So you want to contribute but can't code?

[Tibarius]

re: spell list

Good day,

i would like to work on the spell.txt file and come up with a proposal how the mage spells could look like.

I cannot find spell.txt at the link mentioned above tho.


Cheers,
Tibarius

So i will work on a simple text file for now until someone can point out the spells.txt file to me.

[Nick]

i would like to work on the spell.txt file and come up with a proposal how the mage spells could look like.

I cannot find spell.txt at the link mentioned above tho.

The spells are all now in lib/gamedata/class.txt. Anything you come up with can be part of the conversation about how magic should look when (and if) it gets changed, which is currently planned for version 4.2.

[Tibarius]

mage spells - discussion base

Mage-Spells:
=====================================
- Only the 1st spell book is available in town.
- All spells have no minimum level requirement.
- The chance of success depends on the caster's intelligence. All spells require an intelligence of
18+(Spellbooklevel/5). The last spellbook thus requires 18/180 intelligence. A spell has a 0%
failure rate (for mage/ranger/thief) if the caster has the required intelligence. The spell failure
rate will increase for 1% mage, 2% ranger/thief for every point the caster's intelligence is below
the required intelligence.
- The spellbook-level specifies which dungeon level the natural deep of the spellbook is.
- Due to their long studies and training of their mind the mage class gets pConfusion at level 30.
- Attack spells are marked with *.
- Utility spells are marked with -.
=====================================


[ Magic for Beginners ] (town)
* burning hands (1) caster's hands burn until adjacent monster touched, damage 2d6, +2light
* poison touch (1) some drops of poison are applied on a weapon's blade, +1d6 damage
* fire bolt (1) small bolt of fire, range 5, damage 1d4
* frost bolt (2) small bolt of frost, range 10, damage 1d3
* sleep monster (3) range 10, sleep a non-unique monster, target can save
- detect monsters (1) detect non-invis monster for 1 turn, range 5+(Level/2)
- phase door (1) random teleport, range 10
- identify (5) reveal powers of an object
- detect object (3) detect objects in mid-range area, rogue only


[ Conjuring and Tricks ] (10)
* stinking cloud (4) radius-2 poison ball, dam 28, range 10
* magic missile (4) mana bolt, unresistable, range 20, damage 4d6
* spear of light (4) light beam, range 20, damage 3d8, lights beam path
* confuse monster (4) range 10, confuse a non-unique monster for Level/5 turns, target can save
* acid bolt (2) bolt of acid, range 10, damage 5d8
- light (2) lights up area/room, range 2+(Level/10)
- conjure food (3) conjure a random piece of food
- silence (3) damps the sounds around the caster, stealth+2
- regeneration (3) boosts hp and sp regeneration by (Level/10), increases food consumption
- resist fire (5) fire-resistance for 50+(Level*5) turns


[ Incantations and Illusions ] (20)
* wonder (3) create random effect, range 10
* spear of light (4) light beam, range 20, damage 5d8, lights beam path
* lightning bolt (2) elec bolt, range 10, damage 8d10
- alertness (5) increase perception value by 10 for 50+(Level*5) turns
- blur (10) caster is blurred for 50+(Level*5) turns, melee attacks on caster miss 15% of time
- cure poison (5) neutralize poison
- reveal monster (3) detect all monster (including invisible) for level/10 turns, range 5+(Level/2)
- agility (5) +3 speed for 50+(Level*5) turns, +1melee attack (but never above maximum)
- resist cold (5) cold-resistance for 50+(Level*5) turns


[ Sorcery and Evocations ] (30)
* Acid Strike (4) range 15 acid bolt, damage 10d13
* Frost Ball (6) range 15 radius-2 frost ball, damage 60
* polymorph other (7) polymorph non-unique monster
- teleport self (6) random teleport, range 100, always out of vault
- enchant armor (20) 70% chance to enchant magic bonus of armor by +1
- magic hole (15) sink through floor down to next level
- see invis (10) see invisible monsters for 1+(Level/5) turns


