PWMAngband 1.1.11 released

[PowerWyrm]

Modding related questions:

4) I noticed some of the races now come with a racial flag (Orc, Troll, Giant, Animal, Thunderlord, Dragon). Where are these defined and what do they do? And how hard would it be to add new ones?

5) How do I do a Custom Town layout? Is it possible to do a custom dungeon level? (ie L120 always looks like XXX)

Racial flags are in list-player-flags.h, and are mostly used when the character is considered by the code as a "monster". For example, a player having ESP orc on an item is able to ESP orcs... but also other players of the Half-orc class! In PvP, a player of the Half-orc class will be susceptible to slay orc weapons. And so on... If you want to add more flags, you can simply expand list-player-flags.h and use the resulting PF_XXX flags in the code.

Custom Towns are done with the DM menu:
- log on with the DM (defined in mangband.cfg)
- go to the depth you want your custom level
- enter the DM menu (press '&')
- go to (1) Level commands then (3) Enter manual design (new level)

This will completely empty the level for your design needs. From there, enter the DM menu again and use the building features:
- go to (2) Building commands
- press (1) Set feature to choose the feature you want to add at your current position (see terrain.txt for feature numbers)
- press (2) to add the feature at your current position
- press (3) to draw a line of that feature starting from your current position
- press (4) once you have made a rectangle to fill it with the same feature
- toggle between (5) Build mode on and (6) Build mode off to add a feature under your feet as you move or not

Once you have finished drawing your level, don't forget to add at least one up staircase and one down staircase. Then enter the DM menu again, go to (1) Level commands then (5) Exit manual design. The game should save a file called server.level.0.0.depth in the \lib\user\save subdirectory. That's how I generated the ironman dungeon towns at depths 15/30/45/60/75/90.

After that, edit the mangband.cfg file and set MORE_TOWNS to true to enable custom levels and restart your server. For now, this is only used to generate custom towns, since no monsters can spawn or respawn on custom levels. Maybe I'll change that to allow creation of special levels (for special events and such).

[PowerWyrm]

Is there anything preventing you from making more than one item with the same name?

For example, can you have two different types of base Longsword, but with different properties?

No idea about this. This was probably the case before, when the code was based on object number. Now there are many places where the code uses object names. So I'd probably not use two objects with the same name.

[PowerWyrm]

Digging and Searching are now repetitive keys, so you actually search/dig 10 times. If you want to interrupt searching/digging, you need to press Escape. This is kinda annoying, I'll see if I can fix that...

And this is fixed for the next version. It should be out by Friday.

[TheHairyOne]

After that, edit the mangband.cfg file and set MORE_TOWNS to true to enable custom levels and restart your server. For now, this is only used to generate custom towns, since no monsters can spawn or respawn on custom levels. Maybe I'll change that to allow creation of special levels (for special events and such).

Can I request a PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE on the ability to create custom dungeon levels? And maybe a way to set the level feeling message for the level? I really really want to be able to set up custom dungeon levels for my players.

But I was mainly asking about a custom town at 0ft. I would love to be able to design the entire layout including store placement and stair placement...all the way down to the player houses if possible.

[TheHairyOne]

Bug Reports:

* Most (all?) Classes start with 0 gold when returning to life via store 4. I would think 100 gold min. Maybe 200?

* tab is supposed to work like 'h' but doesn't

* % doesn't work for key mapping/macros

* Weird lag/jerkiness on the server. Not sure how to quantify this one. I just know on my Mangband 1.1.2 server and on mangband.org I don't see this problem very often.

* Too hard to kill fleeing monsters. Biggest problem, if a monster needs to move to another adjacent square to get away from you, you should always get the kill (unless its significantly faster, OC). I am having a rough time landing killing blows in situations where it would work fine in Mangband.

[TheHairyOne]

Suggested Tuning Tweaks:

Stores should have more stuff available (2 pages of inven?) and more room to buy things (4 pages max?) from players. In particular stores 4 and 5:
-Identify Scrolls
-Potions of Cure Critical Wounds
-Scrolls of Life
-Potions of Restore Life Levels
-Potions of Restore STAT
-Enchant Armor
-Enchant Weapon Hit
-Enchant Weapon Damage

Black Market needs more:
-Teleport Scrolls
-Healing Potions
-*Healing* Potions
-*Identify* Scrolls

In a multiplayer server, these will be items in high demand. The current shops barely feed one player. My brother and I had a rough time when we were playing together just getting the basics. My suggestions tune more for a 3-10 player server. You would probably need to go 3/5 or 4/6 for a server with higher populations.

