Depths of Darkness v1.1

User contributed sources that have become inactive, deprecated, or generally unusable. But ... we don't really want to throw them away either.
Destructosoft
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Post by Destructosoft »

My apologies for not having 1.1 yet, which should have sound effects*, a save feature and a few other minor things.

I think I made the dungeon too deep, so adding game saving will be top priority now.
Optional save when changing levels would be the best solution.
That's a nice, code-saving idea. Wish I'd thought of it. I'll remember to credit you for that.

*Probably not very good ones though.
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Any new version on the horizon?
Destructosoft
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Post by Destructosoft »

I added the save feature and am currently working on the sfx and squashing a couple bugs. I'm sorry if it isn't being done as fast as the original two-week nightmarish pace I set for 1.0.

Another change I wish to make is to have the various different creatures attack each other on occasion (kind of like some of the craziness in the AI in "Spyro the Dragon").

Anyone wishing to see my current workload, including DoD and five or six other major projects, can check my page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Destructo ... 4675461097.

Update 20110710: Got sound effects working so they don't halt program execution! How is this done? Make sure your sfx routine is on a separate thread which is run using ThreadCreate().

I'm using PlayMidi for the sounds (yes, I got it working too; for some reason the include refused to function until I reinstalled FB); that way I don't have to make OGG or WAV files and take up more space and unneeded drive access.

Save/load has been thoroughly tested and works wonderfully. Switching to "Open As Binary" and putting everything in UDT arrays helped.

Update 20110725: Done 2/3 of the sound effects.

Update 20110813: Thought I had finished adding ALL the sfx, but when I went to implement them, I found a need in the code for 12 more I hadn't thought of. Now even THOSE are finished, but there are still timing problems; also some sfx need shortening.

Update 20110906: Music and sfx are FIXED! Also, there's still 2 or 3 bugs, one of them fatal, but when they're fixed I will release the update! YES!
Destructosoft
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Post by Destructosoft »

Version 1.1 is finally done! Download at
https://rapidshare.com/files/3190344629 ... ss_1.1.rar
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8QGYB072

Screenshot links on first post.
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Hooooray! Thanks!

Putting that on my potential list of reviews for Basic Gamer #3.
Jocke The Beast
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Post by Jocke The Beast »

Sweet.
I liked it. Hope you make a pure roguelike after this one, seems like you got what it takes to do that.
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

Not sure I like the sounds. Any any particularly reason you didn't use FMOD and some free more pleasant background music track?

http://lachie.phatcode.net/Downloads/Us ... torial.zip

After playing the game it didn't close right and I kept hearing a buzz in my head phones. Had to kill the task with task manager.

Also, when I save a game am I on purpose bumped to the main menu, and is my save position on purpose deleted when I die? I guess I expected something else, as you can too easily die in the game from "accidents" with spikes and if meeting a too strong enemy. I needed a save game feature mainly because of that, and not because I needed to catch a date. Oh, well. Designer's choice. Maybe a "hard-save" every 5 levels?
Destructosoft
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Post by Destructosoft »

Lachie Dazdarian wrote:Not sure I like the sounds. Any any particularly reason you didn't use FMOD and some free more pleasant background music track?
PlayMIDI was the only thing I was able to get to work on my old install of FB. I didn't have the chance to change that. Perhaps for 1.2.
After playing the game it didn't close right and I kept hearing a buzz in my head phones. Had to kill the task with task manager.
I never had a problem closing the game-- my Quit routine uses all the right ImageDestroys and the sound thread closes itself when done. But I'll look into this. Should be fixable.
Since it seems to be a problem with the sound thread, if you turn off the sound (which you don't like anyway) this problem should cease.
Also, when I save a game am I on purpose bumped to the main menu, and is my save position on purpose deleted when I die? I guess I expected something else, as you can too easily die in the game from "accidents" with spikes and if meeting a too strong enemy. I needed a save game feature mainly because of that, and not because I needed to catch a date. Oh, well. Designer's choice. Maybe a "hard-save" every 5 levels?
This is as intended, to remove "save scumming" which happens all the time in Roguelikes.
Deaths due to "accidents" with spikes can be avoided, and if you meet a too strong enemy, my advice is, run!
I apologize for the deliberate extreme difficulty of the game, but there are too many easy games out there, and I playtested this thing enough to know it is finishable.

Perhaps I should have sound default to OFF though?
DarkStar
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Post by DarkStar »

Awesome job! This is a fun game. Really enjoy playing it. :)

Do you plan on releasing the source code?
Hope so. I would love to look it at. Thanks.

Any plans for another version?

What level is the amulet on? What is the max number of rooms in a level?

Here are a few suggestions:

When running into a trap stop the player or maybe allow them to 'step'
thru? I died so many times running into it over and over (I was holding to key and get damage again and again)

Is there a way to turn the light back on (after flipping a switch). It was very hard to play when it's dark. If not consider putting the lights back on after awhile. A better thing would be it only lights up around the player. You can't see anything including the stairs. I had to quit the game.

Maybe print what happens when you flip a switch. So many times I flipped one and have no idea what it did (maybe nothing) - could be you want it like that.

When you end the level - change the 'S' to save to something like press 'Y' to save 'N' to continue. Many many times I have been pressing a button and it skips the save screen. Then it seems that I don't have a save game. Better yet - just save the game for them every level.

When you find a trap - I think it should be visible when you go back into the room.

Ability to save the sound status (if it was OFF it's OFF next time).

Sound has problems in general (for me anyways).
Lachie Dazdarian
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Post by Lachie Dazdarian »

When running into a trap stop the player or maybe allow them to 'step'
thru? I died so many times running into it over and over (I was holding to key and get damage again and again)
The same grip I'm having with the game.
Destructosoft
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Post by Destructosoft »

Should I ever have time to make 1.2 (busy on my next project right now), it will probably have FMOD, cleaner traps (yeah even I fall for it), sound state save and a few other suggestions.

The amulet is on level 100 and the maximum number of rooms on a level is 841 (29x29). That could change as well-- certainly by level 50 there's nothing new that wasn't on earlier ones. The level size is limited by how small I could display the rooms on the map. Otherwise I was going to have enormous levels up to 512x512 (which would probably drive people mad!). Don't worry, I won't do that. :)

I don't know whether I should release the source code, as it reveals a lot of proprietary coding tricks. But I am considering the possibility of doing so after a couple years.

When a switch turns the lights on or off, it usually reverts after a few hundred steps (I forget exactly how many) or when you leave the level.

Also, when a switch appears to have done nothing, it usually DID do something-- but the results are in another room. I suppose I could put in a statement like "You hear a distant sound of eldritch enchantment/grinding gears/whatever"...
DarkStar
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Post by DarkStar »

It's a shame you are not releasing the source code. :(
If you did maybe the community could update/fix the game.
Others (like myself) might learn something from it.
Hopefully you will do another version sometime in the future.
Good luck with your new project.
DarkStar
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Re: Depths of Darkness v1.1

Post by DarkStar »

Hello! Wow. It's been 6 years. Not sure if anyone is reading this thread or if the developer is still around. Still play this game off and on. Any chance of releasing the source code since it's been 6 years? Still love the game. Did you ever release any other projects? Hope all is well!
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