Terrain proposal: Chasms

[Grotug]

The other terrain addition I think would be fun to implement into Angband is chasms. And bridges over chasms. To avoid such implementation from being annoying, you need to use the W command in order to step into the abyss. That doesn't mean chasms aren't dangerous, though. It's still very possible to unintentionally fall into the abyss. If you are confused, blind or hallucinating and stumble off the edge, you will not be prompted to step off the edge; you simply will fall off. If you are hit by force while near a chasm edge, then you will be blown off the edge and fall into the abyss!

Chasms would be cool because...

• They'd add very appropriate atmosphere to the dungeon and would be another step in its continued direction of breaking up the dominant theme of hallway connected by room.
• Certain scary monsters can rise up out of the abyss and suddenly appear to pursue and attack the player (Balrogs and bats come to mind; not sure if they would be detectable while deep within the chasm. Perhaps not, but to compensate Balrogs can only attack when on terra firm (or a bridge) but not while ascending out of the chasm.
• If you haven't yet killed the Barlog of Moria, whenever you come to a chasm with a bridge going across it you might be on the lookout for him.
• Chasms with bridges would only start to appear at 2100' +/- 250'
• Small chasms (without bridges) would start appearing at 1250' +/- 150'.
• Who knows what other dangers lurk in the depths beneath chasm bridges...?
• chasms are an interesting and potentially dangerous terrain feature
• chasms make feather falling a useful thing.
• thematically, chasms are a logical shoe-in for a game that directly descended from Moria.

If you happen to "enter" the abyss, you may die, depending on the size of the chasm and your character level. For a smaller chasm, you will survive if you are CL25 or higher. But you will not be unscathed. You will fall through three dungeon levels and lose 55hp and will briefly be stunned upon landing and entering the new level. If it's a larger chasm (one with a bridge over it) you need to be CL40 or higher to survive it (or have feather falling). If the former is the case, instead of dying you fall through darkness and lose 90 hp upon arriving 5 dungeon levels down, and enter the level stunned. If you have feather falling you simply deep descend as if you had read a ?DD. There is a 30% chance there is a pool of water at the bottom of a chasm.

Scenario 1: you are insufficient character level to survive the fall:
You fall into the abyss!
{more}
You die.

You are sufficient character level to survive the fall:

You fall into a chasm!
{more}
You tumble through darkness....
{more}
You crash into a pool of water. You are stunned.
{more}

You are not sufficient level to survive the fall, but you have feather falling:

You fall into a chasm!
{more}
You gently float down through darkness....
{more}
You alight upon a pool of water.


Using ascii to clearly denote where a chasm is might be a bit tricky. Maybe use dark purple dots instead of gray ones where the chasm is? And maybe brown commas (food character) for the bridge squares.

[Thraalbee]

Sil has this. That is a good implementation too . Also has leaping as skill and freedom that may help. Nice but a lot of code to write

[EpicMan]

Chasms would be kind of the opposite of passable rubble - blocks movement but not LOS. Would need to add AI to avoid monsters stupidly standing around while the player sits on the other side and shoots them (but a bridge across would allow them through).
Would chasms function as trap doors? what about items dropped/thrown onto them?
Rooms could be made full of a terrain (lava, water, chasms, etc) but with a plain floor border around the edge, allowing the player (and monsters) a path around if they don't want to go through it, but allow accepting the risk / penalties if you want to take a shortcut.

[Grotug]

I hadn't even considered what happens to arrows and objects shot/thrown at chasm. I guess they go bye, bye!

I gave a detailed description of how they could behave sort of like trap doors, but trap doors that have the potential to kill @. Basically if you intentionally step into the chasm, you'll fall through the dungeon and end up 3 or 5 levels down (if you survive the fall). You could unintentionally be thrown into the chasm by force breathed at you by gravity or impact hounds or by the Minotaur lord. You can unintentionally step into the chasm if you are blinded or confused or hallucinating.

---------

You could have lava pouring into a chasm on one side and a waterfall pouring into the chasm on other side and a bridge passing down the middle of the chasm with views of the elemental flows on either side.

[Nick]

Chasms - or more generally empty space that the player falls through - exist in FA too (maybe Sil stole it from there ). I quite like the idea of having them in Angband, but it would have to be carefully managed.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Originally Posted by Nick

Chasms - or more generally empty space that the player falls through - exist in FA too (maybe Sil stole it from there ). I quite like the idea of having them in Angband, but it would have to be carefully managed.

I love it, as long as @ doesn't end up atop a spire with no way to get off except quit the game, like my last guy in FA.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Ingwe Ingweron

I love it, as long as @ doesn't end up atop a spire with no way to get off except quit the game, like my last guy in FA.

What, jumping didn't work?

[wobbly]

Originally Posted by Ingwe Ingweron

I love it, as long as @ doesn't end up atop a spire with no way to get off except quit the game, like my last guy in FA.

Well serves you right for not listening to master Gamgee. You should have brought rope.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Originally Posted by Nick

What, jumping didn't work?

The spire had a ring of rock wall atop its edges, @ inside the ring, and the main valley was too far away to phase door and had no scrolls of recall. But, in effect, @ did jump... to his suicidal death!