Again, it was quite a long time since the last major update (12.0, from 2021). Of course, the work never stopped -- improvements were continuously added to the game, so if you were following HyperRogue closely, you have seen these. For less active followers, here is a summary of the most interesting new stuff.

Dangerous to go in a line. Take a Crossbow!

Many roguelikes ensure their longevity by providing ways many different ways to play the game. This is done both by having many possible inventory-based builds (as reflected in HyperRogue's Orb Strategy Mode), but also by giving a choice of playing multiple kinds of characters, with different strengths and weaknesses; for example, the five different characters in Hydra Slayer, or 27 different species in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, further augmented by specialization and deity choices. However, this kind of specialization often relies on changing the damage produced by various kinds of attacks -- HyperRogue, with its focus on geometry and one-hit combat, was relatively lacking in this area. Could we still have something similar while still maintaining the focus on geometry?



HyperRogue 13.0 includes an option to play the game with another weapon: a crossbow instead of the classic blade! A classic traditional roguelike strategy is: when attacked by an overwhelming force of multiple enemies, move into a corridor, forcing them to attack one by one; HyperRogue combines this idea with hyperbolic geometry, making this strategy work even in open space, due to the geometry of the world itself. But why use your blade to attack them one by one, when you could also have a penetrating attack that kills the whole straight line of enemies in a single shot? As a counterbalance, the crossbow takes several turns to reload.

Rethinking the concept of a straight line was fundamental for the development of non-Euclidean geometries; in HyperRogue, it becomes even more sophisticated, because this geometric concept needs to be interpreted in terms of grid tactics. Some roguelikes let you fire your ranged attack at any point, while in some, they work a bit like a Queen in chess: ranged attacks can be aimed only cardinally or diagonally. And in some, it depends on the type of ranged attack used. So, the crossbow could actually be a few different weapons. A crossbow which shoots only in "bull lines" is less universal than one that can shoot along any tile-based approximation of a hyperbolic straight line, but it takes less time to reload. There is also a third option, but we will just let you see for yourself.

New modes, geometries, and land structures

Of course, while the character in HyperRogue does not change that much, neither by player's customization nor by gaining in-world experience, HyperRogue focuses on changing the world itself, or the rules of the game. There is not much new in terms of whole new modes -- unless we count new options for the real-time multiplayer mode of HyperRogue, such as PvP or split screen or using dual focus projections -- but one of the things that can be changed is the geometry of the world... or, at least, the tiling.


Probably the most popular mathematical discovery of 2023 was the discovery of hat and Spectre tiles, which can tile the whole Euclidean plane by themselves, but only in non-periodic ways. Soon after this discovery, this tiling became available in HyperRogue.



While the rules of HyperRogue are specially designed for hyperbolic geometry, you can e.g. play the Minefield land in the Hat/Spectre tiling, to get a more original variation on Minesweeper. There are more options to customize the geometry of the world -- for example, the format to specify arbitrary periodic or some horocycle-based 2D tilings has been extended, three-dimensional geometries no longer include only regular hyperbolic and spherical honeycombs but their cells can be subdivided, and there is an option to play only on a finite portion of an infinite geometry. These are likely less balanced, but still cool for experimentation or visualization.



If you do not want to change the geometry of the world, you can still change how it is structured... New options shown in the images above replace the usual HyperRogue land structure (lands separated mostly by hyperbolic straight lines) with alternative ones. In one, every land is bounded by a horocycle (a shape existing only in non-Euclidean geometry that looks a bit like a circle but is actually infinite)...



In another, the hyperbolic plane is subdivided into lands like in a Voronoi tessellation -- some points are chosen as centers, every tile gets assigned to a land depending on which center is closest to it -- but where the centers are very rare... so rare that they are infinitely away.

