Deliantra-Client/pod/faq.pod

=head1 FAQ, Tips and Tricks

Here are some questions you might asked yourself over time.
Also some nice tips and tricks are listed here, which you may find informative.

=head2 Meta - About the Game and the Client

=head3 What is the relation between Deliantra and Crossfire?

Deliantra was originally a Crossfire server, but by now most of the code
has been rewritten. Still, most maps are very similar or identical to
Crossfire maps, so the games share a lot.

The major differences are a better client, better graphics, a stable
server (i.e. no crashes every few hours with players and maps getting
reset) and the ability to let more players play, by using less resources
and having a fully asynchronous design, and full support for sound effects
and background music.

=head3 I found a bug, how can I report it/what do I do?

Mail us at support@deliantra.net , which is best, unless it is a small,
temporary, or urgent issue. If it is, then tell schmorp, elmex, or Asarth.

=head3 The client is very sluggish and slow, what can I do about this?

Most likely, you don't have accelerated OpenGL support. Try to find a
newer driver, or a driver from your hardware vendor, that features OpenGL
support.

If this is not an option, the following Setup options reduce the load and
will likely make the client playable with software rendering (it will
still be slow, though):

=over 4

=item * B<Video Mode> should be set as low as possible (e.g. 640x480)

=item * Enable B<Fast & Ugly> mode

=item * Disable B<Fog of War> and C<Map Smoothing>

=item * Increase B<Map Scale>

=back

=head3 The client doesn't correctly react to keypresses or mouseclicks.

=over 4

=item Make sure Numlock is off.

Some Microsoft Windows versions/keyboard layouts do not report modifiers for the
numerical keypad keys while Numlock is active.

=item Make sure no other Modifier is "pressed".

Mircosoft Windows versions have some accessability features that could
interfere with games like Deliantra. You might want to switch these off in
the keyboard settings. Sometimes modifiers can be "unstuck" by pressing
them down once.

=item Fullscreen switches confuse the keyboard modifiers.

Fullscreen switches on Microsoft Windows sometimes confuse which keys are
pressed and which aren't. Doing another switch to/from fullscreen might
help.

=back

=head3 My client doesn't start anymore/graphics are corrupted!

Sometimes you hit a bug in the client. To reset the state of your client
you can delete your client database directory (your client will have to
re-download music and images and you will lose your minimap contents).

=over 4

To do that, on Unix:

   rm -rf ~/.deliantra/client-*

On windows:

Do C<< Start => Run >>, enter F<%APPDATA%>, press return, and in the
window that will open, first open F<deliantra>, then delete the directory
starting with F<client->.

=back

Alternatively you can delete the F<.deliantra> or F<deliantra> directory
itself, but this will also delete your settings and keybindings.


=head2 Game Mechanics

=head3 I lose health, but I can't see why!

Here are the typical reasons why you lose health:

=over 4

=item * You are being attacked.

Sounds obvious, but sometimes you can't see the monster attacking
you. Check the C<Log> tab, as you usually get a message when this happens.

=item * You are out of food.

When your food reaches C<0> you will start to lose health. Eating (good)
food will replenish your food level.

=item * You are poisoned.

Poison will reduce your health. When your body heals fast enough it will
eventually get over the poison, otherwise you should seek professional
help such as the House of Healing in Scorn, or a player with the C<cure
poison> spell.  It is rumored that neko san might sometimes cure poison.

=item * You have a disease.

Some diseases have such drastic effects on your organism that you can lose
health. Get help in the House of Healing in Scorn, or ask a player who can
cast C<cure disease> on you.

=item * Your stats change.

Switching items or being restored from depletion can affect your stats,
which in turn can affect your healthpoints. While this is not a regular
effect (it only happens when you change items or are restored from
depletion), it can sometimes look as if you are losing health.

=back

=head3 I lost an item! How?

Well, we don't know. If you don't know, either, here is a partial list of ways people
typically lose stuff:

=over 4

=item You accidentally dropped it in a shop (or elswehere).

If in a shop, if it was money, you can just go there and pick it up again:
shops do not "buy" money. For other items you will have to buy it back.

=item Thieves or monsters stole your items.

Yes, thieves and many other monsters (such as demons) can actually steal
stuff. They can steal about anything that you don't currently wield, and
if they are good, you don't even notice it. Your only chance of getting
the item back is to kill the thief or steal the item back with the steal skill before the map he is in resets.

