=== Option Descriptions === Most of the "options" are accessible through the '=' command, which provides an interface to the various "sets" of options available to the player. In the decriptions below, each option is listed as the textual summary which is shown on the "options" screen, plus the internal name of the option in brackets, followed by a textual description of the option. Note that the internal name of the option can be used in user pref files to force the option to a given setting, see "command.txt" for more info. Various concepts are mentioned in the descriptions below, including "disturb", (cancel any running, resting, or repeated commands, which are in progress), "flush" (forget any keypresses waiting in the keypress queue, including any macros in progress), "fresh" (dump any pending output to the screen), and "sub-windows" (see below). === Option Set 1 -- User Interface === Rogue-like commands [rogue_like_commands] Selects the "roguelike" command set (see "command.txt" for info). Activate quick messages [quick_messages] Allows the use of any keypress as a response to the "-more-" prompt (useful for monster farming). Allows most keys to mean "no" to any "[y/n]" prompt. Prompt for floor item selection [other_query_flag] Allows the user to select objects from the center of stacks. Without this option, the uppermost appropriate object will always be selected. Prompt before picking things up [carry_query_flag] Forces the game to ask your permission before allowing you to pick up any object. Use old target by default [use_old_target] Forces all commands which normally ask for a "direction" to use the current "target" if there is one. Use of this option can be dangerous if you target locations on the ground, unless you clear them when done. Pick things up by default [always_pickup] Tells the game that walking onto an item should attempt to pick it up. Picking up objects in the manner takes no additional energy. Note the "g" and "-" commands, which can be used to "reverse" this option for a single turn. Repeat obvious commands [always_repeat] Tells the game that when you attempt to "open" a door or chest, "bash" a door, "tunnel" through walls, "disarm" traps or chests, or "alter" any grid, that you wish to automatically "repeat" the command 99 times (see "command.txt"), unless an explicit repeat count was given. Show dungeon level in feet [depth_in_feet] Display dungeon depths in "feet" instead of "levels". Merge inscriptions when stacking [stack_force_notes] Force otherwise identical objects to merge, even if one has an empty inscription and the other does not. The resulting stack keeps the non-empty inscription. Merge discounts when stacking [stack_force_costs] Force otherwise identical objects to merge, even if they have different discounts. The resulting stack keeps the largest discount. This option may cause you to lose "value", but will give you optimal pack usage. Show labels in object lists [show_labels] Display the "labels" for objects in the "equipment" list, and in any "special" window which is displaying the "equipment". These labels indicate what the player is "using" the object for, such as "wielding" or "wearing" (in a given location). After you have played for a while, this information is no longer useful, and can be annoying. Show weights in object lists [show_weights] Display the weights of objects in the "inventory" and "equipment" lists, and in "stores", and in any "special" window which is displaying objects. Show choices in certain sub-windows [show_choices] Display "choices" in any sub-windows which are being used to display your inventory or equipment. Also, if exactly one sub-window is being used to display your inventory or equipment, then it will (temporarily) be toggled as needed to always show the "appropriate" set of objects. Show details in certain sub-windows [show_details] Display extra details in any sub-windows (and the main screen) which are being used to display monster recall. These details include the number of monsters killed and the textual descriptions. Audible bell (on errors, etc) [ring_bell] Attempt to make a "bell" noise when various "errors" occur. Use color for inventory listings [inventory_colors] Use color for object descriptions whenever the inventory, equipment, or store contents are being displayed. The colors are based on object types, not on actual object colors. === Option Set 2 -- Disturbance === Run past stairs [find_ignore_stairs] Ignore stairs when running. Run through open doors [find_ignore_doors] Ignore open doors when running. Run past known corners [find_cut] Cut sharply around "known" corners when running. This will result in "faster" running, but may cause you to run into a "lurking" monster. Run into potential corners [find_examine] Fully explore "potential corners" in hallways. Disturb whenever any monster moves [disturb_move] Disturb the player when any monster moves, appears, or disappears. This includes monsters which are only visible due to telepathy, so you should probably turn this option off if you want to "rest" near such monsters. Disturb whenever viewable monster moves [disturb_near] Disturb the player when any viewable monster moves, whenever any monster becomes viewable for the first time, and