Sil screencasting / let's play

[debo]

Hi,

Here's a new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d1EdWUaBms

[debo]

Thanks for posting these videos debo. They're incredibly interesting, and I've been waiting some time for some 1.2.1 videos.

Thanks! We should have a bunch more 1.2.1 videos coming up.

[debo]

The next part in Basil's 1.1.1 stealth singer series will be up here in the next 30 mins or so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llOXwdc5bnk

[Raajaton]

Thanks for posting these videos debo. They're incredibly interesting, and I've been waiting some time for some 1.2.1 videos.

[debo]

I should get back to work on Pyrel sometime, because its code actually does look only slightly more "decorated" than that example. Hooray for Python.

I would really like to see a list comprehension that is literally '[some crazy thing modified by a million things]'

[Derakon]

base = your_stealth_score
combat_noise = 0

if player_attacked
  combat_noise += 2

if attacked_player
  combat_noise += 2

base = base - combat_noise

your_roll = base + 1d10 + ability_bonus(SONG_OF_SILENCE)

for each monster
  monster_perception = [some crazy thing modified by a million things]
  monster_roll = monster_perception + d10
  if monster_roll > your_roll
    alert_monster

Wow, I wish C code actually looked like that! Instead, there are millions of pointless semicolons and braces all over the place, because people back then didn't realise we would standardise the line-breaks and indenting by convention and that this whitespace could be used to infer where all the semicolons and braces would go...

I should get back to work on Pyrel sometime, because its code actually does look only slightly more "decorated" than that example. Hooray for Python.

[debo]

The next episode in the Basil stealth/singer series will be available here in a few mins (currently processing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQqs8ujCA2I

[debo]

base = your_stealth_score
combat_noise = 0

if player_attacked
  combat_noise += 2

if attacked_player
  combat_noise += 2

base = base - combat_noise

your_roll = base + 1d10 + ability_bonus(SONG_OF_SILENCE)

for each monster
  monster_perception = [some crazy thing modified by a million things]
  monster_roll = monster_perception + d10
  if monster_roll > your_roll
    alert_monster

Wow, I wish C code actually looked like that! Instead, there are millions of pointless semicolons and braces all over the place, because people back then didn't realise we would standardise the line-breaks and indenting by convention and that this whitespace could be used to infer where all the semicolons and braces would go...

With enough #defines, you can make C look however you like

Also, in a time where your alternatives were assembly, primordial lisps, APL, BCPL, Fortran, and maybe FORTH, C probably looked downright sane.

[half]

base = your_stealth_score
combat_noise = 0

if player_attacked
  combat_noise += 2

if attacked_player
  combat_noise += 2

base = base - combat_noise

your_roll = base + 1d10 + ability_bonus(SONG_OF_SILENCE)

for each monster
  monster_perception = [some crazy thing modified by a million things]
  monster_roll = monster_perception + d10
  if monster_roll > your_roll
    alert_monster

Wow, I wish C code actually looked like that! Instead, there are millions of pointless semicolons and braces all over the place, because people back then didn't realise we would standardise the line-breaks and indenting by convention and that this whitespace could be used to infer where all the semicolons and braces would go...

[debo]

Thanks for doing more of these! On a character like the 5-1-1-1 Hador, how could you possibly survive the late game? It seems like every enemy would have a chance to kill you in one hit regardless of the evasion or protection you manage to stack up. I'm terrible at this game, but I have no idea how to even get through the early game with less than 4 con. One good charge from an orc warrior can easily do over 15 damage and there's nothing to stop them from just charging you again.

Unless you're surprised by an orc warrior, you don't really ever need to suffer a charge. Flanking helps a bunch by letting you move past them on a charge while still hitting them (and possibly charging yourself).

I've recorded a ttyrec from 500' onward of the current 5111 I'm playing, I'll probably cast that one "eventually". He's at 650' now and will very likely die to a surprise dragon breath in short order.

[huiren]

Thanks for doing more of these! On a character like the 5-1-1-1 Hador, how could you possibly survive the late game? It seems like every enemy would have a chance to kill you in one hit regardless of the evasion or protection you manage to stack up. I'm terrible at this game, but I have no idea how to even get through the early game with less than 4 con. One good charge from an orc warrior can easily do over 15 damage and there's nothing to stop them from just charging you again.

[HallucinationMushroom]

Question? What is this, stealth, that you speak of?

[debo]

On every single turn, the game calls "monster_perception" with your stealth score as your difficulty. This function does the following:

base = your_stealth_score
combat_noise = 0

if player_attacked
  combat_noise += 2

if attacked_player
  combat_noise += 2

base = base - combat_noise

your_roll = base + 1d10 + ability_bonus(SONG_OF_SILENCE)

for each monster
  monster_perception = [some crazy thing modified by a million things]
  monster_roll = monster_perception + d10
  if monster_roll > your_roll
    alert_monster

So song of silence does basically add directly against your stealth check. It also appears to do so by (SONG / 2) (!)

There might be stuff in here that entirely screws everything, but that's how it works from my quick reading of it.

Edit: This also gets called for individual, very noisy events, but then your "base" is set to some very negative value rather than your stealth score.

Edit2: I also thing one of the million things that affects monster perception is exactly that noise flow based on distance from the player.

[wobbly]

I've not read the code, but if it's symetrical with it's effect on listen it's a flat out stealth bonus in all ways except assassinating by my reading.

[taptap]

The silence bonus counts against noise, but if there's only 2 noise to counteract and you have a silence bonus of 20, I don't think it's going to do more than help you by 2.

This is largely conjecture, I didn't have time to backtrace all the different monster_perception calls to see how they were setting their base difficulty.

Not sure where you get your information about "only 2 noise to counteract". It is not quite clear whether there is 1) "unlimited base noise" (i.e. silence works as a full perception penalty regardless of special noise), or 2) "capped base noise" (e.g. the 7 difference between standing still and moving), or 3) "no base noise" (reduces only additional noise, does not help normal stealth). Now this can probably be tested ...

The debug mode map is "acoustical distance" (= your distance penalties on a listen/song roll) and does not answer the question.