Aminet 41/Aminet 41 (2001)(Schatztruhe)[!][Feb 2001].iso/Aminet/game/role/oangband.lha/Oangband050b/help/cmddesc.txt

Text File | 2000-09-04 | 31KB | 628 lines

============================== Commands in detail =============================

     This file first gives basic information about commands in general, than
provides full information about each command in turn.  Details on special keys
are available at the bottom.


=== Basic Command Information ===

Canceling a Command:
     Virtually all commands can be cancelled at any point before execution by
hitting the ESC key.

Command Directions:
     If you issue a command that requires a direction, you will be prompted for
one.  Simply type the appropriate direction key, and the command will activate.

Selecting an Object:
     Angband has an extremely easy-to-use interface for selecting objects in
your backpack (your inventory), on your person (your equipment), or on the floor
underneath you.  If you issue a command that uses or manipulates any item, you
can hit the spacebar or type "*" to see a list of all the objects that command
can accept.  If the command can accept objects both on your person and in your
backpack, you can hit '/' to cycle between the two.  If an object that the com-
mand can accept is lying on the floor underneath your feet, you can type "_" to
use that item.  You then select the exact item by typing its index letter; if
you want to play it safe, and get an "are you sure" message, type the letter in
uppercase.
     Spellcasting works very similarly.  You type 'm' or 'p', select a book, and
select a spell within that book.  You can even use books on the floor.

Choosing Quantities:
     If you issue a command that might logically use more than one object, and
more than one object is available, you will be prompted for a quantity.  Try
'd'ropping your torches as an example.

Targeting:
     The target command ("*") makes it possible to set up a location or fix a
monster as the point which you want future missiles and spells to aim for.
Some other commands use the targeting interface, including all those that
fire magic or ammo, or look around the dungeon.
     After you have typed "*", you have a number of options available to you.
See command description for more detail.
     If you have the "use old target by default" option on, be careful about
clearing targets on the floor when done.

Command Counts:
     Any command that can be repeated or that can manipulate more than one
object can take a count.  By default, most that do are automatically given a
count of 99 (you may change this in the options if you like).  Although most
commands that usually need a quantity will ask for one, for other commands a
quantity is only sometimes desired.  Hence command counts.  For example, to
tunnel into a wall exactly 50 times, you would type a zero ("0"), then "50",
followed by a return.  Then, type "T" (or ^T).  All commands that use quan-
tities will stop if you are disturbed, accomplish your intended task, hit any
key, or when the count expires.

Doing More with Less Effort:
     In the help file "macro.txt" is a section on making keymaps to:
-quickly switch to a shovel or backup weapon,
-fire a missile or cast commonly used spells with a single keystroke,
-prevent accidental use of valuable equipment,
-and do various other useful things


=== Command Descriptions ===

     The following command descriptions are listed as the command name plus the
key used to activate it in the original keyset.  This is followed by the
"roguelike" keyset key, if different from the original command key.  Then comes
a brief description of the command, including information about alternative
methods of specifying the command in each keyset when needed.

     Some commands use the "repeat count" to automatically repeat the command
several times, while others use the repeat count to specify a quantity for the
command, and still others use it as an "argument" of some kind.  Some commands
are auto-repeated several times if no repeat count is given and the
"always_repeat" option is set (which it is by default).

     Many commands take no "energy" to perform, while most other commands only
take energy when they cause the world to change in some way.


--- Inventory Commands ---

Inventory list (i)
     Displays a list of objects being carried but not equipped.  You can carry
     up to 23 different items, not counting those in your equipment.  Often,
     many identical objects can be "stacked" into a "pile" which will count as
     a single item.  Each object has a weight, and if you carry more objects
     than your strength permits you will begin to slow down.

Equipment list (e)
     Displays a list of objects you are currently wielding, wearing, or other-
     wise have immediately to hand.  Your character has twelve slots for
     equipment, each of which accepts logical kinds of objects.  For example,
     bows will automatically go in your shooting slot, and amulets around your
     neck.

Drop an item (d)
     This drops an item from your inventory or equipment onto the dungeon floor.
     If the floor spot you are standing on has 20 objects already, or contains
     trees, water, doors, traps, or glyphs of warding, the game will attempt to
     drop the item onto an adjacent space.  This command may take a quantity,
     and takes some energy.

