Infra Arcana - An H.P. Lovecraft/Horror based Roguelike

[mankind]

Have no the same problem for Windows 10 and config file doesn't work when I put it manually to the directory in AppData

 

[PrettyDeadman]

By the way, what are the plans for 21? Are any new feature planned? Cursory look at the post-20.0 commits mostly reveal small fixes and code formatting.

 

[buffalo bill]

By the way, what are the plans for 21? Are any new feature planned? Cursory look at the post-20.0 commits mostly reveal small fixes and code formatting.

There's a new class "exorcist", it plays pretty differently from the other classes.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

By the way, what are the plans for 21? Are any new feature planned? Cursory look at the post-20.0 commits mostly reveal small fixes and code formatting.

There's a new class "exorcist", it plays pretty differently from the other classes.

Nice, I thought it was in 20 already!

 

[buffalo bill]

By the way, what are the plans for 21? Are any new feature planned? Cursory look at the post-20.0 commits mostly reveal small fixes and code formatting.

There's a new class "exorcist", it plays pretty differently from the other classes.

Nice, I thought it was in 20 already!

I don't think so, but might be misremembering.

 

[ionic atomic]

Soz since autism forbids updating roguelikes until I win them, I had been stuck playing 19.2 for a while. So far I've almost exclusively rolled with melee war veterans builds and my experience is beginning to make me think that the game is quite unfair. If no medical bags spawn, which happens quite frequently, the run is fucked from the very start. At least that seems to be the case for meathead chars.

Judging by the changelog the game was made easier in the more recent releases but I'm not sure if a melee playstyle is any less of a russian roulette.

On an unrelated note, what are the zuul the gatekeeper's mechanics? Can it be killed for good or does it keep stalking you until the end of the game?

 

[buffalo bill]

Soz since autism forbids updating roguelikes until I win them, I had been stuck playing 19.2 for a while. So far I've almost exclusively rolled with melee war veterans builds and my experience is beginning to make me think that the game is quite unfair. If no medical bags spawn, which happens quite frequently, the run is fucked from the very start. At least that seems to be the case for meathead chars.

Judging by the changelog the game was made easier in the more recent releases but I'm not sure if a melee playstyle is any less of a russian roulette.

On an unrelated note, what are the zuul the gatekeeper's mechanics? Can it be killed for good or does it keep stalking you until the end of the game?

Zuul keeps stalking you. Melee is def the hardest way to win imo, unless you're a sneaky thief backstabber. I find ghouls to be better melee fighters than war veterans in the long run, though they require a different sort of playstyle.

 

[ionic atomic]

That's pretty rough that he can't be krumped for good. Is there any way to cheese a priest's death without triggering the demon?

 

[buffalo bill]

That's pretty rough that he can't be krumped for good. Is there any way to cheese a priest's death without triggering the demon?

Not that I know of. Maybe try casting bless next to a suspected priest? Or getting them to walk through the uncursing water on that one big open level? though I doubt these would work. I wouldn't be surprised if there is some permanent way to deal with zuul that I don't know about, though. If you figure something out, please let me know

 

[Theodora]

This has quickly become one of my favourite roguelikes (i.e. I shill for it even with people who think they're not into @*s). Thank you so much for making it, it's crazy that it's completely free tbh.

I'm too young to be of the generation that found it natural to subsidise simplistic graphics with one's imagination, but IA makes it easy; would take a really conscious effort not to get drawn in by it all. ^^ Great job!

 

[Arthandas]

Man, I played it like a decade ago, I didn't know you kept updating it! Time to jump back in.

 

[Arthandas]

Is anyone here still playing it? I have some questions:

1. When you hit something or get hit yourself, the message will end either with a period, single exclamation mark or a triple exclamation mark. Does it indicate the severity of the blow?
2. Any point in opening tombs? Seems I either get cursed or spawn a ghost...

