FAangband 1.0

[modisch]

Nick,
I am probably one of the longest term users of FA on the DS, and have never had any of the problems the other users describe. Then again, I use a DS Lite (not DSi) and still use a slot 2 flashcard. Funny how slot 2 is still the best. I am also still on version 1.02. The problems others describe sound flash card related to me and I would not waste time trying to track them down. It is worth asking ppl what DS and flash card they are using. DSi flash cards are not very mature.

As for the attack nearest etc., these are straightforward macros mapped to buttons. I doubt they would cause any problems.

DS Lite with an R4DS.

And I've easily put in >15 hours with the new 'install' and have found it flawless, fwiw.

-m

[Mr.Peanut]

DS versions always worked for me

Nick,
I am probably one of the longest term users of FA on the DS, and have never had any of the problems the other users describe. Then again, I use a DS Lite (not DSi) and still use a slot 2 flashcard. Funny how slot 2 is still the best. I am also still on version 1.02. The problems others describe sound flash card related to me and I would not waste time trying to track them down. It is worth asking ppl what DS and flash card they are using. DSi flash cards are not very mature.

As for the attack nearest etc., these are straightforward macros mapped to buttons. I doubt they would cause any problems.

[Nick]

Funny that I first report it, then someone else confirms the have the same problem... and mine goes away.

Excellent.

I decided to do a "reinstall' of the game, thinking perhaps I kludged something while resetting the DS during the first, strangely long initialization. I thought the initialization was locking up, so I reset and retried several times... before ignoring my DS while looking up if there was a problem... then looking back and seeing that it finished.

Yes, the initialisation of the racial probabilities the first time you start the game takes ages (minutes) on the DS. There are some quite heavy computations done, and the DS is just a little machine...

[modisch]

DS issues - I'm guessing there's something dodgy with Immir's B "attack closest" button (I love blaming other people, especially Immir). Has anyone seen this issue in any other circumstances?

Funny that I first report it, then someone else confirms the have the same problem... and mine goes away.

I decided to do a "reinstall' of the game, thinking perhaps I kludged something while resetting the DS during the first, strangely long initialization. I thought the initialization was locking up, so I reset and retried several times... before ignoring my DS while looking up if there was a problem... then looking back and seeing that it finished.

So, I removed the FAangband directory, nds binary, and sav file, replace the FAangband directory fresh from the zip file, and this time put the nds binary in the root directory as well (rather than in another subfolder I use). I left the DS alone while it initialized the first time... and ever since, I've been crash free.



Hopefully this will help nsdk as well.

I'll report an other problems if I have them... but I seem to be running just fine. A correction of the Term1 splash screen (NDS controls) on start would be a nice touch for new users... but I've found my way around through experimentation and am pretty comfortable playing with mostly keys and not stylus.

Cheers and thanks,

-m

[Nick]

This did exist briefly, but from memory it was buggy and vanished as quickly as it appeared. I believe it is on Nick's list.

Yes, that has some subtleties that I haven't quite worked out yet. It's on the official list for 1.1.

[Nick]

DS issues - I'm guessing there's something dodgy with Immir's B "attack closest" button (I love blaming other people, especially Immir). Has anyone seen this issue in any other circumstances?

[Psi]

This is just a question/feature request for those of us who like thrall mode:

How hard would it be to add a "quickstart" feature as in, e.g. ToME? (This basically rolls the character again but preserves all your starting choices such as race, class, etc.).

Would you accept a patch to add this?

This did exist briefly, but from memory it was buggy and vanished as quickly as it appeared. I believe it is on Nick's list.

[AnonymousHero]

This is just a question/feature request for those of us who like thrall mode:

How hard would it be to add a "quickstart" feature as in, e.g. ToME? (This basically rolls the character again but preserves all your starting choices such as race, class, etc.).

Would you accept a patch to add this?

[buzzkill]

Cosmetic bug FA 1.0.3...

Upon starting a new game using a dead priest as the predecessor, I get the "You do not feel comfortable with your weapon." message on the initial screen. It's comforting to know that they buried my broadsword with me, and that it irritates me even in death.

Poor Man's Thrall mode...

The deceased priest was a Druadan. His home was the small town of Ephel Brandir (DL20).
Starting equipment : a mace, chain mail, a prayer book, a potion of healing, torches, and 150 GP. Chance of survival without (a lot of) stair scumming : very slim.

Despite this, my recent attempt survived quite a while, achieving CL9 before eventually being killed by a panther at DL15.

I'm going to suggest a new starting kit that will make survival just a little bit easier, because right now it's just a matter of luck.

