[Custom dungeon] Chaos Hack [DSB] [Joramun]

[lord soth 75]

Now im on a level that is packed full of Ghosts and Rives!!


Only problem is i ain't got a Vorpal blade.....So my progress through this level will be quite tough.
Im using the harm non material beings spell to take these unholy creatures down,and retreating back to the stairs to rest and regain mana.

The Rives are a pain in the ass.They are taking about 7 or 8 Level 4 harm non materials spells before they die.
I just know whats comming next......a level full of Spell vines probably. (My most hated DM creature)

Onwards

[Jan]

I guess I'm on the same level. It must be level 8 or so. Well, I should say "I'm on the same levels" because starting with level 5 or so the dungeon split into two "towers" - two staircases leading down and then continuing separately down, making me to run up from the lower levels of the one "tower" back to level 5 and then down to the other one. I'm getting pretty much confused.

Do you have a flask? I'd give you 15 drumsticks for one flask. And I'd give a kingdom for the Vorpal blade too.

If it happens again, for the time being, just check the log after you're done playing and have quit DSB.

Roger, roger.

I really must say that it's amazingly crafted, Joramun - it's astonishing if you realise that it's all random! Extremely well done!

[lord soth 75]

@ Jan
I haven't found a flask yet either.

I managed to get through the Rives and ghosts and went down to the next level.
The stairs down to the next level are right at the beginning of this level im currently on.

This latest level is a hell house of Purple worms,Armoured worms,Slime Devils,Giant wasps,and the occasional Rock pile.
Wave after wave of the critters.
Its really weird seeing so many groups of different monsters all in the same area.

Would be really cool if the monsters would fight amongst themselves sometimes.

[Jan]

Would be really cool if the monsters would fight amongst themselves sometimes.

An inter-species rivalry / occasional clashes is a very cool idea and I'm sure Sophia will consider implementing it. I think she's already mentioned it but I'm afraid it was on April 1st.

[Zed5Duke]

i like that random concept but

first dungeon: start with monsters in front of me, end
second dungeon: relative small level with door, cant open them
third: lot of monsters, somehow run and survive and get down maybe 10 levels, am stuck with many keys pads and switches which dont work or fit anywhere, or lead to nothing important like empty rooms or useless items like bra or stick, ashes

[lord soth 75]

... or lead to nothing important like empty rooms or useless items like bra or stick, ashes

Lol.
That happened on me last night.I spent over an hour smashing through a corridor full of monsters only to discover that the corridoor led to a large empty with a few rocks on the floor.

I was like....WTF??

[Gambit37]

This is why I've never seen the point of random dungeons. I'd much rather play a crafted dungeon with decent puzzles, some kind of story and a real sense of progression.

[lord soth 75]

Does anyone know how many hit points Stone Golems have in this game?

Iv stumbled into a level that has a couple of them wandering around and they are UNGODLY powerful.
Seriously..these mothers seem impervious to pain,and as if that wasn't bad enough there is packs of Hellhounds running amok.
Im going to have to pray to god that there is an area i can lure them into,and lock them in with a door.

And remember the 6 chests of food i mentioned earlier?......Thank god i did take the effort to bring them with me.
The fighting is reaching frenzied levels,and the food is an absolute necessity.

This truly is a 3d version of Gauntlet.
Long corridors packed with swamp slimes and worms,followed by an onslaught of Pain rats....All that matters is reaching that exit down to the next level.
I could quite happily play a 100+ level dungeon of this.

[beowuuf]

I think Joramun said the hit points of all the monsters scale with the level you are on. So if you are on a deeper level, the golems will have a lot of hit points!

[lord soth 75]

I think Joramun said the hit points of all the monsters scale with the level you are on. So if you are on a deeper level, the golems will have a lot of hit points!

Iv lost count of what level im currently on.At a guess,i would say....level 8 or 9'ish.
The 2 golems iv encountered seem to have the hit points of about 900 Red Dragons combined!!!

I hope that magic weapons can be found.
The same random items keep popping up in rooms.Empty water skins.Empty chests.Falchions.wooden shields.Boulders. ect
The game needs to be a bit more liberal with the better items it dishes out.

With a bit of tinkering to the code.....this game would be absolutely awesome.

Of course..if youre a fan of puzzles...then these random hell house combat fests are best avoided.
If youre a fan of hack n slash...then this is the bee's knees.

[Jan]

I guess you are deeper than 8 or 9.

My problem is that I'm playing virtually two games simultaneously - the dungeon split into two on level 5 or so and since then I spend 3/4 of my time running up and down to the other "tower". I'm totally disorientated.

[Jan]

Ummm... I think you really overdid it with those Stone Golems, Joramun. They have almost infinite HP. Killing four of them in a row is basically a job for the whole afternoon, especially when you have no flask and thus have to avoid being hit / injured or have to reload the game when you're injured. I suggest you do something about it in the next version. Basically, all monsters on the lower levels are too strong (have too many HP) and so the whole game is somehow reduced to an endless string or fireballs and lighting balls, but the Stone Golems are really too much. It would also be nice if you could put a flask and Vorpal blade somewhere because without these two things it's really too difficult.

@Everyone: Generally, what's the most effective spell against the Stone Golems?

[beowuuf]

Lightning bolt is supposed to be, not sure if that translates in RTC.

[Sophia]

Magic, generally speaking, doesn't work too well against golems.
Lightning bolt works better because it inflicts (nonmagical) impact damage, so it's like throwing something very heavy at them and hitting them very hard. It still takes quite a few lightning bolts to make a dent, of course.

