itch.io

hi,

the only place where TDB is (and will be) supported is through Steam

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2814790/discussions/0/597397069920011924/

a key will be emailed to you after following the guide in link above, meaning your purchase here is not lost and you'll get all updates and full release with no extra cost, as everybody else migrated there,

thanks

hey man,

glad to see you again :)
your effect was one of the few that stayed all through these years, that's how good and consistent it still is, loving it!

Not really monitoring this forum, as the game was fully migrated to Steam and there are a couple places / links in description where you reach.

Keep it strong and creative, man

Regards,
Savvas

Hey,

ITCH.IO store is no longer supported, so please read:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2814790/discussions/0/597397069920011924/

on how to migrate from ITCH.IO -> Steam

Regards,
Savvas

Hey @shafk,

The dragon should preferably be fed, as its a pretty hard monster to fight, he hits hard and has a high protection. Its not really a monster for the current level of characters to fight.

Hint: feed him exactly 10 food rations in one go.

hey,

indeed, to enter the monastery, the "golden key" has to be either in inventory or holding it on mouse or someone having it equipped (in hand).

Hmm, that sounds like an issue. Are you using the "Prelude" version (paid) and 1.4 version (shown on title), right?

If that happens always, could you send me your save.dat file with that save just before entering monastery, on my e-mail: burzum_mewtwo@yahoo.gr

so I can take a look. Can't think of anything at the moment, but usually its either a corrupt save or data issue on game's database.

There's no "hit rate" or "attack rolls" like D&D or anything like that, so you wont find anything like in RULEBOOK.pdf. TDB takes a very simple approach on melee, basically damage = (weapon damage - monster protection):

damage = power mod (i.e. if power = 24, power mod = 2)  damage += rand(weapon damage min, weapon damage max  damage -= (monster protection * 0.8)

if you knight can't hit much it could either be 1) his power mod is low / negative 2) his weapon damage is low

Check more on RULEBOOK.pdf under:

• "3.3. Initial computed values"
• "9.4.2. Damage by Melee weapons"

hey, thanks ;)

yes, there's kinda a hunger system; if you don't rest (either at a tavern or via camp), the party gets "exhausted" which pretty much halves party's efficiency. Then you need to rest, which is where the party eats as well.

Nobody's dies if you don't rest, but there's no other way to restore spell points (although you can heal through other means and reverse exhaustion, but that will a few spell slots which you may not have)

I thought about that a couple months ago but it will really needs some research first. I mean, it all depends on what AmigaOS version supports OpenGL 2.1 and C++11.

I'll give it a try after everything settles down, just for the fun of it :)

Hey,

I don't really use social for updates but you can use the following threads, as these will be updated when I have something to show:

Steam (my main steam discussion forum)
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2814790/discussions/

RPGcodex (my main developing thread - you can click "watch" to get emails when I have posted a comment)
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/the-darkness-below-a-retro-crpg-in-the-makin...

dungeoncrawlers.org - The Darkness Below (my discord sub-channel)
https://discord.com/channels/322472776562638860/1020797185639592058

These three (3) are effectively what I use mostly to update everyone regarding the current status of the game.

PS. Android version will get worked and published some time after the main release though, around end of the year.

Thanks!

Hey,

Apologies for the late reply ;)
thank you for the support and for your good words!

Yeah, this game is all about having a retro crpg gameplay experience, while respecting and borrowing stuff from the legendary old titles of the past, but also adding a few touches from my own vision and ways that I would like to play the genre. I am glad this seems to be liked by quite a few players so far :)

Yeah, I have some feedback already about custom portrait and typing a custom name as well, along with your now, somewhat high in my list. I will consider the best way to deal with this in time, no worries.

Thanks again!

Hey, thanks for your words ;)

Yes, one of the main goals is to stick to the basics and details, as much its possible, while filtering out useful feedback. Can't get much wrong when I am after older titles ;) 

For example, I liked how DM uses these sound and graphical effects (i.e. spells), so this is one of the main inspirations.

