
                              The Angband Code
                                      
   Editor's note: Any comments you have regarding this are best discussed
    in the newsgroup rec.games.roguelike.angband. If they are related to
      the html code itself, you can mail the editor directly. The HTML
    source to this is still rather mucky and should be cleaned up fairly
                                  soon :).
   
Contents:

   0. Overview
   1. Preliminaries
   2. Status line
   3. Equipment and stuff
   4. Options
   5. Playing Style
   6. Source and stuff
--------------------- The Angband Code  ---------------------------

Maintained by Mark Mackey (mdm1004@cus.cam.ac.uk), based on the Nethack code
by Irina Rempt-Drijfhout from an idea seeded by Ed Chang and taken
up by Dan Shiovitz. Thanks to Viljo Viitanen for the HTML structure.

0. Overview

  Abbreviations
  
     * A Artifacts
     * R Resistances
     * Sp Speed
     * #a Number of Attacks
     * w Current Weapon
     * b Best Item
     * H Haggling
     * D Difficulty
     * C Cheating
     * S Scumming
     * PV Pits and Vaults
     * c cloning
     * f farming
     * s summoning
     * h healing
     * d Diving
     * I Information and spoilers
     * So Source code
     * B Borg
       
  Examples
  
Ang 2.7.9v6(L) CPM "Atomjack III" DPM Hp:440 Sp:273 AC:101 L:34 DL:33
               A R !Sp #at:1 w:Eriril b:Cloak of Aman {res. disench}
               H- D C- S+ PV++ c f- s+ h++ d+ I So- B-

Ang 2.7.8(L) WCS "Atomjack" DuRM Hp:1086 Sp:194 AC:187 L:50 DL:100 $:6M
             *A* R++ Sp+ #at:5 w: Glaive of Pain
             H- D C+ S++ PV+ c++ f+/0 s- h d+ I+ So- B-

Note that 'S+/++' indicates behaviour somewhere between 'S+' and 'S++',
but closer to 'S+'. A '0' indicates a code neither '+' nor '-' in this
case (so 'f+/0' is between f+ and f).

1. Preliminaries

  Ang
  
    This is just to show that it's not a *geek* code.

  Version
  

    For instance: 2.7.9v6, 2.4.frog_knows
    If it's a 'D' code (see later) and you play more than one version
    either separate with a slash or put the less often used one in
    parentheses, e.g. 2.7.9v6(2.4.f_k)

  Platform
  
    Your type of machine. This list is still far from exhaustive, but
    it's being worked on.

    D    DOS
    U    Unix
    L    Linux
    M    Mac
    V    VMS
    At   Atari
    Am   Amiga
    Ac   Acorn
    O    OS/2
    W    Windows NT

  Type
  
    The type of game that the AC refers to:

    D    default - your usual or preferred character and playing style
    W    win - latest or best win
    C    current game
    F    most fun game
    +    silliest, saddest, most stupid or most spectacular death
        (optionally include cause of death)

    You can also add any of the following that apply:
    B    The character is a Borg
    W    The game is in Wizard mode
    S    The character has been restored from a backup savefile
    C    The character has one or mode 'cheat' options set
    P    Preserve mode
    M    Maximise mode
    T    It's a 'no return to town' game
    F    It's a 'from-the-top' game (no going up)
    N    It's a 'no-artifacts' game

    eg A current Borg game in preserve mode would be specified as 'CBP'.
       A fairly studly win might be 'WPMFN'.
       A rather pathetic game might be +SP(small kobold)

2. Status line

  Name
  
   should be self-evident.
   
  Race
  
     * H human
     * hE half-elf
     * E elf
     * Ho hobbit
     * G gnome
     * D dwarf
     * hO half-orc
     * hT half-troll
     * Du dunadan
     * HE high elf
       
  Class
  
     * W warrior
     * M mage
     * R ranger
     * Ro rogue
     * P priest
     * Pa paladin
       
  Gender
  
     * M male
     * F female
       
   Note: if you've got "D" for Type above, use the rest of this section
   to indicate what you'd need to have to feel comfortable, or to feel
   that the character had become 'interesting'.
   
  Hit points
  
   Maximum hit points.
   
  Mana (spellcasters only)
  
   Maximum mana.
   
  AC
  
   This is your AC in full (usual) armor.
   
  Level
  
   Self-evident.
   
  Dungeon Level
  
   Your deepest dungeon level as either level number or depth, with
   optionally your current level in parentheses.
   
  Money (Optional)
  
   How much money your character is currently toting around. Use 'K' or
   'M' for thousand or million respectively.
   
3. Equipment and stuff

   --- This section starts a new line of the AC ---
   
  A Artifacts
  
    *A*  I've got everything I could possibly want. Bladeturner, Feanor,
         Fingolfin, Ringil, Ulmo, Eonwe, the One Ring ,you name it,
         I've got it.

    A++  I'm pretty well kitted out: I've got enough artifact armours to
         be able to pick and choose and I've got a healthy selection of
         weapons to choose from.

