Spelunky (platformer / roguelike)

[Ed Oscuro]

Update:

93 / 0 / 22

93 seconds
of keeping the damsel alive!

And 22 filthy merchants blasted (did that a day ago or so actually).

[moozooh]

Just so you know, I'm still running this game from time to time. As I'm tired of waiting for Derek to release 1.0, I've started practicing low% runs on version 0.99.9B. I previously thought a sub-5:30 would be a good goal, but got this attempt today that would have finished in under 5 minutes. So sub-4:30 would be the new goal then. Wish me luck!

[Elixir]

http://www.gamerbytes.com/2009/09/spelu ... o_xbla.php

[worstplayer]

Unless someone ported GameMaker to XBox, this is going to be a hell of a port.

Also, v1.0 finally released!

[Ed Oscuro]

Unless someone ported GameMaker to XBox, this is going to be a hell of a port.

Don't have any reason to think they'll be using GameMaker.

The game will not be a direct port however, it will contain new graphics and audio alongside other new features. Whether it will keep its very low resolution style is currently unknown.

1.0 better be the release to end all releases because the last version was still quite buggy. Still, hopefully that won't have any bearing on the quality of the XBLA release. Death to GameMaker.

[moozooh]

Don't hold your breath in regard to the bugs. My first attempt on the new version ended in a death by running into a wall block that had a pushable block underneath. :D

[Ed Oscuro]

Do you still die from crouch-hold sliding into a space between a block and nothing, instead of dying when you slide between a block and a wall? >_>

Also, I just checked out the Spelunky World site, wow, they made him look a lot more like Jones than before. Still has the red nose though.

[Zaarock]

I hope they wont make the XBLA version have HD graphics or anything, that would be a shame. Having it as optional would be cool though.

[Gozer]

Really late to the party on this one.

I watched giant bombs quick look of the xbla version of spelunky and immediately downloaded the pc version.

I can't stop playing.

[undamned]

I played the crap out of Spelunker on the trash 80. Still have yet to play I & II on the famicom, or the original Irem arcade versions, for that matter
-ud

[Ruldra]

I played the crap out of Spelunker on the trash 80. Still have yet to play I & II on the famicom, or the original Irem arcade versions, for that matter
-ud

Spelunky ≠ Spelunker

[undamned]

Spelunky ≠ Spelunker

Am I totally off in thinking it is directly inspired by the Spelunker series? Looks like a modernization to me.
-ud

[Drum]

It's just cosmetic. Spelunky plays comepletely different (and much, much, much, much better). Get this, it's awesome.

[Ed Oscuro]

I tried out Irem's arcade adaptation of Spelunker in MAME about the time Spelunky first appeared and I was really baffled at its apparent cult favorite status.

[Klatrymadon]

This is great, but it's crashed several times at the initial loading screen (with the ouroboros), for me. Anyone else having this problem?

Edit: actually, I can't seem to get it back on at all, now. Crashes every time.

[Drum]

That sucks. Anyone else reporting this or is it just Klatrymadon? I haven't seen anyone with that issue.

[Klatrymadon]

It's not as bad as it was this morning, at least. I can get it running now, but it still crashes about half of the time. I've seen a few other people make the same complaint, including one guy on the official forums, but thankfully it seems to be a fairly rare problem.

I hope it continues to work, anyway, 'cos I'm pretty well addicted to it now.

[Krimzon Kitzune]

Obligatory Spelunky comic.

[DragonInstall]

This game is really good. The xbla version is far superior to the pc one.. although I wish they had an option for the pixel retro look of the pc version.

I'm surprised not many people on this forum are talking about it. It's a retro game, random generated floor, challenging, and you can play for time or score. A bit random, but just fun exploring and seeing how far / how much you can make before you meet your doom.

I'm ranked 19 with 262,000 Gold. 1cc the game It's not as hard as people make it out to be. Although I haven't unlocked all the secrets, like city of gold / hell.

[Op Intensify]

I enjoyed the PC version. Great presentation, solid and rewarding gameplay. Random generation isn't at all ideal for a platformer though. That's why they have to give you such powerful tools for vertical movement and altering the levels, otherwise you'd constantly run into impossible situations. I think it would have been better with designer-made levels; I don't need "endless replay value" or what have you.

The PopCap graphics and ugly character sprite of the 360 version are a huge turn-off. Think I'll pass.

