6 ms·

This is a great rogue-like indie game. I highly recommend it. You should know, my recommendation is essentially a guarantee.

hobs 13y ago
Yeah, if you havent played it already it is definitely worth a spin. However every time I play it I just want to launch dwarf fortress again.
- fragsworth 13y ago
  Wow, Dwarf Fortress. In case anyone doesn't know, it's supported exclusively by donations and the developer apparently refuses to do it any other way. It's really incredible, because (especially during updates) he makes upwards of $15k/month off donations. Evidently, that's enough, so he keeps chugging along....
  - vacri 13y ago
    Closer to $3-4k/month, which is higher than it used to be, odd given that there hasn't been a release for 18 months. Monthly announcements include donations: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=8.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=8.0
  - Semaphor 13y ago
    Here are some Stories about the game / devs that were on HN before: https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=Dwarf+Fortress&start=0 https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=Dwarf+...
- dangayle 13y ago
  I simply can't wrap my head around the ascii interface. I wish it had even the most basic of sprites.
  - PeterisP 13y ago
    It supports sprites and I also wouldn't play without them - try, for example, the 'lazy newb pack'[1] which includes the popular sprite packs in the installer. There seems to be a newer kit [2] but I haven't tried that. [1] http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/?topic=59026.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/?topic=59026.0 [2] http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126076.msg4250423#msg4250423 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126076.msg425...
    - dangayle 13y ago
      Thanks! That's useful
simias 13y ago
To offer a counterpoint I on the other hand was pretty disappointed with the game. I found there was not enough variety with the encounters (you keep seeing the same "abandoned space station"/"rogue drone" events very regularly). It's hard to forgive because all events are text-based, so it's not really difficult to add variety. That being said, maybe this extension solves this issue by adding a lot more events. Others point out the extreme randomness of the game but I think it's only an issue because the game forces you to push forward (backtracking is almost never possible or very costly) which reduces your margin of error and makes you very dependent on the clemency of the "Random Number God". It's of course a very explicit design choice and the game wouldn't be the same without it but it does make for some very frustrating moments. But I think the main problem I've had with the game is that it's sold as a roguelike (or rather, a roguelike-like) and in my opinion in doesn't come close to DCSS, nethack, angband and others in terms of depth of gameplay and "replayability". For me a roguelike is a game where you can end up in a seemingly desperate situation and still succeed by thinking out of the box and use an unexpected strategy. I've never had one of those moments in FTL. You can't take over other people's ships for instance, which would open a lot of new strategies. Of course the definition of "roguelike" is a bit loose so maybe I'm just too narrow minded. All that being said for it's price it's definitely worth trying and see for yourself, I know some people have sunk hundreds of hours in this game so I guess they found something in it that eluded me...
- lobotryas 13y ago
  >so it's not really difficult to add variety This strikes me as a "how hard can it be to code?" line of thinking. Writing can be incredibly challenging, not to mention the code that drives the event and the testing involved. What I really wish the creators had done is made it much easier to mod the game with player-created content. >depth of gameplay Just putting it out there: this game was created by two guys and it's unknown if they were even able to devote their full attention to it. In my personal opinion, given this context, the result is impressive. >I've never had one of those moments in FTL They do exist. One time I destroyed the enemy but the boarders were absolutely destroying my Engie crew. Thankfully my doors were upgraded, but my Medbay was down. In the end I used a Fire Bomb weapon against my own ship multiple times to kill the boarders.
Grue3 13y ago
Stop calling it roguelike. You're doing a disservice to people who know what a roguelike is, because this game is nothing like Rogue. Also I got bored with it after 3 play throughs, there's just not enough variety.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- itsybitsycoder 13y ago
  It's also a disservice to people who don't know what a roguelike is. I love FTL but after playing it I blew way too much money on actual roguelikes hoping I'd find something with a similar feel. :( (If you got bored with it within 3 playthroughs, you probably didn't get to try the rock, slug, or stealth ships, all of which have very different strategies from the starter ship and change the gameplay/strategy up quite a bit. I find rock & slug a lot more fun than the Kestrel. Or maybe it's just not your kind of game, that's OK too. :))
- mden 13y ago
  So should we call it a roguelikelike? It exhibits many features of a roguelike game including randomized maps/battles, permadeath, and essentially turn based combat. I think it's fair to say that the roguelike genre has evolved passed just being narrowly Rogue-like.
  - itsameta4 13y ago
    I've heard it referred to as a "Rogue-lite".
- codezero 13y ago
  I'm happy to edit my comment, sorry for doing a disservice. Can you explain to me what makes it not roguelike? You might want to edit the Wikipedia article for it, as it's described as roguelike and part of the roguelike genre. My understanding was that randomized maps with permadeath was sufficient to consider something roguelike, this isn't to say it is a direct descendant of Rogue, but maybe I need to learn the lingo, so I'd appreciate your clarification. Your getting bored with it isn't by itself a convincing argument that it's not roguelike :P

hobs 13y ago

Yeah, if you havent played it already it is definitely worth a spin. However every time I play it I just want to launch dwarf fortress again.