No, I am not using a commercial engine; in fact, I am using my own, called Jolt3D!, although not commercial and not open to public at the time (although it was in the long past), and its a lot older than I am comfortable to admit ;) I am originally a game engine developer, so I am using my own to develop the game.

Thank you again for you encouraging words :)

It seems the yesterday's demo 1.3_20240608 introduced a mapping bug (a map wasn't baked in on package).

Fixed already and uploaded, so please download the demo again

Thanks :)

Demo added with 1.3_20240602 version
Check the devlog on this link Demo added with 1.3_20240608 version

Thanks!

Hey, 
thanks a lot :)

It only gets better from now on, for sure ;)

Hmm that's a first, do you have any steps to reproduce this?

The only way I can think of is when the item hold on mouse, it has bogus data. I think I solved such a bug, but if you have a save.dat or steps to reproduce this, would be great (through the new version though, as lots of things happened since)

Thanks!

Game was updated to 1.3 (20240602),
check devlog here 1.3_20240602

All major and minor issues were addressed.

Thanks!

Hi @Trevelyan83,

I don't think there's a reason to have both versions. I'll still keep updating both itch.io and steam store with everything new and also with the final release, whenever that comes, with the same price as well.

Hi Shafk,

apologies for the delay :( these days are quite busy.

• hmm, so are you saying that even after killing the devil, the Lisandro wont come back with an event when you walk up a square, saying that his work was done? Event logic simply checks if the devil is dead. Did you fought him directly or by using the "bone" ? Indeed, if this quest fails, then only 1 rune can be obtained, not allowing access to last map. I will try to reproduce this one and come back if anything else is needed.
• the Cult of Wizards (in Amphill) is accessible through a key obtained on Monastery, where you eventually can find the "bone". Its a part of "Infernal Matter" quest so no new quest is shown, only a special key is needed. Did you take that from monastery and still can't access it?
• hmm, the shop items being the same sounds an issue. I'll try to reproduce through multiple restocks and fix if that's a case.

Thanks a lot for all this work, so appreciated ;)

Hey,

thanks for the bug report! I thought all these were fixed already :( I'll try to reproduce that and fix it for good. By default cleric, you mean a "prebuilt" cleric from character creation, right?

Thanks!

nice idea, copied that to my feedback list, as well your other ones ;)

thanks!

Hey,

thank you for your feedback, I copied it in my /todo things.

Indeed, sometimes that error shows up in logs and it was an issue of some enchantments not having an entry in the game, like "Potion of Cure Poison" (the "cure condition" enchantment was the issue here). 

I added them all so these error logs shouldn't be shown anymore.

I uploaded already the newer update (20240125).

Regarding the "Short blade" skill, I checked it again and it seems there's no issue. What kind of short blade you weren't allowed to equip? Usually, when you can't equip an item, a "reason" shows up in message bar (above characters).

You can find the criteria for all skills under "7.4 Skills" in the provided RULEBOOK.pdf

I will consider some of your nice ideas as the content keeps building up :)

Thanks for the feedback!

Hey,

apologies for the delay :) Indeed, it was a bad name issue in the game's data, fixed in the newer update (20240125)

thanks for the report!

Hey thanks, I appreciate that you liked this one so far :)

Actually, I have already setup some trainers for weapons and armor. There's a trainer for 'Leather armor' in Silkmoor and also a 'Short blade' almost next to her, in the same village :) These will allow you to wear leather armor and use small blades like daggers and short swords i.e.

Although, it wouldn't be good to put all kind of trainers in one village and one town. There will be more skills as well and more civilised areas with trainers.

Regarding the more details about items, spells and all that, it's something I may need to consider. Since I am after M&M 3-5 and EOB, I really don't like to modernise things too much. Copied the feedback though and will revisit it again, I could perhaps on what's already there.

Regarding the sounds and music, yeah its something that bothers me as well sometimes. I might rework all sound work so far, especially event music.

