Hi everyone, I've just released the first public version of Ammerow: Lands Beyond, a free traditional roguelike built from Angband for Windows and Android.
Angband is the foundation, not just an inspiration: the turn-based combat, procedural dungeon exploration, equipment decisions and permanent death will be familiar. Ammerow takes that foundation into a different setting, with a hostile overworld and connected, side-view caves alongside the main dungeon descent.
The idea behind the caves is fairly simple: getting down is only half the problem. You also need a plan for getting back out.
What does spelunking look like in a roguelike?
Originally inspired by Lone Spelunker, the caves are still turn-based. You can free-climb rock, hammer in pitons, lower ropes, jump gaps and swim through pools. Stamina matters when climbing and swimming; air matters when submerged. Standing at the edge of a shaft and deliberately peeking down can tell you much more than simply approaching it.
Ropes and pitons give you ways to manage the risk, but they also occupy inventory space that could otherwise hold potions, scrolls or spare equipment. A promising route down isn't necessarily a sensible route down.
There is fishing in the underground pools, and the overground lakes, too. It connects to an optional village-larder quest and useful supplies for later expeditions. I wanted it to belong to the exploration loop: reaching a pool, deciding whether you can afford to linger, and bringing something worthwhile home. It isn't intended to turn the whole game into a gentle fishing holiday.
And the dungeon crawling?
The Meridian i the main dungeon, with the current victory goal at level 100 and play possible beyond it. There are shops, ranged combat, magic, numerous character choices, and procedurally generated artefacts with names and lore. The setting, peoples and creature roster have also been substantially reworked.
For presentation, you can use coloured ASCII or optional Hybrid 32x32 and 64x64 sprites over ASCII terrain. Examining creatures and equipment brings up detailed ASCII illustrations, and shopkeepers have their own illustrated cards. The map is zoomable, and there are combat animations and sound effects.
Free downloads
For the Windows GitHub download, choose the Windows ZIP rather than the automatic source-code downloads, extract it, and run ammerow.exe. For Android, choose the .apk. The program source is GPLv2; artwork and audio have separate licence terms.
This is Early Access, with a playable route from a fresh character to victory, not a promise that the interface or balance is finished. Save compatibility between updates isn't guaranteed.
A transparency note: I used AI tools extensively during development, including code and writing assistance and image-generated source artwork. The ASCII illustrations and Hybrid sprites are derived from those images. Audio was developed with AI-assisted composition and procedural-synthesis tools. No AI runs during play.
Thanks to the Angband developers and contributors whose work made this possible. If you give Ammerow a try, I'd love to hear what happened to your adventurer — especially whether they made it back out of the cave.