Angband Survey
Leon Marrick
Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
been a while since the last one.
Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
out.
(posting)
This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
compiled and presented.
------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
you played?
2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
4) What is your favorite weapon?
5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
annoying?
6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
its
depth?
7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
Heng mirror-master, etc.)
------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
say,
the last year)?
13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
final stats)?
15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
no "this is a special level" feelings)?
16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
increase stats)?
18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
use other similar methods?
19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
good feeling or see a vault)?
20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
monsters/special rooms)?
21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
they stock what you want)?
------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
over to Angband?
24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
you want to see more of in other variants?
(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
your own stuff!
25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
Angband included)
30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
interesting:
a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
a2) [Angband/64]
b1) [Bangband]
b2) [BeAngband]
c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
d1) [Dennis van Es' Angband (DvEband)]
d2) [Discworld Angband (Discband)]
d3) [Drangband]
e1) [Easy-Angband (Easyband)]
e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
f1) [Fangband]
g1) [Goingband]
g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
g3) [Gumband]
g4) [GW-Angband]
h1) [Hengband]
i1) [IronMan-Angband]
k1) [Kangband]
k2) [Kamband]
l1) [Langband]
m1) [Michael Barnes' Angband (MJband)]
m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
n1) [New Angband (NewAngband)]
n2) [Non-Tolkienian Angband (NTAngband)]
o1) [Oangband]
p1) [Pangband]
p2) [PernAngband]
p3) [Prfnoff's Angband variant ()]
p4) [Programmable Angband (PAngband)]
p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband]
q1) [Quest Angband (QAngband)]
r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
r2) [RobertAngband]
s1) [Sangband]
s2) [SBFband]
s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
t1) [Team Angband (TAngband)]
u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
u2) [Utumno]
y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
z1) [Zangband]
z2) [Prfnoff's ZAngband variant (ZAngbaA)]
z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
??) [Any variants not included above]
(I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
Jonathan Ellis
Leon Marrick wrote in message <3C35F915...@sprintmail.com>...
>
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
>some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
>know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
>been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
>Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
>Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
>out.
>
>
>(posting)
>This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
>weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
>compiled and presented.
>
>
>------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
Four years, starting with Angband 2.7.8.
If you're including Moria as well, then sixteen years, starting
with whichever version of Moria was current in 1985.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Playing the game: Beating Morgoth for the first time without
save-scumming or using Invulnerability (Dwarf Priest character.)
Hacking the info.txt files: Creating a collection of demonic
monsters which will scare even a high-level character, but can be beaten
by a vanilla character eventually if he isn't stupid. (My most
successful character since I invented them - Kurtulmak the Kobold
Ranger - had beaten many of them, before finally falling to a horde when
he allowed himself to be surrounded and didn't bother to teleport away
even with three chances to do so.)
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Ringil.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Ringil.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Magic Mushrooms. (With Nexus Quylthulgs not far behind.)
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its depth?
In vanilla 2.9.3: Greater Titans, by a short head from Dracoliches
and Dracolisks. These three ahead of the rest by a *very long* way -
possibly too far ahead IMHO. Drolems and undead beholders arguing over
fourth place.
In later, beta, versions of vanilla: Not sure, but probably undead
beholders or drolems. These are also the most pointless monsters, as
neither drops anything - at least titans and dracoliches/lisks drop good
stuff. (Some might go for the new Barbazu demons...)
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Lorgan, with Mim a close second simply because he's fast,
disenchants and resists everything except slay evil. These are the
uniques I often try to avoid even if I meet them in-depth.
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Ancient dragons, or anything I've created myself - Pit Fiends and
Horned Reapers being particularly fun.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Angband: Teleporting away from a double breath from Glaurung
(hacked up to speed +20, breathing fire and poison, I only had single
resistance up at the time, landing next to a greater titan, it bashed me
hard, I teleported away and landed in the middle of a horde of orcs with
0 hps left, and they all attacked me at once... and missed. I survived
and took out all the monsters.
ZAngband: After killing the Serpent of Chaos, I continued on until
I encountered a horde of Unmakers at about 6000'. One of them walked
over a "Power Dragon Scale Mail [50]" and couldn't destroy it, though
they normally destroy objects. Unfortunately, the one remaining unique
Yog-Sothoth chose that moment to breathe mana at me and give me a low
hitpoint warning, and when I teleported away a fire vortex and young red
dragon both breathed fire at once - not hurting me much, but destroying
my few remaining genocide scrolls so I couldn't get rid of the Unmakers
when I recovered my hps. It's the closest I've ever been to Bladeturner.
SAngband: Fenneling my own armor and weapons in version 0.9.4
before fenneling was nerfed. It was *fun* then.
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
A tie between Kobold Ranger (patched vanilla) and High Elf Sorcerer
(Pern).
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Old-style (pre-2.3.x) ZAngband mage - can use spells (well, Doom
Bolt mostly) to kill things, but fighting hasn't been completely nerfed
in the beginning game although it's unreliable.
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
Windows 98.
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII. Never use graphics.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
yes, always.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you
get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
yes, always.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
yes, always. Generally I manage to balance it so it comes up within
the first fifty thousand rolls.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
nope, never.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death,
or
>use other similar methods?
Only when learning the ropes with a new variant, and never with a
character past 2000'.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Occasionally. Even autoscum doesn't always produce enough levels
that are actually interesting for me.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, always. Never turn it off.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
For essentials (WoR scrolls, lantern oil, restore-stat potions if
I'm down more than two points in a stat, spellbooks if I have no copies
of a needed spellbook, and sometimes for cure crit potions), yes.
Otherwise no.
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I have yet to be able to tell which direction it's actually headed
in. However, as long as it includes user-friendly customisability that's
mostly fine by me.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
In Nethack, stepping on a "trap" square doesn't always set the trap
off. This could be used for mechanical-type traps such as Poison Needles
or Trapdoors. In return, Disarming traps could be made harder for
non-rogues. (Maybe a sufficiently high dexterity could guarantee
avoiding a known Trapdoor completely even by stepping on its space, thus
rendering this type of trap irrelevant once it is known: similarly with
poison-needle traps. But summoning runes or teleport runes, based on
proximity, should *always* go off until disarmed.)
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat
dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to
mention
>your own stuff!
Easier spell scripting, and ability to customize spellbooks.
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Rogues in vanilla don't have enough to differentiate them from
other classes. Warriors could be better at fighting with big heavy
weapons, such as getting the chance to actually have the maximum six
attacks with really heavy weapons like Grond, Deathwreaker or the
Trident of Wrath.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
More up-to-date in-game docs for vanilla. I do my best to come up
with docs at least for my own patched version, but there's things there
that I don't know and therefore can't explain.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Robert Ruehlmann, for the far greater customizability of the
Angband 2.9.x series and most particularly for the z_info.txt (now
"limits.txt") file to allow for new artifacts, ego-items and monsters to
be added *without* having to remove older ones to make room for them.
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Have won vanilla Angband, old ZAngband, KAngband, SAngband, and
Psiband: regularly play PernAngband, and dabbled in CthAngband (until
the new speed system came out, which I tried and decided I didn't really
like) and OAngband and new ZAngband (ditto with combat system). Tried
Kamband but it kept crashing.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
vanilla.
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year
(2001)?
>
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or
otherwise
>interesting:
>
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
The first, the greatest, the best.
>a2) [Angband/64]
Never managed to get it to work on my computer without crashing.
>b1) [Bangband]
Past its sell-by date. Years ago, in fact.
>b2) [BeAngband]
Seemed like a good idea at the time. Angband with all sorts of
patches. But it seems like it's about to be overtaken by the real
thing...
>c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
Nice ideas for warriors and crit hits there, within the context of
the original Angband combat system rather than the completely different
OAngband one. Not sure how well they work but possibly worth a try.
>c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
The first to really take seriously the concept of multiple dungeons
with different guardians. Shame about the new speed system - which seems
to have never really taken off, and may have put some people off the
rest of the game before the change of maintainer.
>d1) [Dennis van Es' Angband (DvEband)]
Never played it. Doesn't look like it had enough that was really
original.
>d2) [Discworld Angband (Discband)]
At the moment it's still essentially ZAngband with names changed.
I'm not really sure that Pratchett's Discworld really fits into a *band
anyway, the style is totally different.
>d3) [Drangband]
"Hey! Wouldn't it be cool to play as a dragon!"
>e1) [Easy-Angband (Easyband)]
Pointless. Singularly pointless.
>e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
Was never quite sure what this one was actually intending to *do*.
>e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
I keep on swearing that I'm going to try this one one day. Then I
take another look at vanilla and find myself playing that again
instead... but I do like the look of some of the things from EyAngband.
Including the idea of ego-item light sources.
>f1) [Fangband]
A mere historical curio. Kept around like grandma's ashes in the
proverbial urn over the mantelpiece.
>g1) [Goingband]
(1) A loud vocal minority insist that the game is playable without
Globe of Invulnerability.
(2) They code a variant specifically to remove it.
(3) They announce that development of this variant is "concluded".
(4) The majority, who have no particular objection to the presence
of Invulnerability as a spell, continue on playing standard vanilla,
which has Invulnerability available. If they don't like it, they play
without it, but they don't try to remove it so that *other* people can't
have it, dog-in-the-manger style.
(5) And your point was...?
>g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
Is there really a difference between these two variants? I don't
know. Never tried them.
>g3) [Gumband]
This is the one I keep on swearing that I'm going to try one day
instead of playing older 2.1.x versions of ZAngband. But never quite get
around to it. One of two variants (the other being older versions of
PernAngband) which really carries on the necessary tradition of
old-style ZAngband - it's zany, it's fun, and to hell with balance. ;-)
>g4) [GW-Angband]
Of all the variants which invent new spells and magic systems and
try to have mages behaving more like mages, this is my preference. I
don't play it, but I'd like to see some of the more useful (and
particularly the more damaging) spells make their way into vanilla, in
place of some of the less useful or duplicated spells. Keleks, and
Sorcery And Evocations, in particular, could do with a couple of
higher-damage spells than vanilla mages have right now.
>h1) [Hengband]
Not really looked at this one yet.
>i1) [IronMan-Angband]
No point in this variant whatsoever. People who wish to play
ironman-style are perfectly capable of doing so within the bounds of
standard vanilla, even without turning the so-called "Ironman" options
on, purely by voluntary choice.
>k1) [Kangband]
Great for those who like set quests. Lousy for those who don't. I
haven't tried newer versions yet, but I hear some of the rewards are a
bit out of whack.
>k2) [Kamband]
Still can't get it to work on my computer.
>l1) [Langband]
As far as I know, this doesn't even *exist* yet.
>m1) [Michael Barnes' Angband (MJband)]
What was this one again? A variant for the sake of a variant, with
nothing new to say?
>m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
*band isn't multiplayer. Period. If it's multiplayer, it isn't
*band.
>n1) [New Angband (NewAngband)]
As with Easyband: Your point was *what*?
>n2) [Non-Tolkienian Angband (NTAngband)]
don't really know about this one. We know what it *isn't*, but
surely it also has to be *for* something?
>o1) [Oangband]
Some great ideas. Some not so great. But then, the maintainer did
have some pretty weird opinions... ;-) I like the new and more-powerful
wands and rods, and the artifact wands, rods and staves, but not the
method of wand stacking (it works better for rods.) The Staff of Mana
Storms should not be a Staff, as Staves' effects should IMHO be
non-directional (no other Staff has a directional effect) - it would be
better to make this a Wand instead. Not keen on the combat system, I
prefer to be able to add up the numbers rather than rely on strange
non-intuitive percentages which it's impossible to work out without
resorting to advanced calculus, trigonometry, logarithmic tables and
possibly quantum theory... and I like my early-game mages to stand a
reasonable chance of hitting a grey mold with a dagger if the magic
missile spell fails twice.
>p1) [Pangband]
I'm not sure this exists yet.
>p2) [PernAngband]
Brilliant but flaky. Getting better in the bug-demolition
department, but still a tendency (exacerbated by the move to CVS and
Sourceforge) to introduce new features *before* fixing old bugs (and, in
extreme cases, *instead of* fixing them) rather than *afterwards*. Also
needs a big slim-down in the number of classes, races and spellbooks.
Not enough purely-bugfix re-releases: a version 5.0.1b that did nothing
but fix the bugs in 5.0.1 should have been released long ago to the
official Clockwork site.
But this variant has the best handling of above-ground wilderness,
of all variants. I would say that the handling of different dungeons
with different guardian monsters is a bit clunky in the user interface,
but I can't think of a better or more user-friendly way to express it,
so I won't.
>p3) [Prfnoff's Angband variant ()]
Haven't played it yet, but if the design is as
crusty-old-conservative as some of his posts to the group then it's
probably not that much different from Moria. Or possibly Rogue. ;-) On a
more serious note, is this really a true variant, or is it just a
personalised version? Does it actually do anything interesting?
>p4) [Programmable Angband (PAngband)]
Not sure this exists yet.
>p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
Working on it...
>p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband)
Needs a maintainer, or at least a co-maintainer (I'd be willing to
help out) since Aram Harrow retired from Angband and Psiband
development. Unfortunately it's a hell of a long way behind the times,
combining as it does a severely buggy old version of Psiband with a
severely buggy old version of ZAngband, and introducing various new
features which are also... you guessed it... severely buggy. Quite
frankly, the best thing that could be done with this is throw the whole
thing out of the window and start again, from ZAngband 2.1.1c, then
update all the code that can be updated to Angband 2.9.x standards (as Z
2.1.1c was based on the code of Angband 2.8.1, not even 2.8.3), then add
in the psionic bits to replace (rather than be in addition to) the
Mindcrafter class. The current version could simply be got rid of, it's
probably beyond repair.
>q1) [Quest Angband (QAngband)]
Now that KAngband has really taken up the Angband-with-quests
baton, is there anything left for this variant to do? Or should it be
officially marked as obsolete, and visitors referred to KAngband?
>r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
He said he was going to make things more "realistic". In a world
where magic works, and dragons exist. What was your point again?
>r2) [RobertAngband]
As far as I know, this is purely a specific version of vanilla
which was once cutting-edge, and is now obsolete since *all* the changes
it made (with the exception of one introduced bug, now fixed) are now
part of standard vanilla. There are surely better things to do with
webspace than keep it cluttered up by such as this.
>s1) [Sangband]
Was much cooler (albeit more munchkinish) in version 0.9.4b. I
remain yet to be convinced that Angband can work at all with a skill
system, but if this wasn't the most balanced attempt it could at least
be the most fun.
>s2) [SBFband]
What *is* this? A variant for the sake of a variant, with nothing
new to say, apart from to put its creator's initials at the head of a
*band?
>s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
I have a few choice words on this, and they are... Nitwit! Blubber!
Oddment! Tweak!
Apart from that... WHY?
>t1) [Team Angband (TAngband)]
Angband isn't a team game. Team games are not *bands.
>u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
Think of a proper name. Think of a proper purpose. Then I'll start
making more relevant comments on it.
>u2) [Utumno]
A waste of space. The same could be said of its maintainer.
>y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
An idea which seemed like a good idea at the time. To someone. But
it never got anywhere.
>z1) [Zangband]
2.1.1c was IMHO the most balanced version yet, certainly the most
balanced pre-O-combat. I still play it. I also like the 2.2.x series but
haven't gone beyond 2.2.3d because of the absurd feature of good
monsters fighting evil monsters spontaneously, and summoning things at
each other, and getting completely out of hand. Anyone who wants to base
a variant on the 2.2.x series of ZAngband should start with 2.2.3d for
this reason.
>z2) [Prfnoff's ZAngband variant (ZAngbaA)]
The name sounds like a cross between ZAngband and a sheep. Get a
more interesting name and make it a variant in its own right, or reduce
it to the level of a source-code patch, but there surely isn't room for
*everyone* to put up their own full personalised version, in half a
dozen different incarnations for half a dozen different platforms taking
up half a dozen megabytes, that only they play. At least I kept my
changes to the level of a patch, that only needed one release because it
was applicable to all platforms.
>z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
Similarly, this could do with a new name that suggests it's not
just a personalised version but a variant in its own right. Although
there seems to be more actually interesting stuff in it.
Jonathan.
Keith Willoughby
> >e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
>
> I keep on swearing that I'm going to try this one one day. Then I
> take another look at vanilla and find myself playing that again
> instead... but I do like the look of some of the things from EyAngband.
I highly recommend it. Eytan has a plan, and he seems to be sticking
to it. I'm sure you'd approve.
> Including the idea of ego-item light sources.
They're excellent. A pretty small thing adds an awful lot to the
interest factor. I find myself taking off the Phial for blindness
resist, say, and anything that adds decision making for the Phial
works for me.
The Angel and Demon races are really interesting, too, and stuff like
monster poisoning and bleeding add a lot. It's really satisfying when
you are surrounded by orcs, and you cut one and it dies *later*
without you having to keep hitting it.
I'll also say that *every* variant should have EyAngband's option for
allowing a quick-start creation based on the previous character.
--
Keith Willoughby
Sunsh ne ess rt
Robert Ruehlmann
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
I think I have been playing Angband for about 5-6 years. I'm still a
newbie compared to many others here. :-)
IIRC the first version was 2.7.9v6 for DOS and I was shocked by the lack of
graphics when trying it. Playing the graphical Moria on the Amiga spoiled
me. So I had to add graphics to the DOS version ...
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
the Phial
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Ringil - not that I see it very often ...
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
The new Smeagol from the JLE patch can be pretty annoying.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
Battle scarred veteran
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
ZAngband's kamikaze yeeks
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Vanilla highelf-mage - still fun after all these years.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
ZAngband mindcrafter - no books to worry about
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say, the last year)?
PII-400 with Linux (Debian Woody)
P-90 with a bootable DOS-Angband floppy
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
No
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Yes
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Usually not, but sometimes I resurrect an interesting character with wizard
mode.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
I often stair-scum when "power-diving". Up and down the stairs till
down-stairs are near, sometimes stop for treasure or to kill a monster.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
No
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Rarely - only for WoR scrolls
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I hope so. :-)
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
The security patches and autoconf support from Angband.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
>
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison for the clean source code.
Topi Ylinen for creating ZAngband and allowing me to mess around with it.
Brian E Gallew for providing the clockwork FTP server.
The sysadmins of angband.org for the free hosting of Thangorodrim.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
I've tried more of the older ones. But the only ones I've played for more
than one or two characters are RobertAngband (obviously), Vanilla Angband,
ZAngband, GWAngband, KAngband, KAmband, KAmband, RAngband, and SAngband.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Angband 2.9.6 alpha
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Angband
<snip>
--
Robert Ruehlmann ( r...@angband.org )
"Thangorodrim - The Angband Page" : http://thangorodrim.angband.org/
Visit the #angband chat channel at irc.worldirc.org
Eric Bock
>
> >e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
>
> Was never quite sure what this one was actually intending to *do*.
IIRC it was mostly to demonstrate a few patches, in the hope that they
would be more readily accepted if there was binary to try. It doesn't
really offer much now.
> >p1) [Pangband]
>
> I'm not sure this exists yet.
It does, though it's more or less abandoned now.
> >r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
>
> He said he was going to make things more "realistic". In a world
> where magic works, and dragons exist. What was your point again?
I was mostly trying for a sort of 'internal' realism, cleaning up
sillinesses, and the like. Making it conform to 20th-century 'realism'
would have been very strange. I'm not sure many people realized I already
knew this ;)
The point was that, to some extent, this Angband world is real. Having
the monsters continue to exist after they've been killed, along with any
items they might have been carrying, gives the player 'evidence' that yes,
these creatures are as much a part of the world as he is.
> >u2) [Utumno]
>
> A waste of space. The same could be said of its maintainer.
Ouch :)
> >z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
>
> Similarly, this could do with a new name that suggests it's not
> just a personalised version but a variant in its own right. Although
> there seems to be more actually interesting stuff in it.
The name's meant to be a little silly ('zce' is pronounced 'chi', BTW) -
there are silly ideas in this variant :)
--
/* Eric */main(s,i,j,k,c){char*p=malloc(s=1),*a=p+(*p=i=j=k=0)/* Bock */
;while(~(*a=getchar())&&(++a-p<s||(a=(p=realloc(p,s+s))+s)&&(s+=s))||(*a
=0));for(a=malloc(s=1),*a=0;(c=p[i])&&(c=='+'&&++a[j]||c=='-'&&--a[j]||c
=='>'&&(++j<s||(a=realloc(a,s+s))&&memset(a+s,0,s)&&(s+=s))||c=='<'&&j--
||c=='.'&&~putchar(a[j])||c==','&&~(a[j]=getchar()))|!strchr("><.,",c);i
++)while((c=='['&&!a[j]||c==']'&&a[j])&&(k+=(p[i]=='[')-(p[i]==']'))&&p[
i+=c/* Brainf*** */=='[']&&(/* worse than */i-=c==']'/* this sig! */));}
Andrew Doull
[...]
Could somebody repost this messag every month with the Angband variants
FAQ? Seriously :)
>
>
>>u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
>>
>
> Think of a proper name. Think of a proper purpose. Then I'll start
> making more relevant comments on it.
>
Although, Ouch!
I see you're big on the name thing. Would you rather I called it Unknown
Angband? :)
I'm not going to rename this variant after so long. Especially
considering the primary purpose of it was initially to see if I could
modify the identify system, resulting in players with 'unnamed' objects.
I thought the symetry was quite nice.
What is your definition of a 'proper' purpose anyway?
Andrew
Skylar Thompson
>
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
> some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
> know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
> been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
> Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
> Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
> out.
>
>
> (posting)
> This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
> weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
> compiled and presented.
>
>
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Vanilla 2.8.3 had just come out, so that must have been a good four or five
years ago.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning vanilla without cheats or save-file scumming.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Aranruth in Pern 4.1.5. It was so ridiculously easy to find in the orc caves, and
it gave so much stuff.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
That's got to be Calris in vanilla. I just couldn't give up that baby....
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Breeders. If you want deadly *and* annoying, I'd go with Cantoras. That guy
is _tough_ to thrash!
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Not sure. Probably dracolichs/dracolisks.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Azrael. You can't resist much of what he dishes out.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Hmmm. I can't decide between Maggot and Sauron. Maggot can give a nice,
early weapon, but Sauron means you're almost done. Tough call.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Getting Cantoras down to one star, and then missing every blow except two
for three turns. Needless to say, Cantoras got the better of me. :(
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish Priest.
In Pern, it would probably be something like a Half-Giant Unbeliever.
Before the alchemist bug was fixed, Nibelung Alchemists were pretty fun.
And before possessors were scaled back, yeek possessors were *really* fun.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Pern sorcessor, definitely.
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
I have Angband on four computers at home right now.
(1) An i586 200MHz with 64MB of SIMMs running RedHat Linux 7.2.
(2) An i686 350MHz with 384MB of SDRAM running a home-spun Linux distro.
(3) An AMD i586-equivalent 133MHz with 32MB of SIMMs running OS/2 Warp v3.
(4) A DECsystem 5000/240 with MIPS 3000 processor (40MHz) and 256MB of
SIMMs running NetBSD 1.5.1.
I have my home directory on a RAID 1 on SGI XFS on the first machine. I
have it exported to all the other computers on my LAN, so I can play
Angband no matter what computer I am sitting in front of, without having to
worry about terminal-emulation issues.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
I prefer ASCII. Part of it is simply aesthetics, but a big part is that
graphics slow down my computers *a lot*.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. I generally pick something between 1 in 1*10^6 and 1 in 5*10^6.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No. That interface is a bloody hack, IMHO.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
I used to, but I stopped that after my first cheating win. Getting to a win
even with cheating and safe scumming takes a long time, so I figured I
might as well make it worthwhile and pure while I was at it.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Occassionally when I'm getting bored.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes. Despite some opinions to the contrary, I don't consider it a cheat,
because it does have a negative side-effect - more monsters and harder
monsters, in addition to bigger and better booty.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Quite a bit, actually. I do this in RL, so why shouldn't I do this in
Angband?
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
For the most part, yes.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
I think the reverse is true - Angband and its variants are full-featured
enough that other roguelikes take features from Angband and put them in
their source.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
A bit more randomness in vanilla would be nice, but I can't think of
anything more major than that.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
I have to admit I don't really play variants with features I don't like -
there are enough variants that I can pick and choose enjoyable ones without limiting
myself to being unimpressed.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Not really.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Roger Reulmann (sp?), Benn Harrison, Dark God, and Eytan Zweig. They have
probably put the most effort into Angband and its success. Of course, there
are others that I am forgetting. Please don't take my not mentioning you as
an insult! :)
>
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
A64, vanilla, Be, Cth, CatH, DvE, DrAng, Ey, Going, GSN (not GSN2 - never
could find the source code for that), Gum, GW, Iron, Kang, Kam, MJ, O,
Pern, Psi, Pzi, Q, R, S, SBF, Ying, Z. You can tell I get pretty bored when
there's no school. ;)
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
P 4.1.5. It had the alchemist's bug, and overly powerful possessors. :)
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Pern.
>
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
>
> a2) [Angband/64]
Nice variety in traps and monsters.
I can no longer say I am an agnostic - I believe in Dark God.
