Alpha 2

Finally, a new version of Golem has been published! Here, I'll try to list the most significant changes.

User interface updates

The GUI is more informative than before, listing the status of the character above the log and the HP situation of each bodypart on the right. You can also get more information about your environment with the looking command, and more information about your items and organs with the information command. Also when you attack, the system tells more about your options than before. The core mechanic of changing your bodyparts is now more streamlined, so that you can change one part without having to build the whole body again, and without needing to wear all your stuff again.

Tactical gameplay updates

A new important mechanic is stances. The player can adopt aggressive, defensive or neutral stance at any point, and certain items and bodyparts gives access to new stances, such as flying. The stances affect hitting chances, damage etc.

Different enemies, or more precisely their bodyparts, have now different resistances and weaknesses to different types of damage. After you learn them, you can choose your weapon based on the enemy!

A big focus of this update is on the environment, where you can find not only dangers but also tactical opportunities. Spider webs make actions slower, large rocks give you high ground bonuses, poison gas causes many different status effects, and lava is just deadly to most creatures.

More everything

There are more levels and more enemies, some new ones also on the early levels (the old goblins have been renamed to hobgoblins to give way for weaker goblins. There are also other kinds of goblinoids when you get deeper). There are much more wearable items with different effects, not just armor. Armor and weapons have new materials. Most of them are meant for deeper levels, but with some luck you can find them also early. Medications also have different randomized types that you can learn to know. There are new bodyparts: with stomachs come hunger and eating, with lungs you can breathe in the delicious poison gas!

Known issues

No game is without bugs. Here's a couple. If your brain gets destroyed (whether that's something your character can survive or not), the game gets very laggy. I fixed this problem partially, as it used to be even more laggy, but there's still some optimization to do. A more minor thing is that when you notice a hidden trap, that is sometimes announced twice, I don't know why. A third thing is that the Mac version of the game can be slow to start.

What's next?

For Alpha 3, I plan to again go five levels deeper, and to add new enemies both down there and to the upper levels. I also intend to add new bodyparts and more functionality to the existing ones. Kidneys could affect recovery from poisoning etc. Heads should have senses of smell and hearing. A dog's heart should make gods love you and a wolf's heart should make you braver, whatever that would mean. The gods should differ more from each other, with different blessings and smites based on their favorite sin and perhaps other aspects too.

That's most of it. You can discover more details by playing the game. Have fun!