Epilogue v2.0 Released, Commercial Edition Available
Epilogue v2.0 Released, Commercial Edition Available
Game News - posted by getter77 on Fri 8 June 2012, 04:03:08
Tags: Epilogue; Indie; Roguelikehttp://kraflab.com/blog/?page_id=16
"Story
Years ago, the last heroic types failed to defeat Slith, the demonic overlord. Now, all peoples live as mindless slaves to him, and have for many generations. In this great absence of combat, your mind has been left to wander and you have started to realize who Slith is and what has happened to your people. Now you are free from his control and must defeat him once and for all!
Game Concepts
Dungeon
The game is split into floors of a dungeon, which are procedurally generated. There are a few different dungeon generators used, so every now and then you will find a rare/strange layout. When you die in the dungeon your character is finished (permadeath).
Loot
All weapons and armor that you find in the dungeon is equipped by your enemies. There is no unexplained system where rats drop plate armor or where diamond daggers are just lying about all over the place unclaimed. Loot also scales up very quickly from level to level and each floor has a unique set. You aren’t going to find that amazing artifact that suddenly makes the game easy, and likewise you are under no pressure to find it in the first place.
Creatures
Like equipment, there is no creature that appears on two floors. There are also rare creatures that you might never see. No longer will you have to trudge through 5 meaningless rat/goblin/kobold floors to get to the interesting stuff. On the first floors you can expect to find Robotic Snowmen, Dual Wielding Sea Otters, and Crazed Martial Artists. As with gear, the enemies ramp up in difficulty quite quickly.
Character Customization
Skill (meaning skill with melee weapons or dodging etc) is separated from class. The player picks a skill proficiency (e.g. Magic) and then picks a class (e.g. Spacetime Nomad). There is absolutely no exclusivity in any way here, so a melee-elementalist is just as viable as a shield-cultivator. After this, the character can pick traits as they level up to add bonuses, such as faster healing or the ability to set enemies on fire.
Abilities
Weapons can have abilities and effects attached to them, which automatically activate, and there are special abilities the player gains while leveling up, which correspond to character class. Weapons recharge over time, while player abilities recharge in between dungeon floors.
Healing
You can heal yourself up to 50%, but must find certain altars or campsites to fully heal yourself. There is also a system of limb damage in the game. You can heal a wounded leg, but you can’t heal a crippled or dismembered limb without outside aid.
Fatigue
All actions (including walking) increase the player’s fatigue. This acts as some kind of “clock” for the player but it is not overly imposing (if you become too fatigued you will merely pass out from exhaustion). It is nevertheless something that the player must be aware of. Careful play makes it less of a factor. There are two campsites per floor that the player can use to sleep and recover.
Alchemy
The game has an alchemy system as a pseudo-identification system. There are 10 ingredients, which have random alchemical color effects. Experimentation will lead the player to discover ingredients with the same colors and then they can create the corresponding item. Thus you won’t know until you create a ‘Red’ item that it is a fire bomb for instance. Items you find, such as smoke bombs, are always identified. This means you don’t have to spend the first X levels drinking potions of poison to get to the point where you can actually use strategy (as fun as that may be).
Gods
The game has 7 gods, which the player can worship with various effects and complications available.
Plot
There is actually a rich plot in the game, although it is not directly forced on the player. There are little snippets of information on certain levels to provide some kind of insight into what bosses you can expect to find and why they are your enemy.
Graphics/Interface
The game is tile-based, where the tiles all consist of 8×8 resolution. This is enough to give players an idea of what their looking at, but maintains a lack of detail. You can see what equipment an enemy is wearing just by looking at them, so you won’t be surprised that they are wielding a rare item. The interface is designed so that almost everything you need is always visible to you on the screen. You don’t need to know keys to access the inventory or ability list because they are always visible. The game supports mouse and keyboard controls, including pathing and autoexplore.
Inheritance
There is a global tracker across all playthroughs that measures enemy “knowledge”. When you have killed a lot of enemies, you gain a slim combat bonus against them on future characters. This is at the same time not enough to make a huge difference in the game, but enough to feel like all those lost characters at least contributed something.
