PINNED EDIT: Some playing online were experiencing problems when they receiveed a PRESS SPACE TO CONTINUE message, particularly within the help menu(s). Space wasn’t working for them, so they got stuck.
From now on, everyone should use this new version built on the new Parchment. It seems to have fixed the problem: Necron's Keep by Dan Welch
If for some bizarre reason this STILL doesn’t fix it, you can play OFFLINE, though you will have to record our own transcript(s) to email me later. Here is the IF Archive download link for the game:
https://ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/glulx/NecronsKeep.gblorb
When playing offline, type ‘transcript’ early each time you play or return from a saved game on a new day. Name your file. End a play session with QUIT (only after dying or winning, so that you get your score message first!) then you can send me the text files later.
…
Necrocomp has begun!
Who can play? Anyone and everyone who wants to try for prizes and glory in a swords’n’sorcery parser game, played online.
Necrocomp’s official start and end times are:
Monday, July 25, 2022 11:00 AM (+10 UTC) TO Friday, July 29, 2022 5:00 PM (+10 UTC).
I’ve published similar details for this comp both here and on my Andromeda Acolytes Discord server.
The game you’ll be playing in Necrocomp is Necron’s Keep by Dan Welch. This combat-RPG is absolutely janky and buggy… but also fun and challenging. Get ready to die A LOT as you try to find out what happened to the archmage Necron. Grapple with xp, levels, spells, spell components, hit points – and no UNDO – as you try to get the highest score you can.
Play Necron’s Keep online here (updated link): Necron's Keep by Dan Welch
YOUR GOAL IN NECROCOMP
Play as often as you want during the comp time window to try to get the highest score you can.
THE RULES OF NECROCOMP
1
The link I gave you will automatically record all your transcripts at my end, but you MUST identify yourself to me at least once per session by typing your intfic handle at the prompt. And if you’re not an intfic member, it’d be best to type your full name and mention what venue you came from so I can find you if you win.
e.g. I could type ‘This is severedhand’ as one of my first commands. The game will say ‘I didn’t understand’ but that doesn’t matter. My name has now been recorded in the transcript.
Someone who came from the text adventures subreddit could type, ‘This is Toby Roxursox from r/textadventures/’
No ident in transcript = no chance to score, or win a prize
What counts as a session? A session starts when you open the game webpage. A session only ends if you close/refresh that page or turn off your computer. So if you play and RESTART multiple times in one session, you don’t have to keep re-entering your name. I only need it once per session.
2
Any particular game must come to an end for your score in that game to count.
It can end by you winning or dying. Either of these methods will produce the vital message:
“In that game you scored (number) out of a possible (number), in (number) turns”.
Every time you produce that message, consider that score to have been registered by you in the competition.
If you want to take a break, use SAVE. Come back next time and RESTORE.
A COUPLE OF TIPS FOR THIS GAME
UNDO is not available in Necron’s Keep, so make liberal use of the SAVE and RESTORE commands. This game is often bad at recognising shortened versions of object names. Here’s an example: Whenever you want to refer to your main weapon, the quarterstaff, you have to type in the whole word QUARTERSTAFF. If you just type STAFF, the game won’t recognise it. So in general, if you don’t use the whole name of something and the game ignores your command, try again using the long/full name of the person or object.
PRIZE INFO
Apart from the glory of achieving the highest score or being a runner-up, there will be at least one place prize, and very likely more than that with enough entrants.
The competition prizes are all adventure/RPG/interactive fiction computer games.
PLATFORM AVAILABILITY - 100% of the games run on PC. - 58% of them run on Mac OSes that support 64-bit apps - 39% of them run on Mac OSes that support 32-bit Intel apps - 47% of them run on Linux.
DELIVERY METHOD BREAKDOWN - 89% of them are available from Steam - 21% of them are available from itch-io - 11% of them are available via direct download from their creators
Have fun. Feel free to discuss the game or ask any questions in this topic.
-Wade
