User:Cathartes/Superseded solutions

This is a list of solutions to problems that are no longer problems, but the no-longer-necessary solution remains in the code. The side effects of the original solution may now be the primary intended behavior.

• Elbereth and scroll of scare monster under Sokoban prize and Castle chest
  • First added:
    • Elbereth engraving: 3.4.3 or before
    • Scare monster: 3.6.0 commit 9c8f4d1f after Elbereth stopped being activated by objects
  • Purpose: Keep monsters from taking the Sokoban prize or Castle chest before the player gets it. The Elbereth stopped working in 3.6.0, requiring the scroll of scare monster, which was not totally effective due to monsters that do not respect scare monster when you are not on it (humans and maybe blind(ed) monsters) taking the prize. Humans, especially soldiers, are more likely to generate due to 3.6.0's higher level difficulty in upward-progressing branches commit 29f9a8a3 compared to previous versions.
  • Superseded:
    • Elbereth: 3.6.0, by scare monster
    • Scare monster: 3.7.0 (for Sokoban prize) another fix specifically for Sokoban and the Mines' End luckstone (scare monster item protection fix for castle (how does this work if humans aren't scared?))
  • Practical side effect: You can identify scroll of scare monster by completing Sokoban (or the Castle). Unspoiled players who didn't even read the Guidebook can learn Elbereth by seeing it.

• Minotaurs ignoring Elbereth
  • First added: 3.0.5
  • Purpose: Make it harder to farm minotaurs for wands of digging, which could be polymorphed to wands of wishing. found by bhaak
  • Superseded: 3.0.8, can't make wands of wishing by polypiling anymore
  • Practical side effect: You can't scare minotaurs with Elbereth.

• Headstone engraving check
  • First added: 3.4.3 or before
  • Purpose: Prevent the grave of a player named "Elbereth" from being a permanent Elbereth engraving.
  • Superseded: 3.6.1, Elbereth needs to be the only thing on its square to be effective. commit 8d32f375
  • Practical side effect: none