herbie@polaris.UUCP (Herb Chong) (02/25/86)
I just found out that for the past month or so, all news articles posted from polaris have been trashed so none of these (maybe) made it out into the world. bear with me if these are repitions. Herb... ================== Subject: Re: Fighting with arrows In article <3@unmc.UUCP> vc253ah@unmc.UUCP () writes: > Between these two comments, can we figure that, unless you have a >magical bow/crossbow, throwing arrows is as effective as launching them >via bow? If this is the case, why have bows, since most all bows you find >are non-magical. >Ronald C. Rosul Jr. (vc253ah) what also happens is that there are two different damage figures used for weapons like arrows, one for being thrown without a bow, and one with. at least that's what Advanced Rogue versions and UltraRogue do. i don't have any of my Berkeley 5.x rogues around to check with them. Subject: Re: UltraRogue -- questions/suggestions. (long) In article <1019@security.UUCP> jjg@security.UUCP (Jeff Glass) writes: >In article <2512@vrdxhq.UUCP> bisanabi@vrdxhq.UUCP (Paul Paloski) writes: >> (5) Recently, a +5 ring of intelligence disintegrated when enchanted. >> Is +5 the maximum for rings, or was this a bad percentage roll? What >> about armor and weapons? > >I had my +10,+13 long sword explode upon being enchanted once more. I >don't know why. as someone else has pointed out, once the total enchantment on a weapon (hit + damage) exceeds 15, there is a fixed probability that the weapon will explode at every attempt to enchant it further using a scroll of enchant (or a spell if you are a MU). >> (6) What are the differences in effects and consequences of regeneration, >> vampiric regeneration, and resurrection rings ? > >The ring of resurrection is tremendously helpful. If your hit points >go to zero while you are wearing it, you do not die. You are teleported >to some random place on the level, with 30-50 hp, while the items you >were carrying are scattered throughout the level. However, the last >time I had a ring of resurrection, I also had a ring of teleport control. >After I "died", I was asked where I wished to teleport to, and *my pack >was intact*! I am not sure that this was caused by the interaction of >the resurrection and teleport control rings, because I had six others on, >but it seems likely. This process (dying and teleporting) was repeated >three or four times on level 270 (cursed scroll of teleport, right?) >until finally something happened and the items (including the ring of >resurrection) were scattered throughout the level, and I died for the >last time. the ring of resurrection, if sufficiently enchanted, or your luck is good, will resurrect you with everything intact. the teleport control was just a side effect of cheating on how to decide where to place the resurrected hero. the "feature" will stay. every time you are resurrected, your chance of successful resurrection decreases. no matter what happens or what you do, you can be resurrected a maximum number of times equal to your character's initial constitution at startup. the chance of resurrection succeeding is the same as the AD&D rules, except that luck points and ring enchantment are used to modify your constitution. >> (7) My character finally survived a throne room (summoning). Any good >> strategies people have found that work well in this situation ? > >Hah. Try to get to the %. If that fails, try to get to a corner of >the room, since then you can only be attacked on three sides at once. >Wait as long as you can, and then teleport, leaving the monsters behind, >or phase, moving through the wall. i usually run like hell for the %. either that or i teleport until i can run like hell. of course, but level 50 or so i can usually wade through a throne room. >> (ii) A dragon attacked with a lightning bolt while my character was wearing >> crystalline armor and carrying a mace. Both the armor and weapon were covered >> with lights, and I found my mace *charged*. This happened again soon after, >> and I had a weapon with 57 lightning bolt charges. Several wands of charging >> were used thereafter to maintain a sufficient charge. (This was the first time >> I had not previously protected my weapon.) Anybody else have this happen to >> them ? >Yes, I've had 500+ charges on weapons. I have wondered if something evil >would happen to me if I removed my ring of lightning resistance while my >weapon was charged. depends on whether you are lightning proof or not. >> (iii) Often I have detected a party room filled with magic items. After >> killing all the creatures, I find one or two items left ?!? This usually >> happens if I cannot stand in the doorway to the party room while fighting. >> (The