Cryptband looking for testers

[RogerN]

This is the first public release of Cryptband, and I'm looking for a few testers to provide feedback! Mostly I'm interested in quashing bugs and balancing monsters.

* Only Windows is supported right now. Cryptband is a .NET application (framework v2.0 required). It may be possible to run the game on Linux using WINE or Mono, but I haven't tried either.
* This version only supports tiles, no ASCII. ASCII support may be added in the future as I have time.
* The help files are almost non-existent. Keyboard commands are documented, however, and the game should be fairly intuitive for Angband veterans.

Download Cryptband v1.5
Download Cryptband Source v1.5 - Visual Studio 2008 project
Screenshot

There are several huge differences between Cryptband and Angband. In general, Cryptband is a much faster game.

* There are no stats (STR, CON, DEX, etc...) and therefore there is no stat gain.
* You do not gain experience from monsters. Instead, your character gains experience by diving deeper into the crypt. Take care not to dive too quickly, however, or you may find yourself under-equipped.
* Your maximum HP does not go up as you gain levels.
* There are no scrolls of recall. Instead, each level of the crypt has a portal back to town which can be used only once.
* Resting does not recover HP while in the crypt. The only way to recover HP is by returning to town or by drinking potions.
* Most items in your inventory do not stack. If you want to carry three scrolls of Phase Door then it's going to cost you three inventory slots.
* Speed is divided into movement speed, melee speed, ranged speed, and device speed. An item which grants you +10 movement speed does not allow you to swing your weapon any faster. Similarly, monsters which move very quickly will still attack and cast spells at normal speed. Actions not listed above are always performed at normal speed.
* Armor provides damage reduction, not evasion.
* Elemental resistances are quantitative and cumulative. For example, +6 fire resistance means that your character ignores the first 6 points of fire damage from a given attack.
* Cryptband uses fractional blows.
* All magical items are shown as {unusual} until they are completely identified. If you don't see the {unusual} tag then you know that an item is average.
* Players are encouraged to identify objects by using them. Cursed items are not sticky, and none of the consumables should kill you outright.
* All magical devices are activated with the zap command (z).

[buzzkill]

Looks cool, though I'm not sure about the greater concept. I'll definitely give it a spin when I get a chance.

[Sirridan]

Two things so far.

1. Giant rats breed too fast and are too strong.

EDIT:

I'm dumb, didn't see that resting isn't supposed to recover hp.

The big problem with that is a lot of the monsters are too strong in the early game, you'll run out of HP or money for potions, and since you can go up only once you can only heal once really without paying money.

Id' fix this by either letting resting recover hp in the dungeon, or after entering a portal coming from town, the portal re-opens somewhere else on the level, so you still have to hunt for it. Unless you want to force people to become healers early on so they can self heal and rest?

[SaThaRiel]

Well - sad...since you use this properietary M$ crap, i can't test this variant. Also i think that it could be quite interesting from the gameplay.
IMO you shouldn't use programming languages like visual C (or other one-manufacturer-one-system languages) for *Bands because its against the philosophy. They should run without trouble on most common computer systems and not only on windows.

[Pete Mack]

@SaThaRiel -- C# (and .NET) is not so proprietary as all that. Mono is an independent implementation. That said, I have no idea how complete an implementation it is. For something simple like an ascii terminal window, it should be pretty easy to stay compatible.

http://www.mono-project.com

And I have to say, C# + .NET is a very nice development platform. Want to find your armor class?

AC = Inventory
       .Where(x => x.Wielded)
       .Sum(x => x.ACBase + x.ACBonus)

[zaimoni]

@SaThaRiel -- C# (and .NET) is not so proprietary as all that. Mono is an independent implementation. That said, I have no idea how complete an implementation it is. For something simple like an ascii terminal window, it should be pretty easy to stay compatible.

There's a few non-*band C# roguelikes that handle Mono fine (Mono's text console support is close to complete).

That said, the fastest way a native Windows user could test a C# to Mono/Linux build would be a LiveDVD (and the LiveDVD would have to ship with both gcc and Mono).
* The LiveCDs generally don't have gcc.
* Gentoo has a bad reputation here. I'm currently using Knoppix 6.2.1, but suspect I'll want to build up a library of known-good LiveDVDs.

[RogerN]

1. Giant rats breed too fast and are too strong.

Ratsplosions are definitely dangerous. If enough testers complain then I'll tone them down a bit. There are already some mitigating factors, however:

1) They only have 2 HP
2) There's only a 5% chance of squeaking for reinforcements
3) Rats cannot open or bash doors, so doors are an effective escape
4) Their bite is pitifully weak, requiring an average of 25 hits (without missing) to kill the player

Also, note that armor helps a *lot* against weak attacks from low-level monsters. With an AC of 13 you will absorb an average of 1 damage from every physical attack. When fighting rats, this basically cuts their damage in half.

[Sirridan]

My biggest gripe so far really is the lack of healing, I'll play around some more though when I get home. So far I'm just afraid it will be by sheer luck I get down passed level 2 or 3. Maybe I should avoid monsters more heh.

Also, do you get xp for falling through trap doors? If not it kinda sucks, being unable to get that experience (I've been down to level 3 a few times, only because I've fallen through traps)

[RogerN]

Also, do you get xp for falling through trap doors? If not it kinda sucks, being unable to get that experience (I've been down to level 3 a few times, only because I've fallen through traps)

No and yes. You do not gain a level for falling through a trap door, but when you go down the next staircase you'll gain two levels (or more, if you've fallen through multiple trap doors in a row).

Yes, avoiding monsters is definitely key. Attacking from a distance is also important, even if you don't improve your shooting skill.

