It's just you, a fireplace, a dwindling stack of woods and your thoughts in A Dark Room, an adventure game/sim-like webtoy from doublespeak games that takes gameplay cues from Candy Box!... though sports a decidedly creepier tone. Just click to select options as they appear, which could take some time, so this is a game you might want to leave running in another tab as you surf. Initially all you can do is stoke the fire in your meager room, but what might the light in that otherwise dark forest attract? Would could you build if you dared venture outside to search for supplies?
SEE ALSO ON JAYISGAMES: Untrusted
Like Candy Box!, the less said about A Dark Room the better, although the experience is decidedly more of a straightforward game once you get rolling. Well, straightforwardish. A Dark Room excels at crafting a slow boil narrative in the time you interact with it, leaving a lot to suggestion and your imagination instead of stated fact. How well it succeeds and keeps you riveted, however, depends on whether for you that atmosphere and interest can survive the long delay between certain timers and just waiting for something to happen. By and large, though not as unexpectedly delightful as Candy Box!, A Dark Room feels far more like a complete game, and even features a compelling, mysterious setting that makes you want to hang around your computer even longer the more you find out about it. Though slow to start, A Dark Room is pleasantly eerie and addictive with some clever ideas of its own and surprises that make it well worth your time and a dedicated tab of its own in your browser.
Walkthrough Guide
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Guide to A Dark Room
This guide is not meant to provide a step-by-step walkthrough, but to serve as a guide to the game for those who want to experience it for themselves.
The guide is broken into three parts: General - information and ideas about the game itself, Building/Crafting - costs and timeline, and Dusty Trail - information about the map and events you're likely to experience along the way.
If you'd like to see a step-by-step walkthrough of one possible solution to the game, a thorough one has been written by ralphmerridew and can be found here as Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
General
Game Hints.
Information.
A frequently asked question is "What does stoking the fire do?" In the very beginning, it starts the game. You'll never get out into the Silent Forest if your wood stores don't begin to run low!
The game gives you the info you need: for example, building more traps will allow you to catch more creatures, and building a lodge will help your villagers hunt. Pay attention!
While it's a survival game in one sense, it's also a narrative. Decisions like being kind to strangers may not have far-reaching implications, but it helps to tell the story. And being kind sometimes DOES have a positive affect.
Investigate noises and follow critters, as it may lead to new discoveries and resources when you most need them.
The story on the left doesn't always relate to the action, but can provide clues.
Rollover an item in a box and, if it isn't greyed out, it will provide you with more information: things you can make show you how many materials you need, things you can buy show the cost, workers show what they create/use, and the items in your storehouse will tell you who makes them and what they cost.
If you leave it running, your workers will continue to create what they create, which can provide you with extra resources later.
Building/Crafting.
When your population is maxed, it's probably time to build more huts.
Building huts and traps early will provide you with a labor force and resources for larger buildings later.
If you need to build something, make sure your other jobs are not using more wood every 10s than you gain. Same goes for other resources.
Return to the Firelit Room to consult with the builder, move to the Village to deal with the workforce, and follow the Dusty Path to take actions.
Certain items are limited--for example, you can only have 10 traps out at once, you can only craft 1 rucksack, etc.
What things (and people) do.
Traps will bring in fur, tattered cloth,meat, teeth, charms, etc.
The cart helps you gather more wood.
Two tiny huts create a Tiny Village. There are some other building options that open up.
A Modest Village will add a workshop, and larger villages/more resources, actions in the map will open even more.
The workshop opens up a whole new window on the world--crafted items.
The trading post has items for sale.
The lodge allows your villagers to hunt (if you assign hunters).
The tannery will allow you to make leather (if you assign tanners).
The smokehouse will allow you to cure meat (if you assign charcutiers).
Click on the up/down arrows to assign gatherers to other jobs. You can reset by 1s or 10s.
A Large Village has 9 huts and the other buildings.