Visualization

[previewyoutube=Rhjv_PazzZE;full][/previewyoutube]

HyperRogue is not only about great roguelike gameplay, but also about non-Euclidean visualization! Since 2019, we could play in Thurston geometries; however, roguelikes were designed to be played in 2D, and most people find them less fun when you can move in three dimensions. Also since 2019 we could play the usual 2D game of HyperRogue, but view it in full 3D. However, this 3D view was restricted to use the 3D version of that 2D geometry: hyperbolic plane in three-dimensional hyperbolic space, sphere in three-dimensional spherical space, etc. Now, the HyperRogue engine features a large list of embeddings. Unfortunately, for the standard "hyperbolic soccerball tiling" that HyperRogue plays best in, only 3-dimensional hyperbolic space, and the "product space" where the third dimension is added in the Euclidean way, works. However, a sphere can be embedded in 3D Euclidean and hyperbolic geometry, and for the Euclidean plane, especially when wrapped in flat torus, there are lots of options -- including all Thurston geometries, and more! These are explored in this video.

[previewyoutube=yqUv2JO2BCs;full][/previewyoutube]

Another new thing is an option to create a world with portals between different geometries; we have shown this in this video with over 1M views, and the HyperRogue engine can be used to create spaces likes this, by placing bricks in different geometries like in Minecraft, connecting them with portals, and exploring them in VR. There is no real gameplay in these worlds, but hopefully we inspire other game developers to try new stuff!

Have fun!
On top of that, there was of course a large number of minor bugfixes and improvements. To get updates on HyperRogue and our other projects faster, join the HyperRogue discord server. Also wishlist RogueViz Collection for a collection of smaller non-Euclidean games. Have fun, and good luck!

Quite a long time since the last update! Version 12.0 fixes this. It includes two new lands, VR support, and has many other feature and improvements!



Is HyperRogue the only game where tessellations of non-Euclidean spaces play a major role? Well, no -- while the wonders of hyperbolic tessellations are rarely used, spherical tessellations can be found in any game using dice! When you roll a die and see how the numbers change, interesting things happen as a result of the difference in the geometries of the die and the surface. Many HyperRogue players are dice collectors. Why not have both?

Meet the sentient dice in the Dice Reserve! They like to be in the position where the highest number is on top, but some bad guys rolled some of them into other positions. Will you help them?

Dice Reserve can be found when you have at least 90 (150 in Orb Strategy Mode) treasure.



Every land in HyperRogue comes with a new Orb -- a sphere of beneficial magical power. The Cursed Canyon is a land full of Curses. Curses are similar to Orbs, but their powers are mostly negative. You may get weaker, slower, powerless, or afraid of water. You get cursed by moving over curses, or when attacked by a Canyon Hag. You are also pursued by the Shadow, already known from the Graveyard. Will you be able to survive and profit despite all the debuffs and nasty enemies?

Cursed Canyon can be found when you have at least 36 (90 in Orb Strategy Mode) Elixirs of Life, Pirate Treasures, Chrysoberyls, Tiger's Eyes, or Powerstones.

[previewyoutube=6Mx1G0RlYck;full][/previewyoutube]

When HyperRogue was first released, it had only the traditional-style roguelike "graphics": # for walls, letters for monsters, dots for empty spaces. These visuals were truly amazing: easy to read, and let your imagination run wild, better than any graphics. But art is needed to, to feed the imagination. How would a non-Euclidean space really look? HyperRogue took a rather surprising path, starting with vector-based 2D graphics, then 3D effects, experiments with full 3D geometries, ultimately becoming a rather universal engine for non-Euclidean visualization.

Now, the RogueViz engine supports Virtual Reality (SteamVR)! This brings a new twist to HyperRogue, as well as the non-Euclidean falling block game Bringris and the RogueViz demos. Turn HyperRogue's FPP mode into the immersive experience. There are many interesting choices when designing non-Euclidean VR visualizations. The geometry works differently in a non-Euclidean space, so some obvious things in Euclidean visualizations (including tons of so-called "non-Euclidean" videos which have nothing to do with non-Euclidean geometry) are, well, no longer obvious. Should the relative headset movements be translated exactly to the virtual space? If so, if you move to another place in VR and return to where you started, you are probably NOT in the place where you started in the real world. And vice versa. This is because the geometry works differently! How should the binocular vision work? Should we just render the inner view from two points? If so, distances are not perceived correctly, and in the recently introduced even weirder geometries this does not even work, so we might want to use other methods. The engine lets you configure various details, such as the above, the length of the absolute unit (i.e. the scale of the non-Euclidean space), and so on. Hyperbolic crochets are much better in real life than any images or videos can show -- but you can get some of the fun by playing HyperRogue on the Hypersian Rug in VR. The 3D models are still not great (roguelike players do not need this stuff), but if you want to play FPP mode with monsters shown as letters, or view the classic Poincar disk or any other 2D or 3D model in VR, this works too, of course!

