DungeonDiary
Platform: Android
DungeonDiary by Windbell is an RPG mixed with a programming game. It sounds like an unusual combination, but the minute you get your hands on it you'll see the enormous potential it has. After your family suffered through a natural disaster, you're left with a massive debt and no way to pay it off. Except by going on adventures! Not a bad way to survive, until you realize that in order to get paid you'll collect more grasses and mushrooms than you knew existed, fight off hordes of bees and "sexy cats", and escort helpless citizens through the wilderness.
In DungeonDiary you don't actually control your character. Instead, you learn, modify and arrange sets of rules to guide her through randomly generated dungeons filled with treasures, obstacles and enemies. The highest priority rules go at the top of the list and are checked first, so, for example, if you have "I will pick a random direction and walk there" above "I will continue to walk downwards", you will more likely step on a random tile than head down. These rules can be modified to help you avoid enemies, pick up or ignore items, escape when your health is low, and do just about anything you can imagine. There are dozens of them with hundreds of attributes to tinker with, making the possibilities for character control staggering. Best of all, you can watch these events take place (useful for analyzing your setup) or walk away and let your adventurer do the work in the background!
After succeeding (or failing) at a quest, you'll return to the game's main menu where you can chat with a friend for some advice (a brief tutorial), go to bed, pick a new quest, or head to the merchant's shop to deal with your inventory. You have limited space to carry stuff around and also limited movement points, so you should go to bed every once in a while to top off your stats. Sleeping also gives you a chance to repay part of your debt, which is how DungeonDiary determines progress. The more you pay, the more dungeons and quests you have access to. Occasionally the shopkeeper will also upgrade your stats when you take a nap, so no matter what happens, remember your personal banker is rooting for you!
Analysis: Interesting ideas like this don't come along that often, so when you see a game like DungeonDiary, it's like a little treasure. Sure, the interface is clunky, the English translation is awkward, and there's a fair amount of grinding to be done, but since the core concept is so intriguing those issues only make it more endearing in the long run. It also makes the rule sharing feature almost essential to survival, giving you the ability to export your setup so you can help other players get a head start on the adventuring.
Beyond the rule arranging and general item management, DungeonDiary employs a very mild dress-up feature. Before you run off in a huff because you're too old for a dress-up game, know that it's little more than a handful of extra clothing accessories that can be worn or dyed and then saved as an image to share. See, that's not too bad, is it? For the record, though, it's a good thing wearing that shirt with those shoes doesn't attract enemies...
DungeonDiary isn't perfect, but the core idea is creative and massively intriguing. It's one of those games you'll come back to again and again during the day, just to see how your latest quest is going and see if you got any new clothes (er, useful bits of RPG armor) to wear. Without unleashing any spoilers, paying back your debt unlocks something nice, so keep at it and don't be afraid to explore every option the game has to offer!
NOTE: This game was played and reviewed on the Nexus 4. Game was available in the North American market at the time of publication, but may not be available in other territories. Please see individual app market pages for purchasing info.
I've been having some fun with this, but I ran into the problem where I couldn't cancel quests - which means not being able to take new ones (even after it told me I could take more than one quest).
In case anyone else runs into this, there is a way around it with a little bit of technical fiddling. I highly recommend doing it before you've invested much time into the game, to make sure that it works for you like it did for me, because it involves clearing your game data.
Go to the "friend chat" screen.
Click your android's "..." or app options button.
Back up your game.
Quit the game.
From your Android Settings page, find the application data for the game and clear it out.
Start the game again - it doesn't matter what you name the character, just get to the point where you can open the "friend chat" screen again.
Use the "..." button again to Restore your game.
You should have the same debt, gold, items and rule list, but your accepted quest list should be clear.
Ooh, awkward bug. Glad you found a workaround. I haven't encountered anything like that, just one too many instances of my poor Lucy walking back and forth in two squares for an hour because my rule set contradicted itself. :-)
I am in the same boat as JohnB (Lucy walks back and forth for an hour), despite having "'I return to the entrance of the floor' if I pass the same place '3 times'.". Actually, I think I have to modify that rule...
Two things that I didn't see mentioned in the review:
Each time you die, the fee to rescue you increases.
When changing the quest parameters during a quest, the slider is more 'delay' than 'speed'; left = fast, right = slow.
