From 813bc92e90744f4deaa16d37abb6d0806c937be3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dploog Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:58:13 +0000 Subject: Moved readme.txt to docs/quickstart.txt and updated it. Removed README.stone_soup.txt and replaces it be readme.txt. Note that ?^ (in-game reading of the old readme.txt) will now show a completely different file. We may want to allow both reading of readme.txt and docs/quickstart.txt. git-svn-id: https://crawl-ref.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/crawl-ref/trunk@3744 c06c8d41-db1a-0410-9941-cceddc491573 --- crawl-ref/readme.txt | 303 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------- 1 file changed, 155 insertions(+), 148 deletions(-) (limited to 'crawl-ref/readme.txt') diff --git a/crawl-ref/readme.txt b/crawl-ref/readme.txt index 57f7f80161..fc6313b6b7 100644 --- a/crawl-ref/readme.txt +++ b/crawl-ref/readme.txt @@ -1,148 +1,155 @@ - Crawl Quick-Start Guide - (Copyright 1999 Linley Henzell) - -So, you want to start playing Crawl straight away without bothering with the -manual? Read this, the guide to starting Crawl with a minimum of preparation. -When you get some more time, you can read crawl_manual.txt in the Docs -directory for more detailed information. - -I suggest printing it out and following its instructions while playing your -first few games (you can also press '?' while playing for a list of commands). - - INTRODUCTION TO CRAWL - -Crawl is a large and very random game of subterranean exploration in a fantasy -world of magic and frequent violence. Your quest is to travel into the depths -of the Dungeon (which is different each time you play) and retrieve the Orb of -Zot. - -Crawl is an RPG of the 'rogue-like' type, one of the descendants of Rogue. Its -graphics are simple but highly informative, designed to be understood at a -glance, and control is exercised largely through one-keystroke commands. - - STARTING OUT - -After starting the program you will be greeted with a message asking for your -name. Don't spend too much time over this, as your first character will *not* -last very long (sorry, but it's true). - -Next you are given menus of species and character classes from which to -choose. A dwarf, orc, ogre or troll Fighter is a good bet. Elves are quite -fragile, humans are pretty average at everything, and the weirder species are -mostly too tricky for beginning players. Finally, you may be given a choice of -weapons. I suggest an axe (axes are fun). - -Now you are in the game. The game screen has three parts: - - the Map takes up the upper left part of the screen. In its very centre is - the @ sign which represents You. The coloured parts of the Map are the parts - you can see, while places which you have visited before but cannot currently - see are shown in grey. - - the Message box is the large part of the screen below the map. It describes - events as they happen and asks you questions from time to time. - - the Stats area (to the right of the Map) contains various indicators of - your health and abilities. - - EXPLORING - -Try walking around, using either the numeric keypad (try numlock off and on) or -the Rogue (hjklyubn) keys. To move in a given direction until you reach -something interesting or see a hostile creature, press shift and the direction. - -If you want to know what a certain character on the screen represents, you can -use the 'x' (examine) command to get a short description. You use the 'o', 'c' -commands to open or close doors, and the '<' (up) and '>' (down) commands to -climb staircases. Sometimes doors are hidden, and must be searched out by -standing next to walls and resting (a number of commands do the same thing: -'s', '.' (period), delete, or '5' on the numeric keypad). - -The Dungeon gets more dangerous (but more interesting!) as you go down. If you -get lost you can access a map of the whole level you are on with the 'X' -command, which uses the whole screen. - - ITEMS - -After walking around for a while, you will no doubt come across some items -laying around (you may come across some monsters as well; for help in dealing -with them skip to the Monsters section). You can pick up items with the 'g' -(get) or ',' commands and drop them again with 'd' (drop), and the 'i' -(inventory) command shows you what you're carrying. - -There are several different types of items: - - - Weapons, represented by the ) sign. Wield them with the 'w' (wield) -command. Some weapons are cursed and cannot be un-wielded without the use of -magic. - - - Armour ([). Wear it with the 'W' (Wear) command, and remove it with 'T' -(Take off). Heavier armours give more protection, but may hamper your ability -to fight and to dodge attacks aimed at you. These can also be cursed. - - - Ammunition (which has the ( sign). Throw it with 't' (throw). Darts are -meant to be thrown by hand; other missiles need an appropriate launcher to be -wielded (eg arrows are much more effective when shot with a bow). - - - Wands (/), Scrolls (?) and Potions (!) can be very valuable, but have -limited uses (scrolls and potions can