Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos - sequel set in a single dungeon

[luj1]

Shit art but heard the gameplay was good

 

[Darth Canoli]

If you want a rogue-like with good gameplay, play Cardinal Quest 2, nothing i've played is as good as this.

Of course, there is the unlockable classes and skills but i'd advise to cheat unlock them and get straight to the fun part.

There's even a class/specialisation that only gives you xp for avoiding enemies and none if you hurt (or kill i'm not sure) even one.

ADOM dungeons are just a borefest, there's a lot of skills and i like what they tried to achieve but they fell way too short and this 3D garbage isn't going to help.

 

[Infinitron]

All player characters will have a very specific reason to venture into such a foreboding, grim and dangerous area. And all of them have to do with what faction you have joined, or been forced to join.

Will you seek power with Brannalbin's guidance? Turn mercenary for Gilah? Or seek to resurrect Andor Drakon himself?

Who will you fight for in the Caverns of Chaos?

 

[Bah]

That video was pretty lame. Should have just been communicated as pure-text, since there was no gameplay content being shown.

 

[Infinitron]

Learn how to build your own character, and what influence factions have on your skill choices! Or disregard all that complicated stuff and just play one of our pregenerated characters!

 

[Farewell into the night]

O, just realized something. Ultimate ADOOM lol.

 

[Infinitron]

Have a look at the new Minor ChAoS temple, the Worm Tunnels and Lake Gloom in our latest update! Coming very soon to an Alpha near you.

 

[Accolades]

Disappointing that most of the mechanics seem relatively unchanged, ie ranged attacks and magic don't have any weaknesses and melee is for retards who like to get paralyzed(deth), corrupted and even stat drained.

 

[Infinitron]

Early Access on February 11th:



https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/1266820/view/2887334058526002786

Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos entering Steam Early Access February 11, 2021!
Ultimate ADOM Offers a Deep and Rewarding Experience Perfect for Vets of the Genre and Newcomers Alike

Together with developer Team ADOM, we at Assemble Entertainment announced today the rogue-like dungeon crawler Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos, heading to Steam Early Access on February 11, 2021, for Windows PC, MacOS, and Linux.

Ultimate ADOM is a traditionally-inspired reimaging of the beloved genre and features endless procedurally generated dungeons, monsters, and crafting options, allowing for ultimate replayability.




Evil has been vanquished. Peace has returned to Ancardia, and the peasants dare to dream once more of prosperity. Seven very different factions vie for control over the cataclysmic aftermath left behind by Andor Drakon’s defeat. And somewhere, deep down in an inhospitable cave, chaos is stirring again. Pick up your blade, prepare your spells, check your daggers and ready your bow, for you are about to enter the ominous Caverns of Chaos. Choose your allegiance carefully, for you are nothing more than an expendable asset to the masters you choose.

Fight for a mercenary's glory and a hefty coin purse, for the justice of a community in decline, for the light of purity, or even for chaos itself. Every choice you make will determine how you approach the ever-changing Caverns of Chaos laid out before you.

“To be the person who originated a game with an active and dedicated community since 1994 makes me unbelievably proud," said Thomas Biskup, Creator of ADOM. "After 25 years we will continue the story of ADOM and bring that experience into the modern realm. Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos offers plenty of depth for seasoned vets of the genre but with all the tweaks, options, and quality of life adjustments that ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for the contemporary player.”

Features of Ultimate ADOM Include:

• Depth for Days — Choose from a huge selection of classes, genders, races, and allegiances to mix and match the perfect build for your playstyle
  
• A Proper Roguelike — Procedurally generated levels, monsters, and items ensure no playthrough is the same
  
• More Spells Than a Hogwarts Textbook — With multiple specialized schools of magic and more than 100 spells to choose from, dungeon-diving wizards have plenty at their disposal to get them through the darkness
  
• That’s a Nice Arm You’ve Got There... — Take the severed limbs of your enemies and graft them to your own body, after all, more hands = more weapons to hold
  
• A Jack of All Trades — With more than 80 skill trees, aspiring dungeon delvers have plenty of choices when it comes to crafting the ultimate warrior, and then there are the dozens of secret skills waiting to be discovered!
  
