changes.txt

Angband-v4
==========

Welcome to the changelog for Angband-v4. This file tracks changes at a 
high level. 

For a more detailed record of changes made, go to 
http://trac.rephial.org/query?status=closed&milestone=4.0

For an even more detailed record, go to 
http://github.com/angband/v4/commits/v4-master.


Gameplay changes
================

 * Base objects. Base weapon and armour objects have been renamed to 
avoid most adjectives and the word "of". In particular, adjectives 
specifying materials have been removed (Mithril, Adamantite, Wicker, 
Lead-Filled, Fur, Leather, Metal, Dragon Scale). Also removed: Elven 
Cloaks, Blades of Chaos, Scythes of Slicing, Maces of Disruption. These 
are all still in the game, but no longer as headache-inducing base 
objects. They are generated using affixes.

 * Ego items. The concept of an "ego item" has been split into two 
concepts: affixes and themes. For a detailed explanation, go to
http://trac.rephial.org/wiki/NewEgos.

 * Affixes. All generation of magical items is now done using affixes, 
which are contained in lib/edit/ego_item.txt. Affixes can affect any 
properties of an item: dice, sides, base ac, weight, plusses, pvals, 
flags, but generally only change one or two things. (TODO: extent, 
number.) Affixes come in four types (make, material and quality are all 
prefixes; suffices are all magical mods) and six levels (bad, average, 
good, great, uber, artifact-only). An object can have up to MAX_AFFIXES 
(currently 8). Some affixes replicate the old "low-end" one-trick ego 
types (of Resist Acid, of Slay Dragon, etc.), but there are many more. 
Known affixes are browseable in the ego knowledge menu.

 * Themes. Themes are collections of affixes, which are acquired 
randomly during item generation. Themes are detailed in 
lib/edit/ego_themes.txt. Once an object has a theme, it may not acquire 
any further affixes. Themes are what used to be known as the "high-end" 
ego types (Elvenkind, Westernesse, Gondolin, etc.). They also show up in 
the ego knowledge menu.

 * Artifacts. Artifacts look much the same as before (though some base 
items have been renamed, as noted above). But they are now generated 
using a unified system, so there is no distinction between an artifact 
ring, amulet or light source and an artifact weapon or armour piece. 
Artifact rings, amulets and light sources no longer need "dummy" 
INSTA_ART entries in object.txt. N.B. The "dungeon" spellbooks are now
artifacts. 

 * ID. We have moved to "rune-based" ID. This means that any given item 
property is discernible on any item which has it. Once you've learned 
that your shield has RES_FIRE, you'll instantly know RES_FIRE when you 
see it on any other item, because you've learned the rune for it. Runes 
have random names, visible in the new rune knowledge menu. Once you 
learn them, they go by the names you would expect (like "Resist Fire"). 
Inspecting items will show their known and unknown runes - but items 
sold in stores have their runes scratched off.

 * Combat. We have moved to "finesse" and "prowess" as replacements for 
to-hit and to-dam. These are not simple replacements: both are skills 
which vary by race/class and increase with character level. Finesse 
determines both how fast you attack (how many blows) and how accurate 
you are (to-hit). Prowess determines how much damage you do. Weapons 
have ratings for "balance" and "heft", which is how much they prefer 
finesse and prowess, respectively. So combat is now a lot more subtle 
than simply maximising blows and loading up on to-dam.

 * Monsters now have an 'evasion' rating which determines how hard they 
are to hit. Their armour rating no longer affects this, and instead 
indicates how much damage they will absorb from a hit. Some heavily 
armoured monsters may not be affected by low-damage weapons (but you can 
still kill them with spells or devices).


User interface
==============
 


Coding changes
==============