I really want to buy this game, but I do have one concern. Will there still be an iPad version in the future, as stated early in the thread? If so, I'll hold out for that, although I admit that I'd happily buy the iPhone version that's currently out if it's eventually going to be made universal. Brilliant idea to make a party-based roguelike; the last one I played was Azure Dreams on the GBC and I have never found anything else like it before this.
Also, I'd like it if the various pull-out information screens could have little tabs sticking out into the main screen, so you could pull them out either by swiping, or by tapping on the tab. I find swiping fairly unreliable and prefer to minimize it.
First off, thanks for all your support and patience. I've uploaded the latest version to the App Store. There are a ton of changes from the previous version. One thing to note is that current savegames are not compatible with the new version You can see the list of changes (it's long) at www.mysteriouscastle.com. In regards to crashing, it is entirely due to memory limitations. There is no forthcoming 'fix', the only surefire way to prevent it is to close as many apps as possible, or reboot your machine, or get a new iPhone On my iPod touch (256mb) running with only iTunes and Safari open it never crashes, and I've had the same report from other users. The inventory/character screen has been redesigned to allow fast character switching, and to transfer items between characters without all the swiping in and out. There is now an option to do just that. In the option panel you can choose the on-click action or select+confirm action mode. I personally find it a little too error prone, as everything is a little cramped on such a small screen already, but it's there for those who want it. The current version will definitely be made universal. I have no intentions of selling two versions on the app store. I can't promise when it will be done because I first need to buy an iPad, and my wallet its a little thin these days Sorry, not yet. I also really want a perma-death mode, but have not invested the effort yet. I know that I need this feature to become a true roguelike. Yeah, I know what you mean. I thought that once the core game was up I'd have tons of time to do the 'easy' work of design and story... I was wrong! It's really hard to come up with a good story and motivation, but even harder when the world us set out differently each time! I really, really want to work more on the story and setting, but am totally swamped with all the technical work involved. I'm thinking of either a) hiring a writer/designer or b) putting out some simple tools that would allow fans to make and share their own campaigns. Both of these options won't come to fruition in the near future. Regarding all the requests I have not addresses, I'm sorry it's taking so long! I'm really devoted to this game and I will get to every facet eventually, but it might take some time! In regards to what to expect with Mysterious Castle 1.8, I can't claim it's a whole new game or anything, but there are a lot of little changes that add up to a big effect. Tons of new mechanics, items, monsters, and a whole new world generation algorithm that makes more interesting forests (IMHO). You can see the complete changelog at the website. Thanks again for all the support, and thanks for your patience with all the bugs/problems, I hope you enjoy the game!
Grand to hear that it's eventually going to be made universal; off to buy it in a few minutes. Hopefully that gives a small nudge towards you getting an iPad. XD No rush on the universal version, though. The only reason I would have waited was because having the iPhone version with an iPad one out would have bothered me. This looks like one of the few games that would look and control well [or better] in 2x mode.
My crashing is not entirely due to memory issues. Now it crashes every time I try to start the app, even after a reboot and with nothing else running. I guess the saved data is corrupted and I need to delete and reinstall the whole app. I will try that. I can see how on-click would be frustrating on a iPhone/iPod size device. Personally, I couldn't play this game at all on a phone-sized device. I'm playing in 2x on my iPad, and it's not always easy to tap the right place even so.
Ah yes, that was the worst bug so far I believe it was due to saving a 'reincarnated' character. I think you can try fixing it by going into the application data and deleting saved games. If you've never saved any reincarnated monster party then please let me know, or if you haven't wiped yet you can send my the save games and I'll diagnose the problem. Thanks, and sorry for the bug.
Yeah, that might be right. It happened just after I tried "reincarnating" as an experiment. I'm happy to just wipe it and start over, especially if the new version is going to be out soon and that bug will be gone.
