0.29

This article is about a previous release of Crawl. For information about other versions of Crawl, including the newest, see List of Stone Soup versions.

0.29 is a version of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. It was released on August 25th, 2022.

Highlights

• New Meteoran species - powerful, but with heavy time pressure.
• Ranged weapons have been extensively redesigned and streamlined.
• Necromancy and Kikubaaqudgha have been overhauled and powered up.
• Many backgrounds have extra consumables to handle early tricky situations.
• The Abyss is deeper and more rewarding.

Branches, Environment

• The Abyss has been reworked.
  • Piety and experience are once again awarded in the Abyss.
  • When the abyssal rune generates, it's announced and appears on the map.
  • New decorative 'runelight' features now indicate the rune is close by.
  • The Abyss is now 7 levels deep, with the depths beyond A:5 continuously swarming the player with dangerous foes.
  • When entering the abyss by any means, the player is sent at least as deep as their previous deepest abyss depth.
• Dungeon shafts try not to send the player directly into monsters' sight.
• All descents of new stairs and hatches are now fast, not just one per floor.
• The Lair is now 5 levels long (was 6).
• Zombies and skeletons are removed from normal Dungeon spawns.
• Temple sizes now range from 6 to 21 altars, with a small chance of rare temples with 0, 1, or 22 temple-god altars.
• The Zot clock now only instantly kills the player if they're extremely badly drained. Otherwise, it applies very heavy draining and refreshes the clock.
• 'Hell effect' events fire on entering floors, instead of on a timer.

Character

• New species: Meteoran, stars fallen to earth in human form. Features:
  • Strong attributes and very strong skill aptitudes.
  • Exploration healing, regaining HP and MP when viewing new territory.
  • Passive mapping of the dungeon around them.
  • Hunted by darkness: only 600 turns per floor until Zot catches them (instead of the usual 6,000).
• Many backgrounds start with new consumable items:
  • All 'mage' backgrounds now start with a potion of magic.
  • Gladiators add a single throwing weapon (javelin, large rock, or boomerang) to their starting kit.
  • Monks start with a potion of ambrosia.
  • Hunters gain a scroll of immolation.
  • Brigands get an additional poisoned & curare dart.
  • Chaos Knights start with a piece from Xom's chessboard.
  • Artificers trade their chesspiece for five iceblast charges.
  • Wanderers get an additional random potion or scroll.
  • Abyssal Knights start with more piety and standing on the abyss exit.
  • Transmuters start with a potion of lignification.
  • Warpers start with two more dispersal boomerangs (a total of 7).
  • Enchanters start with a second potion of invisibility.
• Ranged weapon skills and starts are streamlined (see also "Items" below):
  • The Bows, Crossbows, and Slings skills are combined into a single RangedCombat skill. Most species have aptitudes equal to their best previous ranged aptitude.
  • Hunters always start with a shortbow, and no longer have a short sword. They have higher dexterity and lower strength and intelligence.
  • Arcane Marksmen always start with a +1 sling.
• Necromancers start with the new spell Necrotize instead of Animate Skeleton and Pain.
• Some species were tweaked:
  • Merfolk polearms aptitude is decreased to +3, and long blades aptitude increased to +2.
  • Mummy necromancy enhancers now arrive at XL 3 and 13.
  • Demonspawn demonic touch damage is doubled.
  • Formicids' base dexterity is increased by 3.
  • Formicids can again wield giant (spiked) clubs.
  • Palentongas' base strength is increased by 2, and their roll attack noise is reduced by two-thirds.
  • Spriggans can no longer wield triple crossbows.
  • Some mutations were tweaked:
    • Positive stat mutations now give +4 to the primary stat and -1 to the other two, instead of only giving +2 to the primary.
    • The -Scroll and -Potion mutations are now regular 2-tier mutations in the bad mutation pool. The Ru sacrifice corresponds to the 2nd tier.
    • Teleportitis and Berserkitis are reduced to 2-tier mutations
• Deep Dwarves are removed.

Gods

• Kikubaaqudgha is overhauled:
  • Corpse Delivery is removed and replaced with Unearth Wretches, which summons paralysed, 1 HP, 0 Will monsters that die in a few turns. Necromantic fodder...
  • Torment no longer requires a corpse sacrifice.
  • The pain brand can be applied to ranged weapons.
• Lugonu's Bend Space is adjusted. It no longer does damage, and makes a better effort to blink monsters away from the destination.
• Uskayaw grants piety for damaging enemy summons.
• Ru's Sacrifice Experience now only takes one XL (was two).
• Various Ru sacrifices (including Experience) have their piety values tweaked.

Interface and Options

• Common menu navigation commands are mapped via `CMD_MENU_...` commands, and can be rebound by `bindkey` options (local tiles/console only)
• Keycodes for rebinding keys are now the same across all builds.
• Keybinds, macros, and keymaps now accept human-readable key names for many special keys (e.g. "F1", "NP." for numpad `.`, etc.)
• Numpad keys can now be bound separately in all builds.
• Improvements to specific menus:
  • The `F`ire menu now allows selecting any item with a targeter. This includes items that don't show the targeter by default but do have a useful targeter, such as scrolls of fear.
  • In menus for equipping and using items, a toggle allows switching between item type.
  • In most menus that list items, or allow describing a menu entry, entries can be described without changing the menu mode by using the `'` key, or by right clicking (tiles only).
  • Item type hotkeys in the inventory now scroll, instead of select.
  • The `*` menu for Firing is now used to select items to toss away.
• The branch overview menu now shows zot clock values when they are low.
• `tile_sidebar_pixels` option: allows resizing local tiles sidebar icons.

