Caves of Qud is a proper roguelike, with deep science fantasy lore and after 15+ years of development it is finally finished with the 1.0 release now available. Easily one of the best roguelikes ever made, a game not to be missed, even if you're not usually into the genre it's just a wild ride to play through.
I adore everything about this game from the wild characters you can make with all sorts of insane abilities and mutations, to their deep descriptions and lore on everything in the world. Even the doors and walls have descriptions on them, the game is just massively detailed in every way. The new UI is also a thing of retro beauty.
My latest character was a fun one. I had the ability to fire an electromagnetic pulse, with heightened hearing, night vision, i could make a force bubble around myself, create a force wall to protect myself and reflect mental attacks back at enemies. However, my character also suffers from Amnesia, and tends to forget things at times…
Thankfully there's multiple game modes, so you can make it a bit more adventure-like and less punishing if you wish to explore it more easily.
Direct Link
New as of the 1.0 release:
- Tutorial to teach the basics of the game.
- Final quest in the main questline & the end of the game.
- Several new music tracks, sound effects, and items.
- 40 new achievements.
- Lots of bugfixes and small feature improvements.
With the 1.0 launch there's also the new Dromad Deluxe edition that includes the game, the original soundtrack and the Pets of Harvest Dawn DLC to pick from 13 unique companions to start the game with.
From the press release:
“It's hard to think of Caves of Qud as anything other than our life's work,” says Jason Grinblat, Founder and Designer at Freehold Games. “We've been making it for almost 20 years now, and the success it has already, has felt like a fever dream. It's so easy to imagine we're still in Brian's converted garage working on the game for our three friends. The prospect of it finally arriving at 1.0 is thrilling, dizzying... exhausting. We're looking forward to Kitfox's support after launch so we can crawl under our desks and sleep for a few months. Anyway, please play it!”
It's launched with Native Linux support and is Steam Deck Verified.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
R Daneel Olivaw 6 Dec 2024
I would like to focus on this one bit you mentioned though:
Thankfully there's multiple game modes, so you can make it a bit more adventure-like and less punishing
This is so important! Using these settings you can make the game into a regular ol rpg. You can save in any settlement and reload your character if you die from any number of hilarious deaths (lol). You can also make the game into just exploration with almost no combat if you want, just to run around and see what's up. And of course there's the standard "rogue" mode of permadeath, but that's not the only way!
The game's interface is a delight, the lore and writing is incredible, and as you mentioned, the detail is just off the charts. I just can't say enough good things. Highly highly recommended.
YES I've been waiting for you to post about this game!!!!!!!!! This has been highest on my wishlist for a while now since trying it out a while back and then deciding to wait for 1.0. I absolutely LOVE this game.
I would like to focus on this one bit you mentioned though:
Thankfully there's multiple game modes, so you can make it a bit more adventure-like and less punishing
This is so important! Using these settings you can make the game into a regular ol rpg. You can save in any settlement and reload your character if you die from any number of hilarious deaths (lol). You can also make the game into just exploration with almost no combat if you want, just to run around and see what's up. And of course there's the standard "rogue" mode of permadeath, but that's not the only way!
Arguably, permadeath is the worst way if you're trying to experience the actual story. Unless your idea of fun is trying 30 times to get past Golgotha, at least.
I generally leave it for dailies or challenge runs (like going straight down from Joppa and never returning to the surface).
R Daneel Olivaw 6 Dec 2024
I have had a desire to play this game for years. I think... "I can do this." I then go to the fantastically informative Caves of Qud Wiki. At this point, I am still thinking "I know I can play this game! Where should I begin?" I go to random page, such as Default Controls Map. It is then that I realize that I am much too intellectually challenged to play this game.
LOL yes it can be a little daunting. It's just so different from almost anything else.
I vote for reading nothing at all about anything on any wiki or anywhere else, do the tutorial just to get the UI and controls understood, and just .... go somewhere! just start exploring.
That's what I'm doing now and having a blast. I'm currently in a cave fighting spiders with a sympathetic merchant. I keep aggroing the spiders and then dragging them back to the merchant who shoots them. Then I heal up and repeat. LOL. I'm about out of food though and I haven't come across any vendors selling it out in the wilds so I will have to find out how to make my own food soon I guess.
Last edited by R Daneel Olivaw on 6 Dec 2024 at 5:13 pm UTC
Let them eat spiders!I have had a desire to play this game for years. I think... "I can do this." I then go to the fantastically informative Caves of Qud Wiki. At this point, I am still thinking "I know I can play this game! Where should I begin?" I go to random page, such as Default Controls Map. It is then that I realize that I am much too intellectually challenged to play this game.
LOL yes it can be a little daunting. It's just so different from almost anything else.
I vote for reading nothing at all about anything on any wiki or anywhere else, do the tutorial just to get the UI and controls understood, and just .... go somewhere! just start exploring.
That's what I'm doing now and having a blast. I'm currently in a cave fighting spiders with a sympathetic merchant. I keep aggroing the spiders and then dragging them back to the merchant who shoots them. Then I heal up and repeat. LOL. I'm about out of food though and I haven't come across any vendors selling it out in the wilds so I will have to find out how to make my own food soon I guess.
Mountain Man 6 Dec 2024
R Daneel Olivaw 7 Dec 2024
Runs well on the Steam Deck, although it's surprisingly resource intensive. I had to leave the CPU and GPU speeds set to max or the game would chug. I guess there's a lot of data being crunched under the hood.
I've just barely even scratched the surface, but the depth of the simulation (you can do almost anything you can imagine) is supposedly just off the charts. I was reading some comment about how someone found a "spray a brain" item and accidentally used it on a piece of wall and now he has a nearly invincible pet but it's stupid as shit LOLOLOL. I can only imagine if the simulation running under the hood is cranking out insane possibilities, this could be why it's so intensive?
It is probably the fact that a lot of the calculation can only happen all at once, due to the turn-based nature.Runs well on the Steam Deck, although it's surprisingly resource intensive. I had to leave the CPU and GPU speeds set to max or the game would chug. I guess there's a lot of data being crunched under the hood.
I've just barely even scratched the surface, but the depth of the simulation (you can do almost anything you can imagine) is supposedly just off the charts. I was reading some comment about how someone found a "spray a brain" item and accidentally used it on a piece of wall and now he has a nearly invincible pet but it's stupid as shit LOLOLOL. I can only imagine if the simulation running under the hood is cranking out insane possibilities, this could be why it's so intensive?
When you do something, the game has to calculate all the things that also happen at that one time (not just the things immediately involved in your action).
I'd imagine this leading to a very high-spikes graph of CPU usage.
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 10 Dec 2024 at 9:21 am UTC
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