Hello, Just released my first game to the App Store, Cavern. It's a classic roguelike with a modern graphical user interface, originally released in 2009 for iPhone but current version is an Universal App supports iPads also. Features: *Smooth OpenGL graphics engine *Support for iPhones (4" also), iPads, iPod Touches, iOS 6 and up *Shops to buy equipment and sell treasure *Three character classes to choose from: -Fighter : strong melee character. -Adventurer : specialises in bows. -Mystic : uses wands and scrolls. *16 randomly generated dungeons in each game. *Over 50 monster types to defeat. *Randomized and unique items. *Online ranking for each played game. Official website: http://www.cavern2.com/cavern/ Any feedback and ideas greatly appreciated! Regards, Sami Sierla / Finland Quick gameplay video: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Cavern Sami Sierla Cavern is a dungeon crawler in the vein of genre classics like Rogue and Nethack - but with original game world not base… $2.99 Buy Now Watch Media DetailsCavern is a dungeon crawler in the vein of genre classics like Rogue and Nethack - but with original game world not based on any existing roguelike. Each level is randomly generated so no two games are the same. ---- Cavern was full of ancient treasure which surface people dug up to keep their high standards of living. Caves were inhabited by hostile creatures of the nether but Mystery Object of the surface kept the evil weak with it's power. Somehow, creatures of the deep managed to steal the Mystery Object and took it to the deepest levels of the Cavern. Now You, the Hero, must retrieve it before it's powers are used against the Surface! Features: •Shops to buy equipment and sell treasure •Three characters to play: Fighter : strong melee character. Adventurer : specialises in bows. Mystic : uses wands and scrolls. •Vintage game art by DeBray Bailey •16 randomly generated dungeons •In-game tutorial •Over 40 different monsters •Randomized item attributes and special unique items. •Online Highscores and ranking for each game played. •Saves your exact game state when receiving call or switching to another app. •Juicy sound effects. •Permadeath Information Seller:Sami Sierla Genre:Adventure, Role Playing Release:Dec 18, 2009 Updated:Oct 25, 2021 Version:2.6.5 Size:114.2 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (24) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #2 LordGek, Dec 19, 2009 Always happy to see a new Roguelike, I will give it a checking! Vovin ð® Spam Police ð Nov 28, 2009 6,514 3 38 Germany #3 Vovin, Dec 19, 2009 Last edited: Dec 19, 2009 Hi and welcome to the biggest and coolest Appsite on this Planet, Sami! Your game looks nice and I like the shop-idea! I'm surely checking it out and will review it on a German website.Good luck with your game. I am always into Rogue-likes. CommanderData Well-Known Member Patreon Indie Nov 2, 2008 1,198 20 38 http://www.ChronoSoft.com #4 CommanderData, Dec 19, 2009 This came as a surprise today... Sami actually posted in my ChronoSoft forums as well to let us know about "Cavern", and the fact that Rogue Touch was an influence on his game (we even got a mention in his credits )! I'm of the mind that the more roguelikes and dungeon crawlers there are to play, the better off we all are... downloading shortly, hopefully this will be a pleasant surprise. I'll try to post some thoughts on it later tonight Asphyxiation Well-Known Member Nov 8, 2009 388 0 0 #5 Asphyxiation, Dec 19, 2009 I might get it. Any impressions? LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #6 LordGek, Dec 19, 2009 Sure, still early in my exploration but I'm liking it so far. -It starts with a two shop town selling some basic survival items (potions of healing and town portals) as well as some at least basic armaments (weapons and armor). -It is completely turn-based, ala Rogue touch or Nethack. -It can be pretty brutal going at first as there is no natural healing (only via your healing potions, no waiting around to heal) and even though the basics in town are pretty cheap, loot seems pretty rare in the first few levels I've seen so far so it isn't like you can really easily stock up on these items. -The game uses a pretty strict encumbrance system with the inventory so you'll often need to drop some heavier items to pick up new ones (I ended up having to drop off my leather armor so I could pick up a big piece of silver ore). -While the dungeons are randomly generated for each new game, they remain persistent while playing so if you, as my above example, drop your leather armor on level 2, it will be right where you left it once you make it back to the second level of the dungeon. -The UI is pretty decent. Mainly touch on the screen and your character will head right to that spot and when it comes to combat you can either walk into beasties like in Rogue Touch or just be adjacent to them and hit the game's attack button (how it works when there are multiple opponents isn't super clear but it seems to just target the one baddy until they are dead and then move onto the next one). This attack button also makes fighting baddies with your bow a breeze as it auto targets and fires at the nearest baddy for you, although not sure if there is a way to override this if you, for example, wanted to instead shoot some other guy in the room. -There are even some clever little puzzles I'm assuming randomly generated (using levers to get at treasures). -Lastly but coolest in my book, like a TRUE roguelike, there doesn't appear to be any