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Post by Variaz on Feb 16, 2006 20:04:45 GMT -5
This is the problem with me and NewAngband coding. Often I say: "I'll keep this for the next release...", and then I end up doing it anyway and having fun. Well, this is happening again, and this time it's for the remaking of the r_info! I already have my new template ready!  Monsters will be remade, with a new template to allow more customization over every single monsters(you will be able to create actual spells, not just BO_FIRE or BR_COLD... A real spell with name, power, radius, etc!). A monster will have a choice between up to 4 customizable attacks(they'll have a name!  , but that doesn't mean they'll be limited to 4 blows anymore... heh heh, blows is now a separate, numerical variable, so expect to see monsters with 10+ blows in the future! Each resistances will be customizeable, percent based values, so you can have a monster with 50% resist or 100% resist, or 75, etc.... or, 200%(absorb element!) or a negative value for a weakness! Remaking the monsters list means I will also be giving the game some sort of story and plot, and a different setting that other variants... This will be fun! Let's see... so far, I changed the formulas, I balanced stuff, I fixed bugs... and now THIS?? hmm... perhaps 1.8.0 WILL come out after all!  Anyway, once I finish the template and make it work fine, I'll post it on the forum, so you can start making some monsters as well! This is a big move for NewAngband that will truly make it New! |
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Post by Lipa on Feb 17, 2006 6:28:09 GMT -5
 I can't wait!!! ;D Many thanks for your work! P.S.: Er... I hope I don't get banned for this, but perhaps one time in the future you should also consider changing the name of the game... New Angband is fine, sure, but it's not really that original - but your game IS! It is so different, so special, so beautiful... And so much more than Angband... Perhaps it should deserve a special, notable name too...
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Post by Variaz on Feb 17, 2006 9:56:33 GMT -5
You won't get banned, and it's a good idea! I'll see how the new story/setting turns out, and I'll make a new name out of it! |
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Post by goombaboy on Feb 17, 2006 10:41:35 GMT -5
Not to sound TOO nervous or anything, but looking at the recent and proposed changes, it looks like newangband might be going from challenging to downright nightmare. (reduced base weapon damage, vastly increased monster HP in 1.7.1, higher average needed for skill bonus, monsters with many more attacks and much better specialized abilities, etc.) Will there also be increases/tweaks to the players to help survivability? I really like the idea of a game where strategy is important, even for hack and slash types, but I also like the idea that I have a chance to survive based on something other then pure luck. Ok, and the munchkin streak in me is hoping for a few nice power-ups as well... |
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Post by nork on Feb 17, 2006 11:44:34 GMT -5
To go along with the melee damage being lowered he also said he was lowering monster resistance to physical damage (some... ;D) He is also tweaking the magic damage that players can do by increasing the bonus for spellcraft. So it looks like this game is getting deadlier on both sided.  Over all things look even better for this variant. |
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Post by Variaz on Feb 17, 2006 19:58:45 GMT -5
I'm now having fun with my friend, the "Yellow Debug Lizard", a monster created using the new template, which can finally be used in the r_info! So, what can it do right now? Well, it can't attack yet, but it does like to cast it's Lightning Bolt spell! Bolt and Ball spells have been coded for the new r_info format! And other spells will come soon! The new system is made so that every single monsters can have his/her/it's own, unique spells! Right now, Debug Lizard can have Lightning Bolt, but his friend "Debug Snake" could have "Bolt of Electricity", "Thunder Arrow" or "Spark of Zapping" instead! And of course, each single of these spells are customizeable, so the Lizard do 5 dam/level with the Lightning Bolt, but the Snake could do 4 dam/level or 6 dam/level instead... or 500 dam/level for that matter! And as you can see, monster spells uses the same damage formula as the player now! Fear the wrath of a level 150 great wyrm with a 300/level mana breath! ;D Monsters now have stats and skills! (although much less than the player). The stats are Strength, Dexterity and Mind, and the skills are Attack and Magic. The damages of melee attacks for monsters will use the same new formula I made up for the player. Hit rate will be