 

[buffalo bill]

Is anyone here still playing it? I have some questions:

1. When you hit something or get hit yourself, the message will end either with a period, single exclamation mark or a triple exclamation mark. Does it indicate the severity of the blow?
2. Any point in opening tombs? Seems I either get cursed or spawn a ghost...

I haven't played in a minute and can't remember whether the exclamation marks are meaningful (unless are you talking about when you are in a frenzy vs not in a frenzy), but there is def a reason to open tombs. They contain various items sometimes

 

[Gaznak]

The "from-now-64-bit-only"* transition killed this game for me. Shame, it was very atmospheric and well-thought roguelike.

* as well as Rogue's Tale

 

[Arthandas]

The "from-now-64-bit-only"* transition killed this game for me

Imagine not playing one of the best roguelikes because you're stuck in the Bronze Age...

 

[Gaznak]

Imagine not playing one of the best roguelikes because you're stuck in the Bronze Age...

Imagine not caring a big deal about it because instead I have no headache while installing and running hundreds of my favourite good old games on my WinXP machine. Hundreds - vs a couple of roguelikes, even (probably) the bestests of the best in the whole galaxy. What shoud I choose?

I just can't grasp the reasons for such a transition. It's not an AAA-shit, it doesn't require tons of RAM or the smartest hardware to run. I can understand the reasons of, say, Paradox or whoever, when they do like this: hardware companies and software companies are just two hands of a big fat space Money-grabber, so they must move together in time.

But what good is in all of this for a tiny pixel game? Maybe, its AI is so formidable that it requires a big server-like humming metal closet to think about your last turn?

 

[infidel]

But what good is in all of this for a tiny pixel game? Maybe, its AI is so formidable that it requires a big server-like humming metal closet to think about your last turn?

There could be plenty of simple technical reasons. Like, for example, the graphics library you use stops supporting 32-bit in the new versions and the old ones could have some bugs either with hardware or just something annoying. Or the sound library. Or you do this in your spare time and see that 1% of downloads is for 32-bit and just compiling 32-bit version requires you to jump through some hoops and wait for 10 minutes and then package it up, etc, etc. Or your primary dev environment is in Linux and Windows version is itself a hassle, albeit necessary. XP compatibility I'd imagine would be another problem due to DirectX and VC DLL versions. It doesn't matter how simple you graphics are.

 

[buffalo bill]

Has anyone had any luck playing as an exorcist? I can pretty reliably get the character to around level 10 and dungeon depth 20-25ish by focusing early on stealth, dodge, and anti-shock traits, but I always inevitably hit something in the deep dungeons that kills me. Around character level 5-6 I've been specing into the toughness tree to get high fire resistance, so I can cast cleansing fire without killing myself, but there are enough magic-proof enemies that this is not ultimately viable, and I get killed by those invisible enemies that fire endless streams of magic damage at me, or by a hunting horror, or whatever. I have been thinking that an exorcist run is only viable if I get lucky by finding a rod of cloud minds or something, which kinda sucks.

Also wondering if the exorcist has a different end screen than the other classes, since it seems unlikely that the exorcist would make a pact with ungodly evil. Tbh that's why I've been playing again, to find out if the end is different.

 

[index.php]

v22.0 is out!

Downloads:
https://sites.google.com/site/infraarcana/downloads

Changelog:
https://gitlab.com/martin-tornqvist/ia/raw/master/installed_files/release_history.txt

============================================================
= v22.0.0 (May 8, 2023)
============================================================

##############################
# Gameplay
##############################
# Backgrounds and traits
- Added a new background (class) "Flagellant"

# Spells
- Added a new spell domain "Blood" (with some new spells).
- Spells are no longer removed from the spell list when forgotten due to triggering magic traps or using gongs, instead they are marked as "forgotten". Forgotten spells can be recalled by using a "hazy mirror" (new terrain object), or by casting the spell from a manuscript.
- A few particularly powerful spells are "tenebrous", such spells are immediately "forgotten" when they are cast from memory, and cannot be cast until recalled again (by using a mirror, or casting the spell from a manuscript).