Here is my current program, which seems to do okay for escort and work quests, although I mostly stick to Cave of the Back Hill and easy (B5F or less) Border Cave quests at the moment.
I will come back home immediately if I complete the quest's objective.
I will pick up 'items (except mushrooms or grasses)', if I find them in a floor below B1F.
If my HP drops below 20%, I will cast Healing magic (MP:2).
If my HP drops below 30%, I will use a HP recovery item.
If my HP drops below 85%, I will sit down and recover.
A bit redundant, but I kept dying with just the 'sit down' rule, so I put the other two in as backstops. Also, I always carry one Medicinal herb with me when running a quest.
I will identify grasses with the ability of 'the grass doctor' if I possess unidentified grasses.
I will identify mushrooms with the ability of 'the mushroom doctor' if I possess unidentified mushrooms.
I will throw my 'Toadstool' away (excluding equipped items).
I will walk in one direction when 'item' is nearby and I haven't been there yet.
'I will walk randomly (No condition: I will more likely choose a path I haven't been to yet.)' if I pass the same place '3 times'.
If I can, I will keep walking in my current direction: If I haven't been there yet
I don't think the last two rules will conflict...
I will continue to walk downwards (↓), if I can.
I will randomly walk in one direction (↓/↑/←/→). (I will more likely choose a path I haven't been to yet.)
If a rock is blocking my way, I will smash by casting Rockbreaker (MP:1)
If I can, I will keep walking in my current direction: No condition
Questions/comments/suggestions?
Oh. Question: Should I ever not sell unnamed Treasure Boxes? I've never gotten anything besides cheap equipment from them.
I've been sticking to early dungeons, too. There's a lot of grinding in the game and I only recently managed to actually dent the debt after increasing it with all my deaths. Playing it safe is definitely the way to go in this game.
I've never gotten anything useful from an unidentified treasure box either, not even in later quests. They're an auto-sell.
For the rules, I do think the "sit down and recover" one is fairly useless on its own. A lot of deaths resulted from that, so your two-tiered HP recovery is a nice backup.
I tend to keep the "I will keep walking in my current direction" at least one from the bottom, simply because it cuts down on random wandering, which increases the chances she'll get into trouble.
I find myself wanting more games like DungeonDiary now. Every RPG should run off of lists of editable rules! :-D
It turns out that you can do Nethack-style price identification, at least on crystals.
If she will ID it for $6 or buy it for $10, it's a Glass marble.
If she will ID it for $60 or buy it for $90, it's a Power-Up Crystal.
Of course, since sell(known) > sell(unknown) + cost(ID), at least for crystals, this doesn't save you any money, or help you at all in any way, really. SAD FACE.
More questions:
Can anything bad happen with fountains? So far I've spotted the two beneficial effects, is all.
What are the crosshatched patches on the floor? I don't see it mentioned in my logs. [Also the two styles of cages...?]
Oh, new skill...
While composing this post (yes, I have been typing in between quests), I learned Identify. Hello, rule list, how nice to have to completely redo you...
Another bug (I swear, I'm going to end up with an octuple post before too long):
Falling down a hole will cause you to fail a work quest, but teleporting past switches won't.
Dwylie, do you remember how you got the following rules:
I will identify grasses with the ability of 'the grass doctor' if I possess unidentified grasses.
I will identify mushrooms with the ability of 'the mushroom doctor' if I possess unidentified mushrooms.
I'm through to the end, with all my debt repaid, but haven't seen any sign of these rules.
Fountains: Same here, I haven't encountered anything bad with them so far. The way this game seems to work, though, I wouldn't rule it out. :-)
As for the patches and cages, I wish I could help. DungeonDiary seems to create as many mysteries as it answers, which is one of the reasons why I'm still playing it! I just wish it were easier to organize rules.
@sharlalka: I have those rules as well, and I received them quite early. Maybe because I completed so many gathering quests involving mushrooms and grasses?
The things that look like cages are actually gates. they serve no purpose other than to block you in, like the rocks. You can eventually get a spell to open them, as you can get a spell to deal with rocks.
The advice on the mushroom and grass rules is good. I tried doing a few more gathering quests and soon received access to those rules. I don't know if there are any rules unlocked by the other quest types.
