Mercurial > hg > early-roguelike
view arogue7/arogue77.doc @ 168:82b2a046d151
arogue7: fix inventory display bug again.
Removing the call to msg() in restore() resulted in msgw remaining as
it was when the game was saved. This results in another display glitch
like that fixed by r163. Adding an empty message puts msgw into a
reliable state.
| author | John "Elwin" Edwards |
|---|---|
| date | Tue, 30 Jun 2015 12:00:02 -0400 |
| parents | adfa37e67084 |
| children |
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The Dungeons of Doom Toolchest 1. INTRODUCTION Rogue is a screen-oriented fantasy game set in the ever-changing Dungeons of Doom. The game comes complete with monsters, spells, weapons, armor, potions, and other magical items. The dungeon's geography changes with every game, and although many magical items have certain identifiable properties, such as turning the player invisible, the physical manifestation of the magic changes each game. A red potion, for example, will cause the same reaction throughout a given game, but it may be a completely different potion in a new game. Entering the dungeon with only a little food, armor, and a weapon, the player must develop a good strategy of when to fight, when to run, and how to best use any magical items found in the dungeon. To make things interesting, the player has a quest to return one of several unique artifacts, rumored to lie deep in the dungeon's bowels. Returning with this artifact brings great glory and the title of Complete Winner. But even after finding the artifact, the player may wish to continue further to match wits with an arch-devil, demon prince, or even a deity found far down in the dungeon. Defeating such a creature will gain the player many experience points, the basis for scoring in Rogue. It is very difficult to return from the Dungeons of Doom. Few people ever make it out alive. Should this unlikely event occur, the player would be proclaimed a complete winner and handsomely rewarded for any booty removed from the dungeon. 2. CHARACTER CLASSES Before placing the player in the dungeon, the game requests the player to select what type of character they would like to be: a fighter, a magic user, a cleric, a druid, a thief, a paladin, a ranger, a monk, or an assassin. 2.1 The Fighter A fighter is very strong and will have a high strength rating. This great strength gives a fighter the best odds of winning a battle with a monster. At high experience - 2 - levels the fighter also gets to attack multiple times in a single turn. This obviously further increases his chances at winning battles. Intrinsic to the fighter class is a robustness which results in 1 to 12 extra hit points for every new experience level. 2.2 The Magician A Magician is able to "cast" spells. The number and variety of spells increases as the magician gains experience and intelligence. Magic users are not as hearty as fighters; they receive 1 to 6 extra hit points for every new experience level. 2.3 The Cleric A cleric is able to "pray" to his god for help. The number and variety of prayers which the gods are willing to grant to a cleric increase as the cleric gains experience and wisdom. Because of their religious nature, clerics can also affect the "undead" beings, like zombies and ghouls, which became monsters after they died. If an "undead" creature is next to a cleric, the cleric may try to turn it and cause it to flee. If the cleric is sufficiently powerful relative to the monster, the cleric will destroy it. This ability increases as the character gains experience levels. Clerics can gain from 1 to 8 extra hit points on reaching a new experience level. 2.4 The Druid The druid is a cleric of sorts but worships nature rather than a god. The druid is able to "chant" and thereby recieve certain types of spells. Most of the chants are targeted more towards the elements and nature. Druids gain from 1 to 8 hit points when they gain an experience level. 2.5 The Thief A thief is exceptionally dextrous and has a good chance to set a trap or rob a monster. By their nature, thieves can automatically detect all the gold on the current level of the dungeon. They are also good at detecting hidden traps. Because thieves slink along, they are not as likely as other characters to wake sleeping monsters. If a thief manages to sneak up on a creature without waking it, he will get a chance to backstab the monster. When this is done, the damage done by the thief - 3 - greatly increases based on his experience level. Thieves gain from 1 to 6 extra hit points from a new experience level. 2.6 The Paladin The paladin is a type of holy warrior. Somewhat of a cross between a fighter and a cleric. He is able to pray and turn undead as a cleric, (but to a lesser degree) but fights as a fighter. He is on the side of all that is good and righteous. Therefore he would never attack a creature that would not attack him first. If he does kill a non-violent creature inadvertantly he will feel "uneasy" and his god may retaliate by making him a mere fighter. Paladins gain 1 to 10 hit points per experience level. 2.7 The Ranger The ranger is somewhat of a cross between a druid and a fighter. He too is on the side of righteousness and good. Therefore, the same same restrictions apply to his as they do to a paladin. The ranger can "chant" and "cast" but to a lesser degree than the druid and magician. Rangers gain 1 to 8 hit points per experience level. 