Destroy an item (k) or Destroy an item (Ctrl-D)
     This destroys an item in your inventory or on the dungeon floor.  If the
     selected pile contains multiple objects, you may specify a quantity.  You
     must always (currently) verify this command.  This command may take a quan-
     tity, and takes some energy.

Wear/Wield equipment (w)
     To wear or wield an object in your inventory or from the floor, use this
     command.  Since only one object can be in each slot at a time, if you wear
     or wield an item into a slot which is already occupied, the old item will
     first be taken off, and may in fact be dropped if there is no room for it
     in your inventory.  This command takes some energy.

Take off equipment (t) or Take off equipment (T)
     Use this command to take off a piece of equipment and return it to your
     inventory.  Occasionally, you will encounter a cursed item which cannot be
     easily removed once put on.  These items normally penalize you in some way
     and cannot be taken off until the curse is removed.  If there is no room in
     your inventory for the item, your pack will overflow and you will drop the
     item after taking it off.  This command takes some energy.

Switch primary and secondary weapon (X)
     Actually a macro, this command exchanges whatever weapon you have wielded
     with the first weapon in your inventory inscribed {@0} or {@w0}.


--- Movement Commands ---

Walk (with normal pickup) (;)
     This command is activated every time you press a direction key; it moves
     you one step in the given direction.  This command may take a count,
     requires a direction, and takes some energy.
     If the auto-pickup option is on, you will be able to pick up objects.  If
     the option to prompt before picking things up is off, you will automati-
     cally grap everything you encounter until your backpack is full.  If this
     option is on (recommended after the first few levels of the dungeon), you
     will be asked about objects; a menu will be available if more than one
     object is on the floor.

Walk (flip pickup) (-)
     This is just like normal move, except that the "Pick things up" option is
     inverted.  In other words, if you normally pick up anything you encounter
     (the default), you will not pick things up when using this command.  If you
     normally do not pick things up, you will when using this command.  This
     command may take a count, requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Run (.) or Run (,)
     This command is very useful for rapid dungeon exploration.  It will move
     you in the given direction, following any bends in the corridor, until you
     either have to make a "choice" between two directions or are disturbed.
     This command may take an argument, requires a direction, and takes some
     energy.  It can also be activated by holding down Shift and pressing a
     direction key.

Go up staircase (<)
     Ascends an up staircase you are standing on.  Going up a staircase will
     take you to a new dungeon level unless you are at 50 feet (level 1), in
     which case you will return to the town.  Some up staircases will allow you
     to go up more than one level.  This command takes some energy.

Go down staircase (>)
     Descends a down staircase you are standing on.  Going down a staircase will
     take you to a new dungeon level.  Some down staircases will allow you to go
     down more than one level. This command takes some energy.


--- Resting Commands ---

Stay still (with normal pickup) (,) or Stay still (with normal pickup) (.)
     Stays in the same square for one move.  If you normally pick up objects you
     encounter, you will pick up whatever you are standing on.  You may also use
     the "5" key (both keysets).  This command may take a count, and takes some
     energy.

Get Objects (g)
     Pick up objects and gold on the floor beneath you.  Picking up gold takes
     no time, and objects take 1/10th of a normal turn each (maximum time cost
     is a full turn).  You may pick up objects until the floor is empty or your
     backpack is full.

Rest (R)
     You recover from wounds twice as fast by resting than by repeatedly staying
     still.  This command can be told to automatically stop after a certain
     amount of time, or when various conditions are met.  In either case, you
     always wake up when anything disturbing happens, or when you press any key.
     After typing 'R', use "*" to rest until your hitpoints and mana are
     restored, and "&" to rest until you are fully "healed".  This command may
     accept a command count (used for the number of turns to rest), and takes
     some energy.

Easy Rest (x)   (not available in the roguelike keyset)
     Actually a macro, this command automatically makes you rest until your HPs
     and mana are restored or you are disturbed.  Oangband included it to cut
     down on wrist stress and allow more effective waiting.


