v1.3.8
Keypress reassignment - A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to shuffle a couple of key assignments, and I am just getting to it on my TO DO list (sorry Sunrise!). Anyhow, lightning bolt (previously <l>) is not activated by pressing <b> (as in lightning (b)olt); similarly, chain (L)ightning is now simply activated by a lowercase L. This places the 3 ranged mage attacks close together, and eliminates the need for a shift in the case of chain lightning (in the spirit of keeping this game as close to 1 button = 1 action as possible.).
Inventory Overhaul - Looking at the long inventory list of items I had accrued, it became pretty obvious that having to scroll through a long list (especially if you play without a mouse) is a pain. Appropriate type of items now stack. Generally speaking, this includes food, potions, scrolls, ammo, and a few other mior items. I prefer not to have armor and weapons stack, even when identical, for a few reasons including identification, but if you would like these items to stack as well, then it's about 3 seconds of coding to change it. Dropping or selling an item will sell a single item where appropriate, not the whole stack (I dont think this aplies to arrows and bullets - not really sure why you'd wanna sell just one unless you really needed a gp bad.)
High Score list refinement - Now your cause of death (or life/escape) is recorded in the high score list. This will likely be the last functional change to how the highscore file is saved, so no more deleting your highscores after this version. Also, you might notice your high scores seem a bit higher than normal - I am now including the wealth you have on you when you die as part of your score (gold + item values).
Balance Change - Mages seem to have a tough time, especially in the early game. I have increased the spell damage across the board for mages, and greatly improved the damage absorption of ice armor. In addition, I am looking at the other skills. Incinerate will probably get a damage buff, and I might change teleports functionality to be a short term hop rather than the 'port anywhere functionality it has now, though I am undecided. Opinion on this change?
Balance Change - Rewarded experience now scales with a comparison of your level and the defeated enemy's level. Experience reward is reduced for creatures much lower than you (to a minimum of 1xp per kill); conversely, defeating enemies much higher in level than you gives an xp bonus.
Bug fix - Removed an embarrasing ranged attack 'insta-death' bug associated with the addition of death track in the highscore list.
Bug(?) fix - Changed the way that incapacitating status effects are handled (such as fear/terror, stun, etc). I tried a short animation of you running away for fear, or time passing while you were stunned, which looked like it worked well on my computer, but some people reported they didn't like the forced pause. Changed it so that the turns passed instantly while you had no control of your character, but it was hard to tell what happened in the intervening turns (such as which way the attacker ran off.) So, I have reverted to an older form. Whenever you are stunned, or feared, the game will stop stop each turn for input - however, whatever you press will simply pass the turn frame by frame until the status effect is over. This lets you see exactly what occurs during the time period, and still takes control from you briefly.
Balance/Bug fix - Shopkeepers will now discard cursed items they inadvertantly buy from you (unidentified).
Balance change - Companions (meaning the wolf) will follow you through portals and down stairs, while creatures that you control, or are otherwise bound to you will break free of your control if you portal or move to another level (elementals, skeletons, dominated creatures).
Cleaned up the high score log a little bit; fixed some spacing errors. Added date recording.
Bug fix - A high level boss was summoning allies correctly...the problem was that the only creature of similar level to summon was himself, leading to a rapidly filling room of boss monsters - DOH! Anyways, the levels that he summons is now correct.
Bug fix - Reflected melee damage/spikes/thorns was being entered into the message log incorrectly.
New monster abilities
Note on development -
I have entered the hard-core play-testing/bug-fixing/balancing part of development. While there is still a huge list of features to be implemented (and I haven't abandoned any of the suggestions/ideas I have been sent, there are still due to be implemented), the basic mechanics are 95% complete - combat works, NPCs work, quests and puzzle work, monsters and their skills work, the item system works. Right now it's all about playing it over and over, seeing hard the difficulty is, tweaking skills to make them valuable, and keeping the levels coming at proper rates so it doesn't drag out. As such, the next few patches are going to be light on features and fluff, and you are going to see the basic difficulty curve start to solidify (it already seems to be there for the early and mid games - I feel like difficulty ramps fairly evenly at the moment). After I get worn out on bug hunting and balancing, I will return to adding features, and fluff. Generally speaking, with the game mechanics feeling solid, and the systems in place, it should be easy to add more content and bloat the game with new stuff. Most of my continued ideas can rely on the (hopefully) solid code in place. Thank you for taking the time to play!
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