What's in my full game? well, the basic premise of the game was / still is to provide a very long single-based game, with tons of maps, lore, items, side quests and lots of puzzles and riddles, along with a major quest which is basically explained in the intro. Not AI, not super deep stories and generally modern stuff. Just the grinding single-based cRPGing experience of the past (M&M 3-5) and exploration / D&D based puzzling (EOB). I have put another screenshot in the list on right column of the world map to realise the length of the final game ;)

Thanks again for the purchase!

hey, I just updated the game to 1.2_20240111 version, you can download it from files =) I also playtested the save.dat you provided to me, it worked like a charm after the fix =) Thanks again!

right, bug is fixed. I had to rework the save system a bit, fixing a few other bugs as well :) I will upload a fixed version today, I will inform you.

Ok, I think I was able to reproduce this :)

I will go through it and provide a fix as soon as I have something ;)

thanks for the bug report!

hey man, thanks a lot:)

The game for sure it will end up loads better.

Hmm, strange, I fixed such issues before the release. Do you have the save.dat that causes issues with "Load The Last Game"? If yes, please upload  it here as a file (if possible) or e-mail it to me: burzum_mewtwo@yahoo.gr

I will try to reproduce that as well, going through your excellent details. Are the save slots in save.dat, in sequence? Could you reproduce it? (backup the original save.dat somewhere else). Just to make it appear to me.

Yeah, you can simply remove the save slots until you end up with the one you want, preferably setting the slot = 0, but that's as much as my hypothesis go.

<save slot="0"> ... </save>

thanks =)

yes, its the "prelude" version only, that means a version with about all the major fixes and functionality and about ~3 hours of the main game's content. A "short" release of sorts.

it's a kind of early-access for itch.io, which however its fully playable; I mean, this is how the full release will start about. A version for anyone wanting to play in its current state.

happy new year =)

thanks, I appreciated it =)

have a happy new year and crawl dungeons :)

thanks man,
happy new year =)

released! =)

released! =)

Yep, its basically ready =) Just finished a "short" playthrough of the first areas that took a good ~1 hour.

I am on publishing / uploading mode right now, just an hour after getting it into 2024 ;)

So, keep these hopes high and check again this page in a bit = few hours :)

Hey :)

Yes, I am going to publish this very shortly. It could be even a matter of hours, although I have some work left. Thanks for your lovely words :) Yeah, I am after these games, their atmosphere and mechanics, as well as M&M but also infusing it with my own things. I just love their raw approach on D&D world, cutscenes and their huge graphics.

I liked the first Legend of Grimrock because it was quite close to EOB1 and DM. I mostly like to play games with similar atmosphere and (lower) technology to my own, Grimoire, The Quest, Legends of Amberland etc.

Not really interested in very modern takes, because I feel there's a lot of copy/pasting of the LOG formula, over and over again. Even M&M X tried to capitalise on that, sadly. Very few games ended being good enough compared to LOG, one of them being "Dungeon Kingdom: Sign of the Moon" and I heard good stuff about "Operencia" but never played it.

However, I much prefer to play Lands of Lore or watching some Dungeon Hack walkthroughs or even reading D&D modules, rather playing modern cRPGs these days :) I guess this keeps me close to this kind of games after all these years.

Yep, it takes first and foremost heart, soul but also a lot of persistence for the years that will take you to make a game. There's still so much more that I would like to add to the game but I feel its time to show a thing or three of what the game looks like now, a "prelude" of sorts of what is coming =)

you're welcome :)

not really.. the v1.2 build, with all of its changes / improvements was simply merged to the short release, which was further enhanced after the thorough playtesting.

I decided that since the playthrough by other guys revealed some really nasty bugs on a content that was pretty much around ~60% of the short release.

Fear not though, I am really focused to get this out before the end of this month :)

Hey, sorry for the late reply :)

Thanks a lot for still following this. Well, the game should have been already released but recently I gave it for thorough playtesting and I am still working on the enormous feedback I got from the people that played it, well, along with some bugs or five :)

I am not good with ETAs and stuff but what is left for now is adding one last level / map for the game to have a proper "mini" closure, a chapter of sorts, since the demo didn't had one.

