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[zxc]

It's also nice to hear someone out there doesn't mind my Aussie drivel

Actually as an Aussie myself it's surprising how much I enjoy listening to you talk! You have the right voice for it.

I don't normally do introductory threads but this community is small enough to get to know people and I see myself becoming a regular here. I'm a 25yo from Australia though really I'm not so different now than I was seven years ago. Still a student.

How did you learn about Cogmind?
I think I first read about it on r/roguelikes quite some time ago. It was immediately interesting and I read all about it on the dev blog. I was going to patiently wait until full release before purchasing but Darren Grey held a contest on r/roguelikes and I won myself a Cogmind key.

What other roguelikes do you enjoy?
I love DCSS. It's my favourite game. Sometime around 2011 I had no experience with roguelikes, but I learnt about DCSS and I started playing it on and off for a while. By 2014 I had become obsessed with the game.

I don't actually play so many roguelikes in general, mainly because they often come up short compared to DCSS (especially regarding UI and design philosophy, but also the community). TOME, Brogue and TGGW are some of the ones I've played and liked the most, and want to spend more time with. I love how tight and elegant Brogue is, and the same goes for TGGW. The only problem I have with these games is that it still seems like the UI is lacking. I've been keeping an eye on URR, which is looking really interesting. DF I've played a little of, over the years, but obviously the UI is poor and in general I am less interested in managing a bunch of dwarves than I am in exploring a world with one character (but adventure mode is lacking). That is why I think URW is great, and I really should play more of it sometime. Infra Arcana has a wicked theme, but it's a bit hard to get into the game in general.

What are your other favorite games?
Over the years: Doom 1-2, AOE2, Diablo 2, UT '99, Guild Wars 1, CSS, Minecraft, EU3, DayZ mod of ARMA2.

More recently: CSGO, EU4, CK2, Monaco. I've been spending a ton of time in CSGO lately.

What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?
I watch a lot of films and shows. I go through phases where I read a lot of fiction, especially fantasy, but not for some time now. I love music too, like most people. Some podcasts as well. And I enjoy watching pro CSGO and Quake. There is also programming but I don't do much in my free time because of all these other shiny things.

[jimmijamjams]

It's also nice to hear someone out there doesn't mind my Aussie drivel

Actually as an Aussie myself it's surprising how much I enjoy listening to you talk! You have the right voice for it.

I don't normally do introductory threads but this community is small enough to get to know people and I see myself becoming a regular here. I'm a 25yo from Australia though really I'm not so different now than I was seven years ago. Still a student.

Cheers!  I'm a student as well, although there has been a lengthy time between high school and Uni.

How did you learn about Cogmind?
I think I first read about it on r/roguelikes quite some time ago. It was immediately interesting and I read all about it on the dev blog. I was going to patiently wait until full release before purchasing but Darren Grey held a contest on r/roguelikes and I won myself a Cogmind key.

Impressive!  Which game did you beat?  Was it tough?

What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?
I watch a lot of films and shows. I go through phases where I read a lot of fiction, especially fantasy, but not for some time now. I love music too, like most people. Some podcasts as well. And I enjoy watching pro CSGO and Quake. There is also programming but I don't do much in my free time because of all these other shiny things.

My all-time favourite game was a Quake II mod called Action Quake.  It came out around the same time as CS (mid to late 90s) and had similar game-play.  I personally preferred it to CS, but its longevity wasn't meant to be.  I used to play it with about 300-350 ping on a 56k modem and most of the maps are still ingrained in my memory (I really need to find something more useful to put in there).

[zxc]

I was the one that beat DataQueen in this thread. It was rather hard, but I found it very accessible and I was familiar with the style having played Hoplite and Lamp and Vamp. It took about four or five hours, but was trying to win quickly. I also played Unstoppable for about the same length of time but couldn't beat that, so I think that game is tougher.

I do know of AQ2. Have you played Reflex? I find QL annoying and Reflex seems like a nice new option in the works. I've been interested in Quake/Quake-likes for some time now, but the few times I've played I just get trounced by veterans, and I struggle to time items. I prefer watching. I have the utmost respect for top tier Quake players, and it's a real shame that the game has diminished as an e-sport.

