Torchlight (PC game, roguelikeish)

[chem]

I just wanted to mention that a new single player PC game has been released that may be of interest to Angband players. It costs $20. I had nothing to do with it (this is not an ad), but many of the original Diablo 2 developers did. As Diablo is -- at its heart -- an angband variant, I thought I'd mention it in this forum.

The game is "Torchlight". It features random dungeons, permadeath, items/classes/bosses/etc.

http://www.torchlightgame.com/

http://en.runicgamesfansite.com/rgwiki/index.php?title=Torchlight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight

If they game does well, the company plans to make a MMO off the same concept. This is not a Big Corporate Title. I hope some other *band players out there may enjoy it.

[RogerN]

Just saw this earlier tonight. I'll definitely try out the free demo (available on Steam), if only to hear Matt Uelmen's (of Diablo fame) soundtrack

[Sirridan]

Wow nice find... definitely interesting since I'm a bit tired of angband, and playing diablo ii again isn't quite what I'm looking for.

[Zikke]

Just saw this earlier tonight. I'll definitely try out the free demo (available on Steam), if only to hear Matt Uelmen's (of Diablo fame) soundtrack

Where is this demo? It looks really cool!

[Tenka]

I have had it for a few days, it's absolutely nothing like a roguelike in anyway whatsoever. It's an "action RPG" button masher.

Good fun, great potential for modders but as it comes in the box, it's even less an rpg than Diablo is. Torchlight single player seem to be just a standard bearer for the planned Torchlight MMO.

The randomized dungeons are interesting at first, but soon everything looks the same anyway and, unlike angband, the shape/size of rooms makes nearly no tactical difference at all.

I'll be keeping an eye out for any interesting mods than come along, but I got bored of the standard game in a couple of days.

[RogerN]

Meh.

I wanted to like the Torchlight demo, but for some reason it just doesn't draw me in. I enjoyed Diablo and Diablo II, and I agree 100% that Torchlight feels almost exactly like Diablo. But something just isn't clicking for me... I find myself feeling bored after about 20 minutes.

The graphics are OK. They seem a little dark on my dated CRT monitor, so I wish there was a brightness control, but it's still playable as-is. I wish some of the effects were a little less flashy, but that's just personal preference.

Maybe it's the transition to 3D that's bothering me? Diablo's 2D art felt grittier or something. Or maybe it's something about the levels - Torchlight feels a *lot* more linear to me than Diablo's random levels.

As far as item drops go, there's way too much junk. So I guess it is like an Angband variant in that way

[Whelk]

Late to the party, but I got this game and I'm loving it. It's not ground-breaking or anything, but it's a fun, simple hack-and-slash game that I can pop in and play for a bit when I've got time.

I really enjoy the art style and music. I enjoy that my alchemist can effectively wield staves to beat the snot out of anything I come across, rather than being a typical squishy non-melee caster class. Only level I haven't liked so far is the lava prison place. Red is my favorite color, but there's only so much I can handle.

It's not Angband 3D or anything, but it definitely has a roguelike feel in my opinion. Heck, it made me want to play Angband again. I've mourned my dead level-45(ish) kobold rogue long enough.

[RogerN]

I gave the game another try and found that I enjoyed it more once I increased the difficulty level and tried a different class. My current character is an alchemist specializing in summoning / pets. It's fairly addictive

I agree with Whelk that the lava prison place is hard on the eyes. Also, this game is TMJ x 1000... I must send home four of five dogloads (that's an SI unit, right?) of junk to sell before finding one item that's tempting to use.

[Whelk]

Yeah, there -is- a lot of junk to sell. I'm glad the pet can run back and sell stuff for you. It might be a bit too annoying otherwise.

I started on normal and destroyed everything too easily all the into to the fifth area/tileset/zone/whatever you want to call it, so I started over on Hard instead, and the game became much more fun. Once I beat the campaign I need to play it on Hardcore mode so it's just like good old Angband - permanent death.

I'm enjoying my alchemist using both of the golems as well as ember lance. I like how any class can find and use the various for-anyone spells. Summoner alchemists do great with the addition of the summon skeletons, zombies and archers spells. You can have a pretty decent horde running around that's nice and effective, unlike the summons in Diablo II that were pretty much just fodder (at least in my experience).

[Jude]

Junk to sell? In Angband and Diablo I just leave or destroy everything that isn't magical. Of course in Angband you have to carry it around if you don't identify it...does this game have identifying?

[RogerN]

Junk to sell? In Angband and Diablo I just leave or destroy everything that isn't magical. Of course in Angband you have to carry it around if you don't identify it...does this game have identifying?

Yes, you must identify objects before you can use them.

Selling the junk is really your primary source of income. You don't get much from gold drops IMO. And you need lots of gold in order to use the Enchanter service in town, which is your best bet for obtaining high-powered items.

[Jude]

Yes, you must identify objects before you can use them.

Selling the junk is really your primary source of income. You don't get much from gold drops IMO. And you need lots of gold in order to use the Enchanter service in town, which is your best bet for obtaining high-powered items.

That seems contrary to the philosophy of this kind of game. Aren't monsters in the dungeon supposed to the main source of good items?