GnollHack Bug Reports and Issues

[Tommi Gustafsson]

Please use GitHub for reporting bugs and other issues:

hyvanmielenpelit/GnollHack

Rogue-like game based on NetHack. Contribute to hyvanmielenpelit/GnollHack development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

If the bug or the issue is techical in nature, you can use labels to mark which operating system you are using (and if connecting to a server, which SSH client you are using).

You can also report bugs and issues on this forum, if you prefer to do so.

 

[rahn]

Hi, I prefer posting here over github because I never use github and don't want to check it. If you want me to move this over to there or post there in the future I will.

So, these are not very technical reports, I don't know if GnollHack can export logs or not so I can give you some information that would be helpful.

I am using SSH to play on the official GnollHack server. macOS, stock terminal, also GNU/Linux Fedora with Gnome-terminal. Not that it matters for these bugs...

The first thing I saw happened when I forgot a spell on the list below a spell that could not be recalled. Instead of saying the name of the spell I chose to forget, it said I forgot the spell right above it. Once I went back into the casting menu, that was not the case, it did actually work as expected. Not sure if reproducible or impossible to trace without remembering the specific spells - I'm going to write more down from now on.

I wonder if there is a way for me to get a unique "game number" so that I can find which game It was, send you a link so you can step back through a replay and see what happened. That would be nice. But, neither of these bugs are game breaking and I'm not sure if you are interested in patching them or not - I'm just doing this because I like the game and want to help if I can.

The second thing I saw just happened, and it happened as a Chaotic Female Elf Wizard around this time of night. I used lightning-enchant item spell, applied it to the blessed +1 staff of frost I started with. No problems, shows in inventory correctly. Then, I hit a monster, it freezes and seems to do extra damage (it was around 25 damage IIRC) but then says it is no longer enchanted. When I go back into inventory, it still says "electrified." This happens everytime I kill a monster it seems, it throws the message.

(Another edit: ok, now it's gone for real. I got to wack probably 5-6 monsters with it before It finally left the staff. Is it supposed to? Was this supposed to happen sooner, is it a enchant-and-get-one-hit type of spell? Maybe it wasn't leaving the staff because I was one-hitting before?)

Also, I'd like to add, I love how I now have a freezing staff of frost. Looks like there's no double effect though. lol. I love how many magical things there are in this game and the diversity of items.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Thanks, rahn. We’ll look into these issues.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Hi, both of these issues are now fixed. Interestingly enough, the second bug was related to just lightning-enchanting melee weapons (rather than fire or cold-enchanting, or using throwing or ranged weapons), so well done for finding it!

I have now updated GitHub sources, Windows binaries, as well as our US and European servers. The changes should have no impact on save files.

Thanks a lot for this bug report!

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Also, relating to a cold-enchanted / freezing staff of frost, the effects do stack. You should get the following messages: The freezing staff of frost freezes [the monster you hit]! You hit [the monster] for [X] damage! The cold sears [the monster]! The first sentence indicates the normal staff of frost effect and the last one the cold enchantment you have enchanted it with. However, the cold enchantment just adds 1d6 to damage so it might be difficult to notice in total damage.

 

[rahn]

Hi again. I wanted to say, you folks are really amazing on how quick you implement things and fix bugs. Clearly a lot of work and passion going into this game.

I keep seeing this and I'm not sure if it's intentional - when using the _ command to go to a space in the dungeon, I seem to pause near peaceful bats, playing as a neutral character. not overly annoying but a strange hiccup. I don't believe I have any MSGTYPE hide options set in my config that could cause this either.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Hi, thanks for the feedback, rahn, and apologies for the slightly delayed reply, as I've been travelling recently. I'm glad to hear that you appreciate the passion we have for the game (both the original and our variant, to be precise).

We certainly want to address relevant issues as soon as they come up. (I'm particularly proud of the speed at which we developed the classic_statue_symbol option for AmyBSOD.) Fixing them is not always a huge amount of work, as long as the cause is clear. I also must say that developing the game on Windows with Visual Studio rather than on Linux helps a lot.

In any case, I can look into the issue you described, although figuring out the cause for just that particular behavior may not be as straightforward as some other issues we've looked into earlier.

 

[transcendreamer]

Hello, may I post suggestions here? or better submit to github?

First I should say THANK YOU to the Dev, and Gnollhack is really refreshing experience!

