Sadistic ?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Sometimes I wonder if the ones who designed this game
were not somewhat sadistic. Some of my latest deaths:
-- level 2/ barbarian level 6 drinks a potion,
it puts him to sleep, a lynx happened to drop by --
Oh, I had found a cloak of protection!
-- level 3/barbarian level 6 finds a lamp, stupidly
rubs it, gets a djinni out, an angry beast that
puts him to die in very few rounds -- despite
praying, going up, and having nothing except
a magic marker in his backpack.
My fault:
-- first level of skobodan, found a wand and decided
to engrave with it. But it was create monsters,
with a very nasty unicorn that killed my dog while
I was praying on Elbereth square. Got killed two or
three rounds later anyway.
-- blind, "it bites", no way to go to a corridor, so
I strike, bad luck, this was my dog, the jackal was
on the other square.
Not a death but ---
-- I found boots of speed at level 2 or 3, and tried
a scroll -- Guess what.
Just a bad spell I guess ---

Since I'm here:
-- with falconseye and suse linux, where shoudl the
scores be ? I haven't any so I guess there(s a priority
mess somewhere, but I don't know such a table should be named??
-- same falconseye, how to change my name? All my character
have my login name-- I can rename my pet but not me
with C.

Cheers !
Olivier

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 23:15:59 +0200, Olivier <Olve@nowhere.wd>
wrote:

>Sometimes I wonder if the ones who designed this game
>were not somewhat sadistic.

How can you even *ask* that? Of *course* it's sadistic!
After playing commercial games that want you to win,
Nethack is a shattering experience. Nethack doesn't
care if you win or lose, and will happily let you kill
yourself, aka "The Dread Lord YASD".

>Some of my latest deaths:
> -- level 2/ barbarian level 6 drinks a potion,
> it puts him to sleep, a lynx happened to drop by --
> Oh, I had found a cloak of protection!

Don't do that then.

If you are going to do it (and I heartily recommend *against*
it) engrave Elbereth a few times first. Use ":" to check the
quality of the engraving.

> -- level 3/barbarian level 6 finds a lamp, stupidly
> rubs it, gets a djinni out, an angry beast that
> puts him to die in very few rounds -- despite
> praying, going up, and having nothing except
> a magic marker in his backpack.

Don't do that then.

Engrave Elbereth with the magic marker. It uses charges
but dead characters have no use for magic markers, charged
or not.

A permanent light source can be very useful to an early
character, especially one with a ranged attack. (So know
what classes get what ranged attacks and how to get them.)
(So you didn't know it was permanent, just use it normally
and you'll still be fine.)

So wait until you know a) the lamp is magic and b) that
it's blessed before rubbing it.

Early wishes won't necessarily keep your character alive
any longer (as I know to my cost).

(I know you acknowledged your fault with the "stupidly",
this is for the edification of others.)

>My fault:
> -- first level of skobodan, found a wand and decided
> to engrave with it. But it was create monsters,
> with a very nasty unicorn that killed my dog while
> I was praying on Elbereth square. Got killed two or
> three rounds later anyway.

Why weren't you still on Elbereth? Don't step next
to unicorns that are too tough for you. (They'll
never step next to you.) Step away from them if necessary.

In Sokoban the unicorn can't teleport, so go get some
rocks from the dungeon (Do NOT break a boulder in Sokoban!)
and stone the unicorn to death from a distance.

(In other words: Don't Do That Then.)

> -- blind, "it bites", no way to go to a corridor, so
> I strike, bad luck, this was my dog, the jackal was
> on the other square.

#chat to it first. (IOW: DDTT).

>Not a death but ---
> -- I found boots of speed at level 2 or 3, and tried
> a scroll -- Guess what.
>Just a bad spell I guess ---

DDTT.


I never use a completely unidentified scroll or potion.
(The only price identified scroll I'll use is identify.
I'll also try applying $250 potions.)

In the early game the only thing you can safely id is
non-cursed armor. Use that to get the lowest AC you can
consistent with burdened state and spell friendliness
(if appropriate).

