Cyclopean News

Just updated the demo

It makes a couple important changes.

[h3]New Items[/h3]
A compass, a net, a shovel and a hook have been added to the game. Yes, the shovel and hook were in the last build, but a major change has happened. These items used to be listed as "Supplies" but now they are classified as "Weapons/Tools" in your inventory. You do not need to equip these things, they will work automatically when you need them. These items are now only available at the trader, so you will have to save up to buy them.

[h3]Captives[/h3]
You could capture enemies before, but they would just sit in the "Captives" menu and gather dust. Now you may, on occasion, get special offers from some of the denizens of the Great Abyss to take those captives off your hands in exchange for gold.

[h3]Experience[/h3]
Now you can gain experience points for things other than combat. Sneaking, picking locks, reading books, talking to others,

Just updated the demo

It makes a couple important changes.

[h3]No More Autosave[/h3]
Autosaves have been disabled. Instead, the first save slot behaves like an ordinary save slot. Autosaves were causing all sorts of issues and I have not been able to figure out a way around it. So I will trust to players that they will be able to save their own games.

[h3]New Dungeon Tiles[/h3]
Dungeons have new end tiles (those around the outer edges of each dungeon). This may cause some weird issues if you are loading a saved game, where the outer tiles of dungeons don't match up properly. It's okay, this will only effect old games. New games will not have this issue.

The latest version (0.7.3) of the demo is up for Next Fest!

This is what I am calling an "Early Access" Demo, in that it is not quite a finished game yet.

There are some known issues with the gameplay, one of which would be good to get feedback on from players.

1. Dungeon Reset
The dungeons should be persistent when playing the game over multiple sessions. However, I have noticed that they can occasionally get "reset" causing the dungeon to lose any saved data. I have a working theory of why this is happening and I believe it has to do with loading a saved game after loading the autosave (slot 1).

If anyone is able to successfully reproduce this issue, please let me know about it. That can help in tracking down the root cause.

2. Treasure maps
There is a problem with treasure maps spawning with the same coordinates. I am working on a fix right now, that should solve the problem in the next update. But know that you might get a redundant treasure map from time to time.

The demo limits how many dungeons you can enter, and how many levels you can gain, but otherwise allows you to play and explore freely. Have fun!

The latest version of the demo is up.

This version *should* be play any previously saved games with no issues. It introduces several new gameplay features.

[h3]Map[/h3]
When in a dungeon, you can access a map of the location. It will reveal some information, and help to keep track of where you are. Pressing "M" or clicking the "Map" button will toggle the map. You can also see a smaller, mini map in the lower left corner when not viewing the full map (only in dungeons).

There will be more map controls added to the menu, but for now, know that you can do the following:

• Zoom in and out of the map with the middle mouse scroll wheel.
  
• Move around the map by using the regular movement keys (WASD by default - this will not move the character)
  
• Change floors using the Turn keys (E & Q by default)
  
• Toggling out of the map will recenter the map view on your character (planning to add a button for this too)
  

[h3]Treasure Maps[/h3]
Three new related items have been added to the game. Treasure maps will appear in your "Books" inventory area and point to a buried or sunken treasure in the game's 2D overworld. Use the new longitude and latitude variables to find them. You will also need either a Shovel, or if you are in a boat, a Dredging Hook, to get to the treasure chests.

Treasure chests, like other things in the overworld, are not permanent features. They will disappear when you leave them.

I will be playing the free, Early Access Demo for Cyclopean today at around 2:00 PM (Central Time US).



Watch me play, ask questions, have fun!