[Announce] Poschengband 2.0.0 Released

[HugoVirtuoso]

You guys should check http://tome.dreamer.hu for ideas on body configurations for ToME's monsters. Maybe these can be used as suggestions for monsters that can be possessed in PosCheng.

[Arjen]

Being a Spider doesn't give you that spidervision, but you also can't wield a light.

[Nick]

I think that's all, but I've probably forgotten something. Once 3.5 is released, I'm going to finish up my overhaul of the OS X port, so these steps may not be useful in the future.

Thanks, that's great - I had got some, but not all of those.

The main issue is that PosCheng is from a much older codebase, and stuff like file- and command-handling is different.

EDIT: And, on closer inspection, proper installation on both linux and Mac require more careful treatment of the libpath and datapath.

[molybdenum]

There is a main-mac.c in the source code that I inherited from Hengband. I have no idea how to build it though ... but who knows, perhaps that would work for PosChengband?

I would ditch main-mac.c. If you haven't done anything weird to the Term stuff, you should just be able to do the following to get a port running for OS X:
- Copy the following from V: the src/cocoa directory, main-cocoa.m, and Makefile.osx.
- Update the creator code macro ANGBAND_CREATOR in main-cocoa.m. This is just four chars (and since they're not really used anymore, you shouldn't have to worry about conflict).
- In main-cocoa.m, you'll want to search for the following lines and then change them as needed (these have to do with the app name):

static NSString * const AngbandDirectoryNameBase = @"Angband";

NSRunAlertPanel( @"Missing Resources", @"Angband was unable to find required resources and must quit. Please report a bug on the Angband forums.", @"Quit", nil, nil );

[window setTitle:@"Angband"];

return [@"~/Documents/Angband/" stringByExpandingTildeInPath];

NSMenuItem *angbandItem = [[NSMenuItem alloc] initWithTitle: @"Angband" action: @selector(selectWindow:) keyEquivalent: @"0"];

- In src/cocoa/Angband-Cocoa.xml, look for the following:

<key>CFBundleSignature</key>
	<string>A271</string>

Change the stuff between <string></string> to match whatever you used for ANGBAND_CREATOR.
- In Makefile.osx, change NAME and BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER as needed. You'll have to change the rule containing this line:

	lipo -arch x86_64 $@.x86_64 -arch i386 $@.i386 -create -output angband.o

Change that angband.o to $(NAME).o or whatever makes sense.

I think that's all, but I've probably forgotten something. Once 3.5 is released, I'm going to finish up my overhaul of the OS X port, so these steps may not be useful in the future.

[chris]

FWIW, I'm having a go at hacking the cocoa port and the linux build system in from V. ETA - who knows. I have the ulterior motive that if I can do this, it may makes the process easier for a bunch of old variants.

There is a main-mac.c in the source code that I inherited from Hengband. I have no idea how to build it though ... but who knows, perhaps that would work for PosChengband?

[Nick]

Ahh, gotta use the Linux/X11 build.

FWIW, I'm having a go at hacking the cocoa port and the linux build system in from V. ETA - who knows. I have the ulterior motive that if I can do this, it may makes the process easier for a bunch of old variants.

[clouded]

I did a little skimming of r_info to see what sort of late game things would provide corpses and noticed a few things that seem unintentional: Hela, Iketa, Sauron and hell knights all have Copy: lines but no DROP_CORPSE, lords of chaos only have DROP_SKELETON (and a Copy: line), and Santa has two Copy: lines.

Edit: killing Corwin gave me a "You've killed the boss of your race" message (no permaheroism though).

[chris]

I guess the crash on 0hp deserves a new release:

* Players always get at least 1hp

* Possessors start with 15 extra hp. Should be easy to get that first corpse now.

* Added autopicker option to only keep corspes above a certain level (See above in this thread). Note: The leave_special option is on by default so that new savefiles don't auto destroy corpses for the possessor. You will want to turn off leave_special at some point if you are using the autopicker.

* Innate monster attacks are now slightly more powerful for The Possessor.

* Tweaked a couple of monster body types (Manticore and Benedict).

* Possessors no longer display as -99 speed during birth.

[Nick]

30 restarts? Is the possessor too hard to start? I think I'll give them a small amount of starting hp so they can withstand a single magic missile or whatnot.

No, I'm just impatient. Plus I've been experimenting with possessing lots of stuff - floating eyes are pretty funny

[chris]

Must be a sporadic thing, as it hasn't happened to me in my 30-odd possessor quick restarts...

30 restarts? Is the possessor too hard to start? I think I'll give them a small amount of starting hp so they can withstand a single magic missile or whatnot.

Killing a Battle Scarred Veteran or Mean Looking Mercenary is not a bad initial option, and those guys stay sleeping so you can setup from a distance.

[chris]

Bug report: Quick restarting as a possessor gives you 0 HP and getting hit like this causes a crash. Also in the character startup it says you have -99 speed.

Thanks. I can reproduce both issues and fixed them for 2.0.1 (to be released shortly).

[Nick]

Bug report: Quick restarting as a possessor gives you 0 HP and getting hit like this causes a crash.

Must be a sporadic thing, as it hasn't happened to me in my 30-odd possessor quick restarts...

[emulord]

Bug report: Quick restarting as a possessor gives you 0 HP and getting hit like this causes a crash. Also in the character startup it says you have -99 speed.

[Arjen]

Ow, so you have to ditch corpses after a while, even if they are still stronger than the other monsters? Sucks Luckily I kept a Death Knight corpse.

[chris]

But while bathing in corpses I was wondering if you should be able to create an auto destroy line which destroys all corpses below a certain monsterlvl. I wouldn't mind if all orc corpses would be auto-destroyed as the piles a pretty high. It's not like I want a weak orc corpse.

*edit*

I think I found a bug, I only can't see it

http://angband.oook.cz/ladder-show.php?id=14828

The best I could come up with (for version 2.0.1) is:
?:[EQU $RACE Possessor]
~more level than 11 corpse
?:1

The autopicker is a bit of vodoo ... The ~ character is an action that means leave the object, but don't display it in map mode (You can display it in map mode by pressing 'N' though). The "more level than N" is an affix that says the object's level must be greater than the number you type (2 digits max). The "corpse" means the object must have the word corpse in it. The autopicker has a keyword for corpses (viz., "corpses or skeletons") but you don't want that as you can't possess skeletons!

To make this work, though, I had to remove the leave_special code.

The game distributes with a default pickup pref line of:
?:[EQU $RACE Possessor]
~corpse
?:1

You should edit this as you begin to become annoyed by huge mounds of low level, stinking, rotting, smelly corpses! Again, this hasn't been released just yet ...

Your bug is not a bug, but a feature. Your max experience is determined by your current body, so that, for example, you can't level up a Novice Warrior to the point where it is clearly not a novice anymore

EDIT: leave_special needs to remain in force, or else new possessor savefiles will automatically destroy corpses *by default*. Needless to say, this would be both confusing and annoying to new players!