path: root/crawl-ref/source/dat/database/FAQ.txt

########################################################
# Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ.txt)
########################################################
# This file lists a number of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers,
# and sometimes also questions we wish were asked more often. :)
#
# Syntax is as follows:
#  Q:key word, for the question
#  A:key word, for the corresponding answer
#
# Questions are pushed into a menu in the order the questions are defined
# in this file. Answers need not necessarily be right next to the question,
# but it's easier to read if they are.
# There may be at most 52 questions, but it is recommended to keep the
# number much lower than that.
#
# This file is not meant as an easy-access spoiler file, but rather
# intended to answer general questions that crop up from time to time.
#

##############################################
# Beginners' questions about playing the game.
##############################################
%%%%
Q:goal

What exactly is the goal of this game?
%%%%
A:goal

To survive and to win, obviously. For this you need to find the fabled
Orb of Zot deep down in the dungeon and bring it back to the surface.
To enter the realm of Zot, you'll first need to collect three runes to be
found in various branches of the dungeon.

However, if you're new to the game you really shouldn't worry about this.
Just try to delve as deeply as possible and have fun exploring the many
side branches in Crawl with various characters of different species,
skill sets, and religions.
%%%%
Q:drop

How can I drop/pick up only part of a stack?
%%%%
A:drop

Press 'd' (or ','/'g'), followed by a number (the amount), and finally the
item's letter. For pickup, this is only possible when choosing items from
a menu, i.e. ',,' or 'gg'.
Stacks that are selected only in part are marked with '#' rather than '+'.
%%%%
Q:downstairs

I can't find any downstairs. Am I missing something?
%%%%
A:downstairs

While this might be a bug, chances are the downstairs are somewhere in a
room closed off by a secret door. If you search (with '5') in suspicious
looking corridors and along walls near empty terrain, you will eventually
find one. Note that most level feature three downstairs as well as three
upstairs, not counting any escape hatches. If you get stuck, you might
try another stairs from the level above.
Alternatively, if you are in one of the branches, you might also have 
reached its lowest level and have to turn around to explore another one.
Check the database ("?/b") for the number of levels per branch.
%%%%
Q:stuck

I teleported and ended up in a closed room without any exits. Am I stuck?
%%%%
A:stuck

Hopefully not. Search all the walls with '5' in case there's a secret door.
If you really can't find any, it could be a bug and need fixing, so please
report it on our SourceForge tracker. In the meantime, you can try to escape
with digging, disintegration or teleportation.
%%%%
Q:survival

How can I avoid dying all the time? Can you give me some playing tips?
%%%%
A:survival

If you've got trouble even reaching the Temple, you might want to try out
the Tutorial for some general playing hints. (To do this, press 'T' in the
character selection menu.) Also, there are easy playing combinations and
more challenging ones (marked in dark grey on the selection screen). If you
are new to Crawl, sticking to the easier ones is advisable. In general,
treat each new monster you meet with utmost caution and keep an eye on your
hit points and magic.

For specific hints dealing with a particular character, you can press '#'
in-game to create a "dump" in your morgue folder that you can then post on
the rec.games.roguelike.misc group or in the Something Awful forum, so
other players can comment on your equipment, skills or spell selection.
Please try to trim your dump by removing stuff unnecessary for this task
(such as the extensive Vanquished list). If you join the ##crawl channel of
the freenode IRC, you will find helpful souls who will even watch you and
give hints should you play on one of the public servers.
%%%%
Q:cheating

Is there a cheating mode to Crawl where I can play without dying?
%%%%
A:cheating

Not a cheating mode, exactly, but if your build supports it you can play in
wizard mode (access with '&') where you are prompted whenever you're about
to die, and have access to a number of nifty commands to create equipment,
travel to distant branches, or fiddle with your stats or skills. Note that
wizard mode games will never appear on the highscore list.

Many players reckon long-time use of wizard mode to be detrimental to your
playing skills. On the other hand, wizard mode has its uses: we are really
thankful whenever we get bug reports using wizard mode for reproducing and
exploring bugs.
%%%%
Q:weapons

I've got two cool weapons. How can I tell which one is better?
%%%%
A:weapons

"Better" depends on a number of factors, such as your weapon skills,
whether it's one or two-handed, the randart properties, the weapon brand,
and the monsters you're about to face. In general, switching from a weapon
type you are already highly skilled with to another one that you have no
skill in is a waste of time. The brands may greatly differ in damage output
but you can get a good idea by bashing a few comparatively harmless monsters
with each and comparing the results. Of the enchantments, damage is usually
more important unless you hardly ever manage to hit with a weapon.
%%%%
Q:religion

Which gods would you recommend to a beginning player?
%%%%
A:religion

The easiest gods to play are probably Trog (for pure fighters), Sif Muna
(for spellcasters), Beogh (for orcs) and Xom (for general fun).
When you reach the Temple for the first time be sure to read all gods'
descriptions and take your time in deciding which way to go.
%%%%
Q:starving