monsters do not take them, because I do another magic detect.) This >> *bug* (?) is very frustrating. Why do 20 magic items turn into 1 or 2 ?? >> (The magic detect is a prayer, and I only use my mace to kill the monsters.) > >z's (evil sorceresses) pick up magic items. Has anyone figured out how >to kill these things, short of genocide? I make trapdoors and let them >fall into them, but this is not a great method. wands of disintegration work wonders. other than that, try to take them on only where you can afford to have them steal things and take them back. there is one other way that saves a great deal of grief, read a scroll of protection on items that you don't want stolen. >> (2) (a) A player should get a one-move warning when phasing is about to >> wear off. If you had the insight to keep another potion of phasing, or enough >> prayer points handy, you should be allowed the chance to re-phase. > >I agree. it's not part of AD&D. Subject: Re: UltraRogue -- questions/suggestions. >I stopped playing after running into about 40 evil sorceresses >one time. It's not that they are hard to kill, rather that it >takes too long to kill them. It is so boring to sit there surrounded >by 8 monsters and having to hit an evil sorceress over and over until >she dies. It takes forever almost ... and it spoils the fun of the game. >As far as playability goes the game could use some improvement. you obviously haven't considered them as #1 genocide candidate, and you also haven't considered other means than hitting them for getting rid of them. Subject: Re: Ultra Rogue, description In article <1805@cbosgd.UUCP> dpb@cbosgd.UUCP (Dan Bidinger) writes: > > Can anyone tell me about ultra rogue, ie. how many character classes, > sub-classes, different armor or weapons, new magic etc.... > > Dan for version 1.02, there are 123 monsters, 49 weapons, 30 some rings, 30 or so scrolls, 20 potions. there are 4 character classes and 8 artifacts to pick up ranging from level 25 for the Magic Purse of Yendor to level 100 for the Wand of Orcus. 1.03 will have between 1000 and 2000 monsters, 7 new character player classes, more of everything, and a lot of unreasonable restrictions removed that have been there since the Advanced Rogue 2.0 days. 1.02 is comparable to Advanced Rogue 5.9 in complexity, but is not as hard as it because the game balance is not yet correct. rest assured that 1.03 will be better in this respect. Subject: Re: UltraRogue -- questions/suggestions. (long) > Is Ultra-Rogue Public domain? If so, could we get a copy? > We have a Vax 750 running Ultrix with the basic Rogue and Rogomatic. > > Thanks, > Dan. if the person running the server still has everything correct, sending mail to ultra-rogue-request@ucbjade.ARPA will tell you how to ftp a copy of the binary via ARPA. if you are not well connected to ARPA, then send me a mail message and i will see what i can arrange. tell me what machine you run on and what OS. Subject: Re: UltraRogue In article <2536@vrdxhq.UUCP> bisanabi@vrdxhq.UUCP (Paul Paloski) writes: > > Artifact side effects. ...but a friend says that if you have time, you > > can a) take off your armor, b) drop your weapon, c) drop the most > > valuable items in your pack. Then apply the artifact, and most of the > > worst side effects (weapon melts, armor shatters, items cursed) can't > > happen. Of course, you have to pick everything up again... > ...and hope the effect is not a trap door beneath you! (Also, you could get >summoned just before activating the artifact, and we know how hard it is >*with* your weapons and armor :-) you don't have to drop your armor and weapons completely. just drop them and pick them up again. you are no longer wielding a weapon or wearing any armor, so they will not be harmed when you try activation. >> Throne rooms -- unless you have a very good character you don't have >> much chance (unless you have a blessed scroll of teleport). The best >> thing is to read a scroll of electrification and stand in a corner. >>> Hah. Try to get to the %. If that fails, try to get to a corner of >>> the room, since then you can only be attacked on three sides at once. >>> Wait as long as you can, and then teleport, leaving the monsters behind, >>> or phase, moving through the wall. > If you phase and stand right in the wall, all the monsters get confused >(scared?) and run to the *far* corner. The demon/god does not, but if it >isn't holding you, race towards the stairs. (a wand of antimatter works >well when you bunch up the monsters.) i use teleportation most of the time, but the main trick is to have sufficient magic (wands of disintegration well enchanted) and all you really have to worry about is the monster that summoned you. i once