[ Way of the Mage ] (40)
* Fireball (9) range 15 radius-2 fire ball, damage 70
* mass-sleep (7) sleep all non-unique monster in LoS
- teleport other (12) teleport bolt, range 100
- disarm trap (5) disable traps on and around casters position (chest or floor)
- rPoison (10) resistance to poison for 50+(Level*5) turns
- detect stairs (3) detect stairs in mid-range area
- create doors (30) creates closed doors around player
- Word of Recall (25) teleport to dungeon / town


[ Arcane Secrets ] (50)
* Multi-Missile (15) fires 3 magic missiles in a row
* Acid Ball (10) radius-2 acid ball, damage 70
- Resistance (20) resistance to 4base+poison for 50+(Level*5) turns
- enchant weapon (20) 70% chance to enchat magic bonus of weapon by +1
- haste (10) haste caster, +7 speed for 50+(Level*5) turns
- stoneskin (10) AC+100 and speed-5 for 50+(Level*5) turns
- magic arrows (20) create magical ammunition for the equipped shooter
- create stair (20) create stairs at caster's location, up or down randomly choosen
- recharge (20) recharge staff/wand, object can blow up


[ Tome of Destruction ] (60)
* Earthquake (20) radius-10 earthquake
* Inferno (10) radius-2 plasma explosion (ball spell), damage 100
* Nether Bolt (15) nether bolt range 20, damage 160, no damage versus undead
* Shock Wave (8) radius-5 sound ball at caster's location, damage 70, stun effect
- Enchant Weapon (50) enchant to hit and to dam of weapon, max bonus is int dependant
- Bash Door (20) cast a force bolt of energy against a door, destructing it
- turn stone to mud (10) bolt which destroys first non-permanent wall


[ Lore of Bloodmagic ] (70) The Bloodmagic spells cost always the same HP they cost in mana.
* Touch of Death (100) drain life from adjacent monster if target does not save, instantly killed
- Rune of Protection (60) the caster draws a circle of blood on the ground which cannot be entered
* Chaos Strike (20) range 20 chaos bolt, target must save or is polymorphed to Level-5, dam 160
- Sacrifice Life (100) the caster sacrifices life to gain new mana, cost 100 hp gain 200 mana
- Imbue Power (60) the caster imbues his own spiritual power into a wand/staff, recharge fail 0%
- Nightvision (5) eyes turn red so the caster can see in the dark, rogue only, duration: next level

[ Wrath of the Elements ] (80)
- 6th sense (20) telepathy for 50+(Level*5) turns
- Elemental Ward (100) immunitiy 4base+poison for 50+(Level*5) turns
- Rift (1) caster creates a dimensional rift and teleports to another level
- Elemental Brand (30) brand weapon or ammunition with fire/ice/poison
* Thunderbolt (15) bolt range 20, sparks to adjacent monster until no more targets, damage 120
* Ice Storm (15) radius-3 cold ball with 15% chance per monster to freeze it, range 20, damage 160
* Meteor Shower (15) (Level/10) number of meteors, radius-1 fire explosion, each meteor dam 50
* Acid Beam (15) acid beam, range 20, damage 140


[ Grimoire of Power ] (90)
* mana storm (30) damage 600 mana storm, unresistable, mage only
* mana bolt (10) damage 400 mana bolt, unresistable, mage+ranger only
- word of destruction (40) radius-20 earthquake which teleports other all monsters in range
- Mass Banishment (75) remove all non-unique monsters in range 20
- shadow (15) become one with the shadows, 15% melee miss, works only with light=0, rogue only
- combat magic (15) pFear, melee/ranged attacks always hit, increased chance for critical hit


The average-damage and average-damge / mana ratio of the attack-spells are not fine-tuned yet.

[Carnivean]

Bunch of stuff

Goes here: http://angband.oook.cz/forum/showthread.php?p=103162

[Philip]

So, while the damage levels really require some reworking, since some of the damage spells are absurdly weak, and others seem generous, tweaking those is a relatively simple exercise. So, I'll be focusing more on the utility spells.

