[Announce] Composband 7.1.2 release

[Gwarl]

New version released on github

https://github.com/OwenGHB/composband/releases/tag/v7.1.2

download the source and the .exe and place the .exe in the downloaded source folder

Changes for this version:

• give hexblades and chaos mages > 1 max blow per round
• chaos mages gain the same bonuses as other mages for applicable spells
• stairs now (correctly) show under the item list ] (and like objects can be travelled to with the backtick `)
• the 'mountain' dungeon has been replaced by the glacier, with a new final guardian (who may need work) it is full of the new ice terrain features (which can be melted by fire). The white ~ to represent ice slicks is ambiguous with skeletons but no more appropriate glyphs came to mind
• three other new uniques, one of whom uses a new monster blow effect that may in future be given to other monsters, also including an original dragon by holy_rage
• where applicable additional device info (such as damage) is shown next to charges in the inventory and on the ground
• hexblades are charisma based casters with no glove encumberance and are allowed slightly heavier armour. They start the game with ringmail and a longsword
• icky cave is 10 levels deep again which should result in smaller levels for the mushroom hunt
• various rideable 'H' monsters have had their stats adjusted to be not worse than lower-level hippogriffs in terms of speed and hitpoints. perhaps someone will tame and ride a gorgon or a manticore?
• new quest in outpost between the level 15 sewer quest and the level 45 haunted house quest. This one is a pretty faithful adaptation from kangband (the vault and the sewers being the only remaining quests similarly congrous to the K originals)
• dragon pact warlocks are allowed their mount into the arena

This may be the last release for a little while, I will be looking to add multiple versions of the variants to angband live, but I have thought hard enough about 7.2.0 that I am intent on getting round to it eventually.

If there are any urgent or game breaking bugs in the meantime I will if necessary fix the download.

[CyclopsSlayer]

Just wanted to try a Hexblade and immediately had two issues,

-Which stat controls magic? Class info says Intelligence, creation screen says Charisma (violet colored stat) and assigns points towards Chr

-Chose Easy_ID yet when I killed Iron Heart he dropped an Amulet (ego) which then had to be identified, or does Easy_ID only pseudo ID?

[Gwarl]

Hexblades use cha, the class desc is something thatvneeds fixing

easy_id removes the need to *ID* items, but you still need to ID them. The equivalent option in frog changed after the fork. Pseudo id has been removed entirely, items simply generate already tagged as average/good/ego/artifact (but you won't know if they're cursed).

[CyclopsSlayer]

"easy_id removes the need to *ID* items, but you still need to ID them."
Which is completely not what easy-id help says. It speaks of instant pseudo-id. A rather critical difference in function.

Some items on the floor are fully ID'd at drop, some require manual ID.

However, I have a Staff of Identify, and a Ring of Combat (?), attempting to use the staff gives the message 'All items are identified' and the Ring remains (?) ??
Had to wear the ring and fight a few times before it ID'd, yet the staff worked on an amulet that dropped. Seems very arbitrary.

edit: It was an ID scroll that identified the Amulet.

[Gwarl]

The helpfiles are out of date to be sure, but you shouldn't be getting ?'s on things that have been identified if the easy_id birth option was on.

[CyclopsSlayer]

The helpfiles are out of date to be sure, but you shouldn't be getting ?'s on things that have been identified if the easy_id birth option was on.

The (?) ring was on a second char with easy_id off. I only use easy_id in the early game in other forks. And here, easy_id has no early game function, so doing without.

Why doesn't Identify work on (?) items? Equipping a cursed item early game without assured Removes can be lethal, and not allowing accessory items to be identified just seems needlessly cruel.

=-=-=-=-
Really liking the Hexblade concept, Hex works so much better as an adjunct to Melee than as a caster's primary tool.

My first char died to overconfidence, got into trouble until a double fail to read a TPort scroll, ouch.
Second Hexblade is breezing along.

=-=-=-=-
In other concerns,

Basic ammunition availability: I am a missile weapon addict on my characters so it is disheartening to need to rely on the vagaries of the RNG to buy an arrow or sling stone.

[Gwarl]

Why doesn't Identify work on (?) items? Equipping a cursed item early game without assured Removes can be lethal, and not allowing accessory items to be identified just seems needlessly cruel.

Not cruelty, just a bug. You shouldn't see ? with easy_id. So if you are that needs fixing.

Basic ammunition availability: I am a missile weapon addict on my characters so it is disheartening to need to rely on the vagaries of the RNG to buy an arrow or sling stone.

next version will make town stores stock some garunteed basics like phase door cure wounds and basic ammo

[Fizanko]

I am running into a crash for the poisonned water quest near Outpost after pressing y to enter the quest area :

https://i.imgur.com/hWJdeBa.png

[Gwarl]

there were a couple of bugs in the release version.. if you got to the git page and download as zip for latest master it includes a couple of fixes.. the same .exe file and savefiles should work. or just copy the lib/edit folder over the existing copy.

[Fizanko]

Thanks, i just did that and the save worked.
No error anymore when going to that specific quest.

EDIT : found a minor text description problem.
The Orc Camp quest in Thalos mention the camp is located in the southeast of the city.
But it's not there, it's to the east of the town / northeast of the city gates :

https://i.imgur.com/cIN6zjl.png

[Fizanko]

Question about dual wielding.
As i have some nice weapons so far, i decided to try to train dual wielding to increase my chances to hit as it's abysmal regardless of my weapons individual skills and +bonus to hit.

So i threw my character into Orcs Cave and word of recalled to the bottom of it then cleared levels after levels until i reached /- the 20th floor.

That was a very very lot of monsters killed (and some uniques to add to my list too)
As i still had a lot of difficulty to actually hit (good i'm level 35 so i could afford so much missing strikes) i checked the skills level on ~ -> P
and it's still at (Un/Un) like it was before i started the grind.

So i'm rather puzzled after so much time annihilating enemies with dual wield : how is this skill training then ?

[Gwarl]

In your particular case it sound like your character can't improved dual wield - the [Un/Un] line means Unskilled is your current level... and Unskilled is your max. If it were [Un/Sk] for example, you'd be in with a chance.

Having said that, I've taken measures to reduce the amount of grinding needed to raise most proficiencies (weapon skills and riding), but dual wielding still improves at a hengband pace.. which is to say slowly.

[Fizanko]

Ah thank you, i had no idea what those 2 "Un" were really for.
Good i learned that or i would have wasted a lot more time trying