--- Searching Commands ---

Search (s)
     This command can be used to locate hidden traps and secret doors in the
     spaces adjacent to the player.  More than a single turn of searching will
     be required in most cases.  You should always search a chest before trying
     to open it, since they are generally trapped.  This command can take a
     count, which is useful if you are fairly sure of finding something even-
     tually, since the command stops as soon as anything is found.  This command
     may take a count, and takes some energy.

Toggle search mode (S) or Toggle search mode (#)
     This command will take you into and out of search mode.  When first
     pressed, the message "Searching" will appear at the bottom of the screen.
     You are now taking two turns for each command, one for the command and one
     turn to search.  This means that you are taking twice the time to move
     around the dungeon, and therefore twice the food.  Search mode will auto-
     matically turn off if you are disturbed.  You may also turn off search mode
     by entering the Search Mode command again.


--- Dungeon and Object Alteration Commands ---

Tunnel (T) or Tunnel (Ctrl-T)
     This command allows you to dig through barriers, obtain treasure found in
     wall seams, and otherwise alter the dungeon to your liking.  Races other
     than Ents would be well advised to be wielding a weapon, preferably some-
     thing heavy or especially designed for digging, before attempting to tunnel.
     This command may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat" option,
     requires a direction, and takes some energy.


Open a door or chest (o)
     If the option to open doors automatically is off, or more than one door or
     chest can be opened at the moment, you must use this command to open
     anything.  If the door or object is locked, you will attempt to pick the
     lock based on your disarming ability.  If you open a trapped chest without
     disarming the traps first, they will activate.  Some doors will be jammed
     shut and may have to be bashed open.  You may need several tries to open a
     door or chest.  This command may take a count, is affected by the "always_
     repeat" option, usually requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Close a door (c)
     Non-intelligent and some other creatures cannot open doors, so shutting
     doors can be quite valuable.  Broken doors cannot be closed.  This command
     may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat" option, usually
     requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Jam a door (j) or Spike a door (S)
     Many monsters can simply open closed doors, and can eventually get through
     a locked door.  You may therefore occasionally want to jam a door shut with
     iron spikes.  Each spike used on the door will make it harder to bash down
     the door, up to a limit of eight.  Smaller monsters are less able to bash
     down doors.  In order to use this command, you must be carrying iron spikes.
     This command requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Bash a door (B) or Force a door (f)
     This command allows you to bash down jammed doors.  Your door bashing
     ability increases with strength.  Bashing open a door can (briefly) throw
     you off balance.  Doors that are stuck, or which have been jammed closed
     with spikes can only be opened by bashing, and all closed doors can be
     bashed open if desired.  Bashing a door open may permanently break it so
     that it can never be closed.  This command may take a count, is affected by
     the "always_repeat" option, requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Disarm a trap or chest / Desanctify a glyph (D)
     You can attempt to disarm known traps or glyphs on the floor or on chests.
     If you have a very high disarming skill, disarming by hand can actually be
     safer than using magic, but for most players, magic is preferable.  If you
     fail to disarm a trap, there is a chance that you will blunder and set the
     trap off.  This command may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat"
     option, requires a direction, and takes some energy.

Alter (+)
     This special command allows the use of a single keypress to select any of
     the dungeon alteration commands above (attack, tunnel, bash, open, disarm,
     close), and, by using macros or keymaps, to combine this keypress with
     directions.  For Rogues, it also allows stealing and setting traps.  In
     general, this allows the use of the control key plus the appropriate
     direction key (including the roguelike direction keys in roguelike mode)
     as a kind of generic "alter the terrain feature of an adjacent grid"
     command.  This command may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat"
     option, requires a direction, and takes some energy.


--- Spell and Prayer Commands ---

Browse a book (b) or Peruse a book (P)
     Most classes use spellbooks, and can scan the spells in books of their
     realm with this command.  Warriors get a special information screen giving
     information about their pseudo-probing ability.

Gain new spells or prayers (G)
     Use this command to actually learn new spells or prayers.  When you are
     able to learn new spells or prayers, the word "Study" will appear on the
     status line at the bottom of the screen.  If you have a book in your
     possession, containing spells or prayers which you may learn, then you may
     choose to study that book.  If you are a mage, rogue, druid, ranger, necro-
     mancer, or assassin, you may actually choose which spell to study.  If you
     are a priest or paladin, your gods will choose a prayer for you.  This
     command takes some energy.

