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Messages - Sambojin

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1
Requests For Features / Re: DoomRL 0.9.9.8 BETA 3
« on: February 16, 2024, 18:27 »
Just a quick bit of feedback: it doesn't work under Winlator on Android, while 0.9.9.7 does. It's probably just a low-quality version thing, or me having to mess with my container settings a bit. Incredibly low priority, but it's good to know (it could just be a newer version of the SDL .dlls as well, that happens sometimes). Are there any major graphics or sound implementation changes between the releases? Could be the new timing hooks perhaps, not sure. I'll have a fiddle and see if I can get it going, and report back if I do.

The easier controls will be a godsend for setting up touchscreen interfaces for phones (due to limited screen space).

2
Discussion / Turns out DoomRL works on Android with Winlator
« on: February 04, 2024, 02:15 »
I'll spoiler the post I did on Bay12 (Dwarf Fortress).

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Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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So, yeah, works fine. And since Winlator is kinda open-source, all it would need is its RTS keyboard overlay to be changed to a DRL specific one. Essentially a touchscreen overlay at the sides, for the buttons you'll actually use in DRL. Not that hard, I'll make up a decent overlay in the next few days (I did it for the Dos version through Magic dosbox, and this one will probably be easier than that).

We could use it as a Wine-wrapper to deploy one of the best roguelikes ever on Android, in a way. There might be a bit of clicking before playing, but meh. Still worth it. DoomRL in your pocket can only be a good thing.


3
Discussion / Re: How do I run open-source DRL?
« on: March 06, 2017, 19:58 »
Precisely how far back in windows versions do you think we can go backwards with it and still have it run? Because if we can get it to go on Win 3.1 or 95, we can Dosbox it. And then I can get an overlay going for touchscreen support for mobile through Magic Dosbox.

Some people would think that having an entire dos emulated installation of windows on an android phone is going a bit far just to play a roguelike, but I say it's exactly how far I'm happy to go to play it.

So is it compilable as a 3.1 or 95 compatible program? It doesn't actually mention windows versions in the d/l page.


((it definitely doesn't work in win3.11. I'll try a fresh install of win95. And might do the pseudo98 upgrade if it still reports a dos-mode error. I vaguely remember only slightly older versions running in 98, but that might've been XP I'm remembering. It was a while ago. I'll report back anyway. There might not be any need to recompile it......))

4
I might have a crack at TIE Fighter and Elite 2 or 3 as well. They'll be tricky, but if I can do them (and a simple'ish roguelike), I can probably do anything.


Try grabbing ES File Explorer on Android. It's a really good file manager, very fully featured, and it's free. Makes your phone/tablet feel far more like a PC for whenever you need to do something more complicated than clicking an icon.

5
It's all pretty easy. A google search for "doomrl dos" gets you the DRL version, unzipping stuff into a folder isn't exactly rocket science, and MagicDosbox is about $4 and is pretty easy to use (as well as being one of the few playstore purchases that is definitely worth it. All the dos stuff that was annoying to play before is playable now). $4 for potentially 100's of hours of playtime is pretty good, since stuff like MoM, Civ, MoO, SC2000 all become playable with it (being able to rght-click or long-click are vital in these games).

I'm pretty sure all you need to do is "import" the file doomrl.mgc in MagicDosbox by clicking a plus button, and maybe change the directory to point to where you extracted DRL to. MagicDosbox has context sensitive pointy-clicky help for pretty much anything anyway.

Whatever. I know a few people have asked for DRL on mobile for a long time, so having to jump through a few hoops to get it going after all these years is to be expected. Someone would have to make a touchscreen interface even if they ported it from the source code anyway, so this might give people some ideas that it CAN be done in the screen size limitations of a phone. Even if this is the old version of DRL (no weapon switch button needed, but no up/down selectable equipment menus to save extra buttons either).


I'm just happy that I'm probably the only person in the world that can play DRL right now on their mobile in a pretty functional way. I might do up an overlay for Pyro II next, Dungeon Keeper, Stars!, or a proper one for Civ. Maybe the Eye of the Beholder series would be good to do as well.