Note:
The expansion and bonus game modes are now included in a commercial edition of the game, available at kraflab.com for $7
The free edition will still be updated along with the commercial version and 2.0 is a pretty decent improvement on 1.99, so there is more content for you to enjoy even if you don’t want to or can’t afford the commercial edition.
The expansion levels are really a great challenge, and the necromancer mode is like a new game in itself (the strategy is totally different so you kind of mentally start from square one), so if you are enjoying the game and think your experience is worth $7, please consider supporting future development!"
Screens available onsite, the reliable BMT Micro for direct purchasing of the Commercial Edition.
The actual changelog is, well, as good a note to take a crack at going at least semi-commercial on as any:
"[New] The game now has an…epilogue!
3 levels
30 enemies
3 bosses
2 endings
54 weapons
30 armors
[New] There are now two more music tracks
[New] There is now a fancy title screen
[New] There is now a ‘Kraflab’ logo splash
[New] Added a new game mode: Necromancer!
Enemies that previously had no death effect now revive visible corpses upon death
This mode creates an entirely different strategic system. It’s like a different game entirely.
[New] Added a new game mode: Weakling
Half the inventory space, and an initial weakness to weaponry
[New] There is a new ability (lvl 10) for each class
[New] Added fountains that cause different effects when consumed
[New] Monsters will stop to heal if they need it instead of pursuing you
[New] Blood now accumulates on people who are bleeding and when you walk thru pools of it. This blood is dripped onto the floor leaving a trail as you walk.
[New] Numbers now pop up whenever you take damage or get healed
[New] When you wield a legendary item, you start to glow
[New] There are now 40 achievements in the game
[New] Reworked the buff system so that arbitrary and strange effects are now easily supported. To this end, some spontaneous effect traits are now in the buff window (i.e. pyromaniac)
[New] Picking up with no room in the inventory now causes an alert sound and creates an “Inventory Full” message on the main screen
[New] Magical staves are now in the game. They have a certain number of casts per floor, and recharge upon using a staircase. You can find them in fountains.
[New] Wrote a text parcer for easier coloration of text
[New] There are now separate high score lists for each game mode
[New] Added a sneaky new creature. Have fun with him!
[New] Item effects now have descriptions, which appear upon mouse-over -> finally everything in the game should be properly described
[Change] The log colors have been somewhat standardized to make it more readable:
Sky Blue : ability use text
Red : weapon damage
Pink : attack text
Yellow: item effect
Fuchsia: damage additional effect (e.g. limb damage)
Teal : god effects
Cream Green : character advancement (abilities, levels, exp)
Cream Pink : environment effects (chest, fountain event. ingredient pickup)
Purple : death
Ice : notifications (e.g. alchemy info)
Orange : buff/vapor/fire effects
Green : assorted good things
Gray : fail text (blocking, “cannot target”, etc)
[Chance] Lowered the cooldown on true faith
[Change] Alternate game modes (e.g. hard) are now available from the beginning
[Change] Glowing effects are now particle based
[Change] Poison and Enduring Poison cooldowns are now 25 and 45 respectively
[Change] Scrounger has been reduced from a 50% bonus to a 30% bonus
[Change] Buff damage now does not halt healing, but only pathing.
[Change] Attack text has been minimalized to maximize efficiency: “Kraflab attacks with the broom handle. Ed blocks the attacks.” is now “Kraflab attacks: Ed blocks.”
[Change] Blind had a chance element…now it is definite
[Change] Wrote a text parcer for easier coloration of text
[Change] Every note and message has been colorized/edited
[Change] Increased the exp bonus of expert to 33%
[Change] Champion spawn rate slightly increased
[Change] Mouse-over text now appears adjacent to the corresponding ui window on the right for items, buffs, etc
[Change] Mouse-over text for tiles now appears “on-grid” instead of following the mouse
[Bugfix] The notes were resetting every time options were “applied”
[Bugfix] Collateral ally kills will not cause death effects to target the source
[Bugfix] Enemies will come looking for you after fire bomb damage
[Bugfix] Blocked/etc attacks get the attention of the target
[Bugfix] Cursed fire crash
[Bugfix] RandPoison neglected PoisonProof
[Bugfix] Fixed the log not appending pieces of an entry onto the current line
[Bugfix] Sleep movement
[Bugfix] Trap detection related
[Bugfix] Champion crash
[Bugfix] Z pickup into full inventory deleted items"
"Story
Years ago, the last heroic types failed to defeat Slith, the demonic overlord. Now, all peoples live as mindless slaves to him, and have for many generations. In this great absence of combat, your mind has been left to wander and you have started to realize who Slith is and what has happened to your people. Now you are free from his control and must defeat him once and for all!
