Re: We need a new interface [warning; REALLY LONG]

Zarel :

> After much thinking, I've decided... we need a new Nethack/Slash'EM
> interface. (Warning: this is a REALLY long post, so if you don't feel
> like reading it... yeah.)

OK, here are my humble opinions.

> I mean, the main reason I can't get some of my friends to try Nethack is
> because the graphics are so bad.

nethack does not live because of its graphics. I usually play it in
Ascii mode (mainly because I am used to it, whenever I use tiles I
frequently switch back to Ascii to find out what all these objects
are). And I don't miss a thing. The graphics gets created in the
player's imagination, and no tiles set can beat that.

> 1. Tiles
> 2. 3D

I can't say anything founded about the tiles, because I don't like
them, and I don't play them...

> 3. Facing

is a thing that I would like to see too. I have no idea how to
implement it in Ascii, but luckily I am not DevTeam member :)

I just like the idea that my character (and the other inhabitants of
the dungeon) can't see in all the directions at once, but could be
surprised when an enemy approaches from behind. That would even make
your pet more useful, it could alarm you about monsters.

Furthermore, there could be differences in viewfields for different
characters. Knights should have a smaller view, a fly should have 360°
view.

> 4. Controls: Extended commands

snip. No opinion.

> 5. Controls: Miscellaneous
>
> Pressing a key should skip any animaion queued up. In large rooms like
> the Bigroom, just taking a step can take long periods of time,
> especially if you have the "resist stuff" animation on, which takes even
> longer. This goes for nearly every graphical interface.

isn't there a option for speeding up these "resist stuff"?

> 6. Animation: Projectiles, Missiles, Spells, and the like

all your argumentation is about the tiles set and its limitations.
You're right that there are possibilities to improve the visions. But
personally I don't care.

> 7. Animation: Movement/Combat

Movement: I don't need an animation. BTW, that would slow down the
game drastically, especially in the aforementioned big room with
dozens of monsters moving around.

Combat: a flying sword would be nice, but very low on my priorities
list.

> 8. Purple worms.

Long worms as well. I don't exactly remember how they look like in
tiled display, in Ascii I think they are looking the best possible
way.

> yet purple worms look like Knights!

that sounds like an error in the display routine. Can anyone confirm
that?

> 9. Miscellaneous Graphics/Animation
>
> I want to watch my character go down the stairs, and watch my pets and
> intelligent monsters follow.

just like movement between squares. It would look nice in the first
times, but quickly I would not need it anymore.

> When I get the message "Archie casts a
> spell. Archie turns transparent" because he's cast "Disappear" (That'd
> be the monster version of Make Invisible), I want to see Archie turn
> transparent!

Hmm, isn't that the way it is now? Or do you want an animation like
Captain Kirk beaming away?

> When I anger my god really badly while in Gehennom, I want
> the lightning strike and massive wide-angle disintegration beam to
> look...

I think the problem with showing these kinds of effects is that some
other monsters could be in the line of fire. But I agree some
graphical visualization (even in Ascii) would be fine.

> like the kind of stuff you'd expect from a god! When I pray and
> get the message "you are basked in a blue light", I want to see some
> blue light!

the same.

> I also want to see things like birds flying around my head when I'm
> stunned, a question mark looming above my head when I'm confused, Z's to
> fly around my head when I'm sleeping, and stuff like that.

These are things I'd like to see too. Maybe use different colors when
playing Ascii.

> End of list.

Uff. Maybe you want to write them down in a compact way and propose to
the DevTeam? I don't think they will include a 3D engine in the next 5
versions, but some points might be considerable. (And I'd definately
like to see some of your proposals...)


Sascha
--
www.nethack.de

download mirror for version 3.4.3:
http://www.nethack.de/download
.

Relevant Pages

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