Lose the mace and replace it with a quarterstaff. No weapon is going to provide effective melee. At least the quarterstaff provides a little defense. Lose the healing and replace it with two CCW's. Add three phase doors, one teleport, and a WoR. I'd be willing to trade the chain mail for a set of robes if it would help seal the deal. I'd ask for a wand of magic missiles too, but it doesn't exactly fit in with the priestly theme.

[nsdk]

I have also been playing the ds-port a lot lately. The first 5 hours I was mainly using the stylus and did not experience a single freeze, however once i began using the buttons i also started experiencing freezes during combat. It appears that pressing "B" (standard config) rapidly really fast will cause the game to freeze, and I think this is why it happens during combat.

I am using CycloDS Evolution.

Other than that I must say it is a great game and a great ds-port!

[modisch]

I haven't seen this behaviour before (on the DS or other platforms), so I'd certainly appreciate if you did pin it down. FA is, I imagine, a bigger game than Powder, and so more likely to stress the DS/R4 - but I'm really guessing.

I've had it happen again... So far, 3x in 3.5 hours. I think at least 2 of the times, the freeze occurred during combat. I'm guessing it's the DS adaptation, rather than something native to FA.

So far, all my play attempts have been with a Maia Assassin who has made it to CL 3 twice. One of the crashes occurred in town (only CL 1)while familiarizing myself with the game and the DS controls. The other two were in the second wilderness area (Hith, I believe).

I'll try some more troubleshooting and update my R4 firmware if it's out of date. [edit: just confirmed, still up to date with 1.18 for R4DS]

[Edit 2: Two more attempts made (one assassin, one warrior, both maia). Both froze while in combat. So far that seems to be consistent... the DS freezes during attacks.]

-m

[Nick]

I just started trying out FA on the DS and have thoroughly enjoyed my brief experience thus far. Except for the part where I've had the DS freeze up twice over the span of maybe 2 hours play.

I haven't seen this behaviour before (on the DS or other platforms), so I'd certainly appreciate if you did pin it down. FA is, I imagine, a bigger game than Powder, and so more likely to stress the DS/R4 - but I'm really guessing.

[modisch]

I just started trying out FA on the DS and have thoroughly enjoyed my brief experience thus far. Except for the part where I've had the DS freeze up twice over the span of maybe 2 hours play. I don't believe I did the same thing at both times, so I don't know how to repeat it or what may have precipitated the lockup.

I'm playing on an R4DS, fwiw.


Any thoughts? I'll keep playing and hope it's just bad luck.. or that I can learn more about the freezes and report them. But if I can't reliably play, I may have to return to Powder... simpler, but so far it's proven bombproof.

Thanks,

-m

[Whelk]

I'd just like to chime in now, during the discussion of slings over on the V boards, that I'm extremely happy about my FAangband sling-wielding hobbit rogue and his effectiveness wielding said sling.

[Psi]

Are oangband spoilers applicable? Are they available? I cannot find them - www.oangband.com is down.

oangband spoilers are *often* correct for FA. Not sure if they are still available though.

What do the specialties exactly do? Their description is not precise enough to tell what the effect really is. I am interested in heighten magic, enhance magic, beguiling and armor proficiency.

From memory...

Heighten magic. Spells cast close together increase the level at which they are cast. It works out that at level 50, you can cast spells at level 70 power (if for example you just just fire off a batch of clear mind in a row first).

Enhance magic. Timed effects last longer and/or are more powerful. eg haste. This is much better on a half caster for fighting with heroism and beserk etc

Beguiling. Vastly improves your chance of confusing, sleeping, slowing. As most deep monsters can't be confused of slept, it is only really useful for slowing. Unless you want to try and slow vast armies at once, it is a lot easier to use a speed rune against an individual than waste a speciality on this.

Armour proficiency. Allows you a little more armour weight before it starts cutting into your SP. For me it has never been enough to justify using it.

How does slow and confuse work? Could you please show me the math that happens when CL 50 mage with beguiling specialty tries to slow Morgoth?

Slow and confuse are based on CL, whether you have charm innate speciality, bonuses from Heighten magic and channeling and whether you have beguile. I've slowed Morgoth using a Druid with beguile, but as a mage it is probably easier to use a rune of speed and keep knocking him over it with thrust away until he fails his save.

How does armor encumberance work? I have found armour of Nevrast. It is nice but costs me half of my mana. Will it improve with CL or STR (I have 18/130 now) or should I dump it?

Too heavy - even with armour proficiency. Encumbrance kicks in at about 25lbs total for a mage armour and that is independent of CL, STR etc. You really want Thak or Himring (or DSM / permanance / light elvenkind).