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vittro
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icon DROD Roguelike Project (+5)  

for the Facepunch Programming Competition V2



[*]What is DROD?

DROD (which actually is an acronym for Deadly Rooms of Death) is a puzzle game developed by Caravel Games ([URL="http://www.caravelgames.com" www.caravelgames.com). Many new games have been released, and one of the first versions has been released as public domain. That means I can use graphics/sounds/music from it for any non-commercial project.

In DROD, the player's goal is to kill all monsters from all the rooms in all the levels of an hold (level pack). DROD started out as a game where the puzzle elements weren't so defined and strong as they are today. In fact, in the latest games, the players build more and more 'lynchpin' puzzles, where the action is focused on figuring out what to do to solve a room instead of killing everything.


DROD is turn-based. The player moves first, then everything else.



[*]What is the DROD Roguelike project?

I've started this project for the 2nd Facepunch programming competition. I wanted to make a DROD clone, and this was the perfect occasion. I 'went back to the origins' and removed the whole 'lynchpin puzzle' aspect. My game randomly generates rooms where the only goal is to kill all monsters then exit the room. DROD Roguelike uses images and music from the original Caravel DROD.


I've added a persistent inventory system and a shop to make thigs more interesting. Here are some screenshots from DROD Roguelike:




The player can do one of these actions in a turn:

[*]Move (N/S/W/E/NW/NE/SW/SE)
[*]Swing sword (Clockwise, Counter-clockwise)
[*]Wait a turn

To kill monsters, you just stab them with your sword.

All monsters move after you, and they all have different behaviors I will discuss later.

My level generation system adds new elements gradually and explain how they work.
It also increases difficulty room after room, automatically spawning more enemies and creating more complex terrains.



[*]What are the elements?

Roach: moves towards the player diagonally. If blocked, tries to move vertically first, then horizontally. Otherwise it doesn't do anything.

Roach Queen: calculates what move a roach would do then moves in the opposite direction. Every 30 turns it spawns roach eggs in the 8 adjacent tiles. The eggs hatch in 5 turns and become roaches.

Evil Eye: sleeps until the player walks into its line of sight. When awake, moves like a roach. Can see the player over pits and other creatures.

Evil Eye Sentry: Doesn't move. When the player walks into its line of sight it spawns an awake evil eye in his direction. Can see the player over pits and other creatures.

Gel Baby: moves like a roach, but if it can't move diagonally it doesn't try to move vertically or horizontally. It just stops.

Wraithwing: when alone it flees like a roach queen. When in group, it attacks the player like a roach. Can fly over pits.

Zombie: it flees like a roach queen until the player is near, then attacks like a roach. If blocked by a small obstacle it can sidestep it to reach the player. Every turn it leaves a trail behind that is an obstacle. The trail lasts 7 turns.

Player: it's you. Can move in 8 direction, wait a turn or swing the sword.

Mimic: mimics move after the player and before all monsters. They copy the player's moves and can kill enemies. The player can control any number of mimics simultaneously.

Yellow Brain: when one or more yellow brains are in the room all the monsters start moving sidestepping small obstacles (like zombies).

Trapdoor: when the player or a mimic steps off a trapdoor, it falls down and becomes a pit.

Broken Wall: the player or a mimic can destroy a broken wall with the sword.

Orthogonal Square: prevents diagonal movement.

Shop: when standing on it wait a turn to cycle through the items. Press any free slot key to buy an item. Shops appear every 3 room.

Exit: step on the exit to move to the next room.



[*]Videos and download

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFMM4qtUbx4

DROD Roguelike Beta 4: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/Programming/DR4.rar
no music included (.ogg only support) - recommended Caravel DROD music http://drod.caravelgames.com/Images/DRODAEOGG.zip
you can redefine keys in /Data/Config.cfg



[*]How to play

Your goal is to get the highest score possible. To do so, you must obtain score.
You can obtain score by leaving rooms.


You get one third of normal score and money from leaving non-clear rooms. Rooms become clear when you kill all the monsters in them.


Score is calculated is a certain way so you will have to be efficient. Efficiency means not wasting turns. Completing a room in the lowest amount of turns possible gives you the highest score/money reward.


After all the monsters are killed, turns will stop being counted, so don't think about strategies to lure monsters near the exit door because that won't make you get any higher score.


With the money (greckles) you get, you can buy several useful items by shops. Shops appear every 5 levels (indicated by music change, too). It is a good idea to visit shops after the room is clear (if you're planning to clear it) because browsing the items requires turns. Cycle through the items by waiting on the shop tile and press any free item slot key to buy stuff.


To use items you've bought, press the item slot key. Using any item takes 1 turn.


