Necroing this thread to say:
Benjamin, I really hope you do return to this !!
Kali's Ladder still has the most creative build possibilities of any recent roguelike I've seen; beautiful design and capture of cramped space and time pressure. It certainly deserves much wider attention and discussion.
I came back to it because I needed to explain it to someone else, and couldn't help playing a handful of games...
You may not be reading this anymore (fie) but I have no other place to leave this, so here are a some more bug reports and thoughts:
= More bugs =
- It sometimes glitches when dashing: An attempt to dash while confused ended up bouncing back and forth forever across a three-block area: [xSx]
- It sometimes hangs after waiting: after breath refills but before moves refill. (happend 2x in 12 plays, around floors 3-4)
= More requests =
To increase fun and speed:
- Check for the longest pathlength between any two locations on a rung. If it is too long, add a door
- Increase average corridor size. Fewer single-file corridors
- Give every character a deity (don't use destiny points)
- Give every character +4 inv slots. inv management is no fun
- Start with 1 more move point
- Make autopickup default
Inventory balance:
- Some items have effect durations. Start counting from after inventory closes, not before.
- Don't requiring equipping something to throw it (this makes missiles useless)
Moves and time:
- Don't let creatures attack after they've exhausted all move points. (just like the character) This would also allow the third eye to be useful in melee.
- Most effects tend to be a bit too short to really notice them
Rung balance:
- The first few rungs feel balanced. Around R5 it slows down: few new items or room types, just longer, slower levels. By R7 it is hard to proceed without luck.
- More items or keys might help, especially starting on the mid levels. Enough scrolls & potions to let players detecting them by using them find more than one of a kind.
- A wizard mode would help with testing a lot. (let players explore the levels without dying)
Docs:
- Make it clear that all magic items recharge on each floor, not just wands.
* Thanks again for your great work on this