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1
Requests For Features / Re: DoomRL on different languages
« on: April 29, 2012, 17:58 »
Japanese would not be a problem, as there is a separate set of phonetic characters for foreign words/names. The issue is support for double-width characters etc.
3
Requests For Features / Re: Animation
« on: April 05, 2012, 05:36 »
I'm halfway onboard. I think lava, acid, water and some powerups and items would benefit from cyclic animations but anything mobile would look out of place with a cycled animation.
4
Requests For Features / Re: Less reliance on the wiki
« on: March 31, 2012, 05:22 »
Good to know about the A key, thanks for that! I assume that's a fairly new feature?
I should have known better than to write 'every' player, because that is guaranteed to get all the 'oh but I didn't' players to jump on the thread. I would be very very surprised if the vast majority of DoomRL players hadn't checked the assembly wiki page at least. It's currently the only page that I consider required viewing, the rest depends on how spoiled you like things.
I think I'm actually quite careful about not spoiling my own game too much, I do like discovery and I love the Roguelike idea of the player getting better being much more important than your character getting better - it is, after all, a key element of what distinguishes roguelikes from grindy RPGs and MMOs. That's why I think that in this age of the internet and wikis the balance between given information and hidden information has to be very carefully considered. I really really want to be able to play any given roguelike without EVER consulting a wiki for anything. So far the only really fleshed out roguelikes that have got the balance right for me are DCSS and Brogue... Brogue being the perfect example and DCSS barely scraping a pass. DoomRL is just too far out on a limb with all its deliberately hidden information and really hard to grasp mechanics. It really worked with it's simple coffee-break origins when all you were trying to do was kill the cyberdemon, but now it just makes things confusing for new players and diamond badge hunters alike.
I do agree that GUI clutter should be avoided. I agree that spoiling the limited selection of monsters would be pointless - you can get a feel for how to handle them very quickly. There is a lot of unused space in menu screens that could be put to better use without them feeling 'cluttered' though.
I also agree that the game is forgiving enough to let you win without any spoilers, but I disagree with the implications of "If you want to handle the tough stuff then yes, you'll certainly want to take whatever advantage you can get, but by then you're already playing a very different game." You should be able to attempt diamond badges using only the information provided in-game, and I don't believe that is currently really feasible for most people.
I've played hundreds and hundreds of games, and I still don't really understand shotguns, despite them being my favourite weapon. That's wrong. I think I die more often with a plasma shotgun than a shrapnel one because I never know if I'm going to destroy walls or not, and sometimes when I'm sure I've got all those lost souls covered I haven't, I die and that sucks. I've got all the basic assemblies and two advanced assemblies, but having looked at the wiki I can see there's no way I'd ever be able to guess all the remaining ones, especially with all the purple mods required. That's wrong. I've shot perhaps hundreds of thousands of bullets and yet I still have only the faintest hunch of a feeling as to how my point-blank hit % relates to hitting a monster at the edge of my vision. I think sniper packs are good...? They must be, right? Anyway, I think I've over-stated my case a little too vehemently and I doubt it'll make much difference so I'll let it drop, but I really hope the designers at least think a little on these points, as I'd love to see DoomRL become as polished as Brogue one day.
I should have known better than to write 'every' player, because that is guaranteed to get all the 'oh but I didn't' players to jump on the thread. I would be very very surprised if the vast majority of DoomRL players hadn't checked the assembly wiki page at least. It's currently the only page that I consider required viewing, the rest depends on how spoiled you like things.
I think I'm actually quite careful about not spoiling my own game too much, I do like discovery and I love the Roguelike idea of the player getting better being much more important than your character getting better - it is, after all, a key element of what distinguishes roguelikes from grindy RPGs and MMOs. That's why I think that in this age of the internet and wikis the balance between given information and hidden information has to be very carefully considered. I really really want to be able to play any given roguelike without EVER consulting a wiki for anything. So far the only really fleshed out roguelikes that have got the balance right for me are DCSS and Brogue... Brogue being the perfect example and DCSS barely scraping a pass. DoomRL is just too far out on a limb with all its deliberately hidden information and really hard to grasp mechanics. It really worked with it's simple coffee-break origins when all you were trying to do was kill the cyberdemon, but now it just makes things confusing for new players and diamond badge hunters alike.
I do agree that GUI clutter should be avoided. I agree that spoiling the limited selection of monsters would be pointless - you can get a feel for how to handle them very quickly. There is a lot of unused space in menu screens that could be put to better use without them feeling 'cluttered' though.
I also agree that the game is forgiving enough to let you win without any spoilers, but I disagree with the implications of "If you want to handle the tough stuff then yes, you'll certainly want to take whatever advantage you can get, but by then you're already playing a very different game." You should be able to attempt diamond badges using only the information provided in-game, and I don't believe that is currently really feasible for most people.
