G:asa (06/08/82)
Skill is involved in getting the best game you can no matter
what the program doles out in the way of scrolls, weapons, etc. There
are perfectly legitimate strategies for approaching the game that will
maximize your chances regardless of specifics. (By "legitimate" I mean
strategies that don't depend on artificially inflated hit points,
reduced screen size, super-deadly arrows from arrow traps, using the
wizard option, or other shady practices that violate the spirit of the
game.) These strategies minimize the impact of bad luck and maximize
the effect of good luck -- discovering these tactics are what makes the
game fun for me, despite the fact I have yet to discover the Amulet of
Yendor.
An example of such tactics follows. In Rust Monster country,
it is often expedient to travel without wearing armor, since a
confrontation with with a Rustie has deleterious consequences. On the
other hand, encountering a Centaur, Yeti, or Troll without armor is
also hazardous, so it would be nice to know while moving through a
tunnel or dark room if one of these beasties is in your way. Throwing
a spare arrow, dagger, dart, spear, piece of armor, etc. (WITHOUT using
the bow or such) will let you know if something is in your path ("the %
hits the %" or "the % misses the %"). You can then take appropriate
action (i.e., wear or remove armor, run or fight, etc.). If the thrown
object does not hit anything, it can be recovered; if it hits a
monster, it will vanish (although if it misses a monster, you can use
it again).
Rogue is at least partly a game of skill....
John Hevelin
ucbvax!G:asabstempleton (06/10/82)
Sure there is lots of luck in Rogue - but you can't deny there is skill. As I learned to play the game, I was able to get progressively deeper and deeper. Now it is quite common for me to get into the below 20s area, while before I would get killed earlier on. You suggest I am getting luckier in my old age? Seriously, however, the question of whether there is too much luck in Rogue is another one. For example, part of my strategy, so as not to waste my time, is to quit outright if anything slightly bad happens to a low level character. By bad I mean not getting good hit points on the first or second roll, putting on cursed armour etc. I fight these guys without regard to caution on levels 1-8, just hack and slay, since I figure if they die, I am wasting my time and the wimp will be killed by the first Troll he meets. On the other hand, the only time one gets to do serious damage to nasties like Umber Hulks, Purple Worms and the like is when one has had the luck to get good hit points, good weapons/armour past the Rs and possibly a lucky magic stick like slow monster.