Zorbus (D&D-inspired traditional roguelike)

Zorbus · June 29, 2019, 16:47

Zorbus is a fantasy-themed, graphical, turn-based, role-playing roguelike game. Your goal is to delve deep into a dungeon, find a portal to a mythical place called the Zorbus where a mere mortal can ascend to demigodhood.

Thematically Zorbus draws influence from the late 70s and early 80s tabletop D&D campaigns, adventures and lore.

The goal is to create a tight dungeon crawling experience where the dungeon feels alive, eventful and rich in content. Something more than just boring empty rooms and corridors! Diversely shaped levels with themed content (throne rooms, prisons, lots of hidden treasure caches etc.) with good connectivity between the areas.

Important part of the living dungeon are the creatures. Creatures act intelligently, might fight each other, flee when threatened and try to gather their friends to overcome a threat. Most creatures can use items and also pick them up from the dungeon floor. Creatures are not silent either but comment on things with speech bubbles.

The dungeon has dynamic lighting. There are light sources as dungeon furniture and in the hands of creatures and these both can be lit and unlit. Some creatures have darkvision. Creatures react to light and sound.

You don't have to go to the fight alone but can recruit other creatures along the way.

The rule system for the game is slightly influenced by the d20 system used in the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Zorbus has experience levels but no character classes (race is selected). On each level up, you point buy skills and talents (mostly combat maneuvers and spells).

The game is already at stable level and has had an engame since the first public release.

Runs on Windows XP+ or on Linux with Wine.

More info / online manual / download:
http://www.zorbus.net

Gameplay screenshots:
http://www.zorbus.net/gameplay.html

Sample of randomly generated dungeons:
http://www.zorbus.net/dungeon.html

Discussion thread the Rogue Temple forums:
https://forums.roguetemple.com/index.php?topic=5741.0

My own background in roguelikes started in late 80s / early 90s with the classics (Hack, Larn, Omega, Moria). At the time Moria was easily my favourite. I've wanted to make my own roguelike game since. I haven't played Angband that much. I remember trying some of the variants in the late 90s and now occasionally try/play 4.x but it's such a long game and it's hard to find time.

So far, it's been very difficult to create interest in a new game. At least 4 people have completed the game but there's very little talk about it.

Gauss · July 1, 2019, 09:32

I've only tried it for 1 hour but i can say it is a good roguelike. The UI is sometimes confusing but the rest is ok. I have to admit i prefer the class system more as it allows more immersion in my opinion.

Zorbus · August 2, 2019, 15:14

Release 18 (02-Aug-2019)

This release is noticeably bigger than before (almost 170 megabytes) and the reason is...

Sound effects!
Roguelikes don't usually shine in this area but try this one out. The sounds really make the dungeon feel like a living thing.

Most creatures have custom sounds and the speech bubbles work well with the sound effects.

There are also some short ambient pieces playing when you for example discover a hidden treasure chamber or a tomb etc.
Splatting those kobols and goblins is just so more satisfying with a proper sound effect.

Hopefully the sounds work on all configurations. I could only test with Windows 10 on a real hardware. I tried with Windows 7 and
Ubuntu with Wine in VirtualBox and sadly the sounds lagged there. Sound effects won't work on Windows XP.

Added online leaderboard. When you ascend, your character information is sent to a server and added to a leaderboard.
Again, I'm hopeful that this works. At least it worked on all configurations (WinXP, Win7, Ubuntu Wine) when tested in VirtualBox.

You can start the game with a randomly generated character.

When looting things you usually pick up stuff by pressing ENTER. You can now directly equip stuff from the loot screen by
pressing CONTROL + ENTER on an item. Same rules apply as for normal equpping meaning that you can't equip armor if there
are hostile creatures seen.

You can now exchange items with your companions and edit their equipment.

Zorbus · August 10, 2019, 22:16

First ascension in the leaderboard at:
http://wins.zorbus.net

You can click the character name to get the obituary (morgue file).

Release 20 is out:
fixed endgame related bugs, sound effects compressed making the download just under 30 megabytes

Zorbus · August 25, 2019, 20:36

Release 21

Leaderboard now has a section for non-winning characters of at least experience level 2. Only the highest level character per player and per game release gets added to this list. This option is on by default and can be changed from the settings.
Removed weight from coins and ammunition.
Small stealth / visibility tweaks.
Small AI tweaks.
Max range of ranged attacks set to 10. Max range of talents set to 8.
Shopkeepers can no longer be lured with items from their shop area.