    A+   I've got a few artifacts stored at home and am carrying round
         four or five. I've got one really nice artifact but am still
         waiting for a couple more goodies before diving.

    A    I've got one or two artifacts with me and have found all of the
         useless daggers. Nothing really good, though.

    A-   The only artifacts I've found are the Phial and Nimthanc.

    A--  The only artifacts I've found are the Phial and Beruthiel.

    !A   I haven't found any artifacts yet.

    !!A  I haven't found any artifacts yet and I'm at 2500'.

  R Resistances
  
    *R*  I'm resistant to everything and immune to fire, cold, lightning,
         and acid.

    R+++ I'm resistant to everything. Where's Morgoth?

    R++  I'm pretty well covered, although I have to swap my armour round
         when a big nether breather appears.

    R+   I've got all the low and quite a few of the high resistances
         covered, but I run in fear from drolems.

    R    I've got all the lows covered and am not really deep enough to
         worry about the others.

    R-   I have to swap shields when fire hounds hove into view.

    R--  I still haven't got free action or see invisible.

    R--- All my armour is standard stuff from the shop and I'm wielding a
         normal whip.

    !R   I'm trying to win naked.

  Sp Speed
  
    Sp++  I've got a RoS(+57).

    Sp+   When hasted up, I'm faster than anything I've ever met.

    Sp    I've got a speed item or two, but unfortunately there's no
          chance of my using the pillar trick on Tiamat.

    Sp-   I've found one ring of speed, but it was only (+1).

    Sp--  I've found forty-seven rings of speed and all of them were
          cursed.

    Sp--- I've got strength 3 and am usually at speed -15 just from
          carrying my spellbooks around.

    !Sp   I have yet to see a single speed item.

    ?Sp   How do I get these Boots of Annoyance off my feet?

  Number of attacks
  
   The number of attacks you get with your currently wielded weapon.
   
  Current weapon
  
   What weapon you are currently using. If an artifact you can just give
   the name.
   
  Best item (Optional)
  
   The best item the character has, or the one that you are most proud of
   or most boastful about.
   
4. Options

   --- This section starts a new line of the AC ---
   
  H Haggling
  
    H++  I love haggling, and go and buy things I don't need simply for
         the joy of it.

    H+   I think haggling adds something to the game and so leave it on.

    H    I used to turn haggling on for buying good items to get around
         the 10% 'sales tax' until Ben closed this loophole.

    H-   I find haggling boring and leave it turned off.

    !H   I turn on haggling simply to get myself kicked out of shops.

  D Difficulty
  
    D+   I've got all of the monster intelligence options turned on, let
         monsters exploit my weaknesses and wear an amulet of Aggravate
         Monster just to make the game harder.

    D    I've got the 'monsters chase' and 'monsters learn from mistakes'
         options on.

    D-   I turned off all of the monster intelligence options because
         it made the game much too hard.

    D--  I kill all of the big uniques by trapping them around a corner
         and fireballing them to death.

    ?D   How do you get to the options screens?

    !D   I think the monster intelligence options are plain silly, and
         anyway half of them don't work.

5. Playing style

   Note: the type of code determines what these indicators refer to. If
   it's a 'D' code, give your usual playing style. If it's a 'C' code,
   give the playing style you used for your current character and so on.
   
  C Cheating
  
    C+++ Morgoth was the first monster I killed.

    C++  I've hacked the code so that all uniques have DROP_GREAT.

    C+   My character's died 185 times already. Aren't backup save files
         wonderful?

    C    I peek into object creation just to make sure I never miss
         anything nifty.

    C-   I play the game by the straight and narrow, and even resisted
         the temptation to exploit the old 'infinite gold' bug.

    C--  I never even save the game and have lost innumerable characters
         to system crashes and typos.

    !C   Cheaters should be shot. Slowly.

    C?   What do you mean, backing up save files is cheating?

  S Scumming
  
    S+++ I scum Wormtongue until he drops Ringil.

    S++  I pop up and down levels all the time, even with autoscum on. I
         stop only for 'Superb' levels.

    S+   I have autoscum on as I think it makes the game more interesting.

    S    I occasionally will leave a 'boring' level early, and I'll scum
         the town for enchantment scrolls if I need to.

    S-   If my strength has been reduced to 3 then I'll scum the town
         for restore potions, but normally I just take what's given.

    S--  I've recalled into the dungeon with all my stats reduced below 5
         and my experience reduced by a factor of two since no restore
         potions showed up in town.

    !S   All scumming is cheating, and cheaters should be shot.

    ?S   What does 'scumming' mean?

  PV Pits and vaults
  
    PV+++ I clean out every pit and vault I come across. I've got an AC
          of 3 due to all those jelly pits, and most characters I run end
          up being slaughtered in a greater vault.

    PV++ I keep dying trying to Dispel Evil undead pits.

    PV+  I'll take on any monster pit that I think will be worth the
         effort, and every vault gets carefully looted.

    PV   I avoid jelly and undead pits like the plague, but will happily
         chew through any other pit or nest I come across.

    PV-  Monster pits tend to be too hard to bother with, and the one
         time I opened a chequerboard vault I got breathed on by Azriel
         and died.

