Dungeon Master Encyclopedia

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:54 pm

If anyone mentions ful bombs i WILL lock the thread and ban trantor

Post by **Sophia** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:55 am

Empty bombs!

Joramun · Post by **Joramun** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:01 am

hehe !

Hem, I don't if the only one to think that, but I don't like the color theme and the new organization of the encyclopedia.

- Blue & white is not DM-ish. I liked the old colors, it looked like a scroll. Overall, the theme of new site is feeling a bit too metallic and cold.

- The site is a bit arid : when clicking on any thing on the home page, you get a huge list of subsections, without any content to lead the potential newcomer in its browsing.
- The accessibility of the different subsections has slightly decreased. For example to access the clone section I have to get through the "sitemap" or click on any section, which displays a big list, and then I have to fathom that I should click on the "Clone" category in some title on the right colum.

So overall, I'm sorry to say (and despite the huge effort I can see beneath the new site appearance) I prefered the old one, and not only because "old habits die hard".

Side note : There is a new full-fledged clone of DM around :
Sophia's Dungeon Strikes Back

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:01 am

Gah, that's not fair! Just if somebody truthfully mentions that you can create a FUL bomb by casting MON ZO GOR SAR just at the moment that a fireball cast by the dragon hits you...

...oops

Post by **Lunever** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:46 am

I always thought it's "Bad habits die hard"! (leaving aside that song from The Wuthering Heights named "Bad Hobbits Die Hard")

But I have to agree - while it IS a good thing to have content at the Encyclopaedia updated, the current outlook does not seem fit to the dungeon master theme. Don't get me wrong, this is supposed to be just some feedback about how the site appears at a first glance, that doesn't change a thing in regard to the site and it's content being absolutely great.

dungeon.master · Post by **dungeon.master** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:11 pm

Happy Birthday Christophe

8 years today !

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:13 pm

Oh, happy birthday!

And where did you get the rank DM? *worries it was me as a gag and forgot to remove in*

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:00 am

well, nothing changed in Encyclopedia. Can anyone may confirm or deny my thoughts?
http://www.dungeon-master.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=26563

I noticed you use "special abilities" for the monsters:
1. absorb projectiles
2. can see in darkness
3. Hit by Weaken Nonmaterial Beings spell
4. Levitates
5. Hit by Disrupt attack (Vorpal Blade)
6. Can see invisible
7. Can see in darkness
8. Can pass through wooden and iron doors (but not through porticullis and Ra doors) doors
9. Nearly immune to spells (excepted Weaken Nonmaterial Beings)
10. Can steal items in champions' hands
11. Can only be killed when materialized
12. Teleportation

These flags can be set for each monster:
1. AAS (Can attack from all sides): Monster can attack from front, back and side positions.
2. PBR (Prefer Back Row): Monsters that have this flag set will tend to hang back in the back row, whereas other monsters will step up to the front row when the party is near and they want to attack.
3. AEP (Attack Every Position): This flag allow monster to attack character on every possible position (NE, NW, SE, SW).
<note: if If PBR and AEP flags are not set, or a 25% chance regardless, monster move to the front>.
4. LEV (Levitates): The monster will not fall through pits.
5. NMT (Non Material Monster):
a) Non material monster ignores (walks through) every kind of closed doors (including RA doors).
b) Non material monster can be hit only by vorpal/disrupt.
c) All items and projectiles (except dispell) pass through the monster.
6. 1/4 (Short 1): adds 1/4 to door animation goes farther under a creature
7. 1/2 (Short 2): adds 1/2 to door animation goes farther under a creature
8. DRI (Drops items): The monster will drop a preset list of items, specified in the monster drop editor.
9. APR (Absorbs projectiles): When hit by any item, the monster has a chance to automatically carry the item until death.
10. CSI (Can see invisible): The monster can see the party when under the affect of the Invisibility spell.
11. CSD (Can see in darkness): The monster's visibility is unaffected by the light level of the dungeon (In darkness, monster's sightrange is normally lowered)
12. ATF (Antitelefraglismness): If a monster is moving to a square with an active teleporter that teleports monsters and the destination does not allow that kind of monster then it prevents the monster from entering the teleporter.
(well, this is not really a flag, but I put it into the "flags" table; it`s set when the value > 10)

My propositions for Encyclopedia:

