The Dink Network

Well, it's almost the deadline for the review contest, so I decided to give a short review for this new development/D-Mod file.

Story:
Dink gets very drunk, accidentally boards the wrong ship. The ship's crew decide to start hunting relics with the help of Dink. Okay, the later one is my speculation - let's just say due to it's unfinished nature, the story is not the point of the D-Mod.

Graphics:
Most of the graphics are taken from other sources, like SimonK's D-Mods. They're used quite well though, especially the ship interiors.

Mapping:
Quite good. PortTown is nice, if not particularly exeptional. The playable dungeon's mapping is better, and worth experiencing. There are some unconventional solutions, but they work well. Special mention goes to the ship interiors, which are the best looking solution I've seen in a D-Mod yet.

Gameplay:
Due to it's unfinished nature, the only real gameplay part in the D-Mod is the dungeon, apart from one quest in PortTown and the inside of the ship. The dungeon is about the length of a romp, with some puzzles and a unique bossfight at the end. My only complaint here would be the difficulty of the end boss. I find it hard, and I felt like I won more due to my luck with the AI, rather then my actual skills.

Concepts:
The idea of hunting relics is an interesting one. Shame it was never fully realized. One new feature is pressing a button that shows where unkilled enemies are. While it did not feel needed in this particular D-Mod, I think some D-Mods from the past would've really benefited from it as a QoL improvement. I do hope that future D-Mods that might have issues with enemies behind walls or at the edge of the screen implament this or something similar. There is a new minimap system that allows teleportation and fast travel with the click of the mouse (or button). I find it a really cool, if unforunately brief system. The last notable feature is a weapon and armor system. It kind of fells like an afterthought or gimmick to be honest. Most likely because it doesn't get enough screentime due to the D-Mod being unfinished.

Conclusion:
I think this D-Mod is worth playing. At the least, it gives an enjoyable enough romp for players, bar the difficulty. I also suggest developers to check this one out, as it has quite a few good ideas and systems. Overall, don't expect this to be among the best D-Mods, but it is quite good for what it is.

I enjoyed this Demo, both the world and the Dink silliness. Him trying to stand up with a hangover was funny.

The world of the town was so nice to walk around in, with detail everywhere. Very little to do but I guess that?s what happens when a DMOD doesn?t get finished. And I got caught up in what was happening and wanted to find out more.

The dungeon area was also good, and you had fighting with easy and very hard enemies. It felt funny talking to a bloody Collin corpse only for him to come back alive so quickly.

I didn?t get the new weapons thing, but it seemed cool. Pressing Q is not easy on an iPad and didn?t seem to do anything.

Thanks for releasing this.

I tried to rate this D-mod for what it is, which is -- a very short dungeon, an unfinished town, and a bit of a tech demo.

At that, it's pretty good!

Presentation:
The mapping, outside of some depth errors, looks really good! There's some new graphics and old graphics used in clever ways. There's a decent hub that connects the different areas together which works surprisingly well despite the unfinished nature of the D-mod.

Mechanics:
The new mechanics are all pretty neat! There's a (very limited) world map concept with quick travel. There's a checkpoint system. The ability to show hidden enemies with a button press. A revised inventory system with slots for different types of items, such as trinkets, weapons, and armor which in a finished D-mod I imagine could all be equipped simultaneously. This all works pretty well at least for the demo. There's clearly some functionality missing from some systems that would be needed for a complete game, but it's still really cool.

Dungeon:
As for the dungeon design itself, it's fine but a little confusing. It's very short, and the mechanics are simple. There is a puzzle where you are expected to find two orbs, and it took me a while to find the second orb due to how inconspicuous its hiding spot is. But something I appreciate is that there's some dialogue and story that goes on as you continue through the dungeon.

There are two major battles in the dungeon. The battles implement a unique mechanic where hitting the enemy interrupts their melee attack which I'm not sure I've ever seen before. This little advantage is important because these battles are HARD and they would be even harder if not for this mechanic. In particular, the second of these encounters (the final boss) feels like you were intended to have about twice as much hp as you actually do. Although once I realized you could break the pots in the room for some extra health, it got a little easier. Even with the extra health, you're gonna need to know how to hit melee enemies at the blind spots in their diagonals to avoid damage. It's basically the only way to get through it without having a bad time.

Town:
The town is mostly empty as noted above, but it's well mapped. It is actually quite large, so it would be good as a big central hub for a full game.

The Verdict:
The dungeon is neat but maybe more frustrating than fun. However I still recommend playing if you just want to see some neat D-mod mechanics, some of which might not have been done before.

P.S. / Spoiler If you need a hint to find that second orb: Make sure to examine EVERYTHING near the snakes. You will eventually find it.