This is a new game I've written in the T-Engine in less than a day and a half. Admittedly I ran a little out of time and didn't get to add sound effects like I would have wanted to. There's also a couple of minor features missing (no item tooltips in the inventory for some reason).
It's a very short and simple game, based on themes of... well, you'll see when you play. The gameplay twist is simple - the game boss appears x turns after you've been on any level, but early on you don't have the power to defeat it. The only option is to run!
To play you can download the windows standalone version, or download beta 34 of ToME4 and drop the module folder into game/modules/.
Kinda boring screenshot:
http://gruesomegames.com/games/shadow-scn.png
Many thanks to the guys on IRC (especially tiger_eye and Zonk) and of course DarkGod for help with bugs and features.
Feedback is very welcome, especially on the subject of balance.
New module: Run from the Shadow
Moderator: Moderator
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Tasseographer
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Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
I'm downloading the module and testing it out. Did you also make Gruesome? I love Gruesome!
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
It's fun!
I have to ask, though, how do you do the games that fast?
I'd trade you my golem's left foot for a video tutorial of you making your next game.
I have to ask, though, how do you do the games that fast?
I'd trade you my golem's left foot for a video tutorial of you making your next game.
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Tasseographer
- Wayist
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Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
My initial impressions, having made it no further than the fourth floor:
First and foremost, I really love the minimalist nature, the various descriptions, and the general theme of the game. It's very atmospheric, and when I realized I was killing judgmental rats I became very excited. It's funny how details like that can turn an otherwise simple roguelike into a unique little game.
The Shadow is only really a problem when I make a dumb decision and explore a dead end while the countdown timer is too low. Its low speed means I frequently find myself dancing around a little way from it so it will catch up and follow me as I lead it around a loop.
That's not a balance PROBLEM, but once you start playing tactically, it does detract from the "OH GOD RUN!" feeling you're trying to build. I would suggest making the shadow full player speed, but having it sometimes stop to stare at you, giving you random chances to wriggle around it. Or at least bumping its speed up to 90% rather than 50%. Players will still get a significant lead over it while running.
As a side note, it doesn't look like descriptions of items will appear on mousover/selection in the inventory screen, which means I need to check damage and armor before picking up an item.
First and foremost, I really love the minimalist nature, the various descriptions, and the general theme of the game. It's very atmospheric, and when I realized I was killing judgmental rats I became very excited. It's funny how details like that can turn an otherwise simple roguelike into a unique little game.
The Shadow is only really a problem when I make a dumb decision and explore a dead end while the countdown timer is too low. Its low speed means I frequently find myself dancing around a little way from it so it will catch up and follow me as I lead it around a loop.
That's not a balance PROBLEM, but once you start playing tactically, it does detract from the "OH GOD RUN!" feeling you're trying to build. I would suggest making the shadow full player speed, but having it sometimes stop to stare at you, giving you random chances to wriggle around it. Or at least bumping its speed up to 90% rather than 50%. Players will still get a significant lead over it while running.
As a side note, it doesn't look like descriptions of items will appear on mousover/selection in the inventory screen, which means I need to check damage and armor before picking up an item.
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Maybe dumb question, but I know nothing of LUA... Is there a recommended IDE for it, maybe an eclipse plugin and starter project?
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Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Tasseographer: Yeah, I made Gruesome. I keep meaning to port it to the T-Engine... :/
Thanks for the feedback. I'll admit that it's more Avoid the Shadow than Run from the Shadow. However I did some playtesting with the Shadow on 90% speed and it was fecking impossible! Maybe if I reduced its damage and made fewer enemies on the map... What are your thoughts on the balance at present?
I'm aware of the tooltips issue, but until DarkGod comes back from his business trip I'm not sure if I can figure it out :(
Kats: Total coding time on the game was about 12 hours. Less if you discount the 4 frustrating hours I spent hunting down an inventory use bug on Sunday evening (tiger_eye and Zonk were invaluable to helping fix it). T-Engine makes things pretty easy to code quickly, and of course I did a lot of planning on paper in advance.
shoot: I just use Notepad++. I've never really seen the point of IDEs, especially when most of your content is in simple data files. Still, maybe DarkGod can suggest something relevant that can be used.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll admit that it's more Avoid the Shadow than Run from the Shadow. However I did some playtesting with the Shadow on 90% speed and it was fecking impossible! Maybe if I reduced its damage and made fewer enemies on the map... What are your thoughts on the balance at present?
