Caravel Games

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Holiday Season and Strange Letters in View - 11-19-2011

Just a couple quick notes in the Caravel November news for our faithful followers.

Progress

The progress bar for Caravel's Next Big Project has been inching upward, and we expect to enter beta testing early 2012. In anticipation of this event, LETTERS have started being revealed over the bar. What could these letters mean? Speculation runs rampant in Caravel's sixth Bar Watching thread:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=29658

Are the letters a reference to an island newly risen out of the ocean of the Eighth? Something having to do with the Grand Event? Is it an obscure mathematical reference to DROD's Turing completeness? Some odd AR event? Well...it's most likely the title of the new game. In place of a traditional forum contest in November, this time whoever guesses the phrase correctly first wins a free copy of the upcoming game as soon as it is released! (Sorry, anyone in the inner circle who already knows the answer is excluded from guessing, but you will receive a free copy anyway.) Just post your guesses in the Bar Watching thread above to participate. You must match the answer precisely to win. Good luck!

Holiday Cheer

Meanwhile, Caravel is promoting a holiday sale starting now through the end of the year. If you've been waiting to buy any of the DROD games until the price comes down, or you are thinking to gift a copy of DROD to a friend, then this is your chance! Use the following coupon code, containing the first letters in the Bar's mystery text, when placing your order to receive 50% off everything on the Caravel Games website, including previous SmS downloads. (Sorry, no SmS preorders through this method, please.)

gateb2011_50

Have a great holiday season, everyone, filled with joy, peace and good will.

The All-Seeing Eye - 10-30-2011

We have lots of news to catch up on for the last couple of months!

Smitemaster's Selection CDs for "Finding the First Truth" have shipped

Everyone who pre-ordered this summer's Smitemaster's Selection on CD should have received their copy by now in the mail. If anyone hasn't received theirs, please write us at info@caravelgames.com. Just in case anyone missed ordering this CD, I had a few extra printed. There are still a few left to order if you want to buy a copy:

http://caravelgames.com/buySS.html

Get it before it's gone! If you have already purchased the download version, you can write us an e-mail and we can provide you a coupon code so you can buy the CD version at a reduced price.

DROD: The City Beneath 3.3 ("The All-Seeing Eye") is released

It has been three years since DROD:TCB version 3.2 was released. We just released a new patch that will upgrade your game to version 3.3.0. It contains many stability fixes and some nice enhancements too. TFMurphy and Schik have put in a lot of hours making this new version great! You can read all about it here:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32361

With the new version, please be aware that a few published holds will need minor updates applied due to game logic fixes listed by TFMurphy in the following thread:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32363

This is the last major update planned for DROD until DROD 4 comes out. Stay tuned for more news on this development next time!

Indie Games for Good

I believe in charity to a worthy cause, and this news item is important enough to me that maybe I should have put it first. We were contacted by Matt Rasmussen, the event coordinator of "Indie Games For Good", a charity game-a-thon happening this upcoming week. Matt requested DROD be included in their indie game lineup for the event. Matt's pitch is worded better than I could paraphrase it here, so I'll just quote part of what he wrote me:

"[DROD] would be a great addition to our lineup. As classic as it is classy, DROD is a game that many of our team members have fond memories of playing while growing up, and we'd be willing to bet some of our viewers will too.

Starting November 4th, we’re going to be live-streaming ourselves playing indie games continuously until the marathon clock runs out. The amount of time left on the clock will be extended each time someone makes a donation. Our donation page allows us to keep track of how much money we’ve raised while ensuring that all of it goes directly to the tax-deductible gamer-run charity, Child's Play.

Since we’re focusing on independently developed titles, we’re giving donors the option to pick which game we’ll play during the time their donation adds to the clock. We want to provide them a solid list of good indie games to pick from, so if it’s okay with you, we’d like to include DROD in that list.

All donations made during October will lock in up to an hour per game at an extra-low rate. So if you want to ensure that we play DROD (or any other game), simply make a donation."

When you donate, you can choose which game you want your contribution attributed to, and then their team will spend more time playing that game until the clock runs out. Caravel is excited for DROD to be involved in this event. I'd prefer you contribute for them to play DROD, but they have many potential games on their lineup that you can select. Even if you're not interested in contributing, please mention the event to those you know who might be. The more people hear about this, the bigger a difference we can make for Child’s Play and for indie games. If you don't know anyone else, you can at least stop in to their site starting on November 4th and watch the event!

http://iggmarathon.com/donate/

Some of Schik's latest awesomeness on the Caravel Forum

* Many have noticed the new architect "builder" icon under each forum post. Click it to see a list of holds published by that forum member.

* Under the High Scores link at the top of the forum, there is a "My Stats" menu tab. It has four columns: Hold, Score, Number of High Scores, Average Rank. These can now be sorted!

