V Angband videos

[aricz]

Hello! I just started recording my V Angband sessions and was thinking it would be fun to watch others play too. Yeps, it may be way geeky for most people, but I'll give it a shot anyway

In linux (if you have apt) just type "apt-get install ttyrec" in console

1. "ttyrec filenameofyourchoice"
2. start up V Angband (or any other variant) and GO GO GO
3. when you exit Angband just type 'exit' at the prompt
4. Tada, you have a video of you playing Angband ..
5. "ttyplay filenameofyourchoice" to watch video.
6. "ttyrec -a filenameofyourchoice" to start recording at the end of your last video.
7. Yummie!

I hope someone starts recording their sessions, it would be fun to watch. Strategies and tactics realtime. Come on..


Here's a video of a clvl28-29 human mage. Nothing special happens, just running around at 850ft-950ft looking for something with FREE ACTION attached. 12.5MB size.

http://www.uploading.com/files/E1QPIHHZ/ariczmage.html

Anyone know a better place to upload files? this one sux0rz..

[Bandobras]

Do I have to pay them to download the file? Or turn on Javascript (I'm afraid)?

Yeah, I'd like to record clearing out the O vault with several uniques and player ghost in it, but what if I only play in X, not in console?

[aricz]

Hummm.. not sure how that'll work out. I only compiled V3.0.6 with ncurses. Guess it has to be console.

And guess you'll have to turn on javascript to dl the file. Yeah, I know, that place sucks. Perhaps I should've found something else. Not today :P lazy

[Bandobras]

Heh, looks nice, but colors are totally broken, e.g. green walls. I play it in rxvt on Debian (no xterm on my machine).

[aricz]

Yeah, I noticed too. Playing the videos in X gives wrong colors. gotta go with virtual console (ctrl+alt+Fxx).

[Bandobras]

OK, I watched it with wrong colors, anyway. Thanks --- lots of fun, at least for the first level. However, running, fight messages and spell visual effects go too fast and I miss them.

I notice you let monsters surround you, which even most of my warriors avoid. I know you have free phase and teleport, but in variants I play, monsters easily track you down after phase and even sometimes after teleport, so there is no guaranteed time to heal if you waste your HP by nonoptimal battleground. I also try hard to kill all monsters that blind, confuse or drain in one turn (or before they can close to melee, if they can't do this from a distance). I guess you play on too shallow levels (even without FA) and/or with no autoscum and monster AI options (even in V there are some), so you can get away with such bravado, until you die of boredom...

[aricz]

Hehe. I know mostly which monsters I can be surrounded by and not. Making a bad habit perhaps. And yeps, at clvl28 I should've been at probably around 1800-1900. Staying at '950 to find FA sucks bigtime, it's boring. I just found a =FA at the blackmarket. So, I'm now clvl29.. 2,3million turns already, and deepest I've been is 950ft.. it was VERY boring. But now, I can dive dive dive.

Start recording people!


But answering why I'm playing like I do, with NO auto-scum, no AI options set. I still haven't won V Angband. Last game I had a clvl50 gnome mage, killed every unique but 2, and had Morgoth down to under 50% health. Then managed to fuck up badly and died. So, this type of playing is not boring yet (well, looking for that damn FA was bleeeh). I guess after you've won a couple of times with no big problems you'll start twitching the AI, turning on auto-scum, perhaps putting in some ironmanrules at the same time. I'm just not there yet.

btw, I have 0 delay on effects. And have turned off the --more--, everything goes so much more smooth without it. Many people says it's a sure death to turn that option off, but.... haven't had any problems yet. Just know when to slow down.. hehe

[Bandobras]

I've not won any variant, either. For 14 years now. But, frankly, I enjoy the first 20 levels most and just jump from variant to variant, the harder, the better.

[aricz]

Hummhumm, ok. As long as you're having fun

Haven't tried many variants. Had a clvl50 mindcrafter in TOME 3.3.4 some months ago, but found out he sucked at the endgame. Very fun to play though.

Played some Zangband too, mindcrafter, just remember he also was fun to play. But didn't like the weird dungeons in Z, and all those boring monsters at the low levels. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time.

But first 20 levels. You mean characterlevels? Yeah, because the boring/slow part comes when you hit clvl25 and that goes on until about clvl40, when you'll start finding the real good equipment and can start kicking ass again (depends on dungeon depth of course). At least that's my experience with V Angband...

I just want to beat this game ONCE, and I'll try turning on the AI options, autoscum on. Guess I need to change playstyle when that time comes

And the harder the better.. tried ADOM ? :P or perhaps that game isn't hard compared to some other variants?

[Bandobras]

And the harder the better.. tried ADOM ? :P

Sure, for as long as the author contemplated making the source free. You can even find my name in the credits. And I played Crawl, IVAN, Omega, Rogue, Ularn, all the classic stuff. I like it that the former three have more varied dungeons, but usually they have less replayability and are much easier when played through once or twice. They also have a lot of unfair death, even at deeper levels. I like hard games, but only if it requires better tactics and not better luck.

or perhaps that game isn't hard compared to some other variants?

It depends. Once you know what to do and survive for the first 2 minutes, the first half is easier than some hard variants if you play them as fast (whatever that means). But then, you have time limit...

[aricz]

Ah, cool. ADOM was my first real love with roguelikes. Played it alot. Magic stuff Never made a win though (well, did with a savescum-session once), but remember I had a blast for 1-2 years with it. Herbalism was fun. And all the special levels, towns on random dlvls, all the different caves.. the astral dlvl.. watercave the library! hohoho. The orbs. Oh yes, ADOM is special even though it has its quirky weird stuff going on. People complain there's little logic to some of the stuff in the game, but me, I loved the twisted ways of mister Biskup. Don't agree on him having the source closed though. Just another egoistic narrowminded fuck, but hey, it's his choice. He did good with ADOM anyway. Hehe. Still, keeping it closed, a big NO NO.

Then I found V Angband. BAM! Fell in love with everything about it. Down to the bone hack'n'slash. Fast'n'furious. Yummie. Great UI. Lots of artifacts. Great EGO-items. And a feeling it's not all about luck, there's much you can do with different strategies and tactics. I'm a sucker for analytical games, V Angband is one of them. Only sucky suck about it is the random teleport into a room of nasty Z's. Think that's about the only death you can get which really isn't your fault (ok, so you can restrict yourself to NOT teleport when not in danger).

Played Rogue a couple of times, seems allright. But haven't had a kick on it yet. Crawl, that game seems pretty damn nice, but I'm too stubborn yet to like the way it's always centering around your character (the map). Tsktsk. Nethack. Larn, Moria. Omega. And many Angband variants. But can't say I've REALLY played them. Just tried them a couple of times, trying to get the feel for them. Haven't given most of the games other than ADOM, V Angband and TOME time to really sink into me.

Textgames in general affects me in a very good way. Muds, infocomgames (zork, wishbringer, planetfall, a mind forever voyaging.. just to name a few of them). Oh yes, I looooove ASCII-games. But roguelikes are the cream of textgames. Delicious!