Can anyone think of some other Dos era games that sorely need a keyboard shortcut or mouse click overlay to play properly? Even win 3.11 or 95 is possible, but usually just adding right-click is enough for most of them. I'm not going to bother to explain the extra hoops needed to jump through for that (even if it's still just unzipping stuff).


((attaching the Dos version of DRL here. Happy enough if a mod removes it. It's tiny (no sound version), but I'm not sure if it's allowed considering the current status of DRL))

((Huh. Chaosforge doesn't like the file :(. Maybe Kornel doesn't like hosting files for free :p. Just google search it.))

6
I finally got around to making a reasonable touch interface for the old dos version of DoomRL, so I figured I'd share the setup with others.

It requires the Dos version of DoomRL (0.8 or so), csdpmi*b.zip extracted into that directory (added below), and the paid version of MagicDosbox (available on the google playstore).

I'm pretty sure I've got every button you'll need to play configured and set up as a touch control. Other than a->t for inventory, but you can just use your soft keyboard for that. I might try to squeeze in a few extra buttons for that somewhere for version 2.0 though. Fair enough, someone could probably port a newer version if they wanted to these days, but at least this works NOW. Just import the overlay below, and change the directory in MagicDosbox to where you installed DRL.

The old dos version of DRL is pretty easy to find, so I haven't included it.

Here's the touch overlay for MagicDosbox and the csdpmi file required for the old version of DRL:

((oh, the heady old days where there was one difficulty setting, shotguns were 6d3, and sergeants carried combat shotguns by default :) ))

((Chaosforge doesn't seem to want these files attached (0 byte files?). I'll happily email the proper versions to any that want them))

7
Discussion / Re: Call for Uniques/Exotics
« on: April 21, 2016, 03:43 »
The 2d3 was more-so storyline (and it not having "non-purpose-gun" as a weapon). A few shots will certainly take down a "marine" enemy, and maybe a few, but the bolt-ons really aren't available to everyone. No doubt real special forces of the UAC had their "Weaksauces" being very useful for their missions, modded to hell, and the self-recharging aspect made it reasonably deployable anywhere. But it didn't even match up to a decent shotgun in effect. In lethality or usefulness. So it was one of those research projects that just quietly went away to die somewhere. With enough examples laying around research bases to warrant its inclusion.

That it could be modded easily wasn't the problem. That the base weapon was shite, was.

The lack of WK requirements and the "super-moddability" is what makes it exotic beyond "just-another-shotgun". It breaks the rules. But it's still got an in-game purpose before you do.

You could up clip-size or damage easily. But as an exotic "oddity", that might just work for Doomguy's situation, I reckon it's alright.

And it's not that hard to code in either.


edit: removed the word "deployed" from the weapon description.

8
Discussion / Re: Call for Uniques/Exotics
« on: April 21, 2016, 00:10 »
Gonna throw another run at the "Weaksauce".

A 2d3 shotty, standard spread, low drop-off, 3 round magazine (used like a tactical shotty), plasma damage. Its primary purpose is radar-shooting and barrel popping. Could just about give it a N mod equivalent for unlimited recharging ammo, just so it's a tool-weapon that only takes up 1 inventory slot to use. Fully moddable, just in case you want more reload speed/magazine/damage(?) (or want to use up a mod to free up inventory space). 1 sec fire, 0.8sec reload (not needed unless you have very good firing speeds). Uses shells or plasma, whatever, it's nano. Your choice Kornel. Maybe make it un-reloadable, but that does remove a use for it being a mod-dump tool-weapon. T mods for proper stuff, B for mag, Reloader traits, etc should still be useful, so slapping some plasma in shouldn't be a problem, even with free recharge on a small magazine size.

"This was the UAC's first attempt at a fully modifiable self-recharging plasma shotgun. Needless to say, it didn't go well. Useful for removing paint from walls or curling eyelashes at a distance."


Would 2d3 at a distance still pop barrels and radar-shoot with damage drop-off? Minimum 1 damage isn't it, at good range, with 5% dropoff?