> p3) [Prfnoff's Angband variant ()]
>
> p4) [Programmable Angband (PAngband)]
>
> p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
>
> p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband]
>
> q1) [Quest Angband (QAngband)]
>
> r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
>
> r2) [RobertAngband]
>
> s1) [Sangband]
>
> s2) [SBFband]
>
> s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
>
> t1) [Team Angband (TAngband)]
>
> u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
>
> u2) [Utumno]
It ran, and then crashed. Maybe I should have tried running it natively,
rather than in DOS emulation mode in OS/2?
> y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
>
> z1) [Zangband]
Interesting, but never really struck a chord in me like Pern.
> z2) [Prfnoff's ZAngband variant (ZAngbaA)]
>
> z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
>
> ??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
--
-- Skylar Thompson (sky...@attglobal.net)
Stephen Lee
Leon Marrick <leo...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
>some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
>know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
>been a while since the last one.
Ah yes, I remember that. I don't think I answered that survey, but let's
roll!
[snip]
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
I've played Angband for about seven and a half years; I started playing a
few months after PC Angband v1.1 was unleashed upon the world. That was
the first version I ever played. I first started reading about Angband on
Usenet shortly after the creation of the rec.games.roguelike.* hierarchy,
and made my first post within a couple of years.
PC Angband v1.1 is SO old that it doesn't even have targeting; you could
only fire spells in one of the eight regular directions. This was an
innovation introduced in PC Angband v1.3, from one of the non-Angband
Moria variants. It caused a furious debate when it was first introduced.
Now no one questions it. (Sort of like the fractional speed system, eh?)
Of course, this will probably provoke Sean Marsh to post "I've been
playing even longer than you have, you newbie!"
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Probably the sheer number of times I've beaten the game (every class
except Warrior; I haven't gotten a warrior past about 3000'). I've only
beaten the game once in five years, but that's mostly because I play much
less than I used to.
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Deathwreaker. Not a good idea if you have good stealth, since it
aggravates, but it's a great weapon for priests.
The artifacts I've never found in a real game are Olorin, Feanor,
Razorback, and Bladeturner. Part of this is because old versions had bugs
that prevented the DSM artifacts from ever being generated.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
See above.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Those !#@$ magic mushroom patches.
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its depth?
The Drolem. Fortunately, I've never played a version so old that Rings of
Poison Resistance didn't exist, but they still killed two or three
characters of mine before I got the clue. Second is probably the
Wereworm.
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Mim, Betrayer of Turin. "Bane of Mages", but I think that nickname has
been lost to history.
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Great Storm Wyrms. (Look! Free treasure!)
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Have you ever found Power Dragon Scale Mail off one of the early orc
uniques? Before it got weakened? Well, it's not too hard to imagine that
that particular character kicked tail for the rest of the game.
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
I've always been partial to Dunadan Priest.
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
I like vanilla priests better than anything else I've seen so far, but I
don't have much variant experience.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say, the last year)?
I've always played DOS versions. Beyond that, it doesn't really matter
what system you play on as long as it's at least a 386.
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII, always, except when playing Zangband 1.* which is designed to play
with ASCII extended-graphics and doesn't play well with straight ASCII.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes, always if it's available. (It's cheesy -- I think the racial
statistics need an overhaul -- but it's a good idea in principle.)
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
This depends on the variant, but the answer is I don't if I can help it.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. Usually the combo I want shows up within 10,000 rolls.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
No, but I haven't heavily played a version that has it yet.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
I gave that up years and years ago.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Yes.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
No.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Yes. Angband was specifically designed to be played this way. If you
don't town scum you're imposing an artificial limitation upon yourself.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I think Robert is changing gameplay too slowly right now. The main line
of the game has in the past rapidly absorbed features that proved
themselves in variants. This isn't happening as much as it used to,
though this trend extends back to the last few versions Ben released.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
In other roguelikes? No; I'm about as familiar with Nethack as I am with
Angband, but can't think of anything from there I want to introduce to
Angband.
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
The big one is the O combat system, which I really like for the most part.
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
The lack of the O combat system, or a similar attempt to remodel the
combat system.
In case you are wondering, I think the O combat system is something that
should be absorbed into standard Angband. Yes, I know a lot of people are
opposed to it, but I think that like the hordes of people who whined about
targeting and fractional speed they will be either gone or silent within
two years.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Good documentation has always been a sore point if you ask me.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison, former hard worker who unified the Angband versions and made
it easy to modify.
No one else (short of the Warwick guys who gave us the game) could even
possibly come close. All the more recent variant maintainers heavily
depend on Ben's work.
>------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Dr, O, and Z. I've booted up many of the others but can't really say that
I've "played" them. I've also never solved any of these, though I've
gotten very close with Z.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
Z, though I haven't seriously played a version of Z more recent than
2.2.8.
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
None, because I played almost no Angband in 2001. (hey, there are lots of
other computer games out there!)
>??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
You're actually missing the most important Angband variant ever,
Angband--. Unfortunately, I can't find a copy. I do have a copy of its
distant cousin Nethack--, but that obviously isn't going to help.
For one thing, it was THE Angband variant for many, many years (partly
because it was, well, the only one in existence); there were many winner
posts, with almost all the winners beating the Serpent of Chaos with
either Twilight or a holy avenger mace of disruption. It also was the
inspiration for ZAngband, which is based on Angband--. (If you don't
believe me look at the documentation for ZAngband 1.2.) It's historically
more important than any other variant, so it's a pity that the modern
Angband player, even highly clued players like you and Julian Lighton,
isn't even aware that it exists, or existed. (Does someone have a copy?)
Eric Bock
>
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
> some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
> know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
> been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
> Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
> Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
> out.
Thanks for posting this :)
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Years. Probably since 2.7.8.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
First, the scrolling patch, which seems to be everywhere now... I was
really happy to see it become part of V :)
Aside from that, the couple or so variants were fun while I wasn't burned
out on coding them, and the miscellaneous smaller patches were nice too.
Oh, and I once got a level 50 chaos-warrior killed on level 99 by
cyberdemons, after fleeing the Serpent of Chaos.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Razorback, for that great activation. Colluin, Ingwe, Thorin, and Thranduil
aren't bad either.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Ringil, Diamond edges, Vorpal Blade, and Chainsword (vroom, vroom!)
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Greater hell-beasts.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
Possibly undead beholders.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Stormbringer.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
The winner monster. And who doesn't love killing ewoks?
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Hm, lots of interesting experiences. Here's a screenshot of one of them:
http://www.users.qwest.net/~ebock/angband/screenshots/qpit.gif
I didn't kill them all, but I slogged through lots of monsters before
eventually reading a scroll of *destruction* on the pit :)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
I don't really have a favorite combo, but I'm partial to mindcrafters and
chaos warriors.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Mindcrafters and chaos warriors :)
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say, the last year)?
Linux.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII. I used to play with graphics (the horrid original tiles) for a brief
time, though.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes. Non-maximize is odd.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
No. I like special feelings, dislike special feelings caused by pits
rather than their contents, and dislike the idea of objects teleporting
between levels somehow.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
I do; the combinations I choose come up fairly frequently. I rarely ask for
stats within one unit of their maxima, and then only the prime stat. For
most stats I use a value three to five units below.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No. I like randomness.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
On occasion I'll restart the game with the -w switch to resurrect a dead
character I wasn't done playing yet (promptly turning wizard mode off
again). Usually I let them stay dead.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Never.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Usually. It makes the game more interesting.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
No.
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
It's still quite actively maintained, so yes, it must be :)
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
No.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Anything written by me, especially autocentering (the scrolling patch).
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Non-maximize mode, haggling, non-haggling tax, shopkeeper purses, hounds.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Nothing comes to mind.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison. Without his work Angband could not possibly have become as
widely ported or as easily customized as it is today.
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Ang/64, Dr, S, Pern, Kang, Kam, O, Utumno, M, Ing...
R, Z, and Zce I've played the most.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Rangband.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Zce.
> e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
This is mostly obsolete now. ^_^;
> g3) [Gumband]
I ought to play this sometime. Joseph William Dixon appears to have done a
nice job of creating a Moorcock-based variant.
> i1) [IronMan-Angband]
What other variant lets you play as a 'citizen'? :D
> r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
^^^^
Aagh :)
It's not quite dead yet, but I don't know when it'll see activity again.
Having the source lost along with backups is not very encouraging...
> s1) [Sangband]
I liked the ideas in this one. It's a pity the maintainer hasn't done
anything with it in some time.
> u2) [Utumno]
I thought it was sorta cute. Then again, I missed the flamewar...
> z1) [Zangband]
My third-favorite variant, and favorite dynasty :)
> z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
My second-favorite variant. Allowing 125 quests seems to have attracted
the most masochistic players, whom I think are strange for killing
characters in droves at 50' rather than just playing the game :D
Keith Willoughby
> Jonathan Ellis wrote:
> >>u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
> >>
> > Think of a proper name. Think of a proper purpose. Then I'll
> > start
>
> > making more relevant comments on it.
> >
> Although, Ouch!
>
> I see you're big on the name thing. Would you rather I called it Unknown
> Angband? :)
I quite like the name. Punning or silly names for programs is
traditional, and naming a program 'Unnamed Foo' fits right in to
that.
Neil Stevens
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Under a year, I think. 2.9.2 was the first.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Hm... I got Calris from a junk artifact in Pern. :-)
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Having not seen most artifacts, this is hard to answer. But, I'll have to
say Sting, since I like mage types.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Sting.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
White Lice. Fills up levels in no time, when most characters are too slow
to do anything about it.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
White lice. :-)
Nah.... I'll just say Dracolich since it's the hardest non-unique I've
actually seen, and one killed me by surprise in my best Vanilla game, after
I had killed another one rather easily.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Boldor, King of the Yeeks.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
In a corridor, Boldor. Anywhere else, mithril or admantite creeping coins.
I suppose if I ever got a game far enough I'd like meeting Morgoth.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
In Pernangband you get junk artifacts - these otherwise useless objects
that provide a random activation. I got Calris from one that provided an
Acquirement activation. :-)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Vanilla: High-elf Mage. How do you go wrong with a combo some consider
akin to cheating? :-)
Pern: Spectral RohanKnight anything. Being fast, and able to hide in walls
freely, allows diving much faster than otherwise possible.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband mage. It has character.
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
Slackware Linux 8.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
I always use graphical tiles, whatever ones I can dig up on thangorodrim.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
I always use maximize so far, but I'm beginning to have doubts.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
I always use preserve mode. I don't care to learn about the agony of pit
traps on special levels the hard way.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
I consider the autoroller a bad system prone to abuse, so I don't touch it.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
I use point-based generation. The fixed limits prevent abuse, and it's
nice to decide how much money to start with.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
I make backups in case of program and system error, not for player error
though.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, and I think auto-scum should be the standard behavior. Boring means
boring, and angband shouldn't be boring.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes. I think some items should be guaranteed to be present, in fact. When
Death is Final, and there is No way to recover, people would be insane to
go down without, say, extra light, food, or a Word of Recall. The choice
is scum or stupidly risk Death.
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I think it's doing great for something with such a terribly restrictive
license. If the non-GPL parts were to be replaced it might become amazing,
as it could be shipped with operating systems, for example.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
A bank! No, just kidding. :-)
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
I like how PernAngband makes townscumming for essentials unnecessary, by
adding shops, and making items available in more shops.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
I don't like junk, item generation algorithms that produce a lot of things
that are basically junk, and I don't like how autosquelch systems are
treated as a solution, when they just cover over the root problem.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Better macro docs would be nice.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Robert Alan Koeneke, for making thing "squelch." :-)
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Angband, Pernangband, and ZAngband once or twice.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Angband 2.9.3, with Pernangband 5.0.1 (haven't tried 5.1 yet) close behind.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Angband.
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
The Standard is the Standard because it's well balanced, approachable, and
is known well enough to analyze.
If variants are like races in a variant, Angband is the "human" -
well-rounded, dominant in society because of that, and the base against
which all others are going to be judged.
> p2) [PernAngband]
A great experiment. I plan to write a roguelike, and I learn a lot more
from Pern than from Vanilla.
At times it's brilliant, at times it's as annoying as a brilliant light
shining in your eyes. Well, to be honest I haven't tried 5.1 yet so it
might just be brilliant now. :-)
Take out half the classes and races, give it a bit more bugtesting and
polishing, and I'd be sorely tempted to stop playing Vanilla.
> z1) [Zangband]
Haven't played enough to comment.
Guy David
>------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
On and off for about 2 - 3 years. I can't remember the version
exactly, but I'm fairly sure it was 2.8.x
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
My first ***WINNER***, around a week ago, in [V] 2.9.3. :)
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Dor-Lomin
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Non-artifact: a Scythe of Slicing of Extra Attacks (9d4) (+9,+9) (+3
attacks)
Artifact: Ringil
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Water Hounds
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its
>depth?
Greater Titans
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Hmm... either Lorgan or Lokkak.
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Great Storm and Ice Wyrms, they drop a ton of treasure and give good
xp, plus don't breathe anything too bad, and are reasonably easy to
kill. (Or so my High-Elf Mage though, in any case.)
Apart from them, Ancient Dragons.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Can't remember. Pass. :)
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
In Vanilla, High-Elf Mage.
In [Z 2.2.8], Golem Chaos Warrior or High-Elf Death Rogue. Spectre
Death High-Mages are fun too.
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband Mage.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
P3 - 733mhz, 256MB RAM, 32mb Nvidia GeForce 256, Windows 98 SE.
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII, always. I can't stand anything else.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes, always.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes, always.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes, always. My characters tend to roll pretty quickly - I don't go
for godly stats.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
No.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
When I was first learning the game I did. However, I gave that up
about 2 years ago. :)
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Sometimes. However, what I do more often is to go up and down stairs
until I see the stairs down, if I'm attempting to dive quickly, all
the while killing anything and picking up anything interesting.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
In [V]? No. I used to, but not now. In [Z]? Yes, always.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Only for important things like Scrolls of WoR, and stat restore
potions.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Considering that I'm unaware of which direction it is intending to
head towards, I can't say.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
No. Played Nethack and ADOM for about, oh, 10 seconds, then started
playing Angband again.
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
In other variants: Easy open, bigscreen.
In the one I'm currently developing: heavier emphasis on monster
vulnerabilities to brands and elemental spells, thus rewarding a
player for choosing the right spell for the situation and for carrying
swap weapons. However, it needs to be playtested to see if it *works*,
so I'm not fully appreciating it yet. ;)
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Nothing coming to me right now, which is a good sign, but I'm sure it
will if I play for a little while.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Seems fine to me.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Other people like Ben, have already been thanked, so for me to do so
would be fairly redundant. So instead, I'd like to thank Ross
Morgan-Linial, a.k.a. Antimatter on #angband. He does a great job of
"looking after" #angband, he runs Gandalf[bot] which is very useful
and is used by many and he is always happy to dispense help if someone
asks for it.
>------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
You'll see from the responses I give.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
Vanilla 2.9.3
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Vanilla 2.9.x
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
>interesting:
>
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
Elegant, simple and well-designed fun. Nothing silly about it, and
done so well that I keep coming back. The best, in my opinion.
>a2) [Angband/64]
Never played.
>b1) [Bangband]
Never played.
>b2) [BeAngband]
Never played.
>c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
I only downloaded it the other night, but from what I've seen so far,
I like it.
>c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
Never played.
>d1) [Dennis van Es' Angband (DvEband)]
Never played.
>d2) [Discworld Angband (Discband)]
I never really saw the point. For Discworld enthusiasts only.
>d3) [Drangband]
Played it once or twice. Cute idea, but nothing too earth shattering
for me.
>e1) [Easy-Angband (Easyband)]
Does it really need to be made any easier? I understand that it is
challenging to begin with, but that's how you end up getting better.
Easyband only makes it *harder* for people to get better at Angband.
>e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
Never played.
>e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
Played it a few times, Eytan has done a good job with this. It was
obvious to me that considerable effort has been put into it.
>f1) [Fangband]
Never played.
>g1) [Goingband]
Never played.
>g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
Never played.
>g3) [Gumband]
I have played it a fair bit. Astral mode is great. :) A lot of logical
ideas in it, too.
>g4) [GW-Angband]
Never played.
>h1) [Hengband]
After hearing about insta-death due to the way speed is handled, I
avoided this one like the plague.
>i1) [IronMan-Angband]
Never played.
>k1) [Kangband]
Never played.
>k2) [Kamband]
Never played.
>l1) [Langband]
Never played.
>m1) [Michael Barnes' Angband (MJband)]
Never played.
>m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
Tried it once - it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Angband is a single
player game okay?
>n1) [New Angband (NewAngband)]
Never played.
>n2) [Non-Tolkienian Angband (NTAngband)]
Never played.
>o1) [Oangband]
Spent a fair bit of time playing it, but I still prefer the [V] combat
system. The [O] combat system is far more logical, but the [V] one is
a lot more fun/lends itself to faster games, so it wins. :) Have only
played melee classes in it so far, I really should try a magic user,
or so I've been told.
>p1) [Pangband]
Never played.
>p2) [PernAngband]
Oh Goddess. Don't get me started. I've never liked [P], and I doubt I
ever will. In theory, a lot of [P] sounds good... then you actually
play the thing and it shows you that theory isn't everything. ^_^ In
my experience it is extremely buggy, with new bugs introduced all the
time. Another thing that gets on my nerves is how I have to hike a
fair distance back and forwards to the FIRST dungeon, until such time
as I can save up some money for WoR. Realism is one thing, user
friendless and sensibility is another. Bleh.
>p3) [Prfnoff's Angband variant ()]
Never played.
>p4) [Programmable Angband (PAngband)]
Never played.
>p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
Never played.
>p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband]
Never played.
>q1) [Quest Angband (QAngband)]
Never played.
>r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
Never played.
>r2) [RobertAngband]
Never played.
>s1) [Sangband]
Never played.
>s2) [SBFband]
Never played.
>s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
Never played.
>t1) [Team Angband (TAngband)]
Never played.
>u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
Never played.
>u2) [Utumno]
Never played.
>y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
Never played.
>z1) [Zangband]
If I'm not playing Vanilla or playtesting my own variant, this is most
likely what I will be playing. A lot of fun, but in some aspects quite
silly. =p All in all, an extremely enjoyable variant.
>z2) [Prfnoff's ZAngband variant (ZAngbaA)]
Never played.
>z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
Ooh. This one is lots of fun too, it puts the quests in [Z] to shame.
If you want challenging quests, this is the variant to download. 125
quests is a great feature, and who couldn't like a variant based on
Doom? :p
>??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
Thanks for posting this. :)
-Guy David (Hocus)
Tony W
wrote:
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
The first version I played was PC Angband 1.3.1, I think that was just
over 7 years ago.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning, I guess. I've won vanilla once (with a mage) and lost 2 other
characters to Morgoth (rogue and priest).
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Dunno.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Don't have one, really.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Memory moss.
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its depth?
Dracoli**.
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Er, Morgoth? :)
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Morgoth.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
My first GCV in PC Angband 1.4. It was so long ago that I don't
remember too much about it, but I survived it and killed the Mouth of
Sauron way out of depth.
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Tough one. I guess it's hard to beat the purity of a half-troll
warrior. :)
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband priests are pretty cool, if a bit overpowered.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say, the last year)?
PC
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII. Graphics suck :)
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yep.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Nope.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Used to, until point based generation showed up. I usually went for
minima around the 1 in 100K mark.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
Yep.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
No.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Not routinely, but I have done.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Again, not usually, but I have before.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Of course.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Vanilla is not really headed in any direction - it has been stagnant
for a number of years. Obviously, the proliferation of
EveryManAndHisDogBands has had a lot to do with this.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
Nope.
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
The macro system rocks!
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Well, I'm the dude who posts once in a blue moon about dracolisks and
dracoliches being too similar.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
No real gripes here.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison: The macro system rocks! Though I don't agree with
everything he did - changing Jabberwocks into beetles was just...
weird. (Does anyone remember when he was thinking about removing
rogues?)
Andrew White: his Borg rocks (though based on code from Ben Harrison).
I've wasted many hours I should have spent playing watching it :) The
half-orc rogue I'm running in the background at the moment found
Bladeturner this morning!
William Tanksley: I can't believe this guy is _still_ posting detailed
6000 line posts :)
>------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Only vanilla and [O].
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
Vanilla.
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Probably [O].
>o1) [Oangband]
The only variant I've ever been tempted to try, and overall I liked
it, particularly all the extra Tolkeinish stuff. If only default
player ghosts named after Angband "personalities" and stupid "uniques
talk during the fight" stuff was taken out, it'd be really excellent!
:)
SomeUnique says "i will r0x u!!!"
SomeUnique says something "witty" about the "RNG"
Destroy the atmosphere more plz.
Anyway, I hope we're supposed to be posting these to the n.g.
Tony W.
Damien Knight
>you played?
Started playing moria back in 1993(ish), got into angband playing something
like 2.7.9. - not sure what year
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
My present character is a 30th level half-troll warrior - probably my best
character yet.
I did beat moria - once...
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The Phial of Galadrial.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Favorite for style is a katana of extra attacks. It's just neat to
visualise.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Magic Mushroom Patch.
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at its
depth?
Any Zephyr hound (other than clear)
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Anything that blanks my mind :P
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Farmer Maggot, and any unique orc/ogre.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Well, I was in the dungeon at about 150' when the ranger I was playing heard
a door break open.
I figured I had a moment to read a scroll (un-IDd) to prepare, figureing
some kind of nasty unique.
The scroll turned out to be ID, the whip in my pack was of *slay* animal...
and look, someone's nasty dog broke down the door...
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Elven Ranger.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
p233, 32megs ram, monitor at 1024x768
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII... I'd like to try the iso view, but I can't get Tk running... Does
anybody know what happened to the maintainer?
Even so, I'd probably go back to ASCII, even if I got iso-view going. It's
just nicer that way.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes, but I plan on playing without at some point soon.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Not anymore, now that there's point-generation.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
Yes, because you trade gold for stats instead of putting giant numbers into
the autoroller and leaving it sit.
It's an actual tradeoff, and you get to make a character instead of rolling
dice.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
I did once, but not currently or ever again.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Only with the auto-scummer
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Yes
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
If I've been drained of a primary stat, yes.
>
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I don't know if I like this Lua stuff yet, but I'm going to have to look
into it more. I think some variants have gone overboard in terms of things
they've added, and have become a hodge-podge mess instead of a themed
variant. Overall though, it's good to see such an active community helping
the game evolve.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
Haven't played any other RLs, save for a five minute game of nethack :P
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
The monster light patch from APW is kind of cool - I'd like to see that in
vanilla... can't say if it's really balanced or not though.
I'd like to see a more user-friendly character generation screen in vanilla,
where you get to see the bonuses for races and classes before you pick them.
I know some variants do this, and it's definately a good thing.
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Can't think of anything.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Better documentation of how character generation, combat, abilities, spells,
etc. work would be nice. I mean, most of us can always go to the source
code if we've got a question, but not everbody can.
Ross Morgan-Linial
<3C35F915...@sprintmail.com>:
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
Not sure; either 2.7.8, or 2.7.7 right before 2.7.8 was released.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Probably the RML-Borg. I don't actually play all that much these days. ^_^;
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Cubragol, followed by the Glaive of Pain and Ringil. I also have to mention
the Ring of Elemental Mastery as the only artifact I created myself.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Probably Ringil.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
In V, magic mushroom patches followed by nexus quylthulgs. In Z definitely
the GHB.
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its
>depth?
Hmm, tough question. Whatever just killed me, usually.
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Mim.
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Orc uniques, it's fun to slaughter their escorts.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Can't think of any. I said I don't play much.
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Dunadan ranger or high-elf mage.
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband mage/ranger.
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
Pentium III 550MHz running Windows 98 (or occasionally some distribution of
Linux).
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII. What's this graphics stuff? ^_^
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
I no longer use the standard autoroller. I like the modified autoroller
that's in the latest development version of Z (and has been in ZCE for a
while), which I coded; in other variants I either hack it in or use point-
based.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
Only when I haven't added the modified autoroller.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
No. I used them right when I started, but now that I can get characters to
a reasonable level fairly reliably I don't see the point.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Not usually.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Permanently on, always.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
I town scum for basic supplies (potions of cure * wounds, WoR,
lanterns/fuel, spellbooks, stat restore potions if drained more than a
couple points, ammo if I'm a ranger) only.
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
With all the variants, it seems to be going in every direction at once, so
one of them must be the right one. ^_^
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
Not really. Angband and kin are different enough from most other roguelikes
that features that make sense in them wouldn't work in Angband.
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
The modified autoroller in Z and ZCE, which rolls 500 characters and picks
the best one according to weights you supply. A few things like some new
monsters and improved monster AI which are in my personal variant of
vanilla but I haven't tried to turn into patches yet (bad me, bad).
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
The standard autoroller. Waiting forever in stat gain
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
It would be nice if there was a guide on how to start an Angband variant,
but I don't know how you would go about writing one.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Steven Fuerst, for all the work he's done on Zangband, and Eric Bock (aka
Qlzqqlzup) for ZCE, for spending way too much time on #angband, and
generally for keeping me from going sane.
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Z, ZCE, CatH, Pern (for all of two minutes until I stumbled into a
Between gate and died).
