The Codex of Roguelikes

[Virtua Sinner]

I think that's a matter of taste. I'm kind of partial to the Viean religion, since her restrictions on killing are a little easier to work with than some others. I'm big on Warlocks or Necromancers since in any RPG I like having summoned monsters to fight for me. Dog Man Rogues worshipping Allumas start strong because their initial Scavenging skill feeds their Unique Ability, and Allumas' miracles and likes/dislikes also reinforce. And any of the weapon specialist classes (Archers, Woodsmen, Swordsmen, Spearmen, Tribesmen) can have an easy time in combat on the low levels, but get trickier to play in the late game.

Things for "newbs" to avoid: class/race combos where a Skill tree that can be increased with 1 point is restricted by race (like Half-orc Mages, for instance). Also, I find it easiest to play classes where General skills cost 1 point, since Traveling skill is high on my priority list.

There'll be a new update along in a few days, with a bit of new content and fixing some bugs. Minor bug in the Wither spell, just so you know, and I think Gambling skill is currently broken - too powerful. But I've got it fixed for the next update.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Sword of the Stars: The Pit is pretty good, better than I expected it to be.

 

[Kabas]

I think i am doing pretty good so far for my second attempt. My first attempt could be seen here http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/screenshot-thread.72409/page-902#post-5749441

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Getting back to DCSS, I'm somewhat concerned about the way the developers evolve the game (iron out mechanics, systems etc, or otherwise 'define' it), specifically, very noticeable is the fact that they continue to 'simplify' it, making it increasingly less like beasts like Angband or Nethack, stripping it of any superfluous and obstructive features that hinder player progressing through the game, making gameflow more and more streamlined so that it would be more difficult for player to get bored or tired and it wouldn't feel like game is unnecessarily long or drawn-out. They are not making the game outright easier or less challenging (for encounters don't seem to have become less deadly), but rather making it more bearable and less tedious to play I think, so that it would be easier for you to come back and finish your playthroughs again and again. While I totally understand the purpose and reasoning of these changes, I'm still somewhat upset that game is gradually losing its obscure and threatening feel it once had to it (probably the fact that I've played it a lot and completed it more than just once has something to do with it, too), it doesn't feel like an ultimate adventure anymore, but more like a curious puzzle or a game like chess. (I know it all sounds arbitrary and subjective, but still)

By the way, are there DCSS forks any of you could particularly recommend?

 

[Tito Anic]

I'm still somewhat upset that game is gradually losing its obscure and threatening feel it once had to it

Did you play Adom?

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Did you play Adom?

Not much, but I really enjoyed the sense of not knowing anything about it, discovering its features, making fatal mistakes for the first time and learning from it etc.

 

[Tito Anic]

Not much, but I really enjoyed the sense of not knowing anything about it, discovering its features, making fatal mistakes for the first time and learning from it etc.

Thats why i asked: i think it would suit your taste well.

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Thats why i asked: i think it would suit your taste well.

Yes thank you, one of the reasons though I haven't played it more so far is that the steam adom looks apparently unfinished and messy (but they're getting close), and has got neither proper console version nor graphical one (as I said it's unfinished and has bits of 'ascii' art in it which I find disturbing, it just doesn't feel right or comfortable for me, probably I will try to overcome this when I get more time for gaming).

 

[Tito Anic]

Yes thank you, one of the reasons though I haven't played it more so far is that the steam adom looks apparently unfinished and messy (but they're getting close), and has got neither proper console version nor graphical one (as I said it's unfinished and has bits of 'ascii' art in it which I find disturbing, it just doesn't feel right or comfortable for me, probably I will try to overcome this when I get more time for gaming).

In what version did you find "unfinished bits"? I play free tiles version and i did not encounter any artefacts.

 

[getter77]

Getting back to DCSS, I'm somewhat concerned about the way the developers evolve the game (iron out mechanics, systems etc, or otherwise 'define' it), specifically, very noticeable is the fact that they continue to 'simplify' it, making it increasingly less like beasts like Angband or Nethack, stripping it of any superfluous and obstructive features that hinder player progressing through the game, making gameflow more and more streamlined so that it would be more difficult for player to get bored or tired and it wouldn't feel like game is unnecessarily long or drawn-out. They are not making the game outright easier or less challenging (for encounters don't seem to have become less deadly), but rather making it more bearable and less tedious to play I think, so that it would be easier for you to come back and finish your playthroughs again and again. While I totally understand the purpose and reasoning of these changes, I'm still somewhat upset that game is gradually losing its obscure and threatening feel it once had to it (probably the fact that I've played it a lot and completed it more than just once has something to do with it, too), it doesn't feel like an ultimate adventure anymore, but more like a curious puzzle or a game like chess. (I know it all sounds arbitrary and subjective, but still)

By the way, are there DCSS forks any of you could particularly recommend?

XCrawl and HellCrawl have made decent strides in the contemporary past, though perhaps the one with the best shot at momentum of late all things considered is GoonCrawl. Circus Animals variation is still the most Distinct in terms of massive changes, but has been ages since it last updated.

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Yes thank you, one of the reasons though I haven't played it more so far is that the steam adom looks apparently unfinished and messy (but they're getting close), and has got neither proper console version nor graphical one (as I said it's unfinished and has bits of 'ascii' art in it which I find disturbing, it just doesn't feel right or comfortable for me, probably I will try to overcome this when I get more time for gaming).

