New Crawler, Assistance Needed

[AzuredreamsXT]

Just found out about the game and it looks great. I could definitely use some assistance though with the following

- I'd like to play just single player with the newest version that is stable and polished, which version of the game should I get and where can I download it?

- I read in a review that the game has been getting many additions in recent years that simplify gameplay, if I want the core/true experience without any handholding via mechanics, what do I need to add or disable when I download the game?

- Is the game self explanatory with regards to installation and setup? Any tips in this regard?

- Speaking of tips, any other information a brand new player would benefit from?

Thanks for any assistance, and cheers

[Siegurt]

Just found out about the game and it looks great. I could definitely use some assistance though with the following

- I'd like to play just single player with the newest version that is stable and polished, which version of the game should I get and where can I download it?

http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/downloads

- I read in a review that the game has been getting many additions in recent years that simplify gameplay, if I want the core/true experience without any handholding via mechanics, what do I need to add or disable when I download the game?

Afaik nothing, the "simplifying" that was referred to is just taking out extra mechanical steps that didn't add anything to game play.

- Is the game self explanatory with regards to installation and setup? Any tips in this regard?

The installer does it's thing with no real need for interaction. There is a tutorial which gives a quick playable intro into the basics, help is "?" There is an options file which you may feel you want to fiddle around with later, but the default settings are just fine.

- Speaking of tips, any other information a brand new player would benefit from?

Thanks for any assistance, and cheers

There's lots of different ways to play the game, don't be afraid to die lots, and experiment. As specific character questions in the YAVP/YASD/CIP forum. Dump your character info with "#" and paste it into the forums surrounded by code tags with questions.

[Utis]

I don't understand what you mean with "handholding via mechanics", but in respect to the other points, I'd recommend to just play online via telnet or ssh (or webtiles, if that's your thing).

I think the two most important pieces of advice for new players are:

- In the beginning put all your XP into your one most important means of offence, be it melee, ranged or magic.

- If you encounter a foe, in almost all cases, your first impuls should be to step back. Let them come to you. Or retreat, if they're too strong.

Otherwise pick whatever fascinates you most and experiment with it. You will die. A lot. There's a crawl proverb: "Dying is fun."

Welcome!

[Tiber]

I read in a review that the game has been getting many additions in recent years that simplify gameplay, if I want the core/true experience without any handholding via mechanics, what do I need to add or disable when I download the game?

The changes aren't meant to make the game easier, they're meant to get rid of stuff that nobody likes. For example, contaminated food had a chance to make you sick, preventing health restoration (and sometimes temporarily lowering stats) until it wore off. So players just waited it out. This was annoying, so they replaced with nausea, which makes you unable to eat more unless you cure it or were starving. This was better, but still annoying. They finally just made contaminated chunks give less nutrition, because food is really only there to push you onwards, not something you want to spend a lot of time on.

Besides, play a few times and you won't worry about it being too easy.

Is the game self explanatory with regards to installation and setup? Any tips in this regard?

If you're not playing online, there's a zip and an install. Seriously basic stuff.

Speaking of tips, any other information a brand new player would benefit from?

There's the entire forum. Way too much to summarize here.

Thanks for any assistance, and cheers

Happy dying.

[AzuredreamsXT]

Haha yea I embraced the losing is fun mantra when I was learning Dwarf Fortress. I'm psyched this game has a tiled version, does it run much slower than the non-tiled version?

[rchandra]

Haha yea I embraced the losing is fun mantra when I was learning Dwarf Fortress. I'm psyched this game has a tiled version, does it run much slower than the non-tiled version?

download both using the zip files, keep them in the same place (you'll have to rename crawl.exe from one of them to crawl-tiles.exe, crawl-console.exe or such).

Then see how they run. It would be a much more meaningful answer than what anybody could give you over the internet.

That said, the local tiles version runs lightning-fast for me. The online tiles, not so much, so I play online console.

[crate]

- Speaking of tips, any other information a brand new player would benefit from?

Assume every death is your fault (it is) and learn from every death.

When you see an enemy, your next action should almost never be to step toward the enemy.

[mikee]

Don't read the wiki.
Pay attention to turns and what happens on each turn.
When you take damage, try to determine if there was a way to take less or no damage.
Don't read the wiki.

[mopl]

- Speaking of tips, any other information a brand new player would benefit from?

-Be careful
-Be careful
-Be careful

and maybe : don't play too fast, but it is contained in the previous advice...

[gofftc]

Don't read the wiki. x2

Read the wiki.
Read the wiki.
Dont trust the wiki.

[battaile]

http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Davion_Fuxa%27s_Ogre_guide