also whenever any viewable monster becomes no longer viewable. This option ignores the existance of "telepathy" for the purpose of determining whether a monster is "viewable". See also the "view_reduce_view" option. Disturb whenever map panel changes [disturb_panel] This option causes you to be disturbed by the screen "scrolling", as it does when you get close to the "edge" of the screen. Disturb whenever player state changes [disturb_state] This option causes you to be disturbed whenever the player state changes, including changes in hunger, resistance, confusion, etc. Disturb whenever boring things happen [disturb_minor] This option causes you to be disturbed by various bring things, including monsters bashing down doors, inventory feelings, and beginning to run out of fuel. Disturb whenever various things happen [disturb_other] This option is currently unused. Alert user to critical hitpoints [alert_hitpoint] Produce a "bell" noise, and flush all pending input, when your hitpoints reach the "critical point" chosen elsewhere, preventing stupid deaths. Alert user to various failures [alert_failure] Produce a "bell" noise, and flush all pending input, when various "failures" occur, as described above. === Option Set 3 -- Game-play === Auto-haggle in stores [auto_haggle] Disable "haggling" in stores, resulting in a ten percent sales tax on items which you would have otherwise been forced to haggle for. When this option is on, all prices listed in stores will be the actual price that you pay for an item, as opposed to the price that the shop-keeper will suggest. Auto-scum for good levels [auto_scum] This is a hack but allows you to force the generation of "good" levels in the dungeon. This option may be extremely slow on some machines, especially deep in the dungeon. The minimum "goodness" of the level is based on the dungeon level, so the deeper you go, the better the level will be. A lot of people consider this option to be cheating. Allow objects to stack on floor (beta) [testing_stack] Allow multiple objects to occupy the same floor grid. Any commands which can affect objects on the floor will affect the object on the top of the stack, unless the "other_query_flag" option is being used. Allow monsters to carry objects (beta) [testing_carry] Allow monsters which pick up (or steal) objects to carry them around, dropping them when they are killed (but taking them with them when they are "destroyed" or "teleported away"). Expand the power of the look command [expand_look] Expand the "look" command to allow the user to "look" at grids which are not actually in view of the player, allowing the examination of objects/monsters which have only been detected by spells, or sensed via telepathy. Expand the power of the list commands [expand_wrap] Expand the "listing" commands so that they "wrap" at the "edges" of the appropriate list. This allows the "look" and "target" commands to "cycle" through all appropriate grids forever, and the "identify symbol" to browse through all of the monsters of a given type. Map remembers all perma-lit grids [view_perma_grids] Memorize all perma-lit floor grids which are seen by the player. This option allows you to keep track of which explored floor grids were perma-lit, but does not distinguish between dark floor grids, unexplored floor grids, and unknown grids. Turning off this option allows the player to always know which lit floor grids are in line of sight, but this is better accomplished by the "view_bright_lite" option. Note that any non-floor grids which is seen by the player are always memorized, and "object" which is seen by the player is memorized independantly from the memorization of the grid itself. Map remembers all torch-lit grids [view_torch_grids] Memorize all (torch-lit) floor grids which are seen by the player. This option not only allows you to keep track of which floor grids have been explored, but also which ones are "dark", because the use of this option activates a special "color scheme" for the display of floor grids, in which "dark" grids are drawn in "dark gray", "lit" grids are drawn in "white", and (if the "view_bright_lite" option is set) "lit" grids which are also in line of sight are drawn in "orange". Note that grids which are currently "torch-lit" are considered to be "lit", and are thus drawn in "white", unless the "view_yellow_lite" option is set, in which case they are drawn in "yellow". Generate dungeons with aligned rooms [dungeon_align] Force all rooms to be "aligned" with the "panel" divisions. This results in a much "prettier" dungeon, but may result in fewer greater vaults. Generate dungeons with connected stairs [dungeon_stair] Always generate a staircase back to the level you came from, if you used a staircase to get to the level. This is more "realistic", and "safer", but less of a "challenge" for some people. Monsters chase current location (v.slow) [flow_by_sound] Allow monsters to make paths to the player when they are nearby. This option is extremely slow, but can produce viciously smart monsters. Monsters chase recent locations (v.slow) [flow_by_smell] As above, but also allow monsters to take advantage of "old" trails that you may have left in the dungeon. Monsters follow the player (beta) [track_follow] This