hi :) i’ve been building a game called BAKERRRR for a while, and it has finally reached the point where describing it as a list of planned systems feels less accurate than describing the cool simulated world that already exists.

It is a pygame-first systemic crime sandbox roguelike, written in Python and descended from a terminal game. Visually, I want it to feel familiar to someone who loved old C64 and console-descended roguelikes, while still taking advantage of the fact that pygame can draw actual tiny people, clothing, objects, buildings, fire, drones, plants, and Wire networks. Everything is drawn procedurally in code rather than assembled from a conventional sprite sheet. For reference, some of my favorites were legacy of the ancients, gateway to apshai, questron I and II, and ultima 4 and 5 in the c64 days. Nethack is my favorite RL.

The rich simulation is what it is all about, to me.

NPCs have names, appearances, clothing, uneven skills, jobs, schedules, relationships, organizational ties, property connections, knowledge, memories, needs, and their own ideas about what they should be doing. They can work, commute, shop, seek shelter, investigate trouble, spread rumors, protect people and places, use services, commit crimes, get arrested, and sometimes interfere with one another in ways I did not explicitly script.

Crime is increasingly about what the world actually knows. Witnesses can know that a crime happened without knowing who committed it. Descriptions become less precise with distance and poor light. Justice can investigate a real crime and still suspect the wrong person if their clothing, build, location, and timing match very closely—which also means disguises, framing somebody else, and simply being unlucky can matter without the game inventing fictional crimes to justify an arrest.

There are businesses to own and operate, storefront economies, street vendors, vehicles, transit, gambling, employment, buildings with real interiors, wilderness, and an increasingly connected underground. Fires spread spatially and continue existing when inconvenient. Sleep and altered states matter. NPCs can care about businesses based on experience and rumor, and that reputation can change where people actually choose to go.

Two of the larger toys are drones and the Wire.

Drones are physical machines assembled from chassis, power systems, modules, weapons, sensors, cargo, paint, and programmable procedure modules. The player can build and operate them, while some NPCs and factions also deploy drones according to their circumstances and equipment.

The Wire is a local-network hacking space with interfaces, software, ICE, trace, buffer pressure, data extraction, other users, and consequences back in the physical world. You can pull records and other contextual data, sell it to appropriate buyers, manipulate bounded physical systems, or interfere with connected drones. Organizations now have durable production cultures and directional supply agreements, so the corporation that manufactured a gang’s drone can remain distinct from the gang operating it. The same organizational identity can reach the paint, geometry, software, interface theme, and even the dialect used in Wire messages.

The world has also begun remembering things between characters. Flora and fauna have installation-local genetics with inheritable colors, physical traits, effects, abilities, recessive traits, natural breeding, and assisted breeding. New lines can become permanent inhabitants of the installation rather than disappearing at the end of one run. Hunting and cultivation licenses exist, along with culling declarations that can push a species through increasing scarcity, endangered and protected status, and eventually extinction. Rarity raises the value of the animal while also raising the legal consequences around exploiting it.

Poisonous deer are fine. Deer with exoskeletons....also fine!

The current version is 0.4.22. It is a real playable prototype, but absolutely not a balanced or conventionally polished release. There are systems whose first meaningful playtest is going to teach me more than another month of staring at their code. Some interactions are still too obscure, some economies are exploitable, some NPC behavior is awkward, and some parts of the city are much richer than others. There is not yet a formal progression structure worthy of sitting on top of all this (its planned, and there is structure - but it is changing fluidly at this point)

That is roughly where the project is now: enough of the machinery works that I want playtesting to expose balance problems, dead spaces, accidental cruelty, funny exploits, and places where the simulation fails to produce a believable answer.

I am especially interested in players who poke systems sideways. You know who you are. I want to hear the story about the witness who accused the wrong person, the business whose reputation poisoned a block, the drone routine that did something clever or disastrous, or the supposedly valuable species somebody managed to drive extinct.

Ultimately, I want this to be a game where you can steal a car, run a shop, hack a records office, breed an extremely questionable animal, and still care which little dude wearing a snazzy blue jacket heard the gunshot.

Anyway, this is BAKERRRR now. It has become very cool in the weirdest way, very large, and much closer to the game I have been waiting my whole life to play than it used to be. :) There is way too much to outline in this format, but i will try to answer questions you might have here, checking back in as time allows.

binaries and source code:

github link https://www.github.com/k0rd/bakerrrr

game downloads https://github.com/k0rd/bakerrrr/releases

I'm working on a traditional hexcrawl roguelike, really in the OSR style - some of you may be familiar already.

