[Announce] PosChengband 1.0.0

[DaviddesJ]

In compiling PosChengband and looking at compiler warnings I noticed a couple of things that look like bugs.

In files.c:

                        if (i == slot_type == EQUIP_SLOT_HELMET)
                            adj += 2;
                        if (i == slot_type == EQUIP_SLOT_LITE)
                            adj += 1;

It's hard to believe this is what you want. Maybe the "i ==" should just be deleted? This seems to only affect display.

In cmd1.c:

                else if ( ( ( m_ptr->hp < maxhp/2 && one_in_(num_blow*10))
                           || one_in_(666)
                           || ((backstab || fuiuchi) && one_in_(11))
                       && !(r_ptr->flags1 & RF1_UNIQUE)
                       && !(r_ptr->flags7 & RF7_UNIQUE2)) )

Maybe this is what you want, but the indentation and parenthesization is confusing. There's an extra set of parentheses wrapped around the whole argument?

[chris]

I tend to have the opposite attitude, some of the races have very powerful powers and abilities, the equipment restrictions should be a major disadvantage. One of the historical weaknesses of Angband is that characters end up looking more or less the same, so the very different equipment configurations is a brilliant way to mix that up. But less effective if you make it too easy for each race to just get equipment of whatever type it needs.

That's a good point. There are some builds that require excessive grinding, IMO, and it is these I am attempting to address. Ideally, I'd like the reforging to be motivational and fun, but quite a bit weaker than it currently is.

[DaviddesJ]

I tend to have the opposite attitude, some of the races have very powerful powers and abilities, the equipment restrictions should be a major disadvantage. One of the historical weaknesses of Angband is that characters end up looking more or less the same, so the very different equipment configurations is a brilliant way to mix that up. But less effective if you make it too easy for each race to just get equipment of whatever type it needs.

[bron]

Thanks! Very useful to know.

The feature was added so that player monster races with severe equipment limitations (e.g. Beholders and Hydras) would have a chance at finding/creating suitable gear.

Yes, exactly! I'm playing a Hydra in the competition, and while it seems like a very powerful character in the early going, it is already clear that I'm going to suffer badly in the resistances department in the late game due to the inability to equip body armor or a shield (or wear rings or boots or carry a weapon), so creating a couple of extra artifact amulets and/or hats, which hydras can wear multiples of, seems like a useful (possibly critical) thing to do.

[chris]

Is there any documentation anywhere about "reforging" ? I see it in the source, and others have mentioned it, but I don't seem to see anything that explains how it's suppose to work. And where is this service found? I'm sure I can just paw through the code and eventually figure it out, but I was hoping for something a little easier ...

Sorry ... Reforging is rather new. Also, updating helpfiles is my one major outstanding task, but it is dreadfully tedious to do.

Reforging is available as a town service in the Fighter's Hall of Morivant. To use this service, you need to acquire enough fame. After all, the smith will only trouble himself with characters who have distinguished themselves in battle!

The service requires you to pick a source artifact and a non-artifact, non-ego destination object. You will pay a price based upon the power of the source artifact and the power of the resulting artifact will likewise depend on the power of the source. Keep in mind that it is the total overall power of the result that is judged, not simply the power of the "additions" during the reforge. So, picking destination objects that are already powerful, for example, rings of speed, might not give the best results. In fact, starting with next release the game will force the source artifact to be more powerful then the starting destination object. At the moment, there are some bugs here.

But otherwise, the reforged artifact you get is completely random. Also, you never quite get the full power of the original, and there is some randomness in how much you will actually get. At the moment, this is something like (50 + 1d50)% but I'm likely to tone this down in the future.

Finally, the reforged artifact is reforged at a "depth" that depends on your fame. This is relevant because some things, like immunities, extra attacks, kill evil, etc have depth restrictions. The more famous you are, the better the results you can expect.

Player fame is acquired by killing uniques, completing quests, winning in the arena (town) and by conquering dungeon guardians. You can ask the Inn Keeper about your fame ... for a small fee.

In the current version (1.0.37) reforging is still a bit too powerful. But I hesitate to nerf it just yet as I think I am the only player who has noticed this, or complained about it. The feature was added so that player monster races with severe equipment limitations (e.g. Beholders and Hydras) would have a chance at finding/creating suitable gear.

[bron]

Is there any documentation anywhere about "reforging" ? I see it in the source, and others have mentioned it, but I don't seem to see anything that explains how it's suppose to work. And where is this service found? I'm sure I can just paw through the code and eventually figure it out, but I was hoping for something a little easier ...

[chris]

Does it stack? As you don't see a % behind it like the resists.