2.8 The Monk The Monk is a martial arts expert. He wears no armor but has an effective armor class based on his ability to dodge attacks. He does not need a weapon in combat for his hands and feet are a formidable weapon. His ability to dodge and use his hands as weapons increases as he gains in level. Monks gain 1 to 6 hit points per experience level. 2.9 The Assassin The assassin is a person trained in the art of killing people by surprise. He has most of the abilities of the thief except the "backstab". Instead, the assassin has the chance to kill an opponent outright with one strike. He is also a ruthless character and trained in the use of poison. He can recognize poison on sight and can coat his weapon with it thereby making his next attack an exceptionally lethal one. Assassins gain 1 to 6 hit points per experience level. 3. ATTRIBUTES - 4 - 3.1 Intelligence Intelligence is the primary attribute associated with casting spells. With higher intelligence comes the knowledge of more spells, the ability to cast more spells, and faster recovery of spells that have been cast. 3.2 Strength This is, of course, the measure of a character's physical strength. With higher strength a character can carry more, cause more damage when striking, have a better chance to strike an opponent, and move about more quickly when carrying a load. 3.3 Wisdom Wisdom is the primary attribute associated with Praying to a god. With higher wisdom comes the knowledge of more prayers, the ability to pray more often, and faster recovery of prayer ability. 3.4 Dexterity Dexterity is a measure of a character's agility. With higher dexterity a character is harder to hit, can hit a opponent more easily, and can move about more quickly when carrying a load. 3.5 Constitution Every character has a constitution rating. A character with an exceptionally good constitution will gain more than the normal amount of hit points associated with the character's class when the character reaches a new experience level. Exceptional constitution also provides better protection versus poison-based attacks and diseases. 3.6 Charisma Charisma is a measure of a characters looks and general likeableness. It effects transactions when trying to purchase things. 3.7 Experience Levels Characters gain experience for killing monsters, stealing from monsters, and turning monsters. Each character class has a set of thresholds associated with it. When a character reaches a threshold, the character attains the next experience level. This new level brings extra hit points and a greater chance of success in performing the abilities associated with the character's class. For example, magicians receive new spells, and clerics receive - 5 - new prayers. 3.8 Allocating Attributes The player starts with 72 "attribute points" to create a character and can distribute them in any manner among the six attributes described above. When prompting the player for each attribute, the game displays the minimum and maximum allowable values for that attribute. The player can type a backspace (control-H) to go back and change a value; typing an escape (ESC) sets the remaining attributes to the maximum value possible given the remaining attribute points. 4. THE SCREEN During the normal course of play, the screen consists of three separate sections: the top line of the terminal, the bottom two lines of the terminal, and the remaining middle lines. The top line reports actions which occur during the game, the middle section depicts the dungeon, and the bottom lines describe the player's current condition. 4.1 The Top Line Whenever anything happens to the player, such as finding a scroll or hitting or being hit by a monster, a short report of the occurrence appears on the top line of the screen. When such reports occur quickly, one right after another, the game displays the notice followed by the prompt '--More--.' After reading this notice, the player can press a space to display the next message. At such a point, the game ignores all commands until the player presses a space. 4.2 The Dungeon Section The large middle section of the screen displays the player's surroundings using the following symbols: | A wall of a room. - A wall of a room. * A pile of gold. % A way to the next level. + A doorway. . The floor in a room. @ The player. - 6 - _ The player, when invisible. # The floor in a passageway. ! A flask containing a potion. ? A sealed scroll. : Some food. ) A weapon. Solid rock (denoted by a space). ] Some armor. ; A miscellaneous magic item , An artifact = A ring. / A wand or a staff. ^ The entrance to a trading post > A trapdoor leading to the next level { An arrow trap $ A sleeping gas trap } A beartrap ~ A trap that teleports you somewhere else ` A poison dart trap " A shimmering magic pool ' An entrance to a maze $ Any magical item. (During magic detection) > A blessed magical item. (During magic detection) < A cursed magical item. (During magic detection) A letter A monster. Note that a given letter may signify multiple monsters, depending on the level of the dungeon. The player can always identify a current