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[polkm]

Free download at itch.io

The controls are:
move = wads/mouse-middle/l-stick
sprint = shift/l-bumper
point weapon = arrows/mouse/r-stick
shield = space/rightclick/r-bumper
inventory = tab/back/select


The Spooky Cave is a modern take on classical roguelike RPGs. I am attempting to introduce streamlined gameplay while also increasing the depth of combat and actual gameplay. No one cares about promises though so let's move on to actual screen shots and videos.









Also my tumblr if you are into that kind of thing.
tumblr

Any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[bdsowers]

I gave the Windows build a few minutes. I like the visual style and the way you move from room to room. Also love the fast, snappy feel.

The mouse controls didn't work at all for me. I wanted to swing my sword with the mouse, but I couldn't get it to work. I could use the keyboard, but that felt very strange - I couldn't get into any kind of good rhythm.

Couldn't get the shield to work. Spacebar wasn't doing anything. Using my mouse wasn't either. Or at least nothing visually changed.

Difficulty was way too high. I got murdered in pretty much every room I entered - swarmed by 6 enemies and no amount of slamming my keys allowed me to attack fast enough.

This has potential, I just wish I could've, y'know... actually played it.

[Quicksand-S]

What are the system requirements for this? I was pretty surprised I couldn't run it. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit with a video card that has support for up to OpenGL 3.3. Too old? I can't run the very latest AAA games, but it's always surprising to see an indie game that doesn't work. I may need to upgrade my video card a little sooner than I thought...

Error

game/shadows.lua:18: Cannot create canvas: May not be supported by your OpenGL implementation.

Traceback

[C]: in function 'newCanvas'
game/shadows.lua:18: in main chunk
[C]: in function 'require'
tier1/acquire.lua:7: in function 'acquire'
main.lua:2: in main chunk
[C]: in function 'require'
[C]: in function 'xpcall'

[polkm]

What are the system requirements for this? I was pretty surprised I couldn't run it. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit with a video card that has support for up to OpenGL 3.3. Too old? I can't run the very latest AAA games, but it's always surprising to see an indie game that doesn't work. I may need to upgrade my video card a little sooner than I thought...

Is your video card AMD or Nvidia? Thanks though, these are the problems I want to work out before a propper release. I think I should be able to fix it. If not make an option to turn off shadows (that are using the canvas).

I gave the Windows build a few minutes. I like the visual style and the way you move from room to room. Also love the fast, snappy feel.

The mouse controls didn't work at all for me. I wanted to swing my sword with the mouse, but I couldn't get it to work. I could use the keyboard, but that felt very strange - I couldn't get into any kind of good rhythm.

Couldn't get the shield to work. Spacebar wasn't doing anything. Using my mouse wasn't either. Or at least nothing visually changed.

Difficulty was way too high. I got murdered in pretty much every room I entered - swarmed by 6 enemies and no amount of slamming my keys allowed me to attack fast enough.

This has potential, I just wish I could've, y'know... actually played it.

Mouse controls are broken right now, but fixed for the next update (soon). The controls are hard to master, and the difficulty is high because there isn't a lot to see right now. Dying in the first couple rooms is very common. I'll add controller support next update so maybe that will help you. Thanks for the testing, and complements. Also for the shield you have to hold space and point in the direction at the same time.

[Quicksand-S]

Is your video card AMD or Nvidia? Thanks though, these are the problems I want to work out before a propper release. I think I should be able to fix it. If not make an option to turn off shadows (that are using the canvas).

It's an Nvidia GTX 285.

[spanko_at_large]

Love the pixel art work it all blends very well together.  At first I was confused about all of the weapons but after I got destroyed I figured it out.  I also like the weapon swing mechanic instead of just a click to swing.  Works fine on my Mac btw for anyone having trouble.

[Quicksand-S]

Well, apparently I gave you bad input. I went to play another OpenGL game and it had a similar issue. Uninstalling and reinstalling my graphics drivers made both that game and your game work fine. Still not sure what was wrong with them, but your game works at least.

-Right after I typed that, I went to move and nothing worked. I really dislike it when games lock out keyboard input just because a gamepad is plugged in. I don't want to unplug or disable my gamepad every time I play certain games.

-In gamepad mode, I never noticed a prompt for a chest pop up, so I had no weapon. Maybe I was just running around too fast. I don't know.

-In mouse mode, I got a weapon but nothing I did with the mouse affected it.