I've played hundreds and hundreds of games, and I still don't really understand shotguns, despite them being my favourite weapon. That's wrong. I think I die more often with a plasma shotgun than a shrapnel one because I never know if I'm going to destroy walls or not, and sometimes when I'm sure I've got all those lost souls covered I haven't, I die and that sucks. I've got all the basic assemblies and two advanced assemblies, but having looked at the wiki I can see there's no way I'd ever be able to guess all the remaining ones, especially with all the purple mods required. That's wrong. I've shot perhaps hundreds of thousands of bullets and yet I still have only the faintest hunch of a feeling as to how my point-blank hit % relates to hitting a monster at the edge of my vision. I think sniper packs are good...? They must be, right? Anyway, I think I've over-stated my case a little too vehemently and I doubt it'll make much difference so I'll let it drop, but I really hope the designers at least think a little on these points, as I'd love to see DoomRL become as polished as Brogue one day.
5
Requests For Features / Less reliance on the wiki
« on: March 29, 2012, 06:51 »
DoomRL has always had a tendency to obscure information that forces players to look online for answers. Once someone looks at a wiki for essential information it's hard to resist looking at spoilers too.
First there were hidden trait prerequisites, thankfully those are now open.
Now there are hidden assembly patterns, which every player of DoomRL has consulted the wiki to find out.
There's also quite a bit of confusing or hidden information that I think new players could benefit from such as: Accuracy drop-off rates for distance and darkness. Shotgun splash area, with '+0 accuracy' and descriptions for items with hidden abilities, especially really hidden info like which things are moddable and by who.
I'd like to see a version of DoomRL that doesn't obscure essential information. Failing this, at least give the player access to the information they've unlocked. A key to view 'known assemblies' during play would be a step in the right direction, showing all assembly paths (not necessarily what they make) from the beginning would be nice too. % chance to hit a given targeted creature would be nice, or at least a % chance to hit at maximum visual range in addition to point-blank. Shotgun splash area shown as highlighted squares, perhaps colour-coded for damage drop-off would be nice too. Beefing up item descriptions would be very easy to do.
Unfortunately I suspect that most, if not all, of the hidden information in DoomRL is the result of design choice and is 'working as intended'. I can only hope that decision gets overturned eventually...
Sorry for the long whinge, and of course thanks to everyone involved in making this fantastic game!
First there were hidden trait prerequisites, thankfully those are now open.
Now there are hidden assembly patterns, which every player of DoomRL has consulted the wiki to find out.
There's also quite a bit of confusing or hidden information that I think new players could benefit from such as: Accuracy drop-off rates for distance and darkness. Shotgun splash area, with '+0 accuracy' and descriptions for items with hidden abilities, especially really hidden info like which things are moddable and by who.
I'd like to see a version of DoomRL that doesn't obscure essential information. Failing this, at least give the player access to the information they've unlocked. A key to view 'known assemblies' during play would be a step in the right direction, showing all assembly paths (not necessarily what they make) from the beginning would be nice too. % chance to hit a given targeted creature would be nice, or at least a % chance to hit at maximum visual range in addition to point-blank. Shotgun splash area shown as highlighted squares, perhaps colour-coded for damage drop-off would be nice too. Beefing up item descriptions would be very easy to do.
Unfortunately I suspect that most, if not all, of the hidden information in DoomRL is the result of design choice and is 'working as intended'. I can only hope that decision gets overturned eventually...
Sorry for the long whinge, and of course thanks to everyone involved in making this fantastic game!
6
Requests For Features / Re: Inventory management
« on: March 24, 2012, 15:01 »
That is a massive improvement, thanks!
Aside from anything else, I won't have to worry about losing an important item to explosions while replacing something in future releases.
Inventory fiddling was the only thing preventing AoLT from being my favourite challenge, so this makes me very happy =)
Aside from anything else, I won't have to worry about losing an important item to explosions while replacing something in future releases.
Inventory fiddling was the only thing preventing AoLT from being my favourite challenge, so this makes me very happy =)
7
Requests For Features / Ground at your feet as inventory slot
« on: March 24, 2012, 00:50 »
Nope, my first idea was better after all:
The ground at your feet should be an inventory/equipment slot. Combining the inventory and equipment pages would help too. Both these changes would make inventory management in AoLT so much easier.
The ground at your feet should be an inventory/equipment slot. Combining the inventory and equipment pages would help too. Both these changes would make inventory management in AoLT so much easier.