I meant that in-game menu (inventory scr

In what version did you find "unfinished bits"? I play free tiles version and i did not encounter any artefacts.

I meant specifically that in-game menu where your inventory, character sheet screen etc are shown, it seems to have remained there untouched since the times of kickstarter prerelease (alpha, beta, or whatever it was called) and early steam version and looks really out of place with the other UI systems being fully graphical, are they going to change or replace it? There also weren't customized player character look and animation until recently etc. Not sure about feature-completeness, but visually it looks rather a work-in-progress to me. Do they have an updated console/ascii version?

 

[Serus]

Sword of the Stars: The Pit is pretty good, better than I expected it to be.

I like it myself but it has some really serious flaws. It's too long for its own good and all the levels are basically the same. They become bigger as you progress and change colours but other than that, they're all the same. The only exceptions are the biomes but they're not very interesting themselves. And the final level. Samey levels combined with too many too large levels = very bad design choice. The game originally, before the DLCs, iirc had less levels (30 vs 40 now ?) which was a much more reasonable and balanced amount.
SotS: The Pit with more interesting and varied (and possibly less) levels would be a good roguelike but like it is in reality - it's an acquired taste.

 

[Tito Anic]

Do they have an updated console/ascii version?

YES

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

That's an curious note, especially because I remember my character was *sick* before he died. So I have to ask: was it the consequence of being both sick and paralyzed or it's a mere coincidence that such a description was produced? Though it seems that Garakh died specifically due to losing all his hp (it was -11 before game ended), so apparently it was not *choking* that killed him (but getting hit by an enemy), and this is just a 'flavour' message. Still, I like how careless and cynical it sounds.


And I remember in Nethack it was possible to choke to death on your food if you've eaten too much.

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Is it working now? (I uploaded the image to another hosting site)

The screenshot was taken from ADOM 3.2.something

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

That's an curious note, especially because I remember my character was *sick* before he died. So I have to ask: was it the consequence of being both sick and paralyzed or it's a mere coincidence that such a description was produced? Though it seems that Garakh died specifically due to losing all his hp (it was -11 before game ended), so apparently it was not *choking* that killed him (but getting hit by an enemy), and this is just a 'flavour' message. Still, I like how careless and cynical it sounds.


And I remember in Nethack it was possible to choke to death on your food if you've eaten too much.

http://ancardia.wikia.com/wiki/Paralyzed

Finally, paralysis can lead to a very specific instant death if the PC suffers a sickness fit. Supposedly a paralyzed PC cannot control his/her muscles to force vomit out and fatally chokes on it.

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Poor Garakh. Such an ugly death.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

That's an curious note, especially because I remember my character was *sick* before he died. So I have to ask: was it the consequence of being both sick and paralyzed or it's a mere coincidence that such a description was produced? Though it seems that Garakh died specifically due to losing all his hp (it was -11 before game ended), so apparently it was not *choking* that killed him (but getting hit by an enemy), and this is just a 'flavour' message. Still, I like how careless and cynical it sounds.


And I remember in Nethack it was possible to choke to death on your food if you've eaten too much.

http://ancardia.wikia.com/wiki/Paralyzed

Finally, paralysis can lead to a very specific instant death if the PC suffers a sickness fit. Supposedly a paralyzed PC cannot control his/her muscles to force vomit out and fatally chokes on it.

This is how a lot of opioid addicts die, they pass out on their back and choke on their own vomit.
Good realism.

 

[CryptRat]

OK I'm in love with Demon now.

I tend to hate AI-controlled party members (controlling only 25% or the characters you're meant to control does not make any sense) but the fact is I'm having a lot of fun, if you like roguelikes as well as Megami Tensei games I think you can give it a try.

 

[getter77]

It helps that the last recent update was a pretty substantial one---though to be fair, that's about how it goes with every update the game has received thus far on the whole becoming better and better.

 

[desocupado]

OK I'm in love with Demon now.

I tend to hate AI-controlled party members (controlling only 25% or the characters you're meant to control does not make any sense) but the fact is I'm having a lot of fun, if you like roguelikes as well as Megami Tensei games I think you can give it a try.

It looks interesting, but the sprites are so goddamn tiny. Everything is tiny nowadays, I can't see shit out of this laptop screen.

 

[CryptRat]

Did it!

I don't know if there's only one exit, in which case I got very lucky to find it (there are more than one teleporter from one floor to another so there may be several exits). From floor 18 I rushed to the first teleporter to the next floor I could find because I thought the game had only 20 levels but it has 23 floors (the description says 23 but I thought the 3 levels from the Anomaly which appears in every game were counted in the 23) so at the end I was under-levelled to the point that if I didn't have an item which teleports you to a visible location I would certainly have died with the exit within sight.

I'm taking a break from the game right now but it's not impossible that I make a Let's play someday.

 

[Tito Anic]

Bros, playing Angband. My toon is kicking Cirith Ungols ass but is to afraid to attack zombie orc, what to do?

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Bros, playing Angband. My toon is kicking Cirith Ungols ass but is to afraid to attack zombie orc, what to do?

Is SIL a viable alternative to pure Angband?

 

[Damned Registrations]

Bros, playing Angband. My toon is kicking Cirith Ungols ass but is to afraid to attack zombie orc, what to do?

Pretty sure there are potions for that. Boldness or berserk or something. Not an angband expert. Obviously rings of fearlessness are a thing too.