[Announce] PosChengband 1.0.0

[Darin]

I compiled a version for Mac OS X (using makefile.linux). but when I fire it up it complains about corrupted temporal files, either using X11 or GCU. To continue I have to delete the "corrupted" files, but then when I save and quit the game saving fails.

[chris]

I compiled a version for Mac OS X (using makefile.linux). but when I fire it up it complains about corrupted temporal files, either using X11 or GCU. To continue I have to delete the "corrupted" files, but then when I save and quit the game saving fails.

Not having access to a Mac, I'm not sure how much help I can be.

I'm not sure from your post the exact wording of the error, but if it is:

Error: There are old temporal files.
Make sure you are not running two game processes simultaneously.
If the temporal files are garbages of old crashed process, 
you can delete it safely.

Then you might try debugging why the call to fd_make is failing. In particular, it might help to know the name of the file it is trying to create. For example, try changing init_saved_floors in floors.c to output the filename. Perhaps the savefile global variable is not getting set properly?

[Darin]

Not having access to a Mac, I'm not sure how much help I can be.

I'm not sure from your post the exact wording of the error, but if it is:

Error: There are old temporal files.
Make sure you are not running two game processes simultaneously.
If the temporal files are garbages of old crashed process, 
you can delete it safely.

Then you might try debugging why the call to fd_make is failing. In particular, it might help to know the name of the file it is trying to create. For example, try changing init_saved_floors in floors.c to output the filename. Perhaps the savefile global variable is not getting set properly?

Yup, that is the error message. For fun I tried compiling 1.0.25 and got the same issue. The last version I compiled before this one was 1.0.23, and I vaguely remember being able to play the game. So maybe the issue happened somewhere around there. Unfortunately I stupidly deleted that archive, and it doesn't appear to be in the repository, so I can't confirm that.In the meantiime I will try getting the filename out of floors.c.

Edit: I had floors.c print out the save file name, and it is "./lib/save/501.Dtake.F00", which looks normal except for the .F00 suffix. Then I get that set of error messages. Once I delete the temporal files I get a series of files which are the same except that the suffix cycles from .F01 through .F18. As I remember the save files in previous versions had been something like "./lib/save/501.Dtake" without the suffix. It doesn't make sense to me that the suffix would make any difference for saving, but I don't know much about the internals of the OS.

One other thing. I am using 10.6.8, so there shouldn't be any sandboxing issues.

Edit2: I think I figured it out. For some reason there was no save directory in the lib directory. D'oh!

[Nick]

Edit2: I think I figured it out. For some reason there was no save directory in the lib directory. D'oh!

Awesome - I was having the same issue in linux, and this fixes it.

[chris]

Awesome - I was having the same issue in linux, and this fixes it.

OK, I think I know what happened (Thanks to Darin for figuring it out for me

I used to build the source archive manually and zip it up. That archive had a lib/save directory. But when I switched to git, I never created a dummy delete.me file in that directory. In fact, I needed to .gitignore the directory entirely since git picks up all my savefiles while I play otherwise (I'm too lazy to not do git add *, and .gitignore works off file extensions which our savefiles don't have). I forced a delete.me passed my .gitignore so now their is a lib/save/delete.me on github.

Apologies for the trouble, and thanks again for debugging my bugs

[Brouhaha]

Fun with four arms!

I've got a big old X running around the first couple of dungeon levels, eating doors and confusing the heck out of the locals. He's tons of fun and I can't wait for him to sprout arms three and four. The only problem is that I have NO idea how some of the game mechanics of dual wielding work.

I figured that I should get used to swinging two weapons before loading myself down with four of them. No problem! I've played a couple of 'zerkers and they'll swing a pair of pole arms without blinking. Not so much my Umber Hulk, it seems.

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?

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?

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. 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?

I think that's it. If somebody could answer my question marks and offer any info that I didn't think to ask, I'd be very thankful!

[Arjen]

I'll try to answer some.

I figured that I should get used to swinging two weapons before loading myself down with four of them. No problem! I've played a couple of 'zerkers and they'll swing a pair of pole arms without blinking. Not so much my Umber Hulk, it seems.

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?

I think you need to fight monsters above your own levels to increase fighting skills and dual wield skills So worms don't work.

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?

It is indeed connected with your (crappy) dual wield skill, if you unequip one you will see it will be raised a lot.

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. 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?

The ring works for the hand you are wielding the weapon with.

I think that's it. If somebody could answer my question marks and offer any info that I didn't think to ask, I'd be very thankful!

In general, if I have a character who will be using dual wield, I'll try to dual wield as fast as possible. If you have trouble hitting that barn, try !oHeroism and ?oBlessing (or better). You will get a very much needed boost. You might even consider using a ring of Accuracy.

Also try to use 2 weapons of the same kind for a long(ish) period of time as you will get better at dual wield AND that type of weapon, boosting your accuracy a lot. But I almost never dual wield unless I'm a berserker. I've never tried Umber Hulks.

[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.

[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...

[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?

[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?

[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 .

[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.

[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!

[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.