In theory you could WK(1) it into a 5d3 nano-plasma shotty if you really wanted to, but no-one would spend 3 P mods to do so. I wouldn't mind if it was "Fully moddable" with five mods standard, breaking the "three mods of one type" limit beyond anything else possible, so a 5P mod/7d3 damage Weaksauce is possible. Without any WK requirements to do so. So any 5-mod combo is possible, on a tiny, weak nano-plasma shotty. Still, just a handy little tool-weapon that does a "thing" for anyone. Radar shooting without the ammo problems.

edit: 2d3 damage, and "Full Mod" blurb. It has potential. Kind of..... :)


-------------
So, the "Weaksauce":

2d3 nano plasma shotgun, standard spread, 5% damage drop-off, 3 round magazine (tactical).
1sec fire speed, 0.8sec reload.
Uses plasma for reloads, 5 plasma per shot, but nano reloads anyway (Shottyman problem?)
5 mod limit (without the 3-of-one-kind limit). No Whizzkid requirements for modding.

Description:

"This was the UAC's only attempt at a fully modifiable self-recharging plasma shotgun. It didn't work out well. Still useful for curling eyelashes at a distance though."

(I forget the text character limits on in-game weapon descriptions)

Easy enough to code anyway. Radar shooting flashlight, unless you put a lot of stuff on it. Could even up the damage to 3d3 if you didn't mind it potentially becoming mod-dump godly (and more vaguely useful). Might actually break walls if you did.
---------

9
Discussion / Re: Balancing Assemblies
« on: April 20, 2016, 23:47 »
Long time, no post.....

Hmmm. I can understand people's thoughts on the value of certain weapons, but much of it comes down to liked play-styles and builds. Most certainly character builds.

Almost every weapon is useful with the right build. Shottyman reloads rocket launchers. Running up to WK(2) still gives the massively powerful option of Juggler along the way. And then there's all the master traits skewing things further on "is this any good?"

There's some assemblies that are too good in comparison to anything else available on a regular basis. Tac Boots, Tactical Shotties, Speed Loaders for pistol runs.

But it's all so very contextual. How good is an O or N mod? Absolutely friggin fantastic on any armour or weapon. You've just saved yourself inventory slots and build space, all with one random, very lucky find.

So that's why I find N and O based assemblies "not that great". They were already awesome as 1-mod weapons or armour. The WK(2) requirements for bigger assemblies is a hassle, but it has it's advantages (Juggler). Even having the option to whip out a DB or shotty or RL at a moment's notice is fantastic, and the big assemblies pale in comparison. So they're not really worthwhile building towards, especially O and N based ones, because the build does a lot with only a smattering of mods applied to non-assembly weapons.

I'd personally deal with it by increasing the number of assemblies (basic and advanced, but not O or N based ones), and let the player work it out. It'll be impossible to balance all weapons and armours due to the variation in character builds and play-styles, so just slightly nerf the "really good ones", and add to an abundance of options.

Maybe make the wall not have a ML in it either. I know, it's heresy, but that's what makes other RLs seem weak (and there's not enough types to build). Give a chainsword, rather than a chainsaw, in the CC too.

Maybe even make a mod that's a "You can mod this weapon more now" mod, about as rare as O/N/F mods, so bigger assemblies aren't always about character build. And the character builds are more key to balance and usefulness than any particular weapon/mod/assembly. Because they can and will happen in every game, entirely controlled by the player. A few masters aren't great, but maybe that just means others are too good.

But a slight nerf to a couple of assemblies, a slight boost to some, and more of everything is how I'd do it. You can't balance everything, but you can give enough options to the player that it's up to them on what they want to overpower in any way they can.

10
Off Topic / SNES savestate, SNESDroid: Genghis Khan II
« on: April 29, 2015, 23:03 »
An AI vs AI (vs AI......) savestate from Snesdroid of Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Grey Wolf.

Yep, I couldn't take a screenshot.

Has anyone else got some of the stranger little 4X snap saves from old school games?

Go go Japan! Be the Mongolian Horde!


11
General Discussion / Re: Design Rant : Inventory
« on: May 22, 2014, 22:41 »
Anyway. End of thoughts, but I'll modify the above posts a fair bit over the next day or so. De-coupling both weapons and ammo from the backpack seems like a good option though.