Looks good!!! how is that i hadnt heard of it before? waiting for 1.8 to be approved befor downloading. a couple of things: I only read the latest posts, so if some have already been discussed, sorry 1- You should give us (not me precisely) the tools to create our campaigns and share them so the ones with windows and mac version can easily try them, then upload the IOS version with the best ones. thats what wesnoth did and ended up great. 2- Can we recruit new characters as the game goes on? looks like no, but it would be interesting for a long term campaign. 3- I have an ipad!!! so put me in the list of people whos waiting for the unversal 4- keep up the good work
This is definitely a hidden gem, particularly for the roguelike genre. I'm waiting for 1.8 to be uploaded to the AppStore before I start on an actual campaign, though. That aside, if someone could tell me whether mushrooms grew back or not, I'd appreciate that. I think they're required to cast spells, but I might be wrong about the magic system.
Thanks for playing! v1.8 is a big change over 1.6, it's probably worth it to wait. It's in the App store pipeline right now, hurry up Apple! No mushrooms never regrow, that might be a future addition. Yes they're required for preparing spells. When you're not in battle, you can swipe from left to right to show the spellbook panel. Characters with a certain level of intelligence will be able to prepare spells that they learned from books (characters who start smart will have a few spells already learned). When you click a spell icon, you should see some numbers appearing above the mushrooms. That's the 'recipe' for the spell. If the numbers are in red, then you don't have enough of that color of mushroom to prepare that spell. During battle, you can touch the active character, and if they've got spells prepared that they can cast, then a 'cast spell' option appears. Or you can swipe up to show the quick action icons and a 'spell' icon appears for eligible characters. Thanks for playing, 1.8 should be out any day now!
Ohh, I see. I was casting spells somewhat recklessly during my experimental playthroughs. Now that I know mushrooms don't grow back, I'll have to be somewhat more judicious. It would still be lovely to have them grow as that makes the world even more alive. If I could make a suggestion, could each spell have a number beside them indicating how many times they can be cast? The current interface basically lists all the spells available, which means there are duplicates, which might make for a cluttered interface if you have enough mushrooms. Thank you for the prompt response. I really admire devs that take time to talk to their user base.
It lists the spells you have prepared. If you want to cast a spell multiple times in battle, you have to prepare multiple copies of that spell in advance. You could have a system where you can cast whatever spells you know and they are drawn from a common mushroom pool as you cast them, but that's not how it works now.
Version 1.8 now on the App Store. v1.8 is now on the App Store! I've been playing it for about a week now and have yet to encounter any serious bugs. I've found a couple of minor annoyances that will be fixed in the next version, notably that fire elementals spend a lot of time doing nothing at all, and the farmers fence sometimes becomes impassable until you save and reload Otherwise it's running smooth as butter, with very little heat generation and probably twice as battery efficient as before. I've been playing a singleton, a party of one human, and it's been really, really hard! I have managed to get pretty far by sneaking and running away a lot, I think I'll actually manage to beat the game with a one character party. Sorry to anyone who is disappointed by the lack of a feature they were hoping for, my imagination moves faster than my fingers, but rest assured that many more updates are on the way. I've posted a few details about upcoming changes on the homepage. As always, I'm very eager for any feedback, all constructive criticism is welcome. I hope you enjoy v1.8!
Oh. I wasn't aware that you had to prepare the spells prior to casting. I thought that as long as you had the necessary mushrooms, you could cast the spells. Thanks. I just updated to 1.9 and played my first actual campaign. I won the first two battles and then I died after trying to get a treasure chest that was heavily guarded in an orc's lair. .. That was amazing. I'm rather pleased with the current version and I'm anticipating the updates to come. A feature I'd like to have is to better see how a weapon would affect stats; it's a bit cumbersome to have to equip a weapon to see whether it's better than my old one or not. Something as simple as +1 or -1 beside the affected stats would suffice. Another thing I'd like is a shared inventory system, but if that goes against the game's theme, I understand. I like the current system better than the 1.6 one, though.
its realy a greate game, with a lot of tactical depth and hard, i got killed 3 times the first 5 minutes i play, but i come back for more and won a couple of fights.
Found a bug: afther upgrading a +3 weapon with the blacksmith (the one who hated the kobolds) all monsters and npcs disappeared! Now my party is alone in an empty world
Strange, that didn't happen on my end. I do wonder how far you can upgrade a weapon with him, though. I've upgraded two of mine to +21 and stopped there since I didn't want to break the game. Is there an upgrade limit or a chance each time that the weapon will break?
