Monday 18 May 2015

Challenge Mode Comes to Android and iOS

Challenge mode is now available at iTunesGoogle Play and Amazon.  This is a free update if you already own Hoplite.

It includes the challenges from the web version, another set of challenges at an easier difficulty level plus the daily challenge.


Sunday 15 March 2015

Hoplite Challenge Mode is ready

Play it HERE

So I went a bit overtime but I'm not really counting this as a 7DRL.

The basic gameplay hasn't changed much since the last post.  I've mostly been tweaking the balance and fixing bugs.


My thoughts on balance

Challenge Mode is intended for players who have mastered the original.  I expect people new to the game will find it quite difficult (I'm really just making the game for myself.)

I like games that are very difficult to win yet still always make me feel like it's my own fault when I lose.  For the record, DCSS achieves this better than any other that I know of.

I've played quite a few challenges now and while some have taken me a few attempts, I'm yet to find one that I couldn't beat.  This is basically ideal as far as I'm concerned so I'm happy with how this has turned out.

Some tips

If you're looking for extra help, here are some hints and advice.

The aim is not to kill all the demons.  You can use them to shield or block for you if you keep them alive.
  • Archers can't shoot through other demons.
  • Demonitionists won't throw bombs into tiles adjacent to other demons.
  • Wizards won't shoot if their beam would hit a demon behind you.

Damage taken from demons can always be determined in advance once you've learned how they behave.

Archers and Wizards prefer to be in tiles they can attack you from. You can often predict their movement based on this.

Bombs can easily end your game if you're not careful.  Consider where they are likely to be thrown before moving.

Hold the mouse button (or finger) down while targeting to check the result of your turn in advance.  Demons highlighted in red will be killed, stunned or knocked back.  A tile highlighted in blue shows where you will move to, which is especially useful when you have Reactive Bash.


Monday 9 March 2015

Challenge Mode Progress

Play it HERE (edit: this is the completed version)



This is a work in progress with some placeholder text and known issues:

  • The animations seem to stutter and lag in the web version I've uploaded and I'm not sure what's causing this yet.
  • Sound effects were having similar issues so I've disabled sound for now.
  • Having Leap Strike and Staggering Leap together prevent lunge from working.  
I've disabled other combinations that shouldn't be given together but that last one needs to be fixed.  Various combinations that can't usually be acquired together are available and not all have been tested yet so you might find something fun.

There are probably many other issues so let me know if you find them.

I'd also be interested to hear if you find any that seem far too easy or completely impossible.


Friday 6 March 2015

Challenge Mode

It's 7DRL time once again and I'm about to get started.  This year, I will be making a new gameplay mode for Hoplite.

I'm planning to make this as a standalone web game so that it can potentially be submitted to the official challenge (I'm still deciding).

Then depending on how it goes, add it into the existing mobile version later.

Monday 10 November 2014

The ol' Ball and Chain

This game is a work in progress for procjam and the 7DRL week happening along side it.

The main mechanics are in place but there's not much you can do with them yet apart from killing a few rats.


Your iron ball swings around as you move.  Swinging it through enemies is the only way to attack them.

I found the Ball and Chain in Rebirth yesterday and it reminded of me of Nethack's punishment where an iron ball would be chained to your character.  As with most items in Nethack, it's mostly useless but somewhat amusing.

I'm interested in ways to do turn based combat that don't involve bumping into things and a kind of ally that zips around the level, hitting things in its path is something I've wanted to try for a while.

The ball and chain in Rebirth

I also wanted to add some time based challenge to it.  I've been playing Crypt of the Necrodancer recently and I really enjoy the way the game forces you to think quickly.  In this version, you automatically skip your turn if you don't take it within two seconds.  I'll probably change this.

The vast majority of code is being recycled from other games in case you're wondering.  Despite being procjam, I'm not really focusing on procedural generation for this.


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Still Life

Play it here.

A quick attempt to turn yesterday's experiment into a game.  It's a series of puzzles where your aim in each is to eradicate the life form without letting any of it reach the edge of the map.

I've tweaked the rules slightly since yesterday.  Moving into slime will now destroy it and diagonal movement (numpad/vi-keys) is allowed.

If you beat all five, your can click on tiles to make your own (type 'C' to clear)



It is too complex to be a fun game in my opinion.  I found it easier to solve each one with brute force rather that trying to calculate how my movement would affect the slime creature.

I was shown Dungeon Janitor yesterday.  Your aim is also to remove slime but with a slime behaviour that is much easier to understand making for a much better game.

Conway's Game of Slime Creatures

Play it here

A cross between Conway's Game of Life and the classic slime monster.

You (the "@") count as a "lit" cell for the purpose of the simulation.



I set myself a target of 42 minutes to make this, from creating a new project to having it published online and writing this blog post.

A bug in my life algorithm caused me to go a little over schedule but still, not bad for about an hour I think.

I find it satisfying to be able to walk over to and mess up those still lifes.