Rogue - let's beat it

[Squeeealer]

So I got to test using a ring of sustain strength. Once I was face-to-face with a Rattlesnake I could slip it on. It took a turn, but it let me go first. So I might take a hit, but at least it didn't sap my strength.

If I recall correctly, it's similar with the ring of sustain armor. I could slip it on before the Aquator got its licks in.

Of course the danger is still running into one in a dark room unless you have so much food you can just leave it equipped.

In other news I found another treasure maze. These sure are rare.

Also I now believe that it is possible for some enemies to drop TWO items. I wasn't sure the first time because I figured maybe he was standing on one and/or it was a dark room and I just didn't see the other treasure at first. But this last time it occurred in a hallway.  But I've been wrong before.

[elwin]

I have some very bad news for anyone hoping to beat Rogue.  I fixed venus Flytraps (aka violet Fungi).

They were designed to have their damage increase a point with every hit.  And you are hurt every turn you are stuck to one, whether it hits or misses you that turn.  You may have wondered why there was a monster that did zero or one damage on every hit, but sometimes a lot more when it missed.  That was a bug.  It is now squashed.  Flytraps are no longer annoyances worth 100 XP.  They are once again a menace that can destroy almost any character in eight to twelve turns.

I almost regret finding this bug.

Also I now believe that it is possible for some enemies to drop TWO items.

That is definitely possible.  A monster can only be generated with one item, but there's no limit to what it can pick up.

[Squeeealer]

I have some very bad news for anyone hoping to beat Rogue.  I fixed venus Flytraps (aka violet Fungi).

They were designed to have their damage increase a point with every hit.  And you are hurt every turn you are stuck to one, whether it hits or misses you that turn.  You may have wondered why there was a monster that did zero or one damage on every hit, but sometimes a lot more when it missed.  That was a bug.  It is now squashed.  Flytraps are no longer annoyances worth 100 XP.  They are once again a menace that can destroy almost any character in eight to twelve turns.

I almost regret finding this bug.

Also I now believe that it is possible for some enemies to drop TWO items.

That is definitely possible.  A monster can only be generated with one item, but there's no limit to what it can pick up.

First, screw you for fixing that 

Second... monsters can pick up treasures?!

[Squeeealer]

Ohhh man!!!!!!!!!  I was rockin' and rollin' until I ran right into another treasure room full of high level monsters.  I managed to teleport away, but landed right next to a Medusa who confused me. So I polymorphed her into a Flytrap. So then I was confused and held. I actually might have been able to survive all this with a decent stock of potions but I stupidly allowed myself to faint.  ARRRGH!

The best part of all was that I was killing it.  I had a two-handed sword with two enchantments plus a STR of 22 plus an XL of 11.  I was beating Trolls in two hits from the very first time I found them.  I even beat two Griffins in hand-to-hand combat. This was a rare run that had the potential for victory. DAMN.

[Squeeealer]

I just had my best run in terms of attack power. A two-handed sword with a couple enchantments plus a really high STR of like 23.  I was beating Trolls and even Black Unicorns without batting an eye. I beat two Medusae in hand-to-hand combat, but the third one caught me in an open room. This shouldn't normally be an issue as this late you should have some options available to you and I really only needed to hit her about three times. But in this run I found zero staves.  I had no way to teleport or to teleport her, no polymorph, no nothing.  All I could do was quaff two healing potions and attack.  I got two hits in on her, but died.  Really disappointed right now.  I was on such a roll that now I'm wondering if I forgot one of the rules of success - take the stairs after Floor 16 as soon as you find them.  But no staves, man that's tough.  I found so much treasure this run - hard to believe no staves.

[Squeeealer]

Wouldn't it be awesome if I had a scroll of Monster Hold?

[Squeeealer]

The more I realize the ramifications of trapdoors the more I despise them.

It totally sucks to get one in the first 12 floors. You need to find every treasure you can get your hands on that early in the run. What's worse is that you might miss your rations and who knows when the next one will pop up.

Sometimes when I fall down multiple trapdoors I wish I could quit 

[Squeeealer]

I wish I could find a community that was still actively discussing this game.  Thank you elwin for your web-based Rogue.

[elwin]

Sorry there's not more community discussion. Rogue is a niche game with a very small niche. Maybe we need somebody to promote it on social media. 

I don't find that a single trapdoor fall has much effect. It's unlikely that the unexplored part of the level actually had anything good in it. Missing a food ration can hurt. But even falling through more than one trapdoor is often survivable.

What worries me is those rust traps.

[Lord_Mork]

I wish I could find a community that was still actively discussing this game.  Thank you elwin for your web-based Rogue.

Well, it is very old. Most people would probably prefer to play nethack or one of the *bands over Rogue. In other words, the roguelike formula has been improved and strengthened a lot over the years, so I'm not surprised that much of the discussion is no longer centered on the 36-year-old original.

That said, the social media idea in elwin's post as well as a fancy website somewhat like this one: http://www.thegreatestgameyouwilleverplay.com/ could help breathe life into the Rogue community. So much of modern-day video game attention is based purely on marketing and packaging or as it is called, 'hype'.

[Squeeealer]

I wish I could find a community that was still actively discussing this game.  Thank you elwin for your web-based Rogue.

Well, it is very old. Most people would probably prefer to play nethack or one of the *bands over Rogue. In other words, the roguelike formula has been improved and strengthened a lot over the years, so I'm not surprised that much of the discussion is no longer centered on the 36-year-old original.

That said, the social media idea in elwin's post as well as a fancy website somewhat like this one: http://www.thegreatestgameyouwilleverplay.com/ could help breathe life into the Rogue community. So much of modern-day video game attention is based purely on marketing and packaging or as it is called, 'hype'.

Does NetHack have a community? I was hoping to escape with the Amulet of Yendor before moving on to another roguelike, but maybe it's time...

[elwin]

I wasn't exactly serious about the social media idea, but I'll give it a try.  Sometime this month, I'll write a blog post about the things Rogue does better than its successors.  Then we can post links to it on social media.

Someone just grabbed the #3 spot in Super-Rogue.

[LazyCat]

I had a series of good runs this weekend including my first ever meeting with and eventual death to a Medusa.  I honestly don't see a way to beat her without some sort of action that short-circuits her ability to confuse/freeze me.

Make her invisible and she will not be able to affect you. It also works for some other monster(s)... or so they say.

[LazyCat]

Hmm, I've never heard of TileRogue before. It seems as though it should be functionally the same game as the original Rogue.

Amiga, Atari ST, and Mac Rogue all use tiles, and C64, Amstrad and Spectrum versions also. Actually it's only PC version that doesn't. Laziness? Inability? Go figure! In my opinion Mac rogue is by far the best version of the game.

Here, try it out:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/9yo369c422935kq/vMac-Rogue.zip

- hold windows (apple) key to identify what's under mouse pointer
- to throw something drag it on the map from the inventory window
- to zap a wand drag it on the map while holding shift
- use ctrl-f to switch to full screen or ctrl-m to double the window size


I actually just started working the other day on elwin's Rogue 5.4.5 to look and play like Mac version, except for inventory which will work more like Atari ST version. I believe these changes will make the game at least 100x more playable and attractive for new people to try out. -- I have no idea how to make it work through ssh, Elwin let me know if you have time to help make that possible.

[Squeeealer]

I had a series of good runs this weekend including my first ever meeting with and eventual death to a Medusa.  I honestly don't see a way to beat her without some sort of action that short-circuits her ability to confuse/freeze me.

Make her invisible and she will not be able to affect you. It also works for some other monster(s)... or so they say.

But my problem is that she confuses me before I even see her most of the time.