got summoned on the way down at level 6 and ended up at level 12. you have no idea how exciting it is to deal with a lesser god when you are a lowly level 3 MU. i managed to make a run for it and got killed by an orc two levels deeper. > If you have room, save the scroll of genocide. When you get summoned, >find out who summoned you and read the scroll... an awful waste of a scroll of genocide. > *Party room* - Phase into the wall and all the monsters will file out one >by one. Put a trap door in front of the door, or antimatter the corridor, >and you get rooms full of items without fighting a single creature. (Make >sure you cover the other secret doors into the party room. :-) Real nice >if you aren't equipped at low levels. Exit via the trap door! May get two >party rooms out of one phase potion or prayer. monsters in urogue do not go through closed secret doors as in some Berkeley rogue versions. of course, monsters that can phase will go through anything. you haven't played older versions of urogue where ALL monsters in a throne room can phase. boy is it exciting. > > I think that if anything, urogue needs to get harder/different at > > the lower levels. > >I agree. I am on level 61 and have very few creatures left. > --> *killed* 8 of the unique demons/gods. > --> *genocided* the fire giant, storm giant, lich, evil sorceress, > gold dragon, and one demon. > --> *antimattered* all the remaining unique creatures. > (Haven't seen them again, so I'm assuming they are gone.) big assumption. >The only things left are a couple dragons and a frost giant. I have rings of >cold, fire, and lightning resistance; and my hit points are 470+, with a ring >of regeneration just in case. I made it through 60+ dragons and frost giants >in a monster lair. It got a bit long and dull. I also have all prayers and >most spells available to me (magic detect, mapping, phase). Is the game just >going to be a boring quest for the rest of the artifacts from now on, or is >there something else coming up ? just let me say that things get exciting a little deeper. you can always head upwards and try to escape the dungeon. carrying any one artifact will let you go up the stairs. > > ...and you only get [gold] credit for ones in your pack or in the > > Magic Purse when you die (or make it out). >Selling an item at a trading post gives you gold and frees up a slot. If you >get killed, the score file lists the item as having been recovered. > Well, several people have sent me personal mail about getting UR sources >and binaries, and a couple went to the net. If the author is listening, or >if anyone knows the answer, here's a summary : > 1) Is UltraRogue public domain ? Can sources be obtained as with hack, > or is it more like rogue sources ? urogue sources are like the rest of rogue sources. > 2) Is version 1.02 the most recent ? Are new versions in the works ? 1.02 with a date of 08/13/85 is the latest production version. if everything goes well, 1.03 binaries will be in public distribution by the summer. > 3) Where may the latest version (source or binary) be downloaded from ?? the latest urogue 1.02 binary can be obtained for 4.2bsd on a vax by sending a mail message to ultra-rogue-request@ucbjade.ARPA. you will get instructions on how to ftp the binaries. > 4) Is there any documentation available ?? none except what is online. the ? command gives all that is essential. urogue does make the assumption that you have played another version of rogue before. > 5) What machines/systems is UR currently available for ? well, it has been tested on 4.2bsd on a vax, RTU 2.2 on a masscomp 68000 system, sun's running 4.2bsd, the IBM RT PC running 4.2a BSD, and an AT&T 7300 running SysVr2. >If an attribute looks like STR 8(14), and a potion of gain ability chooses >STR, you get the message "You feel stronger, what bulging muscles", but the >new status looks like STR 9(9) !?! (Bug or intentional?) it's a psuedo-bug. >Shouldn't a ring of breathing work against chlorine/nerve gas attacks? 1.03 fixes this. fixes a few other inconsistencies with the ring of breathing too, like 1/4 of the damage without the ring. > ---- High Priest - level 61 and descending ---- a total winner at level 108 with all artifacts and and a me mere level 18 wizard. Subject: Re: UltraRogue -- questions/suggestions. (Slight Spoiler) In article <11706@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Tom Tedrick) writes: >I think you missed my point. My point is that it is very boring >to sit at the terminal for an hour hitting 40 sorceresses until >they all die. OK, maybe the idea is to avoid them. I never thought >of that since my normal style is to fight everything that I can kill. >But I suspect that rather than being a