The Help text hints that there might be a bonus for all named equipment or equipment matching in colour. Does anyone know details?
I've repaid about 5 million so far, and I try to always go for killing missions (because they pay more). I mostly stick to Cave of The Mountains or earlier dungeons, or early levels of The Monster's Nest (B10F is probably my limit right now, maybe a little earlier than that).
Cave of The Mountains seems especially good for gathering Power-Up Crystals, so I like that one.
Equipment:
Cardboard box+3
Long skirt+2
Bamboo broom+6
Tray+2
Gathers bra+2
Gathers panties+2
Over knee socks+2
Paper ribbon+2
Beach sandals+3
Circle glasses+2
Stats: HP: 72 MP: 56 SP: 180 STR: 10 DEF: 12 GDR: 13 SPD: 4 LUK: 11
My program focuses on getting through fairly quickly, so it doesn't gather too many items on its own (but I still get a fair number). It also tries to avoid most monsters, but it will still attack some of them. It's kind of long, but it should be very robust as long as you're properly equipped for your mission.
I will identify my items by casting Identify whenever I go down 2 floors.
You can alter this number to suit your preferred balance between MP usage and spending gold. Note that the spell is cast even if you have no items to identify, so casting it every floor can become a bit too expensive for long quests.
I will come back home immediately if I complete the quest's objective.
If my MP drops below 30%, I will use a MP recovery item.
If my SP drops below 30%, I will use a SP recovery item.
If my HP drops below 50%, I will use a HP recovery item.
If my HP drops below 50%, I will sit down and recover.
This last one is mainly as a backup in case I run out of MP (this sometimes happens near the end of longer missions). You can set the threshold lower to conserve SP in these cases.
I will pick up 'crystals', if I find them in a floor below B1F.
When you're doing an item mission, I substitute this for the appropriate rule.
I will pick up 'boxes', if I find them in a floor below B1F.
I will pick up 'equipment item', if I find them in a floor below B1F.
I will walk in one direction when 'fountain' is nearby and I haven't been there yet.
I usually get enough fountains even without this, but this makes it a little less likely that you'll run out of SP near the end of longer missions.
'I return to the entrance of the floor' if I pass the same place 50 times.
'I walk randomly (No condition: I will more likely choose a path I haven't been to yet.)' if I pass the same place '15 times'.
Returning after 15 times once got me stuck in a mission, because it blocked me from walking through the *only* path forward. I now walk randomly after 15 times, and use 50 as a threshold in case I truly get stuck.
I will identify grasses with the ability of 'the grass doctor' if I possess unidentified grasses.
I will identify mushrooms with the ability of 'the mushroom doctor' if I possess unidentified mushrooms.
If a gate is blocking my way, I will summon an Ethereal Key to unlock it.
If a rock is blocking my way, I will smash by casting Rockbreaker.
If I can, I will keep walking in my current direction: If there is no enemy and I haven't been there yet.
For a more thorough exploration, that still manages to avoid most monsters, remove this rule.
I will turn left or right at random if I'm not facing left or right.
If I can, I will keep walking in my current direction: If there is no enemy and I haven't been there yet.
For an even more thorough exploration, change this to "If I haven't been there yet." This change must be combined with the previous rule removal, but you will explore almost every square of the dungeon.
I will continue to walk downwards (down), if I can.
I will randomly walk in one direction (down/left/right). (I will more likely choose a path I haven't been to yet.)
Regarding Treasure Boxes, I usually open them; selling one doesn't pay that much compared to the missions I can do, and it can occasionally help you to get equipment with better "base" stats (+0) - which means it will require less Power-Up Crystals in the long run to let you advance to harder missions.
I see the arrows got lost in that post, so , so here is the last rule again (with text):
I will randomly walk in one direction (down/left/right). (I will more likely choose a path I haven't been to yet.)
That last one could just as well be left/right, but I never bothered to change it from the default :D
Been enjoying this, though I never seem to get anything better than the weapons and clothes I got int he first dungeon. Always ladles, always sheets of plastic, etcetera. Maybe I just need to try to go through one of the later dungeons on the Free Quest to try to find better weapons lying around.
sharlalka:
> [Matching outfits...] Does anyone know details?
