Weapon/armor resistances & capabilities grid...for Home?

[fruviad]

I can see a handy grid showing my weapon and armor resistances and capabilities via the keystrokes "C" --> "<space>". So, if I want to see which of my possessions give me rPoison, I just check out that grid and see that I'm getting it from "i", my shield.

Am I correct in believing there's no way to see a similar grid showing the capabilities & resistances of the items that are stored in your home?

[Sky]

yes please

for example, have *slay weapons have a visible ESP tag so that i dont have to inspect each one.

[Nick]

I can see a handy grid showing my weapon and armor resistances and capabilities via the keystrokes "C" --> "<space>". So, if I want to see which of my possessions give me rPoison, I just check out that grid and see that I'm getting it from "i", my shield.

Am I correct in believing there's no way to see a similar grid showing the capabilities & resistances of the items that are stored in your home?

You are correct. Perhaps some day someone will add such a feature.

[backwardsEric]

Below is a draft screenshot for a "resistance grid for home". I'm modeling it after Nomad's mockup, but where I've used one column per resistance and the same set of symbols and coloring for column labels as is used in the second part of the current character sheet.

The list is scrollable. By default, it only shows currently equipped items and wearable items in the pack or home with the option to only show the contents of the stores or mix in the contents of the stores with the equipment, pack, and home. The screenshot has the mix. Pressing 'c' cycles through the options of how stuff from the stores is included.

There's an option to quickly filter for items with a given attribute: press 'q' and then enter the two characters from the column label for the desired attribute. So after recalling to the surface, the sequence of steps to check if any of the stores has something that provides free action would be: press '~' for the knowledge menu, press 'r' for the "equipable comparison" option, press 'c' to only show the contents of the stores, press 'q' to select a filter, and enter "fa" (or "Fa"; the search is case insensitive) to search for free action.

With that quick filter it will search for items that have the attribute if that attribute is usually a good thing or for items that do not have the attribute if it's usually a bad thing. If you wanted to search for items that do not have slow digestion, you could either press 'q', enter 'sd', and then press '!' to reverse the criteria or, if a quick filter wasn't in effect, press '!' and enter 'sd'.

You may press 'I' or 'x' to select one or two items and display what you would get if you used 'I' in the dungeon or 'x' in a store to get more details about an object.

Are there any suggestions for how this could be improved? In particular,

• How do you like the vertical column labels? Nomad's two character horizontal labels are much more readable, but then two columns are needed for each attribute.
• Any suggestions about the keys used? Especially for something like the Android port where some keys are effectively more accessible than others.
• I didn't include a way to select filtering on more than attribute at a time. Is that something that would see enough use to be a good addition?
• There's no option, besides 'r' which simply reverses the list, to change how the items are sorted. Would a customizable sort be useful enough to include? The current sort is by equipment slot with ties broken by the item's location (equipped, pack, home, or store), item's rough quality, and then by alphabetical ordering.