I'm aware of the tooltips issue, but until DarkGod comes back from his business trip I'm not sure if I can figure it out :(
Kats: Total coding time on the game was about 12 hours. Less if you discount the 4 frustrating hours I spent hunting down an inventory use bug on Sunday evening (tiger_eye and Zonk were invaluable to helping fix it). T-Engine makes things pretty easy to code quickly, and of course I did a lot of planning on paper in advance.
shoot: I just use Notepad++. I've never really seen the point of IDEs, especially when most of your content is in simple data files. Still, maybe DarkGod can suggest something relevant that can be used.
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Grey wrote:
Kats: Total coding time on the game was about 12 hours. Less if you discount the 4 frustrating hours I spent hunting down an inventory use bug on Sunday evening (tiger_eye and Zonk were invaluable to helping fix it). T-Engine makes things pretty easy to code quickly, and of course I did a lot of planning on paper in advance.
How?
I've been spending several days and I've only barely begun to understand simple things in the files. Never mind some of the more complex things.
As to applying them, well...
Do you start making the game from zero or from the example module? (I suspect that you start from the example module since there's some vestigial remains in the talents file, but maybe that's just a clever ruse!)
After that, how do you begin? Do you start with making the maps? Or the zones? Or the birth of a character? (How a character levels up still eludes me, and it's not covered in the wiki.)
In fact, I have no idea how to actually start making a module from scratch, apart from the init.lua file which is covered in the wiki. That's why a tutorial, or a step-by step video tutorial, or well, even a basic journal file detailing what changes were made to the files.
I've started playing around with all kinds of limited changes in files (since I have no idea what code does when reading it). I've actually downloaded beta 1, since it is easier to make changes in it, as opposed to beta 34.
But it's slow... and it sometimes looks futile.
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
I start with the example module, yes. I didn't get the time to strip out all the pointless talent code that I don't bother with. My order of doing things:
1. Edit init.lua and load.lua to my own customisations, stats and resources.
2. Set up display as I like, deleting the flashing bar thing (and all references to it) and the shortcuts window and maybe the minimap. Move the game log to where I want and the size I want. Add a playerdisplay (see PlayerDisplay.lua and reference to it in Game.lua). Also move the map display to the size/position I want. This is all in Game.lua, and sometimes I have to ask DarkGod for help on IRC when I break things ;)
3. Change the zone.lua file to the sort of dungeon style I want. Broken Bottle is a good example for this - it uses static levels, roomed dungeons and caverns.
4. Change the default monsters to some basic things, giving them the sort of stats I want. This ties in with the combat system I want. I prefer having combat stats directly on the actor instead of in "combat = { <definitions> }" as the default has it. Update the player birther or Player.lua initialisations with the same sort of stats. Careful of typos and missing commas in data files! Lua doesn't recognise when you call the wrong variable.
5. Rewrite Combat.lua and DamageTypes.lua. I think it's best to just get rid of the DamageTypes file altogether and have the combat mechanics in Combat.lua. Check out how Run from the Shadow and Broken Bottle both handle this.
6. Add items and equipment et al as per the guides on the wiki. However it's best to copy code from ToME4 or Run from the Shadow, as the wiki is a bit out of date. You also need to include a special reference to objects.lua in the zone file in Game.lua - I can't remember the exact line, but search for objects.lua in the Game.lua file for Run from the Shadow and you'll see what I mean. Test out all the functions of your items.
7. Add an intro text in zone.lua and update the death dialogue. Also add the character sheet dialogue (see how my games do it - fairly simple).
8. Add some sort of win condition and test it works right.
9. Add more of everything! I tend to go a bit crazy in the Player.lua file with special functions and stuff that is probably best exported to a separate file, but as long as it all works I'm happy!
