Easing Early Game

[Al-Khwarizmi]

I was also really frustrated when I got hit with a glob of mud in the face. Took me a reeeaall long time to figure out I could wipe my face.

Yeah, that one is hard to figure out. I died a lot to it when I was a newbie.

I think a good way out of that would be that the mud sticks to your face for a given time (say, 1000 turns) and then dissolves. So you can clean your face, getting an Ap bonus, or you can wait it out, getting *twice* the Ap bonus.

That would both help newbies a little bit (they would at least be able to survive) and add a bit of a decision for experienced players (shall I play 1000 turns blind to get more bonus?) (yes, I know Ap is largely irrelevant, but well... one can always roleplay).

The only reason why I don't run to post this as an RFE is that it would rule out the possibility of being blind the whole game, as Soirana did.

I think a nice improvement to ADOM would be the option to voluntarily start a character with a defect or disability (deaf, blind, limp - movement costs 1.5x the EP -, etc.) This would be fun both for challenge games and for roleplaying (I've always liked tabletop RPG's where the PC could have a defect).

[gosos]

@Al: The better way is a better interface. I think the wipe your face thing is basically a 'gotcha'. I think some of these things should have options to either turn them off or have a hint pop up. The command structure really needs to be re-organized. As I said, when I need to find a command, I google 'adom commands' and find a forum post then do 'control f' to search for stuff.

I also had trouble figuring out what what commands were form the keybinding. I might be stupid but I didnt know that a certain symbol meant control C.

I really think we need the ability to mod the game to get this stuff. This is the kind of thing the community can add. Most for profit games make the game moddable. It enhances their value.

[gosos]

i just suggested mod support to Thomas. Please post your opinions. most other games have this and do it without releasing the source code (which he doesn't want to do, so I figured not to mention). Rogue like communities tend to be pretty technical, so I think we would see all kinds of cool stuff if the game was moddable and it would significantly increase the fan base. as long as its 1.2 Thomas still needs to be paid for access. I think he is entitled to sell this game. It is his intellectual property, but I think the fan base can make the game even better.

http://www.adom.de/forums/project.php?issueid=2188

[Stingray1]

Maybe, the mud in the face bit was TBs way of getting ppl to read the manual again. It certainly forced me to have a second look at the commands. Which was also when I discovered I could sacrifice. Thanks TB.

[GordonOverkill]

I am not so sure about all this make-early-game-easier-stuff. Of course there are many games around which are much more newby-friendly, but ADOM is my favourite game anyway (together with Dominions 3, which is also everything but easy ;-)). At least the difficult early game makes me still excited for every new character even after years of playing. Maybe I am just a bit conservative, but at least for me the hard beginning was always an interesting challange and not an anoying problem.

[sytar6]

me still excited for every new character even after years of playing

None of the changes we've suggested should have any impact whatsoever on seasoned players.

[GordonOverkill]

Of course not. It's just that I don't think that ADOM is too hard. There are way better games for casual players, so I'd rather like to see Thomas and Jochen work on different issues. I agree though that the controlls could need some improvement and I liked some of the points in this thread like an improved inventory that makes it easier to survey your possessions, but more in-game hints are just not needed in my eyes.

[sytar6]

Well of course you don't see the need for any in-game hints. You, like me and everyone else on this forum, are spoiled to death. None of the hints will affect us.

But that's the beauty of in-game hints. It can ease the early game for beginners without wussifying the game for veterans. Personally, I'd like to see the game become a little more accessible so that the community can become bigger. I just don't want to sacrifice any of the difficulty I experience when playing the game to do it.

[Stingray1]

It's typically the first dungeon that they see. It makes sense: the PC is closer to the game start and Terinyo but it requires talking to the tiny girl, the VD/DD are a bit further south and they also require talking to NPC's.

Sorry , for the necro, but think this belongs here.

Found this piece of bullshit on second page of results after googling Adom (listed as Adom Walkthrough):

"1.In any ADOM game, you will want to start by going to the training caves. These are a good place to find out whether your character is worth continuing or whether you'd be better off starting over. The training caves are just about 15 or so spaces to the left of the NE corner where you start out. Keep killing monsters until you get to experience level 6, then leave, because after level 6 the monsters get too deadly."

[anon123]

That "Massive ADOM Walkthrough Spoilers Galore" was among the very first spoilers I read for the game. A blast from the past