At least golems are very slow, so you have a chance to hit and run.

[the master]

When fighting golems always move so that you are behind them. That way if they turn you have a chance again to move to their rear. This way you can just keep hitting them. Make sure you lure them into a area where you have room to maneuver around them.

[Jan]

What I've also noticed is that enemies can't go through blasted / chopped door / portcullis. Right now it's been the second time that I've noticed it so it looks general / not caused by some sort of a force field. In both instances these were door / portcullis that could be opened by a switch but either me or a vexirk broke through without using the switch. Dunno if it's a bug or intended or if it's only in Chaos Hack or the whole DSB.

EDIT: Oh, and I looked into ESB and the Stone Golems in Chaos Hack have around 3000 HP - this is quite insane because in DM they have about 300 HP (although I don't know if the HPs in DSB are comparable to those in CSBWin / RTC).

[Sophia]

Dunno if it's a bug or intended or if it's only in Chaos Hack or the whole DSB.

I think I somehow introduced this bug in the latest version of DSB, because I am quite sure that they could go through bashed doors before, but they can't now. So it's probably a DSB thing.

(although I don't know if the HPs in DSB are comparable to those in CSBWin / RTC).

DSB uses the same formulas as DM, or as close as I could get them. So the HP are supposed to be comparable, yes.

[ian_scho]

Note that the internal representations of the three bars and the 7 statistics are 10 times what is actually displayed. (That is, 100 health in-game is represented by 1000)

Quote from the wiki, Jan

[beowuuf]

Ian, to change the subject ocmpletely, do you have the auto map Paralax did? I can't find th file right now It wasin the bust part of last year I think

[Sophia]

That's only for player hp and stats. Like it says, the three bars and 7 statistics.
Monster HP isn't x10 and is as written.

Sorry for the confusion.

[lord soth 75]

I thankfully managed to lure the stone golems to an area with a door,and locked the suckers in.
Those damn things are like Terminators in this game.Utterly unstoppable...and a LOT quicker than in RTC.

Now theres a new problem......A level packed with Giant Scorpions (That hit really hard),Pain Rats,and Couatyl's.
The scorpions are so much faster in DSB than in RTC,and because i haven't found a flask yet...im spending a lot of time sleeping in order to rest of the effects of poison.
The battle with these poisonous critters is taking place in a series of corridors so i have to fight them using magic.Its way to risky to engage them in melee combat.I think a single sting from the scorpys inflicts around 160HP of damage..and then the poison after effect.

This level im on right now is absolutely humming with the noise of creatures moving about.
Im now lugging around 9 treasure chests full of food and 8 water skins.Really need a Flask badly.

The sh*t is really hitting the fan on this level.

[ian_scho]

@Sophia Doh! I stand corrected Sophia. I assumed it applied to the monsters as well.

@Beo. No. I can't see anything resembling an automap file

[the master]

lord soth be careful that the golems you lock away without killing may in fact be carrying a key. I can't say definitely as its a couple of weeks since I played it. Its just something to be aware of.

[lord soth 75]

@ The master
That did cross my mind when i locked him away.Thankfully....the route to the stairs downwards didn't require me to locate a key.

Hope i don't run into any more of those Golems.

Iv noticed that the monster AI seems a lot better in DSB.
Monsters will move sideways to avoid fireballs and stuff.The scorpions are a hell of a lot faster..and they attack whilst moving forward.
Encountered some Vexirks earlier,and they tried to kill me by banging a door down on my head.

No spell vines yet. Thankfully.

[Jan]

Iv noticed that the monster AI seems a lot better in DSB.
Monsters will move sideways to avoid fireballs and stuff.The scorpions are a hell of a lot faster..and they attack whilst moving forward.

Exactly. That's exactly what I wanted to note. On the one hand it's really nice to see a better AI. On the other hand, if you cast a MON fireball and the monster dodges it (moves from one side of the tile to the other or side-steps into another corridor), it's really a moment when I'd like to smash my keyboard! Anyway, I've never witnessed it in CSBWin nor RTC, so - bravo, Sophia!

im spending a lot of time sleeping in order to rest of the effects of poison.

LOL, yeah. Sometimes I'm so poisoned that the effect takes more than 10 HP at once - once it almost killed me at sleep and at that time my character had more than 300 max. HP!

Anyway, to go a little bit OT - DSB runs smoothly and without problems and I'm starting to like this engine. It's so sad that there aren't more custom dungeons for it. I'll have to try and play DM and CSB in DSB - I saw that it was made by Joramun too. Are these versions final / beta-tested / without known bugs?

[Sophia]

Thank you. I'm glad you like the AI, and DSB in general.

As for DM and CSB, they are, at the moment, regrettably, far from bug-free. There are actually quite a few known issues that someone (probably Joramun, maybe me if I ever finish what I want to do with the core engine and have some time left over) will have to fix.

(One fix to the lack of custom dungeons is to fire up ESB and make one.... )

[ian_scho]

I actually printed off the monster AI routine at work and started reading it... One of my work colleagues never treated me as human since!

[beowuuf]

You're no mere human anymore, you are a legend sir!

[Sophia]

It makes me wonder how your colleague would react to me, upon being introduced as the person who wrote that mess!
Beo makes a good point. Maybe it's not a bad thing.

[Gambit37]

It's so sad that there aren't more custom dungeons for DSB.

I'm trying to rectify that, but it's very slow going...