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Archives - August 2000

Thursday 31st August 2000
- Amiga Cat. Not wanting to be left out on yesterday's porting fun, Bablos has created an Amiga version of the recent CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) (v2.9.1.2) release. The file you'll be after is linked below...
Wednesday 30th August 2000
- Cat x3. 'Neko' has made a some changes (new classes, a new weapon and a couple of bug-fixes) to CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) and released it as a new version (v2.9.1.2). The project homepage contains source code and has links to the DOS/Windows binaries on Thangorodrim and Evan Jenkins' Mac ports - both of which have also been updated. Here are the changes...
  • Wood elves have been added as a player race, being highly specialized with the bow, including intrinsic extra might.
  • Dark Avatars have been added as a player race, with incredible stats and resist nether, but with intrinsic drain experience.
  • Range weapons of ammunition have been added, which magically create a shot, arrow or bolt when needed. Ammo created in this manner is enchanted to around (+5,+5), give or take, and disappears after use.
  • Colorized the monster recall window, so that certain numbers stand out a little better.
  • Fixed a bug with the rogue attacking a sleeping creature, resulting in a page fault.
  • Added actual history info for the kobold.
  • Fixed errors in the shopkeeper table.
  • Updated the 'V' (version) command.
Tuesday 29th August 2000
- EyAngband Fixes. Another update of Eytan Zweig's new variant, EyAngband, is available. This minor update (0.1.0b) makes a few changes and tweaks, correcting a couple of bugs and balance issues. Here is the changes list...
  • If you set a high spell handicap in c_info.txt, spells pushed above level 50 now appear as "illegible".
  • Fixed the bug which caused the mage spell "haste self" to actually be "fire ball".
  • Fixed the pseudo-id speed flags (they were mixed up), and seperated heavy pseudo id into a seperate one, pseudo_id_heavy.
  • Lowered the success rate for mixing potions (chance of explosion remains the same). Note that potion mixing will be reworked in the next version.
  • Demons no longer get intrisic slow digestion, and they no longer gain an experience penalty for killing evil creatures. Their experience factor has been raised. Angels have not been changed.
  • Fixed the c_info.txt typo which made priests get a wisdom penalty instead of bonus.
  • Fixed the c_info.txt typo which made paladins fail to get the proper starting equipment.
  • Fixed the c_info.txt typo which let Rangers use the seventh mage spellbook.
  • Fixed an r_info.txt typo in the definition of the giant grey snake.
- EyAngband Port. On the ball, Bablos, has already made sure the Amiga peeps are catered for with a port of this new update of EyAngband (v0.1.0b). Here is the link to the file...
- ZAngband Port. On the... uhh... well, okay it's the same story - Bablos does the Amiga bods proud with another port, this time the stable (v2.4.0) release of ZAngband. And here a link to that file...
Wednesday 23rd August 2000
- New SLASH'EM. New version of SLASH'EM (v0.0.6E3F1) from Warren Cheung is available. It's mainly a bugfix release but it does mean that the Unix port is useable now and comes in an easier-to-use 'tar.gz'. Win32, Dos and Source is also available for the rest of us.
- Mac ZAng. Not only do the Mac bods get the stable (v2.4.0) release (mentioned yesterday) of ZAngband, they also get the old development release (v2.5.1). Cool huh? Well, you have Rowan Beetje to thank. Anyhoo, here are the files you'll be after...
- EyAngband Update. Eytan Zweig has a new version (0.1.0) of his fledgling variant, EyAngband, available. Things might go a little quiet for a while (due to lack of time) so grab this one to tide you over. Anyhoo, here is an edited changes list...
  • Classes are now configurable using the new c_info.txt file.
  • Added two new races - Angel and Demon.
  • Added Mystic class.
  • Removed the "maximize" option.
  • Changed the way skills are stored, to enable easier addition of skills in this and future versions.
  • Dig skill is now adjustable by class/race.
