Questions

Toonarmy · 2013-06-22T22:41:57.000Z

Hey so i originally saw cataclysm a month or 2 ago and loved the concept but then also realized it was dead and just didnt like the graphics as they are only letter and symbols but am hopeful for this kickstarter and i have a few questions if someone could help me i would appreciate it
1 So the kickstarter says you will have full graphics support so does that mean you will go from the minimal pixels that show buildings and you character as letters and symbols from the keyboard to real graphics that have animations and look like buildings and people etc? As i first saw this game loved the concept but just cant get past those graphics that are letters and symbols just my preference really
2 So how much will the game be as i would like to pledge on kickstarter but the tiers dont say you will get the full game so is it a free 2 play game?
3 If it is a free 2 play game i think you should change that to buy once and own forever as you will gain money to improve the game later down the line even after the kickstarter and a lot of people dont tend to play free 2 play games no matter how good they are.
4 Is it a true survival game so will you need to eat and drink to stay alive?
5 Will you be able to craft?
6 Will you be able to barricade buildings?
7 How big will the world be?
8 Will it be permadeath?
9 Will the world be randomly generated?
10 Will there be quests?
Thanks for any info and answers

SirTeabottom · 2013-06-22T23:06:52.000Z

1 - Not that kind of graphics if I were to take an educated guess. More like tilesets from Dwarf Fortress. Also, that’s really something you’re going to have to fucking deal with if I’m going to be perfectly honest about it. Trust me, stop bitching and play through it. ASCII graphics are indeed an acquired taste so to speak. Try playing Dwarf Fortress with a tileset just to get your eyes and grey matter used to memorizing what each symbol means.

2 - It’s free, it has been free and open-source since the original version developed by Whales. I don’t think people are going to be too keen on paying money for a game that was open-source for, well literally, ever.

3 - No. That is simply, and bluntly, put a terrible idea. Why? See #2. Lots of people tend to play F2P games. Where the fuck were you when TF2 was made Free to Play?

4 - It already is a true survival game. Food, Drink, Bleeding, Injuries, Infections and the like are all already implemented, if at a pretty base level, into the game as it stands.

5 - You already can. It’s a pretty diverse system as it stands and will no doubt be expanded upon even more in the future.(I sure hope so!)

6 - Already can. You can board up windows and doors with wood. This may be improved, how I don’t know, I don’t even know what kind of barricading you can do past boards. You can put furniture in front of doors and windows already. You can make palisade gates too! So barricading is really already in at it’s full potential if you ask me.

7 - Worlds are already pretty fucking big. Not sure if there is a limit but I and seemingly no one else has found an edge yet.

8 - It’s already permadeath. Pretty sure that’s a cornerstone of all roguelikes. Really an RL isn’t complete without permadeath if you ask me.

9 - They already are.

10 - Already in but again at a very base level. They need serious work and a lot more actual quests to do before it can really be looked upon as a proper part of the game.

And, since this one in particular grinded my fucking gears something fierce, as evident by the sprinkled vulgarities throughout my post(Apologies, I just get bloody mad!).

Cataclysm costing money. THAT. IS. A . HORRIBLE. IDEA! NEVER! NO! DON’T EVEN FUCKING THINK ABOUT IT DEVS OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL OPEN SO MANY GOO CANISTERS UP YOUR ASSES! Note: Nothing offensive is meant with that little bit there. I just don’t like that idea one. Bloody. Bit.

lalorobot · 2013-06-22T23:08:30.000Z

Most of those could be answered by playing the game.
But OK:
1 Dont know but you could use a different font if you dont like the default one
2 It will always be completely free
3 It will always be completely free
4 Yup Dont eat and drink and you will soon be dead
5 Yeah
6 Yeah
7 Pretty big
8 Yeah
9 Yeah
10 Yeah

BTW If you actually played the game and dont go crying out because its ASCII you would already know answers 4 to ten but well I cant change what you like (I like ASCII so that might be it)

Toonarmy · 2013-06-22T23:25:42.000Z

Cheers for the info guys.
Lalorobot the reason i asked these question is because i hadn’t played it and not really crying about it was simply asking a question if there would be improved graphics options like animations etc as i have not played a game with these graphic types before.

system · 2013-06-23T00:19:38.000Z

We don’t have a tile set ready.

We have no artists and can’t make our own.

The kick starter was for bringing some cool dude onto the development team.

Scheuche · 2013-06-23T02:50:36.000Z

Get your brain used to ASCII “graphics” (lol) and it will be awesome.

xLemor · 2013-06-23T03:30:03.000Z

hum i dont see why people think they have to pay to play the game.
the kickstarter is to pay a developper to work full time on the game.
you dont have to pay to play the game and it will always be free, see it as donations to help developping the game faster.

xLemor · 2013-06-23T03:31:29.000Z

[quote=“gtaguy, post:5, topic:1880”]We don’t have a tile set ready.

We have no artists and can’t make our own.