There is more!
There have been also lots of minor bugfixes and improvements. For people who want to fully explore the world of HyperRogue but are less familiar with roguelikes, there is a "casual" mode which lets you save the game after collecting an Orb of Safety and load it many times. For even less challenge, there is the cheat mode and puzzle/exploration mode as usual.

Join the HyperRogue Discord, follow ZenoRogue on Twitter, and have fun!

While we have worked a lot on HyperRogue recently, we concentrated mostly on experimental features; for people interested in the classic, core non-Euclidean puzzle-roguelike gameplay, the most interesting thing is probably the lands, and there have been no new lands for some time. Version 11.3 includes three new lands, and has many other feature and improvements!

See the blogpost for more details.

The latest version of HyperRogue let us play three-dimensional non-Euclidean worlds. However, there are more interesting geometries possible in three dimensions!

See the blog post: https://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2019/09/hyperrogue-112-thurston-geometries-free.html

While this release does not change the gameplay in the main mode, it lets you experiment with new display modes, new geometries, and new game modes.

HyperRogue takes place in a world where things such as rectangles and parallel lines do not exist. Lines will never run together forever "in parallel", the space between them will spawn new directions by itself, making our lines diverge. While the world of HyperRogue is presented as a flat thing, it is actually larger than anything Euclidean, in any number of dimensions. But what if we take it into three hyperbolic dimensions?

Read more at: https://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2019/06/hyperrogue-version-11.html

The new update includes: three new lands, new game mode, new music, and some new features. See more on the blog:
https://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2019/01/hyperrogue-110-released.html

Have fun!

After an extremely long series of patch/preview versions (10.3a to 10.3v), it is time to release HyperRogue 10.4! While there are no new lands (they are planned for the next version), this release lets you get more out of the existing lands by changing the grid or presentation. There is also a new competitive mode focused on non-standard geometries!

See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2018/05/hyperrogue-104.html

This big update continues the geometry experiment theme of HyperRogue 10.2, and also includes four new lands (two of which are included in the main game and two of which are for special geometries only).

See more details on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2018/01/hyperrogue-103-more-lands-more-geometry.html

This big update continues the geometry experiment theme of HyperRogue 10.2, and also includes four new lands (two of which are included in the main game and two of which are for special geometries only).

See more details on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2018/01/hyperrogue-103-more-lands-more-geometry.html

HyperRogue 10.1 includes four new lands, and many gameplay, user interface, and graphical improvements. See more details on the blog:
http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/10/hyperrogue-101-four-new-lands.html

HyperRogue 10.1 includes four new lands, and many gameplay, user interface, and graphical improvements. Train your non-Euclidean fighting skills in the Hunting Ground, avoid the everflowing lava in the Volcanic Wasteland and awakening the statues of Terracotta Warriors, and brave the Blizzard! See more details on the blog:
http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/10/hyperrogue-101-four-new-lands.html

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1087070311

This release replaces the Mirror Land with the more interesting Hall of Mirrors, introduces two new game modes (Orb Strategy mode which emphasizes resource management and peaceful mode for peaceful exploration and puzzle solving), improves the graphics and the local scoreboard, and has many other bugfixes and improvements. Have fun!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1087070311

This release replaces the Mirror Land with the more interesting Hall of Mirrors, introduces two new game modes (Orb Strategy mode which emphasizes resource management and peaceful mode for peaceful exploration and puzzle solving), improves the graphics and the local scoreboard, and has many other bugfixes and improvements. Have fun!