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
Um. Tied between vanilla (all versions) and ZCE, probably.
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Hmm, probably vanilla.
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
>interesting:
>
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
The base from which all variants are derived. Everyone should play vanilla
for a while before they try the variants.
>c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
Familiar to anyone who knows vanilla, but with neat new stuff. Fun without
being imbalanced.
>m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
Tried briefly, but couldn't get used to the real-time gameplay.
>p2) [PernAngband]
Tried once, stumbled into a Between gate, died horribly without having met
a single monster. Haven't tried since.
>u2) [Utumno]
Pretty graphics, but they didn't help the gameplay. The flamewar was
interesting.
>z1) [Zangband]
Very fun. Recently I've been playing the CVS - the occasional horrible bug
makes the game more interesting.
>z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
It's surprisingly fun to take 125 quests and see how far you can get before
being killed by horribly out-of-depth quest monsters... usually not very
far.
--
# Ross Morgan-Linial rmor...@speakeasy.net
$_=shift;1 while s/\(\d+\)/$&/ee||s/(\d+)d(\d+)/
'+1+int(rand$2)'x$1/ee||s/\d+[-+]\d+/$&/ee;print
David J Richardson
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Dunno, but since at least 1996, when my first posts here occur. This
was around Vanilla 2.7.8-time.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
First, and one of few, legitimate, win in V.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
I once got, fairly early on, a junk artifact that activated for
acquirement :)
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Sting -- levelling :)
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Gnome mage (I always find them in vaults)
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others
> at its depth?
Gotta agree re: the battle scarred veteran!
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
The Destroyer -- because you can't use the dungeon to hide/avoid
summons.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Wormy
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
i found power dragon armour in vanilla once -- let's just say it's not
over-rated :)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
It may not be my fave now, but I've probably played more high-elf
rangers in V than anything else.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Z mindcrafter
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say, the last year)?
Mac
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII
and i open the full compliment of windows, and arrange them to fill my
1600x1200 resolution.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes, whatever it takes to max 2 stats, generally.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No, generally.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Unashamedly. Part of this is due to it being the best way to explore a
new variant.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Yes.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Mostly yes.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
For ID, CCW, etc, yes.
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I think it's very healthy, just look at all the variants!
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
haven't played too many others that much -- at least on the mac,
they're all badly flawed and i come back to *band.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
more varied dungeon generation, random artifacts, convenience features
(ie. trap disarming, squelch), and other things that make a looooong
game less repititious
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
haggling -- not that i've done it in the past half-decade :)
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
in-game docs that are (sometimes grossly) out-of-date -- if you know
it's misleading, don't bother including it because it gets taken as
therefore correct and we have endless confusion...
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison, for all the obvious reasons.
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
<< copies folder names, edits a little >>
Vanilla
Cathband
CthAngband
DrAngband
DvEband
eyangband
GSNband
Gumband
GW-Angband
hengband
Ingband
Kamband
kangband
Oangband
pernangband
Psiangband
Pziband
RAngband
Sang
SBFband
TAngband
Unangband
ZAngbaA
Zangband
Zceband
Having said that, the ones I've played significant amounts of are:
Vanilla
DrAngband
hengband
Ingband
pernangband
Zangband
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
at the moment, which is how it always is, Heng 1.0.8
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
z 2.2.8 (i think)
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
needs more convenience features to avoid becoming irrelevant
> d3) [Drangband]
really pre-dated the whole "lots of silly races" craze. gimme a few
more rings :)
> h1) [Hengband]
my current obsession. LOVE the different looking dungeons, auto-pick
has serious power
> i1) [IronMan-Angband]
ah, that was a great fad, ingband. from-the-top is one of my fave game
styles. in this, and other variants, i've played hundreds of
characters named "Random Diver XX", which are random race and class,
and are fated never to return to the town...
> k1) [Kangband]
> k2) [Kamband]
i could never remember which one is which, and i'm too lazy to check
which one i vaguely recall playing a bit.
> p2) [PernAngband]
seriously weird and deep, just what the jaded long-time player needs.
also seriously annoying in some ways -- ie. inability to run in some
dungeons. maintainer's energy is infectious.
> u2) [Utumno]
LOL
> z1) [Zangband]
*the* trend-setter of the past few years. before it, i felt things
were getting a bit static. established that silly is OK.
> others?
"mac-enhanced" was/is to be again, hopefully, cool
i'd also like to say cheers to quickeys for all the macros i tagged to
the F-keys -- saved me literally millions of key-strokes over the
years!
by the way, this survey was far too long, even with the abbreviated
responses i gave... several smaller ones would probably get a 1)
bigger and 2) more detailed/thoughtful response.
--
David J Richardson can be found at, well, davidjri...@mac.com
Buffy: You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that an offensive term?
Should I say "Undead American"? - 'When She Was Bad'
Doctor Who articles and more at http://go.to/davidjrichardson/
pelpel
In article <3C35F915...@sprintmail.com>, Leon Marrick wrote:
> [introduction snipped]
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
2.4_frog_knows (just a little bit... didn't have a Unix machine at home),
then PC1.3 and FAngband. After a hitus, rediscovered 2.7.9v?, and played
intensively until 2.8.3, then another break and came back at the time
of 2.9.1.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
I'm ashamed of never having won it legitly after all these years :(
I don't know why but I tend to start characters after characters
and cannot concentrate on one until beating Morgoth.
Maybe my three vanilla chars finding Ringil in a row (within two months).
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Ringil, in any version or variant.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
Ringil (or Zarcuthra when I'm fast enough)
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Magic mushroom patch
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its
>depth?
Greater titans (with AI on)
Cave spiders (with monster AI options off)
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Mim or Lokkak?
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Greater wyrms (only when I can double resist / have right immunity)
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
(Pern 4.1.2) "This level is guarded by 23 Serpents of Chaos!"
The rest is up to your imagination...
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
High-Elven Priest
[P]Yeek Sorceror
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband priest.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
PowerMacs, Unix(Xaw or Gtk) and DOS (USE_IBM)
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
Pure ASCII i.e. without pseudo graphics as found in most Win/IBM ports.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Almost always.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
It depends (Angband and OAngband).
In Pern always on.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Always. Never counted turns, but it doesn't take long.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
Never.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
No. Perma-death is part of fun.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
Kind of no.
I sometimes do "Clairvoyance-check for greater vaults-Alter reality
if there's nothiing interesting", when I'm totally bored.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Alway when I play preserve on.
Never when I play preserve off.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Yes for WoR scrolls and stat-restoring potions.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Hmmm.... I believe so. I still want player ghosts back into
the standard game, though.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
The "show visible monsters" window!
And 4g AI, item description, extensive docs like O and Pern.
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Mandatory floor stacking, or make drops fewer and better...
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Weapon damage calculator aka "Timo Borg" would be nice to have,
especially for O Combat variants. I'm terribly bad at math.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
If it were one, I'd name Ben Harrison.
>------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
/ever/?, hmmm then...
Angband, Angband/64, CthAngband, Drangband, Eyangband, Fangband,
GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband, Gumband, GW-Angband, Hengband, Kangband,
Kamband, Oangband, PernAngband, Sangband, UnAngband, Zangband.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
I know I must say Pern, but it's really Angband (any after and
including 2.7.x). Because of my hatred ot floor stacks,
I'm actively using versions before 2.9.0 as well as the latest.
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Pern.
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
>interesting:
>
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
It's amazing that it's still fun to play after all these years...
>a2) [Angband/64]
Worth more attentions.
>c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
Has very good atmosphere and strikingly different system.
>d3) [Drangband]
Dragons are fun to play.
>e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
Many user interface improvements worth being exported to others,
including the standard game.
>f1) [Fangband]
And I'm still missing those accents on Tolkienian names...
>g3) [Gumband]
I started wondering what wilderness added to the game.
>g4) [GW-Angband]
Played this a lot, but can't remember how it played like.
>h1) [Hengband]
I'm a Pern coder. So... Competition is a good thing.
>k2) [Kamband]
I'd enjoy this if weapons weren't damaged by using them.
>o1) [Oangband]
Way too hard for me, but it's fun.
>p2) [PernAngband]
Too big to tell in some words, or to fix bugs :)
>z1) [Zangband]
Which version? :-) A couple of different games under the same
name. And I think this is the reason for confusions...
// pelpel (ka...@sta.att.ne.jp)
Joseph William Dixon
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Started in '94 or '95. First version played was vanilla v2.5.3 - it was
still quite new when I started playing.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Becoming a variant maintainer.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The Executioner's Sword 'Retaliator' from Gumband. [yes, I'm biased :]
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
The Executioner's Sword 'Retaliator' from Gumband. [yes, I'm biased :]
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Nexus Quylthulg
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
Greater Titan
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Mim, Betrayer of Turin
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Any of the GWAR uniques in my own Gumband.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
They've all been pretty good. My vanilla Dwarf Priest winner (v2.7.9,
IIRC) was nice... Found Sauron to be much more difficult to beat than
Morgoth, who fell to the old Orb of Draining/Sea of Runes tactic.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Golem Weaponmasters (Gumband)
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Gumband High-magi (Chaos)
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say, the last year)?
WIntel box, Pentium @ 133Mhz (now @ 166Mhz with MMX).
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII only.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Almost never.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Always.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. About 100,000 rolls usualy gets me what I'm looking for.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Yes - but *only* when I'm testing a new Gumband feature.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, though only during stat-gain or on the level just above a
particularly dangerous random quest.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yep, but rarely for anything but standard, necessary supplies (WoR & ID
scrolls, CCW potions, ammunition. That sort of thing).
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
No. Most variants (and, as of v3.0.0, Vanilla itself, probably) have gone
too far from what I consider 'good' that I pretty much stick with my own
variant these days...
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
For those that are considering a skills system, I'd suggest borrowing the
one from Crawl.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Display of damage dealt by melee or spell (though not the number of HP the
monster has left, like in Wizard Mode).
Increased damage from rods and wands - at least double what they are in
vanilla.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Autosquelch, easy open/disarm, point-based generation, enforced Maximize
or 'half-Maximize' mode, extended town and/or fixed quests.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
No answer...
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
No answer...
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Angband, DrAngband, EyAngband, FAngband, Gumband (well, duh! :),
GWAngband, KAngband, Kamband, OAngband, PernAngband, PsiAngband, RAngband,
SAngband, Utumno, ZAngband and Zceband.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Gumband, all versions.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Gumband, all versions.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
No answer...
--
"...there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot
easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes into
work every day and has a job to do." [Terry Pratchett, "Small Gods"]
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~aa343/index.html
Nathan Russell
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
Sounds good :) Mind you, I'm not a very experienced player at all...
>(posting)
>This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
>weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
>compiled and presented.
>
>
>------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
2.9.3, for a fact. I played some fall of 2000, after switching from
nethack, then stopped due to stress over school; I started playing
again only 2-3 weeks ago, and had to learn much stuff from scratch.
This will more or less all relate to V 2.9.3 and 2.9.6 alpha.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
I've killed Brodda, and every orc unique but Bolg and Azog. I've also
managed to get characters to survive at fire/cold hound depth with
some degree of reliability.
Also, I'm planning to start writing some of my own monsters for the
edit files.
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
I'm not really qualified, I've seen only the 'thancs, the Phial, and
one pair of gloves which i really liked, but can't remember the name
of offhand.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
One of my characters had a Tulwar of Lightning, which I think I got to
+8/+9 or so; that was quite nice.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Joke monsters (blinking dot comes to mind) aside, probably one of the
following:
1. Giant salamander
2. Cave spider (not that deadly for me anymore, but takes total
concentration to deal with them)
3. Novice mage (some of their 'practical jokes' can be a bit annoying,
especially when other monsters are around)
4. Light/darkness hound, more or less see #3 above.
5. Filthy street urchin (goes without explanation. I *love* testing
wands on them a bit later in the game, though - especially when one
turns out to be stinking cloud)
6. Poltergeist, and possibly green glutton ghost should be in there
somewhere too
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its
>depth?
In descending order, and excepting two rather obvious town monsters of
a military nature,
1. Novice paladin (especially the group form)
2. Fire/cold hound, and probably other hounds I'm not yet qualified to
discuss
3. Novice archer
4. Whichever non-unique orc it is that can shoot arrows, I can't
remember offhand - Uruk I think.
(big jump downwards here)
5. Rot jelly, which it took me a half-hour or so to finally learn how
to deal with.
6. Yellow, or possibly red, centipede.
7. Nether worm mass
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
I won't mention Moldox, or however the heck you spell his name, since
I'm keeping this to V, and since he's in a category all his own.
Anybody with escorts is tough. My best character ever was killed by
Bolg, but I'd been diving a bit more quickly than I should have been.
Fang and Grip killed a significant number of my early characters, but
that's largely because I kept trying to back away from them (yes, I
know...)
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Maggot, baby dragons, and creeping coins, in no particular order. I
also like meeting groups of orcs once I have more than one rod of
light, or a steady supply of wands of light.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Hmm... I once was getting very close to being killed by a group of
white lice when a giant salamander awoke and cleared them all out for
me. I showed my gratitude by sparing its own life until I could rest
up. Also, I've had artifacts that I picked up only because I'd just
used my last potion of boldness, scroll of treasure detection, or
other relatively 'optional' item.
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
P: Zombie troll warrior.
Z: Golem warrior, or possibly amberite death ranger
V: I used to play a lot of Dunadan warriors, but the people on
#angband have suggested that I play rangers instead to learn strategy.
I'm currently playing a character very creatively named Dran IX, who I
just rolled up a few minutes ago.
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Probably the V ranger, or possibly the Z chaos high mage, though I
only played one of those.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
Win2K SP 2 only. Upgraded from 98 in September, and I'm pretty sure I
platyed on that at one point. It's a P3-600 with 384 meg physical
RAM, if you want that kind of detail.
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII, almost always, easier to tell the monsters from the background.
I've heard good things about TK, but because I'm into distributed
computing, I don't like using DOS programs, which tend to monopolize
the system.
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes, always.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
See #14
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Usuaally one in a few hundred. For variety's sake, I've been playing
characters lately with hand-rolled stats, though they haven't been
doing quite as well. I've never gotten a character to stat gain,
though one character bought one or two CHA potions from the black
market.
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
Not frequently, just because I die so often that putting in the
settings for each new character is an annoyance.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
No, though I'm sorely tempted to at times, especially at my current
level of play.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
No. Frankly, if I see a vault, or even a pit, that's a relatively
good sign for me to leave the level.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
No.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Only for needs like oil and ID/phase door/recall strolls.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I'd like to think so, but I don't know as I'm qualified to judge.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
Wands of wishing and ring identification by means of sinks from
Nethack. We need Elbereth too. (just kidding)
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
I wish V had an astral mode and a wilderness. (snip examples)
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
I don't like the amount of typing that's needed to repeatedly shoot,
say, a group of cave spiders.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Not honestly sure.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
I appreciate the programmers, of course, and the folks who have given
me advice on #angband, but I'd like to point out a webpage that's
helped me a great deal that other people may not mention:
http://199.185.138.2/poet/angavoid.html
The Poet's Anguide is a nice list of which monsters to be careful of,
and it's spared me some needless deaths while not really spoiling
anything.
>------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
The ones I have not are snipped out of the list in this reply.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
I like V, Z and P, but of them I only play V often, so it's tough to
judge.
>
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
>
>
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
>interesting:
>
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
It's really nice, I wish the magic system was a little better.
>e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
I only tried it once or twice, but liked the quest shop - I think that
could have a place in V without totally changing it.
>m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
Nice, I wish there were more people online though. Maybe a time could
be set up to play at some point..
>p2) [PernAngband]
I love this variant, but the class/race/etc selection is a bit too
complex for me to easily figure out, to be honest.
>z1) [Zangband]
Really nice. I wish there was an easier way to find one's way around
the wilderness though. I do definately like the way all the different
races - some of them pretty odd - are balanced.
Nathan
Stephen Duncan
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
about 2 years off and on. [V] 2.7.9
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Reaching Clevel 10 consistantly with each class I play.
>
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
phial (only 1 I find consistantly)
>
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
anything that helps me kill early uniques.
>
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
lice
>
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
(with only monsters doen to dlvl 700' as a sample I would have to say Crows
of Durthang.
>
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
can't really comment on this.
>
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
I actually quite like the Crows of Durthang, now that I have the right
tactics against them.
>
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
(my stories are all fairly routine I'm afraid.) - usually just full of
stupid ways to die when I'm tired. :)
>
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>
Dwarven Warrior
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
O necro (but haven't played many different types really)
>
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
IBM PC
>
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII these days. Do enjoy Tk also but seldom bother to play it.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes
>
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
No
>
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
yes. 1 in 50,000
>
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
>
Not usually. (For Tk versions I do - but I just use whatever is already
selected for the variant. I.e I don't change the options)
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
>
No.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
>
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
No.
>
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
>
No.
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Definately the right direction (I only really play [O]. I really enjoy
playing *band. (just wish I had more free time)
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
>
No.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
Many interesting rooms. ([O] seems to have quite a few).
Equipment sets ala latest version of [O]
Ringwraiths proposed "semipreserve mode"
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>
can't think of any off hand.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
[O] and [Z] documentation excellent, [V] was also very good, [P] seems to
have a lot of documentation too (but still some things seems hard to find
for a newbie)
>
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>
Ringwraith - excellent ideas implemented into [O]. Has the variant heading
in the right direction.
Tim BAker for the Tk versions which hooked me into *band.
>
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
o1, p2, a1, z1
>
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
>
[O] - version 0.5.2
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
[O] version 0.5.1b
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
I enjoyed dabbling with [P] (p2). Will hopefully find time to really try it.
(I will need to get better at *band playing too)
lugonn
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
you played?
Since June 1990, version - whatever version was being played at warwick at
the time, possibly the original.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning I suppose, I've been playing so long that I have trouble remembering
other individual successes during games especially since there have been so
few recently.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Great Axe of Eonwe (?) - Never seen it in over 11 years
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Holy Avenger Mace of Disruption - used to great effect in one of my all too
few wins
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most annoying?
probably magic mushrooms
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at its
depth?
not sure - Greater Titans are a pain in the butt
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Hard to say probably cantoras
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Farmer Maggot ;-) 'though Wormtongue for a good early drop is nice
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband or
one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Ringil being dropped by a black orc at 600 ft or so is the only thing that
comes to mind but thats not very interesting
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
half-orc rougue
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
IBM thinkpad running windows 98
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
Being as I've played so long there is only one true way - ASCII
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Never I find the feelings useful
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Sometimes, probably 1 in 100,000 or so
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Again sometimes depends on how fast the autoroller is - in some variants
it's so slow that it's not worth using
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
I back up save files fairly often in case of crashes but almost never revive
dead characters.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Not very often, autoscum is sufficient
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Usually for the first couple of thousand feet then I normally powerdive and
it takes to long to explore every special level - I suppose if I used
preserve so I didn't lose artifacts then I might have it on all time but I
don't.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes if I really need the kit, less often as the game goes on
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Too many variants that don't seem to have a clear vision
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Haven't played many others only nethack and Omega and those not for a long
time so pass
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
The one feature I really enjoy is a decent autoroller - back in the good old
days (at Warwick) when you lost a character you could spend hours rolling
upa new one and by the time you'd done this you might be so tired that you'd
die carelessly. I certainly played much more carefully when I knew that
rolling up a new charcter could be a pani in the arse - mind you this is
probably why I had many more winners back then than now !
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Better instructions for setting up complicated macros - I can manage simple
ones
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Alex Cutler and Andy Astrand
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Zangband, Oangband
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Vanilla
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Oangband
William Hull
news:3C35F915...@sprintmail.com...
>
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
> some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
> know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
> been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
> Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
> Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
> out.
>
>
> (posting)
> This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
> weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
> compiled and presented.
>
>
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
First version I played was 283 I think, but I have no idea when that was
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Getting to CL48 with an IRONAN_ROOMS character in Pern. I think I might
have won if I hadn't forgotten to take my Scrolls of Recall to L98 of
Angband
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Scullcleaver from Pern. It's the only weapon I've done truly huge damage
with
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
See above. I've never got far enough in Angband to really comment, but
probably a Defender
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
White Lice
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Battle Scarred Veteran definitely
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Variant Maintainer in Pern
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Wormtoungue
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Getting caught by a horde of RNGs and software bugs and the Variant
Maintainer in Pern as a Necromancer, dieing tons of times while killing lots
of stuff randomly using stuff dropped by the RNGs, eventually quaffing a
potion which turned me into a Sparrow and hiding in some trees, turning into
a human again, dieing yet again from damage from being in a tree,
teleporting out of the tree, reading a scroll of recall then killing enough
enemies to come back to life
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Wood Elf Spectre Spirit Monks in Pern, they can walk through any wall (apart
from dead trees for some reason), they're very good at archery, can teleport
and phase door and have amazingly good stealth. There lack of hitpoints
mean they aren't the easiest ones, but they're the most fun
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
High-Elf Vampire Magery High Mage in pern when you could be an Elf Vampire
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
PC
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII always
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Always
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Always
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
mostly, usually about 1 in 100000
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
not usually
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
no
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Rarely
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Always
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
For necessities only
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I don't usually play Angband so I'm not really bothered about that one.
Pern could do with stopping introducing new stuff and balancing some current
ones
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Quick Start from Pern and Ey
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Quick Start again
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Stat Gain
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Nothing really
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Dark God
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Cthangband, Discband, Drangband, Eyangband, Gumband, GW-band,
Pernangband, Zangband, Utumno
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Pern 501
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Pern 501
William Hull
vt
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
I do not cheat:) No win, but have been somewhat close>:7
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The Small Metal Shield of Thorin.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Haradekket, never found any of the great ones.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Z: GHB
A: Magic Mushrooms
P: Mouldox
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
The Battle Scarred Veteran maybee...
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Hard to say, Mim Or Morgoth...
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Wormtounge and the greater myrms, depending upon recstitances of course.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
A huge number of close deaths, but not too interesting i`m afraid:)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Dwarven Priest.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
A: Priest
Z: Mindcrafter
P: Mindcrafter
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
P4 1900, 512, wXP.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
*Graphics* 8x8.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Always.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Always.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Usually.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
More and more often.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Never, never won :)
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Always
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Only if i really need too.
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I`m *very* happy with them, gets better and better every year.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
The graphis from Nethack maybe...
*ducks* and runs for cover!
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
Graphics:)
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Can not think of any.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
I am very happy with the information available, beats other comerseally
available games!
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
There are too many to mention...
But Robert Ruehlmann and Dark God, shold be given thanks here:)
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Almost all, but only A, Z, and P for a length of time.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Pernband 5.1.0
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Vanilla.
> p2) [PernAngband]
What is there to say, the new 5.1.0 is awsome!
And with more graphics for 8x8, wohoo! :)
> z1) [Zangband]
Do not play as much after Mindcrafters got...
balanced:)
Neo_1061
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
Couple years -- first version was "bleeding edge" patchfest, followed
by vanilla 2.9.x.
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning -- twice. :-)
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Are you kidding? The Phial.
>4) What is your favorite weapon?
It slices, it dices, it's the Glaive of Pain! (But then, I've never
found the fabled Ringil, so...)
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Magic mushroom patches or blue icky things -- you decide.
>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>its
>depth?
There's a few good candidates. Draco*, greater quylthulgs and master
quylthulg, skull druj, in vanilla. Never got deep enough in [O] (yet)
but beastmasters are tough for their depth, and so are a number of
others, in that variant.
>7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Uniques I've found are tough even for well-prepared characters, in
vanilla ... Mim and sons, Azog and Lokkak (hit hard and double speed),
the last ring wraith (Murazor?), the unique Q's, the deep unique
greater undead (Vecna, Cantoras(!), etc.), the Tarrasque, Tiamat, and
of course Sauron and Morgoth.
Which is toughest for its depth? Not sure. Probably the Tarrasque or
Morgoth.
>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
hmm, another depth-dependent one. creeping coins sometimes give nice
early cash, and orc pits and later troll pits are fruitful sources of
stuff. Any greater wyrm for which I have the appropriate immunity or
double-resist ability. Wormy, the walking (and in some variants
talking) acquirement scroll.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Damned if I can come up with one off the top of my head. Finding
innumerable copies of WoG with a warrior doesn't really count I
suppose. I can regale you with tales of teleporting out of the frying
pan and into the fire, including my first orc pit ever, from which I
escaped by luck, word of recall, and sheer bloody-mindedness...
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Hard to say. Half-troll warriors have fun early game. Any warriors
have tough end-game, as my second winner can attest. Dwarf priests
supposedly have fun end-game but haven't got one that far.
>11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Angband mages have too few decent attack spells for my taste. Oang
druid on the other hand... Past a certain level, you walk into a room
and the monsters just die and die, and they get decent utility spells
too.
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
The same creaking old AMD K6-2 400 MHz Win 98 box that I've used for
over 3 years for everything.
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
Are you kidding? ASCII. It's the only way. :)
>14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>final stats)?
Yes.
>15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
>no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes, might consider not doing so in future [O] games as some of the
problems with special feelings are improved.
>16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
For vanilla, no; for [O], yes, since it has no point-based. And I play
it by ear, since I am not an auto mechanics expert. :)
>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>increase stats)?
