Magic and edit files after the restructure

[Therem Harth]

Because I have to ask: post-restructure, will the spell info in p_class.txt still look like this?

B:0:1:1:30:4
B:1:2:2:35:4
B:2:3:3:35:4
B:3:5:3:15:4
B:4:5:4:35:4
B:5:7:5:40:3
B:6:7:5:40:3
B:7:9:7:40:3
B:8:9:7:40:3
B:9:9:8:40:3
B:10:11:9:40:3
B:11:11:10:45:3
B:12:11:10:45:3
B:13:13:10:45:3
B:14:13:11:45:4
B:15:15:13:45:4
B:16:15:15:50:4
B:17:17:15:50:4
B:18:17:15:50:4
B:19:19:15:50:4
B:20:19:15:50:4
B:21:21:17:50:3
B:22:23:17:50:3
B:23:25:20:50:3
B:24:27:21:50:3
B:25:29:22:50:3
B:26:31:24:60:3
B:27:33:28:60:3
B:28:35:32:70:4
B:29:99:0:0:0
B:30:99:0:0:0
B:31:5:5:50:1
B:32:15:15:80:12
B:33:25:25:80:16
B:34:30:15:80:135
B:35:99:0:0:0
B:36:17:15:50:25
B:37:23:25:60:35
B:38:99:0:0:0
B:39:45:80:90:250
B:40:99:0:0:0
B:41:20:13:70:20
B:42:99:0:0:0
B:43:30:35:80:200
B:44:40:40:80:100
B:45:99:0:0:0
B:46:10:16:50:20
B:47:25:30:80:15
B:48:99:0:0:0
B:49:40:70:80:200
B:50:42:80:85:250
B:51:47:95:85:250
B:52:7:7:50:2
B:53:20:20:50:4
B:54:25:25:80:12
B:55:35:50:75:115
B:56:40:60:75:10
B:57:99:0:0:0
B:58:99:0:0:0
B:59:99:0:0:0
B:60:99:0:0:0
B:61:99:0:0:0
B:62:99:0:0:0
B:63:99:0:0:0

Because that was probably half the reason I removed the Mage/Priest system in Neoband, instead of adding to it. And now that I want to build on the book system instead, the above is making my eyes bleed.

I know moving stuff to edit files is supposed to be good, but personally I would rather see things like class-based spell prohibitions hardcoded, even if it means cheesy hacks. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of programming can deal with hackish hardcoded stuff, as long as the coding style is reasonable. The edit file format OTOH still gives me problems after ~10 years of mucking around with Angband.

[Nick]

Here's a sample book:

book:prayer book:[Words of Wisdom]:7:2

spell:Scare Monster:5:4:29:3
effect:BOLT_AWARE:TURN_ALL
dice:$B
expr:B:PLAYER_LEVEL:+ 0
desc:Attempts to scare a single monster for a level-dependant duration.
desc:  Uniques and monsters that resist fear are not affected.

spell:Portal:5:4:30:4
effect:TELEPORT
dice:$B
expr:B:PLAYER_LEVEL:* 3
desc:Teleports you randomly over a short distance.

spell:Cure Serious Wounds:5:4:32:4
effect:HEAL_HP
dice:25+m20
effect:CURE:BLIND
effect:CURE:CUT
effect:CURE:CONFUSED
desc:Cures 20% of your wounds (min 25hp) and heals all cut damage.

spell:Chant:5:5:34:4
effect:TIMED_INC:BLESSED
dice:24+d24
desc:Blesses you, giving a bonus of +5 to AC and +10 to-hit, for 24+1d24
desc: turns.

spell:Sanctuary:7:5:36:3
effect:TOUCH_AWARE:OLD_SLEEP
dice:$B
expr:B:PLAYER_LEVEL:+ 0
desc:Attempts to put to sleep each monster directly adjacent to you.
desc:  Uniques and monsters that resist sleep are not affected.

spell:Satisfy Hunger:7:5:38:4
effect:SET_NOURISH
dice:16999
desc:Magically renders you well-fed (but not satiated).
desc:  This will also cure a bloated stomach.
## get rid of remove_curse in 3.4 until curses are redone
#spell:Remove Curse:7:6:38:5
#effect:REMOVE_CURSE
#D:Removes all ordinary curses from all equipped items.
#D:  Heavy or permanent curses are not affected.

spell:Resist Heat and Cold:7:7:38:5
effect:TIMED_INC:OPP_COLD
dice:10+d10
effect:TIMED_INC:OPP_FIRE
dice:10+d10
desc:Gives you temporary resistance to cold and fire, for 10+1d10 turns each.

and restruct has been merged into master branch now, so you can see them all here.

[Therem Harth]

Wow, thanks! That's a lot better. I suppose it makes sense for Vanilla...

OTOH it still looks very verbose to me, for when new classes are wanted. So minimize tedium, I will probably continue avoiding the book-based magic system.

[Nick]

OTOH it still looks very verbose to me, for when new classes are wanted.

Well, it has also replaced spell.txt, and all the stuff that was in x-spell.c. There is now no dedicated spell code at all, just references to effects (as seen in effects.c). This has been a big change that has unified all magical effects, and pushed a huge amount of the game control out to the edit files. In fact, creating a new class is pretty much *only* a matter of editing that file.

It is a lot to take in

[PowerWyrm]

This will be fun when I'll have to port the 11 magic realms of PWMAngband

[Therem Harth]

Well, it has also replaced spell.txt, and all the stuff that was in x-spell.c. There is now no dedicated spell code at all, just references to effects (as seen in effects.c). This has been a big change that has unified all magical effects, and pushed a huge amount of the game control out to the edit files. In fact, creating a new class is pretty much *only* a matter of editing that file.

It is a lot to take in

That sounds really great in general, just not for my purposes; I would rather tack on content as code. Partly because that's how I've been learning to program...