First Impressions and questions

[LHLF]

So, after a couple of issues getting the game to run on my Mac (apparently my fault though), I finally got to play it around 6 times and was really impressed.

At first I started building and such, then at night the raiders came and killed me. Then I decided to just let them do whatever they wanted, and they got some money and never came back on my last game, and then I started to prosper. I trained my keeper and started receiving many many migrants and through training and equipping I felt unbeatable, but alas, not so much, lol.

I am playing the free version and must say I just love the looks of it! I feel like I'm playing Dungeon Keeper, but it feels like Dwarf Fortress at the same time and I absolutely adore the extra features, especially considering this is still an Alpha release. Can't wait to see what this game will become after final polishes. I really wished the game could have music though, even if just some, like Dwarf Fortress.

I also have a feeling I will continue to play this in Ascii in the future. First because I really like Ascii, second because even in Ascii I got real low FPS when things started to get big (around 4-5) most of the time. I can only imagine what would happen if I was playing with graphics. I don't know, maybe this is still just a Mac version issue, after all I make huge fortresses in DF and have no issues with it. When I purchase the game, will I still be able to choose Ascii?

Also I have a couple of questions. I apologize if these have been addressed of if they are in some kind of development list for later releases:

• When building a room with more than one option (like equipment, resources or 'all” storage room), is there a key for changing the type without clicking? I find it cumbersome to click on “storage” and then having to move all the way to the other side of the screen to choose the type. This applies to other situations as well.
• Gold seems to be a little scarce. I got negative real fast even after mining what looked to be all gold available. I still had no luck raiding villages successfully, but does that give you enough gold to play a long game?
• The only way to torture people is to capture them in your prison, or can I go directly to a village and capture them? Either way, do I need to specify I want people to be captured instead of killed?
• Is there a way to say what kind of weapon/armor/item I want to be manufactured?
• Is there a way to rally minions with me when I control a creature? I remember seeing you using the alpha male in a pack of wolves for that, but what about with my keeper or an ogre?
• Is there somewhere I can choose the name of my next Keeper?
• After I explored far north to see what the question marks were, I couldn't get my imps to continue digging past some point (they ignored the designation) and they didn't grab the weapons and items that they found in one of the rooms, and the “fetch command” didn't seem to work. My money was negative at this point, but I'm assuming that, like in Dungeon Keeper, imps don't need payment?
• Can I trust the creatures to get better equipment as it becomes available or do I need to manage them one by one manually?
• Why can't my creatures go past a boulder trap? I though that boulder traps were suspended and activated when an enemy stepped on its square, so that you didn't need to loose a passageway because of the trap.

I must say that I was VERY impressed with what you have achieved so far in this game and your faithfulness to the style you were searching for. The idea of having other resources besides gold and not needing gold to actually build the rooms is brilliant and makes it much more fun to play (besides making more sense). Having the possibility of manually equipping my minions or controlling them to this level of roguelike precision, with so many skills and abilities, is beyond awesome.
“Keep” up the good work and congratulations in your effort. I will surely buy the game as soon as I have the means.

Best

Luis

[miki151]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to answer some of your questions.

I really wished the game could have music though

Yup, there is a 30 minute soundtrack in the paid version. Personally I think it's pretty awesome 🙂

I got real low FPS when things started to get big

FPS is a never ending story for me, I keep optimizing things all the time. The ASCII version has actually worse performance due to a “bug”, but I've fixed this already for the next release. Things should keep getting better.

When I purchase the game, will I still be able to choose Ascii?

Yes, you can switch back and forth.

When building a room with more than one option (like equipment, resources or 'all” storage room), is there a key for changing the type without clicking? I find it cumbersome to click on “storage” and then having to move all the way to the other side of the screen to choose the type. This applies to other situations as well.

There keys for some of them. Not for the different storage types, actually, but you can press 's' for storage and then choose the type with the mouse. I made a note to add more key shortcuts. They will also be more visible, right now they're marked with a little line under the appropriate letter.

Gold seems to be a little scarce. I got negative real fast even after mining what looked to be all gold available. I still had no luck raiding villages successfully, but does that give you enough gold to play a long game?