  • Throwing skill is now seperate from bow skill.
  • There is a new Alchemy skill used for mixing potions.
  • Added a "U:" field in p_info.txt which determines special racial powers.
  • Players can now mix potions using the new "x" command.
  • Autoscum is now a birth option. - you can choose between autoscummed
  • Updated p_info.txt to reflect the removal of rogues (oops).
  • Added a book store (idea and some code stolen from Oangband).
  • Some store inventories changed.
  • The Black Market has been modified.
  • Priest title "Priest Lord" changed to "Archpriest".
  • Fixed a bug that turned the priest spell "call light" into "detect monsters".
  • Added an option "verify destroy worthless objects" which defaults to false.
  • Removed the following obsolete options: Use corners while running, Allow Quantity Specification.
  • Add new item type - throwing powders ('*').
  • Implemented the item changes from Johnathan Ellis's edit patch, with some minor modifications.
  • Added Ethereal DSM.
  • Implemented Johnathan Ellis's edit patch selectively.
  • The storm of Unmagic has been beefed up, and made into a unique ("The Great Storm of Unmagic").
  • New monsters: Cockatrice, Wendigo, Pricurico, Dzoo-noo-qua, Troglodyte + many added from Johnathan Ellis's patch
  • Gug's now 'P' rather than 'G'.
Tuesday 22nd August 2000
- Stable Mates. A new stable version (as in not a development beta - nothing to do at all with horses and such) of ZAngband (v2.4.0) is now available from Robert Rühlmann and the ZAngband DevTeam. The changes from v2.3.5 is a beefy list as always so you can find it on Thangorodrim, here. And you can the files you need right here...
- Mac Cat. So that the Mac peeps don't feel left out, Evan Jenkins has created a Mac port of CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) (v2.9.1.1). He mentions that he hasn't really tested it and he had to disable artifact randomization to get it to link (fix coming soon, apparently). The port can be found on Evan's site, here but I've had no joy connecting to it myself.
Monday 21st August 2000
- EyAmigaband. Bablos is back once more to make sure the Amiga crowd doesn't miss out on the latest variant to join the stable - EyAngband (v0.0.2). You can get the file you desire from the link below...
Friday 18th August 2000
- Stable AllegroHack. After the Nethack 3.3.1-related update that was 1.4a, 'Wingnut' is releasing another version (1.5) of AllegroHack that brings stability to the merge and fixes some bugs introduced with the last update. Here is a more complete changes list...
  • Stable 3.3.1 integration.
  • Fixes all the things I broke in the rush to release 1.4a.
  • AllegroHack now automatically searches for xxx_fem tiles in the tiles\subs directory and uses them if they're there.
  • New tile-storage/loading system that will hopefully load faster and waste less disk space than the old one, especially on FAT16 systems.
  • New lockscroll option in alleg.cnf lets you stop the screen from scrolling with every move.
  • Now includes the "extinction patch" to show extinct species on the genocide list. (Extinct species do not count against the genocide conduct.)
Wednesday 16th August 2000
- SLASH'EM Forged! SourceForge'd, that is (a-haha, ummm... sorry). Warren Cheung has moved his project, SLASH'EM, to the SourceForge service. The 'cjb.net' address will take you straight to the new pages so no need to change your links but along with this move comes the benefits of the SF resource - bug tracking, mailing lists, forums and CVS repository.
Tuesday 15th August 2000
- Honeymoon Period? Eytan Zweig is a little of on eager side with another update to his new Angband variant - EyAngband. Only a day or two since his first release, here the new one (v0.0.2). A full list of changes can be found on the project homepage (along with source and Win binary) but I've included an edited down list below...
  • Spell system organized a bit better (coding change, no direct effect on playing).
  • Spell browsing color schemed changed again.
  • Broke the savefile format, and can not read 0.0.1 savefiles.
  • Mage spells, Rangers and Paladins rebalanced.