• Go Modern or Keep it Classic — Modern graphics or traditional ASCII, the choice is yours! Players can also toggle between 3D mode and top-down view.

 

[Sacibengala]

GOG When?

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.ultimate-adom.com/index...mble-entertainment-and-a-really-cool-trailer/

EARLY ACCESS, ASSEMBLE ENTERTAINMENT AND A REALLY COOL TRAILER!

Friends, Mercenaries and Ratlings!

We are incredibly happy to announce a few things as we’re rushing into an exciting future.

Check it out here!

Back from watching it? Alright, you might have noticed two things there.

The obvious one is that we’re now committed to an actual date. On February the 11th next year (that’s 2021), you will be able to purchase Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos on Steam in Early Access.

This raises a few questions: Why Steam? Steam allows us to update and distribute the game clients for Windows, MacOS and Linux from a central point, which is absolutely crucial for the many, many updates we are going to push out during Early Access. It is very possible there will be other digital places where you can get hold of Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos during Early Access (and certainly after), but Steam is the one we can definitely confirm right now.
Okay, so why Early Access? The Alpha has been a wealth of information and feedback so far! We feel like the game is starting to feel actually fun for a variety of playing styles now. Now we want to make it accessible to a larger audience who can get their input in during the development stage.

The second thing you might have noticed is that we’re now part of the Assemble Entertainment family! We’re still indie, though, despite having a publisher. We just have them help us generate the reach and assistance we need to bring you Ultimate ADOM in the quality we’re enjoy showing off.

February it is, friends. The Caverns of Chaos will never be the same again, if they ever were.

 

[Infinitron]

This might be fun:

We wish you a merry Christmas. Even those of you who consider us kowtowing to certain communities, those of you who hate our ASCII mode and those of you who really, really want to see diagonal movement in the game.

 

[Vapid]

>a potential customer is pissed because of alphabet soup agenda in the options
>game dev makes fun of said individual
>game dev uses the fail-proof "if you don't like it, don't buy it' comment
>game sales like shit
>"where did we go wrong?"

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant game developers are. Instead of focusing on catering to the core audience they waste their time on collecting brownie points for twitter-gestapo. Why even bother, Caverns of Chaos looks like a joke anyway.

 

[Trojan_generic]

Stopped reading here:

0.1.3 – 20. May 2020
Mac-players (both of you) rejoice! There is a standalone version for you now.

 

[Tyranicon]

This might be fun:

............


Why.

 

[Gerrard]

>game dev uses the fail-proof "if you don't like it, don't buy it' comment
>game sales like shit
>"FUCKING GAMERS REEEEEE"

Fixed.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Evil has been vanquished. Peace has returned to Ancardia, and the peasants dare to dream once more of prosperity.

I keep looking at the gameplay art ....

 

[Infinitron]

As we're getting closer to Early Access, there's still a lot of content missing in Ultimate ADOM.

Have a sneak preview at Divine spells! Poison enemies with plant-based magic, push them around with the wind and weather domain or cure and cause wounds with the new Priest skills.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.ancientdomainsofmystery.com/2021/01/ultimate-adom-vs-adom-classic-new-skill.html

Ultimate ADOM vs ADOM Classic - The new skill system explained



As we're nearing Early Access for Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos, we want to shine a light on the different approaches to game design for old ADOM players. What can you expect to see in the sequel? What are the changes to the game concept you all love and play?

In this mini-series, we want to highlight the differences between the original ADOM and its sequel, and what the thought processes was behind the decisions.

If you want to see a specific question addressed, drop a note! Yes, diagonal movement is going to be answered.

Why are there only five classes? Considering that ADOM has 22 classes, that's a net loss of 17 classes. Quite significant, if taken at face value.

