FAangband 0.3.6

[Nick]

Found a bug:
Arrows that are branded from scroll can't stack with found (or bought?) branded arrows. Found/bought arrows do have the "Can't be damaged by element" flag, and scroll branded ones do not.

Thanks. I added stuff to generation code when I introduced element-proofing, but failed to add it to the branding spell.

[sanders]

wanted to say i love this game. im excited its still being updated, been playing 3.6 for a bit, going after sauron now. cant wait for the next one

[Nick]

OK, having finally played to the end, I have some comments about the game generally.

1. Ents superstealth is a huge advantage - maybe too much? It made it worthwhile for me to go to Nan Dungortheb, which was very lucrative for me; on the other hand, I did get down to 12HP once there, so it wasn't all gravy. Thoughts?
2. The final battle was fairly straightforward, but I did have a fairly godly character by that point. I think Morgoth's summon uniques and summon guardians spells should be combined into one; he summoned Ancalagon and a couple of orcs on me, and really should have summoned Sauron as well.
3. The Staff of Winds may be too powerful. Morgoth was stunned for a decent chunk of the battle.
4. I have a dislike for mana attacks, and have a possible solution. Imagine an attack (spell, maybe breath) which is a combination of small amounts of all the damage types. This wouldn't so so much damage in itself (because many would be resisted), but it would tell smart casters how to attack the player. So Morgoth would have seen my -1% RNexus
5. I think Psi is right, and Morgoth needs to go back up to +30 speed.

On the whole, I was very pleased with the overall balance. I had multiple attempts at several of the big uniques (Cantoras, the Tarrasque, Ancalagon), and only took on Morgoth when I was comfortable clearing big vaults on Angband 99, killing Storms of Unmagic, etc.

Many, many thanks to Psi for this excellent version.

[Nick]

wanted to say i love this game. im excited its still being updated, been playing 3.6 for a bit, going after sauron now. cant wait for the next one

Glad to hear it

This reminds me of something else. I've been thinking recently that the version numbering I've been using is kind of silly - this latest is 0.3.6, but everyone calls it 3.6. So the plan is as follows:

• Second number will become first number, so the next version will be 4.0.0; this will change when there's a major change (as the second number has previously)
• Third number will become second number, which wil change at least every time there's a break in savefile compatibility
• Versions with the same first two numbers but different third number will be savefile compatible, so it's description as a 'patch number' will become true again.

I'm not going to go back and change already released versions, but as an example the 0.3.x series would have been 3.0.0, 3.1.0, 3.2.0, 3.3.0, 3.4.0, 3.5.0, 3.5.1, 3.6.0 (with possibly some extra patch version in there where I just fudged it and bugfixed while keeping the same version number).

Anyone see a reason not to do this?

[ekolis]

Anyone see a reason not to do this?

People will think you sold out to Sun Microsystems? :P

Seriously, go ahead if you want - the game at this point is distinct enough (from Vanilla, say) to warrant a v4.0.0

[sanders]

just wanted to ask if there's any plans to expand the casting system in any way, or add any more or different specialist abilities

[Nick]

just wanted to ask if there's any plans to expand the casting system in any way, or add any more or different specialist abilities

Oh, there are always plans

The major one I have in mind at the moment is a complete redo of mage spells to make mages more interesting and playable - any comments on mages as they are would help with this. There's also the idea I mentioned earlier about getting rid of mana attacks. I don't have any specific plans about specialties at the moment, but they do need some work - there are some which are barely used if ever, and some (like Mana Burn) which are almost always used.

[Pete Mack]

@nick--in almost all classes there are some abilities that are just better.
Unlight and Mana burn are the two most obvious, because Assassin and Rogue are so common in FA. But Fury is another--it's so obviously a useful skill for early warriors.

Beyond that, I don't know because I've almost never played other classes.

[Zikke]

What is the Stone of Lore? I couldn't find it in the O spoilers....

edit: Nevermind O_o I figured it out

[Psi]

What is the Stone of Lore? I couldn't find it in the O spoilers....

In O, it activates for id - however it can have bad effects if you are a caster of any description and do not have >20 SP (or something like that). I think it can paralyse you through FA IIRC. For warriors it is a bit better, but will periodically confuse you even if you have rConf.

In FA, I have changed it as Rods of Perception are now so common. Basically whilst equipped it will autoid anything you pick up.

[Zikke]

Yeah I'm thinking of dumping the Rods I've picked up, though I might bank them in case I find an uber light source.

[sanders]

i dont have a copy of the silmarillion at the moment, but maybe there's some relevant magic that could be pulled from the story and used as ideas for new spells. if you havent already i mean. maybe more and rarer spellbooks or items that allow certain special spells if your magic device ability is high enough along with characters that cant eventually learn all their available spells. specialist abilities are tough since they really change the balance of the game, but maybe again there's something in the book that could be used. crossover stuff like limited magic ability for warriors or weapon specialization for mages & necros (or everybody) could be cool.

[Pete Mack]

Nick writes:

I think Psi is right, and Morgoth needs to go back up to +30 speed.

It occurs to me that you should verify this with a character who is not wearing

l) The Pair of Hard Leather Boots of Feanor [3,+15] (+15 to speed)

[Cave Man]

Nick writes:

It occurs to me that you should verify this with a character who is not wearing

l) The Pair of Hard Leather Boots of Feanor [3,+15] (+15 to speed)

Then maybe you'll take Speedy3's word for it . I definitely think Morgie needs beefing up, with speed +30 at the minimum, and probably more HP's (preferably immediately - I think Psi and everiste need a bit more of a handicap)!

[Nick]

I think the critical issue here is the large chance of getting an artifact in Anfauglith 58 with autoscum on. This has arisen because there was a bug in autoscum, which (O and then) FA had been optimised around; Psi found and fixed it in 0.3.6, with some unexpected consequences. One way to deal with this is to make Anf 58 (and other dungeon entrance levels) a special case in the autoscummer. This seems to me kind of like fixing a symptom of a deeper problem, though. Here are some not entirely random thoughts:

1. Autoscum generally could be set to a lower level, or the ratings for level feelings overhauled;
2. Autoscum could be removed entirely;
3. Level feelings could be removed entirely;
4. Level feelings could be redesigned (either in a minor or a major way);
5. Unlight gives the darkness bonus in wilderness at any time unless there is actually a light breath or spell. That's a bug.
6. The weightings for the various things that add to the level feeling could be tweaked.