Difference between revisions of "Middlecrest"

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|influences = The Elder Scrolls, [[Dungeons_and_Dragons | Dungeons and Dragons]], Poison Elves
|influences = The Elder Scrolls, [[Dungeons_and_Dragons | Dungeons and Dragons]], Poison Elves
|released = October 2010 ([[Alpha]], v0.0.71)
|released = October 2010 ([[Alpha]], v0.0.71)
|updated = Mar 5, 2011 (v0.0.83)
|updated = Nov 11, 2011 (v0.2.23)
|licensing = [[Freeware | Shareware]],<br/>[[Open Source]]
|licensing = [[Freeware | Shareware]],<br/>[[Open Source]]
|language = [[C]], [[Cpp | C++]], [[Lua]]
|language = [[C]], [[Cpp | C++]], [[Lua]]
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}}
}}


Middlecrest is a gothic punk themed fantasy roguelike ("roguelike" in a broad sense, since it will fuse some elements from CRPG's in a more-or-less roguelike way). Many of the fantasy elements are taken from low-fantasy, emphasizing real-world historical situations and analogues (the game world is primarily inspired by real-world medieval or Renaissance culture, and less on traditional, pulp, or pure fantasy models, for example). Magic is present in the world, although it is rarer and magical beings and monsters operate more like their mythological counterparts, rather than like their high-fantasy (Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.) versions. The gothic punk aspect refers to the theme and "feel" of the world and is based on the modern punk-derived goth subculture and the Neo-Romantic punkish world envisioned by Adam and the Ants in the video "Stand and Deliver". The comic book, Poison Elves, is a prime example of the theme.
Middlecrest is a roguelike inspired by Daggerfall, although the game is not strictly limited to the mechanics of the roguelike genre. The goal of the project is to implement many of the same ideas seen in the earlier games of the Elder Scrolls franchise but to also include Daggerfall features that never saw the light of day (shelved due to time constraints and/or complexity), particularly ones investigated at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150110050617/http://www.svatopluk.com/daggerfall/museum Daggerfall Museum].


Daggerfall is the main inspiration for the project. The goal with this project is to not only implement many of the game ideas seen in the Elder Scrolls series (not necessarily using all the same game mechanics of Daggerfall), but also to implement those [http://www.svatopluk.com/daggerfall/museum/ features] that didn't make it into Daggerfall on release date. Daggerfall promised more than it actually delivered (although it delivered a lot) and it is about time to let those forgotten and exciting features see the light of day! :)
Middlecrest also features a minor gothic punk theme. Examples of the aesthetic are the comic book Poison Elves and the Neo-Romantic punkish world envisioned in Adam and the Ants' video "Stand and Deliver".


Feel free to [http://sourceforge.net/projects/middlecrest/files/ download] and test the latest version!
Feel free to [http://sourceforge.net/projects/middlecrest/files/ download] and test the latest version!
<b>Middlecrest is in a major re-write phase.</b>


==Technologies==
==Technologies==


Middlecrest makes use of SQLite, C++ Boost, and Audiere.
Middlecrest makes use of SQLite, C++ Boost, and Audiere libraries.


Much of the game data is stored in SQLite and flat files (this will also include saved game data, later). The game "logic" of Middlecrest will eventually be supplied by Lua scripts and some custom C++ modules.
Much of the game data is stored in SQLite and flat files. The game "logic" of Middlecrest will be supplied by native C++ code and some Lua scripts.


==Status and Road Map==
==Status and Road Map==


Presently, the project is in a very early stage of development. Only basic functionality is implemented for some features and the executables released are primarily for testing and evaluation. Until version 1.0.0, new features will be implemented, code re-factored, and bugs crop up as the code base is expanded, adjusted, and stressed.
Presently, the project is in a very early stage of development. Only basic functionality is implemented for a few features. Executables are released for testing and bug reporting.


The things planned in the relatively near future are (''near future'' is a relative term since it depends on the amount of time available for development, which isn't much):
Due to the current re-write, only world and dungeon generation (featuring only one theme) will be featured in the next release.


