Castle of the Winds

Castle of the Winds (CotW) is a tile-based Roguelike RPG that 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 in 1989. more...

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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 Roguelike games 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 Roguelike games 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/she learns all the 30 spells that he/she can learn. 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 six categories: attack, defense, healing, movement, divination, and miscellaneous.

Items and the inventory system

Castle has a relatively 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, including packs, belts, chests, and bags. Other items include: weapons, armor, protective clothing, purses, and ornamental jewelery.

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, and are worthless. Dead Staff, and Dead Wand, however, aren't worthless as they can be recharged in the appropriate store. Most objects that the character currently carries can be renamed by the player.

Read more at Wikipedia.org