Friends,
What follows is a list of things, in order of priority, that I think should be eventually pulled from variants into Vanilla.
1. Eddie's squelch system. I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Man I love being a turtle." ...er, it's hands-down the best squelch system. And we need one. 'Nuff said.
2. NPP's quiver system. All classes need a way of managing ammo types by the end of the game. As it is, they take up too much room in the home in efforts to merge or keep enough different kinds for the different high-end uniques you want to kill. Right now, you can't plan ahead for endgame uniques very well.. and that ought to change.
3. NPP's store services. A tried-and-true way to eliminate townscumming without unbalancing the game.
4. FA's terrain types. Apart from flavor, FA's terrain really opens up a lot of new tactical opportunities, which would really benefit Vanilla. I know Herr Sidwell mentioned looking into terrain, and I think the FA model far excels NPP, which while it looks very pretty, doesn't do a whole lot for tactics (painting huge swaths of the dungeon with a terrain type doesn't open up many possibilites). Climbing into a tree or rubble tile for better defense, while simple, adds a whole new dimension.
5. NPP/FA Shooter affinities. Slings and Shortbows are currently marginalized. I like what NPP does for rogues and slings. I don't really understand how FA handles it, but I think there should be some differentiation between classes, if for flavor only. Right now everybody just wants a longbow.. and that's fine, but why not mix things up a little?
6. Z+'s changes to humans. I can't think of any compelling reason why we need a base race. Z+ makes humans interesting (letting them ID weapon bonuses, show damage delivered to monsters, &c). No race should be boring.
What follows is a list of things, in order of priority, that I think should be eventually pulled from variants into Vanilla.
1. Eddie's squelch system. I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Man I love being a turtle." ...er, it's hands-down the best squelch system. And we need one. 'Nuff said.
2. NPP's quiver system. All classes need a way of managing ammo types by the end of the game. As it is, they take up too much room in the home in efforts to merge or keep enough different kinds for the different high-end uniques you want to kill. Right now, you can't plan ahead for endgame uniques very well.. and that ought to change.
3. NPP's store services. A tried-and-true way to eliminate townscumming without unbalancing the game.
4. FA's terrain types. Apart from flavor, FA's terrain really opens up a lot of new tactical opportunities, which would really benefit Vanilla. I know Herr Sidwell mentioned looking into terrain, and I think the FA model far excels NPP, which while it looks very pretty, doesn't do a whole lot for tactics (painting huge swaths of the dungeon with a terrain type doesn't open up many possibilites). Climbing into a tree or rubble tile for better defense, while simple, adds a whole new dimension.
5. NPP/FA Shooter affinities. Slings and Shortbows are currently marginalized. I like what NPP does for rogues and slings. I don't really understand how FA handles it, but I think there should be some differentiation between classes, if for flavor only. Right now everybody just wants a longbow.. and that's fine, but why not mix things up a little?
6. Z+'s changes to humans. I can't think of any compelling reason why we need a base race. Z+ makes humans interesting (letting them ID weapon bonuses, show damage delivered to monsters, &c). No race should be boring.
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