Cataclysm is an open source post-apocalyptic roguelike, set in the countryside of fictional New England after a devastating plague of monsters and zombies. It is a continuation of Whale’s original Cataclysm, which expands it with numerous new creatures, buildings, gameplay mechanics and many other features.
While some have described it as a “zombie game”, there’s far more to Cataclysm than that. Struggle to survive in a harsh, persistent, procedurally generated world. Scavenge the remnants of a dead civilization for for food, equipment, or, if you’re lucky, a vehicle with a full tank of gas to get you the hell out of Dodge. Fight to defeat or escape from a wide variety of powerful monstrosities, from zombies to giant insects to killer robots and things far stranger and deadlier, and against the others like yourself, that want what you have…
Cataclysm is very different from most roguelikes in many ways. Rather than being set in a vertical, linear dungeon, it is set in an unbounded, 3D world. This means that exploration plays a much bigger role than in most roguelikes, and the game is much less linear. As the map is so huge, it is actually completely persistent between games. If you die, and start a new character, your new game will be set in the same game world as your last. Like in many roguelikes, you will be able to loot the dead bodies of previous characters; unlike most roguelikes, you will also be able to retrace their steps completely, and any dramatic changes made to the world will persist into your next game.
Features include:
- DeathCam system, which lets you see the aftermath of the glorious fireball or atrocious trainwreck that was your demise.
- Unlike most roguelikes, it has no goal: the player is free to explore the procedurally generated map, clear areas of monsters, work with NPCs, and build shelters and vehicles.
- Characters can be generated randomly or can be custom-built to suit player gameplay and preferences.
- Focuses heavily on crafting with many basic necessities such as clothing and food being craftable from raw items that are found lying around the world.
- Intricate construction menu – perform simple construction activities like boarding up a window, digging a pit to elaborate ones like building a reinforced concrete wall, stone wall, digging a well or creating basements.
Website: cataclysmdda.org
Support:
Developer: Kevin Granade and others
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Cataclysm is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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