Hmmmm. I'm going drinking until I remember what I was going to put in this post. Probably some stuff about levelling. Or mods. Maybe ammo. It was something profound that vaguely linked into it all. Might just be a placeholder for mock-ups.

There's traits, modding, and the backpack and all kinds of stuff still left though. Classes, itemization. The list goes on.....

12
General Discussion / Re: Design Rant : Inventory
« on: May 22, 2014, 21:03 »
Traits/level ups.

While this may be a little off-topic, it does have bearing on the things I mentioned. I see JH as being a "larger" game than DoomRL, especially in it's levelling system. Rather than 9-12 choices in any given standard run, it might be more common to hit level 20 or 30 (or have 20-30 choices to make) by the time you finish the game.

This is a good thing. It offers not only a more controlled levelling system, it stops the "power-jumping" that is present in DoomRL. Some advanced or master traits are so different that you can go from average to godly in one level, where the ones before it felt incremental in power. It's a part of the game, it's good, but it doesn't have to be that way.

A faster, but more incremental levelling system can also allow for more synergies and build strategies than are immediately obvious. The amount of level-ups aren't really the problem, you could just as easily have 2 or 3 traits per level-up. But it would allow a more complex system to be used.

Which ties us back into inventory. I guess this is more of a question than a thought:

How much of the levelling/trait system is expected to be used on inventory buffs or item modding in JH?

I'm a fan of de-coupling mechanics, yet making them obvious to the player. I'm also a fan of synergies and unexpectedly powerful builds. Will there be items or traits to expand inventory size or use? I like my outlined thoughts above for such a system (as poorly explained as they are), but how much is set as "this is your character" and how much is changeable throughout play? Inventory is a big issue in this.

13
General Discussion / Re: Design Rant : Inventory
« on: May 22, 2014, 19:16 »
(I'll make a different post for each section, the ideas don't need to be used together)

1-d weapon slots.

As noted, I like tetris inventories. But in a game like JH, it would seem weird to have a left/right hand slot, other stuff, and everything else is in the backpack. How many soldiers carry weapons and ammo and other crap in their backpack? Mostly its ammunition pouches for ammo, held/shoulder strapped/holstered/webbing for weapons/grenades, and other stuff in the backpack. Some stuff needs to be accessible quickly, some is in the pack.

So I think JH could use 3 different areas. Guns, ammo, backpack. Guns being a 1d list, ammo being pouch/slot based (as mentioned above) and then a slot or tetris based backpack. Why? Simplicity (even if it sounds complicated).

How many weapons should JHGuy (son of DoomGuy) be able to carry? All of them? Certainly more than a primary/secondary, but all of them, all at once? Probably not.

So give weapons a size, with a maximum amount of "size" to be carried. You have 10 "amount" to be carried, with a dual-wield able to be used for size 1 weapons. Primary/secondary gives faster switching.  Pistols, knives, grenades, etc are size 1, SMGs size 2, shotguns size 3, chainguns/RLs size 4, BFGs size 5. Whatever. Size will be a balance thing.

You can only carry weapons up to the maximum value. Traits/level-ups/armours may increase the allowable size limit, decrease the size a certain weapon class is (level into dual-weilding SMGs or shotguns!) or do all kinds of other things (switch speeds for specific sizes of weapons or types, etc). But it will handily provide a cap for the amount of weapons a player can carry at any given time without backpack size being king. Weapons should be independent of the amount of other stuff you can carry, otherwise backpack size = everything, which it shouldn't be.

Whilst I'm on about de-coupling various mechanics from each other, weapon size and weapon type don't need to be the same stat either. You can have size 4 beefy shotguns and size 3 "chaingun" assault rifles. And really big fucking guns. This ties into traits and builds as well as itemization and armour. Ammo plays a role as well, since a mini-gun sure does hold a lot of bullets, even if it's a bit bigger than a chain-gun, pistol or SMG.

Taken with the ideas on ammunition above, it doesn't railroad you into certain things, but it does limit them nicely. The starting ammo pouches/weapon-size values were arbitrarily picked, they're just an example.

(I've got heaps more to add to this one. I might do a mockup myself to show what I mean).

