Digging by default

[droof]

I like the digging aspect of Angband. But every time I start a new character, I have to buy a pick and equip / unequip the pick whenever I want to dig in a level.

I think the digging is a lot of fun. But buying and carrying around a pick to switch with the main weapon again and again is just busy work and makes digging less fun.

Can't a new character just start with a pick? Or just give starting characters the ability to dig with their main weapon just as easily as they would with a pick to make digging more accessible and fun?

[Patashu]

For comparison, in Sil, just having a pick in your inventory is enough to dig walls.

[Grotug]

I'm pretty sure selecting Dwarf when you start a game will allow you to dig with just about any weapon from the get go.

[droof]

But I like hobbits

Sil-style digging sounds like the better option. I can probably make the change, but I'd like to know, is this manual digging deliberate and wanted or just carried over from Moria / Angband legacy?

[Estie]

Its a leftover of course. Tome2 already added an additional equipment "tool" slot which could hold a digger as well as an option to auto-dig on movement. I think that setup would be to your liking ?

[Nivra]

The issue with either solution is Rings of Digging. I inevitably replace my digger with a ring of digging in early mid-game. It's faster @ digging, has a cast of StM, and most importantly a bajillion times lighter, usually resulting in a +1 speed boost, since at that point in the game, I'm inevitably overweight.

However, I almost always use it as a swap item. There are always better rings to wear (ring of stats/dmg/resistfirecoldpoison/mouse).

So unless the patch detects =Digging in the inventory and can auto swap to that, it only half solves the problem. Alternatively, the ToMe tool slot could allow a =Digging, but that's super hokey.

[Patashu]

Probably replace Rings of Digging with a Pick ego that casts StM?

[droof]

Its a leftover of course. Tome2 already added an additional equipment "tool" slot which could hold a digger as well as an option to auto-dig on movement. I think that setup would be to your liking ?

I'll try tome2 soon. I think auto-dig on movement might be too automated, I like the control-move setup that makes me feel like I'm really taking action to dig. Just not the essential one-time pick buying at the start of every new character and constant weapon switching. I know digging is not necessary and some players just don't dig at all because it's not worth the time and effort. I'm interested in making it less time consuming.

The issue with either solution is Rings of Digging. I inevitably replace my digger with a ring of digging in early mid-game.

Okay, so digging becomes more attractive in early mid-game. If it's still worth digging for gold by then.

Probably replace Rings of Digging with a Pick ego that casts StM?

I hope some day I understand what that means

[Pete Mack]

The digger isn't for gold. It's for vaults.

[droof]

The digger isn't for gold. It's for vaults.

Oh, I didn't know that. In that case, digging is probably worth the effort, so never mind

Are vaults only accessibly by digging and never connected by corridors?

[Derakon]

re vaults only accessibly by digging and never connected by corridors?

It depends on the vault, but I would say most lesser vaults are open to the rest of the dungeon, and most greater vaults require digging to access. This is probably a good thing, in that it requires conscious action on the player's part to crack the vault open and unleash the monsters inside it.