Items

• Ranged weapons are streamlined (see also "Character" above):
  • Launchers no longer use ammunition.
  • Launcher attack delay is increased by armour penalties.
  • Fustibali are removed. Hunting slings are renamed to slings.
  • Launchers have had their stats adjusted across the board. In particular, hand crossbows are made much rarer and more powerful.
  • Launchers all use the Ranged Combat skill.
• Launcher, long blade, and short blade damage scale with Dex instead of Str.
• New concept: "alternate items". Some item types are grouped into 'sets', and only one type from each 'set' can generate in a game. Background starting items ignore this.
  • New item: scroll of butterflies, which summons a large cloud of butterflies. Alternates with scrolls of fog.
  • New wand: Light. Fires a damaging bolt of blinding light, blinding on hit. Alternates with acid and quicksilver.
  • New wand: Quicksilver: Fires a quicksilver bolt, dispelling magical effects from targets it hits. Alternates with acid and light.
  • New wand: Roots: Fires a 3x3 ball of roots, constricting enemies in the radius. Alternates with iceblast.
  • Wands of paralysis now alternate with wands of charming.
• New item: scroll of poison. When read the scroll of poison fills every unoccupied space on the screen with poison clouds for 10-20 turns.
• New unrands:
  • The +8 trishula "Condemnation" {holy, Anguish Fly rN+}. Inflicts 4-8 turns of Anguish on those hit, making them take damage when dealing it.
  • The +3 mountain boots {steadfast, rC+}. Prevents the player from being involuntarily moved by physical means (trampling, shafts, harpoons, etc.).
  • New unrand: the +5 lochaber axe, which cleaves through all foes in reaching range. Uses the higher of the player's Polearms and Axes skill.
• Items can have vault-redefined skins. Yuif now has hammers again (renamed maces). Sigmund and Reapers' scythes are now renamed halberds.
• +MP items remove MP when they are taken off.
• Stones always mulch when thrown.
• Unrandart tweaks:
  • the Glaive of the Guard is reduced to +5.
  • the arbalest "Damnation"'s explosions now do 2d14 damage (was 3d14).
  • Gyre & Gimble are increased to +12.
  • The Woodcutter's axe is now a battleaxe.
  • the amulet of Vitality now gives two pips each of Regen and RegenMP, and is now evil.
• Scrolls of holy word are removed.

Monsters

• New uniques:
  • Amaemon the Diabolical Poisoner, a poison-themed demonspawn unique appearing with a band of orange demons in mid-D, early Lair, and Orc:1.
  • Lodul the Thundrous, an ironbound thunderhulk sent to patrol outside the Vaults. Appears in late D with a band of fellow ogres.
  • Zenata, Seeker of Sheza. Summons dancing weapons and casts Resonance Strike, doing extra damage when constructs are adjacent to the target. Wields a valuable weapon. Appears searching Vaults:1-4, Elf, and Crypt.
  • Parghit the Mighty, an "alt-timeline" version of Pargi with extremely high regeneration and enchanted golden dragon scales. Appears in late Depths and Zot.
  • Josephina the Ice-Lich, an "alt-timeline" version of Josephine with Seracfall and a band of simulacra along side Ghostly Fireball. Appears in Depths, Zot, and Crypt.
  • Grunn the Punished, an "alt-timeline" undead version of Grum, with a pack of doom hounds. Appears in Depths, Crypt, and Zot.
  • Vv the Exile, an fire/ice spellcaster with Creeping Frost, Eruption, and Pyroclastic Surge. Appears in Depths, Crypt, and Zot.
• Monster move energy is no longer randomized.
• Monsters gain a 1/3 chance to gain a free attack on a player moving away from them. Wu Jian martial attacks & rampaging give immunity, and monsters that don't move fast enough to follow you can't attack.
• New monster: starflower, a stationary plant with harpoon shot and reaching distortion melee. Found guarding valuable places in the abyss.
• Gnoll shamans are renamed gnoll bouda, and have a new spell set.
• Animated Armour now flies.
• Monster wand power is reduced.

Spells

• Necromancy reworked:
  • New Spell: Necrotize (L1 Necromancy). Necrotize deals damage identically to the old Pain spell, but additionally gives the monster a short-lived status that causes it to animate as a skeleton on death (if it has a skeleton).
  • Animate Dead reworked: for a duration after being cast, the dead have a power-dependent chance of rising as allied zombies. The zombies are permanent until the player leaves the level or re-casts Animate Dead.
  • Simulacrum is now a smite-targeted spell that gives an irresistable status. Monsters that die with this status spawn a power-dependent number of simulacra.
  • Corpse Rot is now Level 4 Necromancy/Poison/Air. For a duration after being cast, dead monsters have a chance of producing deadly miasma.
  • Death Channel cannot be re-cast while active.
• Sandblast no longer uses stones as ammo. Instead, it takes half again as long to cast as a normal spell. Its range and accuracy are increased.
• Airstrike's damage bonus from empty space around the target is doubled.
• Irradiate now causes dangerous contamination in 3-4 casts (was 4-5).
• Flame Wave and Sticky Flame now do roughly 25% more damage.
• Ozocubu's Refrigeration and Freezing Ramparts now check AC, but do more damage. Refrigeration also now does reduced damage to creatures adjacent to others, but no longer applies -Potion to the caster.
• Hex miscasts now only slow the player, instead of also cancelling effects.
• Removed: Animate Skeleton, Pain, Excruciating Wounds.

Tiles

• Some mutations now have associated art.
• Many more status effects (e.g. Dazed, rF-) now have associated icons.
• Monsters with Reflect (e.g. from a shield) now display an icon.
• All species now have new statue form tiles.
• Many new alternate tiles for Djinni and Nagas.
• The Lernaean Hydra now has unique tiles when skeletonized.
• Borgnjor's Mausoleum and Tukima's Studio have new environmental art.
• Runed door tiles have been reworked for greater visibility.