Interesting question...can you make the store inventories based somewhat off how many players are on the server at a time? That way a server could flex up the stores as more people log in....or stay compact and easy to deal with when only one player is on.

[PowerWyrm]

Bug Reports:

* Most (all?) Classes start with 0 gold when returning to life via store 4. I would think 100 gold min. Maybe 200?

* tab is supposed to work like 'h' but doesn't

* % doesn't work for key mapping/macros

* Weird lag/jerkiness on the server. Not sure how to quantify this one. I just know on my Mangband 1.1.2 server and on mangband.org I don't see this problem very often.

* Too hard to kill fleeing monsters. Biggest problem, if a monster needs to move to another adjacent square to get away from you, you should always get the kill (unless its significantly faster, OC). I am having a rough time landing killing blows in situations where it would work fine in Mangband.

Not bugs, features

I don't see why you should get gold when resurrecting. This has been removed in PWMAngband.

'TAB' is for roguelike keyset. It works if you define the option "use roguelike keyset". Otherwise, use 'h'.

'%' key has been unmapped, since you now have an option menu element for keymaps. Use '=' then 'k' instead.

Are you sure your lag problem doesn't come from unusual activity on the server? I'm playing on yukoma.duckdns.org and there's usually no lag at all.

"Fleeing" code has been ported from V and gives monsters much "smarter" options than running blindly in the opposite direction.

[PowerWyrm]

Can I request a PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE on the ability to create custom dungeon levels? And maybe a way to set the level feeling message for the level? I really really want to be able to set up custom dungeon levels for my players.

But I was mainly asking about a custom town at 0ft. I would love to be able to design the entire layout including store placement and stair placement...all the way down to the player houses if possible.

I'll add the ability to distinguish custom levels from custom towns, so you can add static levels to any server with a simple file. Custom towns will only be taken into account if MORE_TOWNS is true, custom levels will always be taken into account (and will be able to spawn/respawn monsters).

Custom town at 0ft will be hard to make. Currently, too much stuff is hardcoded for the town...

[PowerWyrm]

Suggested Tuning Tweaks:

Stores should have more stuff available (2 pages of inven?) and more room to buy things (4 pages max?) from players. In particular stores 4 and 5:
-Identify Scrolls
-Potions of Cure Critical Wounds
-Scrolls of Life
-Potions of Restore Life Levels
-Potions of Restore STAT
-Enchant Armor
-Enchant Weapon Hit
-Enchant Weapon Damage

Black Market needs more:
-Teleport Scrolls
-Healing Potions
-*Healing* Potions
-*Identify* Scrolls

In a multiplayer server, these will be items in high demand. The current shops barely feed one player. My brother and I had a rough time when we were playing together just getting the basics. My suggestions tune more for a 3-10 player server. You would probably need to go 3/5 or 4/6 for a server with higher populations.

Interesting question...can you make the store inventories based somewhat off how many players are on the server at a time? That way a server could flex up the stores as more people log in....or stay compact and easy to deal with when only one player is on.

I've ported the stores from V because I think supplies should be found, not bought. Stuff that don't appear in shops (enchants, restore potions) have been removed from V. Current shops are designed to "satisfy basic needs", that's it.

If you desperately need supplies, the easiest way is to place orders in the Expensive Black Market. Press 'o' then type "*Healing*" for example, and the XBM will start to store Potions of *Healing*. Just remember that the XBM only accepts 6 simultaneous orders.

[Derakon]

-Potions of Restore STAT

No longer exist in Vanilla (and thus I assume in PWMAngband as well) as you get a free stat restore on level up. Gain-stat potions also restore the stat before boosting it, and Mushrooms of Restoring can be found in the dungeon or, rarely, in the Black Market. This makes drained stats more significant/dangerous and means you can't just fix everything by running back to town every time you get drained. Be more careful around drainers, especially Dreads!

[PowerWyrm]

I'll add the ability to distinguish custom levels from custom towns, so you can add static levels to any server with a simple file. Custom towns will only be taken into account if MORE_TOWNS is true, custom levels will always be taken into account (and will be able to spawn/respawn monsters).

Custom town at 0ft will be hard to make. Currently, too much stuff is hardcoded for the town...

This is done for next version. The DM menu has now two options: "exit manual design (create town)" and "exit manual design (create level)". Creating a town saves a file named server.town.xxx, while creating a level saves a file named server.level.xxx. Custom levels are always loaded from memory. Custom towns are only loaded if NO_RECALL or MORE_TOWN is set to true in mangband.cfg. The old files in /lib/user/save have been renamed accordingly (to be loaded as "towns").