determined by Dexterity, and Mind will determine mana and resistance to some magic effects. Yes, monsters will have mana now! Attack works like the weapon skills, and Magic works exactly like spellcraft. So instead of gaining extra dices for damages per levels, monsters will gain boosts to their stats, based on their base stats(a monster with higher base stats will gain better stats bonus from their level). Defense will be based on their base AC. Mana will use Mind, which will work just like Intelligence. Monsters also have a "Counter" ability, so they can counter your moves and even counter attack! The counters are not coded yet, but some monsters will be able to block melee damages or magic damages(or both), counter attack, return damages, etc... Monsters have a percentage of chance of using their counters, which is customizeable. For example, a monster could have a simple counter(block melee attack), and get 75% chance to activate his counter ability. Another monster could have an extremely nasty counter(block & return both physical and magical damages!), but could get like 5 or 10% chance to use it. Or, let's be evil and give a super counter to a super monster, and give it 100% chance to trigger! ;D Anyway, as I progress, I will keep posting news! Feel free to give your opinions and suggestions! |
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Post by challtdow on Feb 18, 2006 10:03:08 GMT -5
Will all these changes to monsters be carried over when you choose a monster race?
Chall T. Dow
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Post by nork on Feb 18, 2006 10:07:30 GMT -5
I think giving monsters a percentage chance to return your own damages is not a good idea. There is no skill in sighting a monster like that. It is just dumb luck if you kill it or it kills you.
Just my 2cp
Nork
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Post by Variaz on Feb 18, 2006 11:01:59 GMT -5
I will see, the counters are not coded yet, so I don't know if I will put a "return" counter, even though I have some nice ideas for monsters that would use the "return" counter! An idea would be to make the counter abilities displayed when using the "look" command, like the abilities of elites and bosses. This way, if you meet a monster with the return counter, you can at least know it has it. As for the monster race, of course the Monster race will benefit from the new system! I believe this one will be more fun that ever now! With each monster having their own attacks and spells, this will make the Monster race even more fun and varied! Well, time to go back to my friend, Debug Lizard! It can now cast Lightning Bolt... the next step is to make it attack my character with one, two... maybe 6 or 7 blows... 20 perhaps? |
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Post by Variaz on Feb 19, 2006 23:31:54 GMT -5
Well, debug lizard is certainly getting deadlier now... First of all, it can attack now! And not just with physical attacks, but with any elements it desires, from the burning power of Fire, to the mutating powers of Radio(the new name for the Nuke element!) and finally to the purity of Mana! ;D And it cast a wider variety of spells... Healing, haste and can even cast spells to boost it's stats and skills! The only thing it can't do yet is summoning... As you can see, it's getting better and better! And... probably deadlier, as I just added a very, very nasty feature... You think having the option for 20+ blows per turns is nasty, right? How about... option for 20+ SPELLS per turns? Oooh, I love the evil sound of this one! ;D Of course, they have the potential to have lots of spells/turn, but most monsters won't have that(or they will cast multiple but weak spells). But of course... there might(will) be a few unique monsters with lots of powerful stuff... That said, the hardest parts are yet to be done... That is, friendly monsters(with AI and stuff...), monster mages and the monster race. But I guess they'll be more fun than ever before! |
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Post by Variaz on Feb 22, 2006 8:07:03 GMT -5
Debug Lizard has made new progress again! Now it can summon other of it's kind, or one particular monster! Yep, both Summon Kind and Summon Specific effects are available to monsters now! This way, if you want let's say "Red Monster" to always summon "Blue Monster" before the fight, you will be able to do that! Also, friendly monsters are done! Now Debug Lizard can be on my side, and fight against it's rival, Debug Snake. Everything works, from summons to offensive spells... Leadership now adds directly to their Attack skill, while Charisma adds to their Strength. For spells, first the damages increase by 10% for every points in Leadership, and then that new amount increase by 3% for every points of Charisma. Of course, these new leadership/charisma formulas will need testing... but it's looking pretty good! Next is the Monster race and Monster Mage/Soul Guardian. And coding the resistances and counters, which are not coded yet(shouldn't be too hard). |