Here are some items you will find in DROD Roguelike:


[*]Pickaxe: destroys 1 wall tile. (3 uses)
[*]Trapdoor: places a trapdoor on floor or pits. (3 uses)
[*]Hand Bomb: kills every monsters in the 8 adjacent squares around the player. (1 use)
[*]Shield: prevents death once, then breaks. (passive)
[*]Throwing knives: kills maximum 2 creaturs in a straight line. (2 uses)
[*]Prism: kills all creatures in a straight line. (1 use)
[*]Mimic Potion: creates a mimic in the direction the player is looking at. (1 use)

To kill enemies you just stab them with your sword, swing your sword on them, or move in any possible way so that the sword will end up on them. If you're facing north and you have an enemy 1 square west of you, you can move southwest to kill him.

Some walls are broken and you can destroy them with your sword.
Orthogonal tiles are squares that prevent diagonal movement.
Trapdoors are squares that fall down and become pits after you step off them.

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[Last edited by vittro at 04-26-2012 06:39 AM]
07-26-2010 at 11:13 PM
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Blondbeard
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
Sounds nice! I would also recomend checking Wonderquest Dreams out. There's a LOT of good ideas you could use as inspiration there.
07-27-2010 at 03:39 PM
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DanielFishman
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
Does it have an ASCII-display option? ;)
07-27-2010 at 04:57 PM
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
DanielFishman wrote:
Does it have an ASCII-display option? ;)

Haha. I may add that as an easter egg. :)

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07-27-2010 at 07:06 PM
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vittro
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
New video added, and some screenshots too. I think the core gameplay is almost finished.

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07-27-2010 at 11:51 PM
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Jatopian
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
I just wanted to note that your copyright notices on your videos are incorrect. Neither Erik nor Caravel own any of the AE media - they were released into the public domain.

Also, I'm pretty sure that at least one of the styles shown wasn't in any version of DROD.

Edit: Lars Aasbrenn does own the Webfoot music, though, and he doesn't seem like the forgiving type. You should change the music on the first 3 videos.

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DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

[Last edited by Jatopian at 07-28-2010 12:28 AM]
07-28-2010 at 12:24 AM
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vittro
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
Jatopian wrote:
I just wanted to note that your copyright notices on your videos are incorrect. Neither Erik nor Caravel own any of the AE media - they were released into the public domain.
I think it's correct now.



Also, I'm pretty sure that at least one of the styles shown wasn't in any version of DROD.
I used also user-made styles. I didn't mean to put them in the videos without permission, I forgot to disable them.
EDIT: I checked the threads and most of them are public domain.



Edit: Lars Aasbrenn does own the Webfoot music, though, and he doesn't seem like the forgiving type. You should change the music on the first 3 videos.
Too bad. I love his music. I AudioSwapped the first 3 videos, but left credit to him just in case AudioSwap can be disabled.

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[Last edited by vittro at 07-28-2010 12:50 AM]
07-28-2010 at 12:35 AM
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Someone Else
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (0)  
Wow, this is looking really good! When is an expected release date?
07-28-2010 at 04:05 AM
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Chaco
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (+1)  
Yeah, this looks pretty good, but I'm not getting that Roguelike vibe yet for two reasons:

firstly, in the gameplay videos you've posted (thanks for those!) the gameplay heavily resembles DROD in that Beethro is able to kill everything in one hit and everything kills Beethro in one hit,

secondly, the monsters aren't dangerous enough - the roaches, eyes and gel babies still have their old movement algorithms, which means that in most of these randomly generated rooms they're not too hard to kill and don't try too hard to kill Beethro.

What I'm getting at is that if you implemented brains, monsters that move faster than Beethro, or some other way to encourage monsters to chase after or surround Beethro, he might have a reason to actually use any of the stuff you're going to sell in the shops.

You've got a great start, though. Looking forward to an end result :)

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[Last edited by Chaco at 07-28-2010 01:43 PM]
07-28-2010 at 01:43 PM
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vittro
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Chaco wrote:
Yeah, this looks pretty good, but I'm not getting that Roguelike vibe yet for two reasons:

firstly, in the gameplay videos you've posted (thanks for those!) the gameplay heavily resembles DROD in that Beethro is able to kill everything in one hit and everything kills Beethro in one hit,

secondly, the monsters aren't dangerous enough - the roaches, eyes and gel babies still have their old movement algorithms, which means that in most of these randomly generated rooms they're not too hard to kill and don't try too hard to kill Beethro.

What I'm getting at is that if you implemented brains, monsters that move faster than Beethro, or some other way to encourage monsters to chase after or surround Beethro, he might have a reason to actually use any of the stuff you're going to sell in the shops.

You've got a great start, though. Looking forward to an end result :)

It's not a 'real' roguelike, it's more of a puzzle game with roguelike elements :)

I want to keep the core gameplay very very DROD-like.
The monsters will kill Beethro in one hit (unless he's wielding a shield), and Beethro will kill them in one hit.

I assure you that not having an undo button makes every monster very dangerous. You can't make many mistakes. Also, there is a difficulty variable that gets higher and higher each room. The higher it gets, the more monsters are spawned, and also other elements appear. (I've also successfully implemented Wraithwings!)