One of the pieces of feedback that I have gotten a few times now is that some people would like a soundtrack, and I'm genuinely not sure what to do with that.

The games I was inspired by were Nethack and Castle of the Winds. Notably, no soundtracks. I have said, "Hey, these games don't typically have a soundtrack, this one doesn't either," but that does feel somewhat unsatisfying.

I have two big questions:

1. Do people expect a soundtrack these days?

2. What would a traditional roguelike soundtrack even sound like to you?

Thanks!

Happy Sunday Roguelikes! I'm very excited to announce that I have just released version 1.7 of Press Deeper a (somewhat) traditional DOS roguelike that runs on real IBM PC/XT class hardware, or in your browser via JSDOS. This game is built entirely using C89 code and compiled using Borland Turbo C 2.01!

If you missed the post from January this game features procedurally generated dungeons, JRPG style turn based battles, ASCII graphics, ADLIB/Soundblaster audio, and deformable terrain.

This latest version brings tons of changes and content additions including:

- Hand authored town floors every 5 levels, with their own NPCs, shops, and secrets worth looking out for

- New enemies, new items, new NPCs, and new spells!

- Four boss fights, each one hidden behind a secret sub-dungeon. Getting in requires a boss key, which a strange NPC called the Cryptward will trade you, but at what cost

- A five tier smithing system at anvils, safe light taps for steady progress or risky full swings for the good stuff

- An enhanced enchanting system letting you drive your gear to new heights

- A reworked scoreboard system calculating scores based on a variety of factors rather than just showing floor and kills

- Ghosts of your past characters can haunt the floor they died on in later runs

- A Legacy system tracking 10 milestones across your runs and unlocking new content as you play

- Reworked traps with more meaningful risk and reward. Salvage them and use them to stop your enemies, or play it safe and avoid them

- Many rebuilt UI elements, including shops, enchanting, menus, and more

- Added story elements and end game content

You can play it instantly in your browser, no setup required, or download it and run it on real hardware:

https://ultramegahypergames.itch.io/press-deeper

https://umhgames.com

I just don't get it. The opening position is top down and the icons are sideways? So I'm looking down on people and things laying on the ground?

I'm usually pretty good with spatial visualization, and I understand roll and yaw, but this one has me feeling dumb.

I've been making a bit of progress after figuring out the guide line process, but I can't wrap my head around the visuals.

Thanks for reading!

You can get the latest version (or the patch) here: https://virtua-sinner.itch.io/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii

You can read the new patch notes here: https://virtua-sinner.itch.io/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii/devlog/1592228/caverns-of-xaskazien-ii-ver-18509-released

Please share with me any thoughts, questions, comments, concerns. Hope people enjoy!

Jeff

I need to get a new laptop for personal admin/work stuff but would like to also use it as my dedicated traditional roguelike machine. I'd also like to try making a very simple traditional roguelike in Godot with it.

Would any laptop realistically be able to do this well or do I need to be careful?

Would bigger more complex/larger ones like Tales of Maj'eyal still run well on pretty much anything?

Any tips or recommendations are appreciated.

Edit: Regarding the game dev component, my goal is to make something simple like Yodanji - nothing massively complex or graphically demanding.

Dungeon hack has always been one of those games I come back to but was always upset it seems like nobody ever made anything further with that idea of taking the old school blobber dungeons and making them into a full roguelike other then that game. I been trying to find any alternatives but the really been hard to find any suggestions so I gotta ask here. Oh also if possible it would be nice if it was party based since tbh the one major flaw of DH was that due to it being a single character game sometimes you just wouldn’t have access to complete certain things by class restriction if it’s just one person but if that’s not an option then I don’t mind too much

Hi r/roguelikes, I just wanted to show some recent progress in the development of Distant Isles since I last showed it to you at the start of the year.

I've made good progress in developing sailing mechanics and ship-to-ship combat, and your party can now sail between the various procedurally-generated islands. I've also re-worked combat, adding ambushes and different terrain to increase tactical decision-making. Island exploration continues to become more feature rich with new traits, items and scenarios to encounter! 

We continue to run our playtest over on Itch - if the game interests you, please give it a try (and Wishlist on Steam)! We need your help and feedback as part of the Playtest to make it the best game we can. A few links for you: 

• Playtest
• Steam
• Discord

Thanks, any feedback welcome! Please follow along on Steam for my monthly Devblogs 

Elliot

Links: Google Play | App Store | Discord  |  Reddit

Description: All Who Wander is a traditional turn-based roguelike with 30 procedurally generated levels, true permadeath, and no metaprogression. Inspired by dungeon crawlers such as Pixel Dungeon and Cardinal Quest II, it demands careful strategy to survive in an unforgiving world. Choose from 15 unique character classes, master 100+ abilities, recruit companions, and discover powerful items as you journey across 12 diverse biomes to defeat a powerful monster.