In Vanilla.
>18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>use other similar methods?
What, scum? You're kidding, right? :)
I only ever back up in ADOM, and then because in ADOM if the power
goes out or the system crashes it's toast otherwise.
>19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>good feeling or see a vault)?
No, I get the computer to do it for me; see below.
>20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, in vanilla. [O] has sufficiently interesting dungeon terrain that
it's not needed. Besides, [O] has monsters quite nasty for their depth
show up occasionally, so it's also suicide.
>21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>they stock what you want)?
Yes; less often in [O]. When you're out of teleport scrolls, it's the
only safe option for getting more when your recall depth is somewhere
south of 4000'. [O] has made important items easier to acquire in the
town, generally, but it's still an imperfect system...
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Is there a "right direction"? Let the variants multiply and the
debates rage. Variety and debate always produce more than a boring
consensus.
>23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>over to Angband?
Um, there's a roguelike with a feature not found in any *band?
>24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>you want to see more of in other variants?
>(Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>your own stuff!
More interesting rooms, themed stuff, squelch, better items (O and JLE
especially here), and better docs/info/inspect (O especially).
>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Some things are a bit kludgy or even dodgy. [O]'s very early game
difficulty needs toning down a bit, and the player ghosts need
adjusting -- a player ghost at a depth can vary considerably in
strength from wimpier to a unique of its depth to far too hard for
that depth. [V] needs the difficulty progression smoothed down and the
interest level raised -- either by forcing autoscum on or by finding
some way to make it obsolete.
>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
The [V] docs are unclear on certain points and comparatively scanty
though this has improved with recent versions. [O]'s docs are well
worth looking at and maybe emulating.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Leon and Bahman -- Oangband; Ben -- made the variant explosion
possible; RR -- maintaining the FTP site and maintaining [V]...
>28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Only seriously played V and O and V+JLE. Got Z on my system and
experimented a bit with this. Some old version, probably now obsolete.
>29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>Angband included)
Toss up V or O...
>30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Well, V gave me two wins, but O has certain charming points. Maddened
Weasels are not one of them, however.
>a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
Well this is where it all started, and the one I'm most familiar with.
Haven't even seen below stat gain in any other variant yet.
>o1) [Oangband]
Very interesting changes and ideas, and I'll be watching this one
closely as it continues to evolve.
No sig
Just me
Charlie
>------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
>1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>you played?
Quite some time - I can't remember exactly how long it is now. Around
10 years. First version : was the *first* version!
>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Aha! In theory, it would be being the first player ever to beat the
game. Yes, I am the face behind Fundin Bluecloak.
Actually, I'm proudest of coming up with all those artifact names
people keep puzzling over, and a vague outline of how they're supposed
to work. I think it was the addition of artifacts that was the main
factor that made the game take on a life as more than just a Moria
variant (which it is, of course).
Thalkettoth doesn't mean anything, by the way. I just liked the sound
of it. Most of the rest are culled from Sindarin word-fragments or
lifted in whole or in part from some ICE supplements we had knocking
around (for other languages).
>3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
I always liked the Glaive of Pain. Have a strong affection for
Crisdurian, as that's what Fundin used to kill Morgoth the first time.
>5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>annoying?
Arial always gave me appalling gyp. Draebor was precision tooled to be
tiresome.
>9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
See top!
>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Dwarven priests and elven mages.
>------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
>12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>say,
>the last year)?
PC
>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII
I haven't played Angband in yonks and only came over to the group to
have a look-see.
>------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
>22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
It seems very healthy, which is great.
>27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Big ups to Andy Astrand and Alex Cutler of course, but also to the
other original playtester Mark Fishpool, who still plays occasionally,
so he tells me. He originally introduced me to Moria, bless him.
It's great to see the game still being played and maintained so
enthusiastically.
Cheers,
Charlie Ball
Neo_1061
<sky...@utumno.attglobal.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>> annoying?
>
>Breeders. If you want deadly *and* annoying, I'd go with Cantoras. That guy
>is _tough_ to thrash!
I see you forgot about the unique quylthulgs. And the non-unique
quylthulgs. And magic mushroom patches. And any 's' from below 2000',
Cantoras or otherwise. And black reavers, which are there as an excuse
to make warriors waste an inventory slot on wands of teleport other
even after they've killed every unique above 4950'. And the fucking
Tarrasque...
>> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
>Azrael. You can't resist much of what he dishes out.
Completely slipped my mind. The Tarrasque is much much worse, even
when you do have the resists...
>
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>Hmmm. I can't decide between Maggot and Sauron. Maggot can give a nice,
>early weapon, but Sauron means you're almost done. Tough call.
Maggot I forgot. Wormy you forgot. (Although not at 150'. Not again.
Please Mr. Rabii. Please put FORCE_DEPTH on the bastard in the next
version of O. I beg you!)
>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
>Getting Cantoras down to one star, and then missing every blow except two
>for three turns. Needless to say, Cantoras got the better of me. :(
Ran out of teleport? Please tell me you didn't say "Just one more
round, he'll die and I'll live". Please?
>In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish Priest.
Gnome Mages? Jackal fodder. Suggesting this combination to newbies as
a prank isn't even a redeeming feature. In fact, the whole gnome race
is useless. Intrinsic free action isn't very useful if you never live
to see 1000'.
>In Pern, it would probably be something like a Half-Giant Unbeliever.
>Before the alchemist bug was fixed, Nibelung Alchemists were pretty fun.
>And before possessors were scaled back, yeek possessors were *really* fun.
I believe the technical term is "nerfed". JLE?
>Pern sorcessor, definitely.
Can't hit the broad side of a barn with a super shotgun at point blank
range. Would have the survivability of a vanilla gnome mage were it
not for the wilderness no doubt. Instead, plink at 500' type monsters
from afar and get to level 20 or so without ever entering a dungeon...
>(2) An i686 350MHz with 384MB of SDRAM running a home-spun Linux distro.
^^^^^
You realize that you must die, right?
>(3) An AMD i586-equivalent 133MHz with 32MB of SIMMs running OS/2 Warp v3.
What a piece of junk!
>I have my home directory on a RAID 1 on SGI XFS on the first machine. I
>have it exported to all the other computers on my LAN, so I can play
>Angband no matter what computer I am sitting in front of, without having to
>worry about terminal-emulation issues.
Or a disk crash, you lucky son of a...
Where do you get the finances for that kind of equipment? Grrr...
>I prefer ASCII. Part of it is simply aesthetics, but a big part is that
>graphics slow down my computers *a lot*.
That's because they have wheezing old geezer CPUs that were obsolete
around the time they started building the pyramids. Having more RAM
than some people have hard disk space isn't a silver bullet, you know.
>> u2) [Utumno]
>
>It ran, and then crashed. Maybe I should have tried running it natively,
>rather than in DOS emulation mode in OS/2?
So did the maintainer, or so I heard. :)
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
>mouldoux
>(pern)
But it has 1 hit point and zero armor class...
:)
>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in
>> Angband or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
>the first time i found out there are {foo}_info.txt
The Village idiot casts a nether bolt. -more-
You die.
>not realy a spellcaster: pern alchemist
There's enough cheese there to open your own pizzeria...
>rr9
>darkgod
>and everyone who writes in this ng ;)
<thinking type="wishful">
Even me?
</thinking>
gd&r
>2000 members of the vegetable kingdom and I have to work with _tomatoes_!
2000 members of the vegetable kingdom and I have to work with *you*!
-- try this on an especially brain-dead or moronic or otherwise
incompetent coworker sometime. Preferably on the way out after
tendering your resignation, of course.
No sig
Just me
Mr. D
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
On and off since I first downloaded Moria off a local BBS's FIDOnet group in
early '95.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Never actually beating the damn thing? Or perhaps getting a [z] spectre
rogue to clvl 50 and getting it killed by leaning on the keyboard too long.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
[z] Chainsword, before the [o]-style combat.
KILL! KILL! KILL!
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
pebbles. those things are devistating.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Yeah, everyone else said it: GHB.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Battle Scarred Veteran. You have no idea how many 3rd level characters I've
taken and said, 'Yeah, I can beat him. I might get a potion I haven't sold
to the alchemist yet ID'd for killing him!'
Dratted bastard then kills me in two blows.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Maggot, as there are no other (even OOD) uniques that will show up his
depth. Anyone who doesn't say otherwise didn't realize this was a trick
question.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Shelob. She's sexy.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Sometimes, when eating buttered pork with mayonaise sammiches, I find myself
transported to a place where love is expressed in terms of heart-shaped
congealed grease globules on St. Valentine's day. It gives me a warm feeling
when I strap on my well-greased bacon-skates and slide down to level 50 with
my pure (+10, +10) Zwiehander, forged out of purest frankfurter in the crack
of doom. "Eat this, Kobold!" I would declare, and he would! The fast acting
nitrates would give the dog-faced goblinoid colon cancer in years, I knew
well. In that moment, though, I was without a sword to fight off the horde
of white icky things, who were clearly explosively breeding at Large
Whitesnake concerts (who are, to my taste, do a much better rendition of
"Here I Go Again" than the less than larger than life variety). However,
they soon began to blubber; that is, I simply rolled myself onto my side and
crushed them beneath my magnificent corpulence. Farmer Maggot obviously
didn't know what he was talking about when he warned me to stay away from
his mushrooms. Which is why I will never replace this cloak [1 +1] that I
compressed him into after I sat on him. That odd little hobbit took far too
long to kill, but it was well worth it. I am sorry to report, though, that
Grip and Fang refuse to consume *any* of my special recipe sawmill dressing,
even when it happens to be smothering a large portion of chicken fried
steak. I do hope that Morgoth's taste in cuizine will be more sophisticated
when I meet him. I further hope that he is carrying gas-x, as those slime
molds tend to make me spontaneously cast stinking cloud.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
[z] Spectre Trump Rogue. I've got to stop playing yeeks for awhile to try
that combo again. Ultimate escape artist, that.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
[z] Trump Rogue, again. Perhaps because everyone hates them (or at least
used to, back before I took a long break from this NG), and I feel I'll be
able to prove something if I ever manage to beat the game with that
class/magic school.
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
win98
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII. Anyone who does different lacks imagination... Or really likes ugly
graphics.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Variant dependent, but mostly yes.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Let's see... .2 * .2 * .025 = .001. Around one in one thousand.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Occasionally. I like some randomness in my scores, though.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Not in case of character death, usually. However, I shamefully cheat on any
variant that has gambling halls... These are absolutely horrible in the new
version of Zangband... Being able to BUY PDSM in town is... abusive.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Nope.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
I used to, but stopped for some reason... Though with preserve on, I suppose
I ought to.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Not really. I go around and clear a level of a dungeon, then go back and
check... Unless the town is out of WoR and I'm in some deep level of the
dungeon.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I'm still waiting for someone to develop Pornband. Fighting off groupies
with sex toys and wearing latex armor... The possibilities for silliness are
endless.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Bah. I think Angband's keyset should be ported to other roguelikes so I can
actually play them.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
I hate autosquelch. Whoever came up with that should be squelched. I *want*
staves of summoning, dagnabbit!
And any AI improvements to make the game continue to frustrate me while not
exactly allowing insta-killing would be great.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
The ones that should be called bugs?
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Perhaps it is because I just started playing O, but I would really love to
see spoilers for all the extra stuff in there.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Robert, your contributions to Z have melted my brains, and caused me to join
a cult of the Serpent. My regular sacrifices of gerbils to the Lord Melkor
have lost me a great number of misinformed prospective ladyfriends. And all
of you coders are to blame for my bad hygiene, poor manners, and inability
to hold down a job.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Z, Ey, Cth, Kam, Kang, Mang, Vanilla, O, Pzi.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
My favorite will be the first one in which Morgoth is replaced with Yanni.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Z, closely followed by an early version of Ey, and O as a runner up.
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>Leon Marrick wrote:
>> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>>
>> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
>> you played?
>
>I think I have been playing Angband for about 5-6 years. I'm still a
>newbie compared to many others here. :-)
>
>IIRC the first version was 2.7.9v6 for DOS and I was shocked by the lack of
>graphics when trying it. Playing the graphical Moria on the Amiga spoiled
>me. So I had to add graphics to the DOS version ...
My God! The current vanilla maintainer is a newbie and a heretic! Gak!
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>ZAngband's kamikaze yeeks
Even if they crash the game and trash the savefile, which reportedly
occurs?
Say were you the one who posted that kamikaze yeek anecdote way back
when? The "And I didn't want to die. Not after surviving the
Yeekocalypse." one?
... alt tab, tab, "groups.goo", enter...
>I've tried more of the older ones. But the only ones I've played for more
>than one or two characters are RobertAngband (obviously), Vanilla Angband,
>ZAngband, GWAngband, KAngband, KAmband, KAmband, RAngband, and SAngband.
I hear an echo...
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>I've played Angband for about seven and a half years; I started playing a
>few months after PC Angband v1.1 was unleashed upon the world. That was
>the first version I ever played. I first started reading about Angband on
>Usenet shortly after the creation of the rec.games.roguelike.* hierarchy,
>and made my first post within a couple of years.
Did you misspell "weeks" there? Or do you mean to say you actually
lurked for *years* before deigning to post? That's a bit much, even
for curious but nervous subscribers to sex newsgroups...
>>2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
>
>Probably the sheer number of times I've beaten the game (every class
>except Warrior; I haven't gotten a warrior past about 3000').
Hmm, I've only won twice...once with invulnerability, and once with a
warrior. :)
>The artifacts I've never found in a real game are Olorin, Feanor,
>Razorback, and Bladeturner. Part of this is because old versions had bugs
>that prevented the DSM artifacts from ever being generated.
That's funny, you missed several mythical artifacts from your list.
The complete list obviously also includes the one ring, ringil, and
doomcaller.
>Mim, Betrayer of Turin. "Bane of Mages", but I think that nickname has
>been lost to history.
He's not much more fun for warriors or priests.
>>8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>Great Storm Wyrms. (Look! Free treasure!)
Hmm. No potions of electrical resistance in V. Do you find Taratol a
lot? (Xdragon + im_elec makes it the obvious weapon to use on storm
wyrms.) Things that breathe elements for max damage are not much fun
without at least double resistance...
>Have you ever found Power Dragon Scale Mail off one of the early orc
>uniques? Before it got weakened? Well, it's not too hard to imagine that
>that particular character kicked tail for the rest of the game.
It's not too hard to imagine that character dying like this, either:
You are suddenly yanked downwards!
You have a superb feeling about this level.
It breathes nether.
The small kobold hits you.
You die.
Stephen Lee the Half-Troll Lucky Sod was killed by a small kobold on
dungeon level 35.
Recalling into a pack of gravity hounds would be an even more fitting
end, or finding a GCV with a Long Sword (4d5) directly beneath Azriel
at 1750' in non-preserve...
Of course, the real reason you die a lot after a find like that is
overconfidence, rather than sheer bloodymindedness (or some would say
justice) by the RNG...
:)
>>10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>
>I've always been partial to Dunadan Priest.
Hmm, I've never been partial to a Dunadan anything.
>>17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>>increase stats)?
>
>No, but I haven't heavily played a version that has it yet.
You haven't heavily played vanilla? But "don't have much variant
experience"? And claim wins with every class except warrior? I'd love
to know how you managed this. :)
>In other roguelikes? No; I'm about as familiar with Nethack as I am with
>Angband, but can't think of anything from there I want to introduce to
>Angband.
Thank heavens.
>The big one is the O combat system, which I really like for the most part.
Another poster disparaged it on the basis that you need to be a
quantum physicist to play the game effectively with O combat, or words
to that effect. Intriguing...
>In case you are wondering, I think the O combat system is something that
>should be absorbed into standard Angband.
Apparently you decided the newsgroup wasn't getting enough posts.
There can be no other explanation for this remark, which is guaranteed
to triple the posting rate and make Zargon's debut two years back look
like a Sunday picnic.
>Yes, I know a lot of people are opposed to it, but I think that like the
>hordes of people who whined about targeting and fractional speed they
>will be either gone or silent within two years.
That would probably require having all heretics of the new view burned
at the stake or something to accomplish. :)
>>26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
>>that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
>>in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
>>FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
>
>Good documentation has always been a sore point if you ask me.
My God! We agree!
>No one else (short of the Warwick guys who gave us the game) could even
>possibly come close. All the more recent variant maintainers heavily
>depend on Ben's work.
And getting O combat in vanilla will heavily depend on a major rewrite
of the strategic arms limitation treaty, no doubt, naming you as the
place to ship decomissioned weapons. :)
>You're actually missing the most important Angband variant ever,
>Angband--. Unfortunately, I can't find a copy. I do have a copy of its
>distant cousin Nethack--, but that obviously isn't going to help.
Obviously. :)
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>The winner monster. And who doesn't love killing ewoks?
Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?
>Mindcrafters and chaos warriors :)
Chaos warriors count as spellcasters?
>No. I like special feelings, dislike special feelings caused by pits
>rather than their contents, and dislike the idea of objects teleporting
>between levels somehow.
It happens to your whole inventory whenever you use the stairs or a
WoR scroll...
>Non-maximize mode, haggling, non-haggling tax, shopkeeper purses, hounds.
The hounds should be made a bit rarer at their depths, I think.
>I thought it was sorta cute. Then again, I missed the flamewar...
Don't worry, one just got started in this very thread when someone
posted that vanilla should have O combat...
No sig
Just me
Stig E. Sandoe
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
I remember playing Frog-Knows in 93-94 or so.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Not sure, maybe my first win, a dwarf priest.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Thorin is very useful at least and can be found.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Not sure, has to be either Ringil or Ulmo.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Magic mushrooms.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Maybe one of the titans, or maybe the dracolisks.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Lokkak is hell.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Baby dragons. They tell me that I can now be a "Dragonslayer" and
that I'm past the earliest levels. Dragons are fun overall. I also
like enchantresses.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Can't remember. Maybe it was the time I played a hobbit ranger which
was a challenge all the way due to playing style.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
I like paladins, but I do not seem to win.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Vanilla priests are nice. I always lose with Vanilla mages.
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
Debian Linux.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Maximise is used.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Preserve is used.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
I use the autoroller but it usually finishes in 5-10 secs, or in a few
thousand rolls.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Never. That's for munchkins.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
I use backup savefiles because I also experiment with other
characters, never to avoid death or painful episodes.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Only when desperately bored in the end-game.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Very seldom, but have done it on occasion.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Generally yes.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
More objects that are part of the dungeon (tables, fountains, ...)
and the use of junk-items for various purposes. Possibly also
quests.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Bigscreen is nice. But I am experimenting myself on what I like and
don't like. I am in doubt.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
The town and the shops. They suck. It's a tad bit better with the
wilderness, but as in Vanilla it is quite meaningless. I also do not
like the use of Maggott and equivalent in variants.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Pern is an interesting variant but it's not very well documented. At
least it's not accessible and readable.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Robert/Melkor and Ben.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Z, Pern, Langband and O.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Not sure.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
2001 was a bad year, very little *band playing.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
It's the least common denominator but is very robust wrt game-play and
UI.
> l1) [Langband]
Crazy project.
> o1) [Oangband]
Don't like the confusing combat-system.
> p2) [PernAngband]
Lots of cool features added. Darkgod has a great capacity for adding
features, but it is the one that most desperately needs good docs
(mostly because it is different).
> z1) [Zangband]
2.5++ went a bit too experimental for me and they adopted the
O-system. I also tried it when Steven experiemnted with quests at the
sart so I got the pleasure of testing it when it was unplayable past
1000'. It seems to have lost some lead to Pern wrt features, and
might need a new killer-feature to attract me again.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Stig E Sandoe st...@ii.uib.no http://www.ii.uib.no/~stig/
Neo_1061
David) jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>P3 - 733mhz, 256MB RAM, 32mb Nvidia GeForce 256, Windows 98 SE.
>
>ASCII, always. I can't stand anything else.
Who else finds this more than a little amusing :)
No sig
Just me
Guy David
wrote:
For Angband, smartass. :)
But it does extend to most games, despite my system - gameplay is more
important than graphics to me. The only problem is that some games
with decent gameplay require the kind of system I have. ^_^
>No sig
>Just me
Neo_1061
qualityassistant.com> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>At times it's brilliant, at times it's as annoying as a brilliant light
>shining in your eyes. Well, to be honest I haven't tried 5.1 yet so it
>might just be brilliant now. :-)
Or it might just be annoying ... :)
No sig
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Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>Better documentation of how character generation, combat, abilities, spells,
>etc. work would be nice. I mean, most of us can always go to the source
>code if we've got a question, but not everbody can.
And not everybody can be arsed to. :)
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Just me
Neo_1061
<bo...@bigpond.net.au> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
>
>Sting -- levelling :)
Sick.
>The Destroyer -- because you can't use the dungeon to hide/avoid
>summons.
Morgoth does that too, you know. At least in Vanilla.
>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
>i found power dragon armour in vanilla once -- let's just say it's not
>over-rated :)
Sick.
>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>> say, the last year)?
>
>Mac
Sick!
>and i open the full compliment of windows, and arrange them to fill my
>1600x1200 resolution.
You die. -more-
[snip brazen admissions to scumming like a fishtank that hasn't been
cleaned in a month.]
>> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
>
>I think it's very healthy, just look at all the variants!
Most of which came from Z...
>haven't played too many others that much -- at least on the mac,
>they're all badly flawed and i come back to *band.
When you unbend your mind you will eventually realize that it is not
the variants but the mac itself that is badly flawed, and get a real
computer. :)
>more varied dungeon generation, random artifacts, convenience features
>(ie. trap disarming, squelch), and other things that make a looooong
>game less repititious
Well a really "mac-enhanced" version should have all the tediousness
completely removed in time-honoured mac fashion by having a dialog
come up with "start game"; you click it and a borg runs and you get
either "Congratulations, you won" or "*~ Sorry, a System error has
occurred". :) Look ma, it's automation!
>>25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>
>haggling -- not that i've done it in the past half-decade :)
The tax, though, still gets you.
>in-game docs that are (sometimes grossly) out-of-date -- if you know
>it's misleading, don't bother including it because it gets taken as
>therefore correct and we have endless confusion...
It's been known to start flamewars. Of course so has mentioning the
haggling tax, a bank, or O combat in vanilla...
>> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>> Angband included)
>
>at the moment, which is how it always is, Heng 1.0.8
With the speed death bug?!
>"mac-enhanced" was/is to be again, hopefully, cool
See above.
>i'd also like to say cheers to quickeys for all the macros i tagged to
>the F-keys -- saved me literally millions of key-strokes over the
>years!
Macs with F-keys? What will they think of next? The two-button mouse?
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Neo_1061
Morgan-Linial) jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>>6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>>its
>>depth?
>
>Hmm, tough question. Whatever just killed me, usually.
That being ... ?
:-)
>>13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>>you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>>version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
>
>ASCII. What's this graphics stuff? ^_^
Something invented by heretics to tempt you down the Dark Path. Just
ignore them. And for God's sake don't use a Mac.
>Pretty graphics, but they didn't help the gameplay. The flamewar was
>interesting.
"Interesting" is one word to describe it, yes, but undoubtedly not the
only nor the most colourful one...
[Zangband]
>Very fun. Recently I've been playing the CVS - the occasional horrible bug
>makes the game more interesting.
The variant that actually canonized the horrible bug as a monster
type. :)
>>z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
>
>It's surprisingly fun to take 125 quests and see how far you can get before
>being killed by horribly out-of-depth quest monsters... usually not very
>far.
Sounds like it makes Ironman look like a walk in the park.
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Leon Marrick
Charlie wrote:
(answers re-arranged)
> I haven't played Angband in yonks and only came over to the group to
> have a look-see.
I'm so glad you did and shared your story with the ng.
> >2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
>
> Aha! In theory, it would be being the first player ever to beat the
> game. Yes, I am the face behind Fundin Bluecloak.
> Actually, I'm proudest of coming up with all those artifact names
> people keep puzzling over, and a vague outline of how they're supposed
> to work. I think it was the addition of artifacts that was the main
> factor that made the game take on a life as more than just a Moria
> variant (which it is, of course).
I really, really have to congratulate you and the others who came
up with the artifact names. You know something is really good when
it's become so accepted that no one questions it anymore. This doesn't
happen very often with names.
> Thalkettoth doesn't mean anything, by the way. I just liked the sound
> of it. Most of the rest are culled from Sindarin word-fragments or
> lifted in whole or in part from some ICE supplements we had knocking
> around (for other languages).
I'd love to know if you had any specific mental pictures of certain
artifacts.
> It's great to see the game still being played and maintained so
> enthusiastically.
Indeed!
Leon Marrick
Charlie Ball,
> Aha! In theory, it would be being the first player ever to beat the
> game. Yes, I am the face behind Fundin Bluecloak.
> Actually, I'm proudest of coming up with all those artifact names
> people keep puzzling over, and a vague outline of how they're supposed
> to work. I think it was the addition of artifacts that was the main
> factor that made the game take on a life as more than just a Moria
> variant (which it is, of course).
>
> Thalkettoth doesn't mean anything, by the way. I just liked the sound
> of it. Most of the rest are culled from Sindarin word-fragments or
> lifted in whole or in part from some ICE supplements we had knocking
> around (for other languages).