# Status effects
- Status effects that will end immediately after the next action are shown as e.g. "Premonition (ending)" in the gui, so that it is possible to know whether it will last until the next player turn or not (previously seeing an active status effect listed could be misleading since it could end before any monster acts).
- The Cursed status effect no longer causes a chance to fail spell casting (but "Doomed" still causes a chance to fail).
- The "Regenerating" status effect no longer heals wounds (it caused bad gameplay design combined with certain Flagellant mechanics).
- Frenzied monsters are now drawn with a red background, and this status is shown in the monster description page.

# Items
- Changed Potion of Invisibility into a "tenebrous" spell instead.

# Melee combat
- It is now possible to aim melee weapons with the "f" key to choose a position to attack.
- Some weapons have "long reach" (has a range of 2 instead of 1), attacking positions further away can be done by pressing "f".
- Pitchforks and the Staff of the Pharaohs now have long reach (pitchforks no longer give a bonus to evasion). A new unique weapon for the Flagellant also has long reach.
- Weapons no longer have a chance to break when the player does a melee attack while cursed.

# Traps
- Traps are always destroyed after they are triggered (i.e. they can only ever be triggered once).
- It is no longer possible to disarm a trap that has started triggering ("I hear a click...").
- Magic traps (strange shape on the ground) may now spawn anywhere, previously they were not allowed to spawn next to blocking terrain, which made these trap types rare to encounter.
- Magic traps are always revealed, i.e. there is no need to detect them.
- When a magic trap triggers there is now a sound, and a flash of light on the map.
- Added item "Bone Charm" that grants spell resistance for a few turns when activated, and dispels all seen magic traps.
- Occultist characters no longer have the ability to dispel magic traps, instead they start with a number of Bone Charms.
- All magic traps now have an effect when triggered by a monster (previously most of them would not do anything at all).
- Added more magic trap types.
- Dart traps, spear traps, and alarm traps now always trigger instantly when a creature steps on them.
- Alarm traps now emit a sound with "global" range, instead of just a "loud" sound (although creatures with short hearing range such as Worm Masses still need to be very near to hear the sound).
- Removed all gas trap types (confusion gas etc)

# Terrain objects
- Instead of metal/doors levers there are now warded doors that can be unwarded by crystals. The difference is that warded doors can be opened at any time like regular doors, but if the player does so without unwarding it first they will receive a penalty, and miss out on a reward (XP bonus for using the crystal).
- Metal doors can now be opened and closed regularly (there are no levers). This is an advantage for the player, as metal doors can never be bashed open.
- Reverted Pylons to make them always active again (they start permanently activated, instead of being activated
by bumping them).
- There is now a chance to get stuck in mud (to differentiate it more from water).

# Monsters
- Added more monsters
- Ravens have a melee attack cooldown time to make them less deadly

# Other
- Added a command in the trait selection menu to show information about the current game, such as character information or inventory (intended to help in choosing trait to pick).
- In the character info screen, knowledge about rods and devices is now also shown (not just potions and manuscripts), and there is information about how much shock the player has received from different sources (seeing monsters, using items, etc).
- In the game over summary screen there is now also information about item knowledge, inventory, and shock received from different sources.
- Current turn number is now displayed in the gui.
- Fountains and Monoliths are now marked on the minimap.

##############################
# User interface
##############################
# Graphics
- Hardware acceleration is now used for rendering (if possible), also added an option to force software rendering.
- It is now possible to set video scaling higher than 2x (3x and 4x are possible as well).
- On first startup, the game tries to set an appropriate video scale factor based on the user resolution.

# Window handling
- Video scaling is now also possible in windowed mode.
- The game no longer tries to determine if the window is large enough, any size is allowed even if all text will not fit.

