Dungeon Keeper

Updated: 03/05/2023 by Computer Hope

Dungeon Keeper overview

Type: Strategy
ESRB Rating: Mature
Release Date: 06/26/1997
Developer: Bullfrog Productions
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Dungeon Keeper allows the player to play as the evil side, building, controlling, and training your dominions. The object of Dungeon Keeper is to create structures, enticing various creatures to enter your dungeon through a portal. As the game progresses, you must stop the ones who are against evil who attempt to stop you towards the end of each level.

System Requirements: Microsoft Windows - Apple - Linux

Windows System Requirements
Operating System:	Windows 95 or Windows 98
Processor:	Intel Pentium 90 MHz
Memory:	16 MB RAM
Graphics Card:	SVGA graphics, 256-colors capable with 1 MB Video RAM
DirectX:	DirectX 3.0
Sound Card:	Recommended 100% Sound Blaster compatible sound card
Hard Drive Space:	65 MB
CD/DVD Drive:	4X CD-ROM
Controls:	Keyboard & Mouse
Multiplayer:	14.4 Kbps Modem for Modem to Modem play 28.8 Kbps Modem for Internet play IPX network card for LAN play

Note

Dungeon Keeper is not available for Apple. Consider using Windows under Bootcamp.

Note

Dungeon Keeper is not available for Linux. Consider using Wine to run Windows programs and games.

Creatures

BEETLE - A very basic creature that gets stamped on in a fight. Beetles are very weak and are regarded as fireball fodder by the stronger heroes.
BILE DEMON - A very big, red, greedy creature that eats you out of house and dungeon if you are not careful. Despite this, they are excellent fighters and as hard as nails. Also, their primary job is manufacturing. If they don't get enough food, they get angry and sleep until food arrives.
DARK MISTRESS - The kinkiest of the creatures who enjoys pain and inflicting it on others. She has no special job but goes to watch a torture if one is in progress. Slapping her makes her happier and she rushes off to a battle as soon as one starts. An excellent fighter, if quite worrying.
DEMON SPAWN - Scaly, squat creatures, excellent fighters despite the limited size. Demon spawns grow into dragons after passing level 10 experience.
DRAGON - The best all-round creatures, dragons can arrive two ways. They can either enter your dungeon through a portal or be grown from demon spawn who have been trained to level ten. These demon spawn then become level two dragons. They are excellent in combat, and breathe a natural fire that toasts heroes and enemy creatures. They are natural researchers but will train if no research is available.
FLY - This bog-standard giant insect is the first creature you get. Fast, but flimsy, flies are a pushover for the stronger invaders into your dungeon. They hate spiders and fight them if forced to share the same Lair. Despite this, they are excellent explorers and reveal more of the map to you by flying over water and lava.
GHOST - A supernatural creature that, thankfully, requires no food. Ghosts can pass through doors and see creatures that are using the conceal creature spell. Their primary job is researching in the library although they also go to the temple and wail occasionally.
HORNED REAPER - The biggest and most destructive creature in existence. Like the skeleton, ghost, and vampire, the Horny can't be enticed into your dungeon like the other creatures, you have to find a special way to attract him. Although he's a powerful, sadistic, psychotic killing machine, he does have bad points too; for instance, he won't group with other creatures, even with other Horned Reapers.
IMP - Imps are the most valuable of the creatures, as they perform all the tunneling work in your dungeon. Imps also maintain your dungeon by dragging away dead bodies, dragging heroes and enemy creatures to the prison and fitting traps.
ORC - A valuable creature to carry over from realm to realm (if you get the appropriate spell) is the 10th level Orc. Why? Because he can fight with the best of them, is relatively cheap to maintain and will develop doors and traps. At lower levels, orcs are easy to attract and the necessary barracks room is cheap to build per tile. They also train quickly if encouraged.
SKELETON - A basic fighter of average ability that is created in the prison if a humanoid creature dies.
SPIDER - A weak creature who sometimes goes to the prison to freeze prisoners for fun. Spiders detest the Flies and fight them if provoked or stationed in the same Lair.
TROLL - A hardy creature whose primary job is in the workshop. They are average fighters.
VAMPIRE - An undead creature that is a natural at research and scavenging but refuses to get its hands dirty and manufacture for you. If it is scavenging in the scavenger room and there are no other vampires on the map, it raises your portal attraction by half, thus increasing the creatures who enter your dungeon. If a vampire's experience level is higher than three, it becomes immortal. Then, it resurrects itself in its Lair when it dies although its experience level is decreased.
WARLOCK - Powerful magical creatures who are excellent at research. Training makes them more powerful, extending their capabilities and range of spells. Warlocks work especially well either with other warlocks, or alone.