I'd love to talk with you some about your process of artifact
naming. I wrote a set of artifact descriptions which are now used in
several variants (will show you a copy should you have an interest).
For most artifacts, creating a reasonable description wasn't too
difficult: Read some Tolkein, stir in a little imagination, and out
pops a description. For some artifacts, however, I had a really hard
time: Elvagil, Barukkheled, Osondir, and several others need some
work.
If you remember the imaginative process you went through to come up
with names for artifacts, I'd like to hear about it. With luck, this
should give me the raw material to firm up those descriptins that don't
contribute enough to the game atmosphere.
Respectfully yours,
Leon Marrick
Neo_1061
the Matrix and the following appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>>z1) [Zangband]
>
>Which version? :-) A couple of different games under the same
>name. And I think this is the reason for confusions...
A couple? Try about ten thousand.
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Neo_1061
<nrus...@acsu.buffalo.edu> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>I wish V had an astral mode and a wilderness. (snip examples)
This is quite possibly going to unleash a greater storm of controversy
than someone else's suggestion of O combat...
>>e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
>
>I only tried it once or twice, but liked the quest shop - I think that
>could have a place in V without totally changing it.
Quests in V. And O combat. And a wilderness. If some of you people had
your way we'd just junk the vanilla source code and start fresh from
Z... :)
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Neo_1061
<stephena...@xtra.co.nz> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>> use other similar methods?
>
>No.
>
>> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
>> good feeling or see a vault)?
>
>No.
>
>> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
>> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
>> monsters/special rooms)?
>
>No.
>
>> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
>> they stock what you want)?
>
>No.
An amazing paragon of restraint...
>Definately the right direction (I only really play [O]. I really enjoy
>playing *band. (just wish I had more free time)
foo.c:65: error: missing ')'
%>
NO CARRIER
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Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>Ringil being dropped by a black orc at 600 ft or so is the only thing that
>comes to mind but thats not very interesting
If it happened to me I would consider it very interesting indeed.
You're getting jaded. Go play [P]. :)
>> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
>> use other similar methods?
>
>I back up save files fairly often in case of crashes but almost never revive
>dead characters.
"almost never"? ... :-)
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Prfnoff
<leo...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
>Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
>interesting:
In retrospect, none of mine were very interesting, except that some of
the changes from their first versions made it into the next version of
the game they were based on.
-- Prfnoff <a off atl .ne
. n @ l a c t
prf bel nti >
William Hull
"Neo_1061" <inv...@erehwon.invalid> wrote in message
news:3c3703a2....@news.primus.ca...
> On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 06:07:08 GMT, David J Richardson
> <bo...@bigpond.net.au> jacked into the Matrix and the following
> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
> >> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
> >
> >Sting -- levelling :)
>
> Sick.
Until it starts causing Earthquakes when it becomes just plain junk
William Hull
Nathan Russell
>
>> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
>Boldor, King of the Yeeks.
Is he that much worse than his son, who is the major source of items
and money for my better characters?
Just idly curious,
Nathan
Anders Friis
> you played?
>
;) )some time around 1990
then found a copy of Fangband floating on the net, after that got vanilla
for my linuc box.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
>
Getting one of the early ben-borg to actually play a mage sensibly(ie use
magic instead of a bow :)
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
>
Arkenstone, since i dont play priest much the activation is _the_ best
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
>
You see a sword 4d5 lying on the floor...(Yes it has happened to me!)
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
>
Any kind of leprechaun
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
>
death sword, instant death for most non-warriors unless you spot it in time
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
Mim
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
early on orcs, line them up and zap those rods of light
later, any unique i can handle or at least susrive meeting :)
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
Walking peacefully *cough cough* at 250 feet when i spot a purple [ on the
floor in a room, oh
a jewelled crown good loot, hmmm arent crowns the other way around(]),
x ----> you see a
power dragon scale mail(slobber drool drool. wipe keyboard). needless to say
i died a horrid
death to the usual "He hit me for _how_ much!" some levels later.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>
presently playing mostly halt-titan warriors(Z), vanilla would have to be a
tie between
high-elf mages and half-troll warriors depending on how reckless/careful i
feel that day
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
>
>
high-elf mage
Z-spectre-death-sorcery
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
>
PC
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
>
ASCII
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
>
Yes
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
>
Yes
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
>
No(to lazy and impatient)
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
>
Yes(see above)
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
>
Since i lost 5 good artifact to a badly timed powerout i use the save after
each level option
havent had to use it yet though
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
>
No
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
>
Yes
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
>
If i need something desperatly enough
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
>
With the number of variants i'd say theres something for all tastes
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
>
Not really, the things that come to mind exists in variants already
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
>
Fixed quests, monster AI, multiple towns, extended shops, wilderness, player
ghosts
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>
the removal of options ;)
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
>
Macros, inscriptions
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>
Ben Harrison, Topi Ylinen, and lets not forget Robert Alan Koeneke and his
Moria
>
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
>
See below
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
>
ZAngband currently 2.6.2(although the fixed quests have me sorely temped to
turn back to the 2.4.x ones)
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
>
>
ZAngband 2.6.2
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
>
the standard, bit iffy now i got used to the OAngband combat in Z but still
fun to play
> c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
>
Tried it once or twice, never got the hang of it
> f1) [Fangband]
>
First *band i played, also only one i ever found Feanor in so far...
> k1) [Kangband]
>
> k2) [Kamband]
>
Never can remember which one of these it was i tried out, liked the towns,
specially the arena(or was that another variant
still golem warriors + arena -> lvl 20+ before even seeing the dungeon)
> p2) [PernAngband]
>
Always say to myself that i should try it a bit more, then i start playing Z
instead.
> s1) [Sangband]
>
Hmm isnt this the one with skills ?, if so it was an unusual experience at
least, far as i can remember
it seemed a bit to easy to abuse the way skills improved, but still was fun
> z1) [Zangband]
>
Favourite one, silly monsters on of course, dont we all love to hate those
lephrechauns
Anders
Nathan Russell
>
>> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>> you want to see more of in other variants?
>> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>> your own stuff!
>
> Display of damage dealt by melee or spell (though not the number of HP the
>monster has left, like in Wizard Mode).
In NetHack (yes, I know...) damage below 5 points is "You hit the
kobold." rather than "You hit the kobold!". SOmething like that could
be improved with some use of capital letters, adverbs, etc.
> Increased damage from rods and wands - at least double what they are in
>vanilla.
You mean so people start actually carrying the various offensive
rods/wands besides to get rid of breeders?
Heretic!
Neo_1061
David) jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 13:26:28 GMT, inv...@erehwon.invalid (Neo_1061)
>wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 04:08:32 GMT, guy_...@dingoblue.net.au (Guy
>>David) jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
>>rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>>
>>>P3 - 733mhz, 256MB RAM, 32mb Nvidia GeForce 256, Windows 98 SE.
>>>
>>>ASCII, always. I can't stand anything else.
>>
>>Who else finds this more than a little amusing :)
>
>For Angband, smartass. :)
>
>But it does extend to most games, despite my system - gameplay is more
>important than graphics to me. The only problem is that some games
>with decent gameplay require the kind of system I have. ^_^
Quake 2 and higher and Quake's other descendants and competitors, I
presume...
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Neo_1061
Matrix and the following appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>Wormtounge and the greater myrms, depending upon recstitances of course.
Myrms?
I think someone who's had a little less caffeine this morning, doc,
translate.
>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>A huge number of close deaths, but not too interesting i`m afraid:)
As in you nearly died or you nearly survived?
>P4 1900
You scoundrel
>512
Fuck you
>wXP
I take it back -- I pity you. And may God have mercy on your soul.
>*Graphics* 8x8.
Okay I take it back again. Die!
>> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
>> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
>Usually.
>
>> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>> increase stats)?
>More and more often.
Umm, how are these to be reconciled?
>> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>> over to Angband?
>The graphis from Nethack maybe...
>*ducks* and runs for cover!
You better run!
>> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>> you want to see more of in other variants?
>Graphics:)
Okay. That's it. Your usenet privileges are hereby revoked. Come back
when you have less than 256 megabytes of RAM, a CPU a mere mortal can
afford, and ASCII. :)
>> p2) [PernAngband]
>What is there to say, the new 5.1.0 is awsome!
>And with more graphics for 8x8, wohoo! :)
*readies missile launcher*
>> z1) [Zangband]
>Do not play as much after Mindcrafters got...
>balanced:)
I believe "nerfed" is the technical term.
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Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>Aha! In theory, it would be being the first player ever to beat the
>game. Yes, I am the face behind Fundin Bluecloak.
>Actually, I'm proudest of coming up with all those artifact names
>people keep puzzling over
Congratulations. You've really baffled some of us. I think though that
Fundin Bluecloak now needs modification. He should obviously hit to
confuse.
>Thalkettoth doesn't mean anything, by the way. I just liked the sound
>of it. Most of the rest are culled from Sindarin word-fragments or
>lifted in whole or in part from some ICE supplements we had knocking
>around (for other languages).
ICE?
>Arial always gave me appalling gyp. Draebor was precision tooled to be
>tiresome.
Draebor seems to have been precision tooled to be nuked out of
existence with one properly equipped hit, and the loot sold to fund
stat potions.
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Neo_1061
into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>
>Lokkak is hell.
Lokkak is practise. The Tarrasque is hell.
>Baby dragons. They tell me that I can now be a "Dragonslayer" and
>that I'm past the earliest levels. Dragons are fun overall. I also
>like enchantresses.
I wonder if they'd be good in bed. Enchantresses, that is, not
dragons. I know for a fact they drop good, and are the earliest and
always the easiest non-unique that does so.
>> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>> increase stats)?
>
>Never. That's for munchkins.
The autoroller has potentially better stats doesn't it?
>> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
>
>2001 was a bad year, very little *band playing.
Ditto. But 2002 started auspiciously...see YAWP above.
>Don't like the confusing combat-system.
I don't have trouble with it. But then quantum mechanics happens to be
one of my specialties.
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Johan Kullstam
> On Fri, 04 Jan 2002 23:39:03 GMT, Skylar Thompson
> <sky...@utumno.attglobal.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
> >In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish Priest.
>
> Gnome Mages? Jackal fodder. Suggesting this combination to newbies as
> a prank isn't even a redeeming feature. In fact, the whole gnome race
> is useless. Intrinsic free action isn't very useful if you never live
> to see 1000'.
who is suggesting this combination to newbie?
quoting from the orginal post ---
"10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?"
it's *his* *favorite* *now*. you are free to chime in with your own
favorite and your own best newbie recommendation.
--
J o h a n K u l l s t a m
[kull...@mediaone.net]
Johan Kullstam
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
> some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
> know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
> been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
> Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
> Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
> out.
>
>
> (posting)
> This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
> weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
> compiled and presented.
>
>
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband?
since 1995 or so.
> Do you remember the first version
> you played?
2.7.9v4 iirc
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
my first honest win (halfling rogue).
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Aule.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Aule.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
this isn't a monster, but still, the --more-- prompt. when you've got
8 attacks yourself and are surrounded by as many monster with 4 or
more attacks, it gets a bit crazy trying to clear the stupid
messages. and then you die.
as for monster, it'd be wereworm. (magic mushrooms *seem* annoying,
but if you ignore them they don't actually *do* anything -- except
message spam you into oblivion -- see previous point.)
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
kobold. more of my characters die to kobold than all other monster
combined by whan has to be at least an order of magnitude.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
tarrasque.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
any one which drops artifacts.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
halfling or half-orc rogue.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
angband priest.
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
gnu/linux quad ppro 200.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ascii. roguelike keyset. use vi keys to move.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
yes. always.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
yes.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
yes. 1 in 10000 or so.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
i haven't tried it yet.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
i use backup in case of system disaster.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
not really.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
yes. always.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
yes. sometime you have to....
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
i didn't like floor stacking when it came. i still don't. only now i
can't turn it off. sigh.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
the number one feature i'd like to see is ---- monster
susceptibillities
next would be (and it's not totally unrelated) a mage with useful
_attack_ spells.
i remember moria had better balance in this regard. your mage could
choose a frost bolt against a red dragon or a fire bolt on a white
dragon. that was fun.
i'd like a larger message area so i wouldn't have to deal the --more--
prompt so much. make the screen five lines taller on systems that
support it and use that to handle the message spew.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
item floor stacking.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
i'd like artifact memory similar to monster memory. after all, if
you've found xthanc in a previous life. i'd like have an artifacts
*not* found list.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>
>
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
gw-angband, some zangbands, oangband.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
>
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
vanilla
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
get rid of floor stacking. or at least make it an option. after all,
maximize is an option and that's just as retarded imho as you think
not floor stacking is.
> a2) [Angband/64]
i should give this one a whirl.
> b1) [Bangband]
>
> b2) [BeAngband]
>
> c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
>
> c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
>
> d1) [Dennis van Es' Angband (DvEband)]
>
> d2) [Discworld Angband (Discband)]
>
> d3) [Drangband]
>
> e1) [Easy-Angband (Easyband)]
>
> e2) [Eric Bock's Angband variant (Eric-band)]
>
> e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
>
> f1) [Fangband]
>
> g1) [Goingband]
>
> g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
>
> g3) [Gumband]
>
> g4) [GW-Angband]
this was a good attempt at a reasonable mage. mage spells still
underpowered for my taste. i also like the improvements to rogue. i
never tried the gw priest but remember there was some work done there
too.
> h1) [Hengband]
>
> i1) [IronMan-Angband]
>
> k1) [Kangband]
>
> k2) [Kamband]
>
> l1) [Langband]
>
> m1) [Michael Barnes' Angband (MJband)]
>
> m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
>
> n1) [New Angband (NewAngband)]
>
> n2) [Non-Tolkienian Angband (NTAngband)]
>
> o1) [Oangband]
>
> p1) [Pangband]
>
> p2) [PernAngband]
>
> p3) [Prfnoff's Angband variant ()]
>
> p4) [Programmable Angband (PAngband)]
>
> p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
>
> p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband]
>
> q1) [Quest Angband (QAngband)]
>
> r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
>
> r2) [RobertAngband]
>
> s1) [Sangband]
>
> s2) [SBFband]
>
> s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
>
> t1) [Team Angband (TAngband)]
>
> u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
>
> u2) [Utumno]
>
> y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
>
> z1) [Zangband]
>
> z2) [Prfnoff's ZAngband variant (ZAngbaA)]
>
> z3) [Eric Bock's ZAngband variant (Zceband)]
>
> ??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
Neo_1061
into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>> annoying?
>
>Yeah, everyone else said it: GHB.
I didn't. But then I don't currently play Z...
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>Shelob. She's sexy.
Maybe I'm a bit weird for liking enchantresses. But this is just sick.
:)
>
>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>
>Sometimes, when eating buttered pork with mayonaise sammiches, I find myself
>transported to a place where love is expressed in terms of heart-shaped
>congealed grease globules on St. Valentine's day. It gives me a warm feeling
>when I strap on my well-greased bacon-skates and slide down to level 50 with
>my pure (+10, +10) Zwiehander, forged out of purest frankfurter in the crack
>of doom. "Eat this, Kobold!" I would declare, and he would! The fast acting
>nitrates would give the dog-faced goblinoid colon cancer in years, I knew
>well.
My God, the latest versions of Z must be worse than I had ever
imagined! Topi's been into the mushrooms of hallucination again,
hasn't he? Dammit...
>> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>
>[z] Spectre Trump Rogue. I've got to stop playing yeeks for awhile to try
>that combo again. Ultimate escape artist, that.
Well Z has one redeeming feature then -- the rogues actually play like
rogues.
>Not in case of character death, usually. However, I shamefully cheat on any
>variant that has gambling halls... These are absolutely horrible in the new
>version of Zangband... Being able to BUY PDSM in town is... abusive.
Some versions of pern are even more sick, but they've been nerfed.
>> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
>
>I'm still waiting for someone to develop Pornband. Fighting off groupies
>with sex toys and wearing latex armor... The possibilities for silliness are
>endless.
Isn't Z bad enough?
Wait -- will it have fully-functional enchantresses? :)
Normally, I wouldn't want graphics, just ASCII, but for that I'd make
an exception. Virtual reality anyone?
>> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
>> you want to see more of in other variants?
>> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
>> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
>> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
>> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
>> your own stuff!
>
>I hate autosquelch. Whoever came up with that should be squelched. I *want*
>staves of summoning, dagnabbit!
Then don't set it to squelch them, duh.
>> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
>> Angband included)
>
>My favorite will be the first one in which Morgoth is replaced with Yanni.
Yanni?
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
>>
>You see a sword 4d5 lying on the floor...(Yes it has happened to me!)
Happens to me regularly in vaults and wyrm drops below 2000'...
You see an Executioner's Sword (4d5).
>> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>>
>presently playing mostly halt-titan warriors(Z), vanilla would have to be a
>tie between
>high-elf mages and half-troll warriors depending on how reckless/careful i
>feel that day
Halt-titan warriors? Oh let me guess -- Linux system -- "Critical
System Error -- race/class combination too munchkinish to continue.
System halted."
>> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>> over to Angband?
>>
>Not really, the things that come to mind exists in variants already
No, they don't. There isn't one yet where you can be a Klingon
Warrior.
>Ben Harrison, Topi Ylinen, and lets not forget Robert Alan Koeneke and his
>Moria
One of these names is not like the others...one of these names just
doesn't belong.
There's a good reason why an ancient and foul curse is named for one
of these people. :)
>First *band i played, also only one i ever found Feanor in so far...
Mushrooms of hallucination? Or sick variant? Everyone knows Feanor is
as mythical as Atlantis.
>Hmm isnt this the one with skills ?, if so it was an unusual experience at
>least, far as i can remember
>it seemed a bit to easy to abuse the way skills improved, but still was fun
It was the one with the fennelling and really sick equipment you could
create using same. Of course, not to be outdone, Pern eventually came
out with the Alchemist...
No sig
Just me
Charlie
wrote:
>
> I'd love to talk with you some about your process of artifact
>naming. I wrote a set of artifact descriptions which are now used in
>several variants (will show you a copy should you have an interest).
>For most artifacts, creating a reasonable description wasn't too
>difficult: Read some Tolkein, stir in a little imagination, and out
>pops a description. For some artifacts, however, I had a really hard
>time: Elvagil, Barukkheled, Osondir, and several others need some
>work.
If anyone's interested, I'm going to help Leon out and he can let you
know what happens (assuming my withered brain can recall much of use
to anybody). At the time, there was a point or vague genesis to most
of the items, so maybe we can work something out....
Cheers,
Charlie
J.K.Banks
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
1.35 years. Vanilla 2.8.2
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Scumming for two hours to buy a longbow of extra might +12, +13 (+2)
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The phial or the Gatling sling...
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
longbow of extra might +12, +13 (+2)
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Blue icky thing, magic mushroom patch or Little Lie.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Little Lie or Hounds.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Boldor or DarkGod :)
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Gelatinous cube on the other end of a very large room with lots of
mana and no fail on magic missiles.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Got killed several times by my alter ego in NTAngband.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Elf harper worshipping Eru with horrible note (Pern) or elf ranger.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Pern harper.
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
66Mhz 486 with 19Mb with ASCII on a Leenoox box.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Sometimes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Usually not.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Always. 1 in a few million.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
NO!
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
I keep the savefiles for old time's sake, but I don't play them.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
No.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Unfortunately, yes.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Oh, it was a sad day when stacking and carrying became default
options.
Angband isn't what it once was. I think Angband is leading Western
civilization in its decline.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Dragons that take up many tiles.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
auto-open.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Haha, William Tanksley, DarkGod and *obviously* me.
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, KaMBand, Pern, NT, Silly
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Vanilla 2.8.2, NTAngband 2.0.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
NTAngband.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
> k2) [Kamband]
This one's horrible. Don't play it.
> n2) [Non-Tolkienian Angband (NTAngband)]
Don't play this one either!
> p2) [PernAngband]
When will it stop changing?
> s3) [Silly Angband - Sillyband]
I don't see what's so silly about it.
Johan Kullstam
> On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 02:28:44 -0000, ssj...@rawbw.com (Stephen Lee)
> jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
> rec.games.roguelike.angband:
> >The big one is the O combat system, which I really like for the most part.
>
> Another poster disparaged it on the basis that you need to be a
> quantum physicist to play the game effectively with O combat, or words
> to that effect. Intriguing...
it makes for good *play*. however, it is difficult to choose amongst
your weapons since the bonus effects are so obscure. perhaps if the
game gave a better/more detailed presentation?
say, a table of average dammage against a set of armor classes, over
the relevant resists and slays of your weilded set. then you could
get a good idea if changing equipment would improve things.
> >In case you are wondering, I think the O combat system is something that
> >should be absorbed into standard Angband.
>
> Apparently you decided the newsgroup wasn't getting enough posts.
> There can be no other explanation for this remark, which is guaranteed
> to triple the posting rate and make Zargon's debut two years back look
> like a Sunday picnic.
what's wrong with that? a bit of spirited discussion could inject
life into this old game.
Neo_1061
<kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>inv...@erehwon.invalid (Neo_1061) writes:
>
>> On Fri, 04 Jan 2002 23:39:03 GMT, Skylar Thompson
>> <sky...@utumno.attglobal.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
>> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> >In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish Priest.
>>
>> Gnome Mages? Jackal fodder. Suggesting this combination to newbies as
>> a prank isn't even a redeeming feature. In fact, the whole gnome race
>> is useless. Intrinsic free action isn't very useful if you never live
>> to see 1000'.
>
>who is suggesting this combination to newbie?
Nobody that I am aware of, but it occurred to me that someone might.
:P
No sig
Just me
Neil Stevens
> The same creaking old AMD K6-2 400 MHz Win 98 box that I've used for
> over 3 years for everything.
People with glass Windows shouldn't throw stones at Mac users.
Neo_1061
<kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> >In case you are wondering, I think the O combat system is something that
>> >should be absorbed into standard Angband.
>>
>> Apparently you decided the newsgroup wasn't getting enough posts.
>> There can be no other explanation for this remark, which is guaranteed
>> to triple the posting rate and make Zargon's debut two years back look
>> like a Sunday picnic.
>
>what's wrong with that? a bit of spirited discussion could inject
>life into this old game.
Did I say there was something wrong with it?
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
<kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
>> its
>> depth?
>
>kobold. more of my characters die to kobold than all other monster
>combined by whan has to be at least an order of magnitude.
Play a lot of mages? (Don't tell me -- *gnome* mages.)
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>any one which drops artifacts.
Aww, but not speed rings (+22)? Poor monsters. Poor poor Great Wyrms.
>> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>
>halfling or half-orc rogue.
>
>> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
>
>angband priest.
Are these not in contradiction? Or have they taken away the rogue's
spellbooks as if he weren't weak enough in angband...
>gnu/linux quad ppro 200.
Yuck, only a 200MHz ppro? Oh wait did you say quad? Die!
>
>> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
>> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
>> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
>
>ascii. roguelike keyset. use vi keys to move.
Vile!
Congratulations. You can now become a multibillionaire. Just patent
what you just posted. An electronic form of ipecak. The pharms will be
beating a path to your door!
>i didn't like floor stacking when it came. i still don't. only now i
>can't turn it off. sigh.
Losing that Ring of Speed (+28) to clutter is more your style?
Masochist. :)
>i'd like a larger message area so i wouldn't have to deal the --more--
>prompt so much. make the screen five lines taller on systems that
>support it and use that to handle the message spew.
It's faster and less coding just to cast a stinking cloud at them.
Magic mushroom patches don't resist poison. :)
No sig
Just me
Neo_1061
into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>> say,
>> the last year)?
>66Mhz 486 with 19Mb with ASCII on a Leenoox box.
What on earth is that, your grandmother's hand-me-down? I didn't even
think oddball numbers of megabytes like that were legal. I think they
had faster computers already when some wizard with an early
paleolithic Pentium 90 and Autocad invented the wheel.
>> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>> increase stats)?
>NO!
Hey hey we asked if you used the point roller, not if you were a war
crimes fugitive from Yugoslavia or Afghanistan or something.
Say, anyone notice the resemblance between Angband and Afghanistan? In
both you've got a town full of Mean-looking Mercenaries and
Battle-scarred Veterans above a bunch of caves in which one is to hunt
a big bad boss creature. They just call him Bin Laden in Afghanistan
and Morgoth in Angband.
>> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
>> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
>Oh, it was a sad day when stacking and carrying became default
>options.
>Angband isn't what it once was. I think Angband is leading Western
>civilization in its decline.
And here I thought it was sex. Or rock and roll. Or something. Those
are the traditional scapegoats aren't they?
>
>> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
>> over to Angband?
>Dragons that take up many tiles.
Shit, you mean someone beat me to implementing that? Arrrrgh!
>> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
>auto-open.
Why on earth -- oh I get it! You're a doctor -- probably a specialist
in arthritis and other bone and muscle problems -- and making
thousands of people press thousands of extra keypresses each will
inflate your thriving carpal tunnel treatment business.
>> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>Haha, William Tanksley, DarkGod and *obviously* me.
Definitely a doctor...
>> p2) [PernAngband]
>
>When will it stop changing?
When the sun goes nova?
No sig
Just me
Johan Kullstam
> On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 16:41:46 GMT, Johan Kullstam
> <kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
> >> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> >> its
> >> depth?