I've never been interested in Dota2, LoL, SC2 and the like. Just Quake and CS. Spy Party is a cool game that aspires to become an e-sport more focused on smarts than most. Very neat concept.

[jimmijamjams]

I was the one that beat DataQueen in this thread. It was rather hard, but I found it very accessible and I was familiar with the style having played Hoplite and Lamp and Vamp. It took about four or five hours, but was trying to win quickly. I also played Unstoppable for about the same length of time but couldn't beat that, so I think that game is tougher.

Just had a look at the thread now.  Belated congratulations!  I saw this thread come up while I was overseas and forgot to see how it panned out. Cheers for the link.

I do know of AQ2. Have you played Reflex? I find QL annoying and Reflex seems like a nice new option in the works. I've been interested in Quake/Quake-likes for some time now, but the few times I've played I just get trounced by veterans, and I struggle to time items. I prefer watching. I have the utmost respect for top tier Quake players, and it's a real shame that the game has diminished as an e-sport.

I feel you with the Quake/Quake-likes.  Once upon a time I used to be the one doing the trouncing now I'm just lucky if I do a rocket-jump properly without blowing myself up .  I did try QL for a little while, but I too found something lacking (which probably says more about me than the game itself).  Reflex looks interesting, I believe I saw it in an article somewhere a few years ago when they were still developing it.  I might give it a go when I have the time, are there many people on the Australian servers to make it worthwhile?

I've never been interested in Dota2, LoL, SC2 and the like. Just Quake and CS. Spy Party is a cool game that aspires to become an e-sport more focused on smarts than most. Very neat concept.

My patience for Dota-like and RTS games is wearing thin these days although I was big fan at one point.  SpyParty looks amazing, I'll have to check out some more videos on this one.

[zxc]

Thank you. I haven't actually played Reflex, just I've been keeping an eye on it and I also noticed it was discounted today. Spy Party is indeed really cool. I bought into the beta very early on but I held off playing it until a friend got interested, but no-one ever did . So actually, I still haven't played it.

[Kyzrati]

I was the one that beat DataQueen in this thread. It was rather hard, but I found it very accessible and I was familiar with the style having played Hoplite and Lamp and Vamp. It took about four or five hours, but was trying to win quickly. I also played Unstoppable for about the same length of time but couldn't beat that, so I think that game is tougher.

Oh you beat Data Queen?! Nice job. I made it to the end when it was first released but could never figure out how to beat that Queen...

For that competition I played Fire Tail for the heck of it (mostly because it would've been funny if I won first), and almost beat it (passed what Darren said was the most difficult part), but got careless as it was getting late at night. A second run and I probably could've had it.

So that's how you ended up with Cogmind =p. I remember following the thread and saw you talking with Darren, but I didn't later make the connection with your account here until seeing you over on /r/Cogmind more recently.

Darren told me he's not sure Unstoppable is even winnable

[zxc]

Someone beat Unstoppable actually! u/zazs in that thread. I only reached level 06. Since you can only lose by your own missiles hitting you, I tried to loop missiles along the vertical axis and then had a safe spot to sit in to wait for enemies to die. It worked well for the first few levels, but then I had to play more crafty with the terrain to get further. On my final run that reached level 06, I didn't die but rather got stuck with no way to progress. I had some doubts as to whether it were winnable. I might have another go with a different approach, but now that someone's actually beaten it, the motivation is not all there, given that it takes a long time with careful play to get far. I think it had the coolest game concept out of the four games though.

On my first go with Fire Tail I had no idea what I was doing, but I weaved through the enemies and ended up reaching the ice queen with absolutely no abilities, and died soon after. Quite funny actually 

[Kyzrati]

Ah, must be Toby then--that was the last one left. I didn't get a chance to play the other two, actually, but everyone seemed to be having fun with their own picks.