First of all, we're heading to Early Access for Ultimate ADOM for a very simple reason: It's not done yet. There'll be more classes incoming, though the final number is still up for debate.

Second, and more importantly, classes in Ultimate ADOM are not like classes in ADOM. Let's have a look at Alynna the elven archer up there. They can Sneak, Butcher things and Cast spells among other standard actions from the very beginning - because they decided to spend their skill points in these trees:

Grafting


As an Elf, Alynna receives additional skill points in arcane skills. The elf decided to put their arcane talent into Grafting, to make the best use of the many, many corpses they will leave behind. A different elf archer might have invested into Hydromancy to improve their defense or hurl icy bolts at their enemies. An investment into Animancy might have been worthwhile too - turning the very dungeon around you into allies, allowing your archer to keep their distance as they rain down missile attacks at the monsters.

There will be new arcane categories in the coming weeks, so it's not just a choice between these four schools, but many more.

Archery


The Archer class will receive extra skill points to be distributed to missile weapons. Right now we have a selection of Bows (Alynna's choice), Crossbows and Slings in the game, but there are plans for including throwing weapons, too. There are advantages of specializing in a single category of missile weapons, as this makes unlocking powerful skills and boosts more easy. A different archer might decide to spread evenly between crossbows and slings, though, remaining versatile and ready to deal with monsters that are more resistant to being peppered with pointy sticks.

Stealth



Alynna has also opted to invest a point into the Stealth skill. They could have become stronger and faster, improve their chances for loot from monsters and chests or invest points into literacy to cast spells from scrolls, but a sneaking archer knowing where the nearby traps are and dealing extra damage while being hidden is a very powerful combination.

And that's just the archer class. Let's look at Fira, a female human wizard. She specialized in Animancy (turning objects into companions) and Hydromancy for attack and protection. As a Human, she occasionally gets extra skill points to distribute wherever she wants, and she decided to put some into Literacy and Crossbows - remaining dangerous at range even when out of power points.

Instead of having Necromancer, Elementalist and Wizard classes, there's only Wizards now - but they offer so much more customization than ever before.



So, yes. Right now, there's only five classes - but no Wizard, no Fighter, no Adventurer, no Priest and no Archer needs ever be the same.

We can't wait to read about your favorite combinations and the adventures they will encounter!

 

[Infinitron]

Looks like they're using the original ADOM blog to try to sell this game to grognards: https://www.ancientdomainsofmystery.com/2021/01/ultimate-adom-vs-adom-classic.html

Ultimate ADOM vs ADOM Classic - Complexity and Details

Some of the comments we've been receiving about Ultimate ADOM is that it seems to lack complexity, and it's easy to see where that perception might come from. Unlike ADOM's multiple dungeons and expansive overworld, in UA there is a single dungeon (though with several branches both optional and mandatory), and we have gamepad support.

Being seemingly confined in a single, deadly environment and being more accessible when it comes to controls does not limit the complexity of the game however. Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos' underlying logic engine allows it to simulate things that have never been possible with ADOM.

Play with fire



Interact with anything. Extinguish torches and candles, light them (if your character has the tools, the skill or the appropriate magic) or destroy them with raw physical rage. Open fire has a variety of uses not fully implemented yet, but which will come when elemental combination effects hit our Early Access roadmap.



Bumping into burning braziers will cause the oil to spill to neighboring spaces depending on the direction of the bump, potentially setting poorly positioned enemies aflame. Please note that monsters will occasionally also stumble into these things, making fighting near braziers a dangerous but potentially rewarding tactical choice - unlike in ADOM Classic, monsters now have access to exactly the same skills and actions as the player character.

Potions

Like in ADOM, potions can still be used in a variety of creative ways apart from drinking them. For example, you can pour orange juice into a river or coat an iron maiden with poison if that is what you wish to do, because Ultimate ADOM is not going to stop you from doing that. You will even be able to coat your weapon with a healing potion, in case an enemy disarms you, picks up your blade and decides to pummel you with it. It's all about being prepared, and while these are all instances which had to be hard-coded in ADOM, UA's logic engine will just allow you to do all of this because it's possible to simply interact with all the objects in the game.

