easy-death server option

[arfer]

I think having an option you can set in mangband.cfg where if you die it goes easier on you in the following ways:

1. normal, half exp is gone, and you level down.
2. easy, half exp is gone, but you KEEP your level.
3. totally cheesy, barely exp loss (or none), and your keep your level.

I propose these changes because dying has scared away 4 friends from playing mangband so far... the death is really discouraging to newer players when you lose so much, they get frustrated and stop playing.

Just a thought,
- arfer

[Maegdae]

  1.  I don't know of a way to seperate player level and exp.  Normally, when a player dies, he loses half exp, which usually makes him lose levels.  A certain amount of exp gives another level.  There is no purpose in Exp except for providing the player with levels.  Perhaps I am not understanding you correctly?
   2. As a multiplayer game, most players expect everyone in Mangband will play under the same rules.  Perhaps a "Training Mode" where you are limited in level and are not allowed on the highscore?

[arfer]

Separating level and exp is pretty easy, in my opinion, but this might be different from the developer's perspective.  I have not taken a look at the internals of the source code, so I don't know how the objects themselves are handled.

Level is (i assume) generated using experience and some sort of algorithm.  You could just do something like this:

level = algorithm(experience);

and keep a maxlevel variable for each user:

maxlevel = level;
(iff it's larger than previous maxlevel -- i'll spare you guys from the lame pseudocode)

Then just use maxlevel as the player's level.  When they die, experience is still halved, but if it uses maxlevel they keep their pre-death level.

There are a million other ways to do it, but that's just one poorly thought out method.

As for your second point, I'm not sure what you mean exactly, because if this was implemented as a server side option, everyone would be playing using the same rules, but the rules would be easier for everyone (on that server).

- arfer

[Crimson]

Saliently, what you are talking about here is level ramping.  What this would mean is that earlier levels had somewhat overlapping requirements for experience.  This way, you could die, below level 10, and not really lose the level, even though you'd lost the experience.  To me, at least, this is an unclean solution.

An easier solution would be to simply modify the number of experience points  lost at death.  At least this seems easier.

In reality, though, this breaks the game further.  The mortalilty of low level characters is very important to maintaining the balance.  This is especially true because the game has to try to hard (and often unssucessfully) to kill higher level characters.  You must remember that the ultimate goal of the game is to kill you, as quickly an efficiently as possible.  You aren't supposed to win, ever.

[Per_Killer]

I have to agree with Kismet. Games that's too easy (Specially MP-games) is really boring! I assume it's not too cool to lose a lvl 40 char either, but thats the point =b I have played games where it seems like there are too many high-level characters, almoast immortal which isn't fun at all. To use a similiar game as an example; Tibia. In Tibia (Which is the same game as MAngband, only not as cool, and way easier) there is like 100 characters which is above lvl 50, and since they don't really have any challenges left they just start PKing randomly for the fun of it. Since few, and sertainly none of those they PK can stop them it becomes a huge problem. (For everyone thats not uber-leet-h4xXx0r) I like the game as it is, even though I usually die often =b

[Nightmare]

I think the fear of death in mangband is great, most games these days have pretty much no penalty for dying.

Diablo - When you die you lose you money. Keep inventory.
Dungeon Siege - You lose nothing, you just have to wait until you resurect. Inventory droped at your feet.
Neverwinter Nights - You lose minor EXP. Keep inventory.

There is nothing more horrifying then knowing you could lose it all when you die in mangband and its also great in the multiplayer sense that people can come and help you regain those nice artifacts you droped.

Its harsh but fair. Makes you think twice if you are ready to go down those next flight of stair  :)

(says the level 33 high-elf mage that got killed the other day at 1900ft by a Dracalisc in one hit)

[yawnage]

Arfer, I think perma death is cool. It makes for a much more exciting game, and even however frustrating it is when it does happen to you (die when ghost) it still gets me hooked like ADOM. I just think there should be some kind of temporary immortality spell or item or something to that effect when used will..well.. grant you immortality for a certain number of turns.