[BMA] Useless items

[Maegdae]

How about giving more junk items uses instead of eliminating the items? Teleportation rings are quite useful, while being cursed and "junk" to many players. <br><br>Torches. Right now, NOBODY who's had any gameplay experience in mangband uses em. $50 for 2 sight instead of 1. In fact, the angband comic features buying a lantern as the first thing a player should do. Maybe either make lanterns spendy enough that you can't easily get one at start, or give some small benefits to torches, so that some players might use them.<br><br><br>

[Berendol]

I'm thinking about taking the cost of a lantern away from players at the start, and just giving them one. Torches are inferior to lanterns anyways, in game and in real life. Especially with the double-wide hallways that were introduced a couple years ago so people could dive together effectively. So, there would have to be some great ego-item torch to make looking at torches on the floor worthwhile... any ideas? Or should I just get rid of them entirely? Don't plan on straight hallways too much, because I have some ideas that would totally revolutionize level creation as well.

[herbert2]

Hi, here is a proposal for the torch question:
Why not create a torch with 2 spaces radius to consider the fact that in mangband coridors are wider and players can dive together. In that cases, lanterns should be 3 paces radius (a kind of greater lantern wich was a nice idea on RIT) and a 4paces radius for feanorian.
Also, to attract players to the use of torches, with an increased duration (like 15.000 turns) players could dive with only 1 torch (eventually with a backup torch in case the 1st one gets broken). For now, player won't dive with torches because you need to grab 10 to dive 30min and it is finaly heavier tha a lantern. Therefor, with lighter torches and heavier lanterns, weak players (low strengh) would consider bringing torches and not buy a lantern.
Last idea, with an everburning torch (2radius) cheaper or equal to a lantern (3radius), players would definitely look at torches differently. Especially if some monsters around can break out standard torches (like cold or water vortex who could light non perm-light sources...)
Well all this is ideas, maybe some can be experienced...
Herbert ^_^

[Domino]

I know!  Add a temporary fire brand to anyone's melee who's using a torch!  cuz i know that if i'm fightin an orc an i have a whip an a torch i'ma shove that torch down his farkin throat the first chance i git..

[Hermes]

Hmm what about other light sourses too like a pit helmet or something,  Didn't I see that somewhere?  maybe it was in HACK.  Would it be hard to do light just in the direction you are traveling?

[Berendol]

Everburning torches?! Whaddya think this is, ToME?

Light-provided fire branding might be a nice idea if I can figure it out. Imagine wielding a torch and a branded weapon.. that would have some power! Double fire brands, or fire/cold brand.. such great possibilities. It's doable I think. I'll look into it.

Torches have had 15,000 turns for quite awhile now on my server. Lanterns got 25,000 when I increased torches, so they still have an advantage. The 3 different sizes of flasks (recent addition) make it a little more interesting, too.

Temporal directional lighting is not possible, sadly. I like the idea but it's just too much of a pain to implement. It wouldn't really fit in a game that uses tile-based movement (as opposed to pixel-based, like the old Legend of Zelda games, where you have finer responses.) I've tossed this idea about a bit already but it's just better as a circle. I really like the idea of dynamic effects like flickering torches, directional light with shadows, colored lights, and reflections; alas this is all way too much work for me.