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Author Topic: autorun difficulties  (Read 4205 times)

DisaffectedBeta

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autorun difficulties
« on: July 09, 2007, 16:04 »

During the latest version it seems that the autorun feature, while it works pretty well, won't let you run over water.  That's not a big deal, I know why that is, but when I flood the level (which is often, I have this indescribable compulsion to pull levers), I have to slog through them instead of being able to zip from one end to the other.

But the autorun also makes you run into teleporters...  That's not so hot.  It was funny when I ran into it and got zapped to the other side of the screen, but I can imagine that causing some serious problems. 
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BDR

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2007, 00:59 »

Hm, I see the point, but IMO if you're running on a non-empty level you're seriously asking for trouble anyway.  I think I'd even go so far as to say that it might actually help a player who kept doing this to accidentally run into a porter to show him that maybe running all over the place isn't the most survivable action in this game.
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DisaffectedBeta

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2007, 03:29 »

You are cruel. 

True enough, but I do it so I don't have to get arthritis tapping the same button to cross a long room.  I know the enemies are on the other side of the board, for instance, and I just want to get on with clearing a room and get back to what I was doing. 

Even if the board is cleared, conceivably you could have trouble:  say you're cleaning out the last of the board before going through the elevator.  Everything is dead, you've already waded through a big field of acid, and you don't have enough health to get back through it.  But when running through the room, just to save time, like the function purports to do, you run smack into a teleporter, which puts you on the other side of that frigging acid field again, making it a numbers game which you will lose because your health is low.

While someone could just say it's some sort of Punish the Weak thing, I think it goes against the general function of autorun, which is to stop before the player would have to make a choice about a thing.  You could also punish a player for running by letting it run straight over acid, but I don't think anyone would suggest it.
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BDR

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2007, 03:25 »

Good points.  I suppose that is a better way for it to work overall.  Although I usually make sure to avoid teleporters as much as possible (Spider's Lair will probably be an exception next time I try it; the last time I survived it without teleporter use but lost a lot of resources and came pretty damn close to dying a few times) and tapping the keys to make sure I don't go somewhere I don't want to, even to get across the map, doesn't bother me much (especially since compared to Crawl getting across DoomRL's maps is a pretty short trip).

Also: It's not that I'm cruel, it's that DoomRL is cruel (in atmospheric ways, at least :P).  I like that, and (almost) anything that diminishes the cruelty and gives players the sense that they can be lazy and not worry about what may be lurking somewhere nearby disturbs me, such that I must come out of my cave and rant about it in an evil-sounding fashion.
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DisaffectedBeta

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2007, 06:57 »

Before I used autorun I just tapped the move button, but that's where I ran into buffer problems.  Crossing the whole screen became boring, so I would either hold the key down or type them faster than the computer could run them, so there would be a buffer of movement.  I'd then slide into hazards.  It's a risk either way, really, if you're impatient like me:), but just changing the teleporter aspect to be a thing that stops you during autorun would be all that was really necessary. 

I tend to stay away from teleporters too.  I only hop into them when I'm desperate, which is why I'd love for autorun to reflect my paranoia :)

I don't think I've ever seen Crawl.  Where is it?
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Karry

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2007, 07:23 »

Quote
Before I used autorun I just tapped the move button, but that's where I ran into buffer problems.  Crossing the whole screen became boring, so I would either hold the key down or type them faster than the computer could run them, so there would be a buffer of movement.
Not to mention that doing this fatigues your wrist, and brings carpal tunnel syndrome a little closer...
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BDR

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Re: autorun difficulties
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2007, 14:49 »

I don't think I've ever seen Crawl.  Where is it?

You'll want to check out this topic for details.  It's very nicely done and has had a lot of work put into it (years of work on the original Crawl base, and even on the Stone Soup branch there's been a fair amount of effort towards adding things [two new gods, weapons of returning, etc.] and improving what's there already).
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