Cast a spell or Pray a Prayer (m and p)
     To cast a spell, you must have previously learned the spell and must have
     in your inventory a book from which the spell can be read.  Each spell has
     a chance of failure which starts out fairly large but decreases as you gain
     levels.  If you don't have enough mana to cast a spell, you will be
     prompted for confirmation.  If you decide to go ahead, the chance of
     failure is greatly increased, and you may lose a point of constitution.
     Since you must read the spell from a book, you cannot be blind or confused
     while casting, and there must be some light present.  This command takes
     some energy.
     Once Warriors attain experience level 35, they may pseudo-probe monsters
     using this command.


--- Player Manipulation Commands ---

End a shapechange (])
     This command will return you to your normal state, if you have previously
     transformed yourself into any creature.


--- Object Manipulation Commands ---

Eat some food (E)
     You may use this command to eat food in your inventory or from the floor,
     which you must do regularly to prevent starvation.  As you grow hungry, a
     message will appear at the bottom of the screen saying "Hungry".  If you go
     hungry long enough, you will become weak, then start fainting, and eventu-
     ally will die of starvation.  This command takes some energy.

Fuel your lantern/torch (F)
     If you are using a torch and have more torches in your pack, or you are
     using a lantern and have flasks of oil in your pack, then your can "refuel"
     them with this command.  In general, two flasks will fully fuel a lantern
     and two torches will fully fuel a torch.  This command takes some energy.

Quaff a potion (q)
     Use this command to drink a potion.  Potions affect the player in various
     ways, but the effects are not always immediately obvious.  This command
     takes some energy.

Read a scroll (r)
     Use this command to read a scroll.  Scroll spells usually have an area
     effect, except for a few cases where they act on other objects.  Reading a
     scroll causes the parchment to disintegrate as the scroll takes effect.
     Most scrolls which prompt for more information can be aborted (by pressing
     escape), which will stop reading the scroll before it disintegrates.  This
     command takes some energy.

Inscribe an object ({)
     This command inscribes a string on an object.  The inscription is displayed
     inside curly braces after the object description.  The inscription is
     limited to the particular object (or pile) and is not automatically trans-
     ferred to all similar objects, unless the "Merge Inscriptions when Stacking"
     option is on.  Certain inscriptions have a meaning to the game - see the
     help file "objs-mon.txt".

Uninscribe an object (})
     This command removes the inscription on an object.  This command will have no
     effect on some "fake" inscriptions added by the game itself (such as
     "{cursed}").


--- Magical Object Commands ---

Activate an artifact (A)
     You have heard rumors of special weapons and armor deep in the Pits, items
     that can let you breath fire like a dragon or light rooms with just a
     thought.  Should you ever be lucky enough to find such an item, this
     command will let you activate its special ability.  Special abilities can
     only be used if you are wearing or wielding the item.  This command takes
     some energy.

Aim a wand (a) or Zap a wand (z)
     Aim the wand you choose.  If you succeed in using it, the wand will fire.
     This command requires a direction, can use a target, and takes some energy.

Use a staff (u) or Zap a staff (Z)
     Attempt to use a staff.  If your magical device skill is high enough, the
     staff will work.  This command takes some energy.

Zap a rod (z) or Activate a rod (a)
     Attempt to use a rod.  If your magical device skill is high enough, the rod
     will activate.  This command may require a direction (depending on the type
     of rod, and whether you are aware of its type), may sometimes use a target,
     and takes some energy.


--- Throwing and Missile Weapons ---

Fire an item (f) or Fire an item (t)
     You may throw ammo carried by your character, if you are wielding a missile
     weapon that accepts it.  See the help file "combat.txt" for more infor-
     mation.  Firing requires a direction, may use targeting (type "*" at the
     direction prompt), and takes some energy.

Throw an item (v)
     You may throw any object carried by your character.  See the help file
     "combat.txt" for more information.  Throwing requires a direction, may use
     targeting (type "*" at the direction prompt), and takes some energy.