Particularly try on accessories: gloves, helms, boots, shields.
Since you see so many more of those you're more likely to find a
high enchantment. Even just a +1 on each of those items lowers
your AC by an extra 4 points. Add the 4 points of AC the items
themselves should give and that's 8 points of AC. That's big in
the early game.

Try the shields even if you're using a two-handed weapon.
(What, you find a +4 elven shield, you're not going to wear it?)
See what one-handed weapons you can use instead.

The secret to the early game is: survive. Trying unknown
scrolls and potions is not conducive to your character's
survival.


--
All the best,

Jove

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Olivier wrote:
> > Only it doesn't work; it says 'Cannot open save file'. It
> > must be another permissions problem; back to the drawing
> > board.

> Here, the save file is a link to
> /var/games/falconeyes/save/save

> Owned by games from group users

Note that the preferred solution here is *not* to make anythig
world writable, but to make the nethack binaries suid games.

--
James Kanze GABI Software
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, +33 (0)1 30 23 00 34

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Jove wrote:

[...]
> I never use a completely unidentified scroll or potion. (The
> only price identified scroll I'll use is identify. I'll also
> try applying $250 potions.)

A scroll with a base price of 60 or 80 is safe if its not
cursed.

--
James Kanze GABI Software
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, +33 (0)1 30 23 00 34

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Jukka Lahtinen wrote:
> kanze@gabi-soft.fr writes:
> > Jove wrote:
> > [...]
> > > I never use a completely unidentified scroll or potion. (The
> > > only price identified scroll I'll use is identify. I'll also
>
> > A scroll with a base price of 60 or 80 is safe if its not
> > cursed.
>
> ..but you most certainly don't want to waste any 60 or 80 zorkmid scrolls
> by randomly reading them before checking your inventory and what you are
> wearing and wielding.

Besides, if you know the base price, it's really a 'completely
unidentified' scroll, is it.

-K

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Olivier wrote:
> Sometimes I wonder if the ones who designed this game
> were not somewhat sadistic. Some of my latest deaths:
<snip>

Yes, they are. And all of us players are masochistic, and we *like* it
that way...

-K

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Sep 1, 2005, Olivier sent message
<43161e45$0$1012$8fcfb975@news.wanadoo.fr>, which allegedly said:

> Sometimes I wonder if the ones who designed this game
> were not somewhat sadistic. Some of my latest deaths:

Somewhat?? =))

[snip unfortunate results of impetuousness]

You need to spend some time in shops getting prices on things
before using them...

> Since I'm here:
> -- with falconseye and suse linux, where shoudl the
> scores be ? I haven't any so I guess there(s a priority
> mess somewhere, but I don't know such a table should be named??
> -- same falconseye, how to change my name? All my character
> have my login name-- I can rename my pet but not me
> with C.

Dunno what diff Falcon's Eye makes to the equation, but try
setting:
OPTIONS=namelayer

in your ~/.nethackrc to fix the player naming problem

Have Fun
Martin
--
Playing NH3.4.3 in TTY or Qt on Mac OS X

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Martin Crisp wrote:

> Dunno what diff Falcon's Eye makes to the equation, but try
> setting:
> OPTIONS=namelayer
>
> in your ~/.nethackrc to fix the player naming problem

<pricks up ears> That would probably help my daughters who would like to
play characters not named after them. Any suggestions on how to make
Falcon's Eye save its game? I *think* I've fixed all the permissions
problems (at least it finds its bones files now).

Raisse, killed by a system shock

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Raisse the Thaumaturge wrote:
> <pricks up ears> That would probably help my daughters who would like to
> play characters not named after them. Any suggestions on how to make
> Falcon's Eye save its game? I *think* I've fixed all the permissions
> problems (at least it finds its bones files now).

shift-s is for saving.