Currently, the rules for static levels are:
- terrain cannot be altered
- artifacts cannot be generated/dropped
- monsters cannot be generated/summoned if the level is a town

We'll see how that goes...

[TheHairyOne]

Not bugs, features

I don't see why you should get gold when resurrecting. This has been removed in PWMAngband.

Are you sure your lag problem doesn't come from unusual activity on the server? I'm playing on yukoma.duckdns.org and there's usually no lag at all.

"Fleeing" code has been ported from V and gives monsters much "smarter" options than running blindly in the opposite direction.

I thought that might be the case for some of these.

I would think either a little gold or at least some rations and a torch would be better than nothing. But its hard losing everything and trying to restart from scratch. 100gp goes a long way towards food, light, weapon, and a little armor. On the other hand, I explained to my brother (who is helping test) that its possible to restart naked and acquire everything you need to get back on your feet.

The problem is more of a stutter. You are running and when you get near where you want to be and hit a key to stop...but you keep running usually accompanied with a smalll lag surge. or you are in the dungeon moving around and you stutter and end mis moving or not moving...or the monster you were after moved and you kept going too far the way they were going. Could be something with the key buffer or the network code and keypresses, maybe. This makes things tricky especially with...

I have no problem with improved flight code for the monsters. What I have a problem with is a non-hasted monster doing the following:

#..
#o@
#..

He runs he should be a dead orc, yet maybe 30% of the time I hit them, and they move a sq...and then they move ANOTHER sq before I can take another swing.

The other situtation...where I am chasing a mob, but its almost impossible to keep on top of it because its in real time and the mob can react in real time, but you cant...and then you almost have him or you get him cornered...and you stutter and he slips away. Its very frustrating.

[TheHairyOne]

This is done for next version. The DM menu has now two options: "exit manual design (create town)" and "exit manual design (create level)". Creating a town saves a file named server.town.xxx, while creating a level saves a file named server.level.xxx. Custom levels are always loaded from memory. Custom towns are only loaded if NO_RECALL or MORE_TOWN is set to true in mangband.cfg. The old files in /lib/user/save have been renamed accordingly (to be loaded as "towns").

Currently, the rules for static levels are:
- terrain cannot be altered
- artifacts cannot be generated/dropped
- monsters cannot be generated/summoned if the level is a town

We'll see how that goes...

That sounds great! Thank you so much!

I already know how to deal with editing levels, adding treasure, and adding monsters. Can we get options to add doors, secret doors, traps, and treasure veins? I think that covers the full range of options a GM would need to design a custom dungeon for his player(s).

[PowerWyrm]

I thought that might be the case for some of these.

I would think either a little gold or at least some rations and a torch would be better than nothing. But its hard losing everything and trying to restart from scratch. 100gp goes a long way towards food, light, weapon, and a little armor. On the other hand, I explained to my brother (who is helping test) that its possible to restart naked and acquire everything you need to get back on your feet.

The problem is more of a stutter. You are running and when you get near where you want to be and hit a key to stop...but you keep running usually accompanied with a smalll lag surge. or you are in the dungeon moving around and you stutter and end mis moving or not moving...or the monster you were after moved and you kept going too far the way they were going. Could be something with the key buffer or the network code and keypresses, maybe. This makes things tricky especially with...

I have no problem with improved flight code for the monsters. What I have a problem with is a non-hasted monster doing the following:

#..
#o@
#..

He runs he should be a dead orc, yet maybe 30% of the time I hit them, and they move a sq...and then they move ANOTHER sq before I can take another swing.

The other situtation...where I am chasing a mob, but its almost impossible to keep on top of it because its in real time and the mob can react in real time, but you cant...and then you almost have him or you get him cornered...and you stutter and he slips away. Its very frustrating.

If you die at low level, just restart. If you die at higher level, you should have a house with spare equipment and/or money. In both cases, I don't see a point giving gold when resurrecting.

Concerning fleeing monsters, you should have auto-retaliator enabled. If the monster is cornered, it should die.

About strange movement behavior, I have changed the way PWMAngband reacts (compared to MAngband) when a character is running: 1) monsters will run at same speed and 2) running will stop when @ is two spaces away from something. This needs a bit of adaptation before getting used to.

[PowerWyrm]

That sounds great! Thank you so much!

I already know how to deal with editing levels, adding treasure, and adding monsters. Can we get options to add doors, secret doors, traps, and treasure veins? I think that covers the full range of options a GM would need to design a custom dungeon for his player(s).

The menu allows you to set any feature that is in terrain.txt, so it includes everything (except traps probably).