> >
> >kobold. more of my characters die to kobold than all other monster
> >combined by whan has to be at least an order of magnitude.
>
> Play a lot of mages? (Don't tell me -- *gnome* mages.)
i don't play mages. ever.
well, i did try one once. the spells sucked and were not compelling.
i didn't care for globe of invulnerability -- it made the game
boring. i just let that character get wasted and haven't played one
since. that must have been five years ago.
still, kobolds are pretty tough at first level. they are seldom
asleep and so chase your poor character around. plus i play fast and
loose with my start up. if i've only invested 10 minutes in a char,
it's worth much less than one i've played for 10 hours or 10 days.
> >> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
> >
> >any one which drops artifacts.
>
> Aww, but not speed rings (+22)? Poor monsters. Poor poor Great Wyrms.
>
> >> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
> >
> >halfling or half-orc rogue.
> >
> >> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> >> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> >> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> >> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
> >
> >angband priest.
>
> Are these not in contradiction? Or have they taken away the rogue's
> spellbooks as if he weren't weak enough in angband...
priests have spells. OoD is a pretty good attack spell. over a large
group, dispel evil can do more combined damage than almost anything
else in the game.
i don't consider the rogue to be much of a spell caster. sure he has
spells, but they are of a utility nature.
> >gnu/linux quad ppro 200.
>
> Yuck, only a 200MHz ppro? Oh wait did you say quad? Die!
yes. it numbercrunches on par with a 1.4GHz athlon i've got at work.
> >
> >> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> >> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> >> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
> >
> >ascii. roguelike keyset. use vi keys to move.
>
> Vile!
while i use the vi keys to move in angband, i use emacs for all my
text editing (and usenet posting through gnus).
> Congratulations. You can now become a multibillionaire. Just patent
> what you just posted. An electronic form of ipecak. The pharms will be
> beating a path to your door!
>
> >i didn't like floor stacking when it came. i still don't. only now i
> >can't turn it off. sigh.
>
> Losing that Ring of Speed (+28) to clutter is more your style?
> Masochist. :)
no. it used to be that you had to kill monsters in the open to reap a
large drop. with summoners, you had the choice of killing them safely
in the anti-summon tunnel but not getting much drop or phase-dooring
out when they've got one star left and crossing your fingers...
i miss the old style. now it's just tunnel, kill, repeat.
the game has never been re-balanced to account for the floor
stacking.
> >i'd like a larger message area so i wouldn't have to deal the --more--
> >prompt so much. make the screen five lines taller on systems that
> >support it and use that to handle the message spew.
>
> It's faster and less coding just to cast a stinking cloud at them.
> Magic mushroom patches don't resist poison. :)
they don't resist OoD either and they appear using telepathy.
Neo_1061
qualityassistant.com> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>Neo_1061 wrote:
I strongly recommend you never play a ranger. You obviously don't know
your missile weapons. Those were barbs, not stones. Stones are blunt,
barbs are wickedly sharp. This difference is very important.
No sig
Just me
Nathan Russell
>Mushrooms of hallucination? Or sick variant? Everyone knows Feanor is
>as mythical as Atlantis.
What Str do you have, to be able to walk wearing Atlantis?
Nathan
Nathan Russell
>
>> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
>> annoying?
>
>this isn't a monster, but still, the --more-- prompt. when you've got
>8 attacks yourself and are surrounded by as many monster with 4 or
>more attacks, it gets a bit crazy trying to clear the stupid
>messages. and then you die.
I find it particularly annoying when I have a character too low-level
or miserly to have an excess of phase door scrolls, and I'm trying to
walk out of a room filled with, say, worms or mice, and have to make
sure not to skip past my own turn, but to get through all their
attacks/misses, while walking only into the empty spaces.
Nathan
Eytan Zweig
noticed that I emailed my response by mistake instead of posting it... Sorry
Leon. Anyway, here goes (slightly modifed from the email version):
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
I've been playing Angband since about mid-1999; the first version I've been
playing was 2.8.3. I did use to play Moria as a teenager over ten years ago
as well, but was oblivious to the development in between.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Creating EyAngband. In-game accomplishment? None, really, I'm a lousy
player.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Oangband's Rod of Delving. It's not a very useful artifact, but it was the
first really out-of-depth artifact I ever found and it really helped me in
that
game.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
None; I always use the best one available to my current character.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Oangband's Software Bug. Not only is it really, really annoying from a
gameplay POV, I hate joke monsters, especially in an otherwise solid variant
like Oangband.
.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
In Vanilla? Gravity Hounds.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Not sure; I generally avoid uniques unless I know I'm more powerful than
them and I haven't met the most powerful ones yet.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
No specific monster; I enjoy all of them unless they insta-kill me.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Once, in an early version of Ey (I forget which, but it was still quite
close to Vanilla), I was playing a warrior who ran out of teleport and
healing items and was meleeing one of the orc uniques when I got lowered to
0 HP; I then had to hit and run him, and several other monsters that got in
the way; I eventually died to a dragon breath, but I spent about half an
hour being chased around that level - it really forced me to plan every step
I took, which doesn't happen much in the early game.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Again, none - I change my combo every few days, usually randomly.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Again, no consistent preferrence.
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
I usually play Angband on my home computer - Pentium III 400 running Win98.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII only.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
When not playing Ey (where there is no maximize option), I always play with
it on.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
About half the time - I usually alternate between perserve off and perserve
on games.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Only in variants without point-based generation.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Always, when available.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
No. (Except when playtesting stuff in Ey, which doesn't count because those
are "real" games. Also, I used to save-scum during my first 6 months or so
of playing).
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
I occasionally level/stair-scum for safer levels when I feel underpowered. I
very rarely level scum for better levels.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, occasionally - in variants where it's not a birth option, I still never
change it mid-game.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Only for stat restore potions (and cure disease potions in Ey).
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
I feel that any variant that places improving gameplay as its primary
objective is headed in the right direction. Since that's most variants (and
Angband itself, more or less), the overall answer is yes..
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
>
No, but I don't play other roguelikes.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
I'm partial to the knowledge browers (which most people inaccurately
attribute to me but actually come from Kangband, though I did improve the
interface somewhat).
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Oangband's class-specific chests. PernAngband's new plot-driven quests. The
IRC client in PernAngband. Joke monsters in any non-joke variant.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
I wish that EyAngband 0.4.0 was properly documented, because that would save
me the trouble of writing the new docs. Seriously, however, I feel that
what the game lacks most is in-game docs geared at explaning the basic game
concepts to beginners.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Robert Ruhelmann, for his work on Thangorodrim and maintaining the FTP site.
It is these, above and beyond his maintaining Vanilla and his contributions
to Zangband, that really help keep the community alive and vibrant, and
allow it to remain a single community instead of splitting into many
variant-specific groups.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Oangband, Pernangband, Drangband, Gumband, Kangband, Kamband,
Zangband, UnAngband, and, obviously, EyAngband.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Not including EyAngband, probably Oangband 0.4.1 (I haven't played the newer
versions much, they're too difficult for me).
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
EyAngband, because maintaining it is as much fun as playing it.
>
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
I think that Oangband, PernAngband, and UnAngband (and also Gumband but it's
development seems to have slowed lately) are great examples of the multitute
of directions that Angband can take; each has made choices and innovations
that have advanced the game in many ways, and yet are very different from
each other and from my own variant. I think it's very important for me to
keep that in perspective and not fall into the trap of believing that there
is any "right" way a variant must be developed in.
Eytan
Neo_1061
<kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> >> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
>> >
>> >halfling or half-orc rogue.
>> >
>> >> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
>> >> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
>> >> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
>> >> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
>> >
>> >angband priest.
>>
>> Are these not in contradiction? Or have they taken away the rogue's
>> spellbooks as if he weren't weak enough in angband...
>
>priests have spells. OoD is a pretty good attack spell. over a large
>group, dispel evil can do more combined damage than almost anything
>else in the game.
I didn't say they don't. But you said rogues were your favorite in
general, and they are also spell-casters, so aren't they ipso facto
your favorite spell-casting type?
>i don't consider the rogue to be much of a spell caster. sure he has
>spells, but they are of a utility nature.
Someone put chaos warriors for his favorite spellcaster. One assumes
that being named something warrior they are like rogues, paladins, and
rangers in that regard.
>> >gnu/linux quad ppro 200.
>>
>> Yuck, only a 200MHz ppro? Oh wait did you say quad? Die!
>
>yes. it numbercrunches on par with a 1.4GHz athlon i've got at work.
Umm, 4x200 Mhz is 800MHz equivalent, and then there's the overhead of
coordinating tasks among the processors and managing exclusion. I'd
say your system is worth about half that 1.4GHz athlon. Unless the
athlon is somehow severely crippled -- maybe if it has about 3
megabytes of ram and swaps all the time. :)
>while i use the vi keys to move in angband, i use emacs for all my
>text editing (and usenet posting through gnus).
Any taint of vi is bad.
>> Losing that Ring of Speed (+28) to clutter is more your style?
>> Masochist. :)
>
>no. it used to be that you had to kill monsters in the open to reap a
>large drop. with summoners, you had the choice of killing them safely
>in the anti-summon tunnel but not getting much drop or phase-dooring
>out when they've got one star left and crossing your fingers...
And you think this was a good thing? Encouraging bad tactics? Besides
the lack of realism. In reality there would be no advantage to killing
things in the open.
No sig
Just me
Eytan Zweig
"Neil Stevens" <neil@ qualityassistant.com> wrote in message
news:2oGZ7.235$s44.2...@paloalto-snr2.gtei.net...
No, they should throw the stones at the Macs themselves, and rid the world
of their brightly-colored evil :)
Eytan
(Sorry, couldn't resist)
Andreas Koch
Leon Marrick wrote:
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Um... some Zang ... 2 or 3 years...
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Having never played with wiz mode off
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Sting/pern (preferably the old, not tuned-down version)
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Anything that blinks away on sight.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Random Number generator, without confusion resistance
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Variant Maintainer, without confusion resistance.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Friendly uniqes.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Meeting "Nygotha, the thing that should not be" (unhurt)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Pern+ speedster resistor high mage.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type?
Pern high mage.
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
P3-500, 384MB with 19"-Screen
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
32x32 ??????
"Adam Bolts" tiles (last time i checked in Zang) ,plus my extensions for
Pern, are 16x16. And these i use.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes. Allthough i guess i'll disable it now i know what it does :)
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
yes
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. I usually just ensure to get 18 for the max>18's
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Existant in no variant i played
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Why, with wiz mode on?
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Only when in astral mode trying to get UP.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
yes.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
No.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Yes.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Well... LOTS
Of nethack/Slashem >:}
I like this complexity. Sinks. Ice-boxes. Shops as rooms with items.
Statues with spellbooks. Water traps and iron golems. Wands of
petrification and non-stone golems. Pets on cursed items. Cockatrices.
Etc...
Ragnarök:
Fennling (merging wands' charges)
name-forgotten:
char can obtain the skills other classes start with
Several others i can't currently remember....
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Hehe... Pern+ wiz mode markes.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Any attempts to balance it.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
None.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Me, Pern+ is really great. Oh wait, and DarkGod for writting
99.999% of Pern+ :P
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
>
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
>
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
>
>
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
I think i downloaded it and started it once.
>
> p2) [PernAngband]
Intensively.
> z1) [Zangband]
a bit before i found Pern.
> ??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
>
Pern+! At least 5 people or so played it :)
But ok, it only has litte modifications compared with
Pern+ (two extremely unbalanced races and subraces,
and a few cheating options...)
--
Andreas
LINUX users tune their system for stability
WIN users tune their system for fast booting
What you prefer is just a matter of taste.
Neo_1061
jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>
>No specific monster; I enjoy all of them unless they insta-kill me.
So you prefer them to kill you slowly? Gravity hounds are good at
that. :) I could also recommend the blue icky thing...
>Once, in an early version of Ey (I forget which, but it was still quite
>close to Vanilla), I was playing a warrior who ran out of teleport and
>healing items and was meleeing one of the orc uniques when I got lowered to
>0 HP; I then had to hit and run him, and several other monsters that got in
>the way; I eventually died to a dragon breath, but I spent about half an
>hour being chased around that level - it really forced me to plan every step
>I took, which doesn't happen much in the early game.
Shoulda made for the stairs I guess.
No sig
Just me
Eytan Zweig
"Neo_1061" <inv...@erehwon.invalid> wrote in message
news:3c3742d7....@news.primus.ca...
My occasional stubborn refusal to leave a level when I really need to is one
of the primary reasons I only ever got 2 characters past stat-gain (I'm
pretty sure the warrior described above actually had recall scrolls, but I
didn't use them either).
Eytan
> No sig
> Just me
Neo_1061
<ma...@kochandreas.com> jacked into the Matrix and the following
appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
>
>
>Having never played with wiz mode off
These are supposed to be reasons for fame not infamy.
>> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
>> final stats)?
>
>
>Yes. Allthough i guess i'll disable it now i know what it does :)
Why?
> > 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
>> increase stats)?
>
>
>Existant in no variant i played
Hello? Vanilla?
>Well... LOTS
>
>Of nethack/Slashem >:}
>
>I like this complexity. Sinks. Ice-boxes. Shops as rooms with items.
>Statues with spellbooks. Water traps and iron golems. Wands of
>petrification and non-stone golems. Pets on cursed items. Cockatrices.
>Etc...
You cast a fire bolt. -more-
Vanilla, the Angband Variant dies. -more-
Congratulations! You have successfully started the worst flamewar in
usenet history. -more-
It breathes fire. -more-
You die. -more-
By the way vanilla has iron golems. And mithril, and clay, and flesh,
and a couple made with unspecified materials -- Colossus and Drolem.
>Ragnarök:
>Fennling (merging wands' charges)
Sangband. Wand stacking: Oangband and others.
>name-forgotten:
>char can obtain the skills other classes start with
ADOM?
>> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
>> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
>> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>
>
>Me, Pern+ is really great. Oh wait, and DarkGod for writting
>99.999% of Pern+ :P
I should have guessed. Only a variant maintainer would produce such an
insane pattern of responses.
>> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
>
>
>I think i downloaded it and started it once.
See? Insane.
No sig
Just me
Ola Mikael Hansson
expand a bit upon the answer I sent by mail earlier)
Leon Marrick <leo...@sprintmail.com> wrote in
<3C35F915...@sprintmail.com>:
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
I started playing about 10-11 years ago... though that was most likely
Moria first. Then, I got Angband from somewhere, one of the PC versions
without targetting - you could only fire in the 8 directions.
I remember the joy when I got internet access, and found PC1.4 (I think it
was) :)
Been playing to and from since then, with breaks every now and then.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Being able to survive down to stat-gain with almost all my V characters.
(Yup, that's not much to be proud off... but I'm not a very good player)
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Phial of Galadriel in vanilla.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Calris in vanilla
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Magic Mushroom Patches in vanilla
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Drakolich (just ahead of Drakolisk...)
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
The Tarrasque in vanilla (toughest, as in most likely to kill my character,
not as in hardest to kill)
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Uniques are always fun, because of the challenge and the drops. AMHD among
the non-uniques.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Uhm... Late one night, being really tired, I decided to not play my main
character (who was stat-gaining), as I was too likely to make some stupid
mistake and die, and instead started up a dunadan warrior and started
diving... at 200' or 250', I found Boots of Speed (+9) - that became my
most successful character so far, dying at 4550' to the Tarrasque.
Another fun one was the cthulhu mage, who was getting close to the end of
the orc tower, but didn't deal out enough damage to be able to go up
against the final two uniques there... when, upon raising his thaumaturgy
score, he got a gift from the chaos gods... "Demon Blade", 11d5, +2
attacks, slay orcs (and a bunch of other stuff)... those orc uniques died
easily after that.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
In vanilla, Hobbit Rogue or Dwarf Priest
In Cthulhu, Half-titan Adventurer (perhaps a bit munchkinich... but then, I
still havn't won any variant at all)
In Pern, High-elf classical sorcerer
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Vanilla Priest!
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
Pentium 90 MHz, 24 Mb RAM, Win98.
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII, always. Though, I use the windows ports, not Dos ports.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes, it seems much more logical to me.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes, it seems much more logical to me. (Artifacts *wants* to be found...
they just don't lie around waiting passively, and then disappear
completely.)
And besides, looking at it from a gameplay perspective, back before
preserve mode was added, I really hated having to search all those jelly
pit levels down to the last inch. Tediousness in galore!
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes, about 1 in 1'000. I used to set up much more difficult to get stats,
but as it only matters before finishing stat gain, I don't care that
much... get a decent STR, CON and spell-casting stat...
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
I don't like the idea of this - I prefer randomness. I've used it a couple
of times because it allows a starting dwarf priest to get 18/50 instead of
18/40 WIS - and that is a big difference.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
No, never has.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
Yes, quite often once I'm below statgain.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes, in vanilla, always.
In cthulhu, I havn't seen the need for it yet, but I havn't survived deep
down there yet - perhaps I will start autoscumming there too once I am down
well past statgain.
In pern, I play without - it doesn't seem to be needed, as the large
variety of different dungeons, and the random quests (which I play with 98
of) ensures enough interesting things.
In O, I'm so far playing without, seeing how it is... I might turn it on
later, but I prefer trying without first to see if it feels good.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes, for "essentials" (light source, CCW, phase door, WoR, RLL, spell
books)
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Generally, I think so. For vanilla, JLE patch looks interesting. I would
like to see even more Tolkien focus though, and feel a bit alarmed by the
talking about removing options!
As far as variants go, together, they cover most directions... and some of
them do things I like, other's don't. So I just have to choose which ones
to play.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Not really. One thing which might be interesting for a variant (not for
vanilla) would be adding some form of time pressure - like ADOM, though
hopefully better implemented and balanced.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Floor stacking. Removes the old tedium of having to lead ancient dragons
out into the middle of rooms before killing them, or keeping backing while
killing an orc/troll pit.
Pern-style Autosquelch - I'd really like to see this in Vanilla, especially
as it's not a game-balance change, only a convenience feature. Removing
more tedium is always good!
Better monster AI would always be interesting.
Good documentation - I mostly liked O's, though I found it lacking in some
regards. Pern's felt too difficult to get an overview off it (especially
with all those lots of races and sub-races and classes). Vanilla's is
somewhat insufficient.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
The cheating options - I think those encourage a view that cheating is a
good thing to do.
Removing options - why enforce floor stacking in vanilla for example?
Though I would always play with it on if it was an option, others would
prefer playing with it off. Leave it as an option, so that each one can
play the game she/he enjoys.
Sillyness - I prefer having a consistent theme, and as little sillyness as
possible. Nothing wrong with variants with sillyness though - they are
enjoyable by other people, just not by me.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
In general, I want the ingame documentation to be good enough that there is
no need to use spoiler - that's what is keeping me away from playing ADOM
and Nethack more. (And in Nethack's case, the sillyness.)
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Ben Harrison, for lots of improvements to vanilla, and for making the
variant explosion possible.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla (PC 1.1?, PC 1.4, 2.7.various, 2.8.various, 2.9.3), PernAndband
(5.0.1, 5.1.0, cvs versions), CthAngband (4.1.0), OAngband (0.5.2),
EyAngband, ZceBand, MAngband, RAngband, UnAngband
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
CthAngband 4.1.0
Vanilla 2.9.3
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
CthAngband 4.1.0
I didn't really branch out into variants until this year, and this one had
enough theme and new things to be really interesting, while still feeling
familiar and enough focused to be fun.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
Clean, good fun! And fairly well-balanced.
> c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
Many interesting ideas, I enjoy the multiple dungeons and the skill system.
Good theme - though I'd like to see a few remaining silly things get
removed or replaced. Skill system could use some adjusting as well, and
documentation really needs to be improved. But still, the most fun of the
variants, in my opinion.
> e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
Downloaded, played, didn't notice anything which wanted to make me stick to
this... and don't have enough time to thouroughly try out every variant, so
I've let this one be for now.
> m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
Tried a couple times, and reached the conclusion that Angband and Multi-
player, in my opinion, are two things which definitely do not go well
together.
> o1) [Oangband]
I recently started looking at this... from what I've read, it sounds
interesting. More differentiated classes sounds like a good thing, and
balance and theme are always good things. Seems to have some interesting
features. So far, the combat systems feels cludgy though... I'd like to
have weapon damage shown on the character screen, to avoid having to go
through all that math to figure out which one to use. Will keep trying
this one for a few characters more and see if it's something to keep
playing or not. Very good documentation (though still with some faults in
my opinion).
> p2) [PernAngband]
This is the one that feels like it could have been a really good variant,
but it lacks focus. Throw out various sillyness, cut down a little on the
ridicolous amount of races/classes or rework them to be more interesting,
and to get rid to all the more or less class-specific items. Lots of good
ideas - I like the overview map and the different dungeons especially.
Stop adding feature, and work on balancing and adding focus and removing
bugs for a while, and this could turn into my favourite variant... but for
now, it will have to remain the one I want to get into, but always gets
turned off from after playing for a short while. Better organized
documentation would help as well.
> r1) [Realistic-Aangband (Rangband)]
Tried this out for a short while. Interesting idea, but needs work. And
it seemed to have a few bugs and balance problems.
> u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
This too is one which sounds really interesting... once I'm bored of O,
this is likely to be the next one I try out, if there is a decently stable
version available.
/unic (Ola Mikael Hansson)
Johan Kullstam
> On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 17:44:14 GMT, Johan Kullstam
> <kull...@ne.mediaone.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
> >> >> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
> >> >
> >> >halfling or half-orc rogue.
> >> >
> >> >> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> >> >> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> >> >> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> >> >> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
> >> >
> >> >angband priest.
> >>
> >> Are these not in contradiction? Or have they taken away the rogue's
> >> spellbooks as if he weren't weak enough in angband...
> >
> >priests have spells. OoD is a pretty good attack spell. over a large
> >group, dispel evil can do more combined damage than almost anything
> >else in the game.
>
> I didn't say they don't. But you said rogues were your favorite in
> general, and they are also spell-casters, so aren't they ipso facto
> your favorite spell-casting type?
ok you got me. i can live with contradiction.
> >i don't consider the rogue to be much of a spell caster. sure he has
> >spells, but they are of a utility nature.
>
> Someone put chaos warriors for his favorite spellcaster. One assumes
> that being named something warrior they are like rogues, paladins, and
> rangers in that regard.
>
> >> >gnu/linux quad ppro 200.
> >>
> >> Yuck, only a 200MHz ppro? Oh wait did you say quad? Die!
> >
> >yes. it numbercrunches on par with a 1.4GHz athlon i've got at work.
>
> Umm, 4x200 Mhz is 800MHz equivalent, and then there's the overhead of
> coordinating tasks among the processors and managing exclusion. I'd
> say your system is worth about half that 1.4GHz athlon. Unless the
> athlon is somehow severely crippled -- maybe if it has about 3
> megabytes of ram and swaps all the time. :)
nod. ordinarily the athlon would blow doors but for whatever reason
the quad ppro matches it on my turbo codec simulation. it might be
that the quad ppro has a 4-way interleave (256bit wide) path to its
ram. ram hasn't kept pace with evolution in cpu clock speed. each
ppro has bigger L2 cache (512k) than the athlon (256k). other
benchmarks show the ppros getting blown away.
> >while i use the vi keys to move in angband, i use emacs for all my
> >text editing (and usenet posting through gnus).
>
> Any taint of vi is bad.
>
> >> Losing that Ring of Speed (+28) to clutter is more your style?
> >> Masochist. :)
> >
> >no. it used to be that you had to kill monsters in the open to reap a
> >large drop. with summoners, you had the choice of killing them safely
> >in the anti-summon tunnel but not getting much drop or phase-dooring
> >out when they've got one star left and crossing your fingers...
>
> And you think this was a good thing? Encouraging bad tactics? Besides
> the lack of realism. In reality there would be no advantage to killing
> things in the open.
it's not encouraging bad tactics. it was playing within the game.
you makes your trades and you lives with 'em. eating your cake and
having it too may be nice, but it's dull, dull, dull in a game.
it's not like the game is very realistic anyway. i did enjoy having
to make the trade off. also guessing when you were within one blow
was fun. also, i enjoyed the whole backup and hack of orc/troll pits
to glean their total drop. fwiw i simply find that the game is more
boring (and hence i enjoy it less) now with floor stacking.
William Hull
> > increase stats)?
>
>
> Existant in no variant i played
It is in Pern you know, and you do say you play pern
William Hull
Stephen Duncan
Forgot to add the person below:
> > 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> > contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> > thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
> >
>
> Ringwraith - excellent ideas implemented into [O]. Has the variant
heading
> in the right direction.
> Tim BAker for the Tk versions which hooked me into *band.
>
APW for his cool borg. (I actually run it on the Tk version i have as i like
the large graphics - makes it easier to see at a glance whats happening)
Stephen
Andreas Koch
William Hull wrote:
Uhm... yes? Then i guess it's a birth option, and i allways
overlooked it while quick-starting >:}
Charlie
wrote:
>On Sat, 05 Jan 2002 12:23:33 GMT, ms...@netscapeonline.co.uk (Charlie)
>jacked into the Matrix and the following appeared in
>rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
>>Aha! In theory, it would be being the first player ever to beat the
>>game. Yes, I am the face behind Fundin Bluecloak.