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Post by Variaz on Mar 20, 2006 8:53:46 GMT -5
Well, after the trip to New York, my illness and some rest, I finally returned to NewAngband, and completed the Monster race! (and morphing abilities of Monster Mages). This is fun! Of course, there are still things to do. Counterattacks/Reactions are not implemented yet for monsters, so they're not for the Monster race either. For now, you get no bonuses from the monster's base stats, and this will have to be changed too. If a monster has a strength of 20, you should get at least +15 to Strength, the base strength being 5. That shouldn't be too hard to code. So what's left before we can start the fun part of making monsters? Monster Mages and Soul Guardians. They're going to be extremely fun with the new monster system, but I need to code them! After that, I will be able to start making monsters! I will also try to make lots of quests, add some atmosphere, a new setting, etc... and bug fixing! I plan to release the new template for monsters, and make it available to everyone, so you can create some stuff too! Also, I will probably release some beta versions of 1.8.0, to test the new monster system, but also the new damage calculations, since this, alone, is worth a new version. |
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Post by Variaz on Apr 14, 2006 13:55:12 GMT -5
Well, it's been a little while since I posted progress on 1.8.0... Problem is that with my job's work time from noon to 8 pm, and me coming back home at 10 pm, I don't always feel like programming. That and I admit it, I did purchase the new Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and enjoying it, although I do think characters should have been more customizable... like in NewAngband! ;D Anyway, decided to go back to programming for a bit, and finished the Monster Mage and Soul Guardians! Well, they are maybe 90% finished, some things may need to be adapted(Soul Bind, for instance, since the resistance system for monsters is completely different). Monster Magics and Soul Powers are a little more balanced now in term of casting cost. In the past, all monster magics costed 5 mana, now the cost is the spell's cost(monsters now have mana too). And for Soul Powers, it's wisdom-based casting, so powerful Soul Powers have a chance of failure. It uses the same rules as the new wisdom-based spellcasting, with the risk of backfire if you try to cast something too big without enough wisdom, and with the new Priest ability "Improved Wisdom Casting" improving Soul Powers as well! So, there's not much left to adapt, and I can probably start getting the serious stuff done soon! Hopefully I can prevent my natural laziness from taking over my mind, and put myself to serious work on NewAngband, and start releasing some beta versions for you to enjoy! |
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Post by Variaz on Apr 26, 2006 8:25:47 GMT -5
Worked on it again, this time changing the branded weapons code! Branded weapons no longer multiply the base damages. Instead, they do real magic damages to the monster! This mean that a warrior who wants to beat weapon immune elites/bosses will no longer be forced to take Element Strike ability, and can instead use a branded weapon! But there's more! Though weapons are now limited to one brand only, it can be of ANY elements or effects! Yup, you could make something like Sword of Retrograde, Axe of Paralyze, or even Cursed Dagger of Heal Monster! Also, branded weapons can get a radius! This, of course, include ammos as well, so expect Exploding Arrows/Bolts to be in 1.8.0! Finally, gloves can also get a brand, so if you specialize in martial arts, you can wear as branded glove to get some extra elemental damage or effect! |
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Post by nork on Apr 27, 2006 11:46:23 GMT -5
Will that branded damage be effected by magic returning monsters? If so will it still be effected if you use a special attack?
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Monsters will be remade, with a new template to allow more customization over every single monsters(you will be able to create actual spells, not just BO_FIRE or BR_COLD... A real spell with name, power, radius, etc!). A monster will have a choice between up to 4 customizable attacks(they'll have a name! 
, but that doesn't mean they'll be limited to 4 blows anymore... heh heh, blows is now a separate, numerical variable, so expect to see monsters with 10+ blows in the future! 
I can't wait!!! ;D
Over all things look even better for this variant.