How many ToME window do you use ?

Message

LogrusMage · #31 Post by **LogrusMage** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 6:26 pm

i use six: messages, monster recall, visible monsters, inven, equip, and the main. i'd use visible items, but it's not an option on mine. was that a very recent addition, or is my copy just screwed up? as for the 4 windows/4 screens thing in the poll, i currently put them all on one screen, with a small font and a high rez, though i'm currently rebuilding my main system, and am trying to get it set up as a dual screen, which would let me put the aux windows on screen 2, thus allowing me a larger main screen while still giving me access to the benefits of the aux windows...

ShinesmanOffWhite · Sun Apr 25, 2004 6:43 pm

Having been told that I'm not a 1337 player for using only one window, I tried these things out. Auto-more and the message recall is OK, I guess, but it's just convenience. It may actually have contributed to my recent YASD, since I didn't have to directly "clear" the low-HP message which might have saved me.

The monster list I find distracting more than useful. It doesn't tell me what's actually in line of sight when I have telepathy and it's inconsistent about what it shows when I cast detect monsters.

It is handy in large open areas, such as when I'm scumming for stuff in the shallows at the start of the game, and it's sometimes useful when you're trying to find freakin' Merton (how many h's of that color are there that show up at that depth?).

In short, extra windows are a playstyle thing rather than an actual advantage. Hitting "l" and scouting around is pretty second nature to me, and it's a short step to the recall window from there if I want to check on a specific resistance or something.

Maylith · #33 Post by **Maylith** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 10:52 pm

ShinesmanOffWhite wrote:In short, extra windows are a playstyle thing rather than an actual advantage.

For you, it may be that way, and all the more power to you!

For other people (including me) it is an actual advantage.

Neil · #34 Post by **Neil** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:35 am

I never said that extra windows are an advantage. I just said that winning with no extra windows takes a lot of patience, since you have to make extra effort to look around, check monster memory, and read messages.

I'm just glad that since I got my new monitor (17" LCD, up from 17" CRT) I can comfortably run at a higher screen resolution (1280x1024, up from 1152x864) and can now fit three extra windows on screen: messages, visible monsters, and monster memory.

Spyro · #35 Post by **Spyro** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 1:06 am

Well, I only use one myself. Mostly because I play over SSH only, with no X forwarding or anything fancy like that, thus I'm not given very much choice.

Guest · #36 Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:23 am

I use 5 windows
main window (75% of monitor)
inventory (so I remember what I have and what junk got autopicked up and needs to be disposed of. By watching the increase in potions I can easily tell what a fountains have in them)
monster recall (just the first couple lines are visible. I use it to verify that my macros are correctly targeting what I want to target)
Visible Monsters (Its much easier to see dark grey monsters in this window than in the dungeon map)
messages (only a couple lines are visible)

ShinesmanOffWhite · Mon Apr 26, 2004 4:49 am

The one thing I have to say that the visible monsters window really helps with is lurkers, cloakers, death swords, and the like.

Then again, it sort of defeats the whole purpose of being a mimic, so it almost seems like cheating.

I don't know if It is coded in ToME (joke monster, maybe?) but it would be a pity to be able to pick up on the joke just by glancing at the visible monsters panel.

Serin · #38 Post by **Serin** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 2:39 pm

ShinesmanOffWhite wrote:I don't know if It is coded in ToME (joke monster, maybe?) but it would be a pity to be able to pick up on the joke just by glancing at the visible monsters panel.

just beat It last night...It does exist!

Darklaw · #39 Post by **Darklaw** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 7:40 am

Although I haven't completed ToME yet (only been playing seriously for a week or so, now), I have won a few other Angband variants using just one window. It does take patience, but I guess that's just how I play - the extra key-presses have long since become so habitual as to go all but unnoticed. I did try playing ZAngband with additional windows for a while, but I found myself ignoring them, and still using the key-presses to bring up extra information. I guess old habits (built up from many long hours playing UMoria on the Archimedes...) really do die hard.

#40 Post by **Canderel** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:36 am

I had a YASD because I didn't see the 'joke' leveled death sword on the god quest.

Wasn't very happy... especially since I had the VISIBLE MONSTERS LIST open.

I am still unclear as to what the different colours mean in the list though.

At a stage I thought it's evil, good, neutral. But now I guess it's awake, asleep, poisoned etc.

But LoS, Telepathy, Hostile, Coaligned are all attributes which may also be indicated by the colour on the visible monsters list.

petebull · #41 Post by **petebull** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:23 pm

Most of the time I use 4 windows (main-gcu

) And I don't think I will ever use more than that because I combine them like that:
Object Recall/Monster Recall/Character Screen
Messages/Visible Monster List
Inventory/Equip

And I would like to have a key for a temporary visible monster list like "Ctrl-p" for messages. That would be handy for one big window...

Arthur · #42 Post by **Arthur** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 4:03 pm

Four Screens:
Main
Messages
Inventory/Equipment
Visible Monsters
Monster Recall

Atarlost · #43 Post by **Atarlost** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:48 pm

Arthur wrote:Four Screens:
Main
Messages
Inventory/Equipment
Visible Monsters
Monster Recall

that's five:
1) main
2) messages
3) inven/equip
4) visible monsters
5) monster recall

thesloppy · #44 Post by **thesloppy** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:04 am

Heh, this is interesting to me...as I'd always assumed that everybody used all the windows. Guess I'm just a nut.

I use an 1152X864 desktop, so I can accomodate all the windows, although I am using some tiny fonts which give a little eyestrain after some marathon sessions. I think I'll switch to one equip/inventory window and TAB back and forth as someone was so wise to suggest earlier and that should free upsome strain.

I play fast and sloppy (just like the name sez) not to mention badly, so the message log is an absolute necessity, as is the monster recall, and I put them both above the main window for easy access.

Am I the only one who uses the character window? It's slightly useless, but nice to see your damage on demand as well as your tactics.

The overhead map is a necessity and another one that doesn't seem used that much. You can shrink the fonts and tile sizes down so it takes up a tiny bit of real estate. I highly recommend trying it if you've never used it before, especially with big levels.

The rest of the stuff is all pretty standard. I love the window interface, it's one of my favortie parts of ToME! Such an awesome game with such a wealth of options.

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Falconis · #45 Post by **Falconis** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:19 am

I just use the one main window at full screen. If I want other stuff I just use the appropriate commands. I've never really had that much trouble with mimics and the like, but they're really the only reason I'd want to use visible monsters I think.