Game Concepts
Dungeon
The game is split into floors of a dungeon, which are procedurally generated. There are a few different dungeon generators used, so every now and then you will find a rare/strange layout. When you die in the dungeon your character is finished (permadeath).
Loot
All weapons and armor that you find in the dungeon is equipped by your enemies. There is no unexplained system where rats drop plate armor or where diamond daggers are just lying about all over the place unclaimed. Loot also scales up very quickly from level to level and each floor has a unique set. You aren’t going to find that amazing artifact that suddenly makes the game easy, and likewise you are under no pressure to find it in the first place.
Creatures
Like equipment, there is no creature that appears on two floors. There are also rare creatures that you might never see. No longer will you have to trudge through 5 meaningless rat/goblin/kobold floors to get to the interesting stuff. On the first floors you can expect to find Robotic Snowmen, Dual Wielding Sea Otters, and Crazed Martial Artists. As with gear, the enemies ramp up in difficulty quite quickly.
Character Customization
Skill (meaning skill with melee weapons or dodging etc) is separated from class. The player picks a skill proficiency (e.g. Magic) and then picks a class (e.g. Spacetime Nomad). There is absolutely no exclusivity in any way here, so a melee-elementalist is just as viable as a shield-cultivator. After this, the character can pick traits as they level up to add bonuses, such as faster healing or the ability to set enemies on fire.
Abilities
Weapons can have abilities and effects attached to them, which automatically activate, and there are special abilities the player gains while leveling up, which correspond to character class. Weapons recharge over time, while player abilities recharge in between dungeon floors.
Healing
You can heal yourself up to 50%, but must find certain altars or campsites to fully heal yourself. There is also a system of limb damage in the game. You can heal a wounded leg, but you can’t heal a crippled or dismembered limb without outside aid.
Fatigue
All actions (including walking) increase the player’s fatigue. This acts as some kind of “clock” for the player but it is not overly imposing (if you become too fatigued you will merely pass out from exhaustion). It is nevertheless something that the player must be aware of. Careful play makes it less of a factor. There are two campsites per floor that the player can use to sleep and recover.
Alchemy
The game has an alchemy system as a pseudo-identification system. There are 10 ingredients, which have random alchemical color effects. Experimentation will lead the player to discover ingredients with the same colors and then they can create the corresponding item. Thus you won’t know until you create a ‘Red’ item that it is a fire bomb for instance. Items you find, such as smoke bombs, are always identified. This means you don’t have to spend the first X levels drinking potions of poison to get to the point where you can actually use strategy (as fun as that may be).
Gods
The game has 7 gods, which the player can worship with various effects and complications available.
Plot
There is actually a rich plot in the game, although it is not directly forced on the player. There are little snippets of information on certain levels to provide some kind of insight into what bosses you can expect to find and why they are your enemy.
Graphics/Interface
The game is tile-based, where the tiles all consist of 8×8 resolution. This is enough to give players an idea of what their looking at, but maintains a lack of detail. You can see what equipment an enemy is wearing just by looking at them, so you won’t be surprised that they are wielding a rare item. The interface is designed so that almost everything you need is always visible to you on the screen. You don’t need to know keys to access the inventory or ability list because they are always visible. The game supports mouse and keyboard controls, including pathing and autoexplore.
Inheritance
There is a global tracker across all playthroughs that measures enemy “knowledge”. When you have killed a lot of enemies, you gain a slim combat bonus against them on future characters. This is at the same time not enough to make a huge difference in the game, but enough to feel like all those lost characters at least contributed something.
Note:
The expansion and bonus game modes are now included in a commercial edition of the game, available at kraflab.com for $7
The free edition will still be updated along with the commercial version and 2.0 is a pretty decent improvement on 1.99, so there is more content for you to enjoy even if you don’t want to or can’t afford the commercial edition.