Monetization: F2P. A single IAP unlocks the full game, which includes extra character classes and bosses. No microtransactions, no paywalls, and no ads!

Game Modes: Singleplayer. Offline play. Casual and Adventure mode (no permadeath) or Hardcore and Nightmare mode (permadeath).

Platforms: Android and iOS. Coming to Steam hopefully next year!

Updates: Recent updates include:

• 5 new character classes with special bonuses and restrictions
• Endless mode (keep playing after day 30)
• Many new and modified abilities, especially in the Hunting, Mysticism, and Shadow Arts skill trees
• 5 new special rooms, 4 new map objects, and 6 new items
• Changes to many map objects, including decreased damage from traps
• Base exp rate increased (more skills learned per game)
• Increased effect of the charisma stat

Please share your thoughts! I really value player feedback and will continue to improve and expand the game.

Thank you!

I love stupid fun, just messing around with a lot of stuff, not knowing what i'll roll and see next time. I'm aware of FrogCompsBand. Is there any other "big chonky" kitchen sink roguelikes?

The wait is over!

After nearly a year in development, Metamancer has left Steam Early Access for its official 1.0 release!

I want to thank everyone who supported me and who purchased the game while in Early Access! Your feedback helped make the game into what it is today!

If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, the game is currently 34% off for its official release.

I hope you enjoy!

i like tome4 and nethack , but really wanna expand my traditional roguelike library.

while i see the appeal in short and simple games i prefer hyper complex roguelikes with very long run times and lots of build variety coupled with endless menus , mechanics and stats.

(kinda like elin and siralim ultimate, but those aren't traditional roguelikes so they're irrelevant to this post)

(DCCS and brogue are nice but they're too simple and short for my standards)

I've heard of caves of qud and cogmind and is planning to play them cuz they seem to fit my general criteria, but i wanna know if there's any other games i should look out for.

I really enjoy exploring the worlds and trying to find bosses, high level areas, and loot! some examples of games ive enjoyed where these were my main focus:

• Caves of Qud
• Kenshi
• ADOM
• CataclysmDDA
• Tales of Maj

Additionally i dont really want the game to just be a dungeon crawl so no things like Dungeon crawl stone soup. Open to all other suggestions thank you!

Edit: I have purchased Lost Flame and its great 5 hours in so far!

Edit2: Please go buy Lost Flame.

It's a 1987 game that featured:

• A procedural generated maze with enemies and items
• Permadeath
• Items that you can collect and engage with different enemies
  • Though honestly there are only 4-5 different enemies
• You gain over time knowledge about the world and learn tricks, so your next runs are better

Have you heard of it?

GnollHack 3 is officially here, bringing major engine updates, new gameplay mechanics, and expanded content.

Here are the highlights:

📱 Cross-Platform Save Transfers

Move your save files between mobile and PC! We've overhauled the data structures to ensure fully compatible saves across all platforms.

🐉 28 New Monsters

• Rakshasas: Illusion-casting foes immune to normal weapons.
• Dinosaurs: Prehistoric creatures now roam the Caveman quest levels.
• Saber-tooth Tigers: The Caveman role now starts with a saber-tooth tiger cub pet.
• Plus, Griffons, Nightmare, Bulette, and a unique Orc Hermit.

✨ New Spells & Mechanics

• 6 New Spells: Dominate Undead, Polymorph Self, Shape Change, Unholy Mount, Astral Vision, and True Seeing.
• True Seeing Ability: See right through invisibility, mimics, hallucinations, and illusions.

💎 New Items

• Gem of Seeing, which grants the True Seeing ability.
• 4 new Ioun Stones (magical breathing and fire/cold/shock resistance).

🎨 Visuals

• New animations for the Wizard of Yendor, Dracoliches, and male Valkyries.
• New graphics for Greater Mummies as well as Orc kings and queens.

🛠️ Code Improvements

• Numerous bug fixes and engine updates.

Download & Links

• ⬇️ Download for Android, iOS, and Windows
• 📝 Read the full patch notes
• 💬 Join our Discord community
• 📖 Learn more about GnollHack on our Wiki

Check out the update today and let us know what you think. Good luck surviving the enhanced Dungeons of Doom! ⚔️

game name dark elixir

For me it was ADOM. I still remember the excitement of finding something new in this game. Harvesting the plants to improve toughness, drinking that potion, hoping for a weapon not to be cursed...

