Desktop Dungeons (v0.051)

By: Derek Yu

On: March 18th, 2010

A new version of Rodain “Nandrew” Joubert’s Desktop Dungeons was released recently (read the original announcement here). Version 0.051 adds a bunch of new stuff like new player classes, level features, challenge levels, and graphics. The game also comes with an option to use custom tilesets, which is nice, because the default graphics are still rather homely (albeit endearing).

And since I love 16×16 tile graphics, I couldn’t not make my own tileset to use. I based most of my designs on the originals, which I like, but tried to make everything more crisp and readable. You can grab the tileset here. Just unzip it into your “tilesets” folder and select “derek” from the main menu screen. Let me know what you think, and share your own if you have any!

TIGdb: Entry for Desktop Dungeons

Posted in Casual, Freeware, Puzzle, Roguelikes, Windows | Tags: Nandrew

Nick de Bruyne

The Pie to Gaming News ratio on this website is unacceptable.
Phoomegaishun

Fancy tileset, Mr. Yu
Dodger

Considering this is the latest and greatest Roguelike of all-time this is excellent news.

BTW Derek, the new Tile-Set is most excellent! It hasn’t been changed much but the changes are definitely welcome ones as it makes the game even more delicious in it’s bite sized morsel goodness.

If you haven’t tried this Roguelike out you absolutely must. This is the only roguelike to fix the most major problems of other great Roguelikes (not that there aren’t other great Roguelikes) but Desktop Dungeon allows you to have an entire play in 5 – 15 minute sessions! Perfect for people who love Roguelikes but do not have the time to dive head first into the more complicated and confusing Roguelikes. I’ve played many Roguelikes and it is great to finally be able to play one that is not only worth my time but also doesn’t require me to memorize more than two dozen keys to enjoy the game, in fact you don’t have to memorize ANY keys to enjoy Desktop Dungeon as it is entirely mouse driven! Also, if you haven’t played a Roguelike before because of the above reason or you just haven’t ever tried one, now would be the perfect time to enjoy one that anyone can jump into and appreciate! Difficulty ranges between easy and extremely challenging. Perfect for gamers of all types.

Download the game and then download Derek’s Tile-set. You won’t regret it, and if you do, then you’re a nincompoop.

Cheers Derek!
Dodger

Oh, and one more thing, you should also check out the Desktop Dungeon Wiki which contains all the necessary info to get budding adventurers started on there quest for power and riches!

I can’t link it here as my comment would most likely be deleted if I did, so perhaps Derek could add a link to the Desktop Dungeon Wiki for everyone to check out.

There’s a ton of useful info including a new players guide, a bestiary, listings of items and glyphs, and an overview of each deity and the abilities (or curses) they bestow upon the player!

I’ll try to include the link here and hopefully my comment won’t be deleted:

http://www.qcfdesign.com/wiki/DesktopDungeons/index.php?title=Main_Page

Happy Hunting!
http://www.tigsource.com Alehkhs

But where is the Derek_Yu tileset for DF?!
DalaranJ

Those tiles look fantastic except for one thing. I want the zombie to still look like a crocodile.
http://nuclearheart.com/ !CE-9

An Oryx tileset would be more than appropriate for this.

On another note, I don’t understand why the worshipping system had to be changed since 0.04, I don’t think it’s for the better (e.g. less information).

Also, some classes just can’t seem to be capable to beat the game – I mean the priest here, primarily (of course it might just be my restricted rougelike abilities).
orange

My only gripe is that there are no keyboard controls. A mouse-controlled roguelike just doesn’t feel right.

@!CE
The priest is actually one of the easier classes. Keep in mind that he deals 200% damage to undead, so he’s able to easily kill zombies a few levels higher, which nets him extra exp. The halfling class is a good pick to take advantage of his potion skill. Also, you might want to keep restarting until you get a zombie boss.
http://nuclearheart.com/ !CE-9

@orange: yeah, that (priest with halfling for race)’s what I’ve been trying lately. Thief and Fighter playthroughs were easy as a TIGPie, but I’m not sure if the priest can kill anything but the zombie one (unless with the new deities – that T-something with the melee bonus or the Glowing Guardian).

Ah well, keep restarting I shall.
Dodger

@Orange,

I’m pleased with the fact that there are no keyboard controls. The games really doesn’t need any. It’s one of the things that separate Desktop Dungeons from other Roguelikes but there are lots of elements that have been reworked to make this a Roguelike that can be played in short bursts (though you could spend a couple of hours at a time trying to make multiple run-thrus with different characters and classes – which I’ve done). Some people may have felt an “intimacy” with their Characters in other Roguelikes because of the extensive development of those characters, but DD isn’t really meant to be exactly like those other games. I think DD’s strongest point is that it can be played over and over in these small pockets of time and still provide that feeling of accomplishment without the extra grind (in which case there are plenty of other Roguelikes to choose from). Making this a mouse-based Roguelike was a natural evolution in the games design I think. It works and makes sense.
JoeHonkie

Them tiles is pretty!
Pita

I was about to make my own tileset, but you’ve gone and done it for me. Ta!
Pita

BTW the game rocks.