I have 40-odd powerup crystals, so I think Nanako and I are going to be walking around a lot now, to try to answer your question.
Pidgeot:
> [opening chests] can occasionally help you to get equipment with better "base" stats
That is my point of view on named chests. Regular ones I just sell. I'm at the point, though, where I think I've gotten the best equipment I can, from the first two dungeons, anyway.
KamenZero:
> Maybe I just need to try to go through one of the later dungeons on the Free Quest to try to find better weapons lying around.
Exactly. I found what looked like some sort of sport-related bat / paddle, but it was cursed, so away it went.
Does anyone know how to remove the "auto-close this window" from (what appears to be) the weather report? I don't remember checking it, and now I can't get to it in time to uncheck it.
And how duo I learn to swim? Is the hinted-at swimsuit real, or just a thing the pub master says?
And of course I forgot to ask: When I pay back more than half of what I have on hand I seem to get better effects more often than when I pay back less than half. Is this just confirmation bias?
@sharlalka: Thanks for the info about the gates.
Weather report window: That's one mystery I have yet to solve. Been through every hidden menu I can think of, but it still appears and vanishes almost instantly.
You can remove curses. Just tap and hold on an item and select "dispel curse" from the menu. It costs a bit but can be worth it.
As far as swimming is concerned, I haven't encountered any way to learn. If you're wondering how to navigate water tiles, a different solution gets you around that.
> You can remove curses.
I... knew that. I really did. I've used it before. I guess I just had an attack of Rampant Stupidity. :C
> As far as swimming is concerned, I haven't encountered any way to learn.
Hm. Yeah, she only implies it.
> If you're wondering how to navigate water tiles, a different solution gets you around that.
I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks!
Another bug (and another shot at octuple-posting): Every turn spent resting counts toward any rules you have that counts your number of turns. At first this might not seem like a bug, but when "sit down and rest" triggers "I will cast teleport if I've been to the same place 10 times", something is a bit amiss.
To deal with water:
There are items that let you swim. Wearing any one of these items will work:
--School swimsuit
--Bikini top
--Bikini bottom
To deal with lava:
There are items that let you fly. A flying item will also let you cross water, without need a swim item. Wearing any one of these items will work:
--Wing boots
--Angel bra
--Feather ribbon
Dwylie: I wouldn't say it's a bug, more of a conflict of the rules.
sharlalka:
> To deal with water: [snip]
> To deal with lava: [snip]
Last night I found a different way, a way that works for both water and (sort of) lava.
@KamenZero:
I could argue it either way, but since it says "...if I pass...". Then again, perhaps I should not to expect for gooding grammar by a person who "what is the condition?" asks to me. With one also "You are familiar with life of here well" !!
My own foolish self:
> I think Nanako and I are going to be walking around a lot now, to try to answer your question.
Oh, this won't be happening. After many adventures I finally managed to get one client's gym suit, long skirt and ney roll. I then read something else (I forget where) That hinted at 'complete' outfits in the sense of matching various parts / colors, not matching names.
Me again:
> Is this just confirmation bias?
No. I paid back $999,000 and got a new dungeon, increased bag, increased chest and new skill, all at the same time.
* I believe that the upgrades come at specific intervals. It starts low and gets higher. For example, just recently I was needing to pay in 300,000 for each upgrade. Then when I didn't get it one time, I put in another 100,000 for it and now I need 400,000 every time. Sometimes there seem to be "bonus" upgrades not following this scheme, probably at important numbers.
* I think that the amount you pay to revive isn't based on number of deaths. It's not basement level in the dungeon you die in either, or at least not only. I think it might be mostly WHICH dungeon, with something else tacked on. I have a really large stubborn streak in me, so when I find a dungeon I can't beat, as long as I am bringing in more money than I spend dying, I'll keep trying it. (Well, stubborn + quitting quests is difficult). And I'm pretty sure that I've been consistently paying 57,000-59,000 per death in the 31-floor Ancient City. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes down. Maybe it's something like + 10,000 per 10 floors? Or actually, -10,000 per 10 floors you didn't get through, because I seem to pay only 57 when I make it to the last floor.
* It's definitely true that some dungeons are better than others for certain equipment, because I haven't gotten any Power-Up Crystals in the 50 or so times I've gone through the Ancient City.