* Completed magic system that incorporates both <s>arcane</s> and priestly magic.
* <s>Dungeon generation (cave theme)</s>
* Look command
* World generation <--- current development
* <s>Implementing the experience system</s>
 
* <s>Basic, core classes</s> and then expanding it to other classes later
The next release will be version 0.2.23b. It will be a stripped down version of 0.2.23, using an almost entirely new codebase.
* Non-trivial pathfinding and tracking modes (sight, scent) <---- current development
* <s>Magical items with elemental effects</s>
* Time and scheduling system
* <s>FoV and LoS</s>
* <s>Town and wilderness generation (simple)</s>
* Shops and <s>shopkeepers</s> <--- current development


==Features==
==Features==
Line 46: Line 42:
Here is a description of features that Middlecrest will eventually contain:
Here is a description of features that Middlecrest will eventually contain:


* <b>Quests</b> -- Freeform quest generator (including quests that aren't the traditional hack-n-slash style roguelike quests)
* <b>Procedural Quest Generation</b> -- Freeform and procedural quest generator (including quests that aren't the traditional hack-n-slash style roguelike quests). Quests take into account characters that have met you at various times and may influence or impact a quest in unexpected ways.
* <b>Makers</b> -- Item, spell, potion, and class makers
* <b>Makers</b> -- Item, spell, potion, and class makers
* <b>Themes</b> -- Themed dungeon generators (examples: caves, dungeons, fortifications, ruins, etc.)
* <b>Themes</b> -- Themed dungeon generators (examples: caves, dungeons, fortifications, ruins, etc.)
* <b>Magic System</b> -- School based magic system.
* <b>Magic System</b> -- School based magic system.
* <b>Weather system</b> -- Clothes will actually be an important aspect of the game to keep you warm, dry, etc.
* <b>Weather system</b> -- Clothes will actually be an important aspect of the game to keep you warm, dry, etc.
* <b>Durability</b> -- items can break, excluding a few things, like rings, etc.
* <b>Durability</b> -- Items can break, excluding a few things, like rings, etc.
* <b>Emergent game world</b> -- Events are emergent from the game and based on your actions and the actions of the NPC's. The game world changes accordingly.
* <b>Emergent game world</b> -- Events are emergent from the game and based on your actions and the actions of the NPC's. The game world changes accordingly.
* <b>Advanced AI</b> -- characters and monsters will behave based on their needs (remember the Sims?) for more realistic interaction and behavior.
* <b>Advanced AI</b> -- Characters and monsters will behave based on their needs (remember the Sims?) for more realistic interaction and behavior.
* <b>Graded Difficulty</b> -- Roguelike games often have a very sharp difficulty curve and it usually takes a few characters to really get the feel of the game and how to play so your character isn't just food for the next monster. Various leveled lists based on player level and other algorithms will be used to create a reasonable difficulty curve.
* <b>Graded Difficulty</b> -- Roguelike games often have a very steep difficulty curve. It usually takes a few characters to get the feel of the game and a lucky generations of the RNG to get your character rolling. Various leveled lists based on player level and other algorithms will be used to create a difficulty curve that adjusts to your character (easier at the beginning, more difficult as your character becomes more skilled, experienced, stronger, etc.). Some areas, such as random areas outside of quests, will have a high difficulty level but they will still be adjusted for the character somewhat.
* <b>Softer Permadeath</b> -- Don't worry! Permadeath is still there, looming, and ever-present. It's just that there are ways (although uncommon and very difficult) to get around death.
* <b>Softer Permadeath</b> -- Don't worry! Permadeath is still there, looming, and ever-present. It's just that there are ways (although uncommon and very difficult) to get around death.
* <b>Roleplaying</b> -- The player is rewarded through a Daggerfall-like role-playing system, expressed through character class, rather than through a generalized experience point system or Skyrim-like perks system. Play is generally free-form and does not restrict character development. The system simply rewards players for role-playing.
* <b>Persistent World</b> -- World stays the same between each death. You can go back and recover loot from a previous character. You can also meet living characters in game and resurrect killed characters to restore old games.


