| solstice_v0.0.29.zip |
Solstice is a turn based game in the tradition of Rogue, NetHack, and Dungeon Crawl. Solstice attempts to move the game beyond the cramped confines of the dungeon into an open world, procedurally generated each time you play. Solstice is a world where the Romanesque empire of Imar is at constant odds with the Throne of the Jade Dragon. On the eve of the last summer solstice, the previously impenetrable Barrier in the Eastern Sea has dropped, allowing ships to travel to SunRise Islands, which have been cut off from all contact for hundreds of years.
Solstice has several planned features including:
A completely player designed homebase which will be subject to attack by rival forces. (Partially implemented - you can futz around with creating a homebase if you like already, though you can't populate it with anyone yet.)
Large, procedurally generated, persistant overworld. (Largely done with overworld generation; new submaps added constantly)
Autonomous, customizable allies (Partially implemented - allies are autonomous, you can give them basic commands, but you can't change their items yet.)
Solstice has several planned features including:
A completely player designed homebase which will be subject to attack by rival forces. (Partially implemented - you can futz around with creating a homebase if you like already, though you can't populate it with anyone yet.)
Large, procedurally generated, persistant overworld. (Largely done with overworld generation; new submaps added constantly)
Autonomous, customizable allies (Partially implemented - allies are autonomous, you can give them basic commands, but you can't change their items yet.)
Version Notes 0.0.29 - Alpha Jan 4, 2013
Just an incremental update to let people know I am still working on it, though there is actually a ton of new stuff (some incomplete). Last semester of grad school starts Monday, and I'll continue to work on it, but I want to at least to get to Beta this summer, and v1.0 by years end if at all possible. It doesn't help I am waffling now between abandoning this project and starting over using C++ and libtcod, and completing it....If I do finish it, it will be my last VB project ever.
Improvements
- New game mode - Infinite Dungeon - Basically, you descend forever, trying to stay alive as long as possible. Added it to test balance, but I will probably leave it in permanently, though it will of course need a lot of improvement - but for now, it is functional if you would rather just hack and slash. Vendors will randomly appears every level or so.
- Massive (like roughly 200%+) improvement in performance (that honestly should have happened long ago).
- Redesigned the skill screen - while it looks the same, you can now use the arrow keys (or continue to use direct hotkeys), and I have dropped some of the superfluous "modes" - there was no need for an "examine skill" mode, for example. Now highlighting a skill automatically describes it, ENTER activates it, and pressing a number hotkeys the skill to that number...much less fuss than before. The only remaining "mode" is purchase mode (accessed with BACKSPACE), in which pressing ENTER buys a skill.
- Some ease of use UI improvements - you can press e from the map screen to equip items quickly, rather than going into the inventory - added this for hotkeying skills, and dropping items as well.
- Added monk combo system framework, though the effect part needs to be implemented (need to think about it - i don't want a simple repetition of other skills).
- Added the quest system framework. Currently you can pick up simple "kill X" quests from specific villagers (village elders), and return to them for more quests when done. This is by no means the extent of the quests you can do - just a basic random quest generator to test the quest framework, that will probably stay in as a minor feature for those so inclined.
- Some new items, and required skills - for example, higher levels of shield proficiency allow the use of more cumbersome shields, as a basic example.
- Reduced starting stats a bit, and gave certain classes inherent resistances, though the addition of races and more classes will affect this later. Changed the starting items a bit as well.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where items were not being randomly enhanced/enchanted.
- Stealth breaks on certain actions now, and remains on others (for example, blink or heal do not break stealth, but any direct attack does).
- Fixed a bug where the screen would go blank for the next turn after drinking or eating.
- Healers now remove all status effects for a price, rather than just disease (unlikely that you will be on fire or poisoned in a friendly village in normal game mode, but helpful in Infinite Dungeon Mode.)
- Fixed a bug where traps that were uncovered were permanently hidden again if you left the game and continued later.
- Fixed a bug where continuing an Infinite Dungeon game could crash (because it tried to load the non-existant overworld).
Sorry for all the half finished features. If a bug is game-breaking, or (speculatively) easy to fix, I sometimes get sidetracked chasing them down, and like clicking link after link on Wikipedia, I end up working on something other than I intended. But, I do maintain a log of everything thats going on and will get back to finishing them - priorities are just constantly in flux.
And if you feel I should scrap this and just move on to another attempt in a better language, or simply find the current effort too derivative, please let me know. I am always open to suggestion.
Brigand