Spells that no-one will ever use: Wonder (randomness is far too dangerous at levels at which you get this kind of spell), Alertness (no practical effect, really), Polymorph (see Wonder), Multi-missile (even if this is tweaked, 12d6 damage for 15 mana is expensive, and hitting multiple targets can be done with a ball spell), Bash Door (20 mana is absurd for half of a trap/door destruct, not to mention V doesn't even have jammed doors anymore), Touch of Death (sacrificing lots of life to maybe kill something that is next to you is a great way to die)

A couple spells have odd duplication: Rift and Magic Hole seem way too similar, as does Recharge and Imbue Power. At least Recharge and Imbue Power are functionally a bit different, since Imbue Power is better in almost all situations (if you're recharging, you probably have quite a bit of free time).

Spells that seem off: 6th sense, since you'll probably have a source of telepathy already anyway, Enchant armor/Create ammo/Brand/Enchant Weapon (incredibly spammy group of spells)

I am impressed with the decision to remove many of the utility spells such as detect traps/doors/stairs (it comes late enough that it really doesn't matter too much anymore).

I also really like the bloodcasting idea, but there are problems with it. For one, casting it in combat is incredibly dangerous - usually a move puts you in a better position, not a worse one - and when not in combat it isn't really a credible cost.

I think you're way too generous to ranger/rogue. As far as I can tell, a rogue would have +10 speed (or +5 speed and +100 AC), never miss, take 15% less damage in melee, unlimited light radius, base immunities, including poison, and slightly more utility than a mage. A ranger never misses a shot, and has more or less all of the above advantages. In fact, given spend HP to gain mana spell, a faultless recharge, and a staff of healing, or even just staff of magi, faultless recharge and staff of healing, spell costs are irrelevant outside of combat.

[gglibertine]

I am impressed with the decision to remove many of the utility spells such as detect traps/doors/stairs (it comes late enough that it really doesn't matter too much anymore).

I think the utility spells are absolutely critical to any kind of strategic gameplay and don't come too late at all. I use them (especially detect traps, doors, and stairs) constantly, at every phase of the game. It's vastly better to carry one spellbook with the basic detects in it than several items to detect each thing separately.

* Detecting traps allows you to avoid losing a promising level to a trapdoor or a vital spellbook to a burst of flames.

* Detecting doors gives you some idea of the layout of rooms ahead of you and helps predict what rooms might be pits or vaults, without actually having to reveal everything all at once. (I hate mapping because I track my progress through a level based on how much of it is visible.)

* Detecting stairs allows you to quickly escape a level that's not promising or too dangerous -- and gives you the choice of whether to go up or down, which can be really key in the early stages in particular.

* Detecting monsters is indispensable for determining strategy, deciding whether to break into a vault or not, and generally keeping yourself alive. Is that a kobold pit or a jelly pit behind that door? Orcs, or undead?

* Detecting treasure/objects is useful in much the same ways as detecting monsters -- is there anything in there worth fighting for or should I just skip that pit? Buried treasure is much more important when selling objects is turned off as well. If I'm starving to death, I want to know where the nearest food is and fast.

And that's just what occurs to me off the top of my head.

[gglibertine]

Re: banishment and mass banishment -- how about Deportation? Exile? Eviction? Eradication? (Let's avoid Cleansing, shall we?)

I'm thinking I'll take a shot at the context-sensitive help, since documentation is my area of expertise. (And I can really use the recent work experience since I haven't had a job for a couple of years now.)

• Can anyone suggest a good place to get started with this? i.e., are there lib files I can mine for messages (nothing obvious popped out at me) or is it just a matter of playing the game and writing help entries for things that pop up?
  
• What's the scope here? What types of messages do you want help for, what types should be considered self-explanatory? I can start with what's most obvious, but there are an awful lot of possible messages. (The "Current Plans" link at http://trac.rephial.org/ticket/13 is broken.)

[Nick]

I'm thinking I'll take a shot at the context-sensitive help, since documentation is my area of expertise. (And I can really use the recent work experience since I haven't had a job for a couple of years now.)

• Can anyone suggest a good place to get started with this? i.e., are there lib files I can mine for messages (nothing obvious popped out at me) or is it just a matter of playing the game and writing help entries for things that pop up?
  