                         [COLOR="#00FFFF"]A[/COLOR]E[COLOR="#00FFFF"]FC[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]PLDSSNNCDpppp[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]H[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]RES[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]F[/COLOR]F[COLOR="#808080"]STBIIFANDSF[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]S[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]SIT[/COLOR]S[COLOR="#808080"]BSM[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]L[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]DM[/COLOR]
                         [COLOR="#00FFFF"]c[/COLOR]l[COLOR="#00FFFF"]io[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]oiaoheehiFBCS[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]L[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]eSI[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]A[/COLOR]t[COLOR="#808080"]DIlHSegTEtr[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]t[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]enu[/COLOR]p[COLOR="#808080"]lhi[/COLOR][COLOR="#00FFFF"]i[/COLOR][COLOR="#808080"]RS[/COLOR]
@                        +.++.????????????+.??+..??..?.?.??+.+.....+..
| e 'Forasgil'           ...+.????????????..??...??..?.?.??........+..
| p 'Narthanc'           ..+..........................................
[COLOR="#808080"]/[/COLOR] s of *Slay Demon*      .+...........................................
| s Long Sword (2d5) (+2 .............................................
| s Main Gauche (1d5) (+ .............................................
| s Broad Sword (2d5) (+ .............................................
[COLOR="#606060"]\[/COLOR] s Lead-Filled Mace (4d ....?????????????.???..???????????.....?.....
[COLOR="#008040"]\[/COLOR] s Pick (1d3) (+0,+0)   .....................................+.......
[COLOR="#808080"]/[/COLOR] s Pike (2d5) (+0,+0)   .............................................
[COLOR="#808080"]\[/COLOR] s Shovel (1d2) (+0,+0) .....................................+.......
[COLOR="#FFFF00"]/[/COLOR] s Trident (1d10) (+0,+ .............................................
[COLOR="#C08040"]}[/COLOR] e Long Bow (x3) (+3,+5 .............................................
[COLOR="#C08040"]}[/COLOR] s of Accuracy          .............................................
[COLOR="#C08040"]}[/COLOR] s Short Bow (x2) (+0,+ .............................................
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]=[/COLOR] e Ring 'Free Action'   .....................+.......................
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]=[/COLOR] e Ring 'Reckless Attac .............................................
[COLOR="#606060"]=[/COLOR] h Ring 'the Mouse' (+0 ..................................+..........
[COLOR="#808080"]=[/COLOR] s Ring                 ....?????????????.???..???????????...........
[COLOR="#FFFF00"]=[/COLOR] s Ring                 ....?????????????.???..???????????....+......
[COLOR="#008040"]=[/COLOR] s Ring 'Feather Fallin ......................+......................
[COLOR="#C00000"]=[/COLOR] s Ring 'Protection' [+ .............................................
[COLOR="#00FFFF"]"[/COLOR] e Amulet 'Resist Acid' +............................................
[COLOR="#C00000"]"[/COLOR] s Amulet               ....?????????????.???..???????????...........
[COLOR="#C08040"]~[/COLOR] e Lantern (14846 turns .............................................
[COLOR="#804000"]~[/COLOR] s Wooden Torch (5000 t .............................................
[COLOR="#C08040"]([/COLOR] e Soft Leather Armour  .............................................
[COLOR="#808080"][[/COLOR] h of Resist Cold       ...+.........................................
[Up/Down arrow, p/PgUp, n/PgDn to move; ? for help; ESC to exit]

[Diego Gonzalez]

Very nice ! Can it include objects on floor?

EDIT: It would be really great if you could simulate how player resistances and bonuses would be if wielding some object, without actually wielding it.

[backwardsEric]

Very nice ! Can it include objects on floor?

EDIT: It would be really great if you could simulate how player resistances and bonuses would be if wielding some object, without actually wielding it.

It currently does not include the objects on the floor at @'s location. That's not hard to add. The question would be if they'd always be included in the list (assuming there's only the quick filter option) or if 'c' or something else would change whether or not they were included.

The simulation is possible, but it's not done. With rings, if @ is already wearing two rings there would be two possible outcomes, depending on which ring was replaced, for the simulation. That would complicate how to display the results.

[Nick]

I like this a lot, and I think putting it in the knowledge menus is correct. I can't think of particular ways to improve it at the moment, but I'm sure if it were out for general playtesting there would be suggestions

For your questions:

• While I agree Nomad's two columns are more readable, I also agree with the decision to conserve column space. Players will get used to it.
• No particular suggestions about keys.
• Filtering/customizable sort - this is probably a bottomless pit of features that could be included. I would prioritise adding features that are easy to add - again, people will say pretty quickly what else they want once they're using the grid.

[Diego Gonzalez]

The simulation is possible, but it's not done. With rings, if @ is already wearing two rings there would be two possible outcomes, depending on which ring was replaced, for the simulation. That would complicate how to display the results.

You are right, forget about it. Very nice design.

[moosferatu]

I just started playing with it in the new nightly. Thanks for all of your work, backwardsEric!