Targeting Mode (*)
     This command allows you to aim your spells and such directly at a specific
     monster or grid.  See the "targeting" section above for usage tips.

     Options available within targeting mode:
          -ESCAPE and "q" :  Exit targeting mode.  Cancel target.
          -"p" :  Return to the player.  Start looking at all grids.
          -"o" :  Stay in place.  Start looking at all grids.
          -"m" :  Start looking only at monsters (if any monsters are around).
          -"+" :  Look at next monster or interesting grid.
          -"-" :  Look at previous monster or interesting grid.
          -"r" :  (If cursor is on a monster) recall monster information.
          -"t" :  Target grid or monster.


--- Looking Commands ---

Full screen map (M)
     This command will show a map of the entire dungeon, reduced by a factor of
     nine, on the screen.  Only the major dungeon features will be visible
     because of the scale, so even some important objects may not show up on the
     map.  This is particularly useful in locating where the stairs are relative
     to your current position, or for identifying unexplored areas of the
     dungeon.

Locate player on map (L) or Where is the player (W)
     This command lets you scroll your map around, looking at all sectors of the
     current dungeon level, until you press escape, at which point the map will
     be re-centered on the player if necessary.  To scroll the map around,
     simply press any of the "direction" keys.  The top line will display the
     sector location, and the offset from your current sector.

Look around (l) or Examine things (x)
     This command is used to look around at nearby monsters (to determine their
     type and health) and objects (to determine their type).  It can also be
     used to find out what objects (if any) are under monsters, and if a monster
     is currently inside a wall, and what is under the player.  See the
     description of targeting mode for more information.

Observe an item (I)
     This command provides extra object information.  If you know nothing about
     the object, you see generic information about the object kind.  If you have
     identified or otherwise know the object, a object description will also
     often appear.  If you have fully *identified* an object, you will recall
     all the object attributes.


--- Message Commands ---

Repeat level feeling (Ctrl-F)
     Repeats the feeling about the dungeon level that you got when you first
     entered the level.

View previous messages (Ctrl-P)
     This command shows you all the recent messages.  You can scroll through
     them, or exit with ESCAPE.

Take notes (:)
     This command allows you to take notes, which will then appear in your
     message list (prefixed with "Note:").


--- Game Status Commands ---

Character Description (C)
     Brings up a full description of your character, including your skill levels,
     your current and potential stats, and various other information.  From this
     screen, you can change your name or use the file character description
     command to save your character status to a file.  That command saves addit-
     ional information, including your background, your inventory, and the con-
     tents of your house.

Check knowledge (~)
     This command allows you to ask about the knowledge possessed by your
     character.  Currently, this includes being able to list all known artifacts,
     uniques, objects, and the contents of your home.

Time of day (Ctrl-T) or (')
     Displays the day and hour/minute.


--- Saving and Exiting Commands ---

Save and Quit (Ctrl-X)
     To save your game so that you can return to it later, use this command.
     Save files will also be generated (hopefully) if the game crashes due to a
     system error.  After you die, you can use your savefile to play again with
     the same options and such.

Save (Ctrl-S)
     This command saves the game but doesn't exit Angband.  Use this frequently
     if you are paranoid about having your computer crash (or your power go out)
     while you are playing.

Quit (commit suicide) (Q or Ctrl-K)
     Kills your character and exits Angband.  You will be prompted to make sure
     you really want to do this, and then asked to verify that choice.  Note
     that dead characters are dead forever.


--- User pref file commands ---

Interact with options (=)
     Allow you to interact with options.  Note that using the "cheat" options
     will mark your savefile as unsuitable for the high score list.  You may
     change normal options using the "X" and "Y" user pref commands.  The
     "window" options allow you to specify what should be drawn in any of the
     special sub-windows (not available on all platforms).  See the help file
     "optdesc.txt" for more information.

Interact with macros (@)
     Allow you to interact with macros.  You may load or save macros from user
     pref files, create macros of various types, or define keymaps.  You must
     define a "current action", shown at the bottom of the screen, before you
     attempt to use any of the "create macro" commands, which use that "current
     action" as their action.

Interact with visuals (%)
     Allow you to interact with visuals.  You may load or save visuals from user
     pref files, or modify the attr/char mappings for the monsters, objects, and
     terrain features.  You must use the "redraw" command (Ctrl-R) to redraw the
     map after changing attr/char mappings.

Interact with colors (&)
     Allow the user to interact with colors.  This command only works on some
     systems.


--- Help ---

Help (?)
     Brings up the Angband on-line help system.  Note that the help files are
     just text files in a particular format, and that other help files may be
     available on the Net.  In particular, there some spoiler files which do not
     come with the standard distribution.  A few may be found at the Oangband
     home page: http://home.sprintmail.com/~leon2m/Oangband_Development_Site.htm

Identify Symbol (/)
     Use this command to find out what a character represents.  For instance, by
     pressing "/.", you will learn that the "." symbol stands for a floor spot.

     There are three special symbols you can use with the Identify Symbol
     command to access specific parts of your monster memory.  Typing Ctrl-A
     when asked for a symbol will recall details about all monsters, typing
     Ctrl-U will recall details about all unique monsters, and typing Ctrl-N
     will recall details about all non-unique monsters.

     If the character stands for a creature, you are asked if you want to recall
     details.  If you answer yes, information about the creatures you have
     encountered with that symbol is shown in the Recall window if available,
     or on the screen if not.  You can also answer "k" to see the list sorted by
     number of kills, or "p" to see the list sorted by dungeon level the monster
     is normally found on.  Pressing ESCAPE at any point will exit this command.

Game Version (V)
        This command will tell you what version of Oangband you are playing.


--- Extra Commands ---

Toggle Choice Window (Ctrl-E)
     Toggles the display in any sub-windows (if available) which are displaying
     your inventory or equipment.

Redraw Screen (Ctrl-R)
     This command adapts to various changes in global options, and redraws all
     of the windows.  It is normally only necessary in abnormal situations, such
     as after changing the visual attr/char mappings, or enabling "graphics"
     mode.

Load screen dump (left-paren)
     This command loads a "snap-shot" of the current screen from a file
     and displays it on the screen.

Save screen dump (right-paren)
     This command dumps a "snap-shot" of the current screen to a file
     including encoded color information.

Repeat last command (n) or ([)
     Repeats the previous command, selecting the same objects, spells, etc,
     you typed.


=== Special Keys - Not modified for Oangband ===

        Certain special keys may be intercepted by the operating system or
the host machine, causing unexpected results.  In general, these special keys
are control keys, and often, you can disable their special effects.

        If you are playing on a UNIX or similar system, then Ctrl-C will
interrupt Angband.  The second and third interrupt will induce a warning
bell, and the fourth will induce both a warning bell and a special message,
since the fifth will quit the game, after killing your character.  Also,
Ctrl-Z will suspend the game, and return you to the original command shell,
until you resume the game with the "fg" command.  There is now a compilation
option to force the game to prevent the "double ctrl-z escape death trick".
The Ctrl-\ and Ctrl-D and Ctrl-S keys should not be intercepted.

        It is often possible to specify "control-keys" without actually
pressing the control key, by typing a caret ("^") followed by the key.
This is useful for specifying control-key commands which might be caught
by the operating system as explained above.

        Pressing backslash ("\") before a command will bypass all keymaps,
and the next keypress will be interpreted as an "underlying command" key,
unless it is a caret ("^"), in which case the keypress after that will be
turned into a control-key and interpreted as a command in the underlying
angband keyset.  The backslash key is useful for creating macro actions
which are not affected by any keymap definitions that may be in force, for
example, the sequence "\" + "." + "6" will always mean "run east", even if
the "." key has been mapped to a different underlying command.

        The "0" and "^" and "\" keys all have special meaning when entered
at the command prompt, and there is no "useful" way to specify any of them
as an "underlying command", which is okay, since they would have no effect.

        For many input requests or queries, the special character ESCAPE
will abort the command.  The "[y/n]" prompts may be answered with "y" or
"n", or escape.  The "-more-" message prompts may be cleared (after reading
the displayed message) by pressing ESCAPE, SPACE, RETURN, LINEFEED, or by
any keypress, if the "quick_messages" option is turned on.