And there are still some minor stuff to address, more like annoyances that need to be eliminated. There have been a lot of changes while I was designing the last version, which only got worse after the playtesting :)

So, yeah, this will be a demo no more, it will be more like a short cRPG that will last a couple hours, more closer to what the full game will look like in the end than previous demo.

Yeah, I posted this update on dungeoncrawlers discord for now. If you see major update there, or facebook or rpgcodex, then the game will be already published on itch.io (at first), so keep an eye, mostly in this month ;)

Thanks :)

Hi simonschreibt

Thanks for the comment.

No worries at all, this issue has long been fixed in new (and last) v1.2 demo. In addition, a window and a letterbox mode were added to support these large resolutions / monitors, without losing the original aspect ratio i.e. no stretching.

New v1.2 (demo) build has been already playtested and already working on last bits, expect it in few days with tons of improvements and original content :)

Hey, thanks man :)

I am already improving it and will soon have something more to show :)

Glad that you're liking this very early version!

Hey, I am glad that you played my game!

oh, thanks for your kind words :) Yeah, this is my engine and its a quite old one. I started creating its first incarnation around ~1999-2000 or something. I am going to release the engine's lib's and all that along with my other game The Darkness Below, in due time :)

I love working on consistency of a game and old retro  look/feel, until it finally "clicks". Although, for jam entries, this was a double-edged knife and had to sacrifice from other things; but regardless, I feel great about the UI and am glad that you liked it too, that was the intention. Indeed, not many games do that anymore; actually, your game Sanctuary's Grasp was one of the few that satisfied me in that department :D

Yeah, I made the game in such a way that you really need to think a bit in the end, otherwise you'll end up dead pretty quickly. I had plans to add more content but luckily my full job obligations caught up with me. Regardless, I have loads of feedback to make this another good entry in my own  games.

Thank you so much for the comment :D

Hey, thanks for playing my game :D

oh, that's a lovely comment and I so appreciate your comment about consistency; I do like to spend a lot of time trying to match graphics, sounds and all that, its definitely not an easy job for a developer :) Glad that you liked that!

Yeah, the event system need more love and really had not time to improve that; I had to sacrifice working on that to fully complete the game. I am definitely going to change the way, based on the lots of feedback that I got for that :D I am also going to provide some predefined battle tactics to give more control in battle.

Thanks again for your valuable time and writing down this feedback :)

Hey, I played your game :D

• Loved the scenario behind that, very traditional. Loving it when people spend some time of actually writing these details before throwing us into dungeons we hardly care about :D
• great title screen and music, loved the pixel style right from the start!
• I was impressed by the amount of options that you put there, not many people do that and my own game didn't even had a "settings" option, lol. Although, I would had loved more if "Controls" settings was shown in the same place as others, but its nitpicking
• So, did you even put a tutorial and a difficulty level? Impressive.
• Superb music on explaining the scenario and lore behind the game. So effective and immerses someone to really dive into it!
• Really retro look and feel of the game. Also, as a developer myself, I know when a game is properly optimized and doesn't pushes my system for throwing X effects just because. Impressive design and implementation of in-game movement and UI in general! Really, this looks like a game that came out in 1995 for voodoo cards :)
• I would love it better if you weren't forced to "crash" on another objects; simply checking orientations and automatically showing options would do wonders here :)
• "You get the Buckler" :D Although, the sound effect opening the hidden wall was really delayed; I usually start playing the sound immediately, thene do the action to keep it in sync (and trim silence from the start).
• now this is a proper automap, minimal, effective and with huge squares :D
• crashing on walls is wonderful feature but perhaps you want to drop the movement transition like half :D but this is nitpicking
• one of the few games that really have a great field-of-view while being a transition-based game!
• I died on battling the second bat :( would love if the first battles were child's play :D I underestimated these rats :)

Overall, such an optimized, polished and superbly implemented little game, in the old traditional way. You definitely need to work on this more :D