You might want to have a calculator at your finger tips while you’re playing though.
Harbl

Awesome tiles, but I miss the crocodile zombie.
Junk1341

These are just like the tiles i put up in my bathroom the other week. Yes, I put up sprite tiles in my bathroom. You got a problem with that?
KOQW

Reminds me of that other game, world of deadly god or something like that. Where you just appear and die in 1 second. Really stupid game. Actually this is nothing like it. It’s more like wizzball.
Alexitron

“Yes, I put up sprite tiles in my bathroom. You got a problem with that?”

Not at all sir . I actually would like to see them if that were possible . Also , I don’t think I have ever played one of this roguelikes before . Looks like this is a good place to start ?
http://moonloop.vg Eclipse

sadly this game is not a roguelike :(
Alexitron

Oh , I see . I visit the site a lot and this roguelikes seem to be hot stuff here . I remember a lot of talking about a Dwarf Fortress some time ago but then there was all this complaining in the comments about how frustrating the keyboard setup was so I never felt like giving it a shot .
EToaster

If you’re interested in trying out a roguelike, I’d recommend Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup.

http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/

It has a nice tutorial to help you get started, and doesn’t really require reading spoilers to get into the game like some other roguelikes do. Keep in mind that roguelikes tend to be very difficult, and you are going to die a LOT. Just don’t get frustrated, keep going, and you’ll eventually get a handle on it.
Dodger

@Eclipse,

Sadly, you haven’t played many roguelikes then. :( I’m kidding around, but you are wrong.

This is THE roguelike, only stripped of all the extra grind, complexity, and time wasted on memorizing keyboard keys.

If you’re looking to get real intimate with your character in a roguelike then obviously you’ll want something like Dwarf Fortress, Crawl or Stone Soup.

This is the perfect Roguelike for people who play a lot of other games as well, besides roguelikes, since it is far less time consuming but still captures that feeling of dungeon crawling.

I love this evolved version of the roguelike and can’t wait to see all of the goodies and extras it’ll contain once it finally reaches version 1.0

It may still be a work in progress but the game does work entirely. Obviously a lot of other people agree that it’s a great way to burn time otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people interested in it (just check the Desktop Dungeons official blog and forum).

Perhaps you just haven’t spent enough minutes with it. :)
http://freebooterkommand.blogspot.com shipwreck

Hooray! I played the earlier version forever and was praying for a graphical update.
ithamore

This has become one of my favorite time sinks, since I rarely play it in single sessions.

Derek, great job with the new tileset.
ChilledOut

Great game – although it looks like a roguelike so far it seems to play much more like a puzzle game.
Dzzk

Another great game in the tradition of Weird Worlds and Oasis.
jad

Eclipse, if the game doesn’t fit in your definition of a roguelike, just call it a roguelikelike
Tomelin

1. This isnt a roguelike.
2. So, you can whip up a tileset in a jiffy for THIS, and yet havent lift a finger to make DooMRL tileset for several years ? You lazy bum.
Derek

This guy Tomelin/Karry writes this same comment over and over again (not just here, but on other blogs and on the DoomRL forums). Once he told me to shoot myself, no joke! He is a sociopath.
Dodger

DoomRL isn’t a roguelike. It’s doom, in ascii, programmed by satan himself. Apparently, anyone that plays DoomRL has 7 days to complete it, or they die.

At least, that’s what I heard.

Thankfully, Desktop Dungeons is here to save your soul. Just pick the correct to worship Deity and your life might be spared from eternal damnation. At least, that’s what I heard.

DD is by far my favorite Roguelike out now.
klabelkholosh

Yay for DD, perhaps the first great South African indie game! Watch for District 9 Men’s Morris.
Dodger

@Derek,

If that’s the case then perhaps he (Tomelin) is a Sociopath but I think the new psychological terminology for people like him is Dickweed. ;-)
http://www.qcfdesign.com dislekcia

@klabelkholosh Bwahaha! D9 Morris would be a rhythm, adventure, management game (in order to prompt the most Afrikaans swears per minute).
http://www.playthisthing.com Dustin

I’d qualify it as a roguelike, but if I was splitting hairs I’d call it a puzzle roguelike. Semantics aside I love this.
Alex

The game is kind of addicting, but clearing the map as the only efficient way to heal, when you don’t know where the adequate enemies are and can’t summon them, often makes the game unwinnable.

I like procedurally generated games, but only when they give you enough chance to win if you are skilled. Having to restart the game until you get favourable odds is not fun.

It would be nice to have slightly bigger maps with more enemies. I often ended up stuck in a level because I couldn’t find same level enemies. Attacking stronger enemies and healing during fight is not a good strategy, since unknown area(which heals) is a limited resource and vital to survival. Since the enemies as heal as you explore, you suffer a net loss of healing potential.
ecto

agrees with alex
JoeHonkie

I wish there was some way of making my save portable. I copied the whole folder over from my work PC just assuming it would have a save file.
chris

just copy the ‘your name.dat’ file in the chardata folder!
JoeHonkie

Yeah, somehow that dialog box popped under all my windows. Dammit.
o0o

after i got good at it and learned some different strategies, i usually can clear a non-challenge map, only a few times have i been given one that was truly unwinnable.
EpicNadMan

Desktop Dungeons is the best thing since sliced bread (or at least since Weird Worlds). Simplistic, ‘casual’ style game play that conceals surprisingly deep strategic elements. Kudos to the author, and it just keeps getting better.
crukid

This tileset got me to finally try this game…and now I can’t stop playing. Damn you!