[highlight]What, exactly, are Roguelikes?[/highlight]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Rogue_Unix_Screenshot_CAR.PNG[/img]
Roguelikes are a series of games that go [b]WAY[/b] back to the early 70's, but gained popularity in the mid 80's. The first Roguelike was called 'Rogue' by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman. It was a dnd like game where you, the player character (commonly shown as '@') traveled through randomly generated dungeons, killed monsters, plundered for gold and eventually obtained the Amulet of Yendor and taking it to travel back to the surface. Once then, you have completed the game. Although the concept seemed simple, Roguelikes were [b]very addictive and challenging.[/b]
I know that the interface might seem bland, but the games were fun. If you are into good ol' Dungeons and Dragons, you will enjoy Roguelikes. Below are some recommendations that I have personally played and can recommended...
[b]IVAN, short for Iter Vehemens ad Necem (Violent Road to Death)[/b]
[b]Website:[/b] [url]http://ivan.sourceforge.net/[/url]
[b]Unofficial/Official Fansite (with wiki! Use this!):[/b] [url]http://www.attnam.com/[/url]
[img]http://ivan.sourceforge.net/img/Holyscreen33.png[/img]
IVAN is a pretty good graphical roguelike, but like the name implies, you are going to die. [b]A LOT.[/b] It's very easy to get into once you memorize the controls, and can be rewarding once you recognize the good things and the bad things. You start off as a lowly banana herder who is asked to deliver a scroll to an important character in the town of Attnam, but the only way to get there is through the underground tunnels.
Unlike most roguelikes, IVAN has a 'God' system where you can pray to individual Gods for rewards, if they are pleased with you. IF they aren't, you'll probably be killed, or punished. Another feature is the limb system, where your body and health is seperated into individual body parts. The head, left arm and right arm, the chest, the groin, and the left leg and right leg. [b]YOU CAN LOSE ALL OF THESE BODY PARTS IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL, THUS RENDERING THAT PART USELESS UNLESS YOU CAN REATTACH IT, OR GET HELP FROM GODS.[/b] IVAN features a graphical interface compared to ASCII used in the majority of roguelikes, so it's easy on the eyes.
[b]NetHack[/b]
[b]Website:[/b] [url]http://nethack.org/[/url]
[b]Wiki:[/b] [url]http://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page[/url]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Nethack_releasing_a_djinni.png[/img]
One of the earlier roguelikes, NetHack, is managed the Nethack Devteam (there are a lot of people, so I am not going to list it; sorry!) and is inspired by earlier Roguelikes like [i]Hack[/i] and [i]Rogue[/i]. Like most RL, it has a ASCII interface, but you can make it graphical through modifications found online though I would keep it ASCII personally.
There are thirteen roles to play, four races, and three alignments. Each role has a God which coincides with the alignment you choose, and you can pray at altars to recieve bonuses. One of the most impressive features in the game is the Time system, which can be explained here: ([url]http://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Time[/url]) The basics of the system is that the time on your computer can effect the game negatively, or positively in situations. Among these features, NetHack is a pure classic and you will enjoy it. I highly recommended it as your [b]FIRST[/b] roguelike.
[b]Angband Roguelike[/b]
[b]Website:[/b] [url]http://rephial.org[/url]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Angband.gif[/img]
Angband is inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Angband. You start in the town level, equip yourself, and go do to the dungeon in attempts to beat Morgoth. Unlike Nethack, the games dungeons are entirely random. Even if you go down, and go back up, and go down again, the dungeon will be random every single time. It changes, thus offering challenges for the players each time. Unfortunately, I don't remember off the top of my head how many roles and races there are. Angband's games span a long time. You can play it for days, weeks, and even months if you survive. It's system is closer to Dungeons and Dragons than Nethack.
[b]Elona: The Eternal League of Nefia[/b]
[b]Website:[/b] [url]http://homepage3.nifty.com/rfish/index_e.html[/url]
[b]Wiki:[/b] [url]http://elona.wikia.com/wiki/Elona_Wiki[/url]
[img]http://www.insertcredit.com/archives/elona.jpg[/img]
Elona is a Japanese (and English!) graphical roguelike. The game takes a little more from anime but it's a great game. It features 11 races: Yerles, Eulderna, Fairy, Dwarf, Juere, Elea, Snail, Lich, Goblin, Golem, and Mutant. It has 10 classes, but two which are unique and some might not even heard of. First one is the Claymore, a race that comes from the manga series of the same name. Canonically, the Claymores are mainly females because of the males inability to control their power, thus turning them into horrible beasts. They are incredibly strong and fast with high evasion. Second is the Pianist, who is one of the hardest classes in Elona, mainly because they can't survive at all. However, the ability to make an incredible amount of money makes up for that. Elona is a MUST play.
Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM)
[b]Website:[/b] [url]http://www.adom.de/[/url]
[img]http://www.gamesetwatch.com/atplay/adomoutlaw.gif[/img]
ADOM is a nice Roguelike which features an original storyline. You are a hero who sets off to find the source of an incredible amount of chaos. There are ten playable races, and TWENTY (yes, you read that right) playable classes. Combinations are limitless, but some are not recommended (but it's your game, go ahead and make that ridiculous character!) It's dungeons are semi persistent. One of the most coolest features, in my opinion, is the character creation system and the 'Corruption' system. After a certain amount of time, the body of your player character (@) will eventually mutate due to the increasing amount of chaos spilling into the world to the point where your character will become a mass of chaos, thus ending the game (in the worst way possible!) ADOM also features an overworld map, so if you love to travel and find new, foreign towns and caves, you will love ADOM.
If you want to try other Roguelikes, from Coffeebreak (very short) to beta and such, check out: [url]http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Main_Page[/url] -- You can even learn how to make your own Roguelike!
I haven't played any of these, but I have played Dwarf Fortress, and Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup. The latter is quite similar to IVAN, it looks like.
What about other roguelike-like games? Not top down, but similar in difficulty... Spelunky comes to mind.
[QUOTE=Octyl;27522303]I haven't played any of these, but I have played Dwarf Fortress, and Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup. The latter is quite similar to IVAN, it looks like.
What about other roguelike-like games? Not top down, but similar in difficulty... Spelunky comes to mind.[/QUOTE]
Spelunky is an example of a RL, yes, but I actually haven't found too many like this. If I do, I can update the thread accordingly.
I never really got into Dwarf Fortress.. I know a lot of people LOVE it, but I can't seem to play it and stay interested. I did follow a tutorial and learned from mistakes and such; built my first fort but it wasn't as fun as I thought. Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is basically just a more updated version of the original 'Crawl'.
I have [url=http://blog.b-ark.ca/NetHackDS]NethackDS[/url] on my DSi's flash cart, it's fun to play on breaks.
Eh the only Roguelike I played was POWDER
[url]http://www.zincland.com/powder/index.php?pagename=about[/url]
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/g0yu.png[/img]
And only because I had a Flash Cart for my Nintendo DS and I wanted some homebrew games.
I've heard good thing of POWDER, but in my opinion it seemed too basic.
I really enjoyed Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup, very fun, lots of choices for species and class, and lots of Gods too
Not really a fan of these, but I've tried Izuna on DS and that was shitty.
I also got ZHP on PSP but that's pretty awesome.
I had NetHack on a pocketpc, not that good for actually getting stuff done.
Elona is great mostly because of the free-roam-do-whatever-you-want type of gameplay.
[editline]19th January 2011[/editline]
And throwing pianos at people.
[QUOTE=TheCombine;27522891]Elona is great mostly because of the free-roam-do-whatever-you-want type of gameplay.
[editline]19th January 2011[/editline]
And throwing pianos at people.[/QUOTE]
Can you throw fluffy rabbits at a giant bronze giant and knock off it's head?
Yeah. I thought not.
I've got a full folder of these, I'll just post them all here mmkay?
ADOM
Angband
ASCII Sector
Dwarf Fortress
Elona
Goblin Camp
Incursion
IVAN
Mage Guild
Nethack
POWDER
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
Spelunky
Towerclimb (I guess)
Unreal World
[QUOTE=Trinholdt;27522349]Spelunky is an example of a RL, yes, but I actually haven't found too many like this. If I do, I can update the thread accordingly.
I never really got into Dwarf Fortress.. I know a lot of people LOVE it, but I can't seem to play it and stay interested. I did follow a tutorial and learned from mistakes and such; built my first fort but it wasn't as fun as I thought. Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is basically just a more updated version of the original 'Crawl'.[/QUOTE]
Spelunky is actually more of a platformer that draws inspiration from roguelikes.
Elona is a very good one too. It's a little hard to understand, with tons of items which may or may not have any purpose, occasional Engrish text, and generally odd / inconsistent graphics. Still, for a free game, it's extraordinarily deep. It's had more replay value for me than a lot of big-name RPGs from professional companies. If it was more polished it could be [url=http://www.facepunch.com/]fucking incredible[/url].
You can whore yourself out to people for money, raise little girls on a ranch, make jerky out of them, play as a traveling minstrel, create an infestation of chest-bursting aliens (sadly this actually happened by accident in one of my saves, and that one city is now totally unsafe to visit), capture monsters a la Pokemon, Get loot and furniture for your house a la Animal Crossing / Oblivion, start a farm, run a museum... And the dungeons, looting, and character creation systems aren't so bad either.
Like, I played as a fairy on my first save, so I couldn't use any equipment that weighed more than a pound, but my magic abilities were awesome, and high charisma allowed me to have more followers to help me in battle. Also made prostitution yield a lot more money for me.
Oh look it's my 7000th post
Nethack is an incredible game. Supposedly, it is beatable, but even with wizard mode and the proper items I still find it a challenge. It's very much a test of wits and skill rather than grabbing the best equipment and blasting through.
Although it isn't a 'true roguelike', Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode is the only one of these I've really got into/enjoyed enormously. I've tried others and liked them, but never been so immersed.
Elona was impossible for me to get anywhere in and I can't even remember why.
I had this idea for a w40k roguelike a while back, but was too lazy to ever do anything with it. The best part of most roguelikes is the hilarious deaths.
[QUOTE=Chrisholl;27537873]I had this idea for a w40k roguelike a while back, but was too lazy to ever do anything with it. The best part of most roguelikes is the hilarious deaths.[/QUOTE]
[code]
Level 6 Ork appears from the east!
You hit Ork's left arm for 2 points of damage with your bolt pistol!
Ork misses!
You miss!
Ork hits your head for 43 points of damage with his 'eavy shoota!
Your head is brutally separated from your spine from the force of impact, your body falling limp to the ground as blood fountains from the stump.
Try again? (Y/N)[/code]
:v: ?
Rogue Survivor, a Roguelike based around survival in the midst of a zombie attack is incredibly great fun and very difficult, I wouldn't say it is as open as some others suggested here, especially Elona. But that may just be because I'm set in my way about how I play it.
Also Liberal Crime Squad, which can become easy once you realize quick ways to win, but it also can just be fun to cause general havoc in, or setting it to Nightmare mode and pretending You're Alex from A Clockwork Orange. (Minus the rape... And Beethoven)
I like Dwarf Fortress, but I play the adventurer mode a lot more than I play the dwarf fortress mode. Nethack is pretty fun too. I kicked a grate on the floor and a fucking slime came up from it and brutally murdered me.
Caves of Qud is a pretty cool roguelike set in an apocalyptic future.
SA forums link [url]http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3374214[/url]
God I remember my first time playing IVAN. I got my groin cut off and was trapped by a spiders web so I prayed to a god who telported me into a random room. I then prayed to a goddess, hoping to get my groin back, but instead she took my arm. I went outside to try and avoid a goblin and slipped on a banana peel and died.
:iia:
Anyone remember an old Genesis game, Fatal Labrynth? It was basically a roguelike with more advanced sprites and console-based controls.
Play IVAN, find 'Cheap Copy of the Left Nut of Petrus' on first floor.
Wield it, decapitate a kobold.
Hell yeah!
Add Elona and I'm happy.
[editline]20th January 2011[/editline]
Also, zomband and rogue survivor.
[QUOTE=lorden;27538632][code]
Level 6 Ork appears from the east!
You hit Ork's left arm for 2 points of damage with your bolt pistol!
Ork misses!
You miss!
Ork hits your head for 43 points of damage with his 'eavy shoota!
Your head is brutally separated from your spine from the force of impact, your body falling limp to the ground as blood fountains from the stump.
Try again? (Y/N)[/code]
:v: ?[/QUOTE]
That from a game?
Gonna update the OP with some more Roguelikes later or tomorrow. Yes, Elona will be on there. :unsmith:
Zomband is an amazing roguelike, add that one as well.
Fuck yeah, roguelikes. One of my favorite genres ever.
Don't bother with Dwarf Fortress when you update, it's got its own thread. [sp]Plus I don't like but I'd be crucified for saying that.[/sp]
Anyone who's looking into becoming a roguelike-junkie should definitely start with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. It's probably one of the hardest roguelikes out there, but it most definitely has the best UI. Unlike, say, NetHack, it's all very intuitive.
Shiren is an oft-overlooked console roguelike, absolutely awesome. In comparison to NetHack or Angband, it's pretty basic, but there's a lot more of an emphasis on strategic combat. Clearing out a Monster House (room filled literally to the brim with monsters) takes some serious thinking and clever spending of resources. The first in the series was ported to the DS, and it's really cheap now. There was also a sequel on the Wii, but I never played it.
The iPhone is also a surprisingly good place for roguelikes. There's some excellent ports of NetHack and SlashEM, and a port of one of the earliest roguelikes, Sword of Fargoal. Also worth noting is Cavern, a completely original roguelike with shades of Angband.
And a PSA: never, ever buy 100 Rogues on the iPhone. The game is buggy as fuck and the devs are lying assholes.
[editline]20th January 2011[/editline]
Also, for those looking for something with the mentality but not the strict, turn-based gameplay of a roguelike, check out Triangle Wizard. It's tough to describe, but it's basically a real-time roguelike with elements of... Geometry Wars.
Here's some good ones.
Elona
It's a graphical roguelike, and it's anime. However, the game can be fun and hilarious due to mistranslations and un-restricted freedom. You can farm and breed children, render an entire town useless by filling it with un-killeable demons, and more. Appearance isn't everything.
[img]http://elona.squares.net/forum/download/file.php?id=446[/img]
[img]http://elona.squares.net/forum/download/file.php?id=469[/img]
Transcendence
Another graphical roguelike. Your goal is to get to the center of the galaxy for some unknown purpose. I still haven't finished it myself. Simple but entertaining gameplay.
[img]http://www.neurohack.com/transcendence/screenshots/images/System_Map_Screenshot.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i45.tinypic.com/2135jlw.jpg[/img]
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