Tension?

[fnwc]

I've read several mentions of a "tension" rating/mechanic but have been unable to find anything on the wiki that describes what it means exactly.

Can anyone here elaborate what tension means in the context of crawl development?

[KoboldLord]

Basically, count up all the hostile monsters in line-of-sight of your character. Rank them according to difficulty, and add them all together.

Then, give your own character a number based on level, skills, and whatever other easy-to-code data you want to compare. Give that a numeric value. Add up the values of any allied monsters, and include them in your total.

Then compare the two. High tension is where the monsters have a high value compared to yours, and low tension is the opposite. 'Tension' is basically a shorthand way to say, "This ability kicks in when you're in a big fight."

Say you're a L15 demonspawn with Demonic Guardian 3, and you've blundered into Saint Roka's massive band of orcs. The game will count up all the orcs, and goodness there are a lot of tough orcs, aren't there? Demonic Guardian responds to the fact that there are lots of dangerous monsters around your frail L15 self and sends an Executioner to help you. Then it compares Saint Roka's band to you plus your pet Executioner, and decides this still isn't enough. So it sends another one in. Once your Executioners have ginsued their way through the orc horde and killed Saint Roka all by themselves, while you stare with glassy eyes and a slack jaw, Demonic Guardian will note that the monsters are no longer comparable to you plus your two Executioners, and they will be dismissed.

[Bim]

Excellent reply! I was wondering about that too so thanks alot!!!

[fnwc]

Thanks!