  • Added player invisibility and added a new item keyword: INVIS.
  • New monster flag: SEE_INVIS. Note that only very few monsters have this.
  • The One ring now offers invisibility.
  • Added new items - cloak, amulets and potions of invisibility.
  • Artifact spellbooks will not be affected by turning on randarts.
  • Balanced artifact spellbooks by causing BAD things to happen if the spell fails.
  • Added new artifact spellbook - The Necronomicon, usable by both priests and mages.
  • Trying to wear a new ring when you are already wearing two asks you which one to replace (copied from Oangband).
  • Tweaked the spellbook colors a bit further.
  • New attack method: KISS
  • Nameless Horrors colors changed, plus they are now evil and are hurt by light.
  • Added: Sirens, Dementors (took some liberty with Harry Potter here by making them Vampires), Blast-end skwerts.
  • Added Uniques: Snarl the small kobold, Squish, Lord Voldemort, The Great Sentient Treasure, The Shrike.
  • Removed Uniques: Both Farmer Maggot's dogs.
  • Renamed The Mouth of Sauron to Archimago.
  • Corrected all the missing spaces in the monster descriptions.
  • Modified the spells offered by The Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, made it a bit easier to find.
  • Added 2 new artifact lights sources - The Beacon of Om and the Great Lamp of Cheradenine.
  • Flasks of Oil have been renamed "Lantern Oil".
  • Added a new flask - Oil of Burning.
Monday 14th August 2000
- SLASH'EM Syncs. As with the new release of Nethack (v3.3.1), Warren Cheung absorbs the new features/bugfixes into a new version (0.0.6E3F0) of his variant SLASH'EM. Along with the fixes that Nethack brings, Warren adds his own SLASH'EM fixes. Ofcourse, all this could introduce a couple of new bugs but fingers crossed. Other changes in this version include 8-bit colour depth support in ALLEGRO, AllegroHack 1.4 features, a new vampire technique and several new monk techniques including the 'Blitz' technique.
- AllegroHack Syncs. Speaking of taking onboard the new core code provided by an update to Nethack 3.3.1, 'Wingnut' has done the same with his new version (1.4a) of AllegroHack.
- Another Variant? Eytan Zweig is bringing another Angband variant into the world in the shape of his 'EyAngband'. The homepage is a little sparse but pretty much contains the essentials (source, Win binary and changes list). Eytan's variant is based on Angband 2.9.1 and adds new items, some new monsters while making changes to the interface and the magic system.
- *Tweak* *Pluck* Archiving July didn't merit a *Snip* *Snip* as it was so small. Gee, wasn't it quiet last month? Anyway, it's gone and this page is a little leaner because of it. Nice.
Friday 11th August 2000
- Mr. Amphora? Ever find yourself stuck for a name for your plucky adventurer? Well, you could always pop in 'Amphora', which is apparently the name of the humble '@' sign. Cool huh? Check out this link for more details on the origin of our beloved symbol. Ofcourse, this revelation does not mean that the argument between the graphic-tile fans and the ascii-advocates has been running for over 500 years though.... it just feels like it. *wink*. Thanks to Adrian Preston for the pointer.
- RISC OS Port. Another variant is available to the Acord RISC OS crowd thanks to Tom Harris. The port this time is the recent CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) (v2.9.1.1) and you can grab it from Tom's own link below...
- Nethack Release. Hmm, the planets must be in alignment again... Yup, another release of Nethack has been smuggled out of the Devteam stronghold. As you would expect, version 3.3.1 nobbles a number of bugs and instabilities introduced with the last update. Binaries for Dos, Windows, Mac and Linux are available with OS/2, Atari and Amiga versions coming soon.
- Bug Splat. Jurriaan Kalkman is upto his old bug-fixing antics with a new version (b6r4) of his variant - Angband/64.