HyperRogue 9.4 is released! It includes two new lands, one new Crossroads variant, and some other improvements. See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/03/hyperrogue-94.html

HyperRogue 9.4 is released! It includes two new lands, one new Crossroads variant, and some other improvements. See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/03/hyperrogue-94.html

HyperRogue 9.3 is released, with three new lands!

Read more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/01/hyperrogue-93-three-new-lands-and.html

Have fun!

HyperRogue 9.3 is released, with three new lands!

Read more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2017/01/hyperrogue-93-three-new-lands-and.html

Have fun!

HyperRogue 9.2 is released! It includes several upgrades aimed at making HyperRogue look more like a modern game: three dimensional view, movement animations, particle effects, and sound effects. Read more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/12/hyperrogue-92-3d-hyperbolic-animations.html

Have fun!

HyperRogue 9.2 is released! It includes several upgrades aimed at making HyperRogue look more like a modern game: three dimensional view, movement animations, particle effects, and sound effects. Read more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/12/hyperrogue-92-3d-hyperbolic-animations.html

Have fun!

This release brings some gameplay improvements, major overhaul of the user interface, and a Halloween-themed minigame -- new special mode for with a special "land" in it!

See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/10/hyperrogue-91.html

This release brings some gameplay improvements, major overhaul of the user interface, and a new special mode with a special "land" in it.

See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/10/hyperrogue-91.html

This release includes three new lands, many UI improvements, turn-based multiplayer, and some other minor things. Fight Trolls and Krakens, and use a magical sword! Have fun!

Read more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/08/hyperrogue-90-swords-trolls-and-krakens.html

This release includes three new lands, and some artistic hyperbolic fun. Climb infinite trees, slay or ride dragons, and save tortoises!

More details on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/05/hyperrogue-83.html

Have fun!

Quite a long time from the last update, but it is quite a big one!

It includes two new lands (Warped Coast and Rose Garden), one new Crossroads variant, two new gameplay modes (Heptagonal and Chaos), one new graphical mode (Hypersian Rug mode), 11 new achievements, and some other improvements. See http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2016/03/hyperrogue-82.html for details!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/432380

Also, Hydra Slayer is coming soon to Steam! Both HyperRogue and Hydra Slayer are roguelikes based on mathematical concepts from the same author, yet they are different at the same time -- while the world of HyperRogue is very open, in Hydra Slayer you descend a dungeon, where your resources are limited, and you have to find out how to use them most effectively. While HyperRogue is based on its unique geometry, Hydra Slayer is based on its unique math-based combat system (although there is some interesting geometry too). There are already some extra features over the free version of Hydra Slayer (like the random challenges), and hopefully, like HyperRogue, there will be more and more! Have fun, and thanks to everyone who voted for Hydra Slayer on Steam Greenlight!

HyperRogue 8.1 has been released! This update includes three beautiful new lands, new Yendor challenges, shmup mode improvements, Orbs easier to tell apart, and some small bugfixes. See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2015/12/hyperrogue-81-happy-holidays.html



Have fun, and happy holidays!

HyperRogue 8.0 is released!

It has two new lands, and one bonus land that is only available in special modes. It also comes with two new special modes -- Pure Tactics Mode, and the Yendor Challenge. And some more cool features!

Read more details on the HyperRogue blog.

Also, if you have not done this yet, please consider voting for my other game, Hydra Slayer, on Steam Greenlight :)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=388713303

Have fun!

HyperRogue 7.4 is released!

This version took quite a long time to create, but it should be worth it!

Several notable features are included: three new lands (based on gravity, the four elements, and a new pattern), a new variant of the Crossroads, the World Overview which should make it easier to plan your adventure, several major improvements to the map/graphics editor, several balance changes, and many other minor changes.

See more on the HyperRogue blog http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2015/10/hyperrogue-74.html and have fun!

This version adds a new quest, the map editor (the map editor was already there in the last patches, but you can save your maps now), and several other minor improvements.

