Roguelike ADOM making way for Ultimate ADOM

Adam loves ADOM. There must be something about very old roguelikes that overpowers our deputy editor. The allure of a random dungeon. The temptation to drink every potion at once. But he also once told us that the final boss of ADOM (short for Ancient Domains of Mystery) is his gaming nemesis. Well, now he has a reason to fight that giant ‘@’ sign once again. ADOM is being remastered as Ultimate ADOM. Not to be confused with our own Ultimate Adam, which is just Adam after a 7-minute power nap.

This was announced by original creator Thomas Biskup at an event celebrating roguelikes and their development. It isn’t a whole new game, however. More a new body with a fresh lick of paint on top of the same engine. There will be some new features, however, plus the ability to continue saved games on other platforms (eg. start on PC and then keep going on your Switch).

“Time and time again, I considered writing a true successor to ADOM,” said Biskup. “However, its 25-year-old code base – with a rather complex internal architecture – usually got in the way of a straightforward sequel. And so the idea for Ultimate ADOM was born… Ultimate ADOM will be based around one generic game/rules engine with ultimate customizability for different platforms and play styles.”

It's not clear if this means the game is going to be a free update to the classic version on Steam, or a separate game altogether. But it looks like the latter. We've asked for clarification and we'll let you know [Update: "It's a whole new game," says Biskup. "We have not yet made any decisions on upgrades & pricing."] As for the extra gamey bits, here’s what a press release says will come to the game:

The new engine will also make it possible for players to experiment with detailed crafting and modding systems and also learn a vastly more flexible magic system. Possession, cloning, grafting body parts, and animating inanimate items like swords (and even walls and other in-world objects) are all viable strategies.

Ultimate ADOM is planned for a release on Steam in late 2018. The non-ultimate version is already there.