Weird RNG?

[Justin Z]

I just picked Angband back up a couple weeks ago after a long time away. 4.0.5 because it's the version I had in a zip file.

In every playthrough I have been having two major weird things repeatedly happen. First, throughout the game, the item use fail chance has been markedly and consistently higher than reported. I will consistently fail using items with around an 80-85% success rate. Like one point I had a rod of fire balls I think it was with 19% failure--failed four straight times and six out of seven. Nothing else quite got that bad, but I'm consistently missing at least the first attempt at using an item with a 15% failure rate a good half to two-thirds of the time. I know the initial reaction is that I'm just seeing patterns that aren't there but I really don't feel like that's the case.

And I especially don't feel like that's the case because of a broader "seemingly impossible" pattern: in about six playthroughs that have gotten past level 25, I've gotten a total of about ten artifacts. Artifacts are randomized. My current character is on DL 43 and has found one crappy gloves that provided no bonuses and invulnerability to acid. Likewise none of the other artifacts I've found in the other playthroughs were worthwhile.

I feel like I've somehow triggered some weird anti-player behavior in the game. All the birth options are typical (besides forced descent being on). Am I going crazy?

[Grotug]

Sometimes the opposite happens with me, like my TO only fails on minor nuisance monsters and always succeeds on deadly ones. Or I get one good artifact after another. But I definitely have had long, weird "dungeon is against me" streaks like you are experiencing. My favorite is when the dragonbat (damage 3), in a single breath, destroys my only wand of TO. This has happened more than a few times (it actually just happened; fortunately I found a rod of TO not long after).

[Sphara]

This is what RNG does. I died yesterday, playing 4.2.1 version paladin. I failed to cast Detect Evil twice in a row so many times, my brain started to work around in a fashion "ok, the first one is going to fail". Success rate was 91%. I like to play with probabilities in sports betting and math altogether. Here, I just have to accept that fail rates work, because I'm told they work.

If there ever will be a glitch discovered in Angband probabilities, I can then finally be released from local insane asylum. In the meantime, I can be found from Section 4A, room 2 in Törnävä Mental Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland.

[Werbaer]

Originally Posted by Justin Z

And I especially don't feel like that's the case because of a broader "seemingly impossible" pattern: in about six playthroughs that have gotten past level 25, I've gotten a total of about ten artifacts. Artifacts are randomized. My current character is on DL 43 and has found one crappy gloves that provided no bonuses and invulnerability to acid.

ok, so you got an early artifact this game. Can happen. Only in 2 out of my last 10 winners dumps, i had an artifact that early. One of these were gloves with just free action. (Ok, the other one was an Arkenstone)

How far past level 25 have you gotten?
I usully (but not always) find one artifact before level 30. About 4 more until level 40, and another 5 until level 50. Around there, i start using Deep Descent scrolls, so further numbers don't say much.

[bughunter]

RNG complaints are as old as random number generators.

Older, if you count suspect dice.

While most RNGs are perfectly good enough to, over time, provide an even probabilty distribution, some definitely seem "streakier" than others. I'm not aware of any analysis of this latter inference, but would welcome any references. I usually refer people here:

https://www.random.org/analysis/

Just consider streakiness an avenue for "divine feedback" and keep playing.

(And try tipping your waitress more.)

[gglibertine]

I've been getting a LOT of really crap randarts in the latest build, including artifact weapons that have literally nothing but one common resist and maybe +8, +3 bonuses. I found one yesterday that had six curses on it plus it was branded with weak lightning and had huge combat minuses. It's been so bad I've disabled randarts for my latest game so I can actually compete. It's been a long time since I saw a really good randart.

Was it intentionally made harder to get good artifacts? Because I feel like right now it's a little TOO hard.

[Grotug]

I'm sorry gglibertine, I've been getting all the good randarts. I'll try to do better not finding soo many good ones. Not quite fair, that. I just won the game doing 987 to evil.

[gglibertine]

Originally Posted by Grotug

I'm sorry gglibertine, I've been getting all the good randarts. I'll try to do better not finding soo many good ones. Not quite fair, that. I just won the game doing 987 to evil.

Ah, THAT'S where they all went! I should have guessed.

[Estie]

Early randarts are often bad; especially when you compare to the custom made standarts where the low value ones have excellent utility (*thancs, Thalkettoth). A chain mail with res sound and dark might have similar point value, but is pure junk on lvl 20.

[gglibertine]

Originally Posted by Estie

Early randarts are often bad; especially when you compare to the custom made standarts where the low value ones have excellent utility (*thancs, Thalkettoth). A chain mail with res sound and dark might have similar point value, but is pure junk on lvl 20.

I've been playing this game since 1994 and have yet to win (mostly because I get careless and don't stop to think things through), so I'm pretty familiar with how the early game goes.