It always works for me, although a lot of players have trouble with this. I plan to rework a lot of the current economy.

The only way to torture people is to capture them in your prison, or can I go directly to a village and capture them? Either way, do I need to specify I want people to be captured instead of killed?

They only surrender inside your dungeon, and only in specific circumstances. There is no plan to change that at the moment, although capturing villagers would definitely be fun.

Is there a way to say what kind of weapon/armor/item I want to be manufactured?

No, but there's a plan to allow putting specific items on queue for the manufactories.

Is there a way to rally minions with me when I control a creature? I remember seeing you using the alpha male in a pack of wolves for that, but what about with my keeper or an ogre?

Yes, you can create teams, under the minion tab.

Is there somewhere I can choose the name of my next Keeper?

In the next version, yes 🙂

After I explored far north to see what the question marks were, I couldn't get my imps to continue digging past some point (they ignored the designation) and they didn't grab the weapons and items that they found in one of the rooms, and the “fetch command” didn't seem to work. My money was negative at this point, but I'm assuming that, like in Dungeon Keeper, imps don't need payment?

No, it sounds like a bug. Next time you notice something like this, please send me a save file.

Can I trust the creatures to get better equipment as it becomes available or do I need to manage them one by one manually?

Yes, they'll automatically switch to better stuff.

Why can't my creatures go past a boulder trap? I though that boulder traps were suspended and activated when an enemy stepped on its square, so that you didn't need to loose a passageway because of the trap.

No, it's a real boulder standing there, waiting to be activated. Similar to Dungeon Keeper, if I recall correctly.

Thanks again for all the comments and kind words, I hope that you stay around and post more feedback 🙂

[LHLF]

Thank you for such a quick and complete reply!

Yes, I'm aware of the music in the paid version, I just missed it, is all hahaha. But now that I know that I can switch to ascii in it I will probably purchase a copy sooner. Nothing agains your art, mind you, I just think that static sprites are less convincing that characters (whose details I see perfectly in my mind). Also I think many of the creature are too cute for a diabolic kind of dungeon, though that is my taste alone.

Good to know that FPS will be better soon!

Yes I had noticed the underlined letters for some options, but to me it is weird to be able to quickly choose some and not others.

About the gold, I was watching Nat20's videos and it seems that the amount of gold keeps you on the move and on edge the whole time, which is perfect for the Roguelike aspect of the whole thing, so it's fine by me. It's still unclear what makes the amount to be paid to get so high. Is is only affected by the number and type of minions or do their activities affect it as well. In dungeon keeper you spend tons of money to train the creatures, does that happen in some way in Keeper RL?

Sorry about the stupid question about rallying minions. I hadn't noticed that feature and saw Nat20 using it frequently. If I had done it earlier I would have known more about the game.

Ok, I will send you a save in case something like that happens. How can I do that? Where is the file and where should I send it to?

About the boulders, you actually can move through it without problems in Dungeon Keeper (I know that because I have purchased it on GOG and have been playing it for the past few weeks again). It makes sense for it to be an obstacle, but it also makes sense for it to be hidden. First because of practical issues, second because it's supposed to be a trap and a boulder in the middle of a corridor is not very inconspicuous.

Thanks again!

[miki151]

In dungeon keeper you spend tons of money to train the creatures, does that happen in some way in Keeper RL?

It's pretty simple, they get paid for doing any kind of work (training, workshop, etc). When you're out of gold, they stop working. Higher level minions get more gold.

Where is the file and where should I send it to?

It's in the directory that you've unpacked. It ends with '.kep', and has the name of your character in it. You can open 'load game' list to see which one you're looking for.

It makes sense for it to be an obstacle, but it also makes sense for it to be hidden. First because of practical issues, second because it's supposed to be a trap and a boulder in the middle of a corridor is not very inconspicuous.

Put them behind doors at the end or on the side of the corridor, they'll break through them.

[LHLF]

Thanks!
If put the boulders behind a door on the side of the corridor will the trap be activated when the enemy passes by it or do they have to try to open the door? will they try to open it if it leads nowhere?

[miki151]

Yes, it will active through the door.

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