* Just in case I'm not the only one who didn't notice this, you get an extra rule every day AND whenever you beat enough quests.
* I have never, ever found a bad fountain and I have met a lot of them. :)
* After I got a full set of clothing powered up to +1 or more, I stopped opening Treasure boxes. Selling them nets you WAY more than selling another T-shirt or +1 cardboard box. (By the way, did anyone else notice you can equip those? Purple +8 Cardboard Box for the WIN).
* I think that Nethack-style ID works for Cardboard boxes too, which could help since those sell for less than "Box?"-es do, I think... I stopped needing to worry about that level of fiddling for money around the time that I started to notice it might be a thing.
@dwylie from your earliest post - did you ever figure out why your "go back" rule wasn't firing? I bet you had it too low down in your ruleset, so it wasn't reaching it... I have several times thought that the rules were being misinterpreted by the game, but have always realized later it was my own mistake.
More thoughts later, perhaps.
> More thoughts later, perhaps.
Let's hope so; I don't want to be the only person still posting on this page in, like, 2017.
I never did figure out why it wouldn't fire, but I got a whole bunch of new rules, so I quit caring.
I finally got "Today's dungeon fortune" to stop auto-closing. I downloaded a whole bunch of small apps, and I have an antivirus and a permission checker that run on every newly-installed app. That, plus hammering the checkbox...
Today's dungeon fortune
Weather: It is Sleet and is occasionally Sardine.
Luck with money: NAI-NAI-SIXTEEN
Item luck: Doubtful
Quest success probability: Pray
Romance: Let's do our best a little more.
I had to ditch the Life-sized POP, which was sad, but KYOUKO gave me a great accessory, which (at +0) was 2 GDR more than my +9 headphones.
[Sorry for messing up the alpha, there.]
Now I just need named socks and both undergarments... Oh, and about 16 million more gold. Hooray for replayability!
Some of you wondered about the unlocks when you pay back your debt: they're entirely deterministic and happens after you've paid back a certain amount. This should be the complete and exact list:
Format: "Total amount paid back: Reward"
0: New dungeon
0: New quest type
2000: Chest+5
5000: Bag+5
8000: New quest type
11000: HP+10
15000: Chest+5
20000: New dungeon
26000: Bag+5
33000: Chest+5
41000: New quest type
51000: New dungeon
63000: MP+10
77000: Chest+5
93000: New rule
111000: Bag+5
132000: Chest+5
156000: HP+10
183000: SP+20
213000: MP+10
247000: New rule
285000: Chest+5
327000: New quest type
374000: Chest+5
426000: New dungeon
483000: SP+20
546000: Chest+5
615000: HP+10
690000: Bag+5
772000: New rule
861000: Chest+5
957000: MP+10
1061000: SP+20
1173000: New dungeon
1294000: Chest+5
1424000: New rule
1564000: Chest+5
1714000: MP+10
1875000: Chest+5
2047000: Bag+5
2231000: Chest+5
2427000: New rule
2636000: Chest+5
2859000: New dungeon
3096000: Chest+5
3348000: HP+10
3616000: Chest+5
3901000: MP+10
4203000: Chest+5
4523000: SP+20
4862000: New dungeon
5221000: Chest+5
5601000: New rule
6003000: Chest+5
6428000: Chest+5
6877000: New rule
7351000: SP+20
7851000: Chest+5
8378000: Chest+5
8933000: Chest+5
9517000: Chest+5
10131000: Chest+5
10777000: Chest+5
11456000: Chest+5
12169000: Chest+5
12918000: Chest+5
13704000: Chest+5
14529000: Chest+5
15395000: Chest+5
16303000: Chest+5
17255000: Chest+5
18253000: Chest+5
19299000: Chest+5
20395000: Chest+5
21543000: Chest+5
22745000: Chest+5
24003000: Chest+5
This puts you at base stats of 35 bag slots, 200 chest slots, 60 HP, 50 MP, and 200 SP when the last unlock level is reached. It looks like there was supposed to be another Chest upgrade at 25319000, which would put you at 205 chest slots, but the reward information isn't present, so nothing actually happens.
