Dungeons of Dredmor

[Aganazer]

I've always wondered why no one is making more graphical roguelikes. The variety of gameplay and the replayability are way too compelling to be limited to the text-only cryptic offerings available. It looks like Gaslamp Games is making a graphical roguelike with an easy to use interface. I have no idea how this might compare to games like Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup (which just got an update btw), but it definitely looks promising.

http://www.gaslampgames.com/blog/category/dungeons-of-dredmor/





David Baumgart is going to owe me for plugging all these games he is working on (he did the art for Starfarer and is the developer of this game).  

[Fuzzballx]

interesting, maybe i'll finally be able to play a dwarf fortress type of game...

Never managed to understand and figure out the askii of dwarf fortress...and oh how i tried.

[baelthazar]

That looks excellent! I wonder what the eta is?

[Huw the Poo]

La la la not listening la la la.

[rittchard]

Looks like they finally got a Steam release date of 7/13 for $4.99!

The story on the delay on their blog is kind of interesting:

http://www.gaslampgames.com/blog/category/dungeons-of-dredmor/

[baelthazar]

Yeah... the Steam sale delayed their release. That is bitter-sweet if I ever heard it!

I can't wait to purchase! Looks like my type of game!

[morlac]

This looks pretty neat.  Will grab it when it comes out for sure.

[Gratch]

I'm intrigued by this as well.  Hadn't heard of it before this thread, but will definitely be picking it up next week.

[Misguided]

David Baumgart is going to owe me for plugging all these games he is working on (he did the art for Starfarer and is the developer of this game).  

He's been actively discussing the game at Qt3. One thing I really like about this one is that you get to design your class by choosing the skills you want at the start of the game. I think that will lead to a varity of different tactics and such. It also has a great sens of humor. I'm planning to buy several copies and give them away as gifts.

[baelthazar]

David Baumgart is going to owe me for plugging all these games he is working on (he did the art for Starfarer and is the developer of this game).  

He's been actively discussing the game at Qt3. One thing I really like about this one is that you get to design your class by choosing the skills you want at the start of the game. I think that will lead to a varity of different tactics and such. It also has a great sens of humor. I'm planning to buy several copies and give them away as gifts.

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1. The price is so very low, I'll be sure to pay for any expansions they want to add.

[CeeKay]

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1.

wow, really?  in that case, OUT.

[Harkonis]

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1.

wow, really?  in that case, OUT.

It's $5, you've spent more on less many, many times

[CeeKay]

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1.

wow, really?  in that case, OUT.

It's $5, you've spent more on less many, many times

I meant the hard part, not really in the mood for a keyboard smasher right now

[Gratch]

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1.

wow, really?  in that case, OUT.

Same here. 

[rittchard]

I'm all over the game, but I am disappointed that there are only 10 levels to the dungeon (or so I thought I read). He said it was hard as hell though, and that the 10 levels will likely kill you on level 1.

wow, really?  in that case, OUT.

Same here. 

Normally I'm in the same boat but for something like this (true Roguelike) where dying and restarting is designed to be part of the gameplay, I'm on board.  It's really not that different from, say, Dungeon Raid, where games are typically short and you start over again and again.  And in particular, these guys seem to treat dying as a fun/funny part of the game - I love the screenshot where it says "Congratulations!  You have died."

[KC]

I'll wait for the forum effect to kick in before I decide whether to buy.

[Misguided]

I'll wait for the forum effect to kick in before I decide whether to buy.

I definitely plan to get it right away. Not sure how much time I'll have to play, but will do my est to post some impressions.

[EddieA]

I'm assuming there will be different difficulty levels.  I know they're trying to make this a more accessible roguelike game, with a tutorial and permanent death being only an option.

[Gratch]

Normally I'm in the same boat but for something like this (true Roguelike) where dying and restarting is designed to be part of the gameplay, I'm on board.  It's really not that different from, say, Dungeon Raid, where games are typically short and you start over again and again.  And in particular, these guys seem to treat dying as a fun/funny part of the game - I love the screenshot where it says "Congratulations!  You have died."

Sure, but there's a big difference between eventually dying as part of the game and a game that will "likely kill you on level 1".  The former is fun (especially in a Roguelike), the latter is not.

[The Grue]

Normally I'm in the same boat but for something like this (true Roguelike) where dying and restarting is designed to be part of the gameplay, I'm on board.  It's really not that different from, say, Dungeon Raid, where games are typically short and you start over again and again.  And in particular, these guys seem to treat dying as a fun/funny part of the game - I love the screenshot where it says "Congratulations!  You have died."