==Screenshots==
==Numbering Scheme==
Title Screen<br />
http://www.orionsoftworks.com/images/screens/title.jpg


Dungeon (cave theme)<br />
Project version numbers are split into x.y.z.b format.
http://www.orionsoftworks.com/images/screens/cave.jpg


Wilderness<br />
x.y corresponds to different major versions. Different versions are substantially distinct as they typically include feature updates and re-factored or overhauled code.
http://www.orionsoftworks.com/images/screens/wilderness.jpg


==Version Log==
z corresponds to minor version number, and denotes how far along the road map the major version is. Think of it as a percentage. v0.1.87 indicates, for example, version 0.1 is 87% complete.


* v0.0.71 -- Demo: dungeon generation, monster, and item generation, inventory, movement, picking up items, dropping items, equipping items, searching, basic combat (magical and mundane), minimal monster AI, basic database capabilities.
b is an optional number, which corresponds directly to bug fixes. There is no difference, for example, between v0.1.87 and v0.1.87.1 other than v0.1.87.1 is less buggy. Likewise, v0.1.87.2 would be less buggy than v0.1.87.1.


* v0.0.78 Minigame -- Updated C++ Boost library to v1.44 and SQLite to v3.7.3, corrected database bugs, added elemental magic effects on weapons, implemented damage resistances vs. spells, updated attack calculations, all armor is equip-able, release and readme information viewable in-game using the 'v' and '?' commands respectively, added scrolls although they are not in item generation routines yet (they need to be designed and more fleshed out still), fixed typos, and a bunch of minor code improvements. Source code included.
==Version Log==


* v0.0.79 Minigame + Levels -- Added town generation, added wilderness generation, travel between levels, doors, minor code improvements and bug fixes.
* Pre v0.2.23b -- Removed, since the current codebase has little relation to the previous versions and many of the features have been stripped out (to be added later) for v0.2.23b
 
* v0.2.23b -- Planned for release: dungeon generation, world generation
* v0.0.80 Minigame + Class/Race -- Updated C++ Boost library to v1.45, added races and classes, significant code overhaul and code improvements.
 
* v0.0.81 Minigame + Shopkeepers -- Added shopkeeper character (although no buying and selling yet), updated SQLite library to v3.7.4, significant reduction in executable footprint, bug fixes and improved protection against future bugs, code improvements.
 
* v0.0.82 Minigame + FoV, Triggers, and Bug Fixes -- Added FoV (for testing), triggers for tiles, intro screen to communicate bugs and other info to player, color support, bug fixes and bug prevention, updated UI so player messages scroll in their respective menus, updated to SQLite v3.7.5, and refined creature generation code for dungeons/towns.
 
  v0.0.83 Minigame (current) -- Added auto-mapping (for testing), support for Lua scripts, building data structures, bug
  fixes for character movement, updated C++ Boost library to v1.46, and many internal code improvements.


==External Links==
==External Links==
Line 89: Line 75:


[http://sourceforge.net/projects/middlecrest/files/ Latest code release for Middlecrest]
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/middlecrest/files/ Latest code release for Middlecrest]
[[Category:Open ended roguelikes]]

Latest revision as of 22:23, 18 April 2017

Middlecrest
Alpha Project
Developer Sean Brown
Theme Medieval Fantasy, Gothic Punk
Influences The Elder Scrolls, Dungeons and Dragons, Poison Elves
Released October 2010 (Alpha, v0.0.71)
Updated Nov 11, 2011 (v0.2.23)
Licensing Shareware,
Open Source
P. Language C, C++, Lua
Platforms Windows
Interface ASCII
Game Length Unlimited
Official site of Middlecrest


Middlecrest is a roguelike inspired by Daggerfall, although the game is not strictly limited to the mechanics of the roguelike genre. The goal of the project is to implement many of the same ideas seen in the earlier games of the Elder Scrolls franchise but to also include Daggerfall features that never saw the light of day (shelved due to time constraints and/or complexity), particularly ones investigated at the Daggerfall Museum.