I'm still learning the game but have some ideas already

1. I've got several human corpses and I'd like to chop them to obtain skulls and bones for spells ingredients Also adventurer may obtains poison from rotting corpse for dipping arrows, bolts, darts, daggers...

2. Crafting. Probably the Dev have some plans to implement it? I see there are materials like ores and wood, so it looks very natural to make step further and provide something like smithing and tinkering.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Hello, may I post suggestions here? or better submit to github?

First I should say THANK YOU to the Dev, and Gnollhack is really refreshing experience!

I'm still learning the game but have some ideas already

1. I've got several human corpses and I'd like to chop them to obtain skulls and bones for spells ingredients Also adventurer may obtains poison from rotting corpse for dipping arrows, bolts, darts, daggers...

2. Crafting. Probably the Dev have some plans to implement it? I see there are materials like ores and wood, so it looks very natural to make step further and provide something like smithing and tinkering.

Hi transcendreamer,
Many thanks for the feedback, and we are very happy to hear that you are liking the game. We will probably make a separate forum for posting new ideas and commenting on old features going forward, but currently it is ok to post all such topics here.

We have indeed thought about the crafting aspects in the game, and nuggets of ore have been part of that thought process as you rightly point out. However, any such system has to be well-planned so that it actually adds enough to the game, rather than making the game experience more laborious (if you actually have to use it to improve your odds of success in the game), or just being a curiosity that nobody uses (if not very useful).

So, the answer is that we have not yet come up with a crafting system that would add a sufficient amount to the gaming experience. Such a system can probably be devised with more planning, but so far we have decided to concentrate on other features that are more straightforward to implement and that have more obvious benefits for the gaming experience. And there are a lots of them! But maybe the crafting system's time will come, too, but currently it is not on the top of our new features list.

Regarding poisoning, we just made (for the forthcoming 4.0.21 release) a fountain of poison and a potion of poison for poisoning weapons. And now all sharp weapons, not just bolts, can be poisoned. Potion of sickness actually makes you now (deathly) sick, rather than being poison (logical, right?). Maybe corpses could do something on that front, too, but maybe we have to think it more from the sickness than poisoning angle. That said, all sicknesses in NetHack seem to be deadly. Maybe the whole sickness / poisoning system needs a bit more attention to allow for interesting new mechanics. Although not every corpse needs to spread deadly sicknesses, I think. This is an example of a feature that is much more straightforward to implement and make meaningful from a game experience standpoint than a crafting system, which in turn requires a massive amount of planning, design, and redesign to make it work in a useful way.

Best regards,

Janne

 

[transcendreamer]

Hi transcendreamer,
Many thanks for the feedback, and we are very happy to hear that you are liking the game. We will probably make a separate forum for posting new ideas and commenting on old features going forward, but currently it is ok to post all such topics here.

We have indeed thought about the crafting aspects in the game, and nuggets of ore have been part of that thought process as you rightly point out. However, any such system has to be well-planned so that it actually adds enough to the game, rather than making the game experience more laborious (if you actually have to use it to improve your odds of success in the game), or just being a curiosity that nobody uses (if not very useful).

So, the answer is that we have not yet come up with a crafting system that would add a sufficient amount to the gaming experience. Such a system can probably be devised with more planning, but so far we have decided to concentrate on other features that are more straightforward to implement and that have more obvious benefits for the gaming experience. And there are a lots of them! But maybe the crafting system's time will come, too, but currently it is not on the top of our new features list.

Regarding poisoning, we just made (for the forthcoming 4.0.21 release) a fountain of poison and a potion of poison for poisoning weapons. And now all sharp weapons, not just bolts, can be poisoned. Potion of sickness actually makes you now (deathly) sick, rather than being poison (logical, right?). Maybe corpses could do something on that front, too, but maybe we have to think it more from the sickness than poisoning angle. That said, all sicknesses in NetHack seem to be deadly. Maybe the whole sickness / poisoning system needs a bit more attention to allow for interesting new mechanics. Although not every corpse needs to spread deadly sicknesses, I think. This is an example of a feature that is much more straightforward to implement and make meaningful from a game experience standpoint than a crafting system, which in turn requires a massive amount of planning, design, and redesign to make it work in a useful way.

Best regards,

Janne

Thanks for the detailed answer!

