Hi, crawlers! Here’s the latest changes in trunk:

• Monster intelligence has been simplified from six levels to three. This has a limited number of gameplay effects. Some highlights:
  • High-intelligence monsters (e.g. deep elves, non-berserker spriggans, salamanders, Killer Klowns) are now in the same category as human-intelligence monsters, and so no longer have shaft immunity, walking-into-deep-water-while-confused-and-drowning immunity, better ability to estimate victims’ MR when deciding whether to hex them, or other esoteric effects.
  • Human-intelligence flying monsters no longer dip into water to extinguish sticky flames.
  • Starcursed masses no longer care about their victims’ intelligence.
  • Stupid monsters that suffer noisy miscast effects (as caused by Spellbinder, etc) no longer have a chance of thinking that someone else made the noise.
  • If Kirke porkalates something, and then you kill Kirke, whether or not that monster become permanently friendly no longer depends on whether it had human intelligence before it was porkalated.
• Air elementals no longer randomly ‘submerge’ in air.
• Fire elementals no longer fly (though they can still cross lava). They can also now cross shallow water, which means that my brilliant vault showing off their former inability to do so has been removed… It’s a messed up world we live in, and it’s tragic as heck, basically.
• Various unrandarts now more clearly indicate their effects in their names; e.g., the Captain’s Cutlass {speed, disarm}.
• The Sceptre of Torment is now a staff, not a mace. (The Sceptre of Asmodeus was already a staff.)
• The Dragonskin Cloak no longer gives rCorr.
• The *Corrode randart property has had its chance of triggering reduced from 10% to 3%.
• Corrosion no longer depends on the player holding a weapon or wearing armour.
• Black Mark (both the demonspawn mutation & monster spell) no longer has a ‘vampiric’ effect, and now applies one effect at a time (instead of two). The non-vampiric effects (antimagic/weakness/draining) are now stronger, to compensate.
• Gozag’s potion petition prices are now more variable.
• Uniques are now somewhat less likely to have wands, especially high-level, late-game uniques.
• ‘Sustain Abilities’ is now ‘Sustain Attributes’.
• You can now use a Crystal Ball of Energy with less than 2 intelligence.
• The chance of doors creaking when opened no longer depends on Dexterity.
• Confused monsters are no longer also bewildered.

Happy crawling!

Hi, crawlers! Here’s the latest changes in trunk:

• Cleaving now functions while confused. Ctrl-attacking does not (except when a tree); in compensation, you can no longer stumble into deep water/lava while confused.
• You can no longer open/close doors while confused.
• Jellies will no longer eat items you’ve seen, unless you follow Jiyva. (This does not include items at the bottoms of stacks which you haven’t stepped on – you haven’t seen those items yet!)
• The Serpent of Hell is now somewhat weaker.
• Apporting the Orb of Zot now causes the orb run to begin (spawns, etc). You can now apport the orb in Sprints.
• The Storm card can no longer summon twisters.
• With the default rc, getting drained by an invisible ghost moth or missed by an invisible creature’s attack should now stop autoexplore/resting.
• New negative randart property: *Drain, which causes drain when un-equipped.
• New negative randart property: *Confuse, which causes a chance of confusion when taking damage.
• New negative randart property: *Corrode, which causes a chance of corrosion when taking damage.
• The mountain dwarf population has doubled! Jorgrun is no longer a deep dwarf, and now regenerates normally.
• Faith is now useless for Gozagites.
• Giant spores no longer appear normally in the dungeon.
• Dropping items now takes 10 aut apiece (as most actions do), instead of 0.8.
• The Flight spell has flown away forever. Replacements: Silence in the Book of Dreams, Flame Tongue in the Book of the Dragon, Lightning Spire in the Book of the Sky, and nothing in the Book of Air.
• Cigotuvi’s Embrace is now somewhat stronger in most circumstances, but will probably no longer provide hundreds of points of AC/SH in ziggurats.
• The Horn of Geryon is now worth somewhat less gold.

Happy crawling!

Hi, crawlers! Here’s the latest changes in trunk:

• All range-based mechanics now treat diagonals identically to orthogonal directions. Line of sight, spell range, and other effects are now visually ‘square’. Many of those, including line of sight, are now slightly shorter. (This results in them covering roughly the same number of squares).
• Removed monsters: baby alligators, boring beetles, and goliath beetles. (To compensate for baby loss, alligators now come in pairs.)
• Removed curses: basic mummies’.
• Removed spells: Abjuration is gone. Aura of Abjuration is now level 5 and in the book of Summonings instead of the Grand Grimoire.
• Monstrous Menagerie is now in the Grand Grimoire in Aura of Abjuration’s place; it’s no longer in the book of Summonings or the book of Beasts.
• Summon Mana Viper has been moved from the book of Hinderance to fill Monstrous Menagerie’s place in the book of Summonings.
• Followers of good gods can no longer be Demonologists. (They get different high-level summoning titles.)
• ‘?’ should now work on the offline title screen.
• Player-made storm clouds no longer fire at four times the rate of those onscreen.
• Monsters can no longer zap empty wands & leave them with negative charges.
• Vine stalkers no longer have fur.

Happy crawling!

Hi, crawlers! Here’s the latest news from crawl dev, plus a photo of a horrifying foodstuff (!?) that someone sent me today:

• Stat rot is now restored by gaining XP (like drain), rather than over time.
• The deterioration mutation is now two levels, instead of three, and causes a chance of losing stats when taking damage, rather than over time.
• Potions of restore ability have rotted away, and, coincidentally, were removed.
• To prepare for summer, Crawl is going on a diet: Snake, Spider, Swamp and Shoals are now all four levels long.
• Heavy armour no longer provides a speed penalty to Unarmed Combat and Throwing.
• New Ru sacrifice: Sacrifice Eye. Causes inaccuracy as if you were wearing two amulets of inaccuracy at once, which, like those, affects both melee, ranged and spells. Stacks with amulets of inaccuracy.
• New Ru sacrifice: Sacrifice Resistance. Provides rF- rC-.
• When following Gozag, gold that lands in deep water/lava now teleports into the player’s pockets.
• The wrath of Chei now slows the player’s movement until it expires.
• Killing demonspawn now give Yredremnulites piety, as with murdering other living beings.
• The Placid Magic card has been placidified; much as that is not a word, Placid Magic is no longer a card, since it’s been removed.
• Scrolls of random uselessness can no longer reassemble in your hands after being read. Please join me in mourning.
• Queen ants are now normal speed.
• The Spiny mutation is now considerably stronger.
• Corpses in deep water can no longer be animated.

Players may also be interested to hear that a legendary feature is back in testing…

Happy crawling!