The kick starter was for bringing some cool dude onto the development team.[/quote]

im pretty sure some people already want to do tilesets for cdda
the game just doesnt support it yet, but will if we get soron to develop full time on the game.

Otaku · 2013-06-23T06:45:13.000Z

Yeah, the kickstarter was /probably/ not for a tileset drawer, it is for a coder to get tilesets working into the game. If we were really hurting for a tileset we could always get one from a free artist who is being generous with their art.

Also we do have animations. They appear when driving, firing and maybe a few other actions, but they are still in ASCII.

Toonarmy · 2013-06-23T09:13:53.000Z

This is from the kickstarter and says that they are working on tilesets and animations etc.

Full Graphics Support - Cataclysm is a roguelike, and roguelike has traditionally meant the ASCII graphics you’ll see in many of the examples above. To be honest, we love that stuff, and many Cataclysm fans do. But others don’t - they like pictures, and animations, and things that actually look sort-a kind-a maybe like the objects their supposed to be representing. If you’re one of those people, have no fear; full graphical support - for sprites, tilesets, conceivably other graphics things I can’t think of - is something we’re working on as I type, and Ethan is going to dedicate himself not just to fully implementing it, but doing it well. You’ll be able to plug in and play with a variety of community provided graphics packs, many of which already exist and are ready to go. You’ll always have the option to play with the traditional text-based interface, if you wish, but gorgeous pictures and adorable little animations will provide an equally enthralling experience.

SirTeabottom · 2013-06-23T17:10:29.000Z

[quote=“Toonarmy, post:10, topic:1880”]This is from the kickstarter and says that they are working on tilesets and animations etc.

Full Graphics Support - Cataclysm is a roguelike, and roguelike has traditionally meant the ASCII graphics you’ll see in many of the examples above. To be honest, we love that stuff, and many Cataclysm fans do. But others don’t - they like pictures, and animations, and things that actually look sort-a kind-a maybe like the objects their supposed to be representing. If you’re one of those people, have no fear; full graphical support - for sprites, tilesets, conceivably other graphics things I can’t think of - is something we’re working on as I type, and Ethan is going to dedicate himself not just to fully implementing it, but doing it well. You’ll be able to plug in and play with a variety of community provided graphics packs, many of which already exist and are ready to go. You’ll always have the option to play with the traditional text-based interface, if you wish, but gorgeous pictures and adorable little animations will provide an equally enthralling experience.[/quote]

Alrighty then but be warned. That there is probably talking about something far off from what YOU think it is. http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff476/hvcrios/DwarfFortress2011-08-2218-47-10-86.png This is what you should expect. If you still don’t like that then well. I’m sorry mate. Yer shit outta luck.

Stevensonz · 2013-06-23T23:23:30.000Z

Just trust Ethan that it will look awesome

youtoo · 2013-06-24T16:19:43.000Z

just download the game and try it. just pick stuff randomly. whatever you do you will die. there is permadeath. after you die a bunch of times, go read the wiki for the get started. most of the questions you asked can be answered by playing it.

my opnion is just try it. click stuff. it is rogue like commands (you can get them by pressing ‘?’. use the default setting. guess on trats and stats. Whatever you do, you will die alot at first. Better off clicking around and then reading the wiki.

as far as graphics go. graphics in roguelikes tend to be 1990s style tile sets. Its a few guys doing this part time and maybe one guy going full time. if you spend lots of time on fancy graphics you have no game. Skyrim probably had 50-100 people working on it for years.

TurningBreeze · 2013-06-24T23:42:49.000Z

Do you need to eat and drink… haha.

Sure, by all means help yourself to some toilet water or rotten bear meat. Enjoy your fits of compulsive vomiting and crippling dehydration. Why don’t you throw on a wool hat in mid-summer too, so you can replace your map with delirious fever-dreams while you’re at it?

I can appreciate a newcomer not knowing anything about the game, but man, you have SEVERELY underestimated the game. Just play it. My god, the experiences you’re missing out on if you avoid ASCII graphics…

vultures · 2013-06-25T20:04:33.000Z

The SDL that wraps the tiles is still in testing phase, it just can’t seem to reason with another issue.
Here are some tiles, it’s just eyecandy - and it’s done by the Angband people.

Dzlan · 2013-06-26T05:58:40.000Z

OH GOD NO…
Haha, nah just kidding, ya know, I really love the ASCII feel of ASCII games… So I’m most certainly not using Tile Sets, Haha
In fact, if the game used Tile Sets by default, I would go off the game, permanently…

Iosyn · 2013-06-26T16:40:47.000Z

[quote=“Dzlan, post:16, topic:1880”]OH GOD NO…
Haha, nah just kidding, ya know, I really love the ASCII feel of ASCII games… So I’m most certainly not using Tile Sets, Haha
In fact, if the game used Tile Sets by default, I would go off the game, permanently…[/quote]
Y’know, I could never play DF with a tileset. Just didn’t seem right. I don’t think I could play cDDa with one either.