monster by using the identify command ('/'). - 7 - 4.3 The Status Section The bottom two lines of the screen describe the player's current status. The first line gives the player's characteristics: o Intelligence (Int) o Strength (Str) o Wisdom (Wis) o Dexterity (Dxt) o Constitution (Const) o Charisma (Char) o Encumberance (Carry) Intelligence, strength, wisdom, dexterity, charisma, and constitution have a normal maximum of 25, but can be higher when augmented by a ring. Encumberance is a measurement of how much the player can carry versus how much he is currently carrying. The more you carry relative to your maximum causes you to use more food. The second status line provides the following information: o The current level (Lvl) in the dungeon. This number increases as the player goes further down. o The player's current number of hit points (Hp), followed in parentheses by the player's current maximum number of hit points. Hit points express the player's health. As a player heals by resting, the player's current hit points gradually increase until reaching the current maximum. This maximum increases each time a player attains a new experience level. If the player's current hit points reach 0, the player dies. o The player's armor class (Ac). This number describes the amount of protection provided by the armor, cloaks, and/or rings currently worn by the player. It is also affected by high or low dexterity. Wearing no armor is equivalent to an armor class of 10. The protection level increases as the armor class decreases. o The player's current experience level (Exp) followed by the player's experience points. The player can gain experience points by killing monsters, successfully stealing from monsters, and turning monsters. When a player gains enough experience points to surpass a - 8 - threshold that depends on the player's character type, the player reaches a new experience level. A new experience level brings extra hit points and possibly added abilities, such as a new spell for a magician or a new prayer for a cleric. o A description of the player's character. This description depends on the player's character type and experience level. 5. COMMANDS A player can invoke most Rogue commands by typing a single character. Some commands, however, require a direction, in which case the player types the command character followed by a directional command. Many commands can be prefaced by a number, indicating how many times the command should be executed. When the player invokes a command referring to an item in the player's pack (such as reading a scroll), the game prompts for the item. The player should then type the letter associated with the item, as displayed by the inventory command. Typing a '*' at this point produces a list of the eligible items. Rogue understands the following commands: ? Preceding a command by a '?' produces a brief explanation of the command. The command '?*' gives an explanation of all the commands. / Preceding a symbol by a '/' identifies the symbol. = Clarify. After typing an '=' sign, the player can use the movement keys to position the cursor anywhere on the current level. As long as the player can normally see the selected position, Rogue will identify whatever is at that space. Examples include a sleeping giant rat, a blue potion, and a food ration. h Move one position to the left. j Move one position down. k Move one position up. l Move one position to the right. y Move one position to the top left. u Move one position to the top right. - 9 - b Move one position to the bottom left. n Move one position to the bottom right. H Run to the left until reaching something interesting. J Run down until reaching something interesting. K Run up until reaching something interesting. L Run to the right until reaching something interesting. Y Run to the top left until reaching something interesting. U Run to the top right until reaching something interesting. B Run to the bottom left until reaching something interesting. N Run to the bottom right until reaching something interesting. t This command prompts for an object from the players pack. The player then throws the object in the specified direction. f When this command precedes a directional command, the player moves in the specified direction until passing something interesting. z This command prompts for a wand or staff from the player's pack and zaps it in the specified direction. > Go down to the next level. < Go up to the next level. s Search for a secret door or a trap in the circle surrounding the player. . This command (a dot) causes the player to rest a turn. i Display an inventory of the player's pack. I This command prompts for an item from the player's pack and displays the inventory information for that item. q Quaff a potion from the player's pack. r Read a scroll from the player's pack. - 10 - e Eat some food from the player's pack. w Wield a weapon from the player's pack. W Wear some armor, ring, or miscellaneous magic item from the player's pack. The player can wear a maximum of eight rings. T Take off whatever the player is wearing. ^U Use a magic item in the player's pack. d Drop an item from the player's pack. P Pick up the items currently under the player. ^N When the player types this command, Rogue prompts