• What's the scope here? What types of messages do you want help for, what types should be considered self-explanatory? I can start with what's most obvious, but there are an awful lot of possible messages. (The "Current Plans" link at http://trac.rephial.org/ticket/13 is broken.)

That ticket predates my involvement in Angband development...

I guess we need to think about what sort of context-sensitive help would be useful - there are already, for example, help tips in the shop interface.

[fph]

That seems a lot of spells. I'd be more comfortable with the changes being more incremental. Magnate asked for:
(1) fix the "damage progression" of attack spells
(2) subdivide better the existing spells into books

It seems like you did that, but combined irreversibly with:
(3) adding a bunch of new stuff, some of it with dubious balance effects (I think that giving players access to infinite magical arrows inside the dungeon is problematic, for instance). That spell list is huge; how many spells do you have there, like 80?
(4) reworking completely the mana/failure rate/int bonus formulas, in particular giving 0% fail rate to classes other than mages, which is extremely game-changing.
(5) altering some of the existing spells, sometimes in ways that look gratuitous (why should satisfy hunger be changed to "conjure food"? What advantage does it have compared to the current state?)

In short, this looks like a giant step for a game that usually changes at a much slower pace. I'd be more comfortable in getting (1) and (2) done immediately and independently of the other changes.

(That said, I like some of the suggestions, for instance the burning hands spell looks like a great idea to combine attack and utility).
(and I realize that you did a lot of work here, and here I am commenting gratuitously instead of having helped by doing it myself, so kudos and thanks for getting involved)

[Carnivean]

(and I realize that you did a lot of work here, and here I am commenting gratuitously instead of having helped by doing it myself, so kudos and thanks for getting involved)

I assume you're responding to Tibarius' post from a few months back. Nick has progressed past this point in the thread I linked just after that post.

Not that I would discount Tibarius' work, as he clearly put a lot of effort into that.

[fph]

I assume you're responding to Tibarius' post from a few months back. Nick has progressed past this point in the thread I linked just after that post.

Oops - sorry, I didn't realize it was so old. I didn't intend to cast raise dead on an old thread.

[gglibertine]

That ticket predates my involvement in Angband development...

I guess we need to think about what sort of context-sensitive help would be useful - there are already, for example, help tips in the shop interface.

Aha, ok. If anyone still thinks it needs doing, I'll gladly tackle it.

Maybe this thread needs to be updated to note that some of these things no longer need doing.

[Nick]

Maybe this thread needs to be updated to note that some of these things no longer need doing.

Actually, you now remind you that I did that in post 30 of this thread - as well as giving a sort of answer to your original question. As usual, it seems that past me was smarter than the current model.

[gglibertine]

Actually, you now remind you that I did that in post 30 of this thread - as well as giving a sort of answer to your original question. As usual, it seems that past me was smarter than the current model.

Actually, reviewing that post, I see that it was the very post to which I was responding; you didn't answer my questions because I hadn't asked them yet.

I'm trying to be helpful. I'd like to contribute to the project in some way, but over the years I've volunteered several times to take things on, only to be told that something has already been done, doesn't need to be done anymore, or, in this case, that nobody knows what needs to be done. It's a little disheartening, to be honest. Yes, yes, open source, blah blah blah.

You put the context-sensitive help thing out there. I have 20 years of experience both as a technical writer and as an Angband player, which may make me uniquely qualified to take on this ticket.

When someone can tell me a LITTLE more than the basic file format, I'll be happy to take a look at it.

[Nick]

When someone can tell me a LITTLE more than the basic file format, I'll be happy to take a look at it.

OK, so the other post has a format and an example. So in that example you would probably actually want a token and a message, like:

context:LIGHT_OUT
help:You have no wielded light source - you need to find another torch or lantern

(or split into LIGHT_OUT_TORCH and LIGHT_OUT_LANTERN, or whatever).

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work out what contexts help would be useful in, and supply it. As to how to do that, I'd suggest the three classic information gathering methods - guess, look it up or ask someone. So use your own experience and common sense, maybe look through posts of people asking questions, and start a thread for people to contribute ideas.