Crawl 0.17: Corn enemies no longer popcorn

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Crawl 0.17: Corn enemies no longer popcorn

ZeeToo: Feb 20, 2008; I'm a kitty!

What is Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup?
Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup is a popular, free roguelike game focusing on tactics, balance, variety and a lasting challenge. A roguelike is generally a turn-based RPG, with an emphasis on randomly generated worlds, a high depth of play, huge menageries of monsters, and some MacGuffin you have to dig up and escape with. Most roguelikes use ASCII characters for graphics, though an increasing number utilize graphical tiles, like Crawl. Roguelikes are usually very tough to beat, and death is often permanent: once you're dead, you're dead.

Crawl is unique in its design philosophy, with a focus on eliminating a lot of the annoyances of the genre, while focusing on the strengths.

Major design goals:

challenging and unpredictable gameplay, with an emphasis on tactical skill
meaningful decisions (no no-brainer, works-every-time-with-every-character play choices)
grinding should be unnecessary, even discouraged
a simplified and elegant interface, with a helpful tutorial and mouse support for new players

Minor design goals:

clarity of design (playable without the need for external spoilers)
thematic consistency (no lightsaber-wielding orcs)
replayability and lasting challenge (with optional branches, multiple race/background/god choices, and optional challenges)
proper use of out-of-depth monsters

This culminates in an accessible roguelike with a compelling play experience, with tough but fair challenges, and the tools to win under your own steam. When you do die (and you will), the cause is usually clear (if not completely preventable), as well as how you can overcome it the next time around.

What's new in 0.17?

The fake circle line of sight is gone, replaced by a square one. Diagonals and adjacent are now actually interchangeable.
Introducing juggernauts, the Depths enemy that will hit you for 80 damage when you're sure you're safe with 79 HP.
Death cobs have been buffed... a lot.
Gozag has been quite improved, especially since he summons shops at your feet now.
Shadow traps are gone.
Instead, orange crystal statues cast shadow creatures.
New randart properties like *Corrode or *Drain to annoy you!
Controlled teleport is a thing of the past.
Many miscellaneous improvements in things like eating and autopickup stacks, new vaults, new unrands...

Screenshots!
_{_{from 0.16 but the main visible difference is square LoS so I'm being lazy.}}
WebTiles (on CSZO):

ASCII (again on CSZO):

How do I play Crawl?
You can download the offline builds here. The offline versions of Crawl are available in ASCII and graphical tiles formats for Windows, Mac OS X, Debian/Ubuntu, and an Android Tiles port. The development builds (Android port is located here) can also be downloaded which allow you to play the most recent experimental beta releases and test out the new additions being considered for the next stable release.

However, one of Crawl's biggest selling points is the ability to play online through various methods - read on!

Why and how to play online
If you use either an SSH client or the WebTiles interface, you can connect to one of the Crawl servers and play along with dozens of other people, or watch those who are playing. Here are some of the perks of online play:

People can spectate as you play, and with WebTiles' integrated chat window, spectators can now talk amongst themselves as well as with the game player
Your game saves and play statistics are tracked centrally and are available from any computer
Every game you play is recorded by the server, and can be replayed in whole or in part, or otherwise examined for later analysis, bragging, and mockery
You get to meet and fight the ghosts of other players, rather than just your own
You can play in the annual and version-release tournaments

Purists can play or spectate via console (see sections 'The Servers' and 'The Software'), while for those who like the graphical interface, various servers offer WebTiles functionality - a web interface which mimicks the offline Tiles build, and even has an integrated chat window for the player and spectators to talk in.

Places to play Crawl online
CAO: crawl.akrasiac.org - long-serving Crawl server located in Tucson, Arizona. Offers console and WebTiles. The website which tracks player wins and statistics is now back online at crawl.akrasiac.org/scoring
CBRO: crawl.berotato.org - Georgia-based server, supports WebTiles. Very notable for hosting interesting experimental branches; currently including five possible races, two new gods, and the mostly-joking nostalgia branch that brings back many things that should never have been brought back.
CDO: crawl.develz.org - Germany-based server for the Europeans among us, supports console only.
CKR: kr.dobrazupa.org Korea-based server. Webtiles-only.
CUE: European (German) server - Formerly CLAN. Maintained by goon TZer0. (Give him props, he rules.)
CSZO: crawl.s-z.org - Pennsylvania-based server, supports console and WebTiles as well as cross-interface spectating and chat. The most popular server among online players at present.
There are more; if none of these suit you, check the full list here.