fragsworth 13y ago
Wow, Dwarf Fortress. In case anyone doesn't know, it's supported exclusively by donations and the developer apparently refuses to do it any other way. It's really incredible, because (especially during updates) he makes upwards of $15k/month off donations. Evidently, that's enough, so he keeps chugging along....
- vacri 13y ago
  Closer to $3-4k/month, which is higher than it used to be, odd given that there hasn't been a release for 18 months. Monthly announcements include donations: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=8.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=8.0
- Semaphor 13y ago
  Here are some Stories about the game / devs that were on HN before: https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=Dwarf+Fortress&start=0 https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=Dwarf+...
dangayle 13y ago
I simply can't wrap my head around the ascii interface. I wish it had even the most basic of sprites.
- PeterisP 13y ago
  It supports sprites and I also wouldn't play without them - try, for example, the 'lazy newb pack'[1] which includes the popular sprite packs in the installer. There seems to be a newer kit [2] but I haven't tried that. [1] http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/?topic=59026.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/?topic=59026.0 [2] http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126076.msg4250423#msg4250423 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=126076.msg425...
  - dangayle 13y ago
    Thanks! That's useful

simias 13y ago

To offer a counterpoint I on the other hand was pretty disappointed with the game. I found there was not enough variety with the encounters (you keep seeing the same "abandoned space station"/"rogue drone" events very regularly). It's hard to forgive because all events are text-based, so it's not really difficult to add variety. That being said, maybe this extension solves this issue by adding a lot more events. Others point out the extreme randomness of the game but I think it's only an issue because the game forces you to push forward (backtracking is almost never possible or very costly) which reduces your margin of error and makes you very dependent on the clemency of the "Random Number God". It's of course a very explicit design choice and the game wouldn't be the same without it but it does make for some very frustrating moments. But I think the main problem I've had with the game is that it's sold as a roguelike (or rather, a roguelike-like) and in my opinion in doesn't come close to DCSS, nethack, angband and others in terms of depth of gameplay and "replayability". For me a roguelike is a game where you can end up in a seemingly desperate situation and still succeed by thinking out of the box and use an unexpected strategy. I've never had one of those moments in FTL. You can't take over other people's ships for instance, which would open a lot of new strategies. Of course the definition of "roguelike" is a bit loose so maybe I'm just too narrow minded. All that being said for it's price it's definitely worth trying and see for yourself, I know some people have sunk hundreds of hours in this game so I guess they found something in it that eluded me...

lobotryas 13y ago
>so it's not really difficult to add variety This strikes me as a "how hard can it be to code?" line of thinking. Writing can be incredibly challenging, not to mention the code that drives the event and the testing involved. What I really wish the creators had done is made it much easier to mod the game with player-created content. >depth of gameplay Just putting it out there: this game was created by two guys and it's unknown if they were even able to devote their full attention to it. In my personal opinion, given this context, the result is impressive. >I've never had one of those moments in FTL They do exist. One time I destroyed the enemy but the boarders were absolutely destroying my Engie crew. Thankfully my doors were upgraded, but my Medbay was down. In the end I used a Fire Bomb weapon against my own ship multiple times to kill the boarders.

Grue3 13y ago

Stop calling it roguelike. You're doing a disservice to people who know what a roguelike is, because this game is nothing like Rogue. Also I got bored with it after 3 play throughs, there's just not enough variety.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
itsybitsycoder 13y ago
It's also a disservice to people who don't know what a roguelike is. I love FTL but after playing it I blew way too much money on actual roguelikes hoping I'd find something with a similar feel. :( (If you got bored with it within 3 playthroughs, you probably didn't get to try the rock, slug, or stealth ships, all of which have very different strategies from the starter ship and change the gameplay/strategy up quite a bit. I find rock & slug a lot more fun than the Kestrel. Or maybe it's just not your kind of game, that's OK too. :))
mden 13y ago
So should we call it a roguelikelike? It exhibits many features of a roguelike game including randomized maps/battles, permadeath, and essentially turn based combat. I think it's fair to say that the roguelike genre has evolved passed just being narrowly Rogue-like.
- itsameta4 13y ago
  I've heard it referred to as a "Rogue-lite".
codezero 13y ago
I'm happy to edit my comment, sorry for doing a disservice. Can you explain to me what makes it not roguelike? You might want to edit the Wikipedia article for it, as it's described as roguelike and part of the roguelike genre. My understanding was that randomized maps with permadeath was sufficient to consider something roguelike, this isn't to say it is a direct descendant of Rogue, but maybe I need to learn the lingo, so I'd appreciate your clarification. Your getting bored with it isn't by itself a convincing argument that it's not roguelike :P