Squelch, TMJ, and item drops

[PowerDiver]

I would never have guessed that !k blocked the auto squelcher.
I assumed all the ! stuff was to block user commands.

In the old days, any inscription at all blocked squelching. I used to inscribe things with "no". I prefer the current behavior, a lot, but maybe it would be good to have an option for the old way, and automatic help explaining other possibilities such as !k if you examine or change the option.

[fizzix]

In the old days, any inscription at all blocked squelching. I used to inscribe things with "no". I prefer the current behavior, a lot, but maybe it would be good to have an option for the old way, and automatic help explaining other possibilities such as !k if you examine or change the option.

I was thinking of having an option on the examine screen that included, "don't squelch/destroy this item," which autoinscribes !k on it

[Nomad]

I was thinking of having an option on the examine screen that included, "don't squelch/destroy this item," which autoinscribes !k on it

Maybe the inscribe command could bring up a context menu of useful inscriptions, depending on what type of item you select? So if you tried to inscribe a weapon it might come up with a list something like:

Add an inscription to this item:

       a) do not squelch/ignore {!k}
       b) warn before dropping {!d}
       c) warn before wielding {!w}
       d) use as default swap weapon {@w0}
       e) user-defined inscription

Of course, that wouldn't solve the issue of people needing to know to use { in the first place, but it would save players having to look up/memorise the most useful inscriptions themselves, and help people trying to figure out what "inscribe" does by experimenting.

[fph]

I like Nomad's idea a lot, but I would take it a bit further: let's call his menu items "object flags", and hide to the casual n00b the fact that are mapped to inscriptions. Once we have a more user-friendly menu system for doing all the tasks we normally do with inscriptions, we can slowly deprecate them and let them fade into oblivion.

There are, I think, 3 use cases for inscriptions:
1) !-iscriptions ("don't do something"): they can be replaced with a menu where the user can set several flags, as in a) b) and c) of Nomad's menu. I think all we need in practice is "warn before using", "do not squelch", and "warn before losing item" (drop, squelch, sell, throw --- you all remember to inscribe all your items with !v, don't you?)
2) "=g" inscription - same: "pickup automatically items of the same kind"
3) @-inscriptions: in many graphical RPG (for instance Diablo, Baldur's gate and NWN, IIRC - I only played them long time ago), they are replaced by quick-use slots, which we could map on 1-9 or F1-F9, or modifier+F1-F9. So, for once, Angband could steal an idea from Diablo, instead of the other way round

Note that this could in principle be implemented without breaking savefile compatibility - just use the space that is now reserved to inscriptions.

What inscriptions (or macros) that you normally use wouldn't be covered by this system?

[Max Stats]

What inscriptions (or macros) that you normally use wouldn't be covered by this system?

I might decide to name my weapon Fred.

[buzzkill]

ToME 4 has 'hot keys', which Angband really needs to steal.

[Magnate]

ToME 4 has 'hot keys', which Angband really needs to steal.

Hot keys to do what? Do you mean there are commands we don't have? Or are these programmable? If so, how do they differ from keymaps?

[buzzkill]

It's the ease of setting up hot keys that is their appeal.

Hot Keys are like macros or keymaps without the hassle of inscriptions and assignment. I envision an Angband implementation as selectively mimicking the 'n' command. Pressing an unassigned hot keys will assign that key the previous command (whatever the 'n' key would do). Subsequent presses will invoke that command. Hot keys can be assigned as 1 thru 0 and shift1 thru shift0 and/or f-keys too (I don't know the coding limitations).

Soooo, currently to ease the repeated activation of a wand of wonder, one would have to inscribe it (multiple keystrokes), then create a macro (even more keystrokes), then type the macro trigger.

With hot keys, you would use the wand as normal, then, if you wanted to, assign it to a hot key by pressing an unused hot key, let's say '1'. Subsequent presses of '1' would wand of wonder the nearest enemy. Simple.

Since ToME is entirely mouse/menu driven, it's implementation (the setting of hot keys) is a little different, but I feel what I described above would mimic the end results and would work well within Angbands current menu/inventory structure.

[ekolis]

How in that system would you UNassign a hotkey? E.g. you assign 6 to "zap rod of trap-detection", but later you want 6 to mean something else...

Why not instead use the system used in many RTS games for assigning unit groups? That is, press Ctrl-number to assign a command, and the number alone to execute the command? You wouldn't really be able to UNassign a command, but you could at least REassign it...

[ChodTheWacko]

What inscriptions (or macros) that you normally use wouldn't be covered by this system?

Because I play angband only every now and then, I tend to inscribe my artifacts with notes to remind myself which ones are {imm acid} or etc.

- Frank

[Nomad]

Because I play angband only every now and then, I tend to inscribe my artifacts with notes to remind myself which ones are {imm acid} or etc.

- Frank

Yep, I do this too, because I nearly always play randarts. Plus I inscribe egos like Elvenkind that have a useful random resist or ability.

[Derakon]

ToME 2 had a "record macro" system that might work well, too. You hit a key (I think it was '@'), and it would start recording each keypress you made. When you hit '@' again, it would prompt you to assign the resulting sequence to a trigger key. You still have to deal with inscripting items and so on, but otherwise you get to create the macro while looking at the main game window (and able to see your inventory, the spells in your spellbooks, etc.), which is an improvement over Vanilla's method.

[buzzkill]

How in that system would you UNassign a hotkey?

You could make un-assignment a cumbersome menu option , or a very simple one. Alternatively, ctrl or fn or ctrl/shift (plus the hot key) or something. Un-assignment could be handled in any number of ways.

I know all about how to create and use inscriptions and macros in Angband, but I rarely do just because it's kind of a hassle. In my most macro intense game, I'll use maybe two or three macros in total. I didn't play much ToME, just a few hours really (because if drags on my computer), but the ease of use of the hot key system is something that made an impression upon me.