If you play online, you can see information about your games at http://crawl.akrasiac.org/scoring/players/<yourname>.html - e.g. http://crawl.akrasiac.org/scoring/players/zermako.html . It's neat!

This game is very hard. Where can I get help?
In keeping with roguelike tradition, Crawl is indeed an excruciatingly difficult game at times. Fortunately, there are many resources available to assist you (some considerably more reliable than others!):

First of all, there's the in-game help, accessible with "?", or for individual enemies or items by pressing x, moving the cursor over whatever, then pressing v.
CrawlWiki - community-maintained wiki with lots of useful tables and explanations. Often out of date, sometimes badly so, but with that caveat a great resource. Just be aware of the version notes for any article.
##crawl - the official Dungeon Crawl IRC channel. Has a pair of bots (Sequell and Cheiabrios) that can be queried for up-to-date info on monsters & other crawl info.
##gooncrawl - the SA Crawl IRC channel.
LearnDB - a searchable repository of Crawl lore. Almost always up to date & accurate, but sometimes its terseness and in-jokes do it no favors.
The Tavern - the official Dungeon Crawl forum.

Beyond learning the basic mechanics of the game, probably the best way to improve is to talk about and play the game online. Online play allows other people to give you pointers on mistakes you may be making without realising, and there are usually friendly goons around in IRC who will be happy to advise you.

Threads from previous versions

Crawl 0.16: Ru asks you to sacrifice your free time! This is a trivial butt
Crawl 0.15: Terrifying, Ever-Gnashing Radulae
Crawl 0.14: You feel energized by your suffering!
Crawl 0.13: FoIE GrAs: You are engorged.
Crawl 0.12 Erolcha banished me and gave me apocalypse crabs
Crawl 0.11 Eight legs and it's not an Octopode: Welcome to Spider
Crawl 0.10: Your tentacles turn into razor-sharp scythe blades
Crawl 0.9: A meow rips itself from your throat
Crawl 0.8: Mennas II Society
Crawl 0.7: The Dying Game
Crawl 0.6: Slouching towards The Abyss
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.5.0: Now with less Oklob!
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.4.0
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.3.0

ZeeToo fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Nov 11, 2015

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:35

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 14:28

Ciaphas: Nov 20, 2005; > BEWARE, COWARD

Haven't played Crawl in years, and every time I see a strange new thread title like this I'm inspired to give a go at actually getting through it.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:38

chin up everything sucks: Jan 29, 2012

second!

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:52

Brannock: Feb 9, 2006; by exmarx; Fallen Rib

Ciaphas posted:

Haven't played Crawl in years, and every time I see a strange new thread title like this I'm inspired to give a go at actually getting through it.

It's a strange game where you can say that it gets easier and harder at the same time with each new version.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:53

Zaodai: May 23, 2009; Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.

The "Whats new in .17?" section really comes across as "Prepare your anus!". I take it there isn't a new race or class this time, it's all just new ways to crush you plus square LOS?

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:53

Dr. Despair: Nov 4, 2009; 39 perfect posts with each roll.

Maybe this will be the thread where felids get capes and hats.

lol, no chance

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:55

Internet Kraken: Apr 24, 2010; slightly amused

Zaodai posted:

The "Whats new in .17?" section really comes across as "Prepare your anus!". I take it there isn't a new race or class this time, it's all just new ways to crush you plus square LOS?

Yep. Its just square LOS, removal of stuff for no reason, and a bunch of pain. Also some more under the hood changes. Did that webtiles fix end up in this version?

EDIT: Though the death of shadow traps should please a lot of people so you take what you can get.

Internet Kraken fucked around with this message at 05:59 on Nov 6, 2015

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:56

The Mattybee: Sep 15, 2007; despair.

Internet Kraken posted:

Yep. Its just square LOS, removal of stuff for no reason, and a bunch of pain. Also some more under the hood changes. Did that webtiles fix end up in this version?

I don't hate myself anytime I try to play anyone with ranged weapons, so I think so.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:58

ZeeToo: Feb 20, 2008; I'm a kitty!

Internet Kraken posted:

Yep. Its just square LOS, removal of stuff for no reason, and a bunch of pain. Also some more under the hood changes. Did that webtiles fix end up in this version?

Yup, sure did!

Zaodai posted:

The "Whats new in .17?" section really comes across as "Prepare your anus!". I take it there isn't a new race or class this time, it's all just new ways to crush you plus square LOS?

Kind of fair.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:59

Heithinn Grasida: Mar 28, 2005; ...must attack and fall upon them with a gallant bearing and a fearless heart, and, if possible, vanquish and destroy them, even though they have for armour the shells of a certain fish, that they say are harder than diamonds, and in place of swords wield trenchant blades of Damascus steel...

