

I have added some donation links to my projects, so that people who like my creations more than commercial games can express that, and make me think more seriously about roguelike development (which could lead to faster development of Vapors of Insanity, and improvements to Necklace of the Eye). Although PayPal is much more popular, I have chosen to use Moneybookers (they seem to have many advantages, even though popularity is also a huge advantage in this case). I have not tested the links myself (as I cannot pay myself), but I hope they work..

I hope to release another preview of VoI this month (mostly the development version to allow others to see how VoI has been created, and create mods and improvements, but also with some minor gameplay updates, based on the comments I have received so far, or on my own testing or new ideas), and another one for ARRP (Sep 18), but I'll see.

Hydra Slayer 12.8

As further playtesting revealed some bugs with vampire hydras... Version 12.8 is released!

• Fixed descriptions of some weapons (bows did not say that you can use 'T', stunners now tell you how stunning works)
• In the list of hydras, bows now correctly display the regrowth value "x2" instead of "+0". Also stunning time is now displayed if relevant.
• Potions of knowledge did not work correctly with vampires. Some automated tests added to prevent them breaking in the future. Probably there should be more tests here, and also tests for ambidexterity (another thing which often breaks down).
• Testing revealed some further bugs with potions of knowledge (large ivy-hydras, rare divisor-like weapons could not kill, attacks with some rare divisor-like weapons larger than hydras were ignored, useless 'wait until awakened' loops displayed, potions of ambidexterity made non-fresh by potions of knowledge, not working correctly with the weapon G2)

Please tell me if you find more illogical stuff :)

Hydra Slayer 12.7

I have watched a "Let's Play" video about Hydra Slayer. Thanks!

I have noticed some bugs in this video, so they are fixed in version 12.7 (and also some other issues):

• Shield damage was displayed incorrectly
• Hot key to control both twins was shown incorrectly on the race selection screen
• Twin was displayed incorrectly in the hex mode
• Fighting messages were incorrect (incorrectly stated who does what)
• Added missing messages about GPL to source and help

Link: Hydra Slayer

Vapors of Insanity preview

This is the first release of my big roguelike, named Vapors of Insanity. It is intended to be a major roguelike. It already has lots of features, but probably also lots of bugs, imbalances, and other bad stuff. Check it out at your own risk! :)

Vapors of Insanity is a roguelike game set on a paradise island of Fortarica, where the common Humans, mighty Dwarves and Orcs, insect-like Melissans and Formicans, and many more people lived in peace and harmony... until now. One day, you wake up, and see magical fog everywhere around you, and every man and beast around seems to become a mindless machine, wanting only to kill you! The only way to find the source of the problem is to fight the crazy beasts, hoping that you will find a way to remove the vapors, and the beasts will be sane again... Will you be able to win?

Vapors of Insanity features:

• A big three-dimensional world, consisting of a big variety of outdoor, building, and underground locations.
• You can play both in hex and orthogonal mode.
• An original spell system, where you can build complicated spells using simpler spells as components.
• Also original skill/experience and fighting systems.
• Many hopefully interesting magical gadgets that can be found.
• A variety of creatures and items to find: about 150 types of items, 150 species of monsters and plants, 150 materials (including potions), 150 types of magical runes, 80 skills and spells; some of them are parametrized. These include both the standard high fantasy stuff and more original ideas.
• Graphics that are supposed to not only have the advantages of a graphical display (better aesthetics, accessibility for new players), but also the roguelikes' classical ASCII display (clarity, allowing one to use imagination, simplicity of creation of new monsters and items). An ASCII mode is also provided for SSH access, and other hardcore ASCII fans.

For developers:

• Most of the game written in a special scripting language called VaporGS, allowing developers to create new modules, which can be simply placed in an appropriate game to modify the game somehow; these can range from minor additions (and you should be able to easily use several such additions at one time, if there are no obvious conflicts); they can be also provided as either open source (for educational purposes), or as closed source (if you want to have hidden secrets)
• The language is based on a extension of the Object Oriented paradigm, where objects can modify other objects by providing additional methods to them (like a ring of flying providing a flying ability to the wearer, but this paradigm has been applied in many various ways)

(Note: the development tools and the script sources are not yet available in the current release)

Get Vapors of Insanity here

Hydra Slayer for Android update (12.6)

OK, I have finally decided to look for the bug which caused Hydra Slayer for Android to freeze and close sometimes (quite often, actually). Apparently the bug was caused because of my misunderstanding of JNI (I didn't know I have to call DeleteLocalRef).

Also the game runs faster now due to an optimization in transferring the screen data from JNI to Android.

For non-Android users, there is just one small bug fixed (auto-explore mode sometimes worked incorrectly).

Download Hydra Slayer for Android from the Android Market, or the PC version here.

Introduction

Hi!

Given that I am currently running several projects related to roguelikes, I have decided to start a blog in order to have a better place to post updates, and get feedback about them. Possibly I will also put some roguelike reviews (although I would probably prefer IRLDb for reviews of individual games, but maybe a blog would be a good place for multi-reviews) or some generic thoughts about the roguelike world (but for that I would probably prefer the RogueTemple forums).

My projects have been listed on my homepage, but for completeness I also list them here:

• Hydra Slayer - a fantasy roguelike mixed with a mathematical puzzle, which also notably has an Android version
• Necklace of the Eye - a frontend for playing roguelikes, allowing players using new MS Windows systems to enjoy ASCII roguelikes looking just like they would look in DOS, which is very hard to do otherwise nowadays; also can be used to view ASCII roguelikes in a tiles or FPP mode (unfortunately not many roguelikes have reasonable tilesets for NotEye), and several other minor features
• IRLDb - a database of roguelikes, allowing to search for roguelikes meeting specific criteria, and also to rate them and do mini-reviews
• IVAN 3D - my old creation, uses the tiles from IVAN to create a FPP view

OK, that's enough for an introduction. Now get back to work! :)