27 votes

Caves of Qud releases version 1.0 today

13 comments

  1. [9]
    pekt
    (edited )
    Link
    "Caves of Qud is a science fantasy RPG & roguelike epic. It’s set in a far future that’s deeply simulated, richly cultured, and rife with sentient plants." I remember hearing about it coming out...

    "Caves of Qud is a science fantasy RPG & roguelike epic. It’s set in a far future that’s deeply simulated, richly cultured, and rife with sentient plants."

    I remember hearing about it coming out and playing a very early version and thinking "wow this looks cool" and now seeing it released I've added it to my wishlist to pick up. I've seen it has great reviews and seems up my alley.

    Anyone else planning to pick it up or start playing again after the 1.0 release?

    6 votes
    1. [8]
      R3qn65
      Link Parent
      Yeah - I'm interested to see what's changed. Qud is quite good, though the procedurally generated descriptions don't really do it for me.

      Yeah - I'm interested to see what's changed. Qud is quite good, though the procedurally generated descriptions don't really do it for me.

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        That's something that I struggle with myself, though I think of my overly game dev focused brain as the challenge there. I know what procedurally generated content is and looks like, and I know...

        That's something that I struggle with myself, though I think of my overly game dev focused brain as the challenge there. I know what procedurally generated content is and looks like, and I know that it means that, barring some secrets, there's nothing relevant to the game mechanics there. That makes it easy to let it skate across the surface of my brain rather than taking the time to soak in the ambiance of a village of fire-breathing serpents who tattoo frogs on their wings and celebrate the moment when OOooOooo-oo-OO the Hermit rejected those who questioned the origins of the moon.

        I live in the world of mechanics, but I try really hard to live in the world. Especially with a place like Qud it feels like a waste not to.

        7 votes
        1. R3qn65
          Link Parent
          Completely agree and couldn't have put it better myself. I didn't actually realize that's exactly what was happening until you wrote it out.

          Completely agree and couldn't have put it better myself. I didn't actually realize that's exactly what was happening until you wrote it out.

          4 votes
        2. [2]
          BeardyHat
          Link Parent
          Well, it doesn't make for terribly interesting Lore either, it's not even necessarily just a mechanics thing. Like I'm happy to read a good story that another brain came up with, because there can...

          Well, it doesn't make for terribly interesting Lore either, it's not even necessarily just a mechanics thing. Like I'm happy to read a good story that another brain came up with, because there can be lots of meaning, layers and interest there. Procedural generated descriptions feel like they lack all meaning and depth.

          Qud is pretty cool though. I've played only about 6 hours or something like that, but I really liked what I did play and I mean to go back at some point. Though I don't prefer the Roguelike mode.

          2 votes
          1. MimicSquid
            Link Parent
            Yeah. Incoherent lore, but excellent vibes. But when you're talking about the fragmentary remains of a civilization that fell hundreds of years ago and only pieced back together from random stele...

            Yeah. Incoherent lore, but excellent vibes. But when you're talking about the fragmentary remains of a civilization that fell hundreds of years ago and only pieced back together from random stele and fragments of equipment you'd naturally fall more on the vibes side of thing. At least, that's how I think about it.

            2 votes
      2. [3]
        mayonuki
        Link Parent
        How much of the game is procedurally generated? From what I’ve heard about the game, it seems like there is a lot of common structure for instances. Ie this character is available for this quest.

        How much of the game is procedurally generated? From what I’ve heard about the game, it seems like there is a lot of common structure for instances. Ie this character is available for this quest.

        1. 0xSim
          Link Parent
          Caves of Qud follows most of the codes and conventions of traditional roguelikes, but it should be considered like an RPG with random dungeons and sidequests. There is a fixed main quest and NPCs,...

          Caves of Qud follows most of the codes and conventions of traditional roguelikes, but it should be considered like an RPG with random dungeons and sidequests. There is a fixed main quest and NPCs, and the object descriptions and dialogues are (beautifully) hand-written. IMO it's closer to Elder Scrolls than it is to Shattered Pixel Dungeon

          When people talk about "random descriptions" I assume they talk about the generated history, like "Event ABC happened to Sultan FooBar in the village of XYZ in the year 123". That and (most) books that you can loot to earn XP are just filled with Markov strings.

          4 votes
        2. R3qn65
          Link Parent
          Almost all of it apart from the locations/characters/dialogue of the main quest and one or two other quest lines.

          Almost all of it apart from the locations/characters/dialogue of the main quest and one or two other quest lines.

          1 vote
  2. [3]
    MimicSquid
    Link
    I'm definitely going to pick it up again. I put 1900 hours into it before release, and I've got ideas for at least two or three characters I want to take all the way now that the end of the story...

    I'm definitely going to pick it up again. I put 1900 hours into it before release, and I've got ideas for at least two or three characters I want to take all the way now that the end of the story is here, even on top of the challenge character they have for the celebratory 1.0 speedrun challenge.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      elight
      Link Parent
      1900? Your name wouldn't happen to be "Doug", would it? I have a friend and former coworker who seems to exclusively play Qud—at least that what Steam keeps announcing to me, anyway.

      1900? Your name wouldn't happen to be "Doug", would it?

      I have a friend and former coworker who seems to exclusively play Qud—at least that what Steam keeps announcing to me, anyway.

      2 votes
      1. MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        No, nor Jim. I play a lot of other things, but Qud is one of those experiences that has so many different ways to play and mods to add to the experience that I've gone back to it over and over...

        No, nor Jim. I play a lot of other things, but Qud is one of those experiences that has so many different ways to play and mods to add to the experience that I've gone back to it over and over again over the years.

        1 vote
  3. cutmetal
    Link
    I just picked it up, really hoping it will play OK on my new framework 13, but probably I'll have to use the desktop.

    I just picked it up, really hoping it will play OK on my new framework 13, but probably I'll have to use the desktop.

    2 votes