That list makes it look scary, but I don't think it's really any harder. I haven't played that much, but I haven't had any problems with juggernauts, shadowtraps made the game a good bit harder and are gone and the controlled teleport change actually makes the game easier in my opinion since it means there are no more -ctele areas and controlled blinks, even from scrolls of blinking, are always fully controlled. I almost never used actual controlled teleport anyway and I think removing it was the right decision. Death Cobs are the one change that people have repeatedly mentioned as making the game harder, though neither of my characters to encounter them since the buff felt very threatened (I'm sure I'll get killed by one in the tournament just for mentioning that).

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:05

kaschei: Oct 25, 2005

Might as well link the full changelog somewhere on the first page

edit: also while the removal of CTele is important the removal of -CTele is just about moreso

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:06

World Famous W: May 25, 2007; BAAAAAAAAAAAA

SquareLOS really is the best change in a minute and there have been some good QoL improvements in the last few versions.

ZeeToo posted:

new unrands...

But not the one that matters.

_{_{_{_{Bring back Crown of Eternal Torment}}}}

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:06

Internet Kraken: Apr 24, 2010; slightly amused

I'd argue that the removal of controlled teleport actually makes the game easier, if you are mindful of your items. Blinking scrolls can almost always save your life if you use them properly. Now you can use them literally anywhere. Many extended areas had -Ctele so escaping from death was much harder, but now you can just use a blink scroll. Also the controlled blink spell is even better of course, but translocations as a whole got nerfed since they KILLED SINGULARITY :mad:

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:10

Ramc: May 4, 2008; Bringing your thread to a screeching halt, guaranteed.

A repaste of our team for the 0.17 tourney:

Ramc posted:

Are you sick and tired of devs running this amazing game into the ground? Taking everything good and pure out of it? Replacing it with cheap immigrant content?

TAKE A STAND.

GOZAG-TRUMP 2016- MAKING CRAWL GREAT AGAIN

1. Ramc
2. bh
3. DocEon
4. Jazzimus Prime
5. skasion
6. Captain Monkey

The yoougest, most luxurious runes. An amazing, beautiful clan. Gold plated hammers. Platinum ankhuses.

And we are paying for it ourselves.

I have it on good authority that if we succeed that the devs will re-implement hammers, Singularity, Stalkers, Sludge Elves and Mountain Dwarves, and then will build a wall (they will pay for it) around the code so they can't be removed later.

Also Captain Monkey/friendlybee, did you add me as your captain yet?

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:14

Dr. Despair: Nov 4, 2009; 39 perfect posts with each roll.

Man, D10 as an ogre, and I've gotten Firestarter, a robe of temperature

code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.17-b1-25-g6d8775f (webtiles) character file.

MrDespairSA the Bludgeoner (Ogre Berserker)         Turns: 8670, Time: 00:20:31

Health: 82/119     AC:  9    Str: 24    XL:     11   Next: 44%
Magic:  11/11      EV: 11    Int: 10    God:    Trog [*****.]
Gold:   336        SH:  0    Dex: 15    Spells: 0 memorised, 10 levels left

rFire  + + +     SeeInvis .     I - +7 great mace "Firestarter" {inner flame, rF++}
rCold  + . .     Clarity  .     H - +2 robe {rC+ rF+}
rNeg   . . .     SustAt   .     (shield currently unavailable)
rPois  .         Gourm    .     (helmet restricted)
rElec  .         Spirit   .     f - +0 cloak
rCorr  .         Warding  .     (gloves unavailable)
rMut   .         Stasis   .     (boots unavailable)
MR     +....                    (no amulet)
Stlth  +.........               P - +3 ring of dexterity
                                E - ring of Divine Intervention {rF+ AC+3 Int+4}

@: exhausted, slowed, very slow, somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments,
very unstealthy
A: unfitting armour, tough skin 1
a: Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Burn Spellbooks, Renounce Religion


You are on level 10 of the Dungeon.
You worship Trog.
Trog is extremely pleased with you.
You are hungry.

Man, why'd the floorgods (and trog) have to give me all this the day before the tourney.

e. cast into the abyss on orc:4 and couldn't find an exit before getting cornered with no tele.

Dr. Despair fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Nov 6, 2015

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:36

Unimpressed: Feb 13, 2013

Out of the blue question here, but looking up Rupert on Learn DB and this shows in the description:

For laughs, watch: "!lg * mfre killer=rupert 1 -tv:<0.5" or "!lg * kewn killer=rupert 1 -tv:<0.5".

