Games - Castle of the Winds

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	Games - Castle of the Winds

Castle of the Winds (CotW) is a tile-based Roguelike RPG which runs under Windows 3.x. It was written by SaadaSoft (a one-man, one-product company run by Rick Saada) and published by Epic MegaGames.

The game was released in two parts: A Question of Vengeance, released as shareware; and Lifthransir's Bane, sold commercially. A license to continue using A Question of Vengeance and a copy of Lifthransir's Bane were sold together.

Castle of the Winds's only system requirements are a mouse, a 640x480 monitor and Windows 3.x or higher. The game differs from most Roguelikes in a number of ways. Its interface is heavily mouse-based. Many commands are awkward to enter by keyboard (possible only through the menu bar with the Alt key). Traditional roguelikes are usually controlled completely by keyboard, sometimes with optional mouse input. Castle of the Winds also allows the player to save the game at any point, and to restore saved games after dying — features never seen in a traditional roguelike game.

In 1998, the author, Rick Saada, decided to give Castle of the Winds away for free, and allowed the registered and shareware versions to be freely distributed, but he did not release the source code.

Magic

The game tends to favour the use of magic in combat, as spells are the only weapons that work from a distance (there are no bows). The player character automatically gains a spell with each level-up, and can permanently gain another using the corresponding book (found or purchased), until he learns all the 30 spells that he can learn. (The maximum level is also 30.) There are two opposing pairs of elements: cold vs. fire, and lightning vs. acid/poison. (The player has no acid/poison attacks.) The spells are divided into seven categories: attack, defense, healing, movement, divination, and miscellaneous.

Items and the Inventory System

Castle has a very sophisticated inventory system, limiting a player's load based on weight (measured in grams) and bulk (measured in cubic centimetres) rather than number of items, and allowing the character to use different types of containers as packs. Items include weapons, armour, clothing, purses, and ornamental jewellery.

Almost every item in the game can be normal, cursed or enchanted, with curses and enchantments working the same way as in NetHack. Although items do not break in use, many can be broken or rusted out when the player finds them. Since rings, amulets, potions, scrolls, wands and staffs are valued only for their magical effects, the non-magical Ring of Adornment, Necklace of Adornment, Distillation of Water, Blank Scroll, Dead Staff and Dead Wand are also worthless. Empty wands and staffs, however, aren't worthless as they can be recharged in the appropriate store. Many items in the game can be named, so you can call your sword "Excalibur" if you wish.

Monsters

There are 90 types of monsters in the game, including dragons, kobolds, and manticores. Many of the creatures carry money or valuable items with them.

Character attributes

The player's four attributes are represented not by numbers, but by a bar graph, with blue and green bar representing the value before and after any item enchantments, curses or drains. The attributes are:

Strength — determines how much damage is done in hand-to-hand combat, and the Maximum Weight the player can carry. (The Maximum Bulk is fixed at 1,000,000 cm³ and, in practice, is not a limiting factor.)
Dexterity — determines how likely a player is to hit and to block a hit in hand-to-hand combat, and gives the player a chance to avoid damage when he sets off a trap. Also affects Armor Value.
Intelligence — determines the player's maximum Mana.
Constitution — determines the player's maximum Hit Points. If a player's Constitution falls too far below its base level, he dies.

The other standard characteristics include:

Special attributes (resistances/vulnerabilities to Cold, Fire, Lightning and Drain Life, vulnerability to Acid, and Levitating).
Hit point
s.
Mana: the player's reserve of magical energy. The player can cast spells that run Mana into the negative, risking a temporary but potentially fatal drop in Constitution.
Armour Value: Defense against physical damage, the combined total of armour, braces, gauntlets, cloak, boots, helmet, shield, and enchantments/curses.
Weight and Bulk: The player's body weight and bulk are not counted here, only the items he is wearing or carrying.
Copper: The sum of all money, not just copper, carried in the purse and on deposit at the bank.
Gender: A purely aesthetic choice that determines the default icon.
Custom Icon: Another aesthetic choice that, when used, makes Gender irrelevant.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Castle of the Winds ]

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