Many adventurers find that the old road to Navar harbours a lot of thieves
and is best avoided by the beginning adventurers.

=back

=head3 How do I uncurse/undamn items?

You need a spell to uncurse or undamn items, but luckily, magic shops
commonly have scrolls of remove curse or remove damnation. In addition,
all of the gods except the Devourers can remove curses, and Gnarg,
Lythander, Mostrai, Gaea, and Valriel can remove damnation. Gaea also
grants the remove damnation spell at 300 grace.

To actually remove the curse or damnation with a scroll, you need to
L<mark> the item, and then L<apply> the scroll.

=back

=head3 When I log-in, I keep dying! Why is this?

What happened is that you died of a cave-in. Cave-ins kill you when you
unsafely log out. An unsafe log out is when you disconnect without using a
bed to reality, or when you time out (after 10-20 seconds without reply,
the server automatically kicks players). Safe log outs are when you log
out using a bed to realtiy, or when you are disconnected when the server
crashes or restarts.

If the disconnection was safe, then you will appear where you were before
you got logged out. If it was unsafe, and more than 1 hour has passed, you
will die of a cave-in. If the map you were in reset, but 1 hour has not
passed, then you will be recalled to your bed to reality.

=head3 Where do I find beds to reality?

Inns usually have them, and apartments almost always have beds to reality. Almost every city has an inn. Taverns sometimes have them, and they might be in surprising places. Scorn has an inn that is located in the southern area.

=head3 How does the I<identify> spell work?

The I<identify> spell identifies your items, making it give it's full
description. The spell goes through your inventory in a psuedo-random
order, skipping past identified items. If it identifies all the items
in your inventory, or they are already identified, it then checks for
identified items on the ground, again in a psuedo-random order. If it
identifies all the items on the ground, then the remaining power is
wasted.

The I<identify> spell counts stacks of items, such as arrows or gems, as
one 'item'. It can only identify a certain amount of items. Therefore, the
only way to choose what it identifies is by dropping what you don't want
identified on the ground.

=head3 How come I don't get any change from an altar?

Altars do not give change. This means that you might drop a platinum piece on a table that identifies for 2 gold, or equivalent, and get only one identify. The equivalent means that you can make the price up in smaller currency, like 200 silver, but higher currency won't get you any more identifies.

=head3 How can I Prepare/Improve/Enchant Weapons?

This is done in two steps: first you have to I<prepare> your weapon
for the desired number of enchantments, then you apply the enchanments
(weapons remember how many times they can be enchanted further).

To prepare a weapon, wield it and L<mark> (e.g. using the popup menu in
the inventory) some diamonds, as a sacrifice, then read the I<Prepare
Weapon> scroll. The square root of the total number of diamonds sacrificed
this way determines the number of enchantments the weapon accepts: one
diamond for one enchanment, nine diamonds for three enchantments, 100
diamonds for ten enchantments and so on. 

Remember, once you prepare the weapon, it can only be wielded by you.

After that, you can apply improvement and enchantnment scrolls:

=over 4

=item Improve Damage

Each scroll read will increase the damage by five points, and likewise the
weight by five kilograms.

=item Lower Weight

This "improves" the weight of your weapon: each scroll reduces the weight
by one fifth (20%). It will not, however, create weightless weapons.

=item Enchant Weapon

Each scroll read increases the magic by one point.

=item Improve Stat

This scroll improves one of the basic stat improvements (Strength,
Dexterity and so on). For this it needs a further sacrifice in form of
stat potions. The stat potions must be of the same type and will determine
which stat gets improved.

The number of stat potions you need to improve it is twice the number of
stat points the weapon currently gives, plus one (the minimum is two stat
potions, however). That is, a weapon which gives no stat bonus needs two
(C<0 × 2 + 1 = 1> which is less than two, so two) stat potion, one that
already gives I<Str +2> and I<Int +1> will need seven (C<3 × 2 + 1>) stat
potions. Negative stats are summed normally, so I<Str +4> and I<Int -2>
will result in needing five stat potions only (C<2 × 2 + 1>).

=back

Keep in mind, however, that your character can only handle a limited
number of weapon improvements, see the L<skills> command. Item power will
also increase.

=head3 How can I enchant Armour?