Sure, but there's a big difference between eventually dying as part of the game and a game that will "likely kill you on level 1".  The former is fun (especially in a Roguelike), the latter is not.

What if dying on level 1 is part of the game?

[CeeKay]

Normally I'm in the same boat but for something like this (true Roguelike) where dying and restarting is designed to be part of the gameplay, I'm on board.  It's really not that different from, say, Dungeon Raid, where games are typically short and you start over again and again.  And in particular, these guys seem to treat dying as a fun/funny part of the game - I love the screenshot where it says "Congratulations!  You have died."

Sure, but there's a big difference between eventually dying as part of the game and a game that will "likely kill you on level 1".  The former is fun (especially in a Roguelike), the latter is not.

What if dying on level 1 is part of the game?

what if they make it so you die on level one because they haven't bothered to include levels 2-10?

[baelthazar]

It's a Roguelike guys, dying on level 1 is part of the experience.

Seriously, spend the money, it's cheap, these guys have done something new with an older genre, and you have to think fairly strategically to prevail.

EDIT: I think I remember seeing something about Permadeath being an option, so there may be respawning. Heresy for roguelikes,

[CeeKay]

Seriously, spend the money, it's cheap,

yeah, but it'll prbably be cheaper during the Holiday sale 

[Razgon]

Yeah, its 5 bucks...

From what I've read of people participating in the beta, it is a REALLY good roguelike game.

[EddieA]

The game will have multiple difficulty levels -

Easy - This is for the more casual player who is interested in exploring and enjoying the non-crunchy content of the game. I should say though, “casual” does not mean “Bejeweled”; the dungeon certainly does fight back and you’ll have to pay attention on any difficulty level. This one is just more forgiving.

Medium - This is the baseline which I’m balancing the other levels against and how I usually test the game while choosing random skills (which are not necessarily optimal). There should be reasonable difficulty and the game should be winnable at this level with any chosen skill set … and enough inside knowledge of game mechanics. Some character builds will probably be pretty rough though, like the ley-line walking, blood-magic-using non-spellcaster who specializes in both shields and dual wield.

Hard - This is for players who want to die. Repeatedly. I want to make this very difficult even for myself with said inside knowledge. Insane fans should have to exploit game mechanics to beat the game. No doubt this is the sort of thing that the classic roguelike game is all about.

[Gratch]

The game will have multiple difficulty levels -

Easy - This is for the more casual player who is interested in exploring and enjoying the non-crunchy content of the game. I should say though, “casual” does not mean “Bejeweled”; the dungeon certainly does fight back and you’ll have to pay attention on any difficulty level. This one is just more forgiving.

Medium - This is the baseline which I’m balancing the other levels against and how I usually test the game while choosing random skills (which are not necessarily optimal). There should be reasonable difficulty and the game should be winnable at this level with any chosen skill set … and enough inside knowledge of game mechanics. Some character builds will probably be pretty rough though, like the ley-line walking, blood-magic-using non-spellcaster who specializes in both shields and dual wield.

Hard - This is for players who want to die. Repeatedly. I want to make this very difficult even for myself with said inside knowledge. Insane fans should have to exploit game mechanics to beat the game. No doubt this is the sort of thing that the classic roguelike game is all about.

Cool, back in. 

[Freezer-TPF-]

The difficulty levels sound perfect to me.

[MonkeyFinger]

I'm just glad to see it has difficulty levels, if it was locked at one specific horribly punishing level I probably wouldn't bother with it. So, like Gratch, that brings me back to the "in" camp. 

[Baroquen131]

I've been waiting for this one. I forget where I heard about it first. But anyway, between my fondness for roguelikes and the cheap price, I'll definitely be getting it on release. Can't wait.

[rittchard]

It's Dredmor week!

http://www.gaslampgames.com/blog/2011/07/11/dredmor-week-day-one-soundtrack-up/

Interesting comment on permadeath too, pretty hardcore for those that are into it:

First off, permadeath now works. If you die, we actually delete your save game! Mwa hah hah. By contrast, non-permadeath now works very well as well. You can save your game wherever and whenever you want, and it’s always there for you to carry on if you get slaughtered. Just remember to save as often as you feel that you can.

[Covenant]

Just picked this up on Steam for $4.49 and am downloading now.  I'll try to report back later with some impressions.