for a monster or an item from the player's pack and a one-line name. For monsters, the player can use the movement keys to position the cursor over the desired monster, and Rogue will use the given name to refer to that monster. For items, Rogue gives all similar items (such as all the blue potions) the specified name. m When the player types this command, Rogue prompts for an item from the player's pack and a one-line name. Rogue then marks the specified item with the given name. o Typing this command causes Rogue to display all the settable options. The player can then merely examine the options or change any or all of them. C This command, restricted to magicians and rangers produces a listing of the current supply of spells. The player can select one of the displayed spells and, if the player's energy level is sufficiently high, Cast it. The more complicated the spell, the more energy it takes. c This command, restricted to druids and rangers produces a listing of the current supply of chants. The player can select one of the displayed chants and, if the player's energy level is sufficiently high, chant it. The more complicated the spell, the more energy it takes. p This command, restricted to clerics and paladins, produces a listing of the character's known prayers. The player can then offer one of these prayers to the character's deity. Deities are not known for favoring characters which continually pray to them, and they are most likely to answer the least "ambitious" prayers. - 11 - a This command is restricted to clerics and paladins must be followed by a directional command. If there is an "undead" monster standing next to the player in the specified direction, there is a chance the player will affect the monster by causing it to flee or possibly even destroying it. * Count the gold in the player's pack. ^ This command sets a trap and is limited to thieves and assassins. If the character is successful, Rogue prompts the player for a type of trap and sets it where the player is standing. G This command is restricted to thieves and assassins. It causes Rogue to display all the gold on the current level. D Dip something into a magic pool. ^T This command is restricted to thieves and assassins. It must be followed by a directional command. If there is a monster standing next to the player in the specified direction, the player tries to steal an item from the monster's pack. If the player is successful, the monster does not notice anything, but if the player is unsuccessful, there is a chance the monster will wake up. ^L Redraw the screen. ^R Repeat the last message that was displayed on the top line of the screen. ^[ Typing an escape will usually cause Rogue to cancel the current command. v Print the current Rogue version number. ! Escape to the shell. S Quit and save the game for resumption at a later time. Q Quit without saving the game. 6. IMPLICIT COMMANDS There is no "attack" command. If a player wishes to attack a monster, the player simply tries to move onto the spot where the monster is standing. The game then assumes that the player wishes to attack the monster with whatever weapon the player is wielding. - 12 - When the player moves onto an item, the game automatically places the object into the player's pack. If there is no room left in the pack, the game announces that fact and leaves the item on the floor. 7. TIME All actions except for purely bookkeeping commands, such as taking an inventory, take time. The amount of time varies with the command. Swinging a weapon, for example, takes more time than simply moving; so a monster could move several spaces in the time it takes the player to make one attack. The time it takes to swing a weapon also varies based on the bulk of the weapon, and the time it takes to simply move a space varies with the type of armor worn. Movement is always faster when flying. Since actions take time, some of them can be disrupted. If the player is casting a spell, for example, and gets hit before finishing it, the spell is lost. Similarly, the player might choke if hit while trying to eat. Of course, the same rule applies when the player hits a monster. Magical hasting (or slowing) will decrease (or increase) the time it takes to perform an action. 8. LIGHT Some rooms in the dungeon possess a natural light source. In other rooms and in corridors the player can see only those things within a one space radius from the player. These dark rooms can be lit with magical light or by a fire beetle. 9. WEAPONS AND ARMOR The player can wield exactly one weapon at a time. When the player attacks a monster, the amount of damage depends on the particular weapon the player is wielding. To fire a projectile weapon, such as a crossbow or a short bow, the player should wield the bow and "throw" the bolt or arrow at the monster. A weapon may be cursed or blessed, affecting the likelihood of hitting a monster with the weapon and the damage the weapon will inflict on the monster. If the player has identified a weapon, the "to hit" and "to damage" bonuses appear in that order before the weapon's name in an inventory listing. A positive bonus indicates a blessed weapon, and a negative bonus usually indicates a cursed weapon. The player cannot release a cursed weapon. - 13 -