Ouch, will look into this. There is actually a unreachable island containing all the monsters in game in the surface level which I used for testing during development - You were somehow able to reach it due to this bug.
Cavern 2.0 is a fun roguelike that I recommend. It's universal and 5G widescreen optimized. The controls are tap based to move with a single button for attacking. Your movement switched from continuous to turn based when enemies appear on screen and the closest foe is auto-targeted (but target can be switched by tap). There is a diverse amount of loot with equipment that seems totally different each game. There are 3 classes (adventurer [bow], fighter [sword], mystic) that all feel unique in gameplay (I prefer the adventurer). One of the nicer touches are special events that are randomized (i.e. suddently you'll find a necromancer's lair, ally ghosts who fight with you, etc). There are also elusive secret chambers. There's a town hub where you start and that you can come back to for equipment/items (which seems to change each visit). Cavern also requires careful item use. As your health depletes (and it often will) you'll need to seek out and use food items, potions, antidotes, etc. There's a brief learning curb with the menu UI but once you recognize the buttons it's seamless. A map feature that auto-maps your journey helps exploration and can be toggled on/or of the screen or referenced in menu. The ambient sound effect is one of the best I've seen on iOS that create the impression of a cavernous environment. That might potentially make a great challenge level if there were some secret way to access it for those daring users up for a suicide run.
For everyone who are updating from 1.x version : Seems that there is some kind of issue with old savegame / preference files that prevents Cavern launching after update (I have yet not received crash logs but at least there is one review in App Store complaining about this issue) I did try to make 2.0 not to interfere with old installation but this was obviously not tested with all possible version combinations etc. Clean install should resolve this (First remove app from device, then re-download)
Wow! How did I not hear about Cavern before this update? I'm having a lot of fun with it - love the random loot and monster variety. I'm so glad that it's designed to be played in portrait mode - makes it much easier to play while on-the-go! I usually don't see a need for sound effects with my roguelikes but these are really nice and definitely add to the experience. Overall I'm really impressed with the depth and variety in the game - lots to see and do along with 3 different characters to play as. Definitely worth checking out if you're a roguelike fan - I don't think you'll be disappointed. Great job Soulinhki!
Update seems great so far as far as gameplay goes. However it's very unstable on my iPhone 5. It's crashes multiple times, and I started getting this error every time I'd go to/from the village.
If possible, please upload crash logs from iTunes. Seems that this might be related to previous portal bug reported. Error message you got is Lua stack trace (Cavern game logic is written in Lua language) Starting new game most likely resolves issue but will definitely track this bug down and release fix update asap.
The map is too small (not the overlay map). And the stairs (up/down) are too small on the map. Can you make them bigger?
Do you mean the log from the iPhone Config Util? If so, unfortunately I haven't seen the crash or error since then. It may be that after completing the level and area that seemed to be causing the problem, it's not happening. But if I encounter it again, I'll try to get a log.
Impressions: Neat game, with what seems like a lot of things going for it, ie good art, fast gameplay, perma-death, different classes, lots of items (I could go on, but everyone probably gets the point). The game is fun and quick (unless you can fight of those snakes . There are different dungeon levels to explore, NPCs, ghosts, and of course, plenty of mobs. While I am not a huge fan of this genre, I feel like this is a very good game, and I look forward to spending more time with it.
Crash on level change is most likely resolved, will submit update to App Store tomorrow after some more testing. Cavern always autosaves game before level change so you should not lose your progress due to crashes.
Just submitted 2.0.1 to App Store. Crash issues should be fixed, also "walking on water" issue when teleporting to surface should not be possible. Update contains small item, monster and sound adjustments too.
I have barely scratched the surface with this game but I have seen enough to say that it is among the deepest rogue likes on IOS. I love how easy it is to control. I love the detail on the leaderboard where you can see a multitude of stats about each players achievements right down to the items they have and how many steps they've taken and kills etc. The game is explained clearly and for once I feel like I'm going into the game with a clear idea of how things work. I can tell that I will be embarking on many great adventures here and I'm reserving this post to give more detailed impressions once I have spent enough time with this. I know this has been recently updated but I was surprised how good it looks and plays for a game of its age. Only one person on the leaderboard appears to have succeeded in bringing back the mysterious item to the surface .... Challenge on ! Quick question. I get xp if I position myself behind my ghost companion fighter and let him fight for me while I wait and don't risk any damage. I'm trying to exploit this but do I get as much xp from this tactic as battling myself ? Very curious about the out of reach bottle at the start. Not looking for spoilers on this though. I guess I wil find out myself in the fullness of time.
I am not in the game right now, but I thought you get zero XP for enemies you don't kill. Do you see your XP going up when the ghost kills them?
Well I let the ghost fight while just waited down the corridor and then checked my xp after a couple of deaths and it had risen. I will double check and report back.
bigred447uk, Thank You for your positive game impressions! You gain XP from any hostile monster killed, regardless of who killed it (also monsters killed by charmed monster earns xp). Friendly characters killed (basically Ghosts and charmed monsters) do not give any XP. I've got plans to add some more depth to Ghosts in future updates, in 1.x versions they were hostile but could give you items from players in Top 20 (this feature occasionally gave way too powerful items in early game). Now the corpse loot is random but at least Ghosts are still named after players who made it to high score list
I remembered something different from testing, but maybe it changed during testing or maybe my memory is faulty.
Omg ! I just looted the cold dead corpse of UndeadCow ! That is an awesome feature. I get to loot the bodies if my fellow forum members ! Never mind UndeadCow mate - your death was not in vain ! Your gold has come in handy for town portals and antidotes ! After finding a Serpentine Bow and Serpentine Armour matching set with my Ranger now I really don't want this character to die. The sign of a great rogue-like !
No problem. This is easily the most accessible and fun rogue-like I have played. It's just so easy to control that its a joy to play. After finding my Serpentine bow and armour I am completely hooked and will be treading carefully with this character ! This is the sign of a great rogue-like if you cherish your character more and more the further you get. On this note I love how you can look at all your dead characters stats and items like a reminder of great adventures past. That really is a great feature. As well as being able to check the stats/items of everyone on the leaderboard. This will remain on my phone for a long time. I will leave a 5 star review on the UK App Store. You can tell the love that has gone into creating this game over a period of years. Its more a labour of love than a commercial venture. It's an absolute joy to play and a great introduction to rogue-likes for those new to the genre. ... Also I can't wait to find out what that damn bottle is for ... Never in reach ! Edit : died level 7 ... Got mobbed going downstairs with a false sense of security because of my nice bow and armour and a hp returning amulet I picked up. Anyway I'm 17 on the leaderboards.16k + points. I am so gutted to lose my Ranger with her nice gear (Parvizal on the Hall of Fame. 17th and proud !)
I'm glad to see the positive buzz around the Cavern update; this game is gold. Cheers! I think the developer said the top 20 leaderboard characters are featured as ghosts. I will be on the lookout for the bloated corpse of Parvizal to reclaim my loot!
