eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

This guy will basically be a (much) stupider version of the 'neather. A monster with no offensive capabilities, all it does is race from one orb to another and bangs it. It will not react to anything Beethro does.

When placed, it will be programmable like snakes/orbs - you'll have to select which orbs it will try to strike, and the order in which it will strike them. Then, it will just make its path from orb to orb, and bang them in order. If blocked from an orb (by a closed door/pit from a trapdoor/beethro in its path) it will skip to the next reachable orb (to avoid annoyance, perhaps it can't strike the same orb twice in a row? or maybe it's better if it can. Not sure). If it can't reach any orbs, it will stand still and wait for Beethro to kill it.

It should probably always have brain-level pathfinding skills.

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I feel this monster will allow for many interesting puzzles - many rooms could be designed around stopping it from getting to certain orbs, and other around allowing it to reach certain orbs. With careful orb/orb-banger placement, one could design rooms similar to level 25 rooms, without needing a complexly scripted creature like the 'neather.

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Malarame
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 220
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

You would just have to be careful that it doesn't hit orbs that just open or close gates instead of toggling them at a time that could make the room impassable. Also, if you design the room poorly, it could possibly trap Beethro somewhere. You'd have to be careful of that sort of thing.

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Matt O'Leary
Webb Institute
Class of 2007

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception."
-Groucho Marx

eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2708
Registered: 02-05-2003
IP: Logged

Yes, but that's not really much of an argument for anything, is it? Sure, this can make a poorly designed room impossible - but it's easy enough to make rooms impossible now by misassociating orbs or dozens of other ways. And tar mothers can trap beethro mid-room with just as little effort (or even less).

The point isn't whether or not it's possible to design a bad room with this - it's always possible to design bad rooms. It's whether or not this can lead to designing good rooms - and, even more importantly, whether it can lead to a large variety of different and interesting good rooms. Which I believe it can.

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