Ziggurat Zagger
Posts: 4432
Joined: Friday, 8th May 2015, 17:51
Shafts without disadvantages
1) missing timed portals without player's fault is annoying. You may play perfectly but you cannot do much when you got shafted two floors down while going to the portal
2) they don't scale good enough. Shafting from D:13 to D:15 is not a big deal, shafting from D:1 to D:3 as XL 1 character is a game breaker
3) autoexploring is punished. With manual exploration you can recognize vaults and see that they cannot contain loot at some tiles while traps are still possible there.
4) scroll of magic mapping is too important, it can decide if you live or die.
5) multiple shafts in a row.
6) exploring while wounded is even worse idea than without shafts.
7) if you cannot run away from adjacent monster, you can try running into unknown territory hoping to get shafted (minor thing though)
Good things about shaft:
1) There are usually no stairs in view and you often don't know where good territory for fighting is
2) You can be surrounded immediately
I believe there is a solution which keeps good things and removes bad things.
When you enter a level for the first time, there is a chance that you will be instantly teleported away from those stairs.
1. Timed portal is still on the same level.
2. Scales naturally, you are still on the same floor.
3. autoexploring is not affected.
4. scroll of magic mapping still is very useful but at least you have an extra option of trying to get to those stairs: more decisions is good
5. no multiple shafts
6. exploration while wounded is not punished additionally
7. removing a way to escape adjacent monster without spending a consumable is a good thing.
As a bonus if you use current teleportation mechanic, you will be guaranteed to land with hostile monsters in view, currently some shafts are boring as you don't meet any monsters on the way back.
Overestimated: AC, GDS
Twin account of Sandman25