ecn-pa.haamu (07/16/82)
Has anyone developed any theories (or strong preferences) on how to
play rogue efficiently? With the introduction of hunger-inducing
rings this problem is even more pressing now than in earlier versions
of the game. It seems to break down into two parts:
1) What is the best way to traverse a darkened room such that
you "see" all squares of the floor? (How much does the problem
change if you add the requirement that you must locate all
the non-secret doors in the room?)
2) What is the best way to search for a secret door?
"Best" can be defined in either of two ways: fewest turns used, or
fewest keystrokes. In the former case, problem #1 becomes an interesting
mathematical problem, independent of the peculiarities of the game,
and complicated by the legality of diagonal moves. (I haven't taken
the time to solve it myself.)
Players I have met seem to have quite varied opinions about optimal
secret-door searching. One always goes first to the shortest (usually
vertical) candidate wall, regardless of how many rooms away it may be.
Another only searches at every third square along the wall so his searches
do not overlap. I used to do a quick once-over of all the possible walls
before going back for a more thorough check; now, espousing Murphy's Law,
I often head for the longest and farthest away.
Can anyone support or invalidate the following notions?
-- The difficulty of finding a door is unrelated to the length of
the wall it is on.
-- With a single stroke of the "s" key you search the wall directly
opposite you and the squares to either side of it *with equal
efficiency*.
-- There are never any secret doors on the first level.
-- There is a definite number of turns after which further searching
on a single square is always useless.
-- There is a treasure room behind every door you do not find.