The expansion levels are really a great challenge, and the necromancer mode is like a new game in itself (the strategy is totally different so you kind of mentally start from square one), so if you are enjoying the game and think your experience is worth $7, please consider supporting future development!"
Screens available onsite, the reliable BMT Micro for direct purchasing of the Commercial Edition.
The actual changelog is, well, as good a note to take a crack at going at least semi-commercial on as any:
"[New] The game now has an…epilogue!
3 levels
30 enemies
3 bosses
2 endings
54 weapons
30 armors
[New] There are now two more music tracks
[New] There is now a fancy title screen
[New] There is now a ‘Kraflab’ logo splash
[New] Added a new game mode: Necromancer!
Enemies that previously had no death effect now revive visible corpses upon death
This mode creates an entirely different strategic system. It’s like a different game entirely.
[New] Added a new game mode: Weakling
Half the inventory space, and an initial weakness to weaponry
[New] There is a new ability (lvl 10) for each class
[New] Added fountains that cause different effects when consumed
[New] Monsters will stop to heal if they need it instead of pursuing you
[New] Blood now accumulates on people who are bleeding and when you walk thru pools of it. This blood is dripped onto the floor leaving a trail as you walk.
[New] Numbers now pop up whenever you take damage or get healed
[New] When you wield a legendary item, you start to glow
[New] There are now 40 achievements in the game
[New] Reworked the buff system so that arbitrary and strange effects are now easily supported. To this end, some spontaneous effect traits are now in the buff window (i.e. pyromaniac)
[New] Picking up with no room in the inventory now causes an alert sound and creates an “Inventory Full” message on the main screen
[New] Magical staves are now in the game. They have a certain number of casts per floor, and recharge upon using a staircase. You can find them in fountains.
[New] Wrote a text parcer for easier coloration of text
[New] There are now separate high score lists for each game mode
[New] Added a sneaky new creature. Have fun with him!
[New] Item effects now have descriptions, which appear upon mouse-over -> finally everything in the game should be properly described
[Change] The log colors have been somewhat standardized to make it more readable:
Sky Blue : ability use text
Red : weapon damage
Pink : attack text
Yellow: item effect
Fuchsia: damage additional effect (e.g. limb damage)
Teal : god effects
Cream Green : character advancement (abilities, levels, exp)
Cream Pink : environment effects (chest, fountain event. ingredient pickup)
Purple : death
Ice : notifications (e.g. alchemy info)
Orange : buff/vapor/fire effects
Green : assorted good things
Gray : fail text (blocking, “cannot target”, etc)
[Chance] Lowered the cooldown on true faith
[Change] Alternate game modes (e.g. hard) are now available from the beginning
[Change] Glowing effects are now particle based
[Change] Poison and Enduring Poison cooldowns are now 25 and 45 respectively
[Change] Scrounger has been reduced from a 50% bonus to a 30% bonus
[Change] Buff damage now does not halt healing, but only pathing.
[Change] Attack text has been minimalized to maximize efficiency: “Kraflab attacks with the broom handle. Ed blocks the attacks.” is now “Kraflab attacks: Ed blocks.”
[Change] Blind had a chance element…now it is definite
[Change] Wrote a text parcer for easier coloration of text
[Change] Every note and message has been colorized/edited
[Change] Increased the exp bonus of expert to 33%
[Change] Champion spawn rate slightly increased
[Change] Mouse-over text now appears adjacent to the corresponding ui window on the right for items, buffs, etc
[Change] Mouse-over text for tiles now appears “on-grid” instead of following the mouse
[Bugfix] The notes were resetting every time options were “applied”
[Bugfix] Collateral ally kills will not cause death effects to target the source
[Bugfix] Enemies will come looking for you after fire bomb damage
[Bugfix] Blocked/etc attacks get the attention of the target
[Bugfix] Cursed fire crash
[Bugfix] RandPoison neglected PoisonProof
[Bugfix] Fixed the log not appending pieces of an entry onto the current line
[Bugfix] Sleep movement
[Bugfix] Trap detection related
[Bugfix] Champion crash
[Bugfix] Z pickup into full inventory deleted items"
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