feature, it is a design flaw. the designers wanted a monster with high annoyance factor. the evil sorceress does the job well. their only mistake was not making enough other monsters like her. 1.03 will take care of that. and the monsters do get harder at lower levels, even of they don't change too much. have you ever had a storm giant shatter your +15 crystalline armor at one blow? not to be looked forward to. how about having an evil sorceress steal your protected blessed potion of gain level. or how about your blessed potion of gain level suddenly being cursed by an evil sorceress. >If you read some of my earlier postings or knew me, you would know >I have been complaining about the game/monsters being too easy >for a long time. I had the highest score on some of the berkeley >machines in the earlier versions. I agree that the game should >get harder/different at the lower levels. urogue 1.02 already does this somewhat. >>I still say that REAL rogue players play rogue 5.3. it was deliberately designed to have the monsters get harder faster than the hero did by a significantly higher rate. another thing too is that the hero heals slower in Berkeley 5.x rogues. Newsgroups: net.games.rogue In article <513@mhuxm.UUCP> mphw@mhuxm.UUCP (wood) writes: >This is another plea for information on which weapons are best to use >(adv. rogue (4 classes) 4.4). >I normally play a magic-user, and so can't use a two-handed or bastard sword. >Should I hold out for a long sword? A battle axe? Or should I take a >blessed pike/halbard. And what is a spetum? a long sword is 1d12, a battle axe is 1d8, a pike is 1d12 or 2d8 in urogue, a halberd is 2d6, and a spetum (yet another polearm) is 2d6. enumerating all possibilities (ignoring urogue specifics), you find that a long sword, a halberd, and a spetum have the same average damage. however, the standard deviation is higher for the sword. statistically, you maximize the 25th percentile (for example) damage by not choosing the sword. >By the way, is a flying potion good or bad? it depends. does it let you float over traps. (having never played Adv. Rogue 4.4, i don't know. a ring of levitation in urogue lets you float over traps. Subject: urogue bugs? (a reply) some people have mentioned that once a fight is begun using the 'f' or 'F' commands that the only way to stop us using the BREAK key. this happens to leave urogue in an unpredicatable state because of a design limitation. usually, but not always, it is possible to resume as if nothing happened. well, there is a kludge i put in to get around this. first, if more than one monster is next to you, you stop fighting (makes sense). second, when fighting not to the death ('f'), you stop fighting when your hitpoints reach 30% of maximum. third, when fighting with either fight command, there is a random one in 50 chance that you stop fighting anyways on a particular melee round with the message "You become tired of this nonsense." 1.03 should fix all these bugs. if your version is not 1.02 08/13/85, you have a back level and there were a few serious bugs fixed just before that version was made available. Subject: Re: Rogue Magazine Issue #4 In article <824@hou2e.UUCP> ksl@hou2e.UUCP (a hacker) writes: >>In our version, arrows shot at you from traps. What you do is, pick up the >>arrow. Wield it or whatever. Look at it, occasionally you get a (if your >>version has the same bug) +38783827 (or something) arrow, and it kills >>*everything* within 2 blows max. Easy sneezy, and when you return you have >>38783827 score points before adding any other score points. >Interesting version. Sorry, folks. This only works on whatever >version of rogue this poor soul once had access to. In most versions, >the arrow trap shoots a +1 arrow, and the darts disappear from dart >traps. my recollection is that most versions of Rogue 3.6 (they're all different even though they say 3.6 on them) and the early Rogue 5.2 versions had this bug as well as the nymph save game bug. to the best of my knowledge, none of the Advanced Rogue or UltraRogue versions have either bug. the nymph save game bug was annoying because it essentially tossed away what would have been a decent game. Herb Chong... I'm still user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... VNET,BITNET,NETNORTH,EARN: HERBIE AT YKTVMH UUCP: {allegra|cbosgd|cmcl2|decvax|ihnp4|seismo}!philabs!polaris!herbie CSNET: herbie.yktvmh@ibm-sj.csnet ARPA: herbie.yktvmh.ibm-sj.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa, herbie%yktvmh.bitnet@wiscvm ======================================================================== DISCLAIMER: what you just read was produced by pouring lukewarm tea for 42 seconds onto 9 people chained to 6 Ouiji boards.