Release 22

Player and recruitable creatures get full Health- and Stamina-points at experience level 2. After that the points are randomly rolled.
Player gets 50% of the XP from creatures killed by companions (recruited / animated / summoned). Was previously 20%.
New playable races: aasimar, half-troll, saurial, tiefling.
Some small changes to the old playable races.
The log shows a line "xxx comes into view" when you see a creature type for the first time. Also shows the creature's name / type over the tile for 5 rounds.
Fixed a bug where some tamed creatures might get hostile against neutral creatures.

Someone already got the ultimate "overgod" ending: wins.zorbus.net

DrWho42 · August 26, 2019, 07:03

whoa! this looks fun

Hunziker · August 28, 2019, 13:03

Oh, thanks a lot for sharing this! I was looking for a more graphic game since I had enough playing Angband and Infra Arcana. I'm having an extremely boring vacation and only fun I can get is trying various rougelike games. My brother and I headed to Montenegro 2 months ago and while he's searching for a real estate in Budva I'm spending all day at the hotel. It's very hot in the morning and there is no good pubs around so I prefer staying at the hotel in the evening. Besides no one speaks English here. I hope my brother finds what he's looking for as soon as possible and we can finally leave this place.

Zorbus · September 15, 2019, 13:48

Release 23

There's a letter "R" displayed on a creature's tile when it wields a ranged weapon and "r" when it wields a reach weapon.
Log shows how much a creature resists of the damage done to it.
Loot distribution tweaked. Bosses, uniques and treasure containers should now have a bit more magical equipment.
Removed negative skill adjustments (disable, magic, search) from most helmets.
Obituary shows what method was used for character creation (fully random character / rolled abilities / point buy abilities).
Obituary shows if you witness an unique being killed by some other creature than you or your companion.
Fixed a bug that caused errors when the game was played without sound effects.

Release 24

Recruitable creatures that you haven't yet recruited go to Carillo (the trading demiplane) after you descend deeper into the dungeon from their initial dungeon level.
Shop inventories get restocked with some potions (blink, endurance, healing) after a while.
Some changes to playable races (starting talents and ability / skill adjustments tweaked).
A new talent: Team Spirit. Normally you'll get 50% of the experience points from creatures that companions kill but with this talent you'll get the full 100%. Requires the Natural Leader -talent (which can only be selected on the 1st level).
A green bar appears under the XP bar when you have fully explored the dungeon level even if you don't have the Stonesense -talent.
Some new magical equipment added.
Loot distribution and level difficulty tweaks.

www.zorbus.net

Zorbus · October 13, 2019, 19:09

Release 26

New command: Rest until (Stamina) restored. By pressing D or NUMPAD DIVIDE you rest until Stamina is fully restored or until interrupted by hostile creatures. If you already are at full Stamina you rest for 100 rounds or until interrupted. Resting can be stopped by pressing any key.
New item: Scroll of Magic Mapping. Reading this scroll reveals the layout of the current dungeon level. Areas that are hidden behind secret doors are not explored but the secret doors themselves are revealed. It's easiest to use autoexplore to enter these areas.

Release 27

A map note can be added to your current location with N. Many themed areas have automatic notes.
You can display the map of the current dungeon level in fullscreen with V. Shows stairs, teleporters and notes.
Autopilot now has two display modes which can be changed with SPACE from the autopilot screen. The new one (set as default) shows the navimap enlarged to the game view.
Autopilot can pilot you to the nearest upstairs with U from the autopilot screen.
When you bump against stairs leading up, you can select to go to any previously visited upper level. When you bump against stairs leading down, you can select to go to any previously visited lower level. These options are only usable if there are no hostile creatures seen. Nearby hostile creatures may still follow you. At the moment this does not take more time than a regular level change.
The ascend/descend stairs screen now shows some info about visited levels like how much of it you have explored, if there are still challenge / cloning / etc. switches left and so on.
There's now only one setting for sending obituary files for the leaderboard. This settings needs to be on before you start a new game to affect that game. This is to prevent savescumming in the leaderboard.
Fixed a bug where attacking an avatar resulted in several history lines added to the report.
Fully exploring the shop level now shows a green "stonesense" line.
Fixed a bug where some challenge switch rooms did not summon monsters.

Screenshot of the new fullscreen dungeon view with map notes
Screenshot of the autopilot screen

DavidMedley · December 12, 2019, 17:18

I like it so far, but I can't give it much of a go since I can't figure out how to use diagonals on my laptop keyboard. Is this possible?