option is currently non-functional. Monsters target the player (beta) [track_target] This option is currently non-functional. Monsters learn from their mistakes [smart_learn] Allow monsters to learn what spell attacks you are resistant to, and to use this information to choose the best attacks. Monsters exploit players weaknesses [smart_cheat] Allow monsters to know what spell attacks you are resistant to, and to use this information to choose the best attacks. === Option Set 4 -- Efficiency === Reduce lite-radius when running [view_reduce_lite] Reduce the "radius" of the player's "lite" to that of a "torch" when the player is "running", which makes running more "efficient", but is extremely annoying. Certain older versions of Angband used this behavior always, so "purists" should turn it on. Reduce view-radius in town [view_reduce_view] Reduce the "radius" of the player's "view" by half when the player is in town. This makes running faster in town, and also allows the player to ignore monsters in town which are more than ten grids away, which is usually safe, since none have distance attacks. Avoid checking for user abort [avoid_abort] Avoid checking to see if the user has pressed a key during resting or running or repeated commands. This not only makes the game much more efficient (on many systems), but also allows the use of certain obscure macro sequences, such as turning this option on, resting until done, turning this option off, and casting a spell. Note that the use of this option may be dangerous on certain "graphic" machines. Resting for long periods of time with this option set is dangerous since the resting may not stop until the user takes damage from starvation. Avoid processing special colors [avoid_other] Avoid processing the "multi-hued" or "clear" attributes of monsters. This will cause all "multi-hued" monsters to appear "violet" and all "clear" monsters to appear "white", and will cause "trappers" and "lurkers" to be visible on some machines, but it may greatly increase efficiency especially when telepathy is active. Certain systems may choose to set this option if they are unable to support the special "color" processing, but if they handle graphics "correctly", by using attr/char pairs with the "high bits" set, then not only will the game correctly avoid using any "dangerous" color processing, but it will allow such processing to occur when it is not dangerous. So if you are using graphics, and you use a "normal" attr/char for the "floor" grids, then you can use the "special lighting effects" for floors. Flush input on various failures [flush_failure] This option forces the game to flush all pending input whenever various "failures" occur, such as failure to cast a spell, failure to use a wand, etc. This is very useful if you use macros which include "directional" components with commands that can fail, since it will prevent you from walking towards monsters when your spells fail. Flush input whenever disturbed [flush_disturb] This option forces the game to flush all pending input whenever the character is "disturbed". This is useful if you use macros which take time, since it will prevent you from continuing your macro while being attacked by a monster. Flush input before every command [flush_command] This option forces the game to flush all pending input before every command. This option is silly, unless you are very paranoid. Flush output before every command [fresh_before] This option forces the game to flush all output before every command. This will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game somewhat. Note that this option is only useful when using macros, resting, running, or repeating commands, since the outout is always flushed when the game is waiting for a keypress from the user. Flush output after every command [fresh_after] This option forces the game to flush all output after not only every player command, but also after every round of processing monsters and objects, which will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game a lot, especially on slower machines, and on faster machines you normally do not have a chance to see the results anyway. Flush output after every message [fresh_message] This option forces the game to flush all output after every message displayed by the game. This will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game somewhat. Compress messages in savefiles [compress_savefile] Compress the savefile, by only saving the most recent "messages" that the player has received. This can cut the size of the savefile by a drastic amount, but will result in the loss of message information. Hilite the player with the cursor [hilite_player] Place the visible cursor on the player. This looks fine on some Unix machines, but horrible on most graphics machines. Note that only some machines are able to *not* show the cursor, but on those machines, hiding the cursor often speeds up the game and looks better. Use special colors for torch-lit grids [view_yellow_lite] This option causes special colors to be used for "torch-lit" grids in certain situations (see "view_granite_lite" and "view_special_lite"). Turning this option off will slightly improve game speed. Use special colors for 'viewable' grids [view_bright_lite] This option causes special colors to be used for non "viewable" grids in certain situations (see "view_granite_lite" and "view_special_lite"). When this option is set, floor grids which are normally drawn in "white" but which are not currently "viewable" by the player are instead drawn in "dark gray". This makes the "viewable" grids to appear "brighter" than the others, allowing the player to easily determine which floor grids are in "line of sight". Turning this option off will probably increase the speed of the game. Use special colors for wall grids (slow) [view_granite_lite] This option activates a special color scheme for all "wall" grids which are normally drawn in "white" (as walls and rubble normally are). When the player is blind, we use "dark gray", else if the grid is torch-lit, we use "yellow" (or "white") depending on the "view_yellow_lite" option, else if the "view_bright_lite" option is set, and the grid is not in line of sight, or the grid is dark, or the grid is only "partially" lit, then we use "gray", otherwise we use the normal "white". Turning this option off will probably increase the speed of the game. This option may not work well if the attr/char codes for walls/veins have been changed, or if "graphics" are being used. Use special colors for floor grids (slow) [view_special_lite] This option activates a special color scheme for all "floor" grids which are normally drawn in "white" (as they normally are). When the player is blind, we use "dark gray", else if the grid is torch-lit, we use "yellow" (or "white") depending on the "view_yellow_lite" option, else if the grid is "dark", we use "dark gray", else if the "view_bright_lite" option is set, and the grid is not in line of sight, we use "gray", otherwise we use the normal "white". Turning this option off will probably increase the speed of the game. This option may not work well if the attr/char codes for walls/veins have been changed, or if "graphics" are being used. === Cheating Options === Peek into object creation [cheat_peek] Cheaters never win. But they can peek at object creation. Peek into monster creation [cheat_hear] Cheaters never win. But they can peek at monster creation. Peek into dungeon creation [cheat_room] Cheaters never win. But they can peek at room creation. Peek into something else [cheat_xtra] Cheaters never win. But they can see debugging messages. Know complete monster info [cheat_know] Cheaters never win. But they can know all about monsters. Allow player to avoid death [cheat_live] Cheaters never win. But they can cheat death. === Window flags === Some platforms support "sub-windows", which are windows which can be used to display useful information generally available through other means. The best thing about these windows is that they are updated automatically (usually) to reflect the current state of the world. The "window options" can be used to specify what should be displayed in each window. The possible choices should be pretty obvious. Display inven/equip Display the player inventory (and sometimes the equipment). Display equip/inven Display the player equipment (and sometimes the inventory). Display player flags Display a special description of the character, including some of the "flags" which pertain to a character, broken down by equipment item. Display player screen Display a brief description of the character, including a breakdown of the current player "skills" (including attacks/shots per round). Display messages Display the most recently generated "messages". Display overhead view Display an overhead view of the entire dungeon. This is very slow and does not even look very good. Display monster recall Display a description of the most monster which has been most recently attacked, targetted, or examined in some way. Display object recall Display a description of the most recently selected object. Currently this only affects spellbooks and prayerbooks. This window flag may be usefully combined with others, such as "monster recall". Display snap-shot This window flag is currently unused. Display borg messages This window flag is currently used only by the Borg. Display borg status This window flag is currently used only by the Borg. === Left Over Information === The "hitpoint_warn" value, if non-zero, is the percentage of maximal hitpoints at which the player is warned that he may die. It is also used as the cut-off for using red to display both hitpoints and mana. The "delay_factor" value, if non-zero, is used to "slow down" the game, which is useful to allow you to "observe" the temporal effects of bolt, beam, and ball attacks. The actual delay is equal to "delay_factor" cubed, in milliseconds. The "preserve" flag, if set when the character was created, cancels all level feelings of the "special" variety, but allows "missed" artifacts to be "saved" by wandering monsters and found again at a later time. This only works for non-identified artifacts. The "maximize" flag, if set when the character was created, causes the "race" and "class" stat bonuses to be applied as "equipment" bonuses. This usually makes the character harder at the beginning of the game, but easier later on, since the stats are no longer limited to a "natural" value of "18/100".