backing up a save of your character. You can quit and save the game at any point but once you die it is OVER and you get to see your entry in the game's Hall of Fame (some points, your experience level, the level of the dungeon, and what killed you). soulinhki Well-Known Member Dec 19, 2009 201 0 0 #7 soulinhki, Dec 19, 2009 Thank You LordGek for kind first impressions! I think most are on point but here's some clarifications: -It's true that the game is quite hard -Attack button attacks random closest monster, you can attack any monster by tapping on it but with bow/wand you might "miss" tap and walk instead. -Game mixes randomly generated content with predefined, switch puzzles mentioned are partly predefined but their appearance is pretty random. falloutmike Well-Known Member Apr 16, 2009 1,112 0 0 VA #8 falloutmike, Dec 19, 2009 Will get once I get more itunes Love roguelike games LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #9 LordGek, Dec 19, 2009 Oh crap weasels, am I right in my painful discovery that I can't save the game to resume later!? soulinhki Well-Known Member Dec 19, 2009 201 0 0 #10 soulinhki, Dec 19, 2009 You can exit the game at any point and it will be restored next time you return, but there are no save game slots. LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #11 LordGek, Dec 19, 2009 The game's save sytem works fine! Yeah, my bad, I thought you listed that as one of your cool selling point in the app description. What had happened is that I quit out and when I first restarted the game I thought it was taking longer than normal and quit out again BEFORE MY LAST GAME FULLY LOADED and in so doing must have lost my save. So, people, be careful not to quit out while the game is loading if you've already got a saved game you'll want to resume later. ...Now onto some totally different point... The pre-built rooms add a bit to the otherwise random dungeon levels although I would hope you, in future updates, go more along the route of say the wooden crate in the town's store room. The storeroom's layout is pre-scripted but the loot inside is randomized. I feel having what appears to be fixed loot in the jail cell, for example, kind of takes from the replay value when you encounter that area again. soulinhki Well-Known Member Dec 19, 2009 201 0 0 #12 soulinhki, Dec 19, 2009 Unsuccesful restore seems like a (nasty) bug, I'll look into it asap. Most loot should be random even on predefined rooms but I agree that after some games predefined content (rooms) may get a bit too predictable - maybe I should focus on random content on next updates. Thanks for the feedback! -Sami Ravenblack Well-Known Member Feb 24, 2009 1,755 0 0 Singapore #13 Ravenblack, Dec 20, 2009 Just got it. Yes, noticed this. The touch controls seem to work ok for moving around. But when it comes to attacking, it's hard to be accurate - I end up moving instead of attacking the monster in front of me. Would it be possible to make option for on-screen button controls like that of Rogue Touch? fishil Member Nov 29, 2009 17 0 0 #14 fishil, Dec 20, 2009 Any chance for lite version ? Gabrien Well-Known Member Nov 24, 2009 5,148 0 36 #15 Gabrien, Dec 21, 2009 I've played most of the roguelikes, and would normally take a chance on something like this but...not at that price without a "lite." soulinhki Well-Known Member Dec 19, 2009 201 0 0 #16 soulinhki, Dec 21, 2009 Good thoughts on controls, I'm working on them for next update. Lite is also coming, initial plan was to release Cavern as a free app with in app purchase for full content but I just did not have enough time to implement it - I'll create traditional Lite version instead as soon as possible (propably with custom content so there's a mini adventure with less levels). soulinhki Well-Known Member Dec 19, 2009 201 0 0 #17 soulinhki, Dec 21, 2009 Finally managed to record some gameplay footage from early levels with fighter and mystic. Sorry for out-of-sync audio due to screencapture software. Check it at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoMDs1gID7Q drelbs Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2009 11,200 7 38 #18 drelbs, Dec 21, 2009 Embedded: Darthuvius New Member Dec 26, 2009 2 0 0 #19 Darthuvius, Dec 26, 2009 Its good Thanks for making a roguelike. They are my favorite type of game. I generally don't buy games but I decided to buy yours. Although I agree with some here that a lite version, maybe limited to the fighter class would most definitely boost your sales. I really like the openness of your maps. Moving can be a bit tough sometimes but maybe you can fix it in an update. I think potions having a weight of 5 is too much, especially since you need to carry a lot of them if you don't want to be trekking back and forth every few levels. Or you could add a recall mechanic to the game. I like the graphics and the sound but I think the game needs some ambiance like in rogue touch. I'm curious why you limit the game to only 12 levels? Any plans to let us venture further into the depths? Asphyxiation Well-Known Member Nov 8, 2009 388 0 0 #20 Asphyxiation, Dec 26, 2009 So how is this game? (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 40 1 ← 2 3 4 5 6 → 40 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. 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Hi and welcome to the biggest and coolest Appsite on this Planet, Sami! Your game looks nice and I like the shop-idea! I'm surely checking it out and will review it on a German website.Good luck with your game. I am always into Rogue-likes.
