I know that for new players the learning curve can be quite steep, would it be an idea to give players either a starting kit with maybe an identified uncurse and identify scroll, or healing potions, or maybe enchanted starting weapon and armour? Once you have won and ascended you no longer receive it, the ‘are you sure you want to continue’ dialog when you start ascending can say that returning to the surface will end the starting buff.
Adding something like this would change the genre of the game. One of the whole point of Roguelikes is that your first run is the same as your 100th. If I were to ever do something like this it would be in a dedicated ‘tutorial mode’ that’s separate from the regular game.
You’d know better than anyone else as you presumably can see the stats of depth achieved vs number of games etc, it’s my perception (admitidly totally based off assumptions with no evidence) that there is a hump before people get to grips with the game, which was what my suggestion was aimed at smoothing. It may well be that adding such a feature would devalue the first success when it comes through too.
I dont know if I realy would like this as a new player. Part of the rougelike game fun is to fail and to figure out, having an improved start would at least for me reduce the fun of fucking around and finding out.
I could imagine it being done similar to challenges, so when you are a frustrated new player you can choose to opt-in.
I will say, I once looked at 1 star reviews and the common denominator seems to be snakes aka total inability to read as the game fully gives you the solution.
As I remember, Nethack had a beginner mode where if you died early in the dungeon you had the option to resurrect and enable cheats, with the penalty that it would no longer record your score.
Maybe some context aware hint system? It could look at the cause of death and status of your inventory and select a hint towards how you could have done better - like ‘try using sneak attacks on snakes’, ‘remember you have healing potions’, ‘try using enchantments on your best items’. Might get annoying tho, or spoil the experience of figuring it out, idk?
:)
