ADOM tutorial

[gut]

I'm doing a "Let's play" type of pictoral ADOM tutorial,
and using a dear elf wizard named Quik as the example.
I'm sticking it on some free web hosting place until I
get it built, so there are ads for now. Here it is if anyone
is interested:

http://plog.0catch.com/

Comments and suggestions welcome, especially if you
see that I've left out something really important. Keep
in mind that it's not done yet, and the first time I've
ever fiddled with HTML at all.

[Soirana]

why not youtube? There is already some whacky attempts in where.

I actually though of doing something myself but i hate working with videos [on top of my fancy english].

[quik]

I'm doing a "Let's play" type of pictoral ADOM tutorial,
and using a dear elf wizard named Quik

Between all the names in the world you had to choose mine?

[Molach]

Only thing I'd observe, is that you start a tutorial for people who are completely new to the game and then show off a very advanced place, which you cannot reach before having played 100 chars... by which time you are not a newbie any more.

I'd do a very traditional first dungeon to visit on the nr 1 tutorial. Dwarven fighter, doing the SMC to get a blanket and get out. Just to learn walking and fighting. Then the next tutorial could show off this way to start. Because one can edit the cnf. file or what you said. Then you could get by with less total-newbie advice about keypresses and such.

I like the writing style, humor (what about them melee classes...) and didactical structure. Good work!

or shall I say GUT ARBEIT.

[sorear]

> I'm doing a "Let's play" type of pictoral ADOM tutorial,
> and using a dear elf wizard named Quik as the example.
> I'm sticking it on some free web hosting place until I
> get it built, so there are ads for now. Here it is if anyone
> is interested:
>
> http://plog.0catch.com/

FYI your server isn't set up right for PNG images; they get the wrong MIME type
(and show up as "unrecognized type, must be text" for me).

> Comments and suggestions welcome, especially if you
> see that I've left out something really important. Keep
> in mind that it's not done yet, and the first time I've
> ever fiddled with HTML at all.[/QUOTE]

[Moeba]

well, some stuff: 'A pitiful toughness stat' - total newbies wouldn't know you're talking about the To: 9, would be good to explain that 13 is about the average. the 'I' command looks like a T command there, to show your Tnventory :P - anyway, it's the 'i' command. I shows immediately your stuff, i.e. what you haven't put on.
Also you use the name of your character without having introduced it, probably it would be better to tell somewhere that it's what you call your character.
Didn't have time to look at page 2

[JellySlayer]

I'm doing a "Let's play" type of pictoral ADOM tutorial,
and using a dear elf wizard named Quik as the example.
I'm sticking it on some free web hosting place until I
get it built, so there are ads for now. Here it is if anyone
is interested:

http://plog.0catch.com/

Comments and suggestions welcome, especially if you
see that I've left out something really important. Keep
in mind that it's not done yet, and the first time I've
ever fiddled with HTML at all.

gut, who exactly is your target audience here? Brand new players? Players wanting to learn how to do a Bugville raid?

If your audience is new players, I think you will probably want to be a bit more careful with your explanations. Are you going to the Bug Temple because you were sent there by the druid? It isn't obvious from the text why you are there. If I'm a new player and have rolled a human paladin, should I also be going to the Bug Temple right away?

[Al-Khwarizmi]

Yeah, well, if I were a totally new player and my first contact with the game were a tutorial telling me to go to the bug temple and memorise some enemy positions ("stay at the square right of the trees and bolt down", etc.) to kill them without taking risks, that would probably be my last ADOM game.

I think the VD would make more sense in a newbie tutorial (and I never start with the VD, I start with blanket runs, but the VD is more newbie-friendly). But anyway, each person has his tastes, and the tutorial is still nice for those who want to do th bug temple.

[gut]

> why not youtube?

My hillbilly accent would be more laughable than your
Lithuanian one. Also, I want some experience with trying
to put up a webpage. This style follows the traditional
'let's play' style that a lot of people already know.

> all the names in the world you had to choose mine?

Wasn't even thinking at the time. I killed a few of these
guys out of impatience, and it's frustrating to have a PC
die after taking 250 screenshots or so. I've already beat the
game with this guy, so please don't ask me to redo it now : )

>completely new to the game and then show off a very advanced place

I will definitely have to preface that with an explanation,
especially how to edit the config files. The BUGWIL isn't really
that difficult to clear after a few tries, is it? The reason I chose
to start in BUGWIL is because, to my knowledge, that's the best
way.

> the next tutorial could show off this way to start.

I may start another wiz to show a (sub)standard start, but I doubt
I'll go through another whole game.

> FYI your server isn't set up right for PNG images

They don't display properly for you? I tested the page on my PC and
it all loaded fine.

> show your Tnventory :P - anyway, it's the 'i' command

Good eye!

> you use the name of your character without having introduced it

Will fix that.

> all the names in the world you had to choose mine?

Wasn't even thinking at the time. I killed a few of these
guys out of impatience, and it's frustrating to have a PC
die after taking 250 screenshots or so. I already beat the
game with this guy, so please don't ask me to redo it now : )

> gut, who exactly is your target audience here?

Good question! My target audience is those who have tried and
failed at ADOM due to the fact that it is 'too hard'. I recently
visited a "Let's play" site that has demonstrations, like the one
I'm doing, for Crawl, Nethack, and Angband. They even mentioned
ADOM a bit with something like "Now if only one of us was good
enough to beat ADOM!" To which everyone responded that ADOM was
just too hard, and they couldn't get anywhere with it. I wanted to
create an easily viewable demo, one that won't confuse newbies
(many had asked for legends for the Nethack and Angband demos).
I want a demo that shows *THE* best (easiest and fastest) way to
start and win a game of ADOM. If there exists a better start than
BUGWIl, I don't know it.

> a bit more careful with your explanations.

Indeed. I was originally typing out long winded explainations for
everything. The result was informative, but highly boring for the
reader. Also, it was rather mind numbing for me when I considered
that I will have to comment about 700 screenshots. I think I may
have gotten a little snip-happy though : )

> go to the bug temple and memorise some enemy positions

Indeed, that may be offputting. I will prolly start another PC and
link to a page like AD_tut2a, explaining an alternate start. I
still think nothing beats BUGWIL for a power start though, and that
is what newbies need most. I did briefly consider trying a 'kill
Barnabus' start, but I figured I shouldn't scare them away so early.

[Grey]

Hmm, it's really not a guide I'd ever show to newbies. Bug-chasing is just for speedruns in my opinion, and showing an advanced tactic like that is about as interesting to a new player as seeing r-pentomino planting or setting up a gremlin bomb in momma dragon's cave. It might help people win the game, but I don't think it'll help them enjoy it. Savescumming would be a better introduction to the game.

If you do mean it as a "guaranteed way to win" for experienced but desperate players then I'd suggest you're being a little too heavy with explaining every little detail. It doesn't take a great number of deaths in ADOM to realise you have to press '>' to enter Terinyo for instance.