A Dark Room: Like Candy Box

[TychoCelchuuu]

Check it out. I'm 5 minutes in so I don't know how great it is but I've heard good things.

[Murdoc]

It seems alright so far, but I think Candy Box was a little more interesting because it was a little stranger and took off in an unexpected direction (sort of like Frog Fractions)

 

Maybe this ramps up too, but so far, it feels a little like a 4x kind of game or something, which is a neat interface to do that in, just not as zany or unexpected.

 

But who knows, I'll keep going with it for half an hour to see what happens.

[SecretAsianMan]

So far I like this more.  Candy Box was interesting but I didn't know what to make of it.  This makes me feel more nostalgic and comfortable, despite never playing it until now.

 

Edit: My work browser is giving me some issues and I can't make progress.  I'll have to try it more later.

[Twig]

I like the progress bars. They're much more likable than countdown timers.

 

That said, it's not as immediately attractive. Where are my candies!

 

(I'm at work and don't have time to really delve into it, unfortunately.)

[Twig]

So I sorta played it anyway and have to make a conscious decision to ignore it now. It's too distracting! I HAVE WORK TO DO!

[Murdoc]

Either I played it wrong or it just doesn't go anywhere. So I'm not sure what's up other than to consider it a work in progress.

[youmeyou]

Have you gotten to the ascii forest exploration section yet?

[Twig]

And then I started playing again 'cause I've got an hours long yearly online sexual harassment training that is literally taking me HOURS. Ughhh.

[Patrick R]

I don't get the ascii forest exploration bit at all. I can't click on anything and I can't click back to the town. And nothing seems to be moving.

[SecretAsianMan]

Use the arrow keys.

[Murdoc]

Yeah I've explored but have been going at it off and on all day,  maybe theres some special item I'm suppose to find to move on or something.

 

I haven't really being paying attention, but my time exploring seems to be kind of random, sometimes I last awhile, sometimes I don't. I seem to just be collecting the same stuff over and over again.

 

edit: okay, I decided to read the actual text while adventuring. I keep starving to death, despite having a lot of meat. So no idea how to avoid that, I've bought a ton of maps so it's fleshed out the surrounding area and I can at least target different places to check out before I die.

[Patrick R]

Use the arrow keys.

Well now I feel silly.

[youmeyou]

I'm having trouble gathering enough iron, exploration is kicking my ass too. I pretty much duck out, raid a cave then run back to the village.

[SecretAsianMan]

What does the charm do?  I only have one and I'm afraid to waste it on nothing.

[TychoCelchuuu]

I beat this game. Enjoyed it.

If you are dying in the exploration part by running out of meat or water, then yes, that happens. There are ways to alleviate it but figuring that out is part of the game I guess.

You get charms every once in a while from traps so don't worry about losing your only charm.

[youmeyou]

Oh my problem wasn't survival it was not finding enough iron. But I just cleared out an iron mine so shit is ON!

[Patrick R]

About how far into exploring does upgrading your weapons and armor become an option?

[youmeyou]

I don't believe you can upgrade your weapons. But you can find new kinds of more powerful weapons. Once you find that weapon you can craft it in your village (providing you have the necessary resources)

[SecretAsianMan]

You can craft it as long as you have the resources, you don't need to find them first.  I crafted my first sword before I found one.  Also, you can carry more than one type of weapon which will give you additional attacks, but carrying multiples of the same type will gain you nothing.

 

I wish I could drop or pick up all of a certain item instead of clicking one by one.  Also I don't like how the inventory grays out a bit when you're in combat.  Makes it harder to see how much meat I have left.

 

I still have no idea what the charm does.

[youmeyou]

Ah that's interesting. I guess it was more a matter of finding resources. Which usually coincided with finding that item, which was why I was confused.

 

Incidentally, any clue on how this game saves?

[Merus]

Found alien ore, died, lost it and then my temper.

[SecretAsianMan]

Finished this.  I suspect there were some things I didn't do (like clear the sulfur mine) but overall I liked it.  I'd be interested to see if it get updated at all.

 

And I still have no idea what the charm does.

[youmeyou]

There's a cabin in a swamp somewhere on the map. You need the charm to talk to the guy who lives there. Unfortunately by that point I had lost all of my charms and never found any more.

 

The exploration mode is pretty fun, very dwarf fortressy. This game feels like a more fleshed out candy box. Only problem is candy box is a tough act to follow: it benefited from the ambiguity of its tone. A Dark Room feels fairly straightforward and is therefore less interesting tonally. Still definitely enjoyable, though.

[Patrick R]

The weirdest thing about A Dark Room is that it turns into the first part of the Star Wars NES game at the end. You have to look for shields so you can navigate the asteroid field.