1. I think you could omit "can attack from all sides" ability, because nobody would notice that; in original game, this flag is set only for the monsters wchich has the same bitmap for all sides; so that doesn`t make a difference. It only affects on the attack frequency, because the monster doesn`t need to be turned front to a party to attack them.
2. "Prefer back row" - well, it`s a kind of ability, so you may put it in..
3. "Attack every position" - well, it`s a kind of ability, so you may put it in..
4. "levitates" ability - just like it is now
5. "Non Material Monster" - these are actually three abilities (a,b and c) always set together for the monster - because it`s one flag. You may just notice that monster is "nonmaterial", wchich means that when this flag is set then:
a) monster ignores ALL kinds of doors (see http://www.dungeon-master.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=26963 ) - so the "Can pass through wooden and iron doors (but not through porticullis and Ra doors) doors" description is incorrect,
b) monster can be only hit by vorpal/disrupt and
c) all projectiles except dispell pass through the monster.
6. and 7. - you could omit this IMHO; anyone knows that when a monster is big, the door falls down only a bit; in case of Rive and Zytaz it always falls down (notice that Zytaz isn`t short, but the flags are NOT set - but Zytaz already ignores doors, because it`s "nonmaterial". Flame and Water has "short1" flag set, but it doesn`t affect on them, becaue they`re "nonmaterial" too).
8. "drops items" ability - it is already in a monster`s description
9. "absorb projectiles" - it`s already in a monster`s description
10. "can see invicible" - it`s already in a monster`s description
11. "can see in darkness" - it`s already in a monster`s description
12. "antitelefraglismness" - you could omit that, it`s not very important for the player
13. "Can steal items in champions' hands" - hardcoded; it`s already in a monster`s description
14. "Teleportation" - hardcoded; it`s already in a monster`s description
15. "Can only be killed when materialized" - don`t have idea about this; I should investigate that! if thrue, definitely hardcoded
********************************************
There is also misunderstanding with "Hit by Weaken Nonmaterial Beings spell" and "Nearly immune to spells (excepted Weaken Nonmaterial Beings)" abilities; abilities of this kind doesn`t exist - nonmaterial being is treaten as an ordinary item, like apple for example.

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:26 pm

Sorry Adamo for the long delay.
I am right now working on including your data in the site and I have one question. I don't understand your sentence in the <note> below, could you please elaborate?

3. AEP (Attack Every Position): This flag allow monster to attack character on every possible position (NE, NW, SE, SW).
<note: if If PBR and AEP flags are not set, or a 25% chance regardless, monster move to the front>.

Post by **Sophia** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:35 pm

If the monster is standing in the back row of its tile, and the PBR and AEP flags are not set, it will move to the front row. Even if one or both of these flags are set, there's a 25% chance it'll move to the front row.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:15 am

thanx man! You can also include subskill table if it`s not in Encyclopedia yet:
http://www.dungeon-master.com/forum/vie ... 3&start=30

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:44 am

This table is already here: http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/690

Post by **Gambit37** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:53 am

I was just browsing around the Encyclopaedia this evening. It's even bigger than I thought. You have many more magazine scans than I realised!

Anyway, I found a couple of things that are wrong or broken:

http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/801
This RTC page has a link to the old RTC forums. But all that stuff was merged right here, so it's kinds pointless sending people over there now.

http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/258
The Hint Oracle doesn't work after a while. I think I've identified the issue: If you select a hint on a level and display it, then try and select the same hint from another level, the show/hide functionality does not work on the second one. For example, a regular hint is H006, 'Just Hall'. If you show this hint on level 0, if you then select another level with this hint and try showing it, nothing happens. This is using Firefox 1.5, I haven't tested other browsers.

Post by **ChristopheF** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:41 pm

I have removed the link to the old RTC forums.
Indeed there was a bug in my Hint Oracle javascript, it has been fixed.
Thanks for reporting this bug!

Post by **Gambit37** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:18 am

Cool, glad you could fix it. I took a quick look at the source and after seeing that massive array of identifiers, I quickly closed it again...

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:25 pm

http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/830
clone- DM Open Edition -"this project is under developement" - really? I though it was dead..

Post by **ChristopheF** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:23 pm

I updated the description, as the project obviously stopped years ago.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:10 am

right, there was no need to continue this project, as Paul Stevens converted Atari ST version to Windows- and it also has its "independent" Linux version.

