Egoboo (computer game)

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Egoboo
Developer(s) Egoboo Ressurection Team
Publisher(s) Ben Bishop
Designer(s) Aaron Bishop
License GNU GPL v2[1]
Engine SDL, OpenGL
Platform(s) Linux, Windows, Mac OS X
Genre(s) Action RPG
Mode(s) Single player, Hot seat, Multiplayer (1 to 4 players)
Rating(s) N/A
System requirements SDL compatible platform, OpenGL compatible Video Card, 256MB RAM
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse and up to 2 Joysticks

Egoboo is a 3D Open Source dungeon-crawling action-RPG adventure. Currently it has full support for Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP and Vista. It also supports Linux. There is also a version that runs on MacOSX, but it is currently a bit outdated due lack of Mac support. According to Sourceforge statistics[2], Egoboo has over 400,000 downloads since its first release, but this number is incomplete, since Egoboo can be downloaded from many other mirrors or fan sites.

The Egoboo source code is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, and it is free software.

Contents

[edit] Description

Egoboo is a dungeon-crawling action-RPG that has been compared to Nethack. Though its gameplay is very different, its mood is intentionally similar. Like Nethack, it is slightly quirky, and though it involves frightening monsters and serious situations, it is very lighthearted and often quite humorous.

[edit] Gameplay

The game (currently) has no world map, and instead, locations are selected from a list of available "modules." When modules are finished, more are unlocked. Most modules are only accessible to saved characters, except starter modules, which must be completed to create new characters to play the game with.

Much of the game revolves around combat. There are several different types of weapons (crushing, slashing, etc.) that do different types of damage (e.g. cuts, piercings, fire, ice). Each type of weapon has its own advantages and disadvantages, and depending on the type of damage they deal, they may be more or less effective against certain monsters.

In addition to normal melee (or ranged) combat, some character classes are able to use magic. Magic is divided into two types, divine and arcane. Divine magic focuses on healing. It can be used when no weapons are in the characters hand to heal nearby allies, or it can be channeled by special Relics with even more powerful effects. Arcane magic is used through books, which can create various magical effects, some more powerful than others. Most Arcane magic focuses on attacks or enchantments.
All magic uses up mana, which can be restored with special potions.

[edit] Development

Egoboo is developed primarily by a four-person "devteam," but there are also several others who work on creating new extra modules, items, monsters, and character classes.

Egoboo can be very easily edited, and because it is so flexible, new weapons, monsters, etc. can be added very easily without any alterations to the source code. Egoboo has its own scripting language that is used for editing all objects (which includes characters, items, monsters, furniture, etc.). All these objects use 3D models with a .md2 format, and textures in .bmp format.

Egoboo's modules are edited and created with an external program called Egomap. Unfortunately, Egomap has a reputation for being very buggy, and is not being actively developed. Still, it is at least functional.

[edit] Story

Egoboo's story revolves around the capture of Lord Bishop, the king of Bishopia. He was taken away by the evil Dracolich for unknown reasons, and brave adventurers have risen up to try to rescue him. The Dracolich hid in the Abyss, which is only accessible through secret Catacombs. The Catacombs are sealed, however, and can only be unlocked by the Legendary Sporks of Yore.

Characters must progress through the five Palaces in order to retrieve the Sporks so that the Catacombs can be opened.

[edit] Classes

Egoboo currently features nine playable character classes, each with its own unique abilities and skills. Each one has its own special "starter module." When the player completes a starter module, the character is saved and can enter the other areas of the game. There is no limit to how many of each class the player saves, but there is a limit to how many total characters can be displayed on the character selection screen. The classes available in the most recent versions of Egoboo are:

Soldier
Wizard
Rogue
Adventurer
Healer
Paladin
Elf
G'nome
Zombi

All of the classes but the Zombi are available at the beginning of the game (the Zombi is unlocked when certain secret requirements are met).

There are also four more classes (Archaeologist, Vampyre, Hobgoblin, and Angel) that are currently in development and will be added into the game relatively soon.

[edit] World

The primary areas the player must progress through are five palaces. They are:

The Water Palace
The Ash Palace
The Sand Palace
The Ice Palace
The Shadow Palace


They must be completed in order. Once the five magical Sporks have been obtained from each of the palaces, the Catacombs can be unlocked. The Catacombs consist of two levels, and after that, there are two Abyss levels that must also be completed to finish the main storyline.

Besides the main dungeons, there are also peaceful towns and cities character can enter. Currently there are only two (Zippy Village and the Capital City of Bishopia), but there are several others planned as well.

There are also special challenge modules only playable by certain character classes, like K'nife's Heist, which is only available to Rogues. It is unlocked if the Rogue starter is completed with K'nife still living.

[edit] Multiplayer

Currently only "hotseat" multiplayer (multiple people playing the game on the same machine) is available, but code for online multiplayer is also being worked on.

It is the eventual goal that the game will have full online multiplayer support, with multiple modes of play (Co-operative, race, "capture the spork," etc.).

[edit] History

The original Egoboo was the creation of Aaron Bishop (who was at first known only as "Programmer X"). With the help of his brother Ben Bishop, he eventually released it as open source. But soon he grew tired of the project and it was more or less abandoned. Fairly soon after this, the "Zippy Project" took over, and the game's development continued. Unfortunately, the Zippy project eventually died as well. After this, it was taken over by Johan Jansen (alias "Zefz") and his "Resurrection" project.

Now, Egoboo is progressing steadily, and "Resurrection" has become the fully official Egoboo project.

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official website
  2. ^ SourceForge.net: Project Statistics for Egoboo