14
General Discussion / Re: Design Rant : Inventory
« on: May 22, 2014, 18:24 »
Figured I'd throw in my 2c.

I like tetris systems. Loved them in Diablo, X-com, UFO:AI, in fact every game with them seems to be good. It's the micro-managey part of me coming out, that likes packing as much useful crap into the available space as the system allows. That said, I sort of thought that's what you'd like to avoid in JH.

So a few thoughts/questions:

Rather than specific types of ammo boxes, could you have generic ones, ammo pouches, with more being unlocked with traits/items? You can change the load-out of what ammo your pouches take as you want, but you'll still be ammo (and in a sense, weapon) limited. It would give another level of customization to characters.  Want a shotgun based character? Then all three initial pouches get set to pickup shells. Want a versatile one? Then 9mm/shell/plasma might be a handy loadout, but you'll have less total ammo for each type of weapon than the shotgun-only build would have. They'll undoubtedly be more common than specific boxes would be, but more useful as a character boost. Getting more pouches means more ammo for a specific weapon OR more versatility, but not both. Yet you can change what ammo they take on-the-fly should opportunities or circumstances dictate. It also gives you a weapon/sustainability/build progression option, without ever letting a "juggler of DOOM!" scenario come up (or having piles of ammo from the first few levels just looking for a use). It's limiting, but it lets you limit power-per-area fairly effectively, without forcing the player into a set character type. Of course, different ammo is larger or smaller per pouch used (similar to DoomRL's slot system). 10 rockets, 50 shells, 100 9mm for each pouch as an example.

When your character changes ammo types in any pouch, they literally will be throwing the ammo from that pouch away. Hopefully in a manner that will never let the enemy use it against them later (it's not recoverable because it's Space Marine Directive #402.4/b to never leave viable ammo around that the enemy may fire at you later. All excess ammunition that can not be stored, carried or equipped is to be rendered un-useable to prevent war materiel falling into enemy hands).

You can reload from lockers any weapon you're carrying, but you destroy any leftovers if you don't have pouches set to grab that ammo type (and have room for it in those pouches). This also gives different weapons of the same ammo type good uses regardless. A 50 round ammo capacity gun may be worth carrying just due to it's "ammo-slot" potential, rather than it's strict damage output. Which is a nice mechanic for uniques and specials. Or alternatively, it gives bulk mods a big side benefit of being able to be used asap (unless there's a specific assembly/whatever you want) for it's slotless ammo bonus.

Pouches could also be set-and-forget. Once you've determined the sort of ammo they take, you can't change it. Again, a balance issue. It'd almost put them in the power-up category, but would remove ammo micro-management entirely. I like the free-form idea more really, but "set-and-forget" is an option.

You could combine all of the above as well. Possibly even have different "levels" of ammo pouch. Some are just shell pouches. Some are big shell pouches. Some are alien shell pouches giving slightly better reload speed. Some are set-and-forget. Some are set-as-you-please. Some are needs-a-tech-mod-to-reset-them. A different form of micro-management, but cooler. Who knows? (yeah, well, chaosforge does, but they tend to). This might be making simplicity complicated, so I'd stick with a generic ammo pouch or set-and-forget for early builds.

(will edit more thoughts in soon. 1d weapon slots and traits, etc)

15
Didn't actually cross my mind that it'd be used for 0.1 second waiting (which it would). I completely retract my statement on that as a nerf.

Actually, watching your Let's Play made me realize how rarely I use gift-dropping and waiting in comparison to other players. I do use it, but only to clear a room or two in a tricky situation, not as an extensive tool. I'll have to start doing so. I don't have too much of a problem getting a few wins on UV, but it looks like my win % will go up drastically if I used it more often.

I'll agree that there's plenty of powerful traits, even very versatile ones, but that shows a good levelup system at work. Even "lesser" traits are often just a step on the road to something very powerful or synergistic to a build. I guess my thoughts on Juggler are based on my playstyle. I'm not very cautious and have been known to play rather drunk (and thus not strategizing well or at all). Then Juggler is an absolute lifesaver. It allows you to be slightly more oblivious to game mechanics and obvious situations that should be used to your advantage yet still come out on top.

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