And it was you who did the race to the ice queen--I read that bit, too . I didn't even think to go for the exit before taking out the bosses. I didn't realize the exits opened that early, since I'd always fall back to the left! Though that's for the better since I can imagine you'd really need a long tail and some abilities to have any hope against the queen!

[zxc]

Ah, must be Toby then--that was the last one left. I didn't get a chance to play the other two, actually, but everyone seemed to be having fun with their own picks.

And it was you who did the race to the ice queen--I read that bit, too . I didn't even think to go for the exit before taking out the bosses. I didn't realize the exits opened that early, since I'd always fall back to the left! Though that's for the better since I can imagine you'd really need a long tail and some abilities to have any hope against the queen!

That wasn't actually me! That was u/Rabid8unny. It was just sheer coincidence that we did the exact same thing. I also didn't know about the upgrades and didn't notice the bosses that I was skipping. Halfway through I got the idea that I was skipping on stuff I should be completing but I was curious to see what would happen if I ran to the end.

I played each of the games except Toby the Trapper. My favourite would have to be DataQueen, no bias. But Unstoppable really had something cool going on. I want more of that.

[Kyzrati]

Oh, I just remember the conversation not the participants =p. In any case it was nice to see a lot of roguelike enthusiasts turn out for a challenge.

Too bad there aren't more similarly motivating participation threads over there. The occasional/weekly 7DRL type thing "just for fun" doesn't seem to result in much activity. Now if you offer rewards...

Darren got a good bit of attention for his past roguelikes with that move.

Data Queen was probably my favorite of the two I've played, though honestly that and Fire Tail are similar in so many ways. I should at some point check out the others he's made for a difference in style. Hexes are interesting, though, something I've always wanted to work with but never have the time :/

[RCIX]

Fellow robot reporting for escape duty!


-How did you learn about Cogmind?

Reddit, of course!

-What other roguelikes do you enjoy?

The one I enjoy the most is Hack Slash Loot. Other than that , I've tried a bunch but it's more been loving the concept while not having much luck with the actual games >.>

-What are your other favorite games?

I used to love RTS games, but these days i play League of Legends/Strife/Hearthstone, also the occasional wargame simulation or random other game my friends drag me into.

-What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?

I have music on about 90% of the time i can have it on (ie not in crowds/on public transportation/on the phones for work), almost all of which is Kpop, so there's that. 그래서 저는한국어가 나를 가르치고 있어요. I also program as a hobby and fiddle around with rainmeter And I built a custom keyboard of my own that I now love dearly over any stock/manufactured one.

I have other interests but for various personal reasons no time/money to spend on them ATM.

[Kyzrati]

Hm, there are a ton of different roguelikes out there. Have you tried all the more popular staples? DCSS, ToME, ADOM, Brogue, CoQ, DoomRL... In my opinion each has their own issues, but they're each quite different from each other and work for different types of players.

One that I don't find issue with is The Ground Gives Way (Right now it's ASCII only, but there is talk of a tileset in the future!)

Building a custom kb sounds neat! I always stick to the same old MS keyboard myself. Tradition!

I used to listen to a lot of CPop, but that was when much younger. Music is certainly a good way to approach learning a new language. Now it's just lyric-free VGM for me. Listening to SNES OSTs right now =p

[zxc]

Fellow robot reporting for escape duty!

I recognise your greeting. You should have stayed on IRC longer - I was afk at the time. Anyway, pop back on sometime and we can liven the channel up some. 

[RCIX]

Fellow robot reporting for escape duty!

I recognise your greeting. You should have stayed on IRC longer - I was afk at the time. Anyway, pop back on sometime and we can liven the channel up some. 

Heh, I forgot to set #cogmind to autojoin or I'd still be in there. fixes this immediately

Hm, there are a ton of different roguelikes out there. Have you tried all the more popular staples? DCSS, ToME, ADOM, Brogue, CoQ, DoomRL... In my opinion each has their own issues, but they're each quite different from each other and work for different types of players.

I know i tried Angband at some point, and a couple others I can't remember. The ascii is somewhat intimidating, to be honest, but I shouldn't let that stop me Unless Hardcore Diablo 3 counts

Building a custom kb sounds neat! I always stick to the same old MS keyboard myself. Tradition!

