itch.io

Wow thanks for the really detailed feedback, I appreciate that. I will take this all on board when I come to updating the game (or making a sequel which is more probable). 

The 'jank' was partly intentional, with the delay trying to emulate the feeling of playing an old text adventure on a mainframe like a PDP 10 or something - purely for flavour and I might include an option in future versions where this can be turned off. 

Thanks for the heads up about the ASCII resources and jar issues - I think I'm going to take down the Jar version for now until I can sort the issues you've flagged. The .exe version has been fully tested and these issues don't occur. 

I'm amazed you found the MythicDragon so early in the game - I think I need to re-visit the probability calculation there. 

Gold can be seen on the character sheet by typing 'c'.

On abilities and spells - all of these can be used using shortcuts (eg ps for PowerStrike). I am putting a short manual together that details all that, but I take your point that this could be better explained 'in game'.

Power is simply the number of attacks you have made in a battle so far (think of it like building a limit break in FF). Once you have attacked 3 times, you can use PowerStrike which gives a chance to unleash direct damage on the enemy.

Luck is mainly used by mages to generate magic, however does feed into some of the abilities for others. It's always a decision to make about how much 'under the hood' you show regarding how calculations work (I've been put off by text games giving waaay too much in terms of stats and numbers). I'm glad you kind of worked out how the attack system works and hopefully it is intuitive enough. 

HealthPotions heal you fully and are single use. There are a few ways of getting them, including purchasing in the next town, Beira (through the mountains). 

Thanks again for all the other feedback! I have downloaded Trawel and will give it a go.

Hey, thanks for your comment. I've uploaded the Jar file now - let me know how you get on? In terms of JRE, I've tested it on most back to Java 8 and it works fine. 

I've not made anything for a TI-Basic calculator but sounds interesting! I will check out your wares. 

Thanks for including TextArena! Not a Twine game (rather made in java from scratch), but I appreciate the traffic, thank you.

That's great you got through it (hopefully not too many deaths?). Thanks for the great feedback, it sounds like you enjoyed it overall. In response to your list:

Damage system: Yes this is mostly from STR and a bit of LUCK. SKILL does have some attack properties when used with other abilities (eg with the Rogue).

Waiting times: I am going to look into this a bit more. I think my keywords are not quite right when looking on stack overflow etc! I would appreciate seeing how you did this in Python. 

Unknown: Yes this is a bit of an easter egg/gimmick - I'm glad you found it funny!

Potions: I know what you mean, but sometimes it's more fun to try something out? Similar to how you find properties of ingredients in Morrowind etc. A manual for the game will be coming soon too.

Buy/Sell: Good point, I will update this in future versions.

Mobs: The monsters do scale with the player (apart from bosses), and there are stronger ones in new locations as the game progresses. 

Text-wrapping: Good point, I will look at this for future versions.

I'd be keen to discuss further on reddit - I've joined the sub-reddit now! I will make a post introducing the game and then we can chat more. 

Thanks again for your detailed and constructive feedback. Your map is great too!

Sounds great and I would love to see your map! Well done on the secret (you made the right decision).

Hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think once you've finished it (it would be good to know roughly how long it takes too?). I appreciate the feedback. 

This is my first post in this community. Hello everyone :)

"You are a lone adventurer arriving on Free Isle after a ferocious storm. Your quest is simple, to journey beyond the mountains and find your fate. You may explore villages and towns, caves and forests, collecting items and treasure. But there are whispers of darkness returning to the land, an evil which must be confronted and ultimately defeated...". Introducing: 

About

TextArena is a text adventure RPG. Although it was written in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, it’s heart and soul is in early gamebooks, table-top roleplaying games, and the first forays into computer games such as text adventures. 

Disclaimer: Those expecting polished triple-A graphics, or any graphics as they are commonly understood, need look elsewhere. This game is in monochrome, and the player interacts through text-based input by the console window. There are few text-based illustrations thrown in, but Text Arena operates in the 'theatre of the mind' primarily. This game influenced by Interactive Fiction (IF), a genre I have huge respect for, however is not really itself an IF endeavour. 

This has been a labour of love to make over a few years on-and-off. 

Check it out here: TextArena game page

Thanks and I welcome any feedback on this, I appreciate it's a bit niche!

Hey! Thanks for the feedback, and I agree, the input does require a bit of a delicate touch (I've a few solutions to this but nothing that worked). On the up-side, once you know your way around you can 'pre-load' direction commands (speed run??). 

I will certainly look at incorporating the things you pointed out when I come to making a sequel (at some point). 

Out of interest, which race/class did you pick for first playthrough?

Enjoy the game, I will check out yours!