I was trying to get on the website to update on Linux and I'm getting a Cloudflare error. I haven't heard anything about it. Is he going full-on Steam now?

I have been very hard at work on the last months, most of the effort went on tweaking gameplay, but I also made a big update to the graphics, specifically the biome decorations, and I am quite happy with the result :)

For those who do not know it, ROGUE COLLECTOR is a hex-grid tactical roguelike where you don't collect gear: you collect the Rogues. Rescue procedurally generated Rogues from dungeons, extract them in time, or lose them forever. You can also trade your Rogues on a live player-driven marketplace.

I have been working on this passion/obsession project for the last 7 years. It iss still on alpha but comment or PM me if you want a key :)

Hi again. I introduced Scaledeep here near the end of February, and quite a lot has changed since then.

For anyone seeing it for the first time, Scaledeep is a traditional turn based roguelike rendered in isometric view. It's family made game. My wife handles the art part and I do the programming. The game has procedural dungeons, permanent death, different storylines, interactive environments, character building, equipment crafting, and optional local cooperative play.

Since the first post, development has moved through several major areas. I finished integrating the new version of player character model, then spent the following months expanding equipment, magic, enemies, dungeon generation, performance, and the systems needed for the demo.

The new character can now display equipped armor, weapons, shields, and other items. A large amount of equipment artwork is already in the game, with many more equipment designs planned.

One of the largest new features is the Rune Forge which is one of the mechanics planned for Wizards but I am tempted to enable it for all classes.

The Rune Forge lets you sacrifice unwanted equipment to improve another item. You place the item you want to upgrade in the center and arrange other items around it. Their type, position, and properties affect the result.

Using several similar items can create a synergy. This may add a new stat, improve the quality of the item, or strengthen one of its existing properties. The Rune Forge can also identify unknown equipment, although rarer items require more sacrifices.

The idea is to give extra loot a real purpose. Instead of waiting for one perfect weapon to appear, you can slowly shape an item around your build. You may even keep your starting weapon for the whole run if you invest enough resources into it.

Magic has also received a large content addition.

Spellbooks can now appear as loot and are the main way to learn new spells. Staves can increase the level of spells you already know, and some may temporarily grant unknown spell while equipped.

Wands has been added as well but work a bit differently. Each wand contains a specific spell and has a limited number of charges. You can use that spell even if your character has never learned it.

The first sustained spell has also been added. Sustained spells reserve part of your mana while they remain active. The mana is not lost, but it cannot be used until you end the spell. For example, Arcane Gift increases Intelligence while active. Keeping it active makes your other spells stronger, but it also leaves you with less mana to cast them. Sometimes the best choice is to cancel it so you have enough mana for one more Fireball.

Several other spells and magical items were added. Ice Bolt can slow enemies, while new scrolls can reveal containers, living creatures, or undead creatures across the current dungeon level. 

Enemies have also become more organised.

Monsters can now appear in proper groups instead of being selected independently. For example Imp Mage may lead several weaker imps, while a Skeleton Captain may arrive with regular skeletons. This makes encounters feel more deliberate, immersive and allows different enemy types to support each other.

The Paradox Doom is another unusual enemy that was finished recently. It can teleport when struck or even while moving, making it difficult to pin down. I have added a nice visual effect that makes it look unstable, phased in time.

The dungeon itself has received a lot of attention. Cave generation is more compact, entrances blend into the environment more naturally, and new cave variations have been added. Water now has clearer shorelines, better reflections, and distortion around its edges. Lava and torches give off stronger light, and walls, shadows, fog, plants, and rock formations have all received visual improvements.

Performance has improved at the same time. The game already runs smoothly on fairly modest hardware, although proper minimum requirements will be decided later.

Japanese is added as new language in the game, and the game supports a growing number of translated item names, effects, menus, and messages. 

Scaledeep is planned for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The demo will include one playable storyline, with more storylines, enemies, items, spells, professions, traps, and dungeon features planned for the full game.

Feel free to ask anything.

You can wishlist Scaledeep here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3443800/Scaledeep/

You can also follow development on:

• Discord: https://discord.gg/R84Hpq4Nfx
• X: https://x.com/Dark_Gnosis
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/darkgnosis.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@darkgnostic
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scaledeep
• and even on Facebook/Instagram but those two platforms looks dead