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I believe way back in the Moria days, the dungeon builder used to create a fairly even number of up and down staircases for each level. Somewhere along the Angband development the routines seemed to change that Less staircases are created for whichever direction you are heading. So if you went from Level 1 to Level 2. Level 2 would have 4 or 5 up staircases and 1 or 2 down staircases. I can see why this was done for gameplay, but it is sort of nonsensical. Gravity suggests that in a huge cave system such as Angband/Moria, it'll always be easier to find ways down.
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One interesting way of dealing with that logic breakdown could be the introduction of a new type of Down staircase.
> staircases which act more as trapdoors then staircases.
You could create 1 or 2 regular fixed up and down staircases per level that work exactly as the current staircases. But then add 4 to 8 of these Red staircases that A) don't ensure you are descending into safety. B) don't have a regular return up staircase attached. C) will sometimes cause falling damage if no slowfall is active.
If you wanted to you could also map 4 to 8 up < staircases that could be accessable with levitation, jump, or a new set of climbing tools.
Another attribute that could be given to these special staircases is they could also work as multi level staircases. Chutes so to speak. Perhaps 60 percent would be single level, but the remainder could be from 2-5 level drops. Depending on how fancy you want to get, the system could either remember the original level for the corresponding up red staircase, or have those work randomly too. This could also add a difficulty to a new climbing ability, as a 1 floor climb would certainly be easier than a 4 floor climb.Last edited by yyrkoon; February 15, 2010, 17:02. -
climbing tools could consist of
Rope - One use down.
Magic Rope - Unlimted uses down (perhaps can also be activated to possibly imbobilize an enemy in combat.)
Climbing Boots - Unlimted uses up and down (less chances of falling but not 100%)
Grappling Hook - Multiple uses up and down, but a chance to become lost going down.
etc etc, anyway it would add some new strategic elements to the game.Comment
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It only appears to be a problem if you're unfamiliar with the properties of random numbers. Just as rational numbers can be mapped to integers even though there are an infinite number between each pair of integers each up staircase can be matched to a down staircase even though there are two up staircases and only one down staircase on each level because the dungeon is infinite.
And I think that means we have proof available from the adventurer's perspective that the dungeon is infinite rather than merely inconveniently large.One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to bind them.
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness interrupt the movie.Comment
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I think the actual change is that you get more down staircases than up staircases. Since most players spend most of their time going downwards, this actually decreases the amount of time you have to spend exploring levels that are shallower than your desired level.
I'd be very surprised if the dungeon generation depend on your vertical direction of travel.Comment
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Take a tough enough character and travel from level 1 to 5 and map each level. Use your M]ap command and count the up and down staircases as you descend. Then head back up and do the same.
Surprised?
EDIT - Actually I just ran that test myself. Seemed that going down the split was pretty much 3/3. Heading back up the Up Stairs were alot more rare, which is how it should be. Either it's already been addressed (since I primarily run 3.06), or too many years of searching for staircases has left me addled.
BTW Nice job on the new version. I think I can finally remove 3.06.Last edited by yyrkoon; February 15, 2010, 18:23.Comment
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The down-only staircases already exist, as a white carat ^
I take them fairly regularly, especially if I don't have dStairs.Comment
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