>>Actually, I'm proudest of coming up with all those artifact names
>>people keep puzzling over
>
>Congratulations. You've really baffled some of us. I think though that
>Fundin Bluecloak now needs modification. He should obviously hit to
>confuse.
Nice to see that there are also some of the world's greatest comic
talents also playing Angband.
Cheers,
Charlie
Skylar Thompson
> On Fri, 04 Jan 2002 23:39:03 GMT, Skylar Thompson
> appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
>>> annoying?
>>
>>is _tough_ to thrash!
>
> I see you forgot about the unique quylthulgs. And the non-unique
> quylthulgs. And magic mushroom patches. And any 's' from below 2000',
> Cantoras or otherwise. And black reavers, which are there as an excuse
> to make warriors waste an inventory slot on wands of teleport other
> even after they've killed every unique above 4950'. And the fucking
> Tarrasque...
Yeah. I'd even put black reavers ahead of the Tarrasque. At least there's
only one of him.
>>> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
>>
>>Azrael. You can't resist much of what he dishes out.
>
> Completely slipped my mind. The Tarrasque is much much worse, even
> when you do have the resists...
I don't know. I recall completely blowing him away fairly quickly with my
first winner, a Gnome Mage. IIRC, I had Calris and Raal's at the time.
Can't remember anything else, though.
>>
>>> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
>>
>>Hmmm. I can't decide between Maggot and Sauron. Maggot can give a nice,
>>early weapon, but Sauron means you're almost done. Tough call.
>
> Maggot I forgot. Wormy you forgot. (Although not at 150'. Not again.
> Please Mr. Rabii. Please put FORCE_DEPTH on the bastard in the next
> version of O. I beg you!)
I don't know. I generally wait on Wormy until I have the Phial, which
generally means I'm fairly deep with plenty of other things (I play with
JLE lib patches).
>>> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
>>> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
>>
>>Getting Cantoras down to one star, and then missing every blow except two
>>for three turns. Needless to say, Cantoras got the better of me. :(
>
> Ran out of teleport? Please tell me you didn't say "Just one more
> round, he'll die and I'll live". Please?
Well, I was getting frustrated. He was down to one star, and I was getting
pretty good hit:miss ratios until the end.
>>In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish Priest.
>
> Gnome Mages? Jackal fodder. Suggesting this combination to newbies as
> a prank isn't even a redeeming feature. In fact, the whole gnome race
> is useless. Intrinsic free action isn't very useful if you never live
> to see 1000'.
I don't know. I've gotten two Gnome Mages to be winners fairly quickly, and
with very little experience (that's experience on my part, BTW). The plus
to INT is useful.
>>In Pern, it would probably be something like a Half-Giant Unbeliever.
>>Before the alchemist bug was fixed, Nibelung Alchemists were pretty fun.
>>And before possessors were scaled back, yeek possessors were *really* fun.
>
> I believe the technical term is "nerfed". JLE?
>
>>Pern sorcessor, definitely.
>
> Can't hit the broad side of a barn with a super shotgun at point blank
> range. Would have the survivability of a vanilla gnome mage were it
> not for the wilderness no doubt. Instead, plink at 500' type monsters
> from afar and get to level 20 or so without ever entering a dungeon...
No, but they can cast any spell within their level. An expanded inventory
would be helpful for them, though.
>>(2) An i686 350MHz with 384MB of SDRAM running a home-spun Linux distro.
> ^^^^^
> You realize that you must die, right?
Yeah. But, hey, RAM's cheap, the motherboard could take it, so I decided to
go out and buy some.
>>(3) An AMD i586-equivalent 133MHz with 32MB of SIMMs running OS/2 Warp v3.
>
> What a piece of junk!
Yeah. Aside from being used as an INN newsserver, I just use it for
compiling Angband for OS/2 (which I haven't had the time to do lately).
>>I have my home directory on a RAID 1 on SGI XFS on the first machine. I
>>have it exported to all the other computers on my LAN, so I can play
>>Angband no matter what computer I am sitting in front of, without having to
>>worry about terminal-emulation issues.
>
> Or a disk crash, you lucky son of a...
> Where do you get the finances for that kind of equipment? Grrr...
It's actually not that expensive. In fact, the most expensive computer I
have is the OS/2 box (~$2500(US)), but that's because it was bought in
1992. Originally it was an i486 that could be switched between 16MHz and
33MHz.
The i686 cost about $450(US), with another $150(US) for a 5GB Travan drive,
cartridges, 256MB RAM (it only came with 128MB), a 20GB ATA-66 drive (it
only came with a 6GB ATA-66), and a 48x ATAPI CD drive (it came with a 40x
drive, which failed within three months of buying the box).
The NFS server acutally was more expensive ($550(US)); it came with an
Adaptec AHA-2940U SCSI card, which is about $220(US). The drives themselves
were fairly cheap: 2 2.15GB SCSI-2 drives (both $15(US)), one 9.1 GB SCSI-2
drive ($20(US)), and one 4.5GB Wide SCSI-2 drive ($25(US)). I just use a
software RAID, so I don't have to dish out any money for a hardware RAID
controller.
The DECsystem server I got for free from my uncle, along with two 1GB Fast
SCSI drives. It uses a serial terminal, so I have had to learn the
rogue keys for that computer.
>>I prefer ASCII. Part of it is simply aesthetics, but a big part is that
>>graphics slow down my computers *a lot*.
>
> That's because they have wheezing old geezer CPUs that were obsolete
> around the time they started building the pyramids. Having more RAM
> than some people have hard disk space isn't a silver bullet, you know.
True, but they actually perform fairly well. The i686 isn't affected at
all, but I do most of my playing right on the NFS server (it's in my room),
and I guess it's also a mattero f taste.
>>> u2) [Utumno]
>>
>>It ran, and then crashed. Maybe I should have tried running it natively,
>>rather than in DOS emulation mode in OS/2?
>
> So did the maintainer, or so I heard. :)
Yeah. The Google Groups archives make interesting reading on that topic.
--
-- Skylar Thompson (sky...@attglobal.net)
Skylar Thompson
> On 5 Jan 2002 08:58:25 -0800, james...@juno.com (J.K.Banks) jacked
> into the Matrix and the following appeared in
> rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
>>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>>> say,
>>> the last year)?
>>66Mhz 486 with 19Mb with ASCII on a Leenoox box.
>
> What on earth is that, your grandmother's hand-me-down? I didn't even
> think oddball numbers of megabytes like that were legal. I think they
> had faster computers already when some wizard with an early
> paleolithic Pentium 90 and Autocad invented the wheel.
There's nothing wrong with computers like that. Especially if they run
Linux. And how much memory does Angband take up? Even Pern only takes up
five or six MB.
Skylar Thompson
>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>> say,
>> the last year)?
>
I didn't know you could get quad Pentium Pros. I thought quad stuff was
limited to the Xeons.
Igenlode
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
An ancient port of Frog-knows - which I've still got, and have even
played recently! It is surprisingly good fun, actually - well-balanced,
I think.
>
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Killing a player ghost unique in the town (back in Frog-knows days,
obviously) when down to fewer than 10 hit-points... with a character
who, as it happened, had been history-scummed to be a plausible younger
sister to her predecessor, the 'ghost' character. Not just difficult,
but a gripping piece of role-play :-)
(Yes, I *history*-scum. Ils sont fous, ces Anglais!)
>
> 3) What is your favourite artifact, in any version or variant?
I got very fond of the Sword of Everflame in Cthangband, after a
character acquired it early on and proceeeded to wield it on and off
until he died at clevel 36.
>
> 4) What is your favourite weapon?
For a starting character; the sabre. It's about the most deadly 'light'
weapon you can get two blows with.
>
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Magic mushroom patch. It can't hurt you, but it can get you killed.
>
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its depth?
Novice warrior/Cave spider, I'd say. But at least one can run away from
a novice warrior...
>
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
I find Wormtongue very hard to defeat, at the levels when I normally
encounter him. He tends to teleport away whenever I'm near killing him,
leaving me marooned in a sea of traps, or devastate my characters
long-range with a fusillade of magic bolts as the dash down the corridor
to get into melee range. And he's far too tough for magical attacks to
wear him down before my mages are out of mana. The only successful
technique tends to be archery or Wand of Wonder, and my characters often
haven't managed to stump up the cash yet for a bow at this stage.
>
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Hounds are quite fun, if you have the required resist. Light/Dark hounds
in a corridor can be a tremendous source of XP for a melee character,
since their breath doesn't actually seem to do much damage, and they
give a ridiculously high number of experience points to a low-level
warrior.
>
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Well, there was the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' experience I've already
mentioned....
Here are a couple more Frog-knows stories I saved - that version just
seemed to be so much *fun* :-)
=====
Nervous Aldo the Hobbit Mage
Competent but not gifted in magic, he had an unpleasant surprise on his
first descent into the Pit when he found a pack of jackals awaiting him at
the foot of the stairs. But this was nothing to his ordeal when he
tentatively ventured down again after a hasty retreat; rashly taking on a
kobold on the assumption that he could retreat up the stairs if it proved
too strong for him, he allowed the kobold to man›uvre between him and the
exit and had to flee for his life down unknown passages. Miraculously, the
dead end in which he was eventually, inevitably, trapped proved to lead to a
second up staircase only a few hundred yards away from the first, up which
he escaped by the skin of his teeth. Shortly afterwards he was almost
killed yet again by a small kobold, but this time he managed to survive by
desperately stabbing it to death with his dagger.
After this, he became extremely cautious, not venturing below 50 feet until
he had reached the sixth level of magic. Even then he barely escaped Fang,
Farmer Maggot's dog, despite running for the exit the moment he heard it
coming. He did, however, defeat a novice priest, a clear worm mass and an
infestation of giant white lice, all of which he had summoned up by rashly
reading a Scroll of Summon Monster.
On returning to the town he found an undead Troll roaming the streets and
promptly dived below again until he believed it safe to emerge. He was
almost killed when he discovered to his horror that the Troll was still
above-ground and had just come up behind him! A Potion of Speed and Scroll
of Phase Door saved the day and he cast every spell he had at the undead
before fleeing back down the stairs ˜ to almost no effect whatever.
As a result he was even more nervous than usual the next few times he
came up ˜ and not without cause! The undead appeared again several times
and he was still helpless before it.
Despite (or because of) his caution, however, Aldo became one of the
greatest recorded mages. Due to a shortage of spell-books he learned a
number of high-level spells quite early on; and thus also when he came to
learn intermediate-level spells such as Frost Bolt or Lightning he had the
skills and the mana to cast them repeatedly and successfully against
powerful opponents ˜ though as he was still only a Hobbit Mage, 'powerful'
meant such creatures as the human zombie which chased him in circles for
about ten minutes, a single Hippogriff, and infestations of Green worm
masses and cave spiders.
His attempts at recharging wands were not very successful ˜ even when the
spell worked, the wands tended just to blow up.... During his forays at
250 feet, however, he managed to acquire a number of magic arrows, including
Arrows of Slay Evil ˜ and he was lucky enough to find a ring of See
Invisible going (relatively!) cheap in the black market. This was incredibly
useful.
He died when a rod he was testing turned out to be a rod of Polymorph ˜ which
turned a giant white rat into a Cave Ogre. Very stupidly, he tried to run
away without first healing himself from the frightful wounds the Ogre then
inflicted upon him. He was careless ˜ the Ogre caught him ˜ and thus ended a
magnificent career.
In the end, Nervous Aldo forgot to be nervous; and it cost him his life.
Name : Nervous Aldo Age : 22 STR : 8
Race : Hobbit Height : 38 INT : 17
Sex : Male Weight : 59 WIS : 16
Class : Mage Social Class : 34 DEX : 18/52
Title : Illusionist CON : 8
(Note the stats - this was in pre-auto-roller days, remember!)
=====
Budran the Hobbit Mage
Budran was an aspiring young hobbit mage who met Bullroarer the Great
roaming far above his usual territory, and lost most of his possessions to
him, including his Book of Magic. Escaping by the skin of his teeth from
the other denizens and traps of the treasure room on which he had stumbled,
the young hobbit fought his way up 150 feet armed only with the small dagger
most mages use only in dire extremity ˜ a task which would have daunted most
warriors. Never despairing, he reached daylight a master of his humble
weapon, laden down with booty ˜ more than enough to pay for a new book of
Magic....
Later he rashly donned an Amulet of Doom which left him feeble, hideous and
unsure of his wits. This time he struggled up 200 feet, reaching the
surface just before starvation struck ˜ only to find that a Remove Curse
spell was nowhere to be had! Undaunted by this, he laboured to amass
treasure, still under the effects of the curse, until at last, some three
expeditions later, the priests at the Temple offered to remove the cursed
amulet. He found that during all his suffering he had, unnoticed,
developed into a powerful mage.
Unlucky to the last, he met his end when a Wand of Wonder turned a green
ooze into a Smoke Elemental which annihilated him with just one spell.
----
>
> 10) What is your favourite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
[Z] Golem Warriors are fun but a bit silly.
I've killed off literally *hundreds* of Ghostly Necromancers in Kamband,
with a few Beastmasters to salt the broth - the only way a Ghost
character can survive starting out on dlevel 80+ is to summon other
monsters to do his fighting for him, but going by the resulting death
rate, even that tactic doesn't work for long...
Leprechauns are also fun in Kamband, as they don't have enough strength
to damage their weapons, but can usually kill off their opponents thanks
to the joke side-effects of their blows.
As you saw above, I used to play a lot of Frog-knows Hobbit Mages,
mainly for the DEX bonus. Hmmm, must try that again some time.
Otherwise, I tend to play human/elf/half-elf semi-magic users - Rangers,
Priests and Rogues. Half-Troll Mages are... interesting.
> 11) What is your favourite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Probably Kamband necromancer. The trouble is killing your opponents for
the first time, before you can then raise them to defend you against
their cohorts :-)
>
>
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say, the last year)?
I've been using the same system since Frog-knows days. Thus you can
probably guess at the sort of spec we're talking about... even pocket
PCs have more powerful processors :-)
>
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics?
ASCII - I don't have the memory (or colour depth) for graphics :-)
That said, I do play a few variants [Cth, Kam] on a single-tasking
screen using IBM-style block characters.
>
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Only in variants which specifically recommend this option on the
start-up screen, e.g. [O] 'for spellcasters'
>
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Almost always - but on Ceilti's suggestion, I've been trying
non-preserve recently, and she's right, it does seem to result in more
interesting levels for some reason.
>
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
I usually use the autoroller to ensure a minimum of 18 in a single stat.
Thus the requested combination generally comes up with 50 or so rolls -
I don't think I've ever gone over 1,000 rolls. Admittedly hardware
constraints are not entirely irrelevant... 1,000 characters takes a
*long* time to generate on my system :-)
>
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
Almost never, though I have experimented with it when variants arrive
configured that way. IMO only people with access to the source code can
understand enough to use this method!
>
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Since Frog-knows didn't support more than one save file (or even saving
for safety's sake other than when quitting) it never even occurred to me
that such a thing was possible until I read this newsgroup :-)
Since when... yes, I have once. On a variant where changing the
character's name changing the name of the savefile - I changed his name
mid-game and then discovered I had *two* savefiles after he died. So I
reloaded the old one. Didn't do any good, of course - I just died YASD
due to inexperience at much the same level as I had expired at
previously!
>
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
I don't know. Does dashing for the stairs at frequent intervals to
escape from monsters and then coming down again when the coast is clear
count as scumming?
>
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Not usually. I tried once in [Z], forgot I'd switched the option on, and
then a month later came back to the game and wondered why the computer
had slowed down so much when generating new levels :-(
>
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
No, I don't have the patience. If a vital scroll is missing - Recall,
for example - I'll just go down four or five levels by stairs in the
hopes of finding one in the dungeon, and then eventually up again...
always assuming I remember I'm not supposed to be diving all the way
down, which I don't always :-) I've had several stupid deaths that way
from starvation, on becoming suddenly hungry at 600' and only then
remembering I have no means of instant return!
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Not sure. I don't actually have the latest versions of most variants,
but it does seem to me that the game is becoming more and more complex,
with a vast proliferation of classes, races and extra command keys. I
used to have the entire list of commands for Frog-knows printed out on a
single sheet of A4 - in fact, given the absence of a help file, I learnt
to play by trial and error (I spent my first few games killing monsters
by 'B'ashing them, since no 'attack' key was listed!) That wouldn't work
now.
On the whole I suspect 'deflation' and 'back to basics' measures are
required, and I like what I understand about [O] and the JLE Patch's
attempts in that direction.
>
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Monster susceptibilities and player ghosts, from Frog-knows :-)
>
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
I like Oangband chests, and the extra info given on non-artifact items
and when browsing spells. (It wasn't until I found this newsgroup that
I had any idea when the 'I' command actually did, since when applied to
any object it always seemed to say "you see nothing special". Therefore
I'd given up even trying to use it.)
On which note I'd add - I also like [O]'s documentation. Only someone who
learned Angband without any help files or tips from any other players
at all can *really* appreciate good documentation :-)
I also like [O]'s special levels, and the ability for the (rogue) player
to set traps for monsters.
I rather like the monster corpses in Kamband, and the way you can get
bounty money by bringing back the heads! Also the way that traps affect
monsters too.
I like variants that let you throw potions at monsters - right from the
beginning I'd always wished for a way to force-feed that Orc with this
Potion of Poison...
I liked the way that Frog-knows used to auto-centre the screen on the
player when you press 'L' - this seems to have got dropped at some
point, not sure when.
I like [CatH]'s XP-needed display on the main screen
>
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
To be honest, I don't like the gradual Americanisation of all the game
text - mould to 'mold', armour to 'armor', and so on.
I don't like the way the player can (and is encouraged to) kill Farmer
Maggot and harmless idiots on the town level without reprisals - I
prefer Kamband's handling, where monsters can be 'protected by the law',
attacking them by accident generates a request for confirmation, and
deliberately killing them produces swarms of warriors out to avenge the
innocent. It's possible to survive, but it definitely discourages casual
slaughter!
I don't like the way that bashing down doors has become almost
impossible for any character with a strength under 18/00 (not to
mention the paralysis side-effect that makes auto-repeat unusable) -
low-level characters with poor lock-picking skills simply can't get
through doors any more, even /in extremis/.
I don't like the new layout of the character description screen - far
too many numbers, of marginal interest at best. Most of this stuff IMO
belongs on a second or subsequent screen (if anywhere), like the resist
data, so that number-crunchers can study it if they like. All I want to
know is my name, a bit of background, my current and maximum stats, XP
for next level, gold, plus/minus to hit/damage, and the levels of my
various skills. The damage per-round calculator included by [Cth] is
quite nice too. To be frank, I'd rather have an extra ten characters'
space for my character's name than know what my 'internal' stats were.
>
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
What the various stuff actually *looks* like - again, I'd single out [O]
for doing a good job here.
What the vital stat is for non-standard classes - Kamband is a
particular culprit here.
For any variant - exactly how it differs from vanilla Angband, and what
I should be looking for. (If I can't see any noticeable difference in
the first few levels' play, I won't bother giving the variant hard-disc
space - Angband is taking up a significant proportion of my 400Mb as it
is.)
What various spells actually do, if not immediately apparent when cast.
For example, in Frog-knows Bless had no perceptible effects (didn't show
up on plus to-hit display) and so for years I never used it. Once more
[O] gets praise!
>
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
>
I'd like to thank Jonathan Ellis, for being an outstanding example of
how a non-programmer can be influential, and producing 'patches' that
epitomise a lot of my own ideas about how Angband ought to be :-)
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Vanilla, Cat and the hack Angband, Cthulhu Angband, Discband, Goingband,
GSN-Angband (or was it GW-Angband?), Kangband, Kamband, Oangband,
PernAngband, PsiAngband, PziAngband, Sangband, Ying-Yang Angband, Zangband
>
> 29) What is your favourite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
I really couldn't say. I probably play Kamband most, but it's both
bugged and totally unbalanced. I like Oangband, though I'm not sure I
care for all of what I've heard concerning the new developments over the
past year. Used to play a lot of Kangband, but only for features
(town/quests) now standard in other variants. Probably Cthangband,
actually. It's certainly the only variant in which I've got a character
over level 30 (twice!)
>
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
>
Cthangband - see above.
>
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
I've been trying to play a bit more of this recently,thanks to Ceilti's
suggestion of leaving preserve mode off. The JLE Patch lends some
novelty to proceedings, and I hope will make things more consistently
interesting.
>
> c1) [Cat and the hack Angband (CathAngband)]
I've played this four or five times. It does seem to have a little more
originality to offer than most variants (where you might as well play
Vanilla unless you play one of the new races). On the other hand it
hasn't induced me to play it regulalrly yet.
>
> c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
I play this quite a lot. The multiple dungeons allow a character to
advance relatively rapidly, and it seems to be easier to get artifacts
at a level where they make an enormous difference to a character, rather
than where they are the only vaguely interesting thing left in a sea of
boring enchantment. The Lovecraftian monsters also add a distinctive and
coherent element.
This variant offers a sort of 'auto-scum experience' - very dangerous at
times, with correspondingly high rewards to those who survive. However,
I gather that the latest versions (to which I have no access) include
some fairly radical changes, to such a degree that the current
Cthangband may bear little relation to the game I know and love.
> d2) [Discworld Angband (Discband)]
I play this now and then, although I find the misspellings annoying (to
the degree that I compiled an entire list, with corrections, and
e-mailed them to the author - to no avail). This is basically Zangband
2.4.0 with a different face. A lot of the uniques have become friendly,
which makes life a good deal easier - on the other hand, I never get
very far when playing! The most outstanding feature of Discband in
my mind is that it is the only variant for which I have sound support
configured *on* - since [Z] supports so many extra sound events,
enlarging Angband's somewhat limited repertoire.
> e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
This one sounds potentially interesting, but again I don't have a copy.
> g1) [Goingband]
Played this once, couldn't see the point, and deleted it. Maybe I was
missing something...
>
> g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
>
> g4) [GW-Angband]
Played one or other of these at the same time as Goingband - whichever
one it was didn't seem at all distinctive, so again I deleted it. I've
since gathered that it is supposed to have interesting new spells...
> g3) [Gumband]
>
> h1) [Hengband]
Two more variants I'd be potentially interested in.
>
> i1) [IronMan-Angband]
What's the point? I think all variants have an iron-man mode now - and
all that iron-man play requires in the first place is a bit of willpower
anyhow...
>
> k1) [Kangband]
The 'old' version of this, where you had an extended town (in the days
befoe other variants introduced it) and were more or less guaranteed
artifacts every five levels or so from your Guild, but had to return to
the town to learn any spells, was distinctive and I used to play it a
lot. The 'revised old' version dropped most of what distinguished it
from Vanilla, I believe in order to upgrade it to a later version of the
Vanilla codebase. As a result I've almost stopped playing it.
I don't have access to the current developments, so I'll probably never
know what's going on with Kangband now.
>
> k2) [Kamband]
Very unbalanced. Most monsters seem to end up getting killed by other,
'friendly' monsters. Almost all dungeon objects are either horribly
cursed or astonishingly (and unbalancingly) good. You can pick up two or
three artifacts on the town level by braving the 'zoo'...
The ghost mode is a lot of fun - though insta-deaths, from coming
up/down stairs and getting breathed on in the first turn, are not only
frequent but eventually inevitable. The Guild rewards for several
classes are bugged, causing the game to crash with a corrupted savefile,
and it is all too easy to get stuck inside the Arena with no means of
exit.
This is the only *band I allow myself to play after midnight, on the
grounds that carelessness really makes no difference to your chances of
getting gratuitously killed here! It has taken over from Kangband as my
munchkinish power-play variant of choice.
>
> m2) [Multi-player Angband (Mangband)]
Not much chance of ever trying this on five minutes' borrowed dial-up
connection per diem :-(
> o1) [Oangband]
This is probably the variant that most interests me in terms of new
developments - I'm still stuck playing, I think, 0.4.0, but have some
hopes of seeing a stable version that will work on my machine at some
unspecified time in the future. I don't like the sound of the total
helplessness of the new [O] mages in hand-to-hand combat - it doesn't
make a lot of sense in role-playing terms (surely, before they've wasted
their adult years away in booklearning, apprentice mages are as
rumbustious as any other 'prentice boys?) - and as I've never got a
Vanilla mage up to stat gain, let alone the endgame, I'd be more worried
about making the early game impossibly dangerous than rebalancing the
end-game.
(Isn't it [Cth] where Mindcrafters start off as reasonable melee
fighters and get worse and worse as their magic skills get better and
better? Wouldn't this be a better approach?) However, as all I know of
the past year's developments is what I have heard on this newsgroup, I'm
not really qualified to comment.
I certainly like a lot of other things about [O]. I can't actually say
I play it that much at the moment, though.
> p2) [PernAngband]
>
This has the proud distinction of now being the first Angband variant to
have swelled to dimensions too large to fit into my computer's memory
even under the most extreme economy measures :-(
The last [old] version I played (almost certainly badly bugged) didn't
even then seem to bear much relationship to Angband as I knew it, and it
didn't seem to be developing in a direction which interested me much, so
I don't really regret its loss.