-Your instructions say that "mouse-middle" can be used for movement. How? It does nothing for me. Then again, since none of the mouse controls seem to work, I guess this is related to that.

-Sometimes when the game resets, I see my character standing in a room with a sword for a moment before then they appear in the actual starting room without anything.

-I can't tell if the slowdown when you die is intentional or not. I'm not really a fan of the deceleration (of the world) when I stop moving. It's too easy to get killed in the second it takes between when I stop and when everything else stops.


Gameplay and Graphics:

-I like the look of the game quite a bit, although the rooms could use a little more...visual appeal. Maybe some banners on the walls, some random decor, etc.

-Enemies should not be standing right near the door as I enter. I was swinging a spear left and right as I went through the door and still got killed even before the camera had scrolled up.

-Maybe enemies should also have reflexes, so you get a short time to react to them before they attack.

-Enemies with much shorter weapons than I have still manage to kill me as I swing at them from a distance.

-It would be nice if enemies varied up their attacks a bit. Every one I saw just spun their weapon in a circle so I couldn't get close.

-I would love a quick Reset button because waiting five seconds for my character to finish dying is a pain.

-I managed to get to the second floor one time (all the enemies on the first floor died really easily that time for some reason) and was disappointed to see that it felt completely disconnected from the first. Why not keep a consistent visual theme per playthrough, or at least have things change more gradually?

-The difficulty curve seems a bit weird. I'll start a game, enter a room and get attacked by four or five enemies at once. If I somehow make it through that, other rooms might only have one or two enemies. The next game, half the rooms will be empty. It really needs to build up over time, I think.

-Using the bow is weird, at least with the keyboard, because you're aiming in the opposite direction you normally would. With a stick, it might feel a little better but I didn't try.

-Combat without a shield isn't very fun at all. It's just random flailing. With a shield, it's pretty decent, although the shield angle didn't seem to matter and switching from shield to sword felt a bit awkward. It wasn't too bad, though.

[polkm]

Thank you for your fantastic feedback.

I've updated the download with:
- Fix for canvases.
- Fixed mouse controls not working, and fixed support for controllers. (my preferred way to play).
- I also made the rooms slightly less full of mobs.
- There is an order to the floors now.
- Mobs have slower reactions now.
- Improved racial diversity.
- Improved gold appearance.
- Made the time between stopping and the world stopping shorter.
- Improved AI slightly.
- Rare items are actually rare now.
- Fixed camera not reaching the player after death.
- Shortened timer after death.
- Chest rooms are less crazy.
- Floors get longer they deeper you go.

I want to keep the bow controls as they are. I want each class of weapon to FEEL different. I want crossbows to have normal point and shoot controls.

 

[_bm]

This game is brutal.  

Also, you should change the position of messages when the appear towards the top of the screen, because they get cut off and are impossible to read.

Edit: After playing for a while, I am starting to love this game. I love the ridiculous animations and the hilarious enemies. I will follow development! A+  

Edit2: I found a lightsaber equivalent sword which was super OP then my computer died.  

Edit3: The program starts hanging when I open chests now.

Edit4: I'd like to be able to see weapon stats. Which is more powerful, the Chitin Claymore, the Light Blade, or the Hepatizon Cleever? Oh and it's cool that your inventory (stash) is a physical room.

Edit5: Oop I found a new weapon; the Damascus Sword  

Edit6: Definitely found the best weapon, or at least the one that does the most damage. Dory. 

[Juju]

Mouse controls feel sticky and horrible. I think the game would really benefit from full screen and a hidden mouse.

[Ziz]

Unfortunately is crashes for me with Linux Mint 17 (Ubuntu 14.04):

Code:

alexander@Aerodactyl /tmp $ love thespookycave.love 
conf.lua:14: attempt to index field 'window' (a nil value)
Error: tier2/controller.lua:133: attempt to call field 'getJoysticks' (a nil value)
stack traceback:
	tier2/controller.lua:133: in function <tier2/controller.lua:1>
	main.lua:8: in main chunk
	[C]: in function 'require'
	[string "boot.lua"]:331: in function <[string "boot.lua"]:227>
	[C]: in function 'xpcall'

I installed the love from the packages of the official Mint/Ubuntu repositories. Are they too old?

[polkm]

I updated the itch.io page with a new version (0.3). It should fix the crashing and broken chests. I am going to completely redo the mouse controls in the next update, for now use keyboard (takes getting used to but is worth it).

Anyways I added some new monsters, weapons, gold chests, basic system for magic, and a bunch of fixes to old broken systems.