See more on the blog: http://zenorogue.blogspot.com/2015/08/hyperrogue-73-edit-map-and-save-princess.html

Have fun, and good luck!

The highlights are two new lands (Palace and Living Fjord), and the shoot'em up mode can now be played with two players (local coop). Also, keys can be configured in the shmup mode (also for directional movement), and the way of getting to some lands should be clearer now.

See the HyperRogue blog for more details.

Have fun!

Version 7.1 of HyperRogue is released!

This version features three new lands: the Ocean where you have to collect ambers from the beach while escaping from nasty birds and tides (which are the first prominent occurence of hyperbolic equidistant curves in HyperRogue) and is also a gateway to other marine adventures, the Whirlpool where movement is allowed only in specific directions, and the Minefield based on a well known computer game.

Also, HyperRogue now has a new main menu which lists all the options, a FAQ written by Fulgur14, and the German translation should come soon. These should make it easier to fully enjoy HyperRogue.

See the screenshots and more details on the HyperRogue blog.

Have fun!

Ever wanted to know how a game with smooth space and time would work in the hyperbolic plane? Well, I did. But why create a new game when I could just port HyperRogue instead?

The Shoot'em Up mode tries to follow the normal turn-based HyperRogue, but it is not longer turn based, and not longer grid based. Not all features are ported (it would be rather hard to do non-turn-grid-based Living Caves...), and not all of them work exactly the same way (for example, Orbs of Life give you an extra life instead of a friend). Anyway, this is almost a new game :) This is still a bit experimental, so not everything is balanced yet. No achievements yet either, but they should come :)

video: Shoot'em Up mode

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=455055425 Caribbean is a new land, unlocked when you collect 60$$$. The sea is filled with sharks, and islands inhabited by pirates. They take their boats and pursue you...

Islands are horocycles (infinite circles). Great treasures are buried somewhere far from the coast. Luckily, compasses point you towards the center.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=455056293 Red Rock Valley is another new land, unlocked when you have 60$$$, 10 of which must be Spice. It is a more advanced version of the Desert. Snakes move as fast as you, but they can only move on hexes, not on heptagonal cells. It is possible to kill them with their own tails, which allows you to climb their rocky bodies to get to the treasures.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=455055708 Crossroads II is an alternate layout of the Crossroads. It is denser and more regular.

Also, Hardcore mode is added, which disables the checkmate rule. No Hardcore achievements are added yet.

See the HyperRogue blog for a detailed changelog!

Also, if you like my games, please vote for Hydra Slayer on Steam Greenlight! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=388713303

Some new lands and features are already planned for HyperRogue 7.0, but we need to fix all the remaining issues with HyperRogue 6.x first! :) The new version, HyperRogue 6.6, has the following minor bugfixes:

• Some bugs related to Mimics (Mirages and Mirror Images) have been fixed: they are now destroyed when they stray too far away, when you teleport, or when they attack an Ivy. (If they were not destroyed in these situations, it could potentially lead to weird behavior.) Also, they no longer change their direction without a reason in the Alchemist Lab.
  
• Walls left by killed Vine Beasts are now more visible in the Hive.
  
• Shift-clicking on a cell now does nothing if it is impossible to cast a spell from a ranged Orb at the given location.
  

• I have decided to include the up-to-date source code with HyperRogue. So if you know a bit about programming, and want to know how the new lands in 6.x are implemented, the exact rules, or maybe even create some mods or variants, it is more possible now. Source code is in C++, under GPL. It does not include Steam-specific stuff. When HyperRogue 7.0 comes, the source code for new lands will be included too! :)
  
• HyperRogue's log file has been improved a bit. The implementation is much more clean, and it lists achievements gained, and data proving that the scores have been achieved in an official paid version of HyperRogue. This could be potentially used to prevent some forms of cheating by tampering with saved games (although it is possible to cheat anyway, just a bit harder).
  

No new lands or other new big features in this update, but there were several small improvements:

HyperRogue 6.4 changes some things about Golems, and introduces several new interface options. Have fun!