- Saver Update. Robert Rühlmann has made a quick update (v1.1) to his screen-saver/borg amalgamation (which you can find here). Here are the changes to the screensaver...
  • Spaces and more than 8 characters in the name of the screensaver savefile are handled correctly.
  • The info windows get their titlebars back now when exiting the "pseudo-screensaver" mode started from the options menu.
And there are changes made to the borg...
  • Fixed a bug that caused the borg to stop when it tries to use a rod of speed without having enough skill to do so.
  • The Borg no longer requires to have enough ID possibilities before climbing deeper into the dungeon.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the Borg from correctly shopping for various potions and scrolls that he needed to climb deeper.
  • Coordinates given in the various borg messages have been changed so that they are in (y, x) order like in the other parts of the game.
  • Increased the performance of the Borg by about 10% by using a lookup-table for the terrain recognition.
  • The Borg will now rest instead of using potions to heal when not in danger.
  • The Borg now only chooses legal race-class combinations when rolling a random character.
  • The game will now log some basic info about deceased Borgs in a "lib/user/borg-log.txt" file. Saving screendumps and other things for dead higher level Borgs has been turned off.
Tuesday 8th August 2000
- 'Tan'tastic! *groan* Michael Blackney, author of the Development article 'The Building of Towns' has decided to put his roguelike theory knowledge to use and create his own little hack'n'slash project. The name of Michael's game is Abura Tan and an actual release should be coming soon. DOS binary only initially but source is will also be available meaning anybody can try their hand at the old porting lark. Go take a look at the project homepage for more information.
Monday 7th August 2000
- Shadowdale Revision. The roguelike formerly known as Shadowdale is soon to be the roguelike currently known as Kharne: The Revelation. The page for the renamed project features a preview of this new incarnation, including a whole bunch of screenshots and infomation on how to join the Kharne mailing list. Author, Dave Moore, mentions that the new version of Shad..uh..Kharne should be ready at the end of the month.
- Amiga Cat. Bablos has been porting again, this time bringing CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) (v2.9.1.1) to the Amiga peeps. As it's been a while, now is probably a good time to plug Bablos' Angband Variants site as I tend to bypass it to bring you the file address...
- Screenband? Saverband? Maybe the next logical progression of the borg, Robert Rühlmann has created a Windows screensaver using Andrew P. White's APWBorg running in a continuous mode. You can find the page on Thangorodrim containing more info and the file you want here.
Friday 4th August 2000
- New Roguelike. Peter Farabaugh has a new java roguelike in development. It's called Tapestry and although the project homepage is a little on the under-nourished side, there are some screenshots to take a look at and some XML data files to have a good old rummage through. Go have a nosey and send Peter some feedback.
- Amiga Vanilla. Making sure the Amiga bods get their fix, Bablos has created a port of Angband (v2.9.1) release. It's not clear from his announcement whether this is the bug-fixed v2 release but I think it's safe to assume so. And without further ado, here is the file...
- Millenium Cat. After quite a lengthy break, 'Neko' has released a new version of CatH-Angband (Cat-and-the-Hack Angband) (v2.9.1.1). As the version number suggests, it's based on the updated Angband release. There are quite a few additions though (which can be found listed on Neko's project homepage) with source and DOS/Windows binaries available from Thangorodrim's project page here.
Tuesday 1st August 2000
- Score Site. Ed Bradburn is a collating nut. So much so that he's set up a new website called 'HackSt@t' where he intends to showcase his vast collection of Nethack 'record' file scores with various comparison and summary bells and whistles. Ofcourse, the collection isn't so vast at the moment and that is where you come in. Not only should you feel obliged to visit the site, but also contribute. Send in your scores and make Ed a happy chappy.
- Ker-chunk! June goes the way of so many other months, retired to spend the last of it's golden years in the peaceful haven known as the Archives section. I know this one is a bit late so the next archive will probably only be in a week or so.
© Copyright 2000 Darren Hebden.