Abyss Ambulator
Posts: 1249
Joined: Sunday, 18th September 2011, 02:11
Felid overhaul/removal
(another note: this may fit better on the devwiki; I thought it might be a good idea to post it here first and get feedback on it. If I should move it over there, let me know and I will be happy to do so [I have no idea where it would fit, though, so I'd need help on that])
This topic has been brought up on ##crawl several times, and it seems like it’s about time to address it elsewhere. Essentially, felids as they currently exist have massive problems in concept and execution, and should either be overhauled or removed from the game completely.
Problems with felids:
First, they have very few choices. Because of an inability to use most items in the dungeon, every FeBe plays almost identically, every FeSu plays almost identically, etc. Bots can get much further with felids than they can with anything else, which in itself is indicative of a problem.
In addition, their optimal playstyle is tedious. Because they are fast, have low HP, low AC, and high EV, they tend to kite monsters, run away frequently, block themselves with summons, etc.
Their apts are silly and extremely confusing for new players. They have +4 hexes, +3 stabbing, and +3 stealth, despite those skills (except arguably stealth) having almost no use for them. Meanwhile, their most useful aptitudes (fighting, spellcasting, UC, offensive magic, etc.) are mediocre at best. This isn’t a problem for experienced players, but can easily lead newbies into poor strategies, such as training stealth and stabbing to high levels on febe.
Meanwhile, they have a rather uncomfortable niche. There are several other dodgy races with poor defenses and limited armour (e.g. spriggan, octopode, troll) that have similar apts and do most things better. Their most common classes (be, tm, su) can be done very similarly by troll (be/tm), octopode (tm), and mummy (su).
Most importantly, the policy for their design seems to be “balance brokenly weak aspects with brokenly strong ones.” They make up for abysmal hp, mediocre apts, and terrible defenses with fast movement, near-gourmand, and an extra lives mechanic that I will talk about in greater detail later. These advantages (primarily fast movement and extra lives) make them relatively easy for experienced players, but are underutilized by the new players who want something simple (which felid professes to be). This results in an interesting situation where they are too easy/tedious for many experienced players to enjoy them, and too confusing/difficult for newbies.
Finally, they are unpopular. This alone is not enough reason to warrant removal, but it is worth consideration. Felids were the third-least-won race in the March 2012 tournament, behind ghouls and humans. Of the 7 felids won during the tourney, 5 of them were FeSk, a Nemelex’s choice combo. The felid high score during the tournament escaped with 4 runes in almost 150k turns. People rarely play them and often complain about them.
Extra lives:
Extra lives are distinct from the other problems and stand out as the worst by far. Crawl has no amulet of lifesaving. Death is permanent and should be avoided at all costs. This is a good thing, and one of the key features of roguelikes. It promotes cautious play and adds a greater weight to actions. Felids, though, have none of this before their last life. They have an automatic get-out-of-jail free card that, while it lowers their xl, allows them to bounce back from mistakes that would kill any other race. People use this, too; almost every felid win has a few deaths. It is bizarre that, while an AoLS or similar has been firmly rejected, felids get several. Death should be permanent, and felids blatantly break that rule. That they evidently need to break that rule to be playable or unique is a problem in its own right.
Possible fixes:
If removal is considered a bad idea, there are several routes that could be taken to improve felids. They could be taken two directions: First, they could be made significantly easier for new players and function as something of a training race. Alternatively, they could be made significantly harder and function as a challenge race for experts. Either way, extra lives should be removed (or significantly changed).
The simplest option to make felids more newbie-friendly is more hp. Right now, they have the worst hp in the game. Raising that to DE levels or so would make them much less fragile. They could also have stabbing special-cased to work with their claws, so that their already-good apts in those areas could be put to use. Alternatively, their UC or offensive magic aptitudes could be raised. A more unlikely option would be to allow them use of wands, making them slightly less restricted in escape options.
If the goal is to make them harder, a simple removal of the extra lives mechanic could be enough. Alternatively, they could lose swiftness or receive some other nerfs. I doubt that this is a good option (felids probably shouldn’t be a challenge race), but it’s there.
Alternatively, just remove them. There are enough problems that this seems like the best option to me, but others have expressed a desire to keep them in the game. Regardless of what happens, though, something should be changed.
(I have been informed that removing a race requires a nontrivial amount of work. It seems like it would be worth the effort, but I may be wrong)
tl;dr: Felids are shoehorned into a few roles, are bad for newbies but strong for experts, are generally tedious, and tend to be among the least popular races. They desperately need overhaul or removal.