So changes aren't really going to come as frequently as before, but I've
been able to steal a little bit of time.  NAO is now running 0.6.2 of
Sporkhack again, after the dgamelaunch update, and the beta server is
still chugging along nicely, with over 18,500 games played as of today
(and 155 ascensions!).

There have been a few major changes recently which should go further
towards adding both to the randomness of the game, and encourage people
to "use what they find", rather than lean their thumb on the scale to
guarantee the same thing every time.  At the same time, some other
things have been opened up; the most obvious of this being the
possibility of any race being any role (though some alignment
restrictions still apply), and the new spell-school staves to assist in
casting by non-Wizards.

Enjoy!

Changelog since last update follows...

11/23:
        DR: Gremlins will only steal partial resistances if obtained via eating
        DR: Intrinsics gained via race or level will properly give message if
                        player has partial already at the time they gain it via race/level
        DR: Remove magic markers from starting equipment and prevent random
                        generation of same.
        DR: Juggle tool probabilities; increase chances of more 'rare' equipment
                        like saddles/instruments
        PK: Add possibility of "trap rooms" as new special room
        DR: Nazgul screams now only affect you if you're within range.

11/22:
        PK: Fix double-throne bug, some minor tweaks
        DR: Add "while helpless" patch
        PK: Allow more than one special room per level
        DR: Non-mindless monsters will be a bit more observant about traps now
        DR: Update Windows binaries

11/2:
        DR: Make sure dwarven archaeologists don't start with two pickaxes

10/31:
        DR: Race/role combos opened up significantly: all roles can now be all races.  
                        Some race and role possible alignments altered slightly to make sure
                        each has at least one option available.
        DR: Special spell changes: Valkyrie's is now 'repair armor', Barbarian's is
                        now 'cause fear'; hopefully this will bring them a little closer to
                        being castable.
        DR: Dwarves now have a chance of starting with a pickaxe.
        DR: Allow fleeing covetous monsters to heal faster so they quit jumping
                        all over the place and return to battle eventually
        DR: Fix vanilla bug: SC343-19
        DR: Give some oomph to the Riders' HP and level so they're not so crunchy
        DR: Increase chances of getting golem while polypiling

10/25:
        DR: Steal spell-school staves from Crawl; staff of a particular school provides
                        large casting bonus for spells from that school
        DR: No longer necessary to wield/wear Amulet of Yendor to play hot-and-cold
                        game on Planes
        DR: Tone down AC bonus for higher level monsters slightly

10/22:
        DR: Add new object, "brazier" -- permanent-light floor lamp.  Place one of said
                        object on vibrating square at level creation.
        PK: Fix several more 64-bit related bugs (sanctum crash on creation + others)
        DR: Add downstairs to Castle level and link them up properly (removes need to
                        avoid filling/locking trapdoors, which would seem logical to a new player)

10/19:
        PK: Fix 'stack pop' bug related to some special levels

10/12:
        DR: Artifact-naming bug fixed.
        DR: Fix eaten-intrinsic messages to better reflect "partial" status

10/8:
        DR: Random wands of wishing removed from the game.  Magic lamps, djinni, water demons,
                        and thrones left untouched.  Castle wand also left intact.

--
Derek

Game info and change log: http://sporkhack.com
Beta Server: telnet://sporkhack.com
IRC: irc.freenode.net, #sporkhack