Brainybuffoon
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 07-26-2004
IP: Logged

I've been staring at Seventh 3N for several hours now, and I can't figure out how "those nasty things" decide which way to go. Here are some of the things I've considered and disproven:

Serpent's head faces Beethro
Serpent's head doesn't face Beethro
Eyes open (or closed)
Matching the color of the floor tiles
Serpent's tail faces Beethro (or doesn't)
Beethro is in a particular quadrant (or octant, etc.) of the serpent's vision
Spawn countdown or other turn-counting tricks
Beethro is aligned in a particular way with the walls

I'm just about at the limit of my creativity. Could someone give me a tip? (Don't give away the whole rule, though; if you do, I'll be angry at you until the end of time.)

agaricus5
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1838
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Brainybuffoon wrote:
I'm just about at the limit of my creativity. Could someone give me a tip? (Don't give away the whole rule, though; if you do, I'll be angry at you until the end of time.)

That's actually quite scary. Are you trying to intimidate us?

I've been staring at Seventh 3N for several hours now, and I can't figure out how "those nasty things" decide which way to go. Here are some of the things I've considered and disproven:

There are a set of rules about serpent movements, not just one, I believe.

Serpent's head faces Beethro

Well, what's wrong with that? If it is pointing at you, it can "see" you, so it will make a direct attack for you.

Serpent's head doesn't face Beethro

That depends. If a serpent doesn't face Beethro directly, but it is close to the general direction, it probably will try to attack you. If it is facing the other way, then it's unlikely to attack you at first, although once it gets room to turn, it almost inevitably will. There is one special situation, however, where you can have full control (to a point) over a serpent by standing in a special place relative to the head. Try playing in the editor to find out.

Eyes open (or closed)

The blinking is just a cosmetic effect. It doesn't affect a monster's movement.

Matching the color of the floor tiles

This doesn't have any effect either.

Serpent's tail faces Beethro (or doesn't)

The tail doesn't have much to do with the movement pattern, except if it happens to be in the way of the head.

Beethro is in a particular quadrant (or octant, etc.) of the serpent's vision

This is quite important, actually. Due to the non-diagonal movement of the serpent, its eyes are also not designed to be very good at diagonal vision. Standing in different places relative to the head could cause it to lose sight of you, and so not attack you.

Spawn countdown or other turn-counting tricks

There is a well-known special type of serpent movement to do with counting and the spawn counter. You can see this most clearly in large, open areas when a serpent is located diagonally opposite from you.

Beethro is aligned in a particular way with the walls

Walls play an important part in the movement only if they are in the way of the serpent's head. You can use walls to encourage serpents to move in certain directions, however.

The best way to try to understand a monster is to create a room in the editor and experiment with it. You can discover all sorts of interesting features of a monster this way.

Are these hints enough, and do they remain cryptic enough to avoid revealing too much about serpents?

[Edited by agaricus5 on 07-29-2004 at 10:15 PM GMT]

____________________________
Resident Medic/Mycologist

Brainybuffoon
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 07-26-2004
IP: Logged

Thanks. A few questions, if you don't mind.

Does the serpent react to the sword in any way?

Does it remember where I was the last turn, or does it just react to where I am right now?

I created a room with nothing but empty space and a serpent. Here are some things I found.

When I'm far away from the serpent in a more or less diagonal direction, it turns toward me when the spawn countdown turns to a number that's a multiple of five.

When the serpent is headed directly toward me and I step to the side, it usually follows immediately, but every third time it waits for a multiple of five.

When I stand immediately diagonally behind the head, or one square behind that, sometimes it turns and runs away, but sometimes it follows.

gamer_extreme_101
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1939
Registered: 03-07-2004
IP: Logged

Brainybuffoon wrote:
Thanks. A few questions, if you don't mind.

Does the serpent react to the sword in any way?

No. The only enemies that react to sword positions are goblin and brained enemies(that I know of).

Does it remember where I was the last turn, or does it just react to where I am right now?

It reacts to where you are right now. In case you didn't know, the movement pattern is Beethro, mimic, then monsters.

However, I may be wrong.


____________________________
--That guy with a million different aliases since he doesn't like this name anymore.

agaricus5
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1838
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Brainybuffoon wrote:
When I'm far away from the serpent in a more or less diagonal direction, it turns toward me when the spawn countdown turns to a number that's a multiple of five.

Like I suggested earlier, this is how you get the behaviour to happen. However, why not delve a bit deeper into the mystery? At which multiples of five does it change direction? Which direction does it go in when it is a particular 5-move zone? Try positioning yourself and the serpent in different corners of the room. You will get different results if you do it correctly.

When the serpent is headed directly toward me and I step to the side, it usually follows immediately, but every third time it waits for a multiple of five.

I don't know about that one. It might just be to do with the multiple of 5 that the move counter is in. The above suggestion may help you to work this one out.

When I stand immediately diagonally behind the head, or one square behind that, sometimes it turns and runs away, but sometimes it follows.

That's definitely to do with the move counter and also to do with the rest of the serpent's body. If its head is obstructed by any part of the body, it may shape its body into a loop, or curl in on itself depending on exactly how it is positioned.

Remember that even though the serpent is the hardest monster to understand, it is programmed itself, and so, like all the other monsters in DROD, it does not move randomly.

____________________________
Resident Medic/Mycologist