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Author Topic: Dwarf Fortress meets The Outer Wilds? "Ultima Ratio Regum", v0.10.1 out Feb 2023  (Read 632516 times)

Ultima Ratio Regum

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1725 on: August 03, 2013, 01:25:01 pm »

Randomized ASCII landscape on main menu every time you boot it up, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Loving what I'm seeing so far. Posted a couple of hiccups on the site, sorry for not giving any positive feedback there, I went right into the bugs!

Haha - no problem, I'm glad you've posted bugs you found. It's really helpful - as much as myself and a few friends can playtest, there's no substitute for getting hundreds of people in (though I think it's safe to say we got rid of a good 99% of the bugs... I hope...)

* Iceblaster walks back into thread

Sooooo... this won't be an epic civilization simulator anymore?

Meh, I still like the idea. Hope it continues to get updated, I don't have time to DL yet, but when I do, I shall give my feedback

Weeeeeell, depends on what you mean by epic civilization simulator. Do I still intend to have a thousand years of history, myth, legends, wars, families, cities and religions that actually have serious gameplay effects, within the next two releases? Yes! Will you be able to lead armies or command the civs? No. For a one-man development team, in my spare time, I've moved the game both towards things I'm more interested in pursuing, and towards things that might actually get the game finished within the next decade : )
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Chaoswizkid

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1726 on: August 03, 2013, 03:16:59 pm »

I am blown away by this roguelike engine. Seriously, what I'm seeing is overwhelmingly impressive. It shows a level of attention to detail in the graphics that just floors me. I was solving a ziggurat block puzzle and noticed that there were multiple snake blocks, and they had different designs (though I think there were only two different designs). That is just something that greatly impresses me. Not to mention the word feels rich and inspires the imagination even though it's ASCII+custom.

I seriously think that you should make multiple games or license the engine or something, because what could be done with all of this is just... awesome. I don't even mind that I was ultra-excited from the first post about the roguelike civ sim and was disappointed that it's not in the game nor going to be.

Also, that puzzle. I had to actually open notepad to coordinate all the hints and make the connections. I hope the other puzzles are similar, but even so, good job on being cryptic and making it a bit difficult without making it impossible or giving everything away.

Spoiler: Complete! (click to show/hide)


That said, I don't actually know what I'm supposed to be doing, or what there is even to do. Haven't read through the thread all the way, though, so that's probably my fault.
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Glloyd

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1727 on: August 03, 2013, 03:41:45 pm »

Will you be able to lead armies or command the civs? No.

Dealbreaker right there. That's the premise which the game was founded upon, and that's the premise that got me interested in the game. I'm sad to say that I've lost my main reason for being interested in URR. Don't get me wrong, I am still amazed in how you've pushed the boundaries of ASCII, but when I was told about this game about a year ago now, I was told that you would be able to indirectly command armies by giving your generals orders etc. Also, becoming ruler of a civ, and leading your civ to glory in a 1600's 1700's environment was the main focus of the game. Plus epic naval battles which you could command. It's obvious that these are no longer the main focuses of the game, or even a focus at all. This... Kind of lost me as a fan. I'm still interested in how this turns out, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

Chaoswizkid

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1728 on: August 03, 2013, 04:06:40 pm »

Found a simple error in a puzzle inscription.

Spoiler: Inscription (click to show/hide)

There are also numerous typos/errors elsewhere, like in the guidebook. Anywhere convenient where I can send you a list?

Edit: Also, just went up a set of stairs and was surrounded by blocks. Had to push one away to make it into the puzzle chamber.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2013, 04:10:43 pm by Chaoswizkid »
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Urist McScoopbeard

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1729 on: August 03, 2013, 04:43:01 pm »

Will you be able to lead armies or command the civs? No.