It was super fun, I actually did it because I bought a Surface Pro 2 and wanted a really compact keyboard for it. It's a grid layout and I've actually tried going back to traditional staggered layouts, it feels so odd now

I used to listen to a lot of CPop, but that was when much younger. Music is certainly a good way to approach learning a new language. Now it's just lyric-free VGM for me. Listening to SNES OSTs right now =p

To be fair, I have no real objection to and in fact like the vast majority of music I hear just so happens that something about the korean language is my favorite. Actually what started me on learning, once I realized that the writing system was in fact quite understandable.

One that I don't find issue with is The Ground Gives Way (Right now it's ASCII only, but there is talk of a tileset in the future!)

Sounds interesting, i should check it out!

[Kyzrati]

Hm, there are a ton of different roguelikes out there. Have you tried all the more popular staples? DCSS, ToME, ADOM, Brogue, CoQ, DoomRL... In my opinion each has their own issues, but they're each quite different from each other and work for different types of players.

I know i tried Angband at some point, and a couple others I can't remember. The ascii is somewhat intimidating, to be honest, but I shouldn't let that stop me Unless Hardcore Diablo 3 counts

All the roguelikes I listed have tileset versions, too, by the way (Angband does, too!)

I'd say hardcore D3 almost counts, except that it's real-time so relies on a fairly different skillset than traditional roguelikes.

Building a custom kb sounds neat! I always stick to the same old MS keyboard myself. Tradition!

It was super fun, I actually did it because I bought a Surface Pro 2 and wanted a really compact keyboard for it. It's a grid layout and I've actually tried going back to traditional staggered layouts, it feels so odd now

Ooh, thanks for the pic--that looks awesome. Though you're missing a number of keys... do you have a separate numpad? What about other punctuation?

[RCIX]

The blue keys are for chording, so for example, the left one plus ASDF = !?~". It's mildly annoying for number keys sometimes (and also the part manipulation in Cogmind, heh) but I rather like it now. There's a more full size version as well (the Atomic here), though I haven't one of those (yet anyway ).

Amusingly, I'm always going around recommending the Surface to everyone and i forget for a second that most people would only look at the Type cover >.> Even despite that the Surface is amazing though.

[Kyzrati]

The blue keys are for chording, so for example, the left one plus ASDF = !?~".

Ah okay, I was guessing that might be the case, but I'm completely unfamiliar with these homebrew kbs.

And I can see how that would be annoying for part manipulation in Cogmind kb mode. The future "swap mode" feature will probably be helpful for you in some circumstances.

Amusingly, I'm always going around recommending the Surface to everyone and i forget for a second that most people would only look at the Type cover >.> Even despite that the Surface is amazing though.

Yeah, I would totally not like to use a type cover. Convenient, yes,  but I like my keyboards on the thick side (or at least with some fair resistance).

[feeblethemighty]

Just picked the game up and thought I'd say hi!

How did you learn about Cogmind?
/r/roguelikes i believe.    Heard about it a couple times through there and saw the awesome trailer (a first for a roguelike?) and figured I might as well take the plunge.  It was well worth it!

What other roguelikes do you enjoy?
Had a brief obsession with DCSS, and Dwarf Fortress.  I mostly have a fascination with the genre and end up reading about the games more than playing them.  Looking forward to seeing what becomes of URR as well.

What are your other favorite games?
Played a ton of XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within (tried many times to get into the original XCOM, but never won a single mission), lots of indie games like Spelunky, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Nuclear Throne, Catacomb Kids and others which are influenced by roguelikes.  Basically lots of games that are randomly generated but a play session takes 20 minutes as I feel like I don't have a ton of time to play epically long games anymore.  Which is why Cogmind fits in nicely!

What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?
I dabble in making music on my computer or with my uke, make games, hike, bike, play board games.  Also, when I'm not playing games, I'm generally making trailers for them as that's my fulltime freelance gig.  I still am baffled as to how I got into that, but it's the best!

