FAangband 0.3.5

[Nick]

Apparently the 0.3.5 behaviour of "die on leaving the staircase" is still happening in the WinCE port of 0.3.5a, at least - I'll update on this when I have a clue.

OK. Luckily this was a CE only problem, and it's fixed now. Anyone playing the CE version should redownload.

[Zikke]

The new 0.3.5a loads to a blank screen for me and then is just pure black. Do I need to reload something?

[Nick]

The new 0.3.5a loads to a blank screen for me and then is just pure black. Do I need to reload something?

I'm guessing a font issue. Typically having any of the old lib folder can be a bad idea; it's best to use the whole new one, and copy over bits you want to keep (save file, and optionally stuff from apex, bone, and user folders).

[thapper]

Exploit in Shops?

I've found (and shamefully used) an exploit/bug that occurs in all shops. By (I)nvestigating anything in your inventory while you are in the shop you get to know all the details, just as if you were identifying it (what Potion/scroll/staff/etc it is, if your weapon is cursed and so on). After that you immediately forget it, and so does the shopkeeper, so now you're ready to sell any cursed piece of equipment or potion of poison that you didn't know about before...

Even if I don't mind if this would continue to work for my low level characters I guess it is not intentional.

Playing on a Windows machine by the way and have noticed this also in earlier versions.

cheers,

thapper

[Psi]

I've found (and shamefully used) an exploit/bug that occurs in all shops. By (I)nvestigating anything in your inventory while you are in the shop you get to know all the details, just as if you were identifying it (what Potion/scroll/staff/etc it is, if your weapon is cursed and so on). After that you immediately forget it, and so does the shopkeeper, so now you're ready to sell any cursed piece of equipment or potion of poison that you didn't know about before...

Well whatdyaknow, happens for me too. That's a good one!

[Nick]

Even if I don't mind if this would continue to work for my low level characters I guess it is not intentional.

Sure it is. It's, um, an Easter egg and, ah, to make ironman seem harder. And it's experimental to see what it would be like if ID was COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY NOW.

*Sigh*

[Zikke]

To Psi:

What do you think about max-level Necro play? I see your lvl 50 Winner necro is at the top of the ladder. I'm getting frustrated about the lack of genocide on a mage, seems like the only thing missing in my uber arsenal (maybe for a reason).

[Psi]

To Psi:

What do you think about max-level Necro play? I see your lvl 50 Winner necro is at the top of the ladder.

In what sense? My first winner was a necro (hence the ridiculous XP). I've won more efficiently with them since.

They can be tough to get going, but once you are high level they are pretty much unstoppable (unless you get caught out by some sort of speed bug grrrrr....).

[CJNyfalt]

Looking at FAangband character dump, I noticed a certain D&D monster. So, I went and took a closer look at the monster.txt file if there's more monsters that feels out of place.
I found three:

- Crow of Durthang. Durthang is in Mordor, which makes it third age. Suggestion: Rename it to Crow of Taur-Nu-Fuin, or something like that.

- The Tarrasque. Too obvious D&D reference, so it feels out of place.

- Vecna, the Emperor Lich: As with the Tarrasque, it's too obvious D&D.

Sadly, I have no good suggestions for new names for the last two.

[Zikke]

Vecna is such a classic Angband character, I'd hate to see it go. But you do have a good point for First Age purity.

Was there any kind of Godzilla-style monster from the first age lore?

[Nick]

- Crow of Durthang. Durthang is in Mordor, which makes it third age. Suggestion: Rename it to Crow of Taur-Nu-Fuin, or something like that.

Yes, good idea.

- The Tarrasque. Too obvious D&D reference, so it feels out of place.

- Vecna, the Emperor Lich: As with the Tarrasque, it's too obvious D&D.

I guess here I'm showing off my ignorance of D&D - I think of them as traditionally Angband
I'll have more of a think about it and see if they start to annoy me, which is, of course, the most important criterion.

[HallucinationMushroom]

A few years ago I glanced through a D&D monster manual and noticed the Tarrasque and went, "Hey, its that monster from Angband!". I didn't realize its D&D roots either, but I have a special place in my heart for the Tarrasque and hope it doesn't get taken out.

[Zikke]

Is there a way to decipher what the new staff or wand or necklace artifacts do? I found the Wand of Winds and a few other artifacts that have activates, but the description is vague. I looked through the artifacts.txt but it just references an Activate Index and I can't figure out what the activates actually do...

I've had the wand of Illmonen (or however it's spelled) for a long time and I know it does something poison-related, but I can never tell if it's uber enough to keep or not. Some numbers would be great, like on normal spells or staves.

[buzzkill]

scattered to the four winds?

Just a quick question..
A trapped chest, with 'strange runes'. I failed while attempting to disarm the trap and the contents were 'scattered to the four winds'. What does that mean? Were the contents destroyed or simply scattered about the current level?

and on another note...
How about being little more descriptive with the poisoning. Something other than 'you are poisoned/more poisoned'. A message like 'you are (mildly, moderately, severely, mortally) poisoned' would be nice. Because, let's face it, after a while you forget how many times you've been 'more poisoned'. You could base the descriptor on the number of turns that it will take for the poison wears off on it's own, or the amount of poison damage the character will sustain in relation to his HP.

[Zikke]

Also, is there any info about the various forms you can transform into with items or potions? Like vampire, dragon, lion, etc.

For this and the artifacts question I had above, if they are not available in-game somewhere, would spoilers be possible?