A Raucous Village has 16 huts. There is a limit of 20 huts total.
Once the compass is purchased, A Dusty Path opens. For more detailed hints on the map, see the Dusty Path section below.
Workers:
A general rule of thumb for workers: You need 5 gatherers and 10 hunters to provide materials for 1 charcutier, 1 charcutier per miner, 2 coal miners and 2 iron miners per steel worker, and 1 steel worker and 1 sulphur miner per armourer. From that information, you can create the worker team that will best suit your needs at any time.
Workers produce:
Gatherer = 1 wood / 10s
Charcutier = -5 meat, -5 wood, + 1 meat / 10s
Hunter = +.5 fur, +.5 meat / 10s
Tanner = -5 fur, +1 leather / 10s
Trapper = -1 meat, +1 bait / 10s
Coal Miner = -1 cured meat, +1 coal / 10s
Iron Miner = -1 cured meat, +1 iron / 10s
Steelworker = -1 iron, -1 coal, +1 steel
Sulfur Miner = -1 cured meat, +1 sulfur / 10s
Perks.
Readers have identified these possible perks, which can help you accomplish different things. Not everyone can receive all perks. The perks box will appear above your stores on the Dusty Path tab.
Boxer - increases Punch damage from 1 to 2. Earned by punching approximately 50 times.
Scout - Buy it from the scout. Increases your vision radius on a dusty path from 3 squares to 5.
Gastronome - Bring a charm to the swamp. Increases the amount healed by eating Cured meat from 10 to 20.
Stealthy - Earned by sparing the thief when he's caught. Reduces the rate of combat encounters.
The next three are all earned by letting The Master stay the night, which requires that you have 100 Furs, 100 Cured Meat, and 1 Torch handy. Try to either keep these amounts handy at all time, or always keep production of Furs and Cured Meat positive so that if he comes when you don't have enough, you can wait out the last few.
Precision - Reduces how often you miss in combat
Evasion - Increases how often you hit in combat
Barbarian (pick "Force") - Increases your damage melee weapons by 50%
Martial Artist - punches do even more damage.
Continue barehand fighting after obtaining the boxer perk (approx 150 punches, and damage increasing from 2 per hit to 6 per hit.
Unarmed Master - punch twice as fast, and with even more force.
Keep barehand fighting for about 300 punches, and punching goes up to 12 damage per hit, with a really short timer.
Slow Metabolism - go twice as far per food
. To get this one, die of hunger at least 10 times.
Desert Rat - go twice as far per water
. To get this one, die of thirst at least 10 times.
Everyone is going to have a different experience! Be patient! Things are bound to happen.
Building/Crafting
Want to do some advance planning? Here is what everything costs to build or craft.
Build:
Cart = 100 wood, one time
Trap = 10 wood, then 20, then 30... (limit 10)
Hut = 100 wood, then 150, then 200.. (limit 20)
Lodge = wood 200, fur 10, meat 5
Trading Post = wood 400, fur 100
Tannery = wood 500, fur 50
Smokehouse = wood 600, meat 50
Workshop = wood 800, leather 100, scales 10
Steelworks = wood 1500, iron 100, coal 100
Armoury = wood 3000, steel 100, sulphur 50
Craft:
Torch = wood 1, cloth 1 (unlimited?)
Waterskin = leather 50
Bone Spear = wood 100, teeth 5 (unlimited?)
Rucksack = leather 200
Leather Armor = leather 200, scales 20
Cask = leather 100, iron 20
Wagon = wood 100, iron 100
Iron Armor = leather 200, iron 100
Iron Sword = wood 200, leather 50, iron 20
Water Tank = iron 100, steel 50
Convoy = wood 1000, iron 200, steel 100
Steel Armor = leather 200, steel 100
Steel Sword = wood 500, leather 100, steel 20
Rifle = wood 200, steel 50, sulfur 50
Purchase:
Some items can be purchased.
