Rune-based ID

[takkaria]

I haven't played the latest iteration, yet, but I'd say that overall RuneID is a major improvement. I do have some reservations about the balance among the classes. I would probably reintroduce an Identify/Perception spell at least for the major spellcasters -Mage and Priest. Possibly increasing the mana cost and level of the spell. Because these classes have a large inventory allotment to books, they cannot carry around as many items as the other classes just waiting for an opportunity to learn a rune. All the study that is assumedly required to embark on a career as a mage or priest surely would include a study of runes.

Instead of this, perhaps mages or priests could have level-up rune knowledge, or some other form of extra knowledge outside the spell system.

[spara]

Small details bother me and currently I'm trying to rationalize to myself, why shops overall sell unidentified items (armor, weapons, jewelry, oil ) and why some of the items are identified (scrolls, staves, rods, wands, potions).

The new game mechanic sort of needs the runed things to be unIDd, so some in-game explanation would be needed for this.

Here's an idea I've been mulling.

* Shop items with {??} should be more expensive than items without {??}. I don't know how prices are calculated, but I assume it's somehow constructed with some base price and rune price components. Unknown rune components could be doubled or something.

And here's why. The shopkeepers do know what the item is, but are unwilling to share that information with the customer to get a higher price. They say for example something like: "This sword is a real bargain. It holds very powerful magic. Just look at the runes."

This idea however logically contradicts with scrolls, staves, rods, wands and potions that are not known to @, but are sold with their true name revealed. Maybe the true name of these could be also hidden for consistency? Would be interesting to see how that would play.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

One small error with Ring of Digging. @ dons a "Flourite" Ring (+3). Learns tunneling rune along the way. Reads a ?Identify on the ring, but is informed he has nothing to identify. But, the ring is still "flavored". @ must activate the ring for it to show as a Ring of Digging.

[PowerWyrm]

Thanks, noted. This is a problem in all outstanding versions.

Note that I've been unable to reproduce any of the tile problems in PWMAngband, where I fixed a couple problems with tiles a long time ago in both Windows and SDL clients. Worth checking if the fix isn't trivial.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Quite a bit of new stuff here, let me know if any of it is not working as it should.

Was about to report that @ character file wouldn't open, then I remembered, this new build breaks save-file compatibility. Just a reminder to everyone.

No worries. Happy to start a new @.

[Nick]

New builds for Windows and OS X.

Changes are:

• Identify scroll has tiles
• Main knowledge menu entries are aligned properly
• Flavored items can be autoinscribed unaware. If the item has an autoinscription when aware, this will replace the unaware inscription when the player learns the flavor.
• Items with a given rune can be autoinscribed. At this point this overrides object autoinscriptions, but plays nicely with manual inscriptions.
• Artifact spoilers show combat details again.
• The fact that an object has been shown not to have a flag or resist now appears on the property grid in the 'C' screens.

Quite a bit of new stuff here, let me know if any of it is not working as it should.

[Nick]

I think I have suggested this before, but it would be nice, if I have an unidentified equipment that has question marks all over char info and I then get poisoned, the resist poison rune would get overruled from char info. Naturally assuming I don't know the resist poison rune. Would help remembering what I have already tested against the particular equipment.

Having given this some more thought, it seems to me that it's mostly resists and other properties (FA, regen, etc) that this is needed for. I'm going to work on that basis, and there should be a new build up in the next day or so.

[Nomad]

This save reliably produces a disappearing tile for me. Take one step right and then look left (look + left arrow). Every time @ disappears.

On investigation, I think this bug is to do with the Tile Multiplier. I always play with my own tile set at the 1x1 setting and have never noticed any disappearing tiles. Some observations after testing with spara's save file:

* The disappearing tile effect can be reproduced in Original, Bolt, Gervais and Nomad tile sets if the multiplier is set higher than 1x1. It does not occur in any of those sets at multiplier 1x1, and I can't reproduce it in the Shockbolt set at all.

* Playing in the Gervais set at 4x2, the disappearing tile is replaced by a grey 'open floor' square. Every other setup I've tested so far, including Gervais at different sizes, gets an empty black square instead. (My guess would be that the bug is causing the location the tile is selected from on the tile sheet to move around, and this usually falls outside the area of the png file, but the displacement you get with 4x2 on the Gervais set lands on an unused square within the bounds of the sheet and so displays as a transparent tile.)

Make of that what you will.

[Nomad]

This might be connected to the disappearing tiles or not. In this image I have pressed the look command and hit down arrow once. For some reason the game targets an open space.

I've noticed this happening too - I think it's because the look command is picking up squelched objects.

[Nick]

Thanks, noted. This is a problem in all outstanding versions.

[spara]

This save reliably produces a disappearing tile for me. Take one step right and then look left (look + left arrow). Every time @ disappears.


initial position


one step right, the warg follows


activate look mode


look left, @*disappears

save: disappearing_tile.zip

[spara]

This might be connected to the disappearing tiles or not. In this image I have pressed the look command and hit down arrow once. For some reason the game targets an open space.



Here's a save file, if it's of use: open_space.zip. Just activate look and press down arrow once.

[Nick]

Warning

Next build will break savefiles. This is a consequence of implementing autoinscribe for unaware flavors.

[Nivra]

Do we support unicode or only ASCII?

If Unicode, then you could have runes be actual Nordic Runes:

http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U16A0.pdf

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Another possibility for learning runes occurs to me. What about if @ reads a scroll of Aggravate Monster, they also learn the "Aggravation" rune? Or more commonly, reading a scroll of Detect Invisible, they would also learn the See Invisible rune. It would make sense to me, in that the rune might be inscribed on the scroll (or embedded in hot wax seal on the scroll). I'm not sure it would be as sensible on a potion. Would a potion of True Seeing be etched with the See Invisible rune? Anyway, just one more potential way to streamline and quicken the ID game.