CSvax:mss@pur-ee.UUCP (07/22/83)
One of the most time consuming and iritating (at least for me)
part of rogue is the time spent punching h,j,k,l's in order to
backtrack your path. I particularly mean the instances when
you start in a room, follow a path to the other side of the
screen, find no returning corridors and have to hhhh,jjjj, etc.
in order to retreat to your original room. This also happens when
you follow a corridor that winds for a long way but ends in a dead
end.
Why not create a 'home' i.e. a place you can set by hitting
a key that rogue will recognize as a base of sorts. Rogue can
figure the number of moves it takes to return to home, and act
appropriately (hunger, etc.) if necessary. If any monsters
bar the way, stop and inform the player as the game would normally.
Another possibility would be a run extension of home, to get you
out of those trouble spots and into a safe place.
With the home function( a ^H perhaps) you can get into a room,
hit ^H and your base would be set. If you wanted to change bases
simply hit ^H in the next place you want to call home. You could
also see where home is by hitting another key, or rogue could set
a character on the screen like a sign.
By using home, you can return for instance, to the place you find
the stairs down to the next level. If you are adventuring and
wish to return with ease so you can go down another level
hit one key and zap... you are at home. This would also be helpful
if a room has many doors; set home in the room, go through a door,
adventure a while, and when finished hit a key to return and go
throught the next door.
There are lots of other useful things you could do with 'home',
and I think it would be a time consuming and helpful addition to
rogue.
Martin Streicher
alias
Brutus the Man-God(Where is that Titan??)
decvax!pur-ee!purdue!mss