# Design
- Changed the tile set size to 20x0 (from 24x24), most of the tiles are simply cropped since they had a lot of redundant black space around them, and a few tiles have been slightly reworked.
- Added a tiny 7x13 font, intended for use with scaled up graphics.
- By default, the game runs in fullscreen, using the 7x13 font, and tries to set an appropriate video scale factor (e.g. 2x for 1920x1080).
- Added a flashing animation when a creature is hit by a melee attack.
- When the game asks for a number (e.g. number of items to drop) this is now done in a popup screen instead.
- When entering text or numbers, the underscore cursor is blinking
- The explosion area hint when aiming explosives is drawn as a blended overlay instead.
- Chasms are now drawn with a dark blue checkered rectangle instead of a blue dot (if using tiles).
- Changed color of grates to gray, to clarify that they are made of metal (and not wood)
- Improved the tiles for stairs down (thanks to Andy Walker) and magic traps.
- Added more sound effects (thanks Andy Walker for various gate sounds, item container opening sounds, and a horn sound).
- Added sound effects for opening/closing/bashing metal doors.

# Convenience / quality of life features
- Made some improvements to how the game represents multiple things in the same position, mainly that a different background color is used when there are multiple corpses, or when a corpse is hidden under an item.
- The warning when aiming firearms outside effective range is now printed (with warning color) inline with the aiming info, instead of a y/n question when firing the weapon.
- Split the options menu into several sub-menus (Video, Audio, Input, Gameplay).
- Made some changes to reduce the risk of registering key presses when the game window regains focus (e.g. accidentally doing a melee attack due to the game registering a tab press when alt-tabbing back to the game)
- The user data location is now printed in the main options menu.
- By default, selecting a menu entry with a letter key only jumps to that location, and a second press (or enter) is required to select it. This behavior only happens in menus that have descriptions for the different entries. Added an option to always immediately select entries when pressing letter keys (the old way).
- When carry weight is high enough that becoming weakened would cause the weight to go over 100% (i.e. at 85%) the current carry weight percentage is drawn with (tinted) yellow color, orange at 100% or above (staggering), and red at 125% and above (immobile).

##############################
# Modability
##############################
- Monster definitions are now to a large extent data driven - it is now possible to add new monsters purely by updating monsters.xml (removed monster ID enum values from the source code).

##############################
# Fixes
##############################
- Fixed a problem with the game time system, that caused slow creatures to act slightly more often and fast/very fast creatures to act slightly less often than they were supposed to (especially noticeable when kiting a slow monster, since it would occasionally get unexpected extra moves).
- Attacking a monster that is delayed by moving into liquid no longer allows them to act immediately.
- The names of some ambient sound clip files were calculated incorrectly, resulting in a few ambient sounds not being loaded/used.
- Kicking locked wooden chests would print the message "I kick the locked wooden chest! I kick the lid. The lock resists." - removed the redundant part "I kick the lid".
- Kicking chests caused extra rolls for sprains in some cases (so the risk of a sprain was doubled, and player could get double sprains).
- Fixed a bug where the player killing themselves with an Incinerator would freeze the game.
- The gas mask duration was not stored when saving the game (it was reset to the default length when loading a save file).
- And many more minor bug fixes...

 

[fuzz]

Time to go insane again, thank you non.

- It is now possible to set video scaling higher than 2x (3x and 4x are possible as well).

Yes!

 

[Arthandas]

 

[Dadd]

How do you deal with Khagas as Invoker with low hit chance for ranged and melee weapons?

 

[Dadd]

non don't know if you're still reading this thread, but what do you think about giving Flagellant an ability to attack itself, or giving the scourge weapon an ability to target its wielder when attacking?

 

[Arthandas]

non don't know if you're still reading this thread, but what do you think about giving Flagellant an ability to attack itself, or giving the scourge weapon an ability to target its wielder when attacking?

Just ask him on discord, he's active there.

 

[Dadd]

I don't use discord, so whoever agrees with my last post, please feel free to mention it on discord.