It does stack, but there is no sensible way to display a percentage as your odds of saving depend on the monster (and sometimes nearby monsters as well). Each source of resistance gives an extra saving throw (no resistance is 1 save, etc.) so it definitely pays dividends to get at least two sources. Don't forget those !Heroism.

Oh, and Berserk gives immunity to fear if you really need it.

[Arjen]

Fear is a bit different then in other variants. For one thing, fear resistance is not immunity, but rather increases your saving throw. You can still get scared, though you will recover much more quickly (unless you die .

Does it stack? As you don't see a % behind it like the resists.

[TheQuest]

Hey Chris!

Just wanted to say that I have installed PosChengbang after my little disappointment in chengbang. I am playing as a vampire sorcerer, don't know how much I could survive, but we'll see )

Thanks for keeping the game running and I realy hope you will continue to improve it!

[chris]

Although hounds (and other monster races with intrinsic attacks?) seem to get the benefits of all rings of damage for all of their intrinsic attacks regardless of what "hands" they wear them on?

That's true. For monster's with innate attacks, you can wear rings on any hand/eye-stalk/claw/protoplasmic-protuberance you like and you still get the bonus.

[chris]

I have a jelly wearing Fang's dog collar, which gives him immunity to Fear. Very handy, I thought. Until a trap surrounded me with a pack of uglies. A few solid hits and I was at low health and too scared to do anything but die.

Is low health fear unresistable or did I find a bug?

Fear is a bit different then in other variants. For one thing, fear resistance is not immunity, but rather increases your saving throw. You can still get scared, though you will recover much more quickly (unless you die .

[DaviddesJ]

Hengband et. al have a simple rule for rings of damage. If it is on the same hand that is touching your weapon, you get the bonus on that weapon.

Although hounds (and other monster races with intrinsic attacks?) seem to get the benefits of all rings of damage for all of their intrinsic attacks regardless of what "hands" they wear them on?

[Brouhaha]

I have a jelly wearing Fang's dog collar, which gives him immunity to Fear. Very handy, I thought. Until a trap surrounded me with a pack of uglies. A few solid hits and I was at low health and too scared to do anything but die.

Is low health fear unresistable or did I find a bug?

[Brouhaha]

Thank you both for the duel wielding replies! I'll go invest in some daggers and maybe troll a bit for the artifact ones.

So there's no "quad-wielding" skill, huh? Something to consider...

[chris]

I figured that I should get used to swinging two weapons before loading myself down with four of them.

You will get an extra pair of arms. Dual wielding mechanics apply separately to each pair of arms you have, so its probably better to go weapon and shield in each pair. That way, you don't get a dual wielding penalty, but you will notice that your second pair of arms is not as proficient as your first.

1) I'm "Unskilled" at dual wielding. Will a set number of two weapon attacks bring this up to "Beginner"? Does it matter if its a pile of white worms or do I need to keep diving to find tougher foes?

Hengband et. al. use a numeric skill system, and your skill is simply a number between 0 and 8000. Each time you attempt to attack while dual wielding, your skill may improve. But, and here is the important thing, your opponent must be powerful enough for your current skill level. Note, your current skill level, not your current level.

Thus, you can learn a bit about dual wielding from white worms, but not enough to reach beginner level (4000). After a while, they are just too easy to teach you anything new. So move on to a more powerful monster and train some more. It really doesn't take too long to work up you dual wielding skills. And, while it is a common misconception that you need to actually score a hit to gain skill, this is incorrect. All you need to do is try, and if at first you don't succeed ...

2) With two long swords (starter sword and first quest reward) I see a "skill" indicator on the weapon screen of my character sheet. Big fat 11%. One in twenty chance to hit the broad side of a barn. I need to hit non-trivial monsters to raise this, right? Is this skill number in any way connected to my dual wielding skill?

Its better to start with lighter weapons. Weapon weight is very important for dual wielding, so you will want to go as light as possible. Daggers are good and there are some nice early artifact daggers if you are lucky.

Pay attention to that skill number. You should see it go up if your training is progressing. But if you find it staying put, then you need to find more powerful monsters to train further.

3) The effects of low "skill" and low "dual wielding" seem to be a measly 5% hit chance on everything and a highly reduced bonus to my damage.

Don't despair. This number will go up, though its doubtful dual wielding will be as effective as two-handed wielding. At least not without the right gear.

I also have a Ring of Damage. Should the ring increase the damage of both of my weapons or just the one held in the hand wearing the ring?

Hengband et. al have a simple rule for rings of damage. If it is on the same hand that is touching your weapon, you get the bonus on that weapon. A common mistake for new players is to equip a ring of damage on their shield hand, which results in no bonus.

So the only way to benefit from 2 rings of damage is to wield a weapon two handed. This also increases your strength and dex melee bonuses and makes it easier to get more attacks as well as to land critical blows.