[Kyzrati]

Hi feeblethemighty!

I'd say it might be the first such "traditional roguelike" real trailer of its time, although there are a few others that border on traditional, plus you could now include the recent Caves of Qud launch for Steam EA with its (though it only shows ASCII for a second at the very beginning).

I mostly have a fascination with the genre and end up reading about the games more than playing them.  Looking forward to seeing what becomes of URR as well.

I tend to read about them more than play them, too . The latter often requires a much greater investment of time, so you have to choose carefully when you don't have so much time available :/

Played a ton of XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within (tried many times to get into the original XCOM, but never won a single mission), lots of indie games like Spelunky, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Nuclear Throne, Catacomb Kids and others which are influenced by roguelikes.  Basically lots of games that are randomly generated but a play session takes 20 minutes as I feel like I don't have a ton of time to play epically long games anymore.  Which is why Cogmind fits in nicely!

I'm glad you can enjoy it in shorter spurts. I wanted to design the game so it's fun for short sessions and easy to stop and continue later, though you can also just as easily do marathon runs when you want to (and get good enough =p).

Too bad you couldn't get into the original X-COM! It's one of my favorite games of all time and I'm even developing a game based on it (although it's on hold right now). Very difficult, to be sure, but quite fun.

Also, when I'm not playing games, I'm generally making trailers for them as that's my fulltime freelance gig.  I still am baffled as to how I got into that, but it's the best!

Oh nice, you make trailers; then the praise for Cogmind's trailer is even higher . I spent so long on that thing, not being a professional myself... Did you per chance see my writeup of the process? I was going to hire someone, but decided in the end it would be not much more work to just do it myself.

Care to share any trailers you've made?

[feeblethemighty]

Too bad you couldn't get into the original X-COM! It's one of my favorite games of all time and I'm even developing a game based on it (although it's on hold right now). Very difficult, to be sure, but quite fun.

Yeah I'll check that out! Maybe it will be more easily parsed in ASCII form

Oh nice, you make trailers; then the praise for Cogmind's trailer is even higher . I spent so long on that thing, not being a professional myself... Did you per chance see my writeup of the process? I was going to hire someone, but decided in the end it would be not much more work to just do it myself.

I did not see that post!  That's incredibly in-depth!  And yes, a good trailer track and audio will make or break a good trailer.  I always start with a music edit and make sure it flows before filling in the details.  You did an incredible job!

Care to share any trailers you've made?

Sure!  You can check a bunch of them out over at my site.

[neuromodulator]

-How did you learn about Cogmind?

I've been playing with idea of undertaking a roguelike project, and was browsing roguebasin. I saw Cogmind in the update sidebar, and that was it.

Honestly, reading about roguelike development has suggested a second roguelike idea to me, besides my "primary" idea. I think it would be hilarious to make a "So You've Decided to Make a Roguelike" roguelike, in which you play a lone developer in a one bedroom apartment that becomes increasingly labyrinthine each time you sleep, starting as a semi-real apartment map and gradually transforming into a more traditional-looking dungeon. A lot of roguelike traits (difficulty, permadeath) translate wonderfully as metaphors for the number of abandoned roguelikes out there. Avoid the perils of starvation! Procrastination! Parenthood!

-What other roguelikes do you enjoy?

If I recall correctly, I read something praising DCSS and tried it out and was a bit overwhelmed, and then played with DoomRL to get familiar with roguelike gameplay in a familiar context. Then I went back to DCSS and got hooked for a few months or so, although I was never really very good. But the depth of it, and the elegance of roguelikes in general, was rather striking.

-What are your other favorite games?

Dark Souls, Street Fighter, maybe Quake 3 or Doom. I feel like I'm forgetting some things that I'll be annoyed I'm not mentioning later.

-What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?

Really, I'm at a bit of a transition point, here. I used to play with synthesizers and drum machines and sequencers and Ableton and Max/MSP a lot, but over the last few years I've been surprised to find my interest waning in something I thought was really core to my personality. That ties into the first question, in that the idea to make a roguelike was actually a few years old, and something I had shelved when I recognized the time commitment, but am now maybe revisiting to fill the gap of this loss of interest.