8
Requests For Features / Re: DoomRL on different languages
« on: March 14, 2012, 03:27 »
I can translate into Japanese. Got the free time and the motivation, and knowing the Japanese gaming community as I do it's a translation they really need! How can I get started?
9
Requests For Features / Inventory management
« on: March 10, 2012, 13:28 »
So I posted this complaint elsewhere but having come up with a better solution I thought I'd create this thread.
Currently, equipping a new item with a full inventory is a 6 or 7 step process (I thought it was 5, then I realised moving counts too)
How about adding some extra functionality to dropping? If you drop an item from any equipment or inventory slot, IF there's an item on the ground at your feet that item will replace the dropped item in the slot just freed up IF the item is of the appropriate type.
So, to take a common example in AoLT: you have green armour equipped and a full inventory. You are standing over blue armour. You go to your equipment screen, select the green armour, it tells you you have no room in your inventory, do you want to EXCHANGE items? You say yes and hey presto, you equip blue armour, the green is at your feet and no inventory shuffling was required.
This could work for the drop key too.
This would be so much simpler than the current process:
1) Drop an item you want to keep
2) Move over the blue armour
3) Pick up the blue armour
4) Equip the blue armour
5) Drop the green armour
6) Move over item left at (1)
7) Pick up the item
So, that's my no.1 request for DoomRL.
The other that comes to mind is related to the new graphical mode. How about two fast scroll keys to view the level? Using the mouse takes quite a long time, especially on a touchpad.
Cheers!
Currently, equipping a new item with a full inventory is a 6 or 7 step process (I thought it was 5, then I realised moving counts too)
How about adding some extra functionality to dropping? If you drop an item from any equipment or inventory slot, IF there's an item on the ground at your feet that item will replace the dropped item in the slot just freed up IF the item is of the appropriate type.
So, to take a common example in AoLT: you have green armour equipped and a full inventory. You are standing over blue armour. You go to your equipment screen, select the green armour, it tells you you have no room in your inventory, do you want to EXCHANGE items? You say yes and hey presto, you equip blue armour, the green is at your feet and no inventory shuffling was required.
This could work for the drop key too.
This would be so much simpler than the current process:
1) Drop an item you want to keep
2) Move over the blue armour
3) Pick up the blue armour
4) Equip the blue armour
5) Drop the green armour
6) Move over item left at (1)
7) Pick up the item
So, that's my no.1 request for DoomRL.
The other that comes to mind is related to the new graphical mode. How about two fast scroll keys to view the level? Using the mouse takes quite a long time, especially on a touchpad.
Cheers!
10
Announcements / Re: DoomRL 0.9.9.6 RELEASED!
« on: February 29, 2012, 12:19 »
Awesome, really enjoyed the new release and finally got 1st lieutenant to boot.
One question though, is there any better way of equipping new stuff when your inventory is full? The current system seems to be:
1) drop an item you'd prefer to keep
2) pick up new equipment
3) equip it
4) drop replaced equipment
5) pick up item dropped at (1)
This really comes to the fore when doing AoLT.
I'd love to see the ground at your feet as another slot in the inventory and equipment menus.
Of course, if I've missed something really obvious please let me know =)
One question though, is there any better way of equipping new stuff when your inventory is full? The current system seems to be:
1) drop an item you'd prefer to keep
2) pick up new equipment
3) equip it
4) drop replaced equipment
5) pick up item dropped at (1)
This really comes to the fore when doing AoLT.
I'd love to see the ground at your feet as another slot in the inventory and equipment menus.
Of course, if I've missed something really obvious please let me know =)
11
Requests For Features / Re: DS Lite port
« on: August 28, 2008, 19:35 »
Ah, from Kornel's reply it looks like waiting for the source is the only option then...
12
Requests For Features / DS Lite port
« on: August 27, 2008, 16:53 »
Apologies if this has already been requested before, but I couldn't find anything when searching.
Anyone who has ever played Nethack on the DS (http://frodo.dyn.gno.org/~brettk/NetHackDS) has seen how RogueLikes can be successfully ported, and no doubt how many other attempts can fail dismally (there are no Crawl variants out there worth touching, AFAIK)
I would LOVE to see a fully touch-screen functional DoomRL on the DS, and would happily contribute money to such a project! I guess it's either that or wait patiently for the source, which can't come soon enough...
Anyone who has ever played Nethack on the DS (http://frodo.dyn.gno.org/~brettk/NetHackDS) has seen how RogueLikes can be successfully ported, and no doubt how many other attempts can fail dismally (there are no Crawl variants out there worth touching, AFAIK)
I would LOVE to see a fully touch-screen functional DoomRL on the DS, and would happily contribute money to such a project! I guess it's either that or wait patiently for the source, which can't come soon enough...
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