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!