I don't really want to have brains in normal rooms, however I may implement them in special rooms in a second moment.
Monsters faster than Beethro shouldn't be too hard to do. However I would keep them to a special room.

The stuff you buy in the shops can be useful to avoid wasting too many moves (destroy wall/pit), reach lone wraithwings, and save yourself in critical solutions. Being efficient in rooms gives the player more grackles and score as a reward.

I will post a new video with the new stuff soon :)

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07-28-2010 at 07:16 PM
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vittro
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- Day 3 PART ONE - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bMgIOFhNx4
- Day 3 PART TWO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRa2_yWwcq8

New videos! (also new screenshots)

Video one is a playthrough of the easy levels (1~7).
Video two shows item usage and the shop.

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07-28-2010 at 09:07 PM
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (+3)  
Beta 2 released.

> Fixed no music crash.
> Added zombies.
> Tweaked level generation and difficulty settings.
> Improved some sprites.
> Removed some level styles that were too dark.
> You can now customize keys from the INI.
> Tweaked item prices.
> Added informative text when a new possible element is added to the level generation.
> Added a new special room.
> Fixed a bug where wraithwings would have direct movement instead of beeline when flying and trying to move towards a wall.
> Throwing knives can now kill 2 enemies in a straight line.
> Added zombie trails. They can destroy orthogonal squares.
> Added some particles to make exit/beethro/last 2 monsters easier to see.

...

Beta3 Released!

New element: Yellow Brain.
New element: Mimic.
New item: Mimic Potion.
Changed some sprites.
Removed difficulty and FPS HUD text lines.
Made existing text lines separate (to avoid wobbling). (thanks Jallen)
Drastically improved random level object placement.
New config line: PlayerName (customizable name).
New config line: SimpleFloor (replaces all floor tiles with an easy-to-see version).
New config line: SimpleTrapdoor (replaces all trapdoor tiles with an easy-to-see version).
New config line: SimpleBrokenWall (replaces all broken wall tiles with an easy-to-see version).


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[Last edited by vittro at 07-31-2010 04:36 PM]
07-29-2010 at 11:55 PM
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Didn't work for me for some reason :( It said something about not being able to initiate it.
08-02-2010 at 06:16 PM
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vittro
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Blondbeard wrote:
Didn't work for me for some reason :( It said something about not being able to initiate it.

Can you please post a screenshot of the error?

You require .Net Framework 3.5 to make it run, anyway :)

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08-02-2010 at 06:52 PM
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icon Re: DROD Roguelike Project (+2)  
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/DR4.rar Beta 4!

New element: Doors.
New element: Pressure Plates (when the player, a mimic or any monster steps on a pressure plates it toggles a door)
Fixed SimpleTrapdoor displaying wrong images.
Added INI setting: InputDelay (after any key is pressed InputDelay is the number of frames that must pass for another keypress to be recieved)
Added INI settings: TilesX/TilesY (they can be used to make the rooms smaller - this is only for those who have performance problems, generally it's a bad idea to make rooms smaller because it messes up the balance)
Other tweaks and fixes to the random generation.


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08-02-2010 at 07:53 PM
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vittro wrote:
Blondbeard wrote:
Didn't work for me for some reason :( It said something about not being able to initiate it.


You require .Net Framework 3.5 to make it run, anyway :)

Ah! That's probably why it didn't work then. Is it something I could just download, and then it will work?

[Last edited by Blondbeard at 08-02-2010 08:05 PM]
08-02-2010 at 08:01 PM
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Yes. Here's a website that explains briefly what is it also with download links http://devilsworkshop.org/download-complete-microsoft-net-framework-35-setup/

And this is the direct link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=333325FD-AE52-4E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en :)

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08-02-2010 at 08:21 PM
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vittro wrote:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/DR4.rar Beta 4!

Please provide new link, this link is dead.
04-26-2012 at 05:57 AM
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This one <should> work. Let me know if you have any problem.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/Programming/DR4.rar

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04-26-2012 at 06:39 AM
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mtuan
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vittro wrote:
This one <should> work. Let me know if you have any problem.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/Programming/DR4.rar

Many thanks. But it cannot run on Windows 7 64 bit. Please help.

EDIT: downloading .net 3.5 right now... But W7 already installed .net 4.0. Hmmm....

[Last edited by mtuan at 04-26-2012 01:43 PM]
04-26-2012 at 01:04 PM
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mtuan wrote:
vittro wrote:
This one <should> work. Let me know if you have any problem.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3724424/Programming/DR4.rar

Many thanks. But it cannot run on Windows 7 64 bit. Please help.

EDIT: downloading .net 3.5 right now... But W7 already installed .net 4.0. Hmmm....

It works properly on me under Win7 64bit.

Make sure you extract all the files contained in the .rar in the same folder.

Maybe getting .NET 3.5 will solve the problem, chances are that .NET 4.0 is not backwards compatible.

Let me know if it works :)

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04-26-2012 at 11:04 PM
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