My characters keep starving. What am I doing wrong?
%%%%
A:starving

It's possible that you simply spend too much time on cleared levels where
not enough monsters are generated to dine on. You might also be too choosy
about what you eat: unless you are herbivorous you will have to occasionally
eat monster chunks, even those that sometimes make you sick (coloured brown
in the menu and the prompt). If you worship a god who enjoys sacrifices pay
attention to your own hunger status and wait until the end of prayer before
chopping a corpse if need be. Also, casting (difficult) spells will make you
hungry, but high Intelligence and Spellcasting will lessen this effect. If
you press "II", you can read about the hunger effects of your spells.
%%%%
Q:ghosts

I keep getting murdered by my own ghosts. Can I deactivate them?
%%%%
A:ghosts

No, you can't. On the plus side, once a ghost has been loaded onto a
level, it won't be loaded again - unless you happen to die on that level.
Keep in mind that you don't absolutely have to fight every monster you meet,
and with ghosts it's even easier: they cannot leave the level they were
created on.

Alternatively, you could play a couple of strong species/job combinations
for the sole purpose of busting those ghosts, for example Berserkers or a
spellcaster who's learned Dispel Undead.
%%%%
Q:abyss

I've somehow ended up in a place called "Abyss". How do I get out of here?
%%%%
A:abyss

If you are in the Abyss for the first time, chances of getting out are
slim. Still, here are a few general hints:
* You need to find a gateway leading out of the Abyss. These are rare!
* Don't stick around to fight, move as much as possible!
* The Abyss wraps around, so avoid going straight into one direction.
* If you have it, use defensive equipment (weapon of protection etc.).
* Use teleportation to hopefully end up in a completely new part of the Abyss.
* Teleportation might take much longer to kick in than in the Dungeon.
* Consider switching your allegiance to Lugonu to get out of there.
%%%%
Q:randart

What do the terms "randart", "fixedart" and "egotitem" signify? 
%%%%
A:randart

Apart from the standard items you'll find lying around in the dungeon, you
might also stumble upon artefacts which come in three varieties:

* randart: a random artefact, usually a weapon or type of armour with
  random properties such as conferring resistances or abilities
* unrandart: an artefact that looks like a randart but is really
  predefined. There's no further difference except that players "in the know"
  can recognize such an item by its special description and/or colour.
* fixedart: an artefact that does not use the random artefact properties but
  instead has unique hardcoded effects and descriptions.

None of the three types can be enchanted or branded, neither temporarily nor
permanently. There is another type of special item that pops up a bit more 
often:

* egoitem: these are ordinary items with one special property. For example,
  a short sword of venom, a cap of see invisible or boots of running. These
  can be affected by enchanting scrolls and also by corrision and acids.
  Weapons of this type are branded, so you cannot brand them in other ways.

%%%%
Q:oklobs

Oklob plants suck! Are you planning to remove them at last?
%%%%
A:oklobs

No. We think that Oklob plants provide an interesting challenge.
Resist the urge to kill them at once. If you absolutely need to bypass them
use your resources wisely. A hint: They cannot see invisible.
%%%%
Q:instadeath

I went down these stairs and got killed instantly! Is this a bug?
%%%%
A:instadeath

Probably not. While your death might be due to an ill-placed vault (this
would be a bug), it is generally just really bad luck. We believe that a
game is more fun if the risk of death is real. This means that such instant
deaths cannot be fully avoided as Crawl relies on randomness for posing
challenges. It is important to realize that for highly skilled players, the
margin of such deaths is really slim...
%%%%
Q:zombified

My zombies refuse to follow me into the next level. Is this a bug?
%%%%
A:zombified

No, it's a deliberate design decision. As of version 0.5, zombies,
skeletons and simulacra are considered too stupid to manoeuvre along
staircases. We realize that this weakens Necromancers but we consider the
interface improvement of zombie herding becoming unfeasible to be more
important. Interestingly, this makes Necromancy and Yredelelmnul more fun
than before.

Keep in mind that the same also applies to hostile undead of the same kind!
%%%%
##############################################
# Questions about the development process.
##############################################
Q:bug

The game keeps crashing. / I think I found a bug. What do I do?
%%%%
A:bug

Please submit a bug report on SourceForge, and give as much information as
you can. (What were you doing at the time? What did you expect to happen,
what happened instead? etc.) Most importantly, what version are you playing?
Sometimes a screenshot can be helpful. For crashes or monsters/items/levels
behaving oddly, we probably need a save file. To be on the safe side, attach
the entire zipped save of the character in question. If there are error
messages, please write them down. Short of a save file, a guide on how to
reproduce the crash (or bug) can be useful; you can use wizard mode for this.

If you don't log in to SourceForge or leave an email address at least check
the thread from time to time in case we have some more questions. In any case
leave a nick so that we can refer to you in some way.

Thanks in advance!
%%%%
Q:ideas

I've got millions of ideas! Can I join the team?
%%%%
A:ideas

No, you can't. At least not on ideas alone.