Enchanting armour is easy: each time you read an I<Enchant Armour> scroll,
the magic value will be increased by one, the speed, armour (physical
resistance) and weight are increased by some amount, as well as the item
power.

=head3 What is this item power business?

In general, the more interesting/powerful items have higher item power
values. Your character can handle only handle only a limited amount of
power - for each overall level you can handle C<1.25> item power points,
so if you are level 16 you can handle a total of 20 item power points (see
the L<skills> command for your current limit and remaining item power
points).

All the equipment you wear adds to this limit, so if you wield a weapon of
item power 30 plus two rings of item power 14 each you will need 58 item
power (and a level of 47).


=head2 Generic how do I...

=head3 How do I uncurse/undamn items or unwear cursed/damned items?

You need a spell to uncurse or undamn items, but luckily, magic shops commonly have scrolls of remove curse or remove damnation. In addition, all of the gods except the Devourers can remove curses, and Gnarg, Lythander, Mostrai, Gaea, and Valriel can remove damnation. Gaea also grants the remove damnation spell at 300 grace.

To actually remove the curse or damnation with a scroll, you need to L<mark> the item, and then L<apply> the scroll. Once the curse or damnation is removed, you can unwear the item.

=head3 How do I use range weapons such as bows?

First, you have to L<apply> the bow, then it will show up in the lower
right corner in the C<Range:> slot. If it is already shown as C<(applied)>
but not in the C<Range:> slot you have to unapply and reaply it.

When you have a bow (or similar weapons like guns or crossbows) applied,
you just shoot as with spells or other range attacks - C<Shift>+direction
key.

You need to have arrows (shells, bolts etc.) in your inventory or an
active container for this to work.

You can influence how you shoot via the L<Bow Mode|bowmode> in the C<<
Playerbook => Settings >> tab.

=head3 X<faq_igniteandthaw>How do I thaw icecubes? Or: How do I ignite a torch?

The right-click context menu in the playerbook inventory has an entry
B<ignite/thaw>, which will ignite something or thaw icecubes.  You will
need a B<flint & steel> L<$ARCH/flint_and_steel.x11> for
this to work!

An alternative would be to use the L<mark|command/mark> and
L<apply|command/apply> commands like this:

   mark icecube
   apply flint and steel

You can bind these commands to a key and invoke them repeatedly.

=head3 How do I cast a cone spell all around me (burning hands, holy word etc.)?

Use the C<5>-key on your keypad. This will cats spells "onto yourself"
which has the desired effect with cone spells.

=head3 How do I pay for items from a shop?

You need to have the unpaid item in your inventory, and then walk out of the store with the shop mat. It will automatically pay for the item, if you have enough money. If you don't, you will be prevented from leaving, until you drop the unpaid item, or if you obtain enough money.

=head3 How do I sell items to a shop?

Just drop the item in a shop. Some tiles in a shop might not be shop tiles; usually, shop tiles are white brick floors. Try going over one of them and dropping the item. If the shop is not interested, the item will not leave your inventory.

=head3 How do I get my literacy experience up?

You need to read books and scrolls to get literacy experience. You can also use the literacy skill to identify scrolls and books. Identifying them gives you literacy experience, and you are still able to read them once you identify them.

=head3 How do I rent and maintain an apartment?

Payment for an apartment is done in 3 steps. First, there is an entry fee in the apartment map that you need to pay only once. Then, the apartment rental fee depends on the apartment model, not you. The taxes depend on your character level, and need to be paid, even while you are offline (the rental fee is only paid while you are online.)

You can rent apartments in Scorn's Apartment Shop, and the hourly fees are deducted from your bank account.

=head3 How do I use passes/keys?

Whatever looks at your pass or key opens automatically, if you have it in your inventory or in an applied container. Some keys might just open a locked door, not a gate, and can be used by moving into the locked door.

=head3 How do I drop items?

To drop items, you can right click on the item in your inventory screen in the playerbook, which you can get by pressing F5 or the Playerbook tab, and selecting drop. You can also shift + left click an item to drop it, or enter the command

=item drop <item>

This command drops items with the names that have <item> in it. If you are unable to drop an item, this will probably be because it is locked. You can unlock it by right clicking the item in your inventory, and selecting unlock.

=head3 How do I pick up items?