From scout:
Map 200 fur, 10 scales
Learn Scouting 1000 fur, 50 scales, 10 teeth
From nomad:
Scales = fur 100
Teeth = fur 200
Bait = fur 5
Compass = fur 300, scales 15, teeth 5
From trading post:
Scales = fur 150
Teeth = fur 300
Compass = fur 400, scales 20, teeth 10
Iron = fur 150, scales 50
Coal = fur 200, teeth 50
Steel = fur 300, scales 50, teeth 50
After you find your first one of each of the following, you can buy:
Bolas = teeth 10
Bullets = scales 10
Medicine = scales 50, teeth 30
Alien Alloy = fur 1500, scales 750, teeth 300
Bayonet = scales 500, teeth 250
Grenade = scales 100, teeth 50
The only weapon you can't craft or buy is the laser rifle
Dusty Path/Old Starship
Here is where things get really interesting!
You can take advantage of the carrying space you have to take items with you. This includes torches, weapons, and food. Cured meat is required to even embark on an adventure!
When you embark, you'll enter a map. Movement can be accomplished by WASD or arrow keys.
In some browsers, the WASD/arrow keys appear not to work. Click on the map in the direction you want to move, and you'll move.
You'll find lots of things to explore here: caves, mines, ruined cities and more. Try to find them all. Some buildings in your village rely on your finding more resources out in the wild.
You will occasionally be accosted by an enemy and have to fight, even in spaces you have previously explored. Choose your weapon (including fists, which requires that you carry no other weapons). You have no choice but to fight.
Enemies can range from 3-4 hit points up to 50 hit points. Once you have several perks and a strong armory, you can defeat any of them, but watch out! Some hit for more points than you do, while others hit more quickly.
You can use food, medicine, and even multiple weapons in each battle. Each has a cool down period.
Whenever you have a chance to do so, buy a piece of the map. It can help you figure out where everything that needs to be explored is located.
Things will start to move pretty quickly once you find and clear the mines. Use the iron to improve your armor, build a wagon, etc. Use steel for even better, stronger items. You may not need everything, but test yourself in the wild and add to your defenses and the village's resources as needed.
By the time you have the mines in operation, you probably don't need wood gatherers any more at all. Put them to work in other places to produce what you need more quickly.
Returning to the village from time to time will save what you've explored on the map. It also gives you a chance to safely deliver anything you have acquired.
On the map:
Screenshot
Here is what each letter represents:
I: iron mine
C: coal mine
S: sulfur mine
V: caves can provide you with food and water.
O: small suburbs can provide weapons, ammunition and even medicine (once completely cleared, it disappears). Clearing them can help provide water and food as well.
Y: once great city, now in ruins.
P: a safe place in the wilds. Once you clear a cave, a village, or a city, it becomes safe. You can completely replenish your water here.
H: house which has some useful items you can pick up (and possibly enemies to fight).
B: where you find alien alloy. Get back to town with it ASAP!
M: place to use a charm to get the gastronomy perk.
F: find advanced weaponry (you only get one shot at what is there, so make sure you have room on your convoy!)
W: salvage the alien spaceship
Don't get so caught up in your exploration that you lose track of how much water and food you are carrying (especially if you don't have either the slow metabolism or the desert rat perks).
An Old Starship:
Once you retrieve the salvage of the starship, it opens a new tab in the village. If you go in to the Old Starship tab, you can reinforce the hull and upgrade the engine.
This is done using the alien alloy you find (or buy, if you can come up with the huge number of scales and teeth needed).
You only need one of each to get the starship off the ground.
Unfortunately, if you don't have use of your arrow keys, clicking doesn't work for the starship as it did to navigate the map. Reinforce the heck out of your hull and hope for the best! (Hint: the engine only needs 1!)
Fortunately, you don't lose any strength in your hull when you crash, and once you have waited out the cool down period, you can try again!
Good luck! And have fun exploring!
Posted by: dsrtrosy
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May 29, 2014 11:42 AM