A few thoughts:

• I have a hard time figuring out what the attributed codes mean. Maybe an easy fix would be to include a table in the help page? eg Ac: Acid Resistance. Then again, I'm sure this isn't an issue for more experienced players.
• The attribute codes are not unique. I haven't gone though them all, so perhaps it's only a problem for Ne.
• When you're in select mode, would it be possible to highlight the entire row rather than just the item name? It would make it a little easier on the eyes to trace the row across.
• Similarly, would it be possible to use the Left/Right keys to highlight attribute columns? Perhaps, when a column is highlighted, you could even hit Return to filter on the selected attribute.
• When you're showing "alternate attributes", the filter feature does not filter on the alternate attribute codes.
• Another filter idea, what if it supported 1-3 characters? The new character is the equipment type character. So, you'd be able to filter on equipment type, attribute, or both.
• A sorting idea, let's say that you can highlight attribute columns, and when you highlight a column, entering < sorts the table in ascending order based on that attribute (not sure why you'd want that...) and entering > sorts the table in descending order (probably the only thing that would be useful). Another idea, is bind s to sort, have it take an attribute code, and sort the table in descending order on that attribute.
• I wrote the previous point while I was looking at the alternate attributes view. It makes more sense there. It would make more sense on the normal view if the number of the enhancement (on relevant attributes) was also given. For example, how much speed does Sting grant?
• Similarly, it might be nice to display attack and defence modifiers. That said, it seems nigh impossible to deal with the double-digit numbers. Maybe if it was its own view... And, if it was, it might make sense to pull in ammo too...

Anyway, great work! Just some thoughts. I don't expect you to implement all/any of them.

[moosferatu]

And a followup...

• Filtering on St does not work as I'd expect. A lot of items remain in the table that do not have St attributes, including items with no attributes. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something. Let me know if you'd like a screenshot.
• What if filtering was applied to the visible table rather than the entire item set? Then you could stack filters, but you'd have to reset to get back to the entire item set. May or may not be useful.

[moosferatu]

And... one more thing...

What if the items were indexed similarly as in stores/home? Then you could do comparisons like xaB without having to scroll to the item.

As, Nick said, there are limitless features...

[DavidMedley]

Took my first look at this. Seems useful. I like that you can look into stores to see if any of them plugs a hole, too. Accessing this menu from inside your home would be appropriate, I think. Or all stores.

[backwardsEric]

moosferatu, thank you for taking the time to experiment with it and write up your impressions. To fix the quick filtering not being able to select some columns, I'll probably change some of the labels ("Nx" for nexus resistance, "Sy" for the sticky curse, and "Lt" for light radius). The sticky curse is the one that confused your search for "st". To handle searching for the core stats (strength, ...), I'll allow two or three characters for the filter to avoid having to come up with alternative labels for those stats.

Changing the color on an entire row or column to highlight it isn't as straightforward as it should be, but I'll try to keep that in mind as a way of indicating a choice to the player. Having a row index like in the stores would also work. I was trying to eke out a couple more columns of space by omitting it.

Having some or all of the numeric modifiers like stealth and speed show up as numbers rather than +/-/. is easy to do with the way things have been structured. If one column per attribute is kept, color would be used to indicate the sign and values greater than +9 or less than -9 would show up as something like '*' or '=' to mark that the value couldn't be shown properly. Showing properties like AC, damage modifier, or weight isn't so easy since they're handled by the game differently than the attributes the comparison shows now.

[backwardsEric]

Took my first look at this. Seems useful. I like that you can look into stores to see if any of them plugs a hole, too. Accessing this menu from inside your home would be appropriate, I think. Or all stores.

Thanks for looking at it. All of the knowledge menu is accessible while within a store or home, or were you thinking of some tighter integration so part of this equipment comparison view would be visible while still having part of the store screen visible and access to its commands?

[moosferatu]

Thanks, backwardsEric, I write software too and I know all too well that it's easy to come up with ideas that are hard to implement due to the realities of the code, so no worries there. Just throwing out some ideas.

I hear you about the screen real estate problem. The index isn't necessary. Whatever you think is best. One thing I did notice, is a number, but not all, of the item names are abbreviated. For example, my sling is listed as "of Power" and my helmet is "of Telepathy". However, all of my rings are listed as "Ring 'Dexterity'" or "Ring 'Whatever'". The same is true for amulets. I'm guessing that this is probably a result of how the underlying data is stored?