Dealbreaker right there. That's the premise which the game was founded upon, and that's the premise that got me interested in the game. I'm sad to say that I've lost my main reason for being interested in URR. Don't get me wrong, I am still amazed in how you've pushed the boundaries of ASCII, but when I was told about this game about a year ago now, I was told that you would be able to indirectly command armies by giving your generals orders etc. Also, becoming ruler of a civ, and leading your civ to glory in a 1600's 1700's environment was the main focus of the game. Plus epic naval battles which you could command. It's obvious that these are no longer the main focuses of the game, or even a focus at all. This... Kind of lost me as a fan. I'm still interested in how this turns out, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

i'm sad to say I agree. What if we threw our money at you URR? Would you go back to making our dreams come true?
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Ultima Ratio Regum

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1730 on: August 03, 2013, 05:01:48 pm »

I am blown away by this roguelike engine. Seriously, what I'm seeing is overwhelmingly impressive. It shows a level of attention to detail in the graphics that just floors me. I was solving a ziggurat block puzzle and noticed that there were multiple snake blocks, and they had different designs (though I think there were only two different designs). That is just something that greatly impresses me. Not to mention the word feels rich and inspires the imagination even though it's ASCII+custom.

I seriously think that you should make multiple games or license the engine or something, because what could be done with all of this is just... awesome. I don't even mind that I was ultra-excited from the first post about the roguelike civ sim and was disappointed that it's not in the game nor going to be.

Also, that puzzle. I had to actually open notepad to coordinate all the hints and make the connections. I hope the other puzzles are similar, but even so, good job on being cryptic and making it a bit difficult without making it impossible or giving everything away.

Spoiler: Complete! (click to show/hide)

That said, I don't actually know what I'm supposed to be doing, or what there is even to do. Haven't read through the thread all the way, though, so that's probably my fault.

Firstly, thanks a ton for the amazing comments! After all the work I've poured into the damned thing, this kind of feedback means everything to me. I'm glad to say there are not just two snake blocks - the snake, for example, is composed of 2 components, a body and a head - there are 3 bodies, 2 heads, so 6 possibilities (bodies with a few/some/many coils, and heads open/shut). Some blocks have only one or two total variations, whilst others have 12 or 16 permutations (I think the octopus block has 16, and that's the highest, but I'm not sure). I want *everything* that can possibly be random/varied/procedural to be so :). I'm glad you feel that way about the world, as that kind of "lived in" feeling is what I want. I mean, yes, ok, right now you're the only human alive, but give it time!

Licensing is an interesting idea. Multiple game, at least with this engine, is never going to happen - this one is going to take a decade, then I'll either never make a game again, or make one completely different (some kind of very difficult platformer appeals). Those are the only two options I really foresee. I have considered bringing on extra help, but I'm not sure about that, and if I did it would be one close friend of mine who has helped me with designing the game a lot up to this point.

The puzzles are all of that type, though puzzles in other dungeons will be utterly different. The solutions and the clues are randomly generated, and I can't even begin to consider how many puzzles there are. For example, in the "boss" room like you posted, there are 80 different layouts of the room, about 30 or so different blocks exist, there are several thousand variations for how the clues can be expressed... and that's just for the boss rooms, let alone all the smaller puzzles. It was an interesting design challenge to make the clues cryptic, but unambiguous - for instance, I previously had "shadowed moon", but does that mean eclipse, or crescent? Or either of the other two? It was cryptic, sure, but it was too VAGUE, so it had to go. I've made sure all the clue synonyms now can only possibly mean one thing. I hope.

As for "objectives", right now you can explore ziggurats, and find "secret" items atop over 50% of them. If you got a "clue" ziggurat, that should point you towards the ones that contain the items, which will have important story value later! Equally, if you check out the '?' on the map...

Found a simple error in a puzzle inscription.

Spoiler: Inscription (click to show/hide)

There are also numerous typos/errors elsewhere, like in the guidebook. Anywhere convenient where I can send you a list?

Edit: Also, just went up a set of stairs and was surrounded by blocks. Had to push one away to make it into the puzzle chamber.

Well spotted. Now I need to find where the hell that is in the code...