What the gently caress?

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:50

Internet Kraken: Apr 24, 2010; slightly amused

Its a code you can put into the ASCII online version of Crawl to watch clips, usually someone dieing horribly. I have no idea how they work and have never been able to figure them out.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 06:51

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

You give it to an irc bot, which queues it up into a self-explanatory Crawl TV thing for you to watch. It records EVERYTHING the player was doing, including menus, so it's not that good at capturing only the funny bits.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 07:27

PleasingFungus: Oct 10, 2012; idiot asshole bitch who should fuck off

Haifisch posted:

You give it to an irc bot, which queues it up into a self-explanatory Crawl TV thing for you to watch. It records EVERYTHING the player was doing, including menus, so it's not that good at capturing only the funny bits.

Specifically, you'll get a link to https://termcast.shalott.org/tv/, and then you'll generally have to hit 'b' to start watching the actual tv. ascii gaming.......

# ? Nov 6, 2015 08:15

tote up a bags: Jun 8, 2006; die stoats die

stop doing runs the day before the tournaments guys, luck takes 3-4 weeks to reset

# ? Nov 6, 2015 08:30

LazyMaybe: Aug 18, 2013; oouagh

Stoat posted:

stop doing runs the day before the tournaments guys, luck takes 3-4 weeks to reset

can confirm this is true

skill is fake anyways
e:I don't know how to deal with thorn hunters without high AC

LazyMaybe fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Nov 6, 2015

# ? Nov 6, 2015 08:52

Floodkiller: May 31, 2011

IronicDongz posted:

can confirm this is true

skill is fake anyways
e:I don't know how to deal with thorn hunters without high AC

I usually break out wands of fire or summoning scrolls for them. They are also worthy of using up Haste+Might. Otherwise, I just pick a different staircase and hope they don't find me again.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 13:13

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

I streamed during the last tournament and it was pretty successful until my mic inexplicably died halfway through, so I guess I'll do it again. Got the first 3-rune win last time so I'll be going for it again, especially since it ended up being a PB with an asterisk because of the melee bug.

http://www.twitch.tv/lessens

I'll post another link when the tournament actually starts.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 13:38

FulsomFrank: Sep 11, 2005; Hard on for love

Quick non-tourney related question for all the casters out there (aside from how do you guys play online so much, it's so laggy and unresponsive compared to offline): when you guys choose to rest and regen mana, are most people anal enough to run around and find a cleared out or relatively safe and escape filled area to do it OR do you guys prefer to just plop your asses down wherever and hit 5? I guess this question works for HP too.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 15:47

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

FulsomFrank posted:

Quick non-tourney related question for all the casters out there (aside from how do you guys play online so much, it's so laggy and unresponsive compared to offline): when you guys choose to rest and regen mana, are most people anal enough to run around and find a cleared out or relatively safe and escape filled area to do it OR do you guys prefer to just plop your asses down wherever and hit 5? I guess this question works for HP too.

I usually press shift+g then < which takes you up the nearest stairs. Generally it's safest to do this whenever you rest regardless of what you're playing.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 15:50

StoryTime: Feb 26, 2010; Now listen to me children and I'll tell you of the legend of the Ninja

FulsomFrank posted:

Quick non-tourney related question for all the casters out there (aside from how do you guys play online so much, it's so laggy and unresponsive compared to offline): when you guys choose to rest and regen mana, are most people anal enough to run around and find a cleared out or relatively safe and escape filled area to do it OR do you guys prefer to just plop your asses down wherever and hit 5? I guess this question works for HP too.

I tend to back up about 10 tiles towards explored areas, to a position with good visibility and the ability to cut line of sight to anywhere with a single step. I only do this if I've been hurt quite a bit, or need to wait out exhaustion etc. If it's just a bit of hp or mana, I just mash 5 where I stand.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:01

I Love You!: Dec 6, 2002

I do what seems prudent

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:17

murtidash: Apr 28, 2003; Rawr!

I Love You! and I have 3 more spots on our tournament team DrAk Lives Matter!.

Last year we got 37th place with some random goons (murtidash (captain), UncommonGray, eyebrow, gbuchold, meatpath, willcat) and we're hoping to break top 20 this tournament.

Those guys have preference if they want back in, other than that it will be first come first serve.

Let me know and I'll add you!