* There is a new Mass Hold Rating page you can access from your forum Profile link at the top of the page, by clicking the Hold Ratings tab. View and manage all your hold ratings from this page!

New DROD room style

Forum member Rheb has published the Mosaic Frost Room style, which looks great! You can download and try it out here:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=30094&page=1#320738

A word for OS X users who have upgraded to Lion:

Congratulations on upgrading to Lion! Unbfortunately, the OS X version of all the DROD games is built as a Power PC application. Please accept our apologies for not having a compatible version of DROD available at present. We are working to produce an Intel build that will run on Lion, but unfortunately we don't have a timeline for when we can make that available. When we have one, we will announce it in big letters in the Caravel newsletter.

Please don't despair, though. Some Caravel Forum-goers have had success with getting DROD to work on Lion through Windows emulators like Boot Camp, or Rosetta, etc.

If you'd like to try out one or two of these options, you can read about them on the Caravel Forum here:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32005&page=0#318663

DROD-like coolness

Have you tried the free puzzle-platformer game Beret, available for download here:

http://kiwisauce.com/2011/07/27/beret-1-1-99999/

Math Geek Trivia Winner of the Year

For those who have kept reading down to this point, here is a bit of math trivia that I'll bet is cooler than any other bit of math trivia you've learned all year:

1337% of π = 42

Happy DRODing!

Full Circle - 07-31-2011

This month, I am happy to share with you that our latest DROD Smitemaster's Selection, Finding the First Truth, is now available for purchase and download!

FtFT is a hold of medium-difficult quality on par with the advanced levels in DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold and DROD: The City Beneath. The story foundation for this hold is contributed by DROD creator Erik Hermansen himself. FtFT advances the story of Beethro Budkin along its penultimate arc toward the upcoming culmination of his epic journey, DROD: The Second Sky. As many of you know, a lot of time and effort went into getting this hold done right. The puzzles shine, and there is probably half an hour of voice work here and a solid cast of characters reprising their roles in this story, including Jobus from Perfection and First Librarian from The City Beneath, as well as new faces we will see again in DROD:TSS. To quote beta tester CuriousShyRabbit, "there are puzzles about figuring out the right order to do things, lynchpin puzzles based on how the sworded entities interact with other game elements, puzzles that are all about manipulation, and more...And then the surprises start for real. Have fun!"

Please read more about FtFT here from its brilliant creator and architect, George Wanfried (Chaco):
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32025

There are also some screenshots of rooms in the SmS posted by Tim and initial feedback from players.

You can order the new Smitemasters Selection from Caravel Games now, either for immediate download for $9 or on limited-edition CD, at
http://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games_2/SS.html

For those interested in ordering the CD, let me share that we will be working on preparing the final CD content over the next couple weeks. Once it's done, we will be sending in the total limited-run print order. Please get your CD order in by August 15 in order to ensure that you will receive a copy. Thanks!

Interview With Chuck Sommerville

Forum member Tim shared a press article on Chuck Sommerville, creater of Chip's Challenge, from this month's Retro Gamer magazine. In the article, Chuck drops a couple of unsolicited mentions of DROD, citing it as being a puzzle game he admires and would recommend others to play. He even goes so far as to say he wishes he had come up with DROD himself.

For me, this is some of the highest praise I could expect to receive in the industry. These words come from a computer gaming giant -- a legendary Apple II game developer who rubbed elbows with the likes of John Romero and Steve Wozniak. I understand Chip's Challenge had part in inspiring Erik Hermansen to the inception of DROD way back when. CC came up often as we conversed on our respective sources of game design inspiration. With these kind words of praise from Chuck, this circle now feels complete. Thank you, Chuck!

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32033

Newly published DROD holds

Advanced Concepts 2
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31765

Snakes to death remastered
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31785

The Mystical Palace
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31797

Archipelago
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31993

Super Dungeon Deluxe 4-level pack 1
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=32004

Till next time, when we hope to release more news on the Next Big Project!

--Mike

Something old, something new - 06-12-2011

Hello, fellow DRODers!

Good news -- we are wrapping up work on the new Smitemasters Selection this week. I would expect we send the CD off to print by the time the next newsletter is out. Also, here's some news about the June forum contest. And some news about new stuff, and even some news about old stuff.

Make your own Riddle of the Bar

Based on Tahnan's winning creative writing entry in the May Contest, DiMono has set up a new official contest for June. Now, it's your turn to create a hold based on his story, which has been dubbed "The Riddle of the Bar". Participants have until June 23rd to submit their hold, which must contain something like 3 levels and .14159 rooms. Yeah. Something like that.

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31845

Gemcraft Labyrinth

This Flash game, the third offering in the Gemcraft tower defense series, receives the "Oh, my! Where did the time go?" award for this month. For anyone who likes tower defense games, this one features a DROD-like level map of the overworld with 13x13 rooms where each leads into the next ones. Besides all the rooms, there are mighty Challenges to conquer in specific rooms and a series of "knobs" you can twist to create customizable challenge modes for each level to make this a game you can play for hours and hours.

