Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)
Breeders:
I mentioned before that Brinie has a problem with breeders, but wasn't
sure if it was her design or POSband in general. I now think it is a
combination of both.
POSband has a lot of low level breeders, many of which are not slow.
They appear around the same dungeon levels, so it isn't uncommon for any
level in a certain range to have multiple breeder spots. The worst case
I encountered had rats, lice, water vapors, and smoke scattered across
the same level (without even counting slow breeders like worm masses
that were present.) Exacerbating the situation are fairly common
monster groups, such as snagas, orcs, and escorted uniques that can
block access to breeders. A single white louse can make a room with
an escorted unique nearly impenetrable for a character like Brinie.
Item destruction:
Someone mentioned that rods and such are destroyed more often than one
might think in POSband. Having attempted a quest for Ice Demons on a
level filled with every moderate low level hound possible, I find myself
agreeing. All in one level, I saw all potions destroyed, all wands
destroyed, several scrolls destroyed, and armor eaten by acid. Worse,
the first item breaking seems to mark the opening of the floodgates.
Brinie was hit by a lot of ice breath before the first potion broke,
but after that point potions were breaking constantly. Plenty of
lightning breath was withstood throughout the games and the beginning
of that level, but the moment the first wand broke, another quickly
followed.
Monster distibution and monster grouping:
Something seems off in this area. I mentioned the clumping of
breeders above, but it isn't just breeders. On the Ice Demon quest
level, the most populous enemy I encountered were variations of hounds.
Clear hounds, Water hounds, Fire hounds, Air hounds, and Lightning
hounds were all present, some having multiple groups. It was a
cavalcade of equipment destruction, but also felt like the level had
a kennel theme. Before there, I had hit levels mostly populated by
orcs and snagas (aided by their uniques). And the heavy breeder
level mentioned above.
I don't know if there is a lack of in-depth monsters to give
variety or too many similar monsters of the same depth... Or if it
is an artifact of the large number that any group has (as there aren't
any "small" groups, just lone or large.) Or if full groups are being
weighted the same as any one lone creature, but it makes the monster
distribution seem weird at times.
Monster experience levels:
I assume no monsters are generated with an experience level above 1?
I actually find this a bit strange, as "experienced" creatures could be
a bit more variation in populating a level. Such as the deeper a kobold
is found, the higher its level likely is, to bring it more in line with
the depth that it is surviving at. Just as I find it strange if a
system with experience gaining monsters didn't make the novice and
"regular" versions of human monsters the same type just at different
levels (so that a novice paladin would level into a regular paladin if
it lived.)
Breeders:
I mentioned before that Brinie has a problem with breeders, but wasn't
sure if it was her design or POSband in general. I now think it is a
combination of both.
POSband has a lot of low level breeders, many of which are not slow.
They appear around the same dungeon levels, so it isn't uncommon for any
level in a certain range to have multiple breeder spots. The worst case
I encountered had rats, lice, water vapors, and smoke scattered across
the same level (without even counting slow breeders like worm masses
that were present.) Exacerbating the situation are fairly common
monster groups, such as snagas, orcs, and escorted uniques that can
block access to breeders. A single white louse can make a room with
an escorted unique nearly impenetrable for a character like Brinie.
Item destruction:
Someone mentioned that rods and such are destroyed more often than one
might think in POSband. Having attempted a quest for Ice Demons on a
level filled with every moderate low level hound possible, I find myself
agreeing. All in one level, I saw all potions destroyed, all wands
destroyed, several scrolls destroyed, and armor eaten by acid. Worse,
the first item breaking seems to mark the opening of the floodgates.
Brinie was hit by a lot of ice breath before the first potion broke,
but after that point potions were breaking constantly. Plenty of
lightning breath was withstood throughout the games and the beginning
of that level, but the moment the first wand broke, another quickly
followed.
Monster distibution and monster grouping:
Something seems off in this area. I mentioned the clumping of
breeders above, but it isn't just breeders. On the Ice Demon quest
level, the most populous enemy I encountered were variations of hounds.
Clear hounds, Water hounds, Fire hounds, Air hounds, and Lightning
hounds were all present, some having multiple groups. It was a
cavalcade of equipment destruction, but also felt like the level had
a kennel theme. Before there, I had hit levels mostly populated by
orcs and snagas (aided by their uniques). And the heavy breeder
level mentioned above.
I don't know if there is a lack of in-depth monsters to give
variety or too many similar monsters of the same depth... Or if it
is an artifact of the large number that any group has (as there aren't
any "small" groups, just lone or large.) Or if full groups are being
weighted the same as any one lone creature, but it makes the monster
distribution seem weird at times.
Monster experience levels:
I assume no monsters are generated with an experience level above 1?
I actually find this a bit strange, as "experienced" creatures could be
a bit more variation in populating a level. Such as the deeper a kobold
is found, the higher its level likely is, to bring it more in line with
the depth that it is surviving at. Just as I find it strange if a
system with experience gaining monsters didn't make the novice and
"regular" versions of human monsters the same type just at different
levels (so that a novice paladin would level into a regular paladin if
it lived.)
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