Dweller 1.10.0 ARRP release

Well, I guess I missed the ARRP by an hour or so, but at least I managed to release a new version of Dweller. A lot of work has been done to rewrite and improve the UI. There's still a long way to go, but now I have a much more extensible system that will be easier to build on.

IMPORTANT

• The J2ME version now require CLDC 1.1 support (was CLDC 1.0)

NEW FEATURES

• A lot of changes have been done to the user interface, but there is much more to come!
• Your current position on the minimap will blink to make it easier to find
• It is now possible to bind a key to show/hide the minimap
• "Tip of the day" will be shown on the loading screen
• Quickslots for easy item access

CHANGES

• Changed the fireball cast animation
• The minimap will be smaller on large screens and always positioned in the top left corner
• Undead are immune to poison attacks
• Poison has now become more lethal as it ticks for damage each turn unless resisted
• D-pad is now semi transparent to not cover vital things on the map

BUG FIXES

• Trader and healer names were always the same after a clean installation of the game
• Improved message feedback when trying to equip an illegal combo of items
• It is no longer possible for the player character to be charmed/pacified by a dark wizard
• Trap doors will not be generated at the bottom of the dungeon (nothing happened when you fell through)

320x480 Overworld

32x480 Inventory

320x480 Dungeon

ARRP mayhem, need more time!

I've been coding more or less all day to get Dweller ready for the Annual Roguelike Release Party tomorrow and ran into a snag a few hours ago. The J2ME version refuses to run, failing with a ClassFormatError! Gah! It was a while since I tried the J2ME version and I really have no idea what is causing this. I've decided to do a clean install of the tools (and in the process upgrade to Eclipse Indigo) and giver it another go since it could be a preverification problem. The J2ME tools were a bit dodgy on my previous installation since I was running the 64-bit version of Eclipse Helios, and some of the wireless toolkits weren't compatible.

Hopefully I'll be back on track now and still have a chance to make a proper delivery. I've got some good music, tea, a nice whiskey and some candy so there's a good chance of success. Here we go!

Roguelike Radio - Brogue episode

A couple of days ago the third episode of Roguelike Radio was released. This time it's hosted by Scott Edgar, Erez Ben-Aharon and John Harris and the topic is Brogue by Brian Walker, aka Pender. I haven't played Brogue much myself, but my memory of it was that it felt like a very well designed roguelike with some pretty unique features. Hearing Scott, Erez and John talk about Brogue really confirm this. The number of ways to tackle the different monsters in the game is staggering and there seem to be a lot of unique items and spells to discover. I'll definitely give Brogue a try again.

AARP soon, better get a move on!

I'm getting really stressed out now. I'm intending to release a new version of Dweller for the Annnual Roguelike Release Party on the 18th of September. That's only four days to go, gah! I have made a lot of changes and experimented with the UI, but nothing is really finished. I'll figure something out though and do some real crunch-time coding on Saturday. Wish me luck!

Dig-N-Rig

Dig-N-Rig is ascii gaming at it's finest. You control a Diggit 6400 mining robot on a mission to drill your way to the earth's core. While diggin' and drillin' your way down you need to send the rare minerals and other resources you discover back up to the lab on the surface by constructing a network of conveyor belts. The resources you discover will be refined in the lab and used to purchase upgrades to your rig. As a fan of old-school ascii roguelikes this game really hit home and I'm thrilled to see the use of ascii graphics in an indie title!

Download Dig-N-rig from Digipen

Roguelike Radio pt. 2

A new episode of Roguelike Radio was posted yesterday. In this episode Andrew, Scott and Erez Ben-Aharon discuss Desktop Dungeons and it's roguelikeness. There's some interesting discussions going on and I'm not really sure where I stand myself regarding Desktop Dungeons. The game sure does condense the roguelike experience into a game where every move matters, much like in the most critical and memorable situations of a Crawl or Angband game. But in my opinion it also drive point too far in the sense that a lot of the RPG element is lost in the process, and by that also the attachment to your character.

Infestor

Infestor is a really nice platformer with beautiful pixel art and rockin' chip music. You take on the role of a amoeba-like biological weapon with the ability to infest and control humans. Your goal is to move from entrance to exit on each level by clever use of infestation of enemies. While in control of a human you can move faster, jump longer, push items and shoot other humans. Once a host has served it's purpose you can release control by exploding your host and move on to the next one.

Play Infestor over at Kongregate