Once you pay off your debt, and you have at least 10 million on you, you can pay 1 million at the dungeon master to get a random item (GACHA). These should be the exact probabilities for getting each possible item:
32% Power-Up Crystal
30.9% Key of Treasure House
20% Treasure Box
12% Ticket of chest +1
3% Lucky charm
0.4% Rainbow Colored Crystal
0.3% Ticket of chest +5
0.3% Mask of the astonishment
0.3% Wig of bob
0.2% Ticket of bag +1
0.2% Wig of the chignon
0.2% Mask of the unnui
0.1% Cardboard box
0.1% Mask of the trick
0.1% Tusk of stag beetle
0.1% Whip of the Queen
As far as I can tell, 4 of the 123 items in the game:
Kendo: Dougi (a top)
Kendo: Dou & Tare (accessory)
Kendo: Hakama (pants)
Kendo: Short bamboo sword (shield)
are only available by purchasing the Special Set available (in exchange for real money) after repaying your debt. Without those items, you can at most attain ~96.75% completion.
I have a ton of additional data that I've managed to pull out: the probability of finding a monster on each floor, a drop table for loot from monsters, a drop table for treasure box contents (varies for each floor), and a drop table for random junk lying on the dungeon floor (also varies for each floor).
None of it is particularly well-organized right now; it's just dumped into a very large text file (168KB) that I can then search inside. I'd have to re-organize it quite a bit to get it to a presentable state - but if I ever get around to it, I'll try to remember to post a link in here for future visitors.
Anyone know how to get past dungeon lvl 10 in Tower against the nature? Also, anyone know the minimum def / guard for killing quest in dungeon ancient city + tower against the nature.
Thank you.
Aye, I agree with above poster, but I need a little more help. Does anyone know a rule or rules that can be used to actually traverse the dungeon (Against Nature)? I can't get it to work for the life of me...
If you do know a rule and it's special, please tell how you got it, K?
Pidgeot: I hope you see this... Please RapidShare / Dropbox / YouSendIt / Pastebin / &c. the file? I'm more than happy to Perl it into shape. [My spreadsheet programs are unable to open all of the CSV files, for some reason.]
Also, regarding which items you can and cannot get without paying, can you please confirm / deny that you can get
Power-Up Crystal G
through adventuring / GACHA? I have only the 6 I got when I bought Special Set.
As for The Tower of Against Nature, change your ? rules to ?, perhaps? Or so I assume; I haven't explored there very much. I'm too busy escorting people in the Treasury and grinding crystals in the Ancient City. I'm trying to get a complete outfit from one person (to see if anything happens - I doubt it will, but your childhood friend hints at it). Sayaka has given me 6 out of 12 so far...
An old IRC acquaintance of mine has set up http://dungeondiary.wikia.com/wiki/DungeonDiary_Wiki which of course I urge you all to visit (and help with; it is quite sparse at the moment).
Pointless Braggadocio: TOOK me long enough, eh? The +5 ticket was a nice drop, too. [Sorry about the editing; highlighting a log entry makes it yellow-on-orange, which I had to fix.] Oh... While typing this post, I just tried it again thrice in Monsters Corridor, but the third one killed me. Tickets worth +10, very nice.
Also, has anyone tried windbell's latest? It's the next game, but not quite a sequel. The greater complexity plus lots more Engrish is killing me. :(
Ye GODS, a kill quest in the Treasury just scored me almost $10M. Of course, I turned right around and blew it all on GACHA, so...
> change your ? rules to ?, perhaps?
Way to preview my post. I meant change ↓ to ↑, of course.
For them all having the same GACHA rate, I have gotten dozens of masks and no whips. It's the only item I don't have yet. Grrr.
Also, I think that "unnui" has been changed, in-game, to "boredom". The stats on "trial" are better, but I love the look of "astonishment". Speaking of stats, Stag Horns are quite nice.
I'm still stuck on 5/12 and 6/12, trying to get full outfits. Again, grrr.
So these items that let you swim or fly...what dungeon can you find them in?
I never did get that octuple post, but here is a three year necrobump, and it's a reply to the first post, at that.
Parmeisan:
> I ran into the problem where I couldn't cancel quests
In today's (yesterday's?) update, windbell addresses this.
Although I haven't been active much in the past few years, I will surely miss this place and its people. May flights of P-Wings sing thee to thy rest. :(
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