only be used once each, wands contain -only a certain number of charges). Wands are 'z'apped, scrolls are 'r'ead and -potions are 'q'uaffed. - Unfortunately, you won't at first know what a wand, scroll or potion does; it -will only be described by its physical appearance. But once you have used, for -example, a potion of healing, you will in future recognise all potions of -healing. - - - Rings (=) and Amulets (") often contain powerful magic, but it can be -difficult to work out exactly what one does. They are put on with 'P' (put on) -and removed with 'R' (remove), but can, like weapons, be cursed. - - - Food (%) is vital to your survival. Eat it with the 'e' (eat) command when -hungry. Monsters' corpses, also %, can be eaten if chopped up (the 'D' -(Dissect) command), but not all of them are healthful, and many species of -player-character dislike eating raw flesh unless very hungry. - - - Money ($) can be used to buy stuff in shops, and increases your score if -you escape. - -There are a few other types of items, but you will discover these as you play. - -One vital command to remember when dealing with items is 'v' (View), which -gives you a short description of any item. Use it on everything you find. The -magical Scroll of Identify can also help for identifying magical items of -uncertain nature. - - MONSTERS - -You will also run into monsters (most of which are represented by letters of -the alphabet). You can attack a monster by trying to move into the square it -is occupying. - -When you are wounded you lose hit points (displayed near the top of the stats -list); these return gradually over time through the natural process of -healing. If you lose all of your hp you die. - -To survive, you will need to develop a few basic tactics: - - Never fight more than one monster if you can help it. Always back into a - corridor so that they must fight you one-on-one. - - If you are badly wounded, you can run away from monsters to buy some time. - Try losing them in corridors, or as a very last resort find a place where - you can run around in circles to heal while the monster chases you. - - Remember to use projectiles before engaging monsters in close combat. - - Rest between encounters. The 's', '.', delete or keypad-5 commands make you - rest for one turn, while pressing '5' or shift-and-keypad-5 make you rest - for a longer time (you will stop resting when fully healed). - - Learn when to run away from things you can't handle - this is important! - It is often wise to skip a dangerous level. But don't overdo this. - - DEATH - -Before long, you'll probably end up dead. - -Death in Crawl is permanent; you cannot just reload a saved game and start again -where you left off. The 'S' (save) command exists only to let you leave a game -part-way through and come back to it later. Quitting ('Q') lets you commit -suicide if you can't even be bothered to help your character escape alive. - -Well, that's it for the quick-start guide. This should help you through your -first few games, but Crawl is extremely (some would say excessively) complex -and cannot be adequately described in so short a document. So when you feel -ready to start playing with magic, skills, and religions, browse the manual. -Happy Crawling! +Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup +======================== + +Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is a game of dungeon exploration, combat and magic, +involving characters of diverse skills, worshipping deities of great power and +caprice. To win, you'll need to be a master of tactics and strategy, and +prevail against overwhelming odds. + +Players of versions 0.3.4 and older beware: please read the file + 034_changes.txt +in the docs/ directory for a list of the interface changes, and how +you could possibly retrieve the 0.3.4 standards. + +Contents: +1. How to get started? (Information for new players) +2. The file system of this version. +3. Contact and reporting bugs. +4. License and history information. +5. How you can help! + +1. Getting started +------------------ +If you'd like to dive in immediately, your best bets are to +* start up a game and choose a tutorial (press T when asked for race), or +* read quickstart.txt (it is in docs/), or +* for studious readers, browse the manual (see below for all doc files). + +Additionally, you may want to print out the file keys.pdf from the docs/ +folder. Besides a full list of command keys (don't bother with it), it contains +two pages of help for new players. +Note that you can read quickstart.txt and the manual when playing; pressing ? +brings up a menu for that. + + +2. File system +-------------- +The following files in the Crawl's main folder are essential: + +* crawl These start the game. (The actual name depends on your +* crawl.exe operating system.) + +* init.txt These contain the options for the game. The defaults +* .crawlrc play well, so don't bother with this in the beginning. + Permanent death is not an option, but a feature! + +* macro.txt Playing Crawl can be made even more convenient by + redefining keys and assigning macros. Ignore