Yeah, that's definitely true. I've been thinking about getting some kind of art going on for it. But it's no trivial task.
You could always start fresh with a sequel.
I would love to use it as a reference and learning material. I'm interested in some of the systems you use and how they might work. If you're willing, my email is [email protected].
After trying the game,i'd like to have it too,so i can learn from it,there were a few things that i found interesting.
Add me:[email protected]
I don't think CQ needs anything as drastic as releasing the source code to stay relevant. It just needs a few tweaks to make it more fun for solo play.

I never really made it past the first couple of waves because health and mana doesn't recharge. If it were to refill between waves more people would see more content rather than the first few levels a couple times then get bored with it.

The class progression is also a little odd. Or actually, character progression itself is lacking because nothing saves between plays. How about making the classes unlockable? Each time you successfully "find" a class it's added to the list of classes you can choose from when starting the game.

An in-game achievement viewer would also be nice. Just something to keep players motivated, a goal.
"That creates a game that is full of odd features that don't mesh, a game that new players can't figure out how to play and only oldbies know what it's all about. Does this sound like any BYOND games you've played?"

*cough* Hazordhu *cough*
I didn't read much of the comments below, but I feel like you would be able to release the code just fine. So long as you don't release the assets, then people can't really add content. You could make it so people can't use these files to access your hub, too. Maybe it's not very convincing, but more open games on BYOND can't be a bad thing. And it'd be especially hard to rip a game if you don't have the assets to do it -- the work that would have to go into it would be phenomenal.
I always pictured this game like a dungeon crawler. where when you enter a room for the first time the doors would lock and you would have to fight the monsters before they reopened. (like zelda).

The dungeon could be huge. i picture a pyramid had been turned upside down and buried and you must escape. You start in a single room with stairs going up with a dm type guy explaining the game. then each floor would have an oview more rooms.. players joining the game could enter your room that you are in and help with the monsters. They could team up or go there own ways. you could use your experience towards a different class or stats with a menu screen popup.

pvp could add some twist also, I would not change the graphics at all.

I always liked this game, I don't play it cause i find it hard to solo.

I am capable of doing all this code, but prolly would never finish it.
It's sad to read this entry, but I know what you mean - it's impossible to find a decent party since players just play this once or twice then walk away. Even now, I find it difficult to even guide new players to play the game well. Rage-quitting is something I see quite a bit.

Even the old players don't really come out too often. We do pop in once and a while, and that's it. I try to play once a week, and I do intend on trying to get to 200 without you or Joram holding my hand, but you're right - there's not much beyond personal drive to make people return to this game.

While it would be nice to use this code to create something more akin to, say, Zelda Online, it would create far too much lag, and I'm far too new with BYOND coding - I'm more a player than a coder. I really should learn how to code at one point of time... :(

Good luck with whoever gets the codes!
Sudzzuds wrote:
players just play this once or twice then walk away. Even now, I find it difficult to even guide new players to play the game well. Rage-quitting is something I see quite a bit.

Even the old players don't really come out too often. We do pop in once and a while, and that's it.

That's pretty much what I was getting at with my suggestions. Lowering the barrier to entry and increasing the replay value is exactly what the game needs right now.

The only other major thing the game is lacking is sound.
Not sure about the sound bit - I heard that Iain tried it before and it creates even more lag for CQ. Makes sense, as the sounds need to sync between all the players playing and watching, and we all know how laggy CQ can get with more players with a possible person with horrible ping times. Besides, not having sounds is an open invitation to play your own playlists (most likely from Youtube even though that will cause ping times to raise), which is why people tend to turn sounds and musics off anyways.

My main worry about lowering the barrier of entry is basically: 'At what point should we say that it's the game being difficult vs the players not playing it well?' To be blunt, waves 1-3 have now become laughably easy, but I'm not gonna complain since it does allow new players to play and quickly get a new class by lowering the level of entry. New players still make lots of unforced errors though, like recklessly charging into mobs (and getting surrounded), not giving enough leeway to face monsters (so they think they can turn on the spot), and not reading the chat (so they ignore stuff like using skills, not trying to kill knights from the front, and the need to kill scorpions from the front).

I honestly don't know what to do anymore beyond being patient and trying to give players the experience they need to become better players in the game. Before they rage-quit, that is. After all, I can't be the healer EVERY time in a party.
I'm not entirely sure about the claim sound makes the game lag. I mean, there's probably a nugget of truth in there but it's not really enough to leave the game entirely without sound. You also have to factor in the people who just play offline anyway. Either way, the negatives can be overcome by simple adding a button to toggle sound on and off.

As for lowering the barrier to entry, it's all about making the game more accessible. This isn't I Wanna Be the Guy, it's Casual Quest. Casual as in: the game should be easy to pick up and play. Having your health recharge between every round would make the game more forgiving and fun to play but each round itself will still be challenging on its own.
Hey Iain, try to get a hold of me. I have something I could use your assistance with. As for CQ (the real subject your after here :P), I would prefer to see the combat system turned into something else. Any more work done to CQ will destroy it's casualness.
Dpheonix7 wrote:
Hey Iain, try to get a hold of me.

You know my email right? It's my key @ gmail.com. I don't have your email.
You could always do what Silk did and get this game featured on reddit or something. This game's obviously good enough to draw in at least a few hundred people. It would be really nice to see the battle system adapted to an adventure game, but the Casual Quest as is could still have a lot of life blood left in it if you expand the audience a little.
Caer_Death wrote:
get this game featured on reddit or something.

I don't use the internet much; you may be surprised to learn that tend to be a luddite. I don't use any social media or linking websites, so I wouldn't be the best person to advertise on reddit, because I don't even know what it is. Organizations have different (groups of) people who handle different tasks. The programmer doesn't do advertising. What I should do is recruit someone to do the advertising for me, in return for a share in the subscriptions, or something.
I've never used it before myself, but according to Silk, all he did was fire off an email to one person who came and checked out the game, and then an explosion happened. So yeah, if you or someone else can do that for this game, it'd be awesome.
I've handed the source over to someone who may have something to offer soon. Or not. Who knows? For now, though, I'm not offering the source to anyone else.

If you have suggestions, please leave them on the forum. We may be able to work them into the game.
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