Ironman + food, light and traps = true

[Thraalbee]

How many of you play ironman? (no ?recall plus forced descent)

In this mode, food, torches and !oil are of critical concern in the start. Along with all the ammo you find plus swaps of several kinds you quickly get slowed down by weight. This has a big impact on early strategy. Armour if not ego is not of much use. Strength is a key stat also for casters. You run out of inventory slots too soon. You will fight slowed. Half trolls rock, but need to bring even more food! Even a starting weapon is a luxury you often can't afford e.g. to get priest books 1-3 and these vitals on your singular initial shopping spree.
All this makes the early game very enjoyable. Traps too are great. If you are slow and weaponless the xp on disarm may be just what you need to get that extra level to get the hp and sp to (just barely) survive another level further down. Always down.

I could go on, but the message is that food, light and traps may be boring in the default game. But removing them entirely would change the Ironman challenge drastically. These add significantly and positively to the early Ironman game in my opinion

[PowerWyrm]

Check this ironman comp char: http://angband.oook.cz/ladder-show.php?id=16067.

I don't think I ever bothered with food and oil, even with a HT. Permanent light sources are easy to find very early, and food comes plenty when you explore almost every part of every level (scrolls are now in piles too).

[Derakon]

I don't think anyone has advocated doing away with traps entirely. But there are definitely problems with how they are currently implemented. The goal is to improve them and make them better, not get rid of them altogether.

[mushroom patch]

If it takes some crazy conduct that has nothing to do with the default game mode to justify game mechanics and even then players who know what they're doing say those mechanics have no real impact, it's safe to say the game could do without them.

[Thraalbee]

You have a point there. That's why I started with the question who else play Ironman. For the record, I don't find ironman to be crazy conduct, quite the opposite. It is the only way in Sil and I recommend it for Angband too.

But maybe ironman would be more popular without food and fuel

[Timo Pietilä]

Originally Posted by mushroom patch

If it takes some crazy conduct that has nothing to do with the default game mode to justify game mechanics and even then players who know what they're doing say those mechanics have no real impact, it's safe to say the game could do without them.

Traps do impact your playing. In vaults and special rooms they create an obstacle that slows you down so that you can't just walk around freely. You know there is a trap, but removing that trap or going around that trap is entirely different thing in vault than it is in general dungeon.

IMO traps in general dungeon in random places doesn't even make sense. It could be better it there were no traps in corridors and general rooms. In special rooms and vaults, yes, other parts of dungeon no.