June 29, 2019, 16:47	#1
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	Zorbus (D&D-inspired traditional roguelike) Zorbus is a fantasy-themed, graphical, turn-based, role-playing roguelike game. Your goal is to delve deep into a dungeon, find a portal to a mythical place called the Zorbus where a mere mortal can ascend to demigodhood. Thematically Zorbus draws influence from the late 70s and early 80s tabletop D&D campaigns, adventures and lore. The goal is to create a tight dungeon crawling experience where the dungeon feels alive, eventful and rich in content. Something more than just boring empty rooms and corridors! Diversely shaped levels with themed content (throne rooms, prisons, lots of hidden treasure caches etc.) with good connectivity between the areas. Important part of the living dungeon are the creatures. Creatures act intelligently, might fight each other, flee when threatened and try to gather their friends to overcome a threat. Most creatures can use items and also pick them up from the dungeon floor. Creatures are not silent either but comment on things with speech bubbles. The dungeon has dynamic lighting. There are light sources as dungeon furniture and in the hands of creatures and these both can be lit and unlit. Some creatures have darkvision. Creatures react to light and sound. You don't have to go to the fight alone but can recruit other creatures along the way. The rule system for the game is slightly influenced by the d20 system used in the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Zorbus has experience levels but no character classes (race is selected). On each level up, you point buy skills and talents (mostly combat maneuvers and spells). The game is already at stable level and has had an engame since the first public release. Runs on Windows XP+ or on Linux with Wine. More info / online manual / download: http://www.zorbus.net Gameplay screenshots: http://www.zorbus.net/gameplay.html Sample of randomly generated dungeons: http://www.zorbus.net/dungeon.html Discussion thread the Rogue Temple forums: https://forums.roguetemple.com/index.php?topic=5741.0 My own background in roguelikes started in late 80s / early 90s with the classics (Hack, Larn, Omega, Moria). At the time Moria was easily my favourite. I've wanted to make my own roguelike game since. I haven't played Angband that much. I remember trying some of the variants in the late 90s and now occasionally try/play 4.x but it's such a long game and it's hard to find time. So far, it's been very difficult to create interest in a new game. At least 4 people have completed the game but there's very little talk about it.

August 25, 2019, 20:36	#5
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	Release 21 Leaderboard now has a section for non-winning characters of at least experience level 2. Only the highest level character per player and per game release gets added to this list. This option is on by default and can be changed from the settings. Removed weight from coins and ammunition. Small stealth / visibility tweaks. Small AI tweaks. Max range of ranged attacks set to 10. Max range of talents set to 8. Shopkeepers can no longer be lured with items from their shop area. Release 22 Player and recruitable creatures get full Health- and Stamina-points at experience level 2. After that the points are randomly rolled. Player gets 50% of the XP from creatures killed by companions (recruited / animated / summoned). Was previously 20%. New playable races: aasimar, half-troll, saurial, tiefling. Some small changes to the old playable races. The log shows a line "xxx comes into view" when you see a creature type for the first time. Also shows the creature's name / type over the tile for 5 rounds. Fixed a bug where some tamed creatures might get hostile against neutral creatures. Someone already got the ultimate "overgod" ending: wins.zorbus.net

August 26, 2019, 07:03	#6
DrWho42 Adept Join Date: May 2019 Location: Indio, California, United States Posts: 192	whoa! this looks fun __________________ avatar by chuckdrawsthings. thanks chuck! bootleg fishcenterlive 🌲link🌲tree🌲

September 15, 2019, 13:48	#8
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	Release 23 There's a letter "R" displayed on a creature's tile when it wields a ranged weapon and "r" when it wields a reach weapon. Log shows how much a creature resists of the damage done to it. Loot distribution tweaked. Bosses, uniques and treasure containers should now have a bit more magical equipment. Removed negative skill adjustments (disable, magic, search) from most helmets. Obituary shows what method was used for character creation (fully random character / rolled abilities / point buy abilities). Obituary shows if you witness an unique being killed by some other creature than you or your companion. Fixed a bug that caused errors when the game was played without sound effects. Release 24 Recruitable creatures that you haven't yet recruited go to Carillo (the trading demiplane) after you descend deeper into the dungeon from their initial dungeon level. Shop inventories get restocked with some potions (blink, endurance, healing) after a while. Some changes to playable races (starting talents and ability / skill adjustments tweaked). A new talent: Team Spirit. Normally you'll get 50% of the experience points from creatures that companions kill but with this talent you'll get the full 100%. Requires the Natural Leader -talent (which can only be selected on the 1st level). A green bar appears under the XP bar when you have fully explored the dungeon level even if you don't have the Stonesense -talent. Some new magical equipment added. Loot distribution and level difficulty tweaks. www.zorbus.net

