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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    gomipile's Avatar

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    Jul 2010

    Default Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    I've been forming an idea of a type of game I'd like to play for a while now. I still haven't fully articulated it, so please forgive any contradictions or imprecision in this top post.

    The basic idea is "Like NetHack, but more of an open world/repeated exploration feel." Basically, I want the base game as intended to maintain the generated levels for longer than "until a character dies." Also, some sort of overworld or fast travel between areas is probably necessary to get the feel I'm looking for.

    So, procedurally generated levels in the style of NetHack, the same style of high fantasy, overhead square grid with 8-way movement, etc. But designed to make it easy/meaningful to revisit the areas that have already been explored. With a world map that is less linear than NetHack/Rogue.

    I want the generated levels to be tied to a particular savefile, with every new start having its own seed to generate the levels.

    As to permadeath, I don't particularly care if it has permadeath or not, so long as the exploration already done isn't nuked along with character death. If it has a more modern non-permadeath system, that's fine. If it has an endlessly refreshing cast of characters rotated through upon character deaths, that's fine, too.

    If it uses an overworld for travel and linking things together, it's fine if that overworld isn't procedurally generated, as long as the individual dungeons are procedurally generated, but stay the same within a particular save file tree stemming from a single start-of-game creation seed.

    I've been looking around at roguelites for the past few weeks, and haven't yet seen anything that feels more or less like what I'm looking for.

    I've been playing Sproggiwood, and it's fun, but differs pretty wildly from what I'm looking for. The graphics, smoothness of play, and style of combat and tactics are all spot on or pretty close to what I'm looking for, though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Harnel View Post
    where is the atropal? and does it have a listed LA?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Rynjin's Avatar

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    Sep 2016

    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) is a classic, and should be exactly what you're looking for. It even has a Steam release with some extra features, though the other version is free.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    gomipile's Avatar

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    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    Quote Originally Posted by Rynjin View Post
    ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) is a classic, and should be exactly what you're looking for. It even has a Steam release with some extra features, though the other version is free.
    I'll look at it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
    Quote Originally Posted by Harnel View Post
    where is the atropal? and does it have a listed LA?

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Aug 2008
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    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    Amusingly, Dwarf Fortress has persistent worlds you can change and Adventure mode to wander around in them. The game balance is a little... off. And you have to make your own goals. But it's an idea you could poke at for a while.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Jun 2015

    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    Quote Originally Posted by Rynjin View Post
    ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) is a classic, and should be exactly what you're looking for. It even has a Steam release with some extra features, though the other version is free.
    What I dislike about adom is the monsters progressing way too fast from being killed even when you only kill those you cross on your path.
    I mean I do not want ants to have 999 to all stats just because I killed 40 of them to reach a nest to destroy it: it just makes the next nest so unfairly hard to beat while most challenges not involving monster stat growth from being killed in the game are ridiculously easier (the issue is the vast variation in difficulty).
    Last edited by noob; 2021-05-11 at 10:11 AM.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Nov 2006

    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    Maybe ToME4?

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Orc in the Playground
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    Dec 2010

    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    A lot of Eastern takes on the Rogue genre are a bit like this, since their main characters often aren't generated like Western ones. There's the "Magical Dungeon" series, with lots of licensed spinoffs like Pokemon Explorers (et al), Chocobo's Dungeon, Torneko, and probably lots more. You can probably find a couple for PC.
    Azure Dreams was another one for PS1 and Game Boy Color, with a sub-helping of monster taming/collection.
    Basically, you get a home base area and you go into particular sub areas and return. Usually you get to keep some amount of items and gear. Dying means you lose everything on hand and expulsion to base. With the money/quest items/loot you get from these places you advance the story and improve your base facilities.

    Elona (+) is a freeware bit that feels more about character twinkery than challenge (and apparently takes several resources from ADOM), but it's got a persistent overworld and towns. Death isn't permanent or even overly taxing (or frequent).

    Tales of Maj'Eyal (mentioned earlier) also has an overworld that allows for branching stories with different character builds. Its focus is more on getting an effective build than finding the Loot of All-Slaying Power (though there are some things that can help there.) It also has a nice progression for unlocking races and classes, with lots of stranger things tucked behind achievements or sub-story events. You can also unlock a home base there in the vanilla game, though fresh characters still have to be tough enough to gain entrance.

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Roguelites that feel like NetHack but.....

    Quote Originally Posted by noob View Post
    What I dislike about adom is the monsters progressing way too fast from being killed even when you only kill those you cross on your path.
    I mean I do not want ants to have 999 to all stats just because I killed 40 of them to reach a nest to destroy it: it just makes the next nest so unfairly hard to beat while most challenges not involving monster stat growth from being killed in the game are ridiculously easier (the issue is the vast variation in difficulty).
    I'm 99% sure that was mostly eliminated 5-10 years ago.

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