Other tips:
- Get on the ToME IRC channel. DarkGod is very helpful, and there's usually a few other smart heads about to give advice when you inevitably break things.
- Test often. Any little change can easily break the game, and it's best to catch things before you fiddle too much and can't remember everything you've changed.
- Copy code. Copy a lot! Just be smart about removing elements you don't need and adding dependencies that you do need. ToME4 is a bit big to copy from sometimes, but the core class files are still reasonably simple. Broken Bottle and other small modules might be easier to understand, but sometimes they're coded a bit messily ;)
1. Edit init.lua and load.lua to my own customisations, stats and resources.
2. Set up display as I like, deleting the flashing bar thing (and all references to it) and the shortcuts window and maybe the minimap. Move the game log to where I want and the size I want. Add a playerdisplay (see PlayerDisplay.lua and reference to it in Game.lua). Also move the map display to the size/position I want. This is all in Game.lua, and sometimes I have to ask DarkGod for help on IRC when I break things ;)
3. Change the zone.lua file to the sort of dungeon style I want. Broken Bottle is a good example for this - it uses static levels, roomed dungeons and caverns.
4. Change the default monsters to some basic things, giving them the sort of stats I want. This ties in with the combat system I want. I prefer having combat stats directly on the actor instead of in "combat = { <definitions> }" as the default has it. Update the player birther or Player.lua initialisations with the same sort of stats. Careful of typos and missing commas in data files! Lua doesn't recognise when you call the wrong variable.
5. Rewrite Combat.lua and DamageTypes.lua. I think it's best to just get rid of the DamageTypes file altogether and have the combat mechanics in Combat.lua. Check out how Run from the Shadow and Broken Bottle both handle this.
6. Add items and equipment et al as per the guides on the wiki. However it's best to copy code from ToME4 or Run from the Shadow, as the wiki is a bit out of date. You also need to include a special reference to objects.lua in the zone file in Game.lua - I can't remember the exact line, but search for objects.lua in the Game.lua file for Run from the Shadow and you'll see what I mean. Test out all the functions of your items.
7. Add an intro text in zone.lua and update the death dialogue. Also add the character sheet dialogue (see how my games do it - fairly simple).
8. Add some sort of win condition and test it works right.
9. Add more of everything! I tend to go a bit crazy in the Player.lua file with special functions and stuff that is probably best exported to a separate file, but as long as it all works I'm happy!
Other tips:
- Get on the ToME IRC channel. DarkGod is very helpful, and there's usually a few other smart heads about to give advice when you inevitably break things.
- Test often. Any little change can easily break the game, and it's best to catch things before you fiddle too much and can't remember everything you've changed.
- Copy code. Copy a lot! Just be smart about removing elements you don't need and adding dependencies that you do need. ToME4 is a bit big to copy from sometimes, but the core class files are still reasonably simple. Broken Bottle and other small modules might be easier to understand, but sometimes they're coded a bit messily ;)
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Thank yous.
I'll try and make things work. Where do I find this IRc thingy stuff?
I'll try and make things work. Where do I find this IRc thingy stuff?
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
You'll need an IRC client like mIRC. Connect to irc.rizon.net and "/join #tome".
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Been playing this recently. It's pretty hard with the OOD monsters(I've gotten orcs and SNAKES on level 1, ouch) - anyone actually won?
ToME online profile: http://te4.org/users/zonk
Addons (most likely obsolete): Wights, Trolls, Starting prodigy, Alternate save/resistance system
Addons (most likely obsolete): Wights, Trolls, Starting prodigy, Alternate save/resistance system
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
I won. An early shield of insane defense helped keep me alive. Then when I found the top tier weapon I abused the shadow's slow speed to kill it. Didn't need many of my potions to do it.
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DarthImbreedous
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- Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 7:26 pm
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Question: does it work on latter versions of ToME?
Re: New module: Run from the Shadow
Nope, I'm afraid you'll have to get b34 of the T-Engine.