> p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
>
> p6) [Psionic-Zangband (PziAngband]
I tried both of these and deleted them, since the gameplay didn't seem
particularly distinctive (apart from the bolted-on psionics). Having
learned of Jonathan Ellis' involvement, and some of the less-obvious
features included, I now somewhat regret this. However, those were very
old versions anyhow.
> s1) [Sangband]
Used to play this quite a lot - went back to it at the start of the year
after finding a 'guide to Sangband skills' page on the Internet, which
explained what you could actually aim to achieve, and what realistic
levels for all the skills were. However, I haven't looked at it since.
> y1) [Ying-Yang Angband (Ying-YAngband)]
Another variant I couldn't see the point of.
>
> z1) [Zangband]
>
Played 2.2.8 and 2.4.0. Haven't seen the latest versions, but I gather
it seems to be going down the Pern route and becoming a totally
different beast. I can't justify the disc space for both Zangband and
Discband, so keep a backup of the *info files and swap them over
occasionally - but mostly I play Discband now.
>
> ??) [Any variants not included above]
> (I'd actually like to know of any I missed...)
I assume UMoria doesn't count? :-)
--
Igenlode
'The Day the Stories Went Dark' - story now on-line at
http://curry.250x.com/HoedownII/intro.html
Ceilti OCahill
From Leon Merrick
> Mischa E Gelman posted several general-purpose Angband surveys
> some years back, and a lot of people had a good time with them. I
> know I did; got introduced to some new variants that way! Anyway, it's
> been a while since the last one.
>
> Hopefully, lots of people will share their thoughts and opinions.
> Gelman's surveys are just as much fun to read as they are to fill out.
> Thanks to all who sent suggestions or have already filled the survey
> out.
>
>
> (posting)
> This survey will be posted three times, once each of the first three
> weeks of January. In (about) the fourth week, the results will be
> compiled and presented.
>
>
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
The Frog-Knows version. I think it was 2.4 somthing. about 10 years ago
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning at Angband on my 5th char. A High-Elf Mage.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The Arkenstone of Thrain - only with Clairvoyance as it's activation and no
aggravation.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
The Glaive of Pain
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Magic Mushroom Patches. Followed by Giant Black Lice
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
the hardened warrior.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Morgoth
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Sauron
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Spending over an hour in the Battle of Five Armies once. made a key mistake in
the begining. (This is Pern.) I didn't realize that the char, was the LEADER of
the good guys. Went off to a side skirmish with some Wargs . The entire front
line pulled out and followed me Masses of Mountain Orcs then attacked my armies
unopposed in the rear. The fight was long and brutal. something like 3
survivors. I was down to 10 hit points. The Arkenstone was worth it.
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
HIgh-Elf Mage in Vanilla. In Pern Deathmold Sorcerer or High-Elf/Vampire Mage
or Necromancer.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
Angband mage, O druid, Ey mystic, Psi Psionicst, Kam Ghost, Pern sorcerer,
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
PowerMac G3
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII only.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. 1 in about 400,000 to half a million.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No. I despise that option.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
no
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
not with Autoscum
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
Yes.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes.
>
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
if many (or perhaps any) patches or options are added to it I would have to say
no it is not headed in the right directon. i'm particularly upset with
Angband's jumping in with the point based sytem of stat set up. I think it
should remain as it is. Pristine, fast, simple.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Yes, I would like to see:
experience pts shown to reflect how many pts are left to reach he next level
(as in APW Borg)
I'd like it to be able to handle large screens and to save the sound option so
that I don't have to manually turn it on every game.
The help system from Oangband or PernAngband (and documentation)
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
the documentation and help system in Oangband.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
I'd like Angband to return to the days of large Dragon Drops, these days the
battles seem almost not worth it
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
I think virturally all variants, and Angband itself, could use more of all the
things you mentioned. Good Documentation seems the last item on the list for
everyone, except Oangband and lately Pern.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
I don' t know how to spell last names but I think everyone knows them.
Ben, Roger, DarkGod, Leon Merrick. and all the porters to the Mac. They are
special to me.
>
>
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
vanilla, Cth, DrAng, Ey, GSN Gum, GW, Kang, Kam, O,
Pern, Psi, S, Z.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Pern V. 4.1.2
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
PernAngband.
>
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
good - Angband, PernAngband, Oangband, Eyband
interesting - drangband, psiband, kamband
Ceilti
The only truths are the stars in the heavens and all that lies beneath them
is interpretation.
Neil Stevens
>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>> say,
>> the last year)?
>
> Slackware Linux 8.
Lot of other people are talking hardware, so I'll give Neo something else
to envy:
SMP PIII 800 (well, actually, one CPU died so I'll be buying 2 x PIII 1000
soon), 512MB RAM, 18GB 80Mb SCSI (dual channel Ultra160 PCI64 controller,
so I'm due for an upgrade there, too), Millennium G450
but before March I was running my old workhorse of many years:
PPro 233, 96MB RAM, 9GB 80Mb SCSI (single chanel Ultra 2 PCI controller),
Millennium II
David J Richardson
inv...@erehwon.invalid (Neo_1061) wrote:
> >> The same creaking old AMD K6-2 400 MHz Win 98 box that I've used
> >> for over 3 years for everything.
> >
> >People with glass Windows shouldn't throw stones at Mac users.
>
> I strongly recommend you never play a ranger. You obviously don't
> know your missile weapons. Those were barbs, not stones. Stones are
> blunt, barbs are wickedly sharp. This difference is very important.
Is it that time of the month? And just when some people were coming to
think neo might actually have some merit as a poster...
--
David J Richardson can be found at, well, davidjri...@mac.com
Buffy: You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that an offensive term?
Should I say "Undead American"? - 'When She Was Bad'
Doctor Who articles and more at http://go.to/davidjrichardson/
Skylar Thompson
>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>> say,
>> the last year)?
>
> Pentium 90 MHz, 24 Mb RAM, Win98.
Win98 on that? Things are nasty on my i586 200MHz with 64MB RAM.
Keith Willoughby
> On 5 Jan 2002 08:58:25 -0800, james...@juno.com (J.K.Banks) jacked
> into the Matrix and the following appeared in
> rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>
> >> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> >> say,
> >> the last year)?
> >66Mhz 486 with 19Mb with ASCII on a Leenoox box.
>
> What on earth is that, your grandmother's hand-me-down? I didn't even
> think oddball numbers of megabytes like that were legal. I think they
> had faster computers already when some wizard with an early
> paleolithic Pentium 90 and Autocad invented the wheel.
Well, on one hand, he has a slower computer that you. On the other
hand, he's not an annoying know-all fuckstick, so I think it balances out
in the end.
--
Keith Willoughby
Sunsh ne ess rt
Ola Mikael Hansson
<slrna3f32t...@utumno.attglobal.net>:
>On 5 Jan 2002 18:58:31 GMT, Ola Mikael Hansson <un...@df.lth.se> wrote:
>>> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
>>> say, the last year)?
>>
>> Pentium 90 MHz, 24 Mb RAM, Win98.
>
>Win98 on that? Things are nasty on my i586 200MHz with 64MB RAM.
Yes... it actually runs smoother than Win95 did... and crashes a lot less
often.
/unic (Ola Mikael Hansson)
J.K.Banks
> On 5 Jan 2002 08:58:25 -0800, james...@juno.com (J.K.Banks) jacked
> into the Matrix and the following appeared in
> rec.games.roguelike.angband:
> think oddball numbers of megabytes like that were legal. I think they
> had faster computers already when some wizard with an early
> paleolithic Pentium 90 and Autocad invented the wheel.
Now, now, my grandmother has much more taste than that (she uses a
Mac).
I have no idea why my computer thinks 20Mb is 19, but its better than
when it only had 7Mb...
> >> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> >> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
> >Oh, it was a sad day when stacking and carrying became default
> >options.
> >Angband isn't what it once was. I think Angband is leading Western
> >civilization in its decline.
>
> And here I thought it was sex. Or rock and roll. Or something. Those
> are the traditional scapegoats aren't they?
Well, the people who make up traditions never played Angband and don't
know how evil point-based generation is.
> >> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
> >auto-open.
>
> Why on earth -- oh I get it! You're a doctor -- probably a specialist
> in arthritis and other bone and muscle problems -- and making
> thousands of people press thousands of extra keypresses each will
> inflate your thriving carpal tunnel treatment business.
Sorry to inform you, but I am not a doctor. The thing I don't like is
when I play a variant that does not have this feature, then one that
does and I do stupid things.
> >> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> >> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> >> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
> >Haha, William Tanksley, DarkGod and *obviously* me.
Obviously you do not recognize tongue in cheek humor, I guess I'll
have to put smiley faces at the end of each sentence :)
Adam Horowitz
1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Getting a bunch of wins. Latest necro in O felt pretty good, though
it should have happened months before.
3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Cubragol (spelling might be off). Hardly ever find it, but it's so
nice to get a huge speed boost in a missile weapon slot.
4) What is your favorite weapon?
Ringil's pretty cool. I'm always playing mages so I usually pass
on the GoP.
5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
annoying?
Magic mushrooms in groups. Squinty-eyed rogues with an eye for your
new mage's one and only spellbook.
6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
its depth?
I'll give a basilisk a vote. Fast, lots of melee damage (just was
reminded after I lost a 27th level Psiband Psionicist to one), and
of course paralyzing.
7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Cantoras in O gave my last necro winner the hardest fight. In
vanilla, probably the breath happy Tarrasque.
8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Wormtongue is a rather welcome friend between 350-500', especially for
the rather item-deprived characters that tend to meet him.
9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Most interesting? I haven't a clue. No doubt there have been billions
of one or zero hit point struggles. I have vague recollections of
tossing every flask of oil I had at Wormtongue to get him to drop.
Oddly I seem to be a bit better prepared at that point these days.
Winning, I forget which, Gumband or Ey taking quests every level (I
think it was Gum), and after a certain point, because of the depth
of the levels and the requirements for monsters to be deeper, needing
to fight Great Wyrms of Power for *every single quest* after 3500' or
so. Typically 20 or more a shot. I know that winner killed over
150 of them before he had a rather anti-climactic battle with the
end game uniques (comparatively).
Okay, thought of another one. The original O.5.1 release added
some seriously mean new AI to monsters, from spellcasting strategies
(and new spells) to use of ranged attacks. There was a cute little
bug in that release that made every monster with a ranged attack a
demigod, or nearly so. They would *always* use their ranged attacks,
every single move, and hit with extra criticals, etc. Well, not
quite accepting this as a bug, but instead an unbelievable challenge,
I stuck with it, and managed to get a few characters somewhat deep
(close to 2000'). Definitely a heart-racer, knowing even a pack of
novice rangers can be deadly if you're not watching your *every move*
for that opportunistic missile shooter around a corner. Someone
should rename that release Challengeband and stage a contest. It
was *brutal.*
10) Favorite race-class combo: I really enjoyed half-orc necros
in O for quite some time. Lots of immediate damage to monsters
anywhere in LOS. I typically play human mages in most variants.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type?
Kind of answered this already, but I liked sorcery/chaos in Z,
though mixed that up a bit with various High Magi tries, human or
half-orc necros in O, and right now I'm left with just a human
psionicist in Psiband to finally finish off all the variants
that have been gnawing at me over the years. :)
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
say, the last year)?
The last two years I've been using a PIII, 766 w/ 128 megs of RAM.
I had a 486 before this guy came around. :)
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII exclusively.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
No. Non-preserve definitely adds to the challenge, and nostalgic to
the day where there was no such choice, when I first started playing.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Absolutely. Usually within 30k, but I've tried for the occasional
multi-stat miracle at birth, and those can go above 100k. Usually
it's the former character that I roll for.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No. Tried it only once.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
Nope. I save a lot within the game, in case of power-flicks, but don't
copy save files and restore them.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No. Sometimes if I recall and get a couple boring levels in a row,
I'll recall again and look for something better. But nothing to an
extreme.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
No.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes. Going back into the dungeon without the requisite number of
cure criticals, phases, teleports, spell books, etc. is just suicide.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Angband is a phenomenal game. I've won a bunch of them and I'm
still addicted. ...dammit. As long as variant maintainers continue
to infuse their creativity into their pet projects, and are unafraid
to revolutionize the genre, then we're moving in the right direction.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
I think ideas can come from anywhere. There is no other roguelike that
has a monopoly of ideas that betters *band, in my opinion.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
I like how Oangband has made rods/wands/staves worth something, even
late in the game. I like how O has made chests somewhat special to
find. I like the level variations within O, especially the rare,
"themed" levels. And the increased AI in O made for some new
challenges.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Extra lives in Pern. :)
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
I wish Psiband gave within-game spell info when browsing and selecting
a spell letter, like Oangband does.
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Leon & Bahman for really adding something new and wonderful to the
genre. Steven Fuerst for his seemingly tireless dedication of
turning Zangband into something new and special again. Of course
Robert for all his work taking on vanilla and still having a hand
with Z, Topi for years worth of fun with a former favorite, and
Eytan and Joseph Dixon for throwing their creativity into the mix--
contributions which can and have only made such a special game
continue to *still* be vibrant and wonderful. Matthias and Adam
Harrow too... psionicists (and the Psiband variant) are extremely
cool (and challenging as well).
Whew. Was that supposed to be one? :)
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
I've played vanilla, Gum, Z, Eyangband, Psiband, Oang. I've
had a few brief forays into others but these are the ones that
have stuck. I've also had winners in all the above, except Psi,
which is next on the list (though it might be a little longer,
thanks to a basilisk YASD).
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Latest O (Oangband O.5.2.) There might be a "B" on that version,
I forget.
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Same.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
Nice, sweet and simple. Plain good stuff. :)
> a2) [Angband/64]
Never got into it, though I always read the change listings. :)
> c2) [Cthulhu Angband (CthAngband)]
Tried once. Don't remember what turned me off to it.
> d3) [Drangband]
I had a phase where I was playing dragons for awhile. Didn't win
this one, but I don't think I'm going back, barring some major game
play additions.
> e3) [Eytan Zweig's Angband (EyAngband)]
Fun stuff. Potion mixing is cool. Mystics were a neat new spell-
caster derivative. Some neat new races and monsters to fight as
well. I liked the addition of powders too, though they are grossly
underpowered not too long into the game. Looks to be actively
developed, so I may return to this after it's gone through some
more changes.
> g2) [GSN-Angband, GSN2-Angband]
Tried once, don't remember the big turn-off.
> g3) [Gumband]
Good stuff and some great material to turn into a *band. I always
loved Moorcock's worlds as a kid. This variant really would benefit,
in my opinion, if it emulated a more current Z version. But that's
really not important. What's more is that Joseph sticks with it
and keeps adding and shaping. Some fun stuff here. :)
> g4) [GW-Angband]
Never played, though as a big fan of mages I like the idea that it
tried to address their spell problems. Not enough within game
changes to bring me into it. Might be neat if the spell system was
adopted into another variant.
> h1) [Hengband]
Haven't tried it yet. Somewhat tempted.
> o1) [Oangband]
I've already said plenty about this. Definitely a favorite.
> p2) [PernAngband]
Tried a couple times, just haven't been able to get into it. Who
knows. One summer it may happen.
> p5) [Psionic-Angband (PsiAngband]
Lots of fun, especially the psionicist class. My current *band
winning goal. :)
> s1) [Sangband]
Played this and was quite impressed with all the differences. This
was before the new maintainer. Seems to still be a work in progress.
> z1) [Zangband]
Played this quite a bit after winning vanilla. Have had a bunch
of various mage wins. I'm looking forward to returning to it when
new content starts being added.
Whew. Thanks for sending out the survey again, Leon. Take care,
gentlemen.
-- Adam
J.K.Banks
> Tarrasque...
You must have had a bad experience as a child with something
remarkably like the Tarrasque.
> >(2) An i686 350MHz with 384MB of SDRAM running a home-spun Linux distro.
> ^^^^^
> You realize that you must die, right?
>
>
> What a piece of junk!
Well, well, well! You must really like criticizing other people's
computers. I bet you have a couple of old Crays sitting around at
home collecting dust while you play an ASCII game on your 233Thz with
128Mb of MRAM running Windows 2020 ;)
> >I have my home directory on a RAID 1 on SGI XFS on the first machine. I
> >have it exported to all the other computers on my LAN, so I can play
> >Angband no matter what computer I am sitting in front of, without having to
> >worry about terminal-emulation issues.
> That's because they have wheezing old geezer CPUs that were obsolete
> around the time they started building the pyramids. Having more RAM
> than some people have hard disk space isn't a silver bullet, you know.
I'll have you know that Angband can be played on 286 DOS machines! :)
Andrew Doull
[...]
>
>>u1) [Unnamed Angband (UnAngband)]
>>
>
> This too is one which sounds really interesting... once I'm bored of O,
> this is likely to be the next one I try out, if there is a decently stable
> version available.
>
> /unic (Ola Mikael Hansson)
>
Ahem. Working on it. I've promised myself to stop adding features RSN...
Andrew
DarkGod
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Winning :)
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
The Helm of Knownledge (PernAngband)
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
a mage staff of wizardry
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
mushrooms
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
depends ofmy chars
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
cantoras in V
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Princess ;)
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
Fighting off a breeders invasion with a kobold helping me(sounds dumb
but was great fun to see, sad that I had to kill him after ..)
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Human/Dunadan/half-elf(dont ask) hermit sorceror
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
PernAngband Sorceror
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
linux/X11
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
yes
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
yes
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
yes, depends
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
sometimes
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
hang me if I do ! :)
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
when Im bored
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
always
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
No, I travel to an other one ;)
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Yeah, I love variants.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
Lots, but not into Vanilla.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Wilderness/dungeons/towns/quests of PernAngband :)
(uh what ? I'm biased ???)
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
None, fi I dont like one, I remove it.
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Mhh ...
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
Everybody that bring good ideas/usefull critisism
And naturally all the PernAngband developpers.
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Erm .. gonna be huge
V, A/64, Cathband, Cth, Dr, Ey, Goingband, GSN, Kang, KaM,
Mang, O, PernAngband, PernMangband, Psi, R, S, Sbf, Un, Utumno,
Ying, Z,
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
PernAngband 510(always the latest version)
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
PernAngband
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
I really shouldnt.
PS: You missed PernMangband
--
-----------------------+----------------------------------------------
DarkGod comes from | Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards
the hells for YOU ! :) | because they are subtle and quick to anger.
-----------------------+----------------------------------------------
Pe W Olorin YSo L:50 DL:696 A+++ R+++ Sp++ w:Mage Staff of Mana(240%)
Pe*/PM(Cr)(NH) D H- D c++ f- PV s- TT- d++ P++ M+ C- S++ I+++ So++ B/-
ac- GHB- SQ+ RQ V+++ F:Mage playing Mage-like(see Pernangband Sorcerors)
Ross Morgan-Linial
<3c36f15b....@news.primus.ca>:
>On Fri, 04 Jan 2002 23:39:03 GMT, Skylar Thompson
><sky...@utumno.attglobal.net> jacked into the Matrix and the following
>appeared in rec.games.roguelike.angband:
>>In vanilla, it would be a tie between a Gnomish Mage and a Dwarvish
>>Priest.
>
>Gnome Mages? Jackal fodder.
I think gnome mages are fun, myself. Any sort of mage is jackal fodder
for newbies.
>In fact, the whole gnome race is useless. Intrinsic free action isn't very
>useful if you never live to see 1000'.
No, it's nice if you want a race that's good at magic but not as cheap as a
high-elf or dunadan. I count the free action as a, er, free bonus.
>>(2) An i686 350MHz with 384MB of SDRAM running a home-spun Linux
>>distro.
> ^^^^^
>You realize that you must die, right?
I've got a PIII 550MHz with 640MB. RAM is cheap.
--
# Ross Morgan-Linial rmor...@speakeasy.net
$_=shift;1 while s/\(\d+\)/$&/ee||s/(\d+)d(\d+)/
'+1+int(rand$2)'x$1/ee||s/\d+[-+]\d+/$&/ee;print
Peter Funnell
<snip intro>
> ------------- GENERAL QUESTIONS -------------
>
> 1) How long have you played Angband? Do you remember the first version
> you played?
Roughly five years. Nope.
> 2) What accomplishment in Angband are you proudest of?
Getting a High-Elf Warrior to survive past 2400' when I first started
playing.
> 3) What is your favorite artifact, in any version or variant?
Ringil.
> 4) What is your favorite weapon?
Holy Avengers.
> 5) What is the most annoying monster? Not most deadly, but most
> annoying?
Hounds.
> 6) What do you feel is the toughest non-unique, relative to others at
> its
> depth?
Gravity Hounds.
> 7) What do you feel is the toughest unique, by the same measure?
Lorgan, Cheif of the Easterlings.
> 8) What monster do you enjoy meeting the most?
Ancient Dragons, Great Wyrms.
> 9) What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in Angband
> or one of her variants? Tell us the story!
After playing High-Elf Mages for a long while, I finally decided to
try playing a Dwarven Priest. I started up a new game and was
immediately set upon by Farmer Maggot, who I beat on until he
dropped... a Holy Avenger! Giddy with my sheer good fortune, I ran
across town heading towards the stairs for my first time... And was
killed in one blow by a Battle scarred veteran that was hiding behind
a corner. )~:
> 10) What is your favorite race-class combo (any version or variant)?
Vanilla Dwarven Priests.
> 11) What is your favorite spell-casting type? (choices are things like
> Angband priest, Angband mage, GW mage, S necromancy, O druid, Ey
> mystic, Psi Psionicst, K illusionist, Z mindcrafter, Pern sorcerer,
> Heng mirror-master, etc.)
Vanilla Priest.
> ------------- INTERFACE, OPTIONS, PLAY STYLE ------------
>
> 12) What computer system(s) do you normally play Angband on (within,
> say,
> the last year)?
a 500 Mhz iMac (15" screen).
> 13) Do you use ASCII (or similar), or prefer graphics? If graphics, do
> you use the small 8x8 icons, the larger 32x32 pictures, play the TK
> version, prefer an isometric view, or what?
ASCII only.
> 14) Do you use maximize mode (where race and/or class bonuses affect
> final stats)?
Yes.
> 15) Do you use preserve mode (where artifacts are preserved, but you get
> no "this is a special level" feelings)?
Yes.
> 16) Do you use the autoroller? If so, how infrequently does the stat
> combo you want show up (1 in five, 1 in five million, etc.)?
Yes. 1 in 300k.
> 17) Do you use point-based generation (where you spend points to
> increase stats)?
No.
> 18) Do you use backup savefiles to reload in case of character death, or
> use other similar methods?
No.
> 19) Do you level scum (bopping up and down the stairs until you get a
> good feeling or see a vault)?
No.
> 20) Do you auto-scum (use the "auto-scum" option, which re-generates
> levels until one is found that has sufficient good objects/tough
> monsters/special rooms)?
No.
> 21) Do you town scum (resting in the dungeon and checking stores until
> they stock what you want)?
Yes.
> ------------- OPINIONS AND DEVELOPMENT -------------
>
> 22) What is your general view of the state of Angband and its descen-
> dants? Is this game headed in the right direction?
Any progress at all is a good thing IMO.
> 23) Do you know of anything in other roguelikes that should be ported
> over to Angband?
No.
> 24) What game features do you really appreciate (in any variant), that
> you want to see more of in other variants?
> (Examples might be a great port to your system, bigscreen, neat dungeons
> or rooms, terrain, wilderness, easy open, spells, autosquelch/
> autopicker, graphics, docs/info display, scripting, monster AI, neat
> monsters/objects/artifacts, and more.) Please don't hesitate to mention
> your own stuff!
Bigscreen.
> 25) What game feature(s) do you not like?
Nothing. (:
> 26) What about Angband in general or any variant of Angband do you wish
> that there were more or better information about? (in the form of
> in-game docs or information display, or out-of-game spoilers, how-tos,
> FAQs, customization tips, etc.)
Up-to-date spoilers for vanilla!
> 27) Please pick out one (can be more than one) coder, maintainer, idea
> contributor, rgra denizen, or anyone else you want to specifically
> thank for his or her dedication to the Angband community.
No clue — not into the "scene".
> ------------- VARIANT-SPECIFIC ------------
>
> 28) Which of the below variants have you /ever/ played?
Zangband.
> 29) What is your favorite variant (include version #)? (Standard
> Angband included)
Vanilla (Determined to beat this before I seriously play anything
else).
> 30) Which one has given you the most pleasure over the past year (2001)?
Vanilla.
> Please comment on any variant that is especially good, bad, or otherwise
> interesting:
>
> a1) [Standard Angband, or Vanilla Angband, or simply Angband]
5 years and counting... still aching to beat this game.
<snip lots of variants>--
A(2.9.3) C "Peter" DP 36 1950' A R+ !Sp w:Battle Axe (Holy Avenger)
A MP H- D- c-- f+ PV+ s- TT? d P++ M+
!C S I+ !So B ac+ !GHB SQ? !RQ !V F:Hounds DROP_GREAT
DarkGod
> > p2) [PernAngband]
> When will it stop changing?
The day I die.
And maybe not given that there are lots of nice people that could
continue
to run it in my .. absence :)