I also checked every other project and I think you should divide them to two sub-sites in Encyclopedia: "traditional look" and "modern 3D" projects. Because 3D style doesn`t fit well to the others. What do you think about it?
BTW, it seems most of the projects, especially 3D ones, are dead.

But I would be glad to read something about them, even if are dead. Who started the project and why? And as much screenshots as it is possible..

zoom · Post by **zoom** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:05 pm

I think Adamos suggestion is Good thinking!

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:33 pm

I note your suggestion in my to-do-list, I'll do it when I find time for this (it means not really soon I'm afraid).

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:24 pm

About the classification of Clones in two categories, I'm not sure which terms we should use.

Adamo suggests "traditional look" and "modern 3D".
In the "Quick Links" drop down menu here on the forum, the terms are "Traditional" and "Advanced".
Personally I would choose "Traditional" and "Modern".

Any other ideas?

I think we should come to an agreement and use the same terms in both places.

Post by **Gambit37** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:35 am

"Traditional" and "Modern" works for me. Cool.

dolligan · Post by **dolligan** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:43 pm

Just wanted to say good work on keeping the encyclopedia going for all these years.
It has been one of my most visited websites since they launched the internet, as I am not a regular user of the forum (although I do browse from time to time) I wanted to pass on my appreciation and thanks.

I've been checking this page at least once a month and avidly scouring the updates, since it was launched (and before that, the original DM Encyclopedia website. I still remember the sense of amazement when I found it (must be 10 years ago now) and realised there others who, despite living through the days of Playstation, Doom, Zelda 64, Half Life etc, had never got over the thrill of plumbing the depths of FTL's magnum opus.

It was fantastic seeing that people were working on assembling every bit of information about the series, preserving every nut, bolt and screw with the ultimate aim of immortalising it I guess - in future years when processors used to run the source code of most games aren't commonly available those games will never be played again in their true form. But with DM preserved in the way it has been, it should theoretically be possible to rebuild it at any time using whatever technology we have. Erm, for as long as we can still access this web site to get the information, I guess.

So thanks Christophe and all the people who have been involved with the project, remakes, ports, gathering of data etc. Thats all I wanted to say but I ended up writing quite a long post.

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:03 am

Thanks for your kind words. It's always good to know that your own work is appreciated. My web site is now more than 8 years old. I never thought my interest would last so long, but it has and I still have lots of things to do in order to improve the site and add content. Look for more updates in the future!

Post by **Gambit37** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:08 pm

I noticed you updated the site again, and one of the updates is a picture of David Darrow's art at Game On. Do you remember me talking about that when I went to see it the first time around, back in 2002? I sort of helped them get the picture -- it is now owned by Doug Bell. He wanted a reassurance that after the exhibition, he would get it back -- I guess they held on to it for the next few years!

I don't know if the one at the science museum was much different from the one I saw, but here's where I wrote about it before:

http://www.dungeon-master.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=22140

Post by **ChristopheF** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:24 pm

No, I did not remember your message from 2002.
Will you have the photos you mention on the Codex? They must be of better quality than the one I was sent.

Post by **Gambit37** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:33 pm

My camera at the time was a rubbish point-and-shoot 1.3 Megapixel and didn't do very well, but I at least have a 1600x1200 source file, but the angle isn't very good. It will get onto the Codex in due course.

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:36 pm

Better late than never: I just have finally separated the Clones in two categories on my web site: "Traditional" and "Modern", based on the player movement type. 'Traditional' is like DM (step by step movements), 'Modern' is like FPS games (complete freedom of movement).

Oh and I also posted some updates to the site yesterday, for those who didn't notice.
I remind you that you can be informed when the site is updated in two ways:
- by using an RSS feed reader and subscribe to the feed from the home page (the url is: http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/feed )
- by subscribing to the "Windows Live Alerts" on my web site (click the bell icon in the left menu): it will automatically send you an email each time I update the site (you need a Windows Live ID for this feature, it is free, see here: http://get.live.com/getlive/overview ).

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:13 pm

Heh, those links to Nexus screenshots shouldn't even exist any more! They are hosted on a very old account that should have been closed down by my ISP when I left them three years ago....

I'm not complaining.

I'll leave them there for now, but when they do disappear, I'll host them on my new webspace.

Post by **ChristopheF** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:53 pm

I can host the screenshots directly on the encyclopaedia if you prefer.