Current Team Members:
(Crawl Name) : (SA Name)
murtidash : murtidash
Willcat : I Love You!
eyebrow : eyebrow

murtidash fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Nov 6, 2015

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:33

Glagha: Oct 13, 2008; AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAaaAAAaaAAaAA
AAAAAAAaAAAAAaaAAA
AAAA
AaAAaaA
AAaaAAAAaaaAAAAAAA
AaaAaaAAAaaaaaAA

Ogrefriends, I'm torn. I managed to get ahold of a demon whip early (pre-lair) and now I don't know if I should be going demon whip + shield or spiked club. It feels like a betrayal of my people if I use something other than the biggest fuckoff weapon I can find.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:35

I Love You!: Dec 6, 2002

I am basically the Kobe Bryant of DrAK Lives Matter!

Gonna carry this team on my aging shoulders and talk poo poo to all the kids who need to get out the way.

Join our team and feed me the rock!

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:40

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

Glagha posted:

Ogrefriends, I'm torn. I managed to get ahold of a demon whip early (pre-lair) and now I don't know if I should be going demon whip + shield or spiked club. It feels like a betrayal of my people if I use something other than the biggest fuckoff weapon I can find.

A GSC is the best weapon you can possibly use but it wouldn't be insane to train up 9 Shields and use the demon whip for a while, assuming it's got a decent brand or enchant. You'll be dealing less damage but ogres have poo poo defenses and it'll give to a chance to diversify your skills for a while before switching.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:41

I Love You!: Dec 6, 2002

Thug Lessons posted:

A GSC is the best weapon you can possibly use but it wouldn't be insane to train up 9 Shields and use the demon whip for a while, assuming it's got a decent brand or enchant. You'll be dealing less damage but ogres have poo poo defenses and it'll give to a chance to diversify your skills for a while before switching.

There are arguments on an ogre for going Evenstar + Large Shield, depending on god choice. Qazlal ogre + big shield is an extremely solid build and lets you focus on defenses and ignore everything else besides invocations with relative ease.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:45

Thug Lessons: Dec 14, 2006; I lust in my heart for as many dead refugees as possible.

I Love You! posted:

There are arguments on an ogre for going Evenstar + Large Shield, depending on god choice. Qazlal ogre + big shield is an extremely solid build and lets you focus on defenses and ignore everything else besides invocations with relative ease.

It's perfectly viable, but it's not as good as 22 base damage. A sacred scourge would work too but then you have to use the holy brand.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:47

I Love You!: Dec 6, 2002

I mean, if you go the aforementioned Qazlal your base damage doesn't matter in the slightest since you can just kill everything on the screen by hitting a => c

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:50

Ugly John: Jul 18, 2009; [img]https://forums.somethingawful.com/attachment.php?postid=514899866[/img]

NotMyLeg -

I swear I put the line in the correct .rc file, but when I checked it this morning it had my team from 0.15 in it. :shrug:

Fixed. (username on S-Z is also all lowercase if that matters, don't actually know)

# ? Nov 6, 2015 16:56

Starkwheat: Feb 27, 2012

Ugly John posted:

NotMyLeg -

I swear I put the line in the correct .rc file, but when I checked it this morning it had my team from 0.15 in it.

Fixed. (username on S-Z is also all lowercase if that matters, don't actually know)

I had the same issue. .RC-files were most likely reverted, as 0.17 went live on European servers. My old team was rewritten on top of RC 0.17.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 17:10

Yngwie Mangosteen: Aug 23, 2007

Ramc posted:

A repaste of our team for the 0.17 tourney:

Also Captain Monkey/friendlybee, did you add me as your captain yet?

Thought I had, I'll double check soon to make sure. It may have gotten overwritten or I may have typo'd. Don't worry, I'm in.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 17:29

chin up everything sucks: Jan 29, 2012

Why does nobody hang out in ##gooncrawl? I was hoping to chat with goons during the tournament.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 17:29

Prism: Dec 22, 2007; yospos

FireSight posted:

Why does nobody hang out in ##gooncrawl? I was hoping to chat with goons during the tournament.

I only really go during tournaments, honestly. I will probably drop in once it starts while I'm playing.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 17:44

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 14:28

eyebrow: Aug 17, 2008

murtidash posted:

I Love You! and I have 4 more spots on our tournament team DrAk Lives Matter!.

Last year we got 37th place with some random goons (murtidash (captain), UncommonGray, eyebrow, gbuchold, meatpath, willcat) and we're hoping to break top 20 this tournament.

Those guys have preference if they want back in, other than that it will be first come first serve.

Let me know and I'll add you!

Current Team Members:
(Crawl Name) : (SA Name)
Murtidash : murtidash
Willcat : I Love You!
eyebrow : eyebrow

I'm down.

# ? Nov 6, 2015 17:48

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