There's one major change though - we will not have any "unidentified" potions or scrolls anymore. While some players enjoyed the challenge of finding out over and over again if a certain potion is poison or healing this session, most did not enjoy experimenting over and over again and we decided that in the Caverns of Chaos, potions are clearly labelled this time.

Grafting, Limbs and meaningful critical hits

Here's something that also hasn't been possible in ADOM, and best of all: It's already in game when we hit Early Access on February the 11th. While every character (at least, for now) starts out with two arms, two legs, a torso and a head, they do not need to remain so for long. Powerful enemies skilled in wielding bladed weapons (especially axes) may score a lucky hit, sending limbs flying.


Additionally, some characters specializing in this may graft monster bodyparts to themselves, because what's better than wielding two axes? Wielding four axes, one for each arm you could eventually run around with. Found a really cool helmet but it's too small for your regular head? Kill a kobold, butcher its corpse and graft its head onto your shoulders. You now have a slot for wearing a smaller helmet.

Animate everything

Playing a White Necromancer in ADOM was quite difficult, because clay was hard to come by. The Animancy school of magic in Ultimate ADOM will allow your character to animate anything she desires. Spare weapons, coffins, corpses or even the walls of the dungeon itself - as long as you have enough power points spare, a wizard specializing in Animancy will never truly have to be alone.



You might even cut off a minotaur's arm in combat, animate it and then leave it to fight its original owner if you are feeling particularly cruel.

So while the dungeon's scope itself is a bit smaller than all the different locations of ADOM Classic (for now, at least, because developing roguelikes is something one does not simply stop just because it's feature complete), we feel we have added all the fun, complex bits we couldn't add to ADOM due to the code simply not allowing for it. And there's a lot more to come!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Why did their heads and hands have to be BOBBLE HEAD SIZED?

If they had more regular proportions they wouldn't be so comedic. Still, the gameplay wasn't the worse I've seen. I'd give it a spin if it was on GOG.

I started to wonder the difference between rougelike vs rougelite. Hmmm... and I saw some other shit I'd give a try if they were on gog. Yeah, not rouge TB BOO HOO.
The Binding of Isaac series
Hades
The Legend of Bum-bo

 

[Infinitron]

More apologetics: https://www.ancientdomainsofmystery.com/2021/02/ultimate-adom-vs-adom-classic-overworld.html

Ultimate ADOM vs ADOM Classic - The Overworld (and lack thereof)



One of the main points of criticism is that Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos seems to be much smaller in scope that ADOM is. After all, there's a huge surface world with multiple dungeons, quests ranging from saving puppies from deadly caves to befriending water dragons with multiple choices along the way.

Caverns of Chaos starts right at the entrance to the titular caverns, with the characters sent into the infested depths for a reason between them and their faction choices.

Few people remember ADOM actually started the same way - initially, it was all just one big dungeon with monsters becoming more and more powerful the longer you spent in a level to force you moving onwards. It featured no beings to talk with, no story lines and just an ever-growing amount of complex things you could do. Skills like Herbalism made it into the game long before any thoughts of a surface world existed!

We're not going the same way with Ultimate ADOM. There are plots, and stories, and factions to work with and appease or slaughter and loot. Quest chains will require player decisions and change the flow of the game accordingly. ADOM has a lot of different endings: Slay the evil God of ChAoS, usurp his throne or even destroy the universe.

While we feel it's okay to spoiler a game that's been out for nearly thirty years now, we're going to keep quiet about the different endings you will be able to achieve in Ultimate ADOM - but there also will be different ones, including some which require a bit of outside-the-box thinking and experimentation. It will be possible to end the game by simply slaughtering everything if your character is sufficiently powerful and warded, though this may not be the most satisfying and valuable ending.