[Kyzrati]

Care to share any trailers you've made?

Sure!  You can check a bunch of them out over at my site.

Oh wow. You've done a lot of the new greats! And here I thought you might be doing mostly those boring/stock mobile game trailers simply because that's a majority of what's out there. Really nice work and it's awesome that you get to work with all these indie teams

-How did you learn about Cogmind?

I've been playing with idea of undertaking a roguelike project, and was browsing roguebasin. I saw Cogmind in the update sidebar, and that was it.

A surprising number of people seem to browse that site. For years the main page has brought a lot of traffic to anything new. I'm glad that after a two-year hiatus from the Basin I was finally ready to start adding my links there again (which I used to do with releases of my previous project).

Honestly, reading about roguelike development has suggested a second roguelike idea to me, besides my "primary" idea. I think it would be hilarious to make a "So You've Decided to Make a Roguelike" roguelike, in which you play a lone developer in a one bedroom apartment that becomes increasingly labyrinthine each time you sleep, starting as a semi-real apartment map and gradually transforming into a more traditional-looking dungeon. A lot of roguelike traits (difficulty, permadeath) translate wonderfully as metaphors for the number of abandoned roguelikes out there. Avoid the perils of starvation! Procrastination! Parenthood!

Not exactly the same, but there was a 7DRL a few years ago about programming a 7-day roguelike, that touches on some of the ideas you mention (I forgot the name though and can't seem to find it :/). Your idea sounds much more involved, anyway.

-What are your other favorite games?

Dark Souls, Street Fighter, maybe Quake 3 or Doom. I feel like I'm forgetting some things that I'll be annoyed I'm not mentioning later.

This is easy to do, since many of us have so many . Especially when younger, it's easier to get into and enjoy so many games! All those classics...

-What do you do for fun when you're not playing games?

Really, I'm at a bit of a transition point, here. I used to play with synthesizers and drum machines and sequencers and Ableton and Max/MSP a lot, but over the last few years I've been surprised to find my interest waning in something I thought was really core to my personality. That ties into the first question, in that the idea to make a roguelike was actually a few years old, and something I had shelved when I recognized the time commitment, but am now maybe revisiting to fill the gap of this loss of interest.

It really is a big commitment, but it's also equally rewarding if you can go through with it . Also, in many cases developers bring their other interests or talents into their roguelikes, for example in your case perhaps make sound an important element.

[monsieurmarc]

Hi all

I am Marc.  Live in Wales in the U.K.

-How did you learn about Cogmind?
I was googling for procedurally generated games and it popper up.
-What other roguelikes do you enjoy?
My all time favourite is Omega. 
-What are your other favorite games?
Elite Dangerous (All the Elite games really), JetPac, Anything Civ
-What do you do for fun when you're not playing games
I am a radio ham, live action roleplayer, motorcyling sleep deprived dad :-)

Cheers
 Marc

[Kyzrati]

Welcome monsieurmarc! Any dad with hobbies is going to be a sleep deprived dad . It sure is tough balancing work, kids, play, and sleep... no way about it just end up having to cut back on one or another! I (sort of) adapted by turning my primary hobby into a job (gamedev), and cutting out almost all unrelated play. Just no time for it anymore . Getting less sleep just ruins everything for me, so I try to avoid that route . Everything sure would be easier if my new job were less demanding!

Been playing roguelikes for a long time, eh? Omega... Wish I'd found roguelikes earlier. Just this morning I received an email from a high school classmate I hadn't talked to in ages, and she mentioned ADOM getting worked on again and I felt like--YOU KNEW ABOUT THAT BACK IN H.S. AND DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT IT? Ha.

[monsieurmarc]

I can cut back the sleep one or two nights a week but thats about it :-)

Yeah I have been playing rogue likes for over 20 years.  On and off that is.
Omega is certainly worth a look.  You can find it here: http://www.alcyone.com/max/projects/omega/

Cheers
 Marc