View monsters in memory by dungeon level

[Max Stats]

I don't think this is already in the game. If it is, please point me to it. If not, please discuss the merits of this idea:

I would like to be able to list all monsters normally found at a depth specified by the user. My feeling is that this could aid players in deciding whether it is safe to proceed, or perhaps if a certain resistance hole or other requirement needs filled first. Of course, the monster should only be listed if it is in the player's monster memory.

One possible mechanism I have thought of is to add a command to the ~d "display monster knowledge" command. I am thinking perhaps "f" (filter), followed by a prompt for a dungeon level 1-99. Then only monsters native to that depth would be displayed. Once a filter is applied, a "u" (unfilter) command could be added to remove the filter.

Another possibility is to give the option to toggle the ~d command between displaying by group (Uniques, Angels, Ants, etc.) and displaying by dungeon level. If displaying by dungeon level is selected, the menu could default to selecting the player's maximum depth, and then he/she could arrow down one or two levels to see what is next. I am partial to this method because you can look a few levels ahead without having to individually filter for each level.

Does this seem like a worthwhile idea, and if so, is either of these the best way to implement it? Thanks for any input!

[Derakon]

I'd say sorting the knowledge menu by depth is the way to go here, particularly because that way you aren't limited to only look at one depth at a time.

That said, I don't think I'd use this feature. I'm not so much worried about what monsters could show up as I am about what ones actually have shown up.

[Max Stats]

Originally Posted by Derakon

I'm not so much worried about what monsters could show up as I am about what ones actually have shown up.

Especially if they are right down the corridor from you!

[buzzkill]

Isn't the monster list [ sorted, or maybe color coded, by depth or something like that? I don't think it's a bad idea, I think it may be redundant.

When I'm worried about whether I should attack something, I turn to monster recall and look at the XP reward. That's how I gauge the unknown dangers in the dungeon.

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by buzzkill

Isn't the monster list [ sorted, or maybe color coded, by depth or something like that? I don't think it's a bad idea, I think it may be redundant.

The monster list is currently sorted by depth, yes. OOD monsters are shown in red. The plan was to sort it by monster power, but the power algorithm was unreliable before nullfame improved it. We're having another look at that now - d_m is working on a situational power calculation, so that (e.g.) if you don't have FA, things like homunculi show up at the top of the list.

When I'm worried about whether I should attack something, I turn to monster recall and look at the XP reward. That's how I gauge the unknown dangers in the dungeon.

As things stand at the moment, the XP rewards are woefully inconsistent, but I think there is a ticket to look at this. If you use the -r switch, to rebalance monsters, the XP rewards become a much better indication of danger. Be careful though, as it changes native depths, which can be unsettling for experienced players.

[Derakon]

Is there any plan to base the XP reward off of monster power and native depth?

[fizzix]

Originally Posted by Derakon

Is there any plan to base the XP reward off of monster power and native depth?

Huan is down to 400 HP, time to remove my Rcold so I can get 9x the XP!

[d_m]

Originally Posted by fizzix

Huan is down to 400 HP, time to remove my Rcold so I can get 9x the XP!

I can think of a few ways around that...

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by Derakon

Is there any plan to base the XP reward off of monster power and native depth?

That's exactly what UnAndrew's rebalancing monsters does. Yes that is a long-term goal, once d_m and I have resolved our differences of opinion about monster power ;-)

[Tiburon Silverflame]

You can base XP off monster power...just don't do it off monster *threat*, which is the situational power.

On the flip side to the Huan comment, if it's based off situational power, a whole black dragon pit becomes almost totally worthless, in terms of XP, when you have acid immunity. You penalize someone for the smart move of going to a double resist against a big breather like Huan, too. Not the kind of behaviors we want to support.