HyperRogue 6.3 brings new Orb types to the new lands (Temple and Camelot). Orb of Dragon allows one to throw fire just like the Cultists, while Orb of Trickery allows the player to place illusions of themselves. Additionally, more monsters now take invisibility/friends/illusions into account.

Also, the Russian translation is ready (and French and German translations are coming). Have fun!

HyperRogue has been updated with two new lands, Camelot and Temple of Cthulhu! Both are based on circular shapes, contrary to the previous lands, which were bounded by straight lines. Camelot can be found in the Crossroads after finding five Emeralds, and it is a puzzle land where you have to find the center of a circle, while Temple of Cthulhu can be found in R'Lyeh after finding five statues of Cthulhu, and is actually an infinite sequence of infinite circles (horocycles). See the dev blog for the details.

This means that HyperRogue 6.2 has seven more lands than version 5.x, and nine more lands than version 4.x (which was available before HyperRogue was on Steam), which had just eleven lands. Thanks to all the players who have made this possible -- either by posting their ideas and thoughts on the discussion forums, or simply by buying the game -- and have fun exploring all the twenty locations!

Also, if you have not noticed: my other game, Hydra Slayer , is currently on Steam Greenlight. Both games are roguelikes based on mathematical concepts, but in a very different way. If you like HyperRogue and would like to see Hydra Slayer on Steam, consider voting for it! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=388713303

HyperRogue has been updated with five new lands (6.0)! See more features of hyperbolic plane, such as circles, and dense regular patterns of ultraparallel lines. Visit a land where huge armies of bugs of various colors fight battles, and a land full of magical Orbs, where enemies are appropriately powerful too. And most importantly, have fun!

See the HyperRogue blog for details about the new lands.

Have you wondered whether the hyperbolic geometry of HyperRogue does indeed affect gameplay, or is it just an irrelevant gimmick? In HyperRogue 5.3 you can find this out yourself! Euclidean mode is available on the third page of the Settings. The usual Achievements and Leaderboards cannot be obtained from the Euclidean mode, but there is one special Euclidean achievement.

Euclidean mode has also led to a discovery of some subtleties... The first subtlety is that Mirages created by other Mirages work more correctly now. The second subtlety is that, in the previous versions, if you were attacked by two monsters at once and there were no obstacles nearby, you could easily run away and make them block each other. This was caused partly by the laws of the hyperbolic geometry, and partly by the weakness of the monster AI. In the new version, the monster AI has been improved a bit, so they actively try not to block each other, and thus it is now more important to learn how to use the geometry to your advantage. (Euclidean mode does not give any advantage to the chased, so if you are chased by two monsters, you have to run until you either find a third monster (which is usually game over), or a terrain obstacle which blocks one of them.) I am not sure whether this change affects the high scores, please tell me on the discussion forums if you think it does.

Some minor fixes: end-game monsters no longer appear randomly in the Crossroads; the game now displays the remaining distance to the Key.

Also, Steam trading cards for HyperRogue are now available!

Have fun! Also see my blog for my own findings about the Euclidean mode.

A small update (5.1) this time:

HyperRogue is updated again (v5.0)! It includes two extra lands:

• The frozen lake of Cocytus is now reachable after collecting 10 Demon Daisies. This land was previously available only for cheaters (and extremely good players), but the new version is better.
  
  
• The Dry Forest, full of trees and creatures who would do everything to stop you, is now reachable at the same time as R'Lyeh.
  

This update (4.6) fixes several minor things:

This update (4.5) fixes some achievements which were not working correctly previously (collect Orb of Yendor, and achievements concerning Mirror Shards and Elixirs of Life). Moreover, HyperRogue for Steam is now also available for OSX!

Also a bug which displayed incorrect numbers in the local scoreboard (ESC-t) has been fixed.

A new feature: if you do not explore new areas for some turns, Seeps or Ghosts will come to hunt you. So if you get stuck in the Living Caves, you will probably be killed by Seeps, instead of being forced to quit.

Have fun!