Previews

These are games that are either in early stages of development, or have not yet been ported (effectively) to Windows. The opinions and facts I issue in here are founded on preliminary impressions and guesswork and are not to be considered in any way trusthworthy. That said, here are some glimpses of games to come.

  1. Adventurer of the Realm
  2. Crossfire
  3. Dimensions
  4. Dungeon
  5. Legend of Saladir

Adventurer of the Realm

I don't remember much about Adventurer of the Realm, but because its home page still exists, there's always a chance development will continue. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of it anymore, and the game's site doesn't offer it for download.

Features

  • very early version
  • looks like rogue
  • development seems to have halted back in 1999

Good

  • ???

Bad

  • no online help
  • no help documents
  • I got a fatal bug when I typed "Q"

Crossfire

Crossfire has been around for a while, and is definitely not "vaporware", but I've never been able to get it to run on DOS or Windows (XP). Here's what I've been able to deduce from the web site and screen shots:

Features

  • windowed interface
  • multiplayer

Good

  • pretty graphics
  • appears to have nice depth

Bad

  • I can't get it to work on XP

Dimensions

Dimensions thumbnailDimensions screen

Dimensions was still in very early stages of development when I reviewed it. According to the developer's web page (which seems to have disappeared), development was continuing as of February 1999, but I don't know what happened after that.

It used to be available for download but Simon withdrew it, waiting for it to reach a more complete state.

Features

  • VGA graphics
  • keyboard or mouse movement
  • no character creation yet
  • no apparent stats/levels yet
  • skills don't do anything

Good

  • global map looks nice
  • the "feel" is right: more like a roguelike than an ultima clone
  • objects have qualities (excellent, well-made, etc.)

Bad

  • buggy - sometimes keypresses are ignored
  • no help in or with game; have to look online
  • crude graphics - I'd prefer ASCII
  • cheesy mix of sci-fi and fantasy
  • has to run maximized

Dungeon

Dungeon thumbnailDungeon screen

As perhaps hinted by its name, there is [so far] nothing truly original about Dungeon, nothing that would make me want to play it instead of one of the other Roguelikes. The most unique aspect is the inventory management, which in my opinion, is even worse than Omega's; it's VERY hard to use and doesn't give me anything extra in return. Hopefully the author will employ his humor and smarts in giving the game some direction.

Features

  • ASCII, color
  • town level like Angband
  • multiple stores of each type
  • AD&D stats, some skills
  • 4 magic realms: fire/air/water/earth

Good

  • nice menus, panels, scrolling
  • view centers on character
  • humorous descriptions of AD&D stats
  • provides default character names

Bad

  • extremely buggy - lots of crashes
  • sloppy randomization - I once got a town that didn't sell torches
  • awkward inventory mgmt - to wield item in slot 1 you have to hit 'i' 'q' <space> 'b' <space>
  • lack of instructions within game
  • no high score list or tombstone

Legend of Saladir

Saladir thumbnailSaladir screen

Legend of Saladir has potential. Though it's very heavily ADOM-influenced, it at least introduces several cool, "modern" features like practice-based skills, tactics, shops, weapon degradation, etc. Erno's head is in the right place; he's trying to create a deep game with new ideas and not just going through the motions of making a Roguelike clone as a programming exercise. I sincerely hope he's able to continue his efforts.

The previous release date [for version 0.30] was 1998-04-19, exactly a year before the current one [0.34]. Interesting, huh?

Anyway, I noticed much more of an ADOM influence in the current version, which is unfortunate because I dislike ADOM's keybindings and quest-orientation. The dungeon still has enough wide-open Angband flavor to remain interesting, however.

Features

  • ASCII, color, scrolling dungeon
  • AD&D-ish stats plus Toughness
  • practice-based skills
  • critical hits, edible corpses
  • combat tactics (aggressiveness)
  • shops a la NetHack

Good

  • great menus & intro screen
  • multiple tutors/classes
  • monsters fight each other
  • weapon wear and tear
  • HP for body parts
  • wilderness

Bad

  • no save feature
  • stats don't stand out on screen
  • so-so inventory management
  • no rest command
  • int, wis, chr don't do anything
  • some battles take forever