While Classic ADOM is a game focused deeply on exploring a large variety of dungeons and exploring, we want to put Ultimate ADOM's emphasis on cool gameplay mechanics. I wrote about the complexity already in detail last week, but there are also a lot of different environments to explore in the Caverns of Chaos! Players of our Alpha might have already discovered the Minor Chaos Temple located somewhere near the kobold caves, or the strange and deadly waters of Lake Gloom.

During Early Access, more locations will be revealed and implemented! Rumors of a strange temple populated by frog-like creatures featuring weird mind powers float around, and Rolf is sending out warriors to locate the remaining dwarfkin of Dwarftown somewhere deep below. A powerful slithering creature with snakes for hair has made her lair somewhere in the furthest depth, a mad alchemist is using the nearby source of ChAoS to empower their mad experiments and a very dangerous necromancer is using the many corpses these caves produce for his own nefarious purpose.

All of these areas - and many more - will feature questlines that are local or affect the whole dungeon and your faction's main story. So there is plenty to explore, and not everything will be available to visit every time you venture into the dungeon.

That's not to say there will never be a surface world. We roughly know where we want to go during Early Access, but the road definitely won't end there. While the area around the Drakkalor Chain has been corrupted, shattered and made thoroughly inhospitable due to the events happening in ADOM, there may still be plenty of things to do for an aspiring hero. But that's something for much later!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So... possible DLC & expansions depending on ratings & sales?

 

[getter77]

ADOM Ultimate has been a roughly 3 phase and/or aspect project since it was announced---Dive, World, Doings in tangential Parallel.

Full confidence it'll get there in the grand scheme of things so long as Early Access proper's progress is robust and lively enough.

 

[Infinitron]

Oh, slight delay: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1266820/view/3021321221512379820

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos Entering Early Access February 18th, 2021!
New Screenshots available for rogue-like dungeon crawler Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos!

Together with developer Team ADOM we announced today that our “modern-meets-classic” rogue-like dungeon crawler Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos will enter Early Access on February 18th, 2021 for Windows PC, Mac, and Linux via ye olde Steam platform.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos blends a traditional roguelike formula — think procedurally generated levels, monsters, and items — with modern trappings, providing a challenging, addictive experience that encourages experimentation and replayability.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos returns players to the world of Ancardia, currently enjoying a rather suspicious lull in cataclysmic events.
Unfortunately, something is ‘a stirrin below, and it’s up to you to head down into the darkness and see what sort of evil is brewing. Luckily for you, there is an endless combination of spells, weapons, and abilities to get you through the dungeon safely... perhaps not the first time, or the second time, but definitely at some point.

Bringing together the past and the present, Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos contains all the hallmarks of the genre but with contemporary stylings and additions for current hardware, like a modern user-interface and support for controllers. Players can also choose between a slick new graphic mode and the more classic ASCII look, on top of the ability to toggle between 3D and top-down view.

New Screenshots

Key Features of Ultimate ADOM:

• Just One More Run: Thanks to a staggering combination of procedurally generated levels and plenty of items, monsters, spells, classes, genders, and races, the old adage “Only one more and I’ll go to bed” has never been more true
  
• Crafting and... Grafting?: Crafting is useful, but why waste all those severed limbs lying around? Grafting allows players to put these previously useless hunks of meat to use by attaching them to their own body, which really opens things up for a (multiple) hands-on approach
  
• More spells than a Hogwarts Spellbook: With a whopping 100+ spells to utilize spread across multiple specializations, dungeon-delvers have a deep well of thaumaturgic therapy to draw from and use against their foes. Possess your enemies, summon a support demon, or stick with the classics and simply blast those pesky monsters in the face with a fireball.
  
• Different Skills for Different Situations: With more branches than an 18th-century nobleman’s family tree, the 80+ skills — and secret, hidden, mystery skills — ensure more than enough build variety and experimentation for even the most discerning roguelike veteran.

Developed by Team ADOM and published by Assemble Entertainment, Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos will launch on Windows PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam Early Access on February 18, 2021.

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