Middlecrest also features a minor gothic punk theme. Examples of the aesthetic are the comic book Poison Elves and the Neo-Romantic punkish world envisioned in Adam and the Ants' video "Stand and Deliver".

Feel free to download and test the latest version!

Middlecrest is in a major re-write phase.

Technologies

Middlecrest makes use of SQLite, C++ Boost, and Audiere libraries.

Much of the game data is stored in SQLite and flat files. The game "logic" of Middlecrest will be supplied by native C++ code and some Lua scripts.

Status and Road Map

Presently, the project is in a very early stage of development. Only basic functionality is implemented for a few features. Executables are released for testing and bug reporting.

Due to the current re-write, only world and dungeon generation (featuring only one theme) will be featured in the next release.

  • Dungeon generation (cave theme)
  • World generation <--- current development

The next release will be version 0.2.23b. It will be a stripped down version of 0.2.23, using an almost entirely new codebase.

Features

Here is a description of features that Middlecrest will eventually contain:

  • Procedural Quest Generation -- Freeform and procedural quest generator (including quests that aren't the traditional hack-n-slash style roguelike quests). Quests take into account characters that have met you at various times and may influence or impact a quest in unexpected ways.
  • Makers -- Item, spell, potion, and class makers
  • Themes -- Themed dungeon generators (examples: caves, dungeons, fortifications, ruins, etc.)
  • Magic System -- School based magic system.
  • Weather system -- Clothes will actually be an important aspect of the game to keep you warm, dry, etc.
  • Durability -- Items can break, excluding a few things, like rings, etc.
  • Emergent game world -- Events are emergent from the game and based on your actions and the actions of the NPC's. The game world changes accordingly.
  • Advanced AI -- Characters and monsters will behave based on their needs (remember the Sims?) for more realistic interaction and behavior.
  • Graded Difficulty -- Roguelike games often have a very steep difficulty curve. It usually takes a few characters to get the feel of the game and a lucky generations of the RNG to get your character rolling. Various leveled lists based on player level and other algorithms will be used to create a difficulty curve that adjusts to your character (easier at the beginning, more difficult as your character becomes more skilled, experienced, stronger, etc.). Some areas, such as random areas outside of quests, will have a high difficulty level but they will still be adjusted for the character somewhat.
  • Softer Permadeath -- Don't worry! Permadeath is still there, looming, and ever-present. It's just that there are ways (although uncommon and very difficult) to get around death.
  • Roleplaying -- The player is rewarded through a Daggerfall-like role-playing system, expressed through character class, rather than through a generalized experience point system or Skyrim-like perks system. Play is generally free-form and does not restrict character development. The system simply rewards players for role-playing.
  • Persistent World -- World stays the same between each death. You can go back and recover loot from a previous character. You can also meet living characters in game and resurrect killed characters to restore old games.

Numbering Scheme

Project version numbers are split into x.y.z.b format.

x.y corresponds to different major versions. Different versions are substantially distinct as they typically include feature updates and re-factored or overhauled code.

z corresponds to minor version number, and denotes how far along the road map the major version is. Think of it as a percentage. v0.1.87 indicates, for example, version 0.1 is 87% complete.

b is an optional number, which corresponds directly to bug fixes. There is no difference, for example, between v0.1.87 and v0.1.87.1 other than v0.1.87.1 is less buggy. Likewise, v0.1.87.2 would be less buggy than v0.1.87.1.

Version Log

  • Pre v0.2.23b -- Removed, since the current codebase has little relation to the previous versions and many of the features have been stripped out (to be added later) for v0.2.23b
  • v0.2.23b -- Planned for release: dungeon generation, world generation

External Links

Middlecrest development blog

Latest code release for Middlecrest