You can pick up items by pressing the comma key (,) or by right clicking the item on the floor, and selecting 'take'. You can also type the

=item take <item>

command.

=head3 How do I make money, fast?!

You should identify the items you sell. Unidentified items sell MUCH lower. Make sure you have the bargaining skill. It lets you save lots of money when you buy stuff, and gain more money when you sell stuff. You can level it up by buying items or selling expensive items. The higher it is priced, the more experience. You can get a scroll of bargaining in Scorn's gem shop.

Quests also might give you something valuable as a reward.

=head2 Playing Together

=head3 How can I communicate with other players?

There are five commands you can use to talk to others. All of them can
be entered by just typing them in, followed by the message, followed by
C<Return>, e.g. C<chat hey guys, what's up?>. If you have a I<tab> open
in your message window you can also just type a text in there followed
by C<Return> (this is especially handy as C<Return> also activates the
current chat tab as well).

=over 4

=item chat <message> (short: C<c>)

The most-used communications command. Whatever you I<chat> will end up
in the I<Chat> tab of everybody else who is currently logged in.

Example:

   c uh, that anchovis almost killed me

=item shout <message>

This is like C<chat>, but "louder". Everybody will get your message in red
in their C<Chat> tabs.  You should not use C<shout> unless you are in an
emergency or there is something really important to be said, otherwise you
risk being ignored by people.

Example:

   sh I am stuck! can anybody let me out?

=item say <message> (short: C<s>)

This command can be used to talk to NPCs (without going through the NPC
dialogue window), but all players anywhere on the same map can hear you as
well.

Example:

   s good that schmorp cnanot hera us here!

=item tell <playername> <message> (short: C<te>)

This is your prototypical two-way, private, chat channel. You can talk to
any other player that is currently logged in, and only he can hear you.

=item gsay <message> (short: C<gs>)

The group say command sends a message to every member of the party/group
you are in. This is useful when playing in a team, to avoid cluttering the
chat channel.

=back

In addition to these, there are a large number of emotes you can use, use
the L<help> command to get a list.

=head3 Can I form parties? Which benefits does party-play have?

You can form I<new> parties using the C<< party form <name> >> name
command, and you can join I<existing> parties using the C<< party join
<name> >> command. There are other party commands, use C<help party> to
find out more.

The main benefit of party-play is sharing experience: All experience you
gain is distributed to all party members accoridng to their level (people
with twice the level as you gain twice as much experience).

This is great for training skills you are bad in, but somebody else is
good in, and of course vice versa!


=head2 Magic

=head3 How can I summon a specific monster with C<summon pet monster>?

Higher (effective) casting levels of L<skill_description/summoning> give
you access to higher level monsters, but not all monsters have equal
abilities. Instead of summoning the highest level monster allowed by your
level you can also summon any other monster you had before by adding its
I<archetype name> after the command, i.e. to summon bees you would use the
C<cast summon pet monster bee> (short: C<cspm bee>) command.

   Level  Monster
       1  bat
       3  bird
       4  spider
       6  killer_bee
       7  pixie
       8  skeleton
       9  stalker
      11  devil
      13  beholder
      15  dark_elf
      17  skull
      20  angel
      25  vampire
      30  spectre
      35  lich
      40  demilich
      50  hellhound
      60  unusual_kobold
      70  chicken
      80  gr_hellhound
      90  dave
     100  laoch
     105  snitchangel

=head3 How does being attuned/repelled/denied affect casting level?

Some spells are attuned to one or more spell classes (such as wounding,
summoning, fire and so on). The player can likewise be attuned to some of
these classes, giving a bonus, or repelled to them, giving a malus, or
denied to them, making her unable to cast the spell at all.

The skill level is the level of the skill that the spell uses (e.g.
summoning or sorcery).

When attuned, the bonus is up to 16 levels, but never higher than the
skill level itself, i.e. at level 2, the bonus is 4, at level 5, the
bonus is 10 and at level 50, the bonus is 16.

When repelled, the malus is 16 levels always.

These are added (or subtracted) to the skill level when checking whether
the player can cast the spell and when calculating the effective casting
level.

The effect on strength is as if the minimum spell level is lower (when
attuned) or higher (when repelled), and the strength will increase the
same as without any attunement.

=head3 What is the "effective" casting level?