    !PV  I scum for 'boring' levels.

    PV?   I've never been below 100'. What's a vault?

  c Cloning
  
    c++  I've got Narya and have just killed my 1000'th Great Hell Wyrm.
         I wish you could clone Tiamat.

    c+   I'll clone wyrms if I get the chance since I really need
         a couple more artifacts before I take on the big M.

    c    I'll clone a wyrm or two if the opportunity comes along but
         only if I'm sure I can take a couple of breath attacks.

    c-   I cloned a few Creeping Coin piles earlier, but cloning wyrms
         is too dangerous and also takes all the fun out of searching
         for good items.

    c--  I destroy wands of clone monster on sight.

    !c   I've hacked the code to remove wands of clone monster entirely.

  f Farming
  
    f+++ I worm farm to level 50 at 50'.

    f++  When I see some breeders I engage the Borg and come back an hour
         later.

    f+   I use worms to get me past the tricky levels. I've killed over
         a thousand white worms.

    f    I'll happily hack away at breeders for a bit, but it gets kinda
         boring after a while.

    f-   I kill breeders as quickly and efficiently as possible. I'm
         carrying 7 wands of stinking cloud just in case.

    f--  I'm wielding Calris and the entire level is full of Hummerhorns.

    !f   I genocide 'w' and 'I' every 50 turns.

    f?   Hey! Where are all those monsters coming from?

  s Summoning
  
    s++  I empty and recharge every staff of Summoning until it explodes.
         I wish you could get Rods of Summoning...

    s+   I like standing in large rooms with Greater Draconic Quylthulgs
         and seeing what shows up.

    s    I'll use up staves of Summoning if I find them, but they're not
         worth recharging. I fight summoning monsters in corridors if I
         can.

    s-   I ignore staves and scrolls of summoning, and dig holes to
         prevent monsters from summoning near me.

    s--  I haven't got see invisible. Where is that $^&$%" Quylthulg,
         anyway?

    !s   Summoned monsters should give no experience or treasure.

    ?s   I just got mashed by a baby blue dragon at 50'. Maybe I should
         have identified that scroll first?

  h Healing
  

    h++  I won't venture into the dungeon without my 47 Potions of Life.

    h+   I always carry more healing than I think I'll need.

    h    I usually make sure I've got a few Healing potions handy
         before I WoR back down.

    h-   I never remember to buy Cure Critical Wounds potions and spend
         half my life confused and blind.

    h--  I've killed Morgoth without needing to heal.

    ?h   I'm a priest with 18/*** Wis.

    !h   BigCrunch don't like smelly drinks. BigCrunch run away lots.

  d Diving
  
    d+++ I'm at 4950' and I'm level 13.

    d++  I never bother waiting for poison resistance at 2000'.

    d+   I skip the region from 1000-1500' since the difficulty doesn't
         increase that much and you avoid all those pesky Hounds.

    d    I usually explore levels fairly completely before proceeding
         down.

    d-   I always map and explore levels four or five times before
         venturing lower.

    d--  I'm at 50' and I'm level 13.

    !d   I'm level 1 and killing Aimless Merchants until I can afford
         that RoS(+30) in the Black Market.

6. Source and Stuff

  I Information and spoilers
  
    I+++ I know the source off by heart.

    I++  I've written a number of spoiler files and diff each new version
         against the last to see what's new.

    I+   I've got all of the spoiler files, read rec.games.roguelike.angband
         and look up every artifact as soon as I find it.

    I    I've got most of the spoiler files and look up monsters or
         artifacts that I'm not really sure about.

    I-   I try not to use the spoilers, but my characters have built up
         a pretty complete monster memory.

    I--  I avoid spoilers completely and have no idea what half my
         artifacts do.

    !I   I don't have net access and the sysadmin didn't install any
         help files on our system.

    I?   What does this Phial that I've found do?

  So Source Hacking
  
    So+++ I'm Ben Harrison.

    So++  I've written a widely used Angband variant.

    So+   I know large sections of the code well, and I've got my own
          personalised copy of Angband because I wanted to play a monk.

    So    I've looked at the source and have a vague idea what's going
          on in it.

    So-   I don't bother with the source: it's easier to pester Ben if I
          want something changed.

    So--  I downloaded the source archive: now what do I do to make it
          work?

    !So   I find it's more fun if I don't know how the game works.

    ?So   Is there a precompiled version for a PDP-11?

  B Borg
  
    B+++  I'm Ben Harrison.

    B++   I had a Borg character win.

    B+    I run quite a few Borg characters.

    B     I run a Borg every now and then because I find watching them
          interesting.

    B-    I've had a quick look at the Borg, but it doesn't really
          interest me.

    B--   What's the point in getting computers to play computer games?

    !B    I don't have a C compiler.

    B?    What is the Borg? Is it a unique?
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   This page was written by Mark "Atomjack" Mackey, who accepts all of
   the praise and none of the blame.
   Email: mdm1004@cus.cam.ac.uk
   Telephone: 01223 336452