Are there really many others? How embarrassing. Er, mark@ my domain is my email address, and that would be great. I playtest a lot, but thinking about it I really don't proofread. As for coming up stairs into blocks, I knew that was possible (but rare) and I ensured all "boss puzzle" designs CANNOT trap the player, no matter where stairs spawn. However, someone pointed out to me elsewhere that blocks being unable to pass over downward stairs can "trap" a block in a corner. Will be fixing that.


Will you be able to lead armies or command the civs? No.

Dealbreaker right there. That's the premise which the game was founded upon, and that's the premise that got me interested in the game. I'm sad to say that I've lost my main reason for being interested in URR. Don't get me wrong, I am still amazed in how you've pushed the boundaries of ASCII, but when I was told about this game about a year ago now, I was told that you would be able to indirectly command armies by giving your generals orders etc. Also, becoming ruler of a civ, and leading your civ to glory in a 1600's 1700's environment was the main focus of the game. Plus epic naval battles which you could command. It's obvious that these are no longer the main focuses of the game, or even a focus at all. This... Kind of lost me as a fan. I'm still interested in how this turns out, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

i'm sad to say I agree. What if we threw our money at you URR? Would you go back to making our dreams come true?

@ Glloyd - sorry to hear that, but I fully understand where you're coming from. I know the game has mutated a lot as time as gone by, but the reason is because I'm putting so much time and effort into it that I just have to follow what concepts and mechanics really interest me at this point. There's also, as I mentioned above, a timescale issue - my current plan is audacious, but not impossible to complete before my death; the original plan, unless I suddenly started working at it full time and brought in help, was simply impossible. Also, psychologically, those goals were too "far away" - I have the next three or four versions very clearly planned out, I know where I'm going, and the development plan I have on my computer now is so much more "focused" than my original. Thank you re: ASCII, and thanks for the good wishes.

@ Scoop - again, sorry to hear that, but I'm afraid not. As above, with a one-man team and with the amount of detail I'm putting in, and the amount of time I expect the game to take, I simply have to focus on what I feel really passionate and driven about creating, and that's the universe I'm working on now. If I was to still be doing what I originally planned, I don't know if I'd still be doing URR now, or at least not at the same speed. So much time and energy is going into it that I have to direct that in the way I want. I hope I'll be able to produce something cool which will interest you "back" into the fold, but if not, no hard feelings and thanks for following this far. Though as for the money - if I ended up doing a kickstarter (unlikely, but possible), I would certainly take advice/thoughts on people on goals, rewards, etc...
« Last Edit: August 03, 2013, 05:04:08 pm by Ultima Ratio Regum »
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Glloyd

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1731 on: August 03, 2013, 05:09:59 pm »

@ Glloyd - sorry to hear that, but I fully understand where you're coming from. I know the game has mutated a lot as time as gone by, but the reason is because I'm putting so much time and effort into it that I just have to follow what concepts and mechanics really interest me at this point. There's also, as I mentioned above, a timescale issue - my current plan is audacious, but not impossible to complete before my death; the original plan, unless I suddenly started working at it full time and brought in help, was simply impossible. Also, psychologically, those goals were too "far away" - I have the next three or four versions very clearly planned out, I know where I'm going, and the development plan I have on my computer now is so much more "focused" than my original. Thank you re: ASCII, and thanks for the good wishes.

Fair enough, and thanks for the response. I tried v.0.3.0 out, and the ziggurats are pretty cool. I like what you've got so far, it just... Isn't the droid I was looking for.

Ultima Ratio Regum

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1732 on: August 03, 2013, 05:31:06 pm »

Fair enough, and thanks for the response. I tried v.0.3.0 out, and the ziggurats are pretty cool. I like what you've got so far, it just... Isn't the droid I was looking for.

Haha, I understand. I hope to produce a pretty awesome substitute droid, though.
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Edmus

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1733 on: August 03, 2013, 09:58:11 pm »

Downloading now...
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ConsUme

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1734 on: August 03, 2013, 10:11:55 pm »

Big question... two parter

is ther going to be side-quests?
Two, Are they going to be randomly generated?
And is there a sandbox aspect to this? oops three things
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Ultima Ratio Regum

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1735 on: August 04, 2013, 05:33:47 am »

Downloading now...

