Preparing for 4.2 release

[mrfy]

I've liked most of the changes to classes and monsters, except for the big nerf to Rangers. It's bad enough that I stopped playing that class completely, but it did get me to try out the other new classes.

The tree monsters don't bother me as much, I think they add a neat bit of Tolkien flavor. Multi-headed hydrae seem a bit too much still. If I detect a pit, I'll avoid it at all costs, I didn't use to do that. And gorgons summoning 8-headed Hydra can get out of hand quickly.

[Voovus]

What's wrong with the current state of the development version? In particular, I am interested in feedback on the new classes

I thought you were planning at some point to start individual threads for the various character classes to do this systematically. (Maybe I'm just hallucinating... or someone has snuck in a mushroom of confusion into my rations. Amnesia - that's it! )

[Thraalbee]

+1 to this!

... For flavors I don't tend to complain but "Etten"? ...

[Sphara]

I'm generally very pleased with the new changes but I got few complaints now that you asked for them:

Packs of Old Forest Trees don't add anything to the game. Other than sometimes blocking a corridor. I just ignore them every time I see one.

Another tree complaint is about Hasty Ent. If you wake one up, you basically want to lure it somewhere and destruct the area, because it finds you anywhere and digs walls. I'm not particularly fond of those Huorns either. Mostly because they start to appear bit too early.

Wiruin is the kind of unique you just want leave it where you spotted it and never come back. Or destruct it. This, if you can detect it before it gets you.

For flavors I don't tend to complain but "Etten"?

Staff of Starlight and Wand of Door Destruction I never use, even though they are supposed to be beneficial. Buff em or ditch em.

Also, the game has too many fights against canines. Wolves and wargs are everywhere and then come the Z's. I sometimes even let myself to get wounded under 50% HP, just so I can get the whole wolf pack to follow me in the corridor without pelting them moving on and off from doorway (EDIT: this, of course, is a very old issue. Not the new problem).

These came in my mind first. Some changes are excellent, like huge buffs on mature dragons, wraith buffs. Nazguls being moved much deeper is kinda good but Uvatha wasn't nowhere near as dangerous as other dlvl70 uniques.

[Nick]

There are now new builds on the nightlies page and angband.live with the following changes:

• The 'p' option in targeting works again (thanks Ingwe)
• New experimental birth option - to-dam, instead of a flat damage boost, adds a percentage (5% per +1) of the damage dice. Some of you will realise that this is the central feature of O-combat, and I was kind of curious to see how it looks if just that change is made. The short answer is it's a bit broken, but not nearly as much as I expected. The effects are roughly:
  • Damage from small dice weapons is significantly reduced
  • Regular damage is somewhat reduced across the board
  • Damage from slays and brands is generally increased
  
  So it might be an interesting option for some, and it also makes a discussion point for potential future combat system changes
• Added a THROWING flag for weapons which are intended to be thrown. The existing weapons to get it are daggers and spears, and I have also added throwing axes and throwing hammers. The effect of the flag is that the damage of the thrown weapon now includes the player's innate to-dam value (so from =Damage, etc) as well as the weapon's.
• Added a new type of shield, Knight's Shield (heavier and better for bashing)
• Smallish rework of artifacts:
  • The 'thancs have all been nerfed from 2d4 to 1d4
  • Wormtongue has the speed bonus replaced by a moves bonus, and acquires trap immunity
  • Belegennon has its DEX and stealth bonuses replaced by damage reduction (think Frodo being stabbed by the orc captain in Moria)
  • New artifact, Knight's Shield of Eärendil, and all the artifact shields got the correct damage dice

These are the last gameplay changes (as distinct from bugfixes) that I intend before releasing version 4.2.0. The number of bugs on my list has now dropped below 30; I would appreciate any feedback on this list (things I've missed, things that are incorrect or no longer a problem).

So this is now a call for complaints. What's wrong with the current state of the development version? In particular, I am interested in feedback on the new classes and the changes to the monster list, but also on other things that have changed since 4.1.3 like XP penalties (both for races and classes), artifact changes, randarts, lighting. Feel free also to re-litigate changes made from 4.0 to 4.1, or suggest lost features from even older versions or new stuff.

Lack of comment will be taken as approval