[EmperorIng]

I enjoyed the PC version. Great presentation, solid and rewarding gameplay. Random generation isn't at all ideal for a platformer though. That's why they have to give you such powerful tools for vertical movement and altering the levels, otherwise you'd constantly run into impossible situations. I think it would have been better with designer-made levels; I don't need "endless replay value" or what have you.

Yeah, in my opinion, randomly generated levels don't work for a platformer because the fun of a platformer comes from challenging, expertly-designed level layouts (EG, Megaman, Lost Levels, the Shinobi and Ninja gaiden games).

I'm not saying there's not an opportunity for fun to be had, but it's not really my type of game and the type I usually shy away from when I look into platformers to play.

[DragonInstall]

Yeah I usually don't like random generated things, but Spelunky did it really well. It's more about quick thinking and deciding is it worth wasting supplies / time in getting said item. Every level is a mini puzzle to solve the way you want to.

If you enjoyed the PC you'll enjoy this even more. Many better changes were made to the gameplay, with added levels, secrets, items, monsters. Plus the music is way better in all the stages, except the first one. Miss the old Spelunky mine music a lot.

The demo is very generous(Tutorial & the entire mine stages), so I think it's worth dling and trying. 150 megs of your time.

[Drum]

I enjoyed the PC version. Great presentation, solid and rewarding gameplay. Random generation isn't at all ideal for a platformer though. That's why they have to give you such powerful tools for vertical movement and altering the levels, otherwise you'd constantly run into impossible situations. I think it would have been better with designer-made levels; I don't need "endless replay value" or what have you.

Yeah, in my opinion, randomly generated levels don't work for a platformer because the fun of a platformer comes from challenging, expertly-designed level layouts (EG, Megaman, Lost Levels, the Shinobi and Ninja gaiden games).

So why do they work so well for Spelunky? And don't tell me they don't work, and don't tell me that the game works in spite of them. Because clearly that's not true.

[Op Intensify]

Well, can you argue that Spelunky wouldn't have been a better game if it had 100+ developer-crafted stages, instead of an endless amount of often messy random ones that end up looking the same after a while? You can't.

[Drum]

Yes I can. Also, the stages in Spelunky are entirely developer-crafted. They're just crafted in chunks that are placed procedurally. If they weren't hand-made in chunks like that, they probably would take longer to feel samey.

[Vexorg]

The original version of this has apparently been made playable in HTML5-compatible browsers. I don't have anything that can handle it here, so I'd be interested to see how well this works for other people.

http://tinysubversions.com/game/spelunky/

[szycag]

I'm surprised the xbox 360 game isn't more popular, it's 10 times better than the PC version in my opinion and I wish I would have bought it sooner. Dark Souls is great for the balance of risk and reward in a game but sometimes you just need cartoon vibes and Sega Genesis/Sound Blaster music mixed with saxophones. Something feels missing after going back to the original and I like that they added Hell.

I wanted to do a blog post about it soon and was wanting to hear more criticism of it. That Popcap comment doesn't make sense to me at all, I thought they did an excellent job and seeing it in 1080p does it more justice than screenshots. People still hate the random levels, even though the gameplay is balanced nearly perfectly around them?

[Obiwanshinobi]

People just like to express their opinions. A lot.

[szycag]

That's all fine, I want a more subjective look at the game from people who actually take the time to play it well, because for me it's near perfection. I can imagine a lot of gripes like being able to get a jetpack in the mines shop versus most every other run where you don't, criticisms like that of the randomness. Besides lack of online multiplayer, my only gripe is I can't take it with me on 3DS or Vita. I can't imagine a better portable game.

I'm really close to a complete, I just need to get a better idea of the traps in the temple. If I can manage to get at least a cape, it's smooth sailing.

EDIT: I just got the mines key all the way to the temple (to unlock the Temple shortcut) with 1 heart left and no cape or jetpack. Phew! How can you not love this game?
EDIT2: My first clear today, with the temple shortcut.

[szycag]

Got a full clear today and the Ironman achievement. Feels AMAZING. This is one of my favorite games ever, certainly of this year. Too bad so many people seem to be sleeping on it.

If you grab the mattock and take it out of the stage it was in without using it, you can use it in the next level and for the rest of the game almost forever. I dug a giant hole for Olmec to fall in and when I hit the last spot it finally broke. Apparently it's a bug and not a trick, but either way it makes it one of the best items in the game right next to the jetpack and cape.