Middlecrest

Middlecrest
Alpha Project
Developer	Sean Brown
Theme	Medieval Fantasy, Gothic Punk
Influences	The Elder Scrolls, Dungeons and Dragons, Poison Elves
Released	October 2010 (Alpha, v0.0.71)
Updated	Feb 14, 2011 (v0.0.82)
Licensing	Shareware, Open Source
P. Language	C, C++, Lua
Platforms	Windows
Interface	ASCII
Game Length	Unlimited
Official site of Middlecrest

Middlecrest is a gothic punk themed fantasy roguelike ("roguelike" in a broad sense, since it will fuse some elements from CRPG's in a more-or-less roguelike way). Many of the fantasy elements are taken from low-fantasy, emphasizing real-world historical situations and analogues (for example, much of the society of Middlecrest is based on real-world medieval or Renaissance models, although shuffled around somewhat). Magic is present in the world, although it is rarer and magical beings and monsters operate more like their mythological counterparts, rather than like their high-fantasy (Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.) versions. The gothic punk aspect refers to the theme and "feel" of the world and is based on the modern punk-derived goth subculture and the Neo-Romantic punkish world envisioned by Adam and the Ants in the video "Stand and Deliver". The comic book, Poison Elves, is a prime example of the theme.

Daggerfall is the main inspiration for the project. The goal with this project is to not only implement many of the game ideas seen in the Elder Scrolls series (not necessarily using all the same game mechanics of Daggerfall... I take the liberty to expand, improve, and make new where I see fit), but also to implement those features that didn't make it into Daggerfall specifically. Daggerfall promised more than it actually delivered (although it delivered a lot) and it is about time to let those forgotten and exciting features see the light of day! :)

Feel free to download and test the latest version!

Technologies

Middlecrest makes use of SQLite and C++ Boost.

Much of the game data is stored in SQLite and flat files (this will also include saved game data, later). The game "logic" of Middlecrest will eventually be supplied by Lua scripts and some custom C++ modules.

Status and Road Map

Presently, the project is in a very early alpha stage. Only basic functionality is implemented for only a minority of features. The things I plan on implementing in the near future are:

• Completed magic system that incorporates both arcane and priestly magic. Right now only a portion of arcane magic is implemented.
• Look command
• Implementing the experience system
• Basic, core classes and then expanding it to other classes later
• Non-trivial pathfinding and tracking modes (sight, scent)
• Magical items with elemental effects
• Time and scheduling system
• FoV and LoS <---- current development
• Town and wilderness generation (simple)
• Shops and shopkeepers <--- current development

Features

Here is a description of features that Middlecrest will eventually contain:

• Quests -- Freeform quest generator (including quests that aren't the traditional hack-n-slash style roguelike quests)
• Makers -- Item, spell, potion, and class makers
• Themes -- Themed dungeon generators (examples: caves, dungeons, fortifications, ruins, etc.)
• Magic System -- School based magic system.
• Weather system -- Clothes will actually be an important aspect of the game to keep you warm, dry, etc.
• Durability -- items can break, excluding a few things, like rings, etc.
• Emergent game world -- Events are emergent from the game and based on your actions and the actions of the NPC's. The game world changes accordingly.
• Advanced AI -- characters and monsters will behave based on their needs (remember the Sims?) for more realistic interaction and behavior.
• Graded Difficulty -- Roguelike games often have a very sharp difficulty curve and it usually takes a few characters to really get the feel of the game and how to play so your character isn't just new fodder for the next monster that comes along. I don't think the issue is with permadeath or any actual gameplay mechanic. I think it's a matter of simply planning out how the difficulty curve should look and the roguelikes I've played don't seem to do that very well. On the other hand, CRPG's seem to have a better handle on this (we can argue about whether a game's difficulty curve should be steeper or not, but at least we can basically agree that, in many CRPG's, it doesn't seem like your character is merely fresh meat for the dungeon denizens). Leveled lists based on player level and other algorithms will be used.
• Softer Permadeath -- Don't worry! Permadeath is still there, looming, and ever-present. It's just that there are ways (although uncommon and very difficult) to get around death.

Screenshots

Title Screen

Dungeon (cave theme)

Wilderness

Version Log

• v0.0.71 -- Demo: dungeon generation, monster, and item generation, inventory, movement, picking up items, dropping items, equipping items, searching, basic combat (magical and mundane), minimal monster AI, basic database capabilities.

• v0.0.78 Minigame -- Updated C++ Boost library to v1.44 and SQLite to v3.7.3, corrected database bugs, added elemental magic effects on weapons, implemented damage resistances vs. spells, updated attack calculations, all armor is equip-able, release and readme information viewable in-game using the 'v' and '?' commands respectively, added scrolls although they are not in item generation routines yet (they need to be designed and more fleshed out still), fixed typos, and a bunch of minor code improvements. Source code included.

• v0.0.79 Minigame + Levels -- Added town generation, added wilderness generation, travel between levels, doors, minor code improvements and bug fixes.

• v0.0.80 Minigame + Class/Race -- Updated C++ Boost library to v1.45, added races and classes, significant code overhaul and code improvements.

• v0.0.81 Minigame + Shopkeepers -- Added shopkeeper character (although no buying and selling yet), updated SQLite library to v3.7.4, significant reduction in executable footprint, bug fixes and improved protection against future bugs, code improvements.

 v0.0.82 Minigame + FoV, Triggers, and Bug Fixes -- Added FoV (for testing), triggers for tiles, intro screen to
 communicate bugs and other info to player, color support, bug fixes and bug prevention, updated UI so player
 messages scroll in their respective menus, updated to SQLite v3.7.5, and refined creature generation code for
 dungeons/towns.

External Links

Middlecrest development blog

Latest code release for Middlecrest