This came as a surprise today... Sami actually posted in my ChronoSoft forums as well to let us know about "Cavern", and the fact that Rogue Touch was an influence on his game (we even got a mention in his credits )! I'm of the mind that the more roguelikes and dungeon crawlers there are to play, the better off we all are... downloading shortly, hopefully this will be a pleasant surprise. I'll try to post some thoughts on it later tonight
Sure, still early in my exploration but I'm liking it so far. -It starts with a two shop town selling some basic survival items (potions of healing and town portals) as well as some at least basic armaments (weapons and armor). -It is completely turn-based, ala Rogue touch or Nethack. -It can be pretty brutal going at first as there is no natural healing (only via your healing potions, no waiting around to heal) and even though the basics in town are pretty cheap, loot seems pretty rare in the first few levels I've seen so far so it isn't like you can really easily stock up on these items. -The game uses a pretty strict encumbrance system with the inventory so you'll often need to drop some heavier items to pick up new ones (I ended up having to drop off my leather armor so I could pick up a big piece of silver ore). -While the dungeons are randomly generated for each new game, they remain persistent while playing so if you, as my above example, drop your leather armor on level 2, it will be right where you left it once you make it back to the second level of the dungeon. -The UI is pretty decent. Mainly touch on the screen and your character will head right to that spot and when it comes to combat you can either walk into beasties like in Rogue Touch or just be adjacent to them and hit the game's attack button (how it works when there are multiple opponents isn't super clear but it seems to just target the one baddy until they are dead and then move onto the next one). This attack button also makes fighting baddies with your bow a breeze as it auto targets and fires at the nearest baddy for you, although not sure if there is a way to override this if you, for example, wanted to instead shoot some other guy in the room. -There are even some clever little puzzles I'm assuming randomly generated (using levers to get at treasures). -Lastly but coolest in my book, like a TRUE roguelike, there doesn't appear to be any backing up a save of your character. You can quit and save the game at any point but once you die it is OVER and you get to see your entry in the game's Hall of Fame (some points, your experience level, the level of the dungeon, and what killed you).
Thank You LordGek for kind first impressions! I think most are on point but here's some clarifications: -It's true that the game is quite hard -Attack button attacks random closest monster, you can attack any monster by tapping on it but with bow/wand you might "miss" tap and walk instead. -Game mixes randomly generated content with predefined, switch puzzles mentioned are partly predefined but their appearance is pretty random.
You can exit the game at any point and it will be restored next time you return, but there are no save game slots.
The game's save sytem works fine! Yeah, my bad, I thought you listed that as one of your cool selling point in the app description. What had happened is that I quit out and when I first restarted the game I thought it was taking longer than normal and quit out again BEFORE MY LAST GAME FULLY LOADED and in so doing must have lost my save. So, people, be careful not to quit out while the game is loading if you've already got a saved game you'll want to resume later. ...Now onto some totally different point... The pre-built rooms add a bit to the otherwise random dungeon levels although I would hope you, in future updates, go more along the route of say the wooden crate in the town's store room. The storeroom's layout is pre-scripted but the loot inside is randomized. I feel having what appears to be fixed loot in the jail cell, for example, kind of takes from the replay value when you encounter that area again.
Unsuccesful restore seems like a (nasty) bug, I'll look into it asap. Most loot should be random even on predefined rooms but I agree that after some games predefined content (rooms) may get a bit too predictable - maybe I should focus on random content on next updates. Thanks for the feedback! -Sami
Just got it. Yes, noticed this. The touch controls seem to work ok for moving around. But when it comes to attacking, it's hard to be accurate - I end up moving instead of attacking the monster in front of me. Would it be possible to make option for on-screen button controls like that of Rogue Touch?
I've played most of the roguelikes, and would normally take a chance on something like this but...not at that price without a "lite."
Good thoughts on controls, I'm working on them for next update. Lite is also coming, initial plan was to release Cavern as a free app with in app purchase for full content but I just did not have enough time to implement it - I'll create traditional Lite version instead as soon as possible (propably with custom content so there's a mini adventure with less levels).
Finally managed to record some gameplay footage from early levels with fighter and mystic. Sorry for out-of-sync audio due to screencapture software. Check it at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoMDs1gID7Q
Its good Thanks for making a roguelike. They are my favorite type of game. I generally don't buy games but I decided to buy yours. Although I agree with some here that a lite version, maybe limited to the fighter class would most definitely boost your sales. I really like the openness of your maps. Moving can be a bit tough sometimes but maybe you can fix it in an update. I think potions having a weight of 5 is too much, especially since you need to carry a lot of them if you don't want to be trekking back and forth every few levels. Or you could add a recall mechanic to the game. I like the graphics and the sound but I think the game needs some ambiance like in rogue touch. I'm curious why you limit the game to only 12 levels? Any plans to let us venture further into the depths?