October 13, 2019, 19:09	#9
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	Release 26 New command: Rest until (Stamina) restored. By pressing D or NUMPAD DIVIDE you rest until Stamina is fully restored or until interrupted by hostile creatures. If you already are at full Stamina you rest for 100 rounds or until interrupted. Resting can be stopped by pressing any key. New item: Scroll of Magic Mapping. Reading this scroll reveals the layout of the current dungeon level. Areas that are hidden behind secret doors are not explored but the secret doors themselves are revealed. It's easiest to use autoexplore to enter these areas. Release 27 A map note can be added to your current location with N. Many themed areas have automatic notes. You can display the map of the current dungeon level in fullscreen with V. Shows stairs, teleporters and notes. Autopilot now has two display modes which can be changed with SPACE from the autopilot screen. The new one (set as default) shows the navimap enlarged to the game view. Autopilot can pilot you to the nearest upstairs with U from the autopilot screen. When you bump against stairs leading up, you can select to go to any previously visited upper level. When you bump against stairs leading down, you can select to go to any previously visited lower level. These options are only usable if there are no hostile creatures seen. Nearby hostile creatures may still follow you. At the moment this does not take more time than a regular level change. The ascend/descend stairs screen now shows some info about visited levels like how much of it you have explored, if there are still challenge / cloning / etc. switches left and so on. There's now only one setting for sending obituary files for the leaderboard. This settings needs to be on before you start a new game to affect that game. This is to prevent savescumming in the leaderboard. Fixed a bug where attacking an avatar resulted in several history lines added to the report. Fully exploring the shop level now shows a green "stonesense" line. Fixed a bug where some challenge switch rooms did not summon monsters. Screenshot of the new fullscreen dungeon view with map notes Screenshot of the autopilot screen

July 1, 2019, 09:32	#2
Gauss Adept Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Barcelona Posts: 110	I've only tried it for 1 hour but i can say it is a good roguelike. The UI is sometimes confusing but the rest is ok. I have to admit i prefer the class system more as it allows more immersion in my opinion.

August 2, 2019, 15:14	#3
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	Release 18 (02-Aug-2019) This release is noticeably bigger than before (almost 170 megabytes) and the reason is... Sound effects! Roguelikes don't usually shine in this area but try this one out. The sounds really make the dungeon feel like a living thing. Most creatures have custom sounds and the speech bubbles work well with the sound effects. There are also some short ambient pieces playing when you for example discover a hidden treasure chamber or a tomb etc. Splatting those kobols and goblins is just so more satisfying with a proper sound effect. Hopefully the sounds work on all configurations. I could only test with Windows 10 on a real hardware. I tried with Windows 7 and Ubuntu with Wine in VirtualBox and sadly the sounds lagged there. Sound effects won't work on Windows XP. Added online leaderboard. When you ascend, your character information is sent to a server and added to a leaderboard. Again, I'm hopeful that this works. At least it worked on all configurations (WinXP, Win7, Ubuntu Wine) when tested in VirtualBox. You can start the game with a randomly generated character. When looting things you usually pick up stuff by pressing ENTER. You can now directly equip stuff from the loot screen by pressing CONTROL + ENTER on an item. Same rules apply as for normal equpping meaning that you can't equip armor if there are hostile creatures seen. You can now exchange items with your companions and edit their equipment.

August 10, 2019, 22:16	#4
Zorbus Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Finland Posts: 60	First ascension in the leaderboard at: http://wins.zorbus.net You can click the character name to get the obituary (morgue file). Release 20 is out: fixed endgame related bugs, sound effects compressed making the download just under 30 megabytes

August 28, 2019, 13:03	#7
Hunziker Rookie Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: TX Posts: 3	Oh, thanks a lot for sharing this! I was looking for a more graphic game since I had enough playing Angband and Infra Arcana. I'm having an extremely boring vacation and only fun I can get is trying various rougelike games. My brother and I headed to Montenegro 2 months ago and while he's searching for a real estate in Budva I'm spending all day at the hotel. It's very hot in the morning and there is no good pubs around so I prefer staying at the hotel in the evening. Besides no one speaks English here. I hope my brother finds what he's looking for as soon as possible and we can finally leave this place.

December 12, 2019, 17:18	#10
DavidMedley Veteran Join Date: Oct 2019 Posts: 1,004	Laptop Keyboard I like it so far, but I can't give it much of a go since I can't figure out how to use diagonals on my laptop keyboard. Is this possible?

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