Let her paint an inch thick

If you haven’t been paying close attention (or you happen to be one of those backwards, curmudgeonly console players), you may have missed the boatload of new tile art going into 0.7. New dungeon! New monsters! New trousers! By my count, there were almost 300 modified or added tiles in this release.

This post is an overview of what you can expect to see when you start playing the shiny new version in a week or few.

A lot of this art has come from the ever-prodigious Poor Yurik (who you can thank for the new dungeon look, the spriggans, the kobolds, the goblins, the fabulous elephants, &c &c). However, there’s also a ridiculous amount of thanks for Denzi, coolio, Porkchop, LoginError, minmay, KiloByte, and others as well.

New Dungeon Tiles

The most immediate change that you will see in 0.7 is the new look for the main dungeon. Although it may look very grey at first blush, the desaturated colors on the walls and floors are intended to give the monsters and items a much more visible pop. This next picture is a comparison between how the main dungeon looked in 0.6 and how it looks now in 0.7.

It’s not just the tiles that have changed, though. There’s a few other code changes that make the new dungeon look even better. The left side of the following image is what 0.7 would look like if only the tiles had changed. The right side is what 0.7 actually looks like with the code and tile changes.

“Spot the differences!”

They’re all subtle, but there are three separate things going on in the picture on the right. First, like the water in the Shoals, there are transition wave tiles between shallow and deep water. Secondly, where ground touches water, there are some very thin transition shore tiles. Finally, shadows are added around walls to make them stand out as if they were lightly embossed.

One unexpected bonus from the new water tiles is that the previously garish 0.6 swamp is now a lot easier on the eyes in 0.7.

Finally, keep an eye out for the future! Poor Yurik has some great ideas about making the dungeon look even better that already have me excited for 0.8.

New Monster Tiles

A ridiculous number of monsters have gotten a facelift in 0.7. Here’s a quick comparison chart between old and new awesome.

Monster Tile Comparison from 0.6 to 0.7

There are also a whole lot of awesome new undead tiles for 0.7. The previous version only had two types of skeletons and zombies and only one spectral thing tile which made it nearly impossible to tell them apart.

Skeletons, Spectrals, and Zombies

To help you sort out which new monster tile is which, you may want to use the new “monster list” in the tiles version. You can find the monster list by clicking on the monster tab underneath the inventory and spell tabs. This will show all the monsters in view, sorted by difficulty.

Mouse interaction with the monster list functions just like mouse interaction with the dungeon. In other words, you can left click on the monsters in the list to move towards and attack them or right click to describe them. You can also zap spells, evoke wands, or fire quivered items using shift, ctrl, and alt key modifiers. It’s super convenient!

Trousers!!!

There’s one final change in 0.7 that I’d like to take the time to point out. After thousands tens of player complaints and bug reports, this critical issue has now been addressed.

Dignity is no longer an obstacle in the search for the fabulous Orb of Zot—players now enter the dungeon wearing not just pants, but trousers.