Effective casting levels start at 1 (lowest spell strength) and go up to
100 (highest nominal spell strength). Higher levels are also possible and
make the spell correspondingly stronger.

The effective casting level is calculated from the skill level, after
adding/subtracting any bonus from attunements.

If the skill level plus bonus is lower than 100, then the minimum spell
level comes into play: the minimum level is not only the minimum level
a caster is required to have, it is also the level where the effective
casting level equals 1. From there it grows till it reaches casting level
100, whre the effective level will also be 100.

If the skill level plus bonus is 100 or higher, then this is the effective
spell level.

That means, when you have a spell with a minimum level of 90, then it's
effective range will be spread evenly over the 90..100 range, e.g. when
you cast this spell at skill level 90, the effective casting level will
be 1 (lowest). Casting at level 91 gives casting level 11, skill level
98 gives effective level 80, up to skill level 100, which then gives
effective level 100.


=head2 Praying, Gods and Cults

=head3 X<how_tp_pray>How do I pray or get the praying skill?

First enter the "praying mode" by readying your L<skill_description/praying> skill
(by default bound to C<Alt-P>, or by typing C<rspraying>), then hold and keep holding
C<Shift> and a direction key (e.g. C<Shift-Up>).

You will now pray as long as you keep pressing the keys.

However, if you do not have the praying skill, you can obtain it by reading a scroll of praying. This will let you learn the praying skill depending on your intelligence. You can also use a holy symbol to use the praying skill, as long as you have the holy symbol in your inventory. Holy symbols can be found in shops and random dungeons.

=head3 How can I summon a specific monster with C<summon cult monster>?

You can't, your god selects the monsters for you.

=head3 How do I join a cult/become a follower of a god?

That is simple, just find an altar of a god of your choice and start
L<skill_description/praying>. Eventually, the god will recognize
you.

=head3 How do I change gods?

That is far more difficult: gods really hate it when you defect
them. Expect to lose a lot of L<skill_description/praying> experience in
the process.

First you should pray long enough to your god, until you gain 95%
resistance to god power. Then quickly go to the altar of your newly-chosen
god and pray on her/his altar. Your old god won't make it easy, but if you
are persistent your old god will let you go at one point.


=head2 Exploring / Quests

=head3 What areas are there to explore?

First, you should explore Scorn and find the port pass (and maybe also the
gate pass). Make sure you don't miss out the old city of scorn, many
a dangers, but also many treasures, can be found there.

When you finished most of the quests in Scorn you should investigate how
the pirates escape from the prison. This will lead to a number of nice
quests in and around Port Joseph.

Another nice series of quests, from low to medium level, can be found in
the King's Palace in Scorn. Who wouldn't want to meet the princess in
person?

The areas you can reach through the various transportation modes in Scorn
are Pupland (which has a lot of puzzles and quests from very low to very
high level), Stoneville and Santo Dominion (low and medium level quests,
also nice shops), and the Aldwulf Archipelago (which is more dangerous).

Through the gate you can reach Euthville and Santo Dominion to the north,
Brest (medium level) and Lake Country (medium to high level) to the south,
and Navar (medium level quests) in the east (a long travel).

From Navar you can travel to Darcap in the far north (medium level
quests), near the mystical country of Azumauindo, to Wolfsburg somewhere
on the ocean, a rather dangerous area with many thieves and pirates
(medium level quests) and Valleynoy to the south, with medium and high
level quests (did you find the southpole yet?).

Also, it is said that Navar somehow has access to the mystical City
de Clouds, the biggest city ever seen (high level and very high level
quests). There are rumors about lands beyond (St. Bartholemew and other
cities) and other even more mystical places, but little is known about
that.

=head2 Where is that damn Goblin Chief?

In his cave to the north-east of the Scorn Gate. It is the one that starts
with a random maze (yes, there are multiple caves). Keep in mind that the
Goblin Chief's Head is fastened to his body, so you have to find and kill
him first.

=head2 Where can I find the I<comet> spell?

In the tower of stars, which is almost directly south of Scorn (but not
too near to it). You have to talk to people to solve this quest, and it
does not involve a random maze.


Revision:	1.28
Committed:	Sat Oct 11 18:26:47 2008 UTC (15 years, 8 months ago) by sf-asarth
Branch:	MAIN
Changes since 1.27:	+60 -1 lines
Log Message:	merged with website faq