early on. + +The docs/ folder contains the following helpful texts (all of which can be +read in-game by bringing up the help menu with '?'): + +* the_manual.txt The complete manual; describing all aspects in the + detail. Contains appendices on species, classes, etc. +* options.txt Describes all options in detail. The structure of + init.txt follows this text. +* macros.txt A how-to on using macros and keymappings, with examples. +* aptitudes.txt Some numbers defining certain aspects of the races. + Helpful, but not needed for winning. +* quickstart.txt A short introduction for new players. +* ssh_guide.txt An elaborate introduction on how to get internet play + to work. For Windows only. +* irc_guide.txt An elaborate introduction on how to access the IRC + channel ##crawl. +* keys.pdf A printable document, listing all commands and it also + contains a very short guide for new players. + + +3. Contact and reporting bugs +----------------------------- +The official webpage is + http://crawl-ref.sourceforge.net/ +and there you can find both trackers to add bug reports, feature requests, or +upload patches as well as sources and binaries. This is the best way to report +bugs or mention new ideas. + +There is a Usenet newsgroup dealing with roguelikes, including Crawl: + rec.games.roguelike.misc +It is polite to flag your post with -crawl- as other games are discussed over +there as well. This is a good place to ask general questions, both from new +players as well as for spoilers, or to announce spectacular wins. + +You can play Crawl online, together with many others. The main server has its +homepage at + http://crawl.akrasiac.org/ +where you can also read how to connect. That page also has links to spoiler +sites etc. + +If you want to chime in with development, you can read the mailing list + crawl-ref-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net +which can get pretty busy on the occasion. + + +4. License and history information +---------------------------------- +What you have downloaded is a successor to Linley's Dungeon Crawl. Development +of the main branch stalled at version 4.0.26, with a final alpha of 4.1 being +released by Brent Ross in 2005. Since 2006, the Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup +team continues the development. + +Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is an open source, freeware roguelike. It is supported +on Linux, Windows, OS/X and, to a lesser extent, on DOS. The source should +compile and run on any reasonably modern Unix. +Stone Soup features both ASCII and Tiles display. + +Crawl gladly and gratiously uses the following open-source packages: +* The Lua script language, see /docs/lualicense.txt. +* The PCRE library for regular expressions, see /docs/pcre-license.txt. +* The Mersenne Twister for random number generation, /docs/mt19937.txt. +* The SQLite library as database enging; it is properly public domain. +* The ReST light markup language for the documentation. + +5. How you can help +------------------- +If you like the game and you want to help making it better, there are a number +of ways to do so: + +* Playtesting. +At any time, there will be bugs -- playing and reporting these is a great help. +There is a beta server around hosting the most recent version of the current +code; the akrasiac page links to it. Besides finding bugs, ideas on how to +improve interface or gameplay are welcome as well. + +* Vault making. +Crawl uses many hand-drawn (but often randomised) maps. Making them is fun and +easy. It's best to start with simple entry vaults (glance through +dat/entry.des for a first impression). Later, you may want to read +docs/level-design.txt for the full power. If you're ambitious, new maps for +branch ends are possible, as well. +If you've made some maps, you can test them on your system (no compiling +needed) and then just mail them to the mailing list. + +* Speech. +Monster talking provides a lot of flavour. Just like vaults, speech depends +upon a large set of entries. Since most of the speech has been outsourced, you +can add new prose. The syntax is a slightly strange, so you may want to read +docs/monster_speech.txt. +Again, changing or adding speech is possible on your local game. If you +have added something, send the files to the list. + +* Monster descriptions. +You can look up that current descriptions in-game with ?/ or just read them in +dat/descript/monsters.txt. The following conventions should be more or less +obeyed: descriptions ought to contain flavour text, ideally pointing out major +weaknesses/strenghts. No numbers, please. Citations are okay, but try to stay +away from the most generic ones. + +* Tiles. +Since version 0.4, tiles are integrated within Crawl. Having variants of +often-used glyphs is always good. If you want to give this a shot, please +contact us via the mailing list. + +* Patches. +If you like to, you can download the source code and apply patches. Both +patches for bug fixes as well as implementation of new features is welcome. +Please be sure to read docs/coding_conventions.txt first. -- cgit v1.2.3-54-g00ecf