Hints

Below are helpful hints, secrets, tips, and other ideas to allow you to conquer the game or, best yet, to conquer your best friend over modem or network.

Build your library when given the opportunity as fast as possible to allow warlocks to come to your dungeon and to research new spells and most importantly new rooms.
Build doors that block an entrance, and in front of the doors build gas and electric traps; this way the creatures is dying before entering your dungeon.
Build gold rooms close to the gold. That way, your imps can transfer gold more quickly and easily; or better yet, if you have rooms that have gold within them that you can control with a door, put 2 or 3 imps in the room and lock it. Although you have to hear "some of your minions are unable to reach the treasure room," you can pick up to 8 bags of gold, press "T" to get to the treasure room, drop gold and repeat.
Build as fast as possible, catching your enemy off guard when being attracted early.
If when finding the resurrect spell and you have had a creature such as the horned reaper die, you can resurrect him, and if you find another, resurrect him again.
You can find specials for access to secret worlds in the following levels: 8, 9, 14, 15, 17.
Also, there are levels that only appear during certain phases of the moon (such as the full moon). The program determines this by your CPU clock, which can be changed. So get out the almanac and start exploring!
Solved the game? Can't find a biological opponent? You can play all those multiplayer maps against the computer! Just go to your DOS prompt and start the game using '-1player' as a parameter. In the example below, you should be in your Dungeon Keeper directory:
C\>keeper95 -1player or C\>keeper -1player

Bonus boxes

Character level up - Increases each character's.
Transport Creature - You can select one character to take with you to the next level - obviously pick a high-level character and don't use this bonus box straight away or else you cannot use that creature on the current level.
Locate Hidden World - "You have located the hidden world." Bonus level that you can go to once you have completed the current level by clicking the banner that has a question mark on it. It is usually tucked away somewhere. Note: you have a time limit to complete this secret level.
Make Safe - Quite common bonus box. Turns all earthen walls into stone, fortifying your dungeon.
Resurrect Creature - When you click this, displays a list of characters that have died and they resurrect!
Steal Hero - Subvert a hero to your cause.
Multiply Creatures - Multiplies ALL your creatures.
Steal Hero - Can steal one of your enemy's creatures.

Sacrifice items

Fly & Spider = Warlock
Beetle & Spider = Dark Mistress
Beetle & Beetle = Manufacturing completed
Fly & Fly = Research completed (use it later in the longer research topics).
3 Spiders = Bile Demon
1 Troll+1 Bile Demon+A Dark Mistress = Horned Reaper.
1 Chicken = Kills all your chickens in an explosive manner. You may also lose a bonus box on that level.
Horned Reaper = All your creatures become angry.
Bile Demon & Bile Demon = All your creatures are turned into chickens for a limited period.
Ghost = All your chickens are killed.
Vampire = All your creatures become diseased.

Keyboard shortcuts

Alt+R - Change resolution.
Pressing up or down - Scroll the map up or down, or moves creature forward or backwards.
Pressing left arrow to right arrow - Scroll the map left to right, or causes the creature to strafe left to right.
Pressing Ctrl+left arrow or Ctrl+right arrow - Rotate the map left to right.
Del or Page Down - Rotate the map left to right.
Ctrl+up or Home - Zooms in on the map.
Ctrl+down or End - Zooms out on the map.
Shift+arrow key (up, down, left, right) - Allows you to scroll the map faster in that particular direction.
Shift+left arrow key - Possess creature.
Moving the mouse left to right - Rotates the creature's head left to right.
Moving the mouse up to down - Rotates the creature's head up to down.
1.2.3.4.5.6 - Select weapon depending on the creature's selection.
Ctrl+1.2.3.4.5 - Set a marker on the current screen.
Shift+1.2.3.4.5 - Go to a set marker.
H - Go to the Dungeon Heart.
T - Go to the Treasure Room.
Shift+L - Go to the Lair.
Shift+H Go to the Hatchery.
L - Go to the library.
Shift+T - Go to the Training Room.
Shift+B - Go to the Bridge.
Shift+G - Go to the Guard Post.
W - Go to the Workshop.
B - Go to the Barracks.
Shift+P - Go to the Prison.
Alt+T - Go to the Torture Chamber.
Ctrl+T - Go to the Temple.
G - Go to the Graveyard.
S - Go to the Scavenger Room.
F - To a fight.
A - To annoyed creature.
Left-clicking a creature - Picks up the creature.
Right-click - Drops the Creature or item.
Backspace - Undo pick up creature.
M - Map Screen.
Esc - Options panel.
1 - Information panel.
2 - Rooms panel.
3 - Research panel.
4 - Workshop panel.
5 - Creature panel.
F8 - Toggle tool tips.
P - Pause game.