Hope that helps !
Amities,
Olivier

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Since I'm at it, here is another point I discovered:
if you want do dig you "zap" your wand. A drawing appears
to choose the direction: don't use it! The direction "down"
doesn't exist there, so use the simpler >.
Amities,
Olivier

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Olivier wrote:

> Raisse the Thaumaturge wrote:
>> <pricks up ears> That would probably help my daughters who would like
>> to play characters not named after them. Any suggestions on how to make
>> Falcon's Eye save its game? I *think* I've fixed all the permissions
>> problems (at least it finds its bones files now).
>
> shift-s is for saving.
>
> Hope that helps !

No, it doesn't; I know that and they know that. We don't have any trouble
with commands because they're the same in each version.

Only it doesn't work; it says 'Cannot open save file'. It must be another
permissions problem; back to the drawing board.

Raisse, killed by a system shock

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

> Only it doesn't work; it says 'Cannot open save file'. It must be another
> permissions problem; back to the drawing board.

Here, the save file is a link to
/var/games/falconeyes/save/save

Owned by games from group users

HTH, O.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

*Slightly spoily response*

Another way to identify potions is to wield them as weapons and beat
suitable test subjects like goblins over the head with them. If they
scream in pain or turn into jellyfish or what not, you know not to
drink that one.

Of course, I suppose there is the possibility that you'll hit someone
with a potion of polymorph, so instead of your level 1 wizard facing
off with a goblin your level 1 wizard is now facing off with an
Archlich. But this is unlikely, and if I'm carrying a potion of
polymorph I'd rather some unsuspecting jackal found out than spend a
couple hundred turns as a killer bee.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

> Here, the save file is a link

from
/usr/share/games/falconseye/save

Bone files and levels and all are in /usr/share/games/falconseye/

> to
> /var/games/falconeyes/save/save

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Olivier wrote:

>> Only it doesn't work; it says 'Cannot open save file'. It must be
>> another permissions problem; back to the drawing board.
>
> Here, the save file is a link to
> /var/games/falconeyes/save/save
>
> Owned by games from group users

Tried that too, doesn't work either :-(

(but name=player works, thanks to whoever posted that!)

Raisse, killed by a kitten

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Olivier wrote:

>> Here, the save file is a link
>
> from
> /usr/share/games/falconseye/save
>
> Bone files and levels and all are in /usr/share/games/falconseye/
>
>> to
>> /var/games/falconeyes/save/save

But *that* works; all I had to do was to make
the /usr/share/games/falconseye/ directory world-writable. The LegoHack
DevTeam and I are very grateful to you!

Raisse, petrified by a chickatrice

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

> But *that* works; all I had to do was to make
> the /usr/share/games/falconseye/ directory world-writable. The LegoHack
> DevTeam and I are very grateful to you!

Happy of it while still alive O.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Alexis wrote:
> raisse@valdyas.org wrote:
> [of her children]
> > The problem is, if they could save they could probably ascend.
>
> This brings up an interesting (to me) question: what's the age of the
> youngest player to ascend? Nethack is such a complicated game that I
> wonder how old you have to be to be able to comprehend it enough to beat
> it.

My twelve year old nephew ascended recently, after I introduced the
game a year back. Then again, he's currently a senior in high school
[something of a genius].

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Sep 1, 2005, Raisse the Thaumaturge sent message
<4316aac5$0$11063$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl>, which allegedly said:

> Martin Crisp wrote:
>
>> Dunno what diff Falcon's Eye makes to the equation, but try
>> setting:
>> OPTIONS=namelayer
>>
>> in your ~/.nethackrc to fix the player naming problem
>
> <pricks up ears> That would probably help my daughters who would like to
> play characters not named after them. Any suggestions on how to make
> Falcon's Eye save its game? I *think* I've fixed all the permissions
> problems (at least it finds its bones files now).

Sorry, no idea. Maybe it's expecting a save directory that doesn't
exist (or something similar)?
[I don't use Falcon's Eye; the previous was based on a similar
difficulty under Mac OS X Qt windowport]

Have Fun
Martin
--
Playing NH3.4.3 in TTY or Qt on Mac OS X

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Martin Crisp wrote:

[trying to save Falcon's Eye]

> Sorry, no idea. Maybe it's expecting a save directory that doesn't
> exist (or something similar)?