Yes, I agree that crafting should add something valuable, significant for the player. Not just for trend-following like in many recent top-selling RPG games where crafting/alchemy is tedious and very optional.

On the contrary I could remember ADOM's fletchery was useful DIY-skill for rangers to make arrows/quarrels from raw wood (chopped trees or doors) in the absence of shops nearby. And smithing to repair broken favorite weapons/armor. Dnethack offers bullet-crafting for firearms which is mission-critical for anachronauts (just for example). Also automatons are able to install useful augmentations. Resizing armor to fit large/subtle body constitutions, etc.

Of course crafting system has impact to the balance and should be planned carefully in accordance with the game design strategy.

I like that very feeling in the game when collected resources are used in proper way instead of leaving junk items behind. That's exactly what Gnollhack offered with new resource-based magic system - it adds meaningfulness and realism, and even creates ecological closed cycle.

I was thinking the same principle of recycling/reusing could be expanded for other items in the game. Maybe even decomposition of items into raw materials?

I'm happy to hear about new poisoning approach, just great! Regarding corpses as a source of poison - I feel that kobolds are naturally good candidates for such. And yes, you are absolutely right about difference between poisons and sickness.

One more idea is cooking. Because eating raw corpses looks very primitive. It could be better to have some recipes for boiling/frying/baking killed enemies adding herbage and mushrooms - ( which are already added in the Gnollhack ) - and if the recipe is met - that would also convey useful resistances/abilities to the character - and it makes sense for the player to spend time on that.

 

[transcendreamer]

I noticed that after eating fortune cookies in Gnollhack there is no rumor text being read.
Also being a knight I was trying to use lance but could not (a)pply my lance.
Am I missing something?

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

I noticed that after eating fortune cookies in Gnollhack there is no rumor text being read.
Also being a knight I was trying to use lance but could not (a)pply my lance.
Am I missing something?

Probably not. Those are probably unintended consequences of various system changes, i.e., they have become bugged as we have changed the code to be a bit more sensible. For example, the effects of eating food were hard-coded for each food item in the code, while there is now a data field for each food item describing what their effect should be, which is technically a far better approach. I guess there is some (small) problem there. Just keep your observations coming. We will fix them in the next patch.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

I noticed that after eating fortune cookies in Gnollhack there is no rumor text being read.
Also being a knight I was trying to use lance but could not (a)pply my lance.
Am I missing something?

So the problem with fortune cookie was that there is another new data field indicating the % chance of the effect, which was accidentally 0% rather than 100%. Thanks for this bug report.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

I noticed that after eating fortune cookies in Gnollhack there is no rumor text being read.
Also being a knight I was trying to use lance but could not (a)pply my lance.
Am I missing something?

Finally, it looks like lance is not a polearm, pickaxe, or axe, which are the only appliable weapons. What did lance do by applying before? You should still be able to joust monsters if you are riding, which is I guess what a lance is supposed to do.

 

[Tommi Gustafsson]

A lance can also be applied to attack two squares away (a knight's jump away or even diagonally if sufficiently skilled); this is known as pounding. However, there is a to-hit penalty for applying the lance when the wielder is at Basic skill level or lower. It is possible to stay a knight's jump away from monsters who are able to throw missiles and use spells and breath attacks to attack them with the lance without them being able to retaliate.

From: https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Lance

 

[Tommi Gustafsson]

I could also add that when the Lance uses the Spear skill, maybe we could make all spears be able to hit two squares away when applied. They work this way in Pathos. It would make spears more useful. I think they are now next to useless. But we could also think how they differ from polearms. Also, we could think if we want increase the range of applying to SQRT(8) on all skill levels or not.

 

[Tommi Gustafsson]

Maybe the difference would be that spears can hit also melee range but you need to increase the skill to expert to be able to hit SQRT(8) squares away. So,
- Unskilled: Cannot apply, or range of SQRT(4)
- Basic: SQRT(4) range
- Skilled: SQRT(5) range
- Expert: SQRT(8) range

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Ok, lances work now as before, and fortune cookies are working as well. I updated the Windows binaries and the public game servers. We can think about how spears should work.

 

[Janne Gustafsson]

Ok, I make an issue of this on GitHub. This requires a bit of extra work.

 

[transcendreamer]

Thanks for unbelievably fast update!
If I find something more - I'll report an issue on the github.