The Big N's Next Big Project

Just a couple months after Nintendo released the 3DS with glasses-free 3D, Nintendo revealed its "Next Big Project" at E3. U got it. I've got two assignments for you. First, share what type of game mechanics you'd like to see on the "Wii U" system, either in new titles or within existing franchises. Second, it's up to you to judge -- game-changing innovations or ultimately just gimmicks? Now: Fight!

Where have all the old-timers gone?

For those wondering "where have all the flowers gone", you might be interested in this forum thread:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31807

Can you believe the online DROD community, in its various incarnations, is now around ten years old. In Internet years, that's a lifetime or more. So, some of the veterans on the forum are no longer just veterans -- they're feeling really old.

If you're a Forum Old-timer, or even just a veteran, or maybe still a whipper-snapper, come stop on by here to say "hi" and sit a spell. You'll even find some tidbits on the newest DROD news. So new, it hasn't even happened yet!

Besides that, here's a shout-out to Schik for being one of the oldest of the Old, and working tirelessly to make the Caravel community such an awesome place. I say he should consider giving some of the fogeys that are still around official Underground Empire-like titles such as "5th Forumite", according to the order that they signed up, to show alongside their posts. Old people deserve their respect.

The way-back machine -- forum fairy tales

If you're not feeling old just yet, then I've gotta tell ya, just reading through the old threads on the forum can provide you a healthy dose of nostalgia. I'm giving gamer_extreme_101 a Don't Ask Award for this forum fairy tale -- if he can still scoot on over here with that walker of his -- that was posted almost six years ago, to the day:

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=6675&page=1#68313

Till next time!

-- Mike

April Fool's, May Fools, and June No-Fooling - 05-18-2011

Since I released two newsletters in March, I subconsciously decided to wait until May to release the next one. Though we're well into May, I'd like to give a mention to the April Fool's Day event this year. Though we didn't ham it up as much as last year's April Fool's joke, this year's "leak" of the upcoming Next Big Project was quite noteworthy. A big shout-out to Larrymurk for providing us DRODman as a cool gift to our loyal fans who were on the lookout.

...just make sure you read the fine print before you play!

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31653

Extending the April Fool's Day spirit throughout the year

If April Fool's Day on gaming sites involves combining games in weird ways, then Valve's alternate reality game (ARG) for an extended April Fool's Day event for promoting Portal 2 takes the cake! (If you don't know what this is about, do a search on "Valve ARG".) I've heard some jaded individuals on the nets share that they saw this event as nothing more than an opportunity to shamelessly promote their upcoming release and make some more dough in the process. Not of the potato flour variety.

As both a game player and game developer, I respond, "What's wrong with that?" There was such an incredible amount of content that got packed into their foolfest that it boggles the mind. Players could spend tens or possibly literally hundreds of hours seeking out all of the hidden items that appeared in the set of indie games featured in Steam's "Potato Sack" and given free bonus content.

As I see it, on a fundamental level, people make games to share something cool, creative and fun with others. If people are good enough at making cool, creative and fun content that people will throw money at them to experience it, then more power to them. And, big kudos to Valve for promoting indie games on Steam in such a big way.

And, speaking of last year's April Fool's contest on the Caravel Forum, can it really be that Duke Nukem Forever is actually, really, truly, finally coming out next month? Huh. Biggest surprise of the decade. It seems that the joke's on all of us. I will never make fun of the Duke again. Ever. No, really. Starting this minute. ...Now!

Promoting the Official Number of the Eighth

DiMono is running a cool series of official Forum contests. Last month's contest was about promoting pi, the new official number of the Eighth, all throughout the realms. After all, who could've thought of a more fitting value for the Eighth than pi? Except maybe pi/4 -- though only nerdy topologist wanna-bes would suggest such a thing. Or Stefan, but he really knows what he's talking about, and he has the celebratory material to prove it. Congratulations to Stefan, Rat Man and da rogu3 for placing in the April contest! Stefan, please have your pick from the Caravel Prize Pile!

Creative Writing Contest on the bottom of pi tin

"So, mrimer, what's with the random puns inexplicably thrown in above?" you ask. This month's contest is writing something creative about the Eighth that involves a lot of puns. All groaners, brow-beaters, knee-slappers, and downright all-out punners accepted.

You have until May 22nd to submit an entry of any length. Up to the fractional part of pi, that is. (It's not really as confusing as that might sound. You'll see.) Winner receives a free game or other prize from the Prize Pile!

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=31757

Don't Ask Award

This month I'm giving a Don't Ask Award to Banjooie for being an incredible force for awesomenessity on the Forum. Glad to have you around, friend! Please pick out something from the Prize Pile.

Have a good spring/fall/end-/beginning-of-school everyone!

Mike