ZAngband Official FAQ by Robert Ruehlmann rr9@angband.org December 29, 1998 Version 0.1.1 ===================================================================== 1. About this FAQ ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAngband is a freeware roguelike computer roleplaying game, based on Angband. This document lists frequently asked questions and answers. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.2 Table of contents --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. About this FAQ 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Table of contents 1.3 Where can I get this FAQ? 2. General questions 2.1 What is ZAngband? 2.2 On what computers can I play it? 2.3 Where can I download it? 3. System-specific questions 3.1 DOS 3.1.1 Can I play it in the old ASCII-mode? 3.1.2 Can I use multiple savefiles? 3.1.3 Why uses the DOS version only 2/3 of the screen? 3.2 Windows 95/98/NT 3.2.1 How do I run in the Windows version? 3.2.2 Why do I get an error message when I try to switch on graphics? 4. Game-play questions 4.1 Artifacts 4.1.1 What does the artifact xyz do? 4.1.2 I've found an artifact, but it doesn't show up in the list of known artifacts. Is that a bug? 4.1.3 I've found an artifact in a store, but I thought artifacts can never appear there if not sold to the store. Is that a bug? 4.2 Monsters 4.2.1 I've found a 'Greater Hell Beast' that never does any damage to me, and that seems to be immune to my attacks. What is it? --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3 Where can I get this FAQ? --------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is available from: http://thangorodrim.angband.org/zangband-faq.txt ===================================================================== 2. General questions ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 What is ZAngband? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAngband is one of the many variants of the freeware roguelike computer roleplaying game Angband. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 On what computers can I play it? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAngband is available for many different systems, including MS-DOS, Windows 95/98/NT, Macintosh, Amiga, OS/2, Acorn RISC OS, and the many different Unix-derivates including Linux. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 Where can I download it? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The newest version of ZAngband is always available from "Thangorodrim - The Angband Page" at: http://thangorodrim.angband.org/ and the Angband FTP-Server at: ftp://export.andrew.cmu.edu/angband/ ===================================================================== 3. System-specific questions ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1 DOS --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1.1 Can I play it in the old ASCII-mode? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, you can. The old IBM-mode is included in the DOS version and can be activated with the '-mibm' option. Just run ZAngband with 'ZAngband.exe -mibm' to switch it on. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1.2 Can I use multiple savefiles? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, you can. Run ZAngband with the -u option. For example: 'ZAngband.exe -uFred' loads the character called Fred. If no savefile called 'Fred' is found then a new one is created. To use another character just run ZAngband with a different name. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1.3 Why uses the DOS version only 2/3 of the screen? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The lower part of the screen is used for displaying two extra windows with additional information. To activate this feature, press '=' to access the ZAngband options, then press 'W' to enter the 'Window Flags' section. Now you can assign various informations to the two special windows lower part of the screen. Move the cursor to the 'Mirror' column and switch on one of the options with the 'y' key. A good choice is the 'Display messages' option. Now move to the 'Recall' column and select another option (for example 'Display inven/equip'). Now press the ESCAPE key two times to leave the options menu and press Ctrl-R to redraw the screen. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2 Windows 95/98/NT --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.1 How do I run with the numeric keypad in the Windows version? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Press the Num-Lock key to switch off Num-Lock mode. Now you should be able to run when pressing Shift and a key of the numeric keypad. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.2 Why do I get an error message when I try to switch on graphics? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Unusable bitmap palette (255 entries) - Could not initialize graphics' error means that you tried to use graphics with a desktop set to 256 colors. Switch to high-color or true-color mode to fix this problem. ===================================================================== 4. Game-play questions ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1 Artifacts --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.1 What does the artifact xyz do? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the artifacts in ZAngband have some random features, and some are even completely random, so you have to find out what an artifact does by yourself. Try reading a scroll of *Identify* (the stars are important), of use 'Research item' service offered by some buildings in the towns. Many spellcasting classes get the *Identify* spell at higher levels. You can also sell artifacts to a store and buy it back immediatly, but this will cost you a lot of money. The powers of items that have been *Identified* or bought from stores can be displayed at any time with the 'I' command. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.2 I've found an artifact, but it doesn't show up in the list of known artifacts. Is that a bug? --------------------------------------------------------------------- No. You've found a 'random artifact'. These kind of artifacts get random powers and names, and they are not displayed in the list of known artifacts. The random artifacts can be found in addition to the normal ones, and they may even appear in stores from time to time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.3 I've found an artifact in a store, but I thought artifacts can never appear there if not sold to the store. Is that a bug? --------------------------------------------------------------------- No. The store is selling a 'random artifact'. See question 4.1.2. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2 Monsters --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2.1 I've found a 'Greater Hell Beast' that never does any damage to me, and that seems to be immune to my attacks. What is it? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Greater Hell Beast' is a joke to scare all the veterans who know that an "U" is normally a very dangerous greater demon. It appears very early and can't hurt you directly, but it's very annoying. The huge amount of hitpoints and the big armor-class make it nearly invincible and even if you manage to kill it, it's not worth the efforts.