Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Excellent work, really enjoyed playing it.

  Showing the controls at the beginning may help the player experience.

  I liked the scope, mechanics and overall execution.

• This game looks amazing! It's so unfortunate that it is incomplete. I was so excited at first, but there is only basic framework setup and very little actual content. But potential is there and amount of work put into it is quite amazing for a 7drl.

• An essential part of roguelikes is the single modal interface.  So usually party-based roguelikes fail, devolving into micromanagement or multi-level combat.  Aracana shows how party based roguelikes can be done right, giving hope for the whole genre.

  Completeness: The game is stable and performant; but it is clear there are several cut-back decisions no doubt due to hitting time limits.  I am very impressed that the author scaled back smoothly; keeping the game stable and intact.  But "Continue" with no way to save?  And the Death screen being the only time "Quit" shows up?  I would be more impressed if your comrades attempted to cart you back to town while you watched, giving you a chance for resurrection if you have enough $$.

  Aesthetics:  I, as usual, have a list of nit picks.  But it is important to underline everything done right.  Nice crisp font, good choice of colour.  I love the rivers; but would argue the palette is a bit harsh, a more subtle set of blues would look nicer.  Sliding on diagonal walls is most awesome, a feature I believe every roguelike should have.  And vi-keys are most appreciated.   Using the same letter to dismiss pop-ups as to raise them is also an excellent touch.  Messages are colour coded nicely, as is the difficulty of quests.  The F1 hint at start is well placed.  When quests complete, there is sadly just quick message.  I think as a central mechanic they should have a pop-up to alert you, and a special turn-in screen when you return to town.  On the hiring screens giving the price of the hire would save jumping into a subscreen. 

  Fun: Combat seems balanced, perhaps rewarding ranged too much.  My main objection is the opaqueness of the system.  One knows not if a warpick is better than a flail, other than relying on ancient D&D knowledge.  This is very '80s RPG style, but frustrating when trying to equip a full party and unsure what is an upgrade.  Likewise, one knows not how mana works for spell recharging, or how equipment affects or doesn't affect spells.  Individual inventory is a useful idea for being on the main map, but in the town it is very tiresome to transfer items to re-equip.  Some opaqueness I'm fine with (stuff like sleeping to trigger level up, etc), but I think this goes too far.  The use of $$ to gate level up is a nice way to keep one hungry for gold as the game advances.
  

  Innovation:  I am very impressed at how smooth the party based play occurs.  The AI felt strong enough I was not annoyed with their behaviour.  I liked that there is no "orders" or "direct control" required.  It lets it still feel like a normal roguelike, just with some allies on hand.

  Scope: This is an excellent well-balanced scope for a 7drl.  It might be higher than this, but the opaqueness makes it hard to tell if all the items/monsters are just chrome or represent additional mechanics.

  Roguelikeness:  100% roguelike.  A definitive example of a party-based roguelike that is true to the roguelike spirit.