Flare

Minotaur WIP:

OSARE updates might be slow for a couple weeks while I’m apartment hunting. I am still choosing a loot system and I may have settled on something that sticks pretty close to the genre. Updates soon!

It is the business of the very few to be independent; it is a privilege of the strong. And whoever attempts it, even with the best right, but without being OBLIGED to do so, proves that he is probably not only strong, but also daring beyond measure. He enters into a labyrinth, he multiplies a thousandfold the dangers which life in itself already brings with it; not the least of which is that no one can see how and where he loses his way, becomes isolated, and is torn piecemeal by some minotaur of conscience.

– Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

Analyzing Loot

Choosing a loot system is probably the trickiest part; implementation is a close second. Loot affects most subsystems of OSARE: maps, camera position, renderables, mouse state, tooltips, enemies, inventory, events/containers, etc.

Here’s what I plan to do with loot drops.

• Assign items a new variable: level
• Item level will determine the item’s sell price and drop chance.
• Item level will also determine automatic loot tables

Item Level

First, let’s talk about level. Weapons and armor will be our starting point for determining level.

• Regular daggers, wands, slingshots, and leather armor will be level 2
• Shortswords, rods, shortbows, bucklers will be level 4
• Longswords, staffs, longbows, steel armor will be level 6
• Greatswords, greatstaffs, greatbows, shields will be level 8

I’ll use basic judgment to assign the rest of loot.

• Food is level 1
• Potions are level 3
• Gems are level 9
• Artifacts are base level 5

Item modifiers change the level of items. This is calculated outside of the game for now and applied directly to the items.txt file

• -1 damage = -1 level
• +1 damage = +3 levels
• -0.5 absorb = – 1 level
• +0.5 absorb = +3 levels
• +1-3 hp/mp/accuracy/avoidance = +1 level
• +4-6 hp/mp/accuracy/avoidance = +2 levels
• +7-9 hp/mp/accuracy/avoidance = +3 levels
• +1 crit/regen/speed = +1 level
• +2 crit/regen/speed = +2 level
• +3 crit/regen/speed = +3 level

Drop Chance

Now I can automatically generate loot tables for creatures, containers, and vendors. Loot will be on a basic bell curve. When loot DOES drop, what level is it?

• [Editor’s Note: final implementation is +/- 3 levels]
• 1% chance: -5 level
• 2% chance: -4 level
• 5% chance: -3 level
• 10% chance: -2 level
• 20% chance: -1 level
• 24% chance: same level as creature/container/vendor
• 20% chance: +1 level
• 10% chance: +2 level
• 5% chance: +3 level
• 2% chance: +4 level
• 1% chance: +5 level

Note I can tag some monsters as “no loot” types (e.g. antlions, wyverns). Instead of dropping loot, you should find loot around their layers (in nests, rubble, dead adventurers, etc). Also I can tag some loot as “quest” types, so they don’t appear in random tables.

OSARE v0.07 Released: Inventory

The newest version of OSARE is ready, this time with the focus on Inventory. In game, open the Inventory (I) menu and try out some test equipment! New in this release:

• Word wrap, size calculation, and font colors on the font engine
• Created a mouseover tooltip system
• Drag and drop support for arranging and equipping items
• Item drop sound effects
• Changing hero graphics based on equipped items
• Changing combat stats based on equipped items
• Adjusted monsters based on combat stats
• Basic test items and a few low and high quality variations

Downloads

• Windows
• OSX
• Source

0.07 Coming Soon

0.07’s main focus is “Inventory”. I will probably package 0.07 this weekend. The current checked-in code represents most (if not all) of 0.07. If you try it out, please send me some feedback.

To get loot drops in 0.08 I will need to decide how to animate loot drops, probably corresponding to each icon. That will be a lot of tedious work. I also need to spend a few days away from OSARE coding, maybe playing other inspirational games.

My target for 0.08 is July, with the focus on “Loot”.

My target for 0.09 is August, with the focus on “Powers”. That will be a huge milestone, as the core gameplay will be there to experience.

Working on 0.07

I’m working on some fun interface stuff for version 0.07.

• Mouseover tooltips system (done)
• Word wrap and newline support for text rendering (done)
• Inventory display and drag/drop arrangement (done)
• Item Database (done)
• Changing hero graphic based on equipped items (done)
• Equipment stats affect combat (done)

Here’s what I’m thinking for 0.08

• Loot drops from creatures
• Loot drops from containers
• Experience from creatures
• Leveling up
• Equip items requirements check

For 0.09 I will be working on Powers and customizing the Action Bar.

OSARE v0.06 released!

OSARE version 0.06 is now ready for download. New in this release:

• Tweaked some sound effects due to license questions
• Added menu open/close sound effects
• Added map interactions when stepping on certain tiles
• Added opening containers
• Added throwing switches to open doors
• Added support for various monster types
• Added several varieties of zombie, skeleton, antlion, and goblin

Gameplay Video

Downloads

• Windows
• OSX
• Source

Antlion and Goblin

Finally finished animating the old Antlion and Goblin models that have been sitting on my hard drive for a year or so. I will probably add a few new animation sequences later (e.g. the antlion needs his burrowing graphics). This means that half of my bestiary is complete (coincidentally, the half of the list that represent lower level creatures).

These low-poly, untextured models are so easy to create/rig/animate. If I tried to put too many tiny details on the model it would make the in-game renders too noisy. Sometimes I want to stop and instead create incredibly detailed 3D models, but it wouldn’t add much to OSARE and would slow down my current progress. I always have the option of making better graphics later, and I’m sure the graphics of OSARE will improve as I keep making more. One thing that keeps OSARE ticking is that I just try stuff, do what’s fun, and I’m not afraid to just throw something out and redo it.

Skeletons!

I just finished adding support for multiple enemy types. The maps now have both zombies and skeletons. There are weak, strong, and boss versions of both. You can infer what kind they are by how fast they move and where you encounter them.