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Del Duio
Born in a Bowling Alley
Registered
29/07/2005
Points
1078
       
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20th November, 2012 at 20/11/2012 22:18:33 -
And it's actually GOOD (haha)
I submitted it yesterday to TDC, I haven't been here in awhile but does anybody know how long it takes to get approved nowadays?
Thanks, and good to be back!
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"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
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Sketchy
Cornwall UK
Registered
06/11/2004
Points
1970
 
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20th November, 2012 at 20/11/2012 22:57:12 -
Yay, I like roguelikes - downloading...
EDIT:
Okay, I've played the demo through to the end now - and it's a really cool little game 
There are just a few things I don't like:
* You can't access your inventory during battle.
* There's no minimap / map screen (I spent a lot of time walking around in circles).
* Smooth movement would be nice (thanks for the mention in the credits btw; if you want an example, I did eventually figure out how to do it).
* The documentation is virtually non-existent (although I get the impression that's intentional).
There are a few other niggles, but nothing major. Plus it's only the demo, so there's bound to be some stuff missing (ranged spells/weapons?).
On the whole though, I really like it. The presentation is very nice (especially all the battle stuff), and there's a lot of detail and depth - loads of items, monsters and other extras.
Are all the levels pre-made or are there some randomly generated levels as well? I think it would be interesting and make for a longer playing time to have the bulk of the levels randomly generated, and then intersperse them with pre-made levels which could include some form of storyline. To be fair, 135 levels is quite a lot anyway...
 Edited by Sketchy
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Del Duio
Born in a Bowling Alley
Registered
29/07/2005
Points
1078
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21st November, 2012 at 21/11/2012 03:44:54 -
Thanks Sketchy!
Yeah, the only things you can bring into battle with you are your class skills, the ability to flee, and whatever moves / actions your equipped left and right-hand items have. There are some special items that give you cool abilities (a fire spell on a cursed wand, for example, or a totem you can hold for a one-time full heal of either HP or Stamina and then it breaks, etc.)
The no documentation is for sure intentional. While playing Dark Souls this past year I was really enamored with how much of the game is a complete mystery aside from what you learn from the items themselves or what the very few NPCs say. You can bribe guild members for tips, which can be very helpful to players- even in future games- since they can tell you what certain lantern phases do or what special properties items might have that aren't immediately known.
The game has a lot of randomized stuff to it. For example champions enemies can spawn at any time from floor 2+ and are a lot harder than their normal counterparts. Champs always drop treasure chests, and sometimes the rarer golden chests. Boss enemies inhabit the dungeon as well and give players a real challenge with moves like shield bashing, spells, or even stealing your stuff (!)
The dungeons are pre-made for the most part, however upon loading up everything else is randomly placed and tweaked. Doors are good examples of this, and help with strategy against enemies since they can't follow you through any closed ones. (You can close an open door for 1 stamina point, it's helpful and worth it occasionally). Other stuff like floor hazards: poison grass, spike traps, or fire floors are all placed randomly depending on dungeon depth. Magical statues, wells, guilds, and shops are also placed like this.
I'm glad you liked it! It's weird but even if you luck out and get really good gear early on that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to roll through the whole thing, as there's always something out there waiting to end it for you. Be it an enemy, trap, or even something like not using your items correctly (ex. using all your food up too soon or something.) Oh and also be wary of killer plants early on, as they are VERY tough for low-level characters, trust me
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"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
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Sketchy
Cornwall UK
Registered
06/11/2004
Points
1970
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21st November, 2012 at 21/11/2012 16:10:41 -
I do kind of like how not being able to access the inventory introduces an element of strategy. Because you can't use healing items during battle, you can't wait until nearly dead before you heal - you have to use them as soon as you become too weak to survive another full battle, which wastes a lot of their potential.
Incidentally, it would be nice to be able to see both your current and maximum health/stamina from the main or inventory screens, so it's easier to judge whether or not you should heal.
There's also a magic wand that increases the power of your magic - but you'll only have enough stamina to make one or two magic attacks, so against very tough enemies that you can't kill in two attacks, you might be better off equipping with an axe or something instead.
However, it is still a bit frustrating - how about a compromise? For example, in addition to the left and right hand slots, you could have a backup item slot (call it a belt or something). If the player wants to use their backup item, they have to first switch it with one of the currently equipped items (which costs an action and some stamina). It's also strange that it takes stamina to flee.
And yeah, I did notice killer plants were quite tough - met one very early on in my very first game, died instantly, and very nearly rage-quit right there. Also, there was a gold chest that was easily visible, but the path to reach it started a long way away and had loads of nasty grass, and then a killer plant at the end - needless to say I never did find out what was in the chest 
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s-m-r
Slow-Motion Riot
Registered
04/06/2006
Points
1078
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22nd November, 2012 at 22/11/2012 00:26:25 -
Happy to see you back, Del Duio! I've downloaded your latest in the Equin series and I'll have a go at it very soon.
Keep up the excellent work on H2, man.
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Del Duio
Born in a Bowling Alley
Registered
29/07/2005
Points
1078
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22nd November, 2012 at 22/11/2012 04:31:03 -
Those ae some good ideas, Sketchy, it's just that adding something along the lines of a 3rd belt slot or something would require a whole overhaul. If I ever do make another game like this however I will for sure have more than 4 total equip slots. Running takes 2 stamina- which isn't a ton- but I wanted to make a game where (almost) every single action costs a certain # of stamina points. For strategy's sake, I thought it'd be interesting if even regular slash attacks took 1 point. The warrior has a recoup skill that recovers 1 stamina point but the trade off is that you leave yourself open to another enemy attack while in battle.
The gold chest? Well, it could have been anything really. The game operates on a Loot Class # which is dependant on what type of chest it is (wood, golden, or the very very rare shadow), what floor of the dungeon you're on, and whether or not it was a trapped chest (trapped chests have a better chance of better loot). Finally there's a small chance that this Loot Class # will be modified from -1 to +2.
Champs can drop wood chests 95% or the time and gold chests 5% as well. Bosses are 95% golden chests and 5% shadow chests, so they're probably going to be worth the effort to kill- though you don't HAVE to kill them, you can try to get past them and escape down the ladder to the next floor.
And hi S-M-R! I hope you like this one too, I've been wanting to make another game with a Dragon Quest-y battle system for awhile now so this one was a lot of fun even though it was a lot of work.
P.S: The game is still not on the official download list, maybe the admins didn't see it yet?
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"Del Duio has received 0 trophies. Click here to see them all."
"To be a true ninja you must first pick the most stealthy of our assorted combat suits. Might I suggest the bright neon orange?"
DXF Games, coming next: Hasslevania 2- This Space for Rent!
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