Item Generation in Stores

[Bombadil]

It seems that in more recent versions, non-blackmarket stores carry weaker items until much later in the game.

Is my perception accurate?

If so, what is the trigger for better items to start appearing? Is it max depth reached or character level?

[Derakon]

The stores certainly got nerfed some time back, but it's been a few years since that happened, I think. I believe these days they just always generate items as if they were at level 0, though I could be wrong. I'm reasonably confident that nothing scales directly with player level; one of Angband's design philosophies is that the player is not meant to be the only (or even the most important) adventurer around, and having "external" mechanics that directly cue off of the player's level goes against that.

[PowerWyrm]

From the source code:

/* Decide min/max levels */
	if (store->sidx == STORE_B_MARKET) {
		min_level = p_ptr->max_depth + 5;
		max_level = p_ptr->max_depth + 20;
	} else {
		min_level = 1;
		max_level = STORE_OBJ_LEVEL + MAX(p_ptr->max_depth - 20, 0);
	}

	if (min_level > 55) min_level = 55;
	if (max_level > 70) max_level = 70;

So items in normal stores increase in quality as the player dives deeper. Once the character reaches dlvl 90, you can get level 70 items in normal stores, which means a lot more chances to get ego items.

[PowerWyrm]

Originally Posted by Bombadil

If so, what is the trigger for better items to start appearing? Is it max depth reached or character level?

See the previous code excerpt: stores get better once the player dives past 1000ft.

[Derakon]

Aw geez, really? That's so lame.

A better solution IMO would be to have the stores use a very broad distribution when picking the depth for their items -- something like average level 20, standard distribution 20.

Anyway, thanks for the correction, PowerWyrm.

[Bombadil]

OK thanks, that seems to align with my observations

[scud]

I wish there was a Mushroom Emporium.

:-(