#frogcomposband

[redactedcat-posts]

Is There A Frog In The Dungeons?

We're back in old 80s-90s styled roguelikes, finally...! Back in known grounds, with a new game in line. Time for Frogcomposband tonight, back in the funny command lines. https://www.twitch.tv/redacted_cat

[cazort]

I've been playing FrogComposband and it is honestly jam packed with little details of balance and gameplay that are hallmarks of excellent game design. They make the game more fun and compelling.

Examples:

Resistances on items have been made both so that they stack, and so there are more gameplay benefits of having multiple copies. All resistances provide increasing damage reduction (with diminishing returns) for multiple copies. But for attacks that damage your gear, like how acid damages armor or frost causes potions to shatter, multiple copies better protect your inventory.

Other traits have been modified similarly. "See Invisible" isn't all or nothing. With only one source of see invisible, you will only see invisible creatures intermittently. And it is more difficult to see them at a distance. "Free Action" to prevent paralysis is imperfect, but more sources give a lower failure rate.

Traits that were less important in vanilla Angband have been made multifaceted. Fear for instance now has varying levels of intensity and can be debilitating if your character becomes too afraid.

Status attacks have been rebalanced. Confusion is more important. Some enemies can be confused but not slowed, others vice versa.

Some enemies can incite fear or confusion by merely becoming aware of their presence, which makes detecting monsters risky in areas where these enemies can occcur.

High-level enemies can follow you on teleport, which makes planning escapes much more difficult.

Very little gear is generated with all four basic resists, with instead there being a diverse range of resists generated on gear. Nearly anything is possible but the main difference is an abundance of gear with 2 basic resists, some with 3, and also lots of gear with 1-3 basic resists plus 1-3 higher resists. Instead of the resists mostly being limited to armor and shields, it now is more evenly distributed across all gear types.

There are more random artifacts, which can range from useless to incredibly powerful, but on average are pretty likely to offer incremental boosts to some characters in some situations but without breaking the game.

I've noticed some profound effects of these changes:

Each playthrough feels even more unique. One thing I've loved about Angband, even vanilla, is how the uniqueness of the gear can make two playthroughs very different, even with the same race/class combo. But FrogComposband takes this to a new level. Certain types of enemy will be extremely dangerous, for example, without Free Action(Fa) but pretty trivial with two Fa pips. Similarly for confusion or blindness. Gaps in resistance can pose a major threat to your inventory too so even enemies not at risk of killing you could set you back by destroying gear you rely on. And the game's balance makes being perfectly safe always out of reach, so it's a question of knowing where your vulnerabilities lie and acting accordingly.

[chillblains3d]

please pay your respects