7DRL Success: God of Change

[Adam Gatt]

I would like to announce the release of my 7DRL, God of Change! It has
been completed within the deadline, and is now available to be played.
It is written in C++ using libtcod and some code from my previous
7DRL, DungeonMinder. Feel free to leave feedback or questions about
the game, and a big thankyou in advance to those who take the time to
play it.

The game is available here: http://code.google.com/p/godofchange/
It is released for Windows and Linux, and is released under the New
BSD license.

God of Change is a game where monsters change in ability over time.
What might initially be an unchallenging species of monster might end
up learning the ability to shoot lightning, or be resistant to damage,
or be more aggressive, or gain bonuses by having comrades around. You
must find the portal to finish each dungeon, but beware: spend too
long and the monsters may mutate out of control. Yet if you race to
the finish you may miss out on items and weapons sorely needed to stay
alive. In the fifth dungeon awaits a boss fight that will require all
of your skill and resources. Do you have what it takes to remain
stable when nothing around you remains the same?

*** Features ***

 - Monsters that evolve over time to develop new capabilites such as
Fire-breathing, Undead, Web-spinning or Hive Mind
 - An antagonistic God of Change that taunts you, makes monsters more
dangerous with each new ability, and physically changes the map around
you
 - Well-defined behaviours for each monster that influence how they
interact with you and each other
 - Randomly generated, twisting dungeons with branching paths
 - Fully implemented pathfinding and Field of Vision algorithms that
allow creatures to overpower you with their intelligence, using
abilities such as Telepathy, Stealthy or Teleporting
 - A challenging and overwhelming boss fight. Will you be able to get
to grips with this confusing enemy?
 - Weapons, armour and magic items that allow the player to survive in
an unstable and ever-changing world

*** Story ***

"You have come to your death, adventurer!", announces a booming voice
in your head. "Remember those Kobolds you encountered earlier? You
better hope you don't meet any more of those, because I've decided
they should breathe fire now! Oh, and they leave trails of corrosive
acid as well. Also, I've given them a hive mind, why not? Have fun,
adventurer!"

The God of Change. He goes by many names; The Wheel of Fortune, Lady
Luck, The Fickle Hand of Fate. Worshipped by some and despised by
others, he is responsible for all the unpredictable things that have
happened in your life, good as well as bad. But sometimes the bad
outweighs the good by so much that you can't stand it, and you want to
take revenge. Others have cursed the God of Change but were unable to
take any real action, but you are different. Because you know about
the dungeon that holds his Inner Sanctum, and inside it is the nexus
of the God of Change, through which he channels all of his power.

Already a mighty adventurer and accomplished wizard, you took up your
sword and leather armour, and began the long journey. Now that you
have arrived, you find that the dungeons are full of wild monsters,
but also powerful weapons and artifacts that will help you in your
task. But this task won't be easy. The God of Change knows why you
have come, and he is focused on stopping you, and now you won't be
able to take anything for granted for very long.

*** Controls ***

Numpad/arrow keys/vim keys (hjkl) - Move around
<space> or NUMPAD_5 - Wait one timestep
(qwer) - Use the corresponding wand, provided it is recharged
(1-5) - Use the corresponding scroll, provided you have at least one
F5 (Linux only) - Toggle fullscreen

*** Monsters and species ***

Each dungeon is populated by several species of monsters, usually
localised in communities. Each monster belongs to a clearly defined
species, and each species has specific traits will apply to every
monster that belongs to it. Initially a species begins with only a
single trait of its behaviour type (e.g. Aggressive, Friendly or
Territorial) that indicates how the monsters will interact with you.
Over the course of the game, a species may accumulate more traits, and
these new traits will apply to every monster in that species
immediately. Species may also change in behaviour or have old traits
replaced with new traits. The Bestiary on the right of the screen
displays every species in the dungeon and all traits that belong to
those species.

*** Inventory ***

Your character is an accomplished adventurer, as proficient in
fighting as in magic. You can expect to find weapons, armour, wands
and scrolls as you explore the dungeons. All items are picked up
simply by walking over them.

Weapons, ), and Armour, [, upgrade your damage and resistance to enemy
damage. Each new weapon and armour is strictly superior to the one
before it, and so you are always equipped with the best weapon and
armour that you have.

Wands, ¥, come in four varieties, each with different ranges and
recharge times. A wand can be used an unlimited amount of time, but
after each use it becomes unavailable until it has recharged.

Scrolls, ¶, can be found around the dungeon and carried by the player.
There is no limit to the number of scrolls you can carry. Using a
scroll will exhaust it permanently.

Some wands or scrolls require you to select a target. A targeting
system will be triggered, and the cursor will be placed on the closest
monster (friend or foe). You can use the movement keys to change the
targeted location. Press <SPACE> to confirm the location, or
<BACKSPACE> to cancel.

-----
Special thanks to Jice and Mingos for their excellent libtcod library
that allows one to bypass time-consuming engine code and get right to
implementing their main ideas in 7 days.
http://doryen.eptalys.net/libtcod/