[Covenant]

Haha! So far soooo awesome    I don't have tons of experience with rogue games, so consider that when reading my mini-review

Graphics: nice crisp retro look. I'm playing at 1920x1080 on a big lcd and it looks great.

Sound/Music: music is nice in a cheesy fantasy sort of way. The entire game has a lot of humor infused into it, so this goes along with the style quite well.

Tutorials: a set of a dozen or so tutorials teching the basics on how to play. Very nice addition for someone like me who doesn't know much. It's probably worth playing through regardless as it gets you used to the control scheme.

Character Generation:
1) pick difficulty (easy/medium/hard) and whether to turn on permadeath or not
2) choose your starting skills.  Theres a ton to choose from here, and the descriptions are written in a way that it's not entirely clear what they all do. I believe this is to promote experimenting, as it's expected you will replay this a ton.
3) choose name

Gameplay:
I've messed around for maybe half an hour or so but here's what I'm seeing so far
1) randomly generated levels
2) randomly placed statues that give out sidequests
3) combat seems to be fun. Some skills take a bit to figure out how they work and how best to use them (this is a good thing)
4) levelling up gives you a point to spend on buying a new skill.  Each skill you chose at the start has a "skill line" that you can spend on.  These look to be similar to skill trees, but no branching; rather just more powerful skills within the same theme.  They don't all look to obsolete earlier skills either, so there's gonna be TONS of character customization opportunities.
5) There's gear to find, things to craft, potions to create, quests to do.  Seems like lots of stuff to fill your time in here.
6) I started out on easy and I'm not having a bad time of it, so don't be scared about difficulty level (at least at the start).  I'm sure the higher difficulty levels are much less forgiving.
7) This game is FUNNY. The mobs will hurl insults at you, item descritions are well worth reading, etc. A very unserious tone all around which I am enjoying quite a bit.

I'd say for $4.50, this game is a no brainer and it has a TON of replayability. Go buy it now.

[Misguided]

Seriously. Just go buy it.

[Dramatist]

I bought this today.

I played the tutorials and a tiny bit on medium where I died quicky on both tries.  I'm not a very experienced rogue-like player though.  Seems like tons of fun to be had.  I'm going to keep trying on medium when I get to play more later.  I might go down to easy if I get frustrated.

[Arkon]

Just died due to stupidity, but was having a blast as a dual shield wielding, unarmed combatant.  Walked over a trap that I thought I could survive, but it was poison and the last tick was enough to take me to exactly 0 hp.

[EngineNo9]

Tried it out, didn't think it was that great so far.  They seem to need some usability/optimization work on their interface. I'm also not a big fan of the look of the main character.  And I died 3 times for stupid reasons. 

I might go back to it, but I think I already got my fix of Rogue-like game when enjoying Epic Dungeon on Xbox Live Indie Games. 

[Misguided]

Yeah, the interface has some quirks to it. I actually like the goofy look of the character though. I keep waiting for his eyebrows to fall off.

For folks that are dying quickly, a few common-sense tips:

Slow down, don't approach it like an action game
Food seems to be fairly plentiful. Eat some if you need to.
Avoid getting hit by more than one monster whenever possible. Back away if needed. Remember monsters can't attack you diagonally.
Learn to recognize when you are in trouble (when death could be a turn or two away)
If you are in trouble, use items like wands. They won't help you if you are dead.

Tried it out, didn't think it was that great so far.  They seem to need some usability/optimization work on their interface. I'm also not a big fan of the look of the main character.  And I died 3 times for stupid reasons. 

I might go back to it, but I think I already got my fix of Rogue-like game when enjoying Epic Dungeon on Xbox Live Indie Games. 

[Qantaga]

Slow down, don't approach it like an action game

 
Very good advice!
   

Food seems to be fairly plentiful. Eat some if you need to.

   
Even if you run out of food, you can hit the Space bar over and over while your health slowly regens (unless you have vampirism, that is). 
   
I am enjoying this game immensely. I've been farthest with a melee (sword, crit, dual-wield, etc.) character, but I'm having the most fun with the random skills (the last icon). My favorite was a dodging, cross-bow wielding, vampiric, sneaking, smithing, golem-making, viking wizard.
 
I've poked my head into level 3, but promptly got it severed.

[Dramatist]

I got to play again and did much better.  Even leveled up a couple of times.  I died after opening a chest of evil and the alien inside it killed me. (duh)

Very fun so far.

[Misguided]

For anyone on the fence, Total Biscuit did a WTF for Dredmor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyTfUnnxZV4