rec.games.roguelike.development Google Group

Re: Intriguing new Line Of Sight algorithm (Java, Python)

2009-01-08T21:41:07Z

I won't pretend that I fully understand the algorithm. I got the
general idea.
I referenced the java example for some of the details when I was
writing
the python version.
Anyway, I've put the python code here:
[link]
It has some comments with my current understanding of how it works.

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T19:08:39Z

I think what makes it different from roguelikes is intriguing.
Firstly, the maps have a 'grain' to them, caused by gravity, which the
player is able to reverse a limited number of times (using a rope) but
ultimately implies a direction of travel (and which is why all map
exits are 0, 1 or 2 grids from the ground, that being the maximum

Re: Gaussian distribution RNGs for RLs?

2009-01-08T17:45:33Z

IIRC, 97.5% of the values that occur are within the range
[-3*deviation, +3*deviation]. So you can easily make an attack that
most of the time deals values between 10 and 20 hp, with the odd
critial hit/critical failure. Also I like the idea of negative values
representing bad failures! But maybe it would be too harsh on new

Re: Multi effect items?

2009-01-08T17:31:23Z

Ah I was wondering what happened to Kharne! I used to read the blog ya
know.
Jotaf

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T17:28:25Z

For a long time I thought that the solution was to make perma-death
kinda optional. But when I played Diablo (and maybe other games with
this option) I never even considered that mode. I thought it was for
crazy people who had played the game for a long time. I only saw it as
a fair game mode when I stumbled upon the RL genre.

Re: Gaussian distribution RNGs for RLs?

2009-01-08T16:51:17Z

Quoting copx <c...@gazeta.pl>:
Since when was realism a good thing, and since when was average damage
realistic? If you want realism, most wounds in single combat should be
either trivial or fatal (inasmuch as any serious injury will cause your
opponent to finish you off if there's no-one around to help you).

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T16:29:43Z

In article <568bcca9-863c-42b2-afc2-3f736 5bfd525
@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com> , torespondisfut...@hotmail.com says...
In fact all levels are reset; you can go back to a previous level and it
will be a randomised version similar to the first time you were there
(similar to Angband). The only difference is that quests can only be

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T15:44:01Z

No need for "Perhaps". We already know the answer to this. I
understand the third iteration of the Diablo franchise is coming soon
now too.
OTOH, permanent death, meaning "start over from level 1", is what
drives most of the other roguelike characteristics.
Procedural level generation is a *bad* idea if you never reset. If

Re: Gaussian distribution RNGs for RLs?

2009-01-08T15:38:07Z

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T12:04:08Z

Mr. Derek Yu has knowledge of all the indie scene! that includes rgrd
and roguetemple. He was a great knowledge about roguelikes.
He also *seems to* have posted here back on 2001 (search and you will
find)
But, I agree, he is NOT a roguelike developer at all. Actually, he is
not a raw developer like most of us but he's also a great artist (Ok,

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T11:04:58Z

It's not a roguelike. It's a platform game with random content.
I think some roguelike developers are like hammers: they see
only nails. So when there is a game with some feature known
from roguelikes (ascii, randomness, permadeath, etc.) they
make it a roguelike.

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-08T10:18:06Z

I think more people should make games that are not 100% roguelikes
(ascii or tile graphics, turn based, etc.) While I love such games,
it seems to be that many people are not very interested. I know that
I can get more friends to try something like Spelunky than Nethack.
While this is frustrating, it is still a fact. Perhaps if more people

Re: Gaussian distribution RNGs for RLs?

2009-01-08T07:37:14Z

Speaking of RNG.
Here is transformation of uniform RNG, that
have distribution like this:
----------
0 1
Probability of value in range (0..0.1] is approximately 10x higher
than in range [0.9..1.0].
double x=rnd.getDouble();
static const double c1=sqrt(1.0/1.02+0.006);
static const double c2=c1-sqrt(0.006);

Re: Spelunky - a platformer roguelike?

2009-01-07T19:55:18Z

I mean merely that Yu is not a roguelike developer by trade, and,
thus, Spelunky takes a lot more from outside the "sphere of roguelike
development" than most new roguelikes do.
Really, I find it interesting because it's very obviously a roguelike,
but it doesn't have a lot of the common roguelike features - thus, it

Re: Gaussian distribution RNGs for RLs?

2009-01-07T18:29:17Z

copx wrote:
For damage, most roguelikes already use near-gaussian
distributions in the forms of sums of die rolls. But
most use a linear distribution when determining hits.
Anyway, you'll need to chop off the "long tail" of the
Gaussian distribution to avoid generating negative
damage numbers, or else fix your combat routines to