Hi folks.
I have updated Old School Computer Game (
link). Your existing saved games will not work with this new release - before you download and play this version, please load up any games with characters you want to keep and export them to disk in the manage party view.
I hope you enjoy this update, packed with new toys to play with (some of which require assembly).
New Hand-Crafted Quests:
- The Flail of Ages (find the components, assemble the mighty weapon)
- The House Of Stewart's Last Castle (three maps, intended for characters of at least ninth level)
New Quest Type: Some Assembly Required. Keep an eye out for components. These are items that, when assembled using magical forges, form powerful magic items. Each component's description explains what is required to make an item. Components are generally all located in a single "dungeon" or set of maps. Magical forges look like a combination of a camp fire and an anvil ... my lack of artistic talent shines through again. In this release, there is only one instance of this quest, found in "The House Of Stewart's Last Castle". I plan to add more in future releases.
New Randomly Generated Map Type: Mine. A series of 3x3 rooms connected by long, winding corridors, all tied to a central room ... intended for mines, but it turned out to be a good general-purpose random map algorithm.
New Classes: Dwarf Arbalist, Elf Archer, Half-Elf Longbowman, Halfling Artillerist, Sniper (all five are essentially a kit applied to existing classes; the kit gives extra damage when using bows and an attack-roll penalty when fighting hand-to-hand)
New Monsters: Blast Skeleton, Dragons (more challenging age levels for all five colours), Gargantuan Gargoyle, Gargantuan Troll, Gargoyle Golem, Giant Troll, Ice Troll, Hill Giant & King (12HD variant of the classic 8HD), Hulk, Kobold Bomber, Neo-Otyugh, Otyugh, Shambling Mound, Snake Man Mage, Snake Man Priest, Spectral Troll
New Cleric Spells: Sorry, clerics are getting stiffed in this release. Bah, humbug!
New Druid Spells: I tried to add new druid spells, but they complained about affecting "nature's balance" and I had to back off.
New Magic-User Spells: Confusion, Chaos (Confusion is one of my favourite spells - I am very happy to finally get it into the game.)
New Psionic Powers: Id Insinuation, Unsettled Minds
New Items:
- Bastard Sword (and magical variants)
- Flail of Ages (some assembly required)
- Headgear (magical helmets, circlets, masks etc)
- 541 new magical weapons
- 168 new kinds of magical armour
- 75 new types of magical ammunition for bows, crossbows and slings
- 75 new magical rings
- 32 new staves
- 5 new shields
Misc:
- being 'afraid' (e.g. afflicted by mummy's fear) now gives PC's a -5 penalty instead of paralyzation
- dragons are significantly upgraded, with improved attacks and defenses
- maximum natural ability scores are limited to 18 (except dwarves who can have 19 constitution, and elves who can have 19 dexterity)
- removed smash (fighter ability to add their strength to damage inflicted); this was far too generous, will revisit later
- new weapon on-hit effects: sleep, stun
- rings, weapons and armour that let characters cast spells now have a limited number of uses per day instead of a chance of failing and crumbling
Bug Fixes:
- when a weapon does extra damage (e.g. extra fire damage), the damage is properly divided between the two types; this means that if, for example, you use an 'icy' long sword against a frost giant, the non-cold part of the damage still affects the giant
- when using an item (e.g. a wand) to cast spells in or out of combat, only appropriate spells are displayed (e.g. you cannot cast a fireball outside of combat)
If you find any problems with the game, or want to propose improvements, please post them here or on the game's webpage.
Thank you for playing!