Coin mimics

[eastwind]

I'm just grumbling here, don't take it too seriously, it's not a federal case.

But I've been delving as deep as level 28, and I keep running into creeping mithril or adamantite coins. It's kind of ridiculous, because I don't think I've yet seen a pile of adamantite coins that wasn't a mimic, and only maybe one or two piles of actual mithril.

Whenever I see across the room a pile of blue or green coins in gervais' tile set, I automatically think, oh great, another mimic, lets go over and swat it.

This is something that's changed for the worse from long ago in angband, it used to be that creeping coins were far more rare, and when they occurred they tended to mimic the coin piles that you were actually seeing real drops of, not off-level stuff. They were actually surprising when they bit you.

So it's a minor grumble, but I think this could be retuned to good effect.

[VeritasAequitas]

I agree, i dont even go for any shiny coins anymore, not even worth the hassle most of the time, and i dont even think ive ever seen a real one.
In fact in general i think money in this game is kinda... not useful really? i find myself not getting the pickups from all the humanoid charater drops as i ask myself, why am i even going to get those coins from that thing i shot

[Nick]

OK, this is something to be checked.

[eastwind]

On the plus side, you seem to always get a coin drop from the mimics of the appropriate type once you kill them, so it's just an extra step.

I was going to say something about chests too, because at the time I posted I had only seen two chests and one was a mimic (the other was trapped). But since then I've seen two or three more chests, all trapped, no more mimics, so it's 1/4 or 1/5 for me a.t.m., and that's not ridiculous.

I disagree that money has no use, you need it for the black market. I'm playing with selling on, btw, though I don't think that affects the frequency of coin piles, just the size.

[DrWho42]

waiting on bitcoin mimics

[mrfy]

I like the coin mimics, tho there are quite a few around now. You can usually spot them easily. I still think it'd be good if potion and scroll mimics turned into the appropriate potions and scrolls when you kill them.

[Derakon]

I like the coin mimics, tho there are quite a few around now. You can usually spot them easily. I still think it'd be good if potion and scroll mimics turned into the appropriate potions and scrolls when you kill them.

Aren't these mimics specifically chosen to be desirable item types to lure adventurers closer? Making them actually drop what they claim to be would artificially inflate the quantity of Rings of Speed and Potions of Augmentation in the game.

[Huqhox]

Maybe do it the other way around... whenever the game generates a pile of coins or a desirable potion or ring etc, have a chance it will become an 'animated' version

That would resolve the original poster's observation about OOD coin piles inevitably being creeping coins as well as allowing for them to revert to their 'inert' forms when killed without skewing the object distribution

[wobbly]

You read a scroll of destruction. The scroll is really a mimic! Your katana Aglarang glows black. Wielding katana(blasted) (3d5) (-20, -20). The dracolich breathes. hit space to continue.

[takkaria]

I disagree that money has no use, you need it for the black market. I'm playing with selling on, btw, though I don't think that affects the frequency of coin piles, just the size.

The quantity of coins determines the type of coin though. So if you're playing with no_selling on, you're probably seeing rubies/adamantine/etc. 3x later than you otherwise would, while the coin mimic frequencies will be the same.

[VeritasAequitas]

you attempt to use your last 200 coins to buy a scroll of word of recall. it was a mimic! the mimic bites your leg.

[Derakon]

The quantity of coins determines the type of coin though. So if you're playing with no_selling on, you're probably seeing rubies/adamantine/etc. 3x later than you otherwise would, while the coin mimic frequencies will be the same.

Don't you mean 3x earlier? In any case, I feel like the type of treasure ought to be invariant of your options set. Thus if no_selling is on, the window for each treasure type should be larger than if it's off.

[DavidMedley]

i think money in this game is kinda... not useful really?

I agree, but this probably deserves its own thread.

On-topic I think mimics are a pleasant little surprise. Of course my character is disappointed, but the gamer in me is amused. I think it'd be cool if they were even more impactful. Maybe as monsters, or items could be bait in traps! "You pick up a Ring of Speed (+9). You set off a Dragonsong trap!" The character should have a reasonable chance to see and disarm such a trap first.

Items are basically bait in vaults, but outside of vaults I'm often like "Why is this gorgeous dragon scale mail just sitting on the floor in a room full of orcs?"

[Hounded]

"Why is this gorgeous dragon scale mail just sitting on the floor in a room full of orcs?"

Clashes with their skin. They may be ugly but Orcs have taste sir.

[wobbly]

I agree, but this probably deserves its own thread.

On-topic I think mimics are a pleasant little surprise. Of course my character is disappointed, but the gamer in me is amused. I think it'd be cool if they were even more impactful. Maybe as monsters, or items could be bait in traps! "You pick up a Ring of Speed (+9). You set off a Dragonsong trap!" The character should have a reasonable chance to see and disarm such a trap first.

Items are basically bait in vaults, but outside of vaults I'm often like "Why is this gorgeous dragon scale mail just sitting on the floor in a room full of orcs?"

Sil has a slight bias in trap placement where the odds are a little higher adjacent to an object. I'm not convinced it works well, it's so subtle that its invisible in-game and the usual trap hatters still get annoyed by the random traps.