Hype!

Big question... two parter

is ther going to be side-quests?
Two, Are they going to be randomly generated?
And is there a sandbox aspect to this? oops three things

1) Er. Depends on how you define side-quests, but yes, I suppose so. They will be side quests, but will contribute and help you towards the "main" quest, I think. Or something like that. The honest answer is I'm not sure yet how "quests" etc will work, but there will be far more to do than directly engaging with the story.
2) Of course! If I make the graphics on stone blocks procedurally generated, quests certainly will be.
3) Yes, in the sense of the world is large, and open, and you will have a significant level of freedom in navigating it. However, it won't be quite to the level it is now, when you can magically cross over water!
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Man of Paper

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1736 on: August 04, 2013, 06:21:23 am »

So forgive me of my ignorance, as I haven't played it much, but ADOM was something of an open world with a loose-ish storyline, right? I mean, I never got past the first couple caves/dungeons, mostly because I'd walk into one of the later ones and don't comprehend the concept of "retreat" when not preceded by "tactical" and ending with enveloped Gauls.

So will it be something like that or similar? I'm trying to figure out what beast you're raising now, since I personally haven't seen much to hint at me how the game's going to feel and such. The first version was outlined very clearly, but not this one so much. I do see that you're trying to keep it under wraps a bit so if you don't feel like sharing much, that's cool.

I'm so conflicted! Half of me is in the same boat as Glloyd and them, but the rest of me is still all in since you've shown some great ideas and I'd like to see what you do with a more focused objective.
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ConsUme

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1737 on: August 04, 2013, 11:36:51 am »

Thank You for answering...
I thought when things changed the game would lose replayablity...
Like Shadowrun Returns. It's fun but too linear compared to the eariler games.
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Ultima Ratio Regum

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1738 on: August 04, 2013, 01:05:35 pm »

So forgive me of my ignorance, as I haven't played it much, but ADOM was something of an open world with a loose-ish storyline, right? I mean, I never got past the first couple caves/dungeons, mostly because I'd walk into one of the later ones and don't comprehend the concept of "retreat" when not preceded by "tactical" and ending with enveloped Gauls.

So will it be something like that or similar? I'm trying to figure out what beast you're raising now, since I personally haven't seen much to hint at me how the game's going to feel and such. The first version was outlined very clearly, but not this one so much. I do see that you're trying to keep it under wraps a bit so if you don't feel like sharing much, that's cool.

I'm so conflicted! Half of me is in the same boat as Glloyd and them, but the rest of me is still all in since you've shown some great ideas and I'd like to see what you do with a more focused objective.

I wouldn't call ADOM at all open-world, personally. I mean, compare that to something like DF, Cataclyms, or (hopefully), URR. ADOM was more like a bunch of very specific dungeons at fixed locations - even though there was an overworld, it isn't really "open" at all. So, I'm thinking of my goal as more like... DF adventure mode with a plot. That's a better comparison. It's a tricky balance to keep things interesting and secret, whilst also make it clear what I'm working on. I want a game focused on exploration, puzzles/riddles, combat, making/breaking alliances... of which ziggurats are just one dungeon type, and riddle puzzles are just one element.

I do understand the boat dilemma, believe me. I just hope I'll be able to win over some more waverers as time goes on : ). But yeah - a world with rare and brutal combat, a heavy exploration combat, and some pretty weird, anomalous factors. I am actually trying to work on a better description at the moment, but it is tricky!

Thank You for answering...
I thought when things changed the game would lose replayablity...
Like Shadowrun Returns. It's fun but too linear compared to the eariler games.

Maximum replayability is a central goal - EVERYTHING, from art to doors to puzzles to swords, will and must be procedural...
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Dutchling

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Re: Ultima Ratio Regum - roguelike/exploration/Borges, v0.3 released!
« Reply #1739 on: August 04, 2013, 02:15:45 pm »

Well, as long as you can ignore the main quest and just go kill random peasants I'm 100% okay with all the changes :P
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