That was my idea too, so I made a nethackdir/save/ in /usr/games/ (where
the falconseye binary is) and one in /usr/games/lib/ (where save files
live on my machine) and made both nethackdirs and both saves 777 just in
case; no luck (the kid currently playing patiently tries to save every
time I ask her to). She's playing from a konsole in hopes that it will
say where the game is trying put things, but it doesn't. :-(

Grrr. Frustration rules. Now if they wanted to play ASCII, I'd just wipe
everything and compile them each a brand-new 3.4.3, but they happen to
like Falcon's Eye (and I don't blame them; if I'd started at eight
instead of thirty-four I'd prefer it too).

The problem is, if they could save they could probably ascend.

Raisse, killed by a grid bug, while helpless

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

[Alexis]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

raisse@valdyas.org wrote:
[of her children]
> The problem is, if they could save they could probably ascend.

This brings up an interesting (to me) question: what's the age of the
youngest player to ascend? Nethack is such a complicated game that I
wonder how old you have to be to be able to comprehend it enough to beat
it.

-- A.

--
My email address is hearse[AT]hotpop[DOT]com

Hearse Windows/Unix client: http://hearse.krollmark.com
Hearse announcements: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hearseannounce

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Alexis <me@privacy.net> wrote:
> This brings up an interesting (to me) question: what's the age of the
> youngest player to ascend? Nethack is such a complicated game that I
> wonder how old you have to be to be able to comprehend it enough to beat
> it.

This topic came up in another thread recently. I think the youngest
was maybe 13 or 14.

--
Oh to have a lodge in some vast wilderness. Where rumors of oppression
and deceit, of unsuccessful and successful wars may never reach me
anymore.
-- William Cowper

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

pendell@hotmail.com writes:
> [ testing unknown potions via wielding and whacking ]
> Of course, I suppose there is the possibility that you'll hit someone
> with a potion of polymorph, so instead of your level 1 wizard facing
> off with a goblin your level 1 wizard is now facing off with an
> Archlich.

Not to mention possibilities like it being paralysis, and you've just
paralyzed yourself along with your target (modulo =oFA).

Before you take some action, you'd better know all the possible results
and be prepared to deal with the worst outcome. Facing a hostile,
randomly-polymorphed creature in an adjacent square is not something
you're ready for until quite late in the game (and it is seldom sensible
even then).

Best case, you've wasted a potion and have nothing to show for it other
than having it identified and killing off some wimpy opponent. _All_
potions are useful, if only for alchemy, cancellation/dilution and/or
polypiling.

Unfavorable risk-to-reward ratio. Don't do it. Bag or stash the potions
until you can deal with them in ways that expose you to less risk, and
waste fewer resources.

> But this is unlikely, and if I'm carrying a potion of polymorph I'd
> rather some unsuspecting jackal found out than spend a couple
> hundred turns as a killer bee.

If I'm unfortunate enough to get myself polymorphed at random, I'd
count my blessings it it were into something as non-armor-wrecking as
a killer bee.

But as for the potion, why don't you try: BUC-ID, dip a dart, then (if
no result) a unihorn?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

kanze@gabi-soft.fr writes:
> Jove wrote:
> [...]
> > I never use a completely unidentified scroll or potion. (The
> > only price identified scroll I'll use is identify. I'll also

> A scroll with a base price of 60 or 80 is safe if its not
> cursed.

...but you most certainly don't want to waste any 60 or 80 zorkmid scrolls
by randomly reading them before checking your inventory and what you are
wearing and wielding.

--
Jukka Lahtinen

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Thu, 01 Sep 2005 19:45:03 GMT, Douglas Henke
<henke@kharendaen.dyndns.org> wrote:


>But as for the potion, why don't you try: BUC-ID, dip a dart, then (if
>no result) a unihorn?

For the serious potion tester, a poisoned weapon will become
unpoisoned if dipped into an extra/full/plain healing potion.

With that addition, price identification, and a unihorn,
positive identification of all potions may be possible without
magical identification.


--
All the best,

Jove