[Fay] Cutting the dungeon in half

[Therem Harth]

With that in mind, perhaps fountains could be sources of offensive (throwable) potions? Possibly replacing powder vials?

[Mikko Lehtinen]

I'm not sure about the level size redesign, because to me phase door is one of the most important functions in the game. It sounds like the new level design might really hurt phase door escape probablilities.

Maybe, I'll have to test.

I'm going to scatter faery portals all around in the dungeon. They enable you to teleport just like Shift does now. The movement direction you used to enter the portal also determines the direction of the teleport. I originally though of making them one-use but maybe I should make them permanent...

The true reason for level size redesign is that it just looks much better to me with all the new terrain features. It got too crowded with old-style levels. The new dungeon and room generation code already works, and the dungeon is a much more lively place now.

I guess Fay is turning more and more un-Angbandish with all the changes, and I like it. I can't compete with the glorious Vanilla, so I have to develop something unique.

In the process I've learned to appreciate the traditional Angband gameplay much more! I tended to see infinite dungeons as a bad design feature, leading to slow and boring play. That's why FayAngband was born. But now it's getting clear to me that the basic building blocks of Angband are very well thought out. You can't have the Angband experience without the infinite dungeons.

Fountains sound good, short of allowing shops to refresh while resting in town. Is it true that they will not refresh their stock when the player is in town?

It probably is. I've tried eliminate all scumming possibilities.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

I'd like to implement drinking from fountains in DaJAngband as well. Except that there should be a decent chance of a bad effect (or at least a not-helpful effect) when drinking a fountain. After all, it is a fountain in a dungeon controlled by a powerful evil enemy who doesn't want people to get healing easily by drinking from fountains.

I've thought of having different kinds of fountains, blue for refreshment, red for chaotic effects.

I've decided who the evil enemy is in Fay but I still haven't answered the big ontological question about the dungeon. What is this place?

I tend to gravitate to the idea that the dungeon of FayAngband is a place where reality and dreams -- mostly nightmares, it seems -- intertwine, and where faeries prosper. It's a mythical place, and it doesn't need to be realistic.

The dungeon is not yet wholly controlled by the Thin White Duke. Maybe the Duke has entered the dream world trying to corrupt the dreams of the mankind, infecting them with his ideas of racial purity.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

With that in mind, perhaps fountains could be sources of offensive (throwable) potions? Possibly replacing powder vials?

Interesting. Let's develop this idea a bit.

The shop would sell empty bottles, and you would also get them by drinking potions. Fountains would dry up eventually.

Pools would work too, and they would perhaps be more interesting terrain features. Pool of Radiance sounds good. But fountains are easier to code.

Fountain of Radiance, Fountain of Darkness, Fountain of Acid... They all have plenty of flavour.

EDIT: I can easily create some extra flavour by having dark-loving creatures inhabit a room with a Fountain of Darkness, or acidic jellies in a room with a Fountain of Acid.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

I'm going to scatter faery portals all around in the dungeon.

I believe these will be lifesavers. They are light green <, and there will be about three allocatated randomly on each dungeon level. You use them by pressing < and then choosing in which direction you want to teleport to.

In addition, there are sometimes hidden faery portals in "interesting vegetation" squares. However, characters with bad Perception will often miss these, no matter how hard they search.

I think I'll remove the Escapes score, to be replaced with Piety later on.

[buzzkill]

Fountains could produce 'random potions' that could be bottled per Mikko, and can't be ID'd by magical means. These random potions could have abilities that exceed the scope of standard potions. Bottles can be refilled only once, and the fountain will dry up upon quaffing of it's particular potion.

So... you can fill as many bottles as you like with this unknown potion from a fountain, but each bottle you fill cannot be used again, and you won't know if it's a beneficial potion or not until you try it, at which point you won't be able to get any more as the fountain will have dried up.

Aside... I liked the old Fay. haven't tried the new yet, haven't been able to get into this comp due to work sucking so bad, but I fear change, so don't screw it up .

[Mikko Lehtinen]

Fountains could produce 'random potions' that could be bottled per Mikko, and can't be ID'd by magical means. These random potions could have abilities that exceed the scope of standard potions. Bottles can be refilled only once, and the fountain will dry up upon quaffing of it's particular potion.

So... you can fill as many bottles as you like with this unknown potion from a fountain, but each bottle you fill cannot be used again, and you won't know if it's a beneficial potion or not until you try it, at which point you won't be able to get any more as the fountain will have dried up.

I don't know whether I like mixing throwable and drinkable potions. Eytan's scheme seems to be working pretty well.

EDIT: Ah, you weren't necessarily talking about powder vials at all. But perhaps this is a bit too complicated for Fay.

Aside... I liked the old Fay. haven't tried the new yet, haven't been able to get into this comp due to work sucking so bad, but I fear change, so don't screw it up .

I may have already screwed up with the 1.1. It was meant to be easier but smaller levels (smaller than in the first competition at least) actually made it harder.

I'm still following my original idea: non-infinite dungeons and smaller levels. It just takes a lot of effort to get the balance right.

[fph]

The Lord Voldemort? You might want to be careful with that. (See the whole thing with Pernangband, Dragonriders, and Anne McAffrey.)

Oh, so that's the reason nobody wants to say its name out loud in the books. Copyright --- I should've guessed it.

[bio_hazard]

I've thought of having different kinds of fountains, blue for refreshment, red for chaotic effects.

I've decided who the evil enemy is in Fay but I still haven't answered the big ontological question about the dungeon. What is this place?

I tend to gravitate to the idea that the dungeon of FayAngband is a place where reality and dreams -- mostly nightmares, it seems -- intertwine, and where faeries prosper. It's a mythical place, and it doesn't need to be realistic.

The dungeon is not yet wholly controlled by the Thin White Duke. Maybe the Duke has entered the dream world trying to corrupt the dreams of the mankind, infecting them with his ideas of racial purity.

This is starting to sound like Twin Peaks.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

This is starting to sound like Twin Peaks.

Now I know where to go digging for uniques.

[bio_hazard]

You smell burnt engine oil. Bob approaches!

[Mikko Lehtinen]

With that in mind, perhaps fountains could be sources of offensive (throwable) potions? Possibly replacing powder vials?

I think I found a workable way to implement this idea, except with pools. My wilderness rooms need a bit of spice and this might just be it.

Let's take a Pool of Radiance as an example. It's a pool filled with fine powder that lights the room. You can't enter a pool square but you can see through it. If you drop an Empty Vial on a square next to the pool, it will become a Powder Vial of Blinding Flash.

Every pool is essentially identical except for the powder vials it produces so they are easy to implement.

Powder Vials work better than refillable potions here because as you throw them, the bottle breaks, taking care of the infinity problem. Empty vials should probably be relatively uncommon items, sold at the alchemist's shop in small quantities. Just emptying potions would not be enough -- a bottle needs to be extra tough to be able to handle powders.

How does this sound?

[Mikko Lehtinen]

I think a command for (P)ouring a vial needs to be added too. Emptying Powder Vials of Heal Monster and refilling them with Flashing Light seems fun.