All of the devteam members submitted a number of code intensive patches
and/or took over responsibility over an important side project before
joining. A good way to become indispensable is to help us with patches or
vaults etc.

Please submit your ideas to the Feature Requests tracker of SourceForge. If
they catch the interest of at least one coder, chances are they'll make it
into the game.

Note that your idea has better chances to be accepted if you present the
ramifications on gameplay. Since we put a lot of emphasis on the interface,
a good proposal on how to make the game play smoother may go without much
ado.
%%%%
Q:feature

Hey! Why did you close my feature request?
%%%%
A:feature

If you are logged in to SourceForge when submitting your feature request,
or choose to "Monitor" the resulting thread while logged in, you will get
an email any time someone replies to (or fiddles with) this thread. Once a
thread has been closed, you can still access it by searching for requests
with the "Closed" status.

We always try to give a reason for closing a request, but it usually boils
down to three reasons:
* It doesn't fit into the Crawl world as we see it.
* It violates Crawl's philosophy to avoid grinding and spoiler-heavy stuff.
* We just don't think it's interesting enough to ever be implemented.

Please don't let this stop you from bringing up more suggestions. Already the
next one might generate heavy interest and excitement, and end up in the
game. However, do try to be specific in your suggestions. If you cannot even
explain the basics of your idea, why should we bother to flesh it out, let
alone code it?
%%%%
Q:patch

I've written a patch for a cool new feature! Where should I send it?
%%%%
A:patch

Please submit it to the Patches tracker on SourceForge. Keep in mind that
without previous discussions, we may not be able to use the patch, or it
might need heavy modification. In general, it is safer to first file your
suggestions under Feature Requests and wait for people to become
enthusiastic and give feedback before you submit a patch. If you want,
you can also write a patch that implements an existing FR or fixes a bug.
We appreciate your help!
%%%%
Q:help

I cannot code, but I'd really like to help improve the game. What can I do?
%%%%
A:help

There are several areas where you can get creative and outside help is much
appreciated. These are:
* the maps/vaults (see dat/ folder, docs/level_design.txt)
* monster speech (see dat/database/, docs/monster_speech.txt)
* monster/item/spell descriptions (see dat/descript/)
* tiles (For this you'll need the source code, check the rltiles/ folder.)

If you've got some cool addition, you can send it over the mailing list, or
post it as a SourceForge item. You can also help us by giving feedback on
the most recent version or trunk (available via SVN, Windows binaries
downloadable from http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/).

Thanks a lot for your support!
%%%%
Q:beta

Is there a way for me to play the new version before it is released?
%%%%
A:beta

There certainly is! You can play "trunk" (what will eventually become the
next version) online on http://crawl.develz.org, or you can download Windows
binaries from the same site. Note that trunk may be buggy, and that many
changes will invalidate your saved games. If that doesn't bother you, go
ahead and play!
Be sure to leave some feedback/suggestions/bug reports on the SourceForge
trackers. When doing so please mention the version (r????) you're currently
playing in case the bug's already been fixed or the feature already
implemented.
%%%%
Q:interact

Is there a way for me to interact with other players?
%%%%
A:interact

If you play online on http://crawl.akrasiac.org or http://crawl.develz.org
you can watch games in progress, other players can watch you while you play,
and you can kill other players' ghosts. You can even send and receive
messages.

Check docs/ssh_guide.txt for an explanation about how to play online. You can
also chat in the Crawl channel (irc.freenode.net, ##crawl), or discuss in the
Something Awful forum or the rec.games.roguelike.misc newsgroup.
%%%%
##############################################
# Questions about the Tiles version
##############################################
Q:tiles online

Can I play Tiles online?
%%%%
A:tiles online

Sadly, no, that's not possible at the moment. We do hope that one day this
will be different, but so far we haven't even decided how to go about it,
and it's still far off. If you can, do give the console version a try:
playing online is certainly worth it.
%%%%
Q:tiles graphics

Is there a way for me to replace some of the tiles with different ones?
%%%%
A:tiles graphics

It depends. If all you want are minor modifications such as colour changes
you can directly modify the png files in the dat/tiles/ folder.

Otherwise, you'll need to be able to compile the game. In this case you can
either directly replace the tiles in the rltiles/ subfolders, or change their
paths in the dc-xxxx.txt files. For the compilation to be successful, you may
also need to delete or rename the *.png files in rltiles/. Upon compilation,
the newly rolled *.png files are copied into the dat/tiles/ folder which is
where the game accesses the tiles it needs. You can then share these files
with other players, so they can use your tileset without having to compile
the game.

If you've created some nice new tiles or variations of existing ones you'd
like to share you might want to send them over the mailing list or submit
them as a SourceForge item. It's easiest for us if they are already in
32x32 png format, preferrably zipped if there are several. Thanks in advance!
%%%%
Q:tiles options

Is there a way to modify the size of the tiles screen, the font etc?
%%%%
A:tiles options

Yes. Play around with the options in settings/tiles_options.txt until
you're satisfied.
%%%%