[getter77]

Don't forget to make a Roguebasin page for this when you get a chance RogerN! It does sound nifty...

[Theyli]

I liked the game, even though I only made it to level 2 as a traveller. I really like the graphics. Healing really limits what you can do, especially since you can only heal in town or with potions and the portal is only one time use.

So far, my only other gripe is that there is no starting armor since it is so expensive.

Good job though, I am enjoying the game. It's nice to see something so different.

[RogerN]

So far, my only other gripe is that there is no starting armor since it is so expensive.

I've noticed the same thing in my last couple games. The stores always stock a few cheap weapons, wands, and spellbooks, but armor is just luck. I think I'll force a few more cheap armor items to always be in stock.

Bug: I noticed that ego launchers aren't displaying their names properly after being identified. Whoops! I also fixed a couple minor superficial issues. I'll probably need to release a new version in the next couple days.

Healing in the dungeon is something I'd really like to avoid. If it becomes necessary then I might just make it painfully slow so that you burn through your food quickly if you rest too much.

[RogerN]

Here's my latest YASD, if it will generate any interest

This character was a pure mage. I bought the Lightning spell book pretty early on (level 4 or 5 I believe), and learned mostly lightning spells from that point forward. Electrify door is probably one of my favorite early-level spells, and it certainly saved me several times this game. Running out of SP, I would phase away from a monster and use Electrify Door (which only costs 1 SP) to set a trap. Zap! It has great damage output for such a cheap spell.

My trip was ended when an undetected trap summoned undead monsters. I was diving pretty fast and hadn't yet aquired Free Action. The Ghast took advantage. I should have just used my ?Teleport immediately... oh well.

  [Cryptband v1.0 character dump]                                       
                                                                        
RogerN, the level 10 Sage, was killed by a Ghast on level 10 of the crypt.
He survived 77630 turns and descended as far as level 10 of the crypt.  
                                                                        
  [Character Sheet]                                                     
                                                                        
Name   RogerN                                   Feats                   
Sex    Male           Age           57          Spell casting      (10) 
Race   Conjurer       Height        73                                  
Title  4              Weight       133                                  
HP     -2/30          Social   Unknown                                  
SP     13/60                                                            
                                                                        
                                                                        
Level       10  Dodge        25  Save       25                          
Turns    77630  Absorb       19  Stealth     5                          
Gold       394  Fight        90  Disarm     70                          
Move Sp     +0  Blows/t     1.7  Device     50                          
                Shoot       102  Search     20                          
                Shots/t     1.0                                         
                                                                        
                                                                        
You are one of several children of a Yeoman.  You were a well liked     
child.  You have dark brown eyes, straight brown hair, and a dark       
complexion.                                                             
                                                                        
                                                                        
  [Character Equipment]                                                 
                                                                        
a) a Main Gauche (1d5)                                                  
   It does 1d5 base damage per hit. It affects your melee attack speed  
   by +7.                                                               
                                                                        
b) a Hunting Bow (+2)                                                   
c) a Ring of Resist Fire <+9>                                           
   It provides resistance to fire (9).                                  
                                                                        
d) a Ring of Accuracy (+12)                                             
   It affects your ranged attack skill by +12.                          
                                                                        
e) an Amulet of Resist Fear                                             
   It makes you fearless.                                               
                                                                        
f) a Lantern <14084 turns>                                              
g) a Fur Cloak [2,+0]                                                   
   It affects your armor level by 2.                                    
                                                                        
h) a Mage Robe of Resist Lightning [6,+0] <+4> <+7>                     
   It affects your armor level by 6. It affects your maximum spell      
   points by 4. It provides resistance to lightning (7).                
                                                                        
i) a Large Leather Shield [6,+0]                                        
   It affects your armor level by 6.                                    
                                                                        
j) a Leather Helm [4,+0]                                                
   It affects your armor level by 4. It affects your maximum spell      
   points by -4.                                                        
                                                                        
k) a Set of Leather Bracelets [1,+0]                                    
   It affects your armor level by 1.                                    
                                                                        
                                                                        
  [Character Inventory]                                                 
                                                                        
a) a Spellbook [Book of Tricks] {@m1}                                   
b) a Spellbook [Book of Lightning]                                      
c) a Spellbook [Book of Fire]                                           
d) a Scroll of Phase Door                                               
e) a Scroll of Phase Door                                               
f) a Scroll of Phase Door                                               
g) a Scroll of Teleportation                                            
h) a Potion of Cure Critical Wounds                                     
i) a Potion of Cure Critical Wounds                                     
j) a Potion of Antidote                                                 
k) a Potion of Clarity                                                  
l) a Wooden Torch <2500 turns>                                          
m) a Lantern <2111 turns>                                               
n) a Wand of Spark (4 charges)

[LostTemplar]

At first look due to unability to regen HP over time in dungeon melee combat seems underpowered. In angband when player kills a monster he generally do not care about being wounded, but here every lost HP counts, so why go melee unless you run out of all ranged attacks. This may be cool, after all nobody goes melee in real life, if he have some means of shooting.

[ekolis]

Nifty game

One bug I found early on though - the shop "leaks" item flavors when you examine the items! That is, I examine some item and it tells me the flavor, so I'll know (but my character doesn't know) when I encounter one in the dungeon what it is!

edit: Also, I can't pick up items I find... I get a message saying "press RETURN to pick up this item", but nothing happens when I do so!

edit again: hmm, now it's working... weird!

edit 3: seems to only work when it's the first action I take when moving onto the tile... also, why is takeoff capital T, unlike in Angband?