Guide to Crawl's options
========================
This document explains all of the options in the latest version of
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. If you get stuck or some things won't seem to
work properly, ask for help on the newsgroup rec.games.roguelike.misc.
Please flag queries with '-crawl-', as other roguelikes are discussed
there as well.
The contents of this text are:
0- Generalities.
0-a Standard and additional option files.
0-b Options on the command line
0-c Options and how to set them.
0-d Aliases and variables.
1- Starting Screen.
name, remember_name, use_old_selection_order,
weapon, book, wand, chaos_knight, death_knight, priest,
species, job, random_pick, good_random
2- File System and Sound.
crawl_dir, morgue_dir, save_dir, macro_dir, sound
3- Lua files.
stash.lua, wield.lua, kills.lua, runrest.lua,
gearset.lua, pickup.lua, trapwalk.lua
4- Interface.
4-a Dropping and Picking up.
autopickup, autopickup_exceptions, default_autopickup,
autopickup_no_burden, pickup_thrown, pickup_dropped,
chunks_autopickup, assign_item_slot, drop_mode,
pickup_mode, drop_filter, default_friendly_pickup
4-b Targeting.
target_zero_exp, target_oos, target_los_first,
default_target, target_unshifted_dirs,
darken_beyond_range
4-c Passive Sightings (detected and remembered entities).
detected_monster_colour, detected_item_colour,
remembered_monster_colour, colour_map, clean_map
4-d Branding (Item and Monster Highlighting).
friend_brand, neutral_brand, stab_brand, may_stab_brand,
heap_brand, feature_item_brand, trap_item_brand,
verbose_monster_panel
4-e Level Map Functions.
level_map_cursor_step, level_map_title, item_colour
4-f Viewport Display Options.
view_max_width, view_max_height, view_lock_x,
view_lock_y, view_lock, center_on_scroll,
symmetric_scroll, scroll_margin_x, scroll_margin_y,
scroll_margin
4-g Travel and Exploration.
travel_delay, explore_delay, travel_avoid_terrain,
explore_greedy, explore_stop, explore_improved,
tc_reachable, tc_dangerous, tc_disconnected,
tc_excluded, tc_exclude_circle, travel_stop_message,
runrest_ignore_message, runrest_ignore_poison,
runrest_ignore_monster, trapwalk_safe_hp,
trap_prompt, rest_wait_both, auto_exclude
4-h Stashes.
stash_filter, annotate_item_class,
annotate_item_dropped
4-i Command Enhancements.
auto_list, easy_open, easy_unequip, equip_unequip,
easy_confirm, allow_self_target,
easy_butcher, always_confirm_butcher, prefer_safe_chunks,
easy_eat_chunks, easy_eat_gourmand, easy_eat_contaminated,
prompt_for_swap, easy_quit_item_prompts,
easy_exit_menu, sort_menus
4-j Message and Display Improvements.
hp_warning, mp_warning, hp_colour, mp_colour, stat_colour,
status_caption_colour, delay_message_clear,
show_inventory_weights, show_gold_turns, show_beam,
item_stack_summary_minimum, list_rotten,
mlist_min_height, msg_max_height,
mlist_allow_alternate_layout, mlist_targetting, classic_hud,
menu_colour, menu_colour_prefix_class, menu_colour_shops,
message_colour, force_more_message,
msg_condense_repeats
4-k Missiles.
fire_items_start, fire_order
4-l Message Channels.
plain, prompt, god, pray, duration, danger, food, warning,
recovery, talk, talk_visual, intrinsic_gain, mutation,
monster_spell, monster_enchant, friend_spell, friend_enchant,
monster_damage, rotten_meat, equipment, floor, multiturn,
examine, examine_filter, diagnostics, error, tutorial
4-m Inscriptions.
autoinscribe, autoinscribe_artefacts
4-n Macro related Options.
flush.failure, flush.command, flush.message,
macro_meta_entry, additional_macro_file, bindkey
4-o Tiles Options.
tile_show_items, tile_title_screen, tile_menu_icons,
tile_player_col, tile_monster_col, tile_neutral_col,
tile_friendly_col, tile_plant_col, tile_item_col,
tile_unseen_col, tile_floor_col, tile_wall_col,
tile_mapped_wall_col, tile_door_col, tile_downstairs_col,
tile_upstairs_col, tile_feature_col, tile_trap_col,
tile_water_col, tile_lava_col, tile_excluded_col,
tile_excl_centre_col, tile_update_rate, tile_key_repeat_delay,
tile_tooltip_ms, tile_tag_pref, tile_full_screen,
tile_window_width, tile_window_height, tile_map_pixels,
tile_font_crt_file, tile_font_stat_file, tile_font_msg_file,
tile_font_tip_file, tile_font_lbl_file, tile_font_crt_size,
tile_font_stat_size, tile_font_msg_size, tile_font_tip_size,
tile_font_lbl_size
5- Character Dump.
5-a Items and Kills.
kill_map, dump_kill_places, dump_item_origins,
dump_item_origin_price, dump_message_count, dump_order,
dump_book_spells
5-b Notes.
user_note_prefix, note_items, note_monsters,
ood_interesting, note_hp_percent, note_skill_levels,
note_all_skill_levels, note_skill_max, note_all_spells,
note_xom_effects, note_messages
6- Miscellaneous.
6-a All OS.
mouse_input, wiz_mode, char_set, classic_item_colours,
colour, char_set, cset_ascii, cset_ibm, cset_dec,
cset_unicode, feature, mon_glyph, pizza
6-b DOS and Windows.
dos_use_background_intensity
6-c Unix.
background, use_fake_cursor
7- Inline Lua.
7-a Executing lua.
7-b Conditional options.
7-c Conditional option caveats.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0- Generalities on options.
============================
0-a Standard and additional option files.
---------------------------------------------
Crawl uses the first file of the following list as its option file:
* settings/init.txt
* init.txt (in the Crawl directory)
* .crawlrc (in the Unix home directory)
Alternatively, you can use the command line option
-rc <file>
which tells Crawl to use precisely that file.
On the starting screen, Crawl tells you which init file it uses, if any.
It is possible to include additional files within the options file via
include = <file>
Note that these are treated as if their content was entered verbatim
in the options file. By default, Crawl searches for all these included
files in the settings/ directory but you can specify a special folder
using the command line option
-rcdir <dir>
External option files have several uses: They allow quick customisation
of Crawl's general appearance (colouring/suppression of messages, and
the inventory style). More elaborate option magic (usually containing
lua) can also be conveniently hidden this way. Finally, there are some
additional option files coming with this release; these allow to set
many options to old defaults, i.e. those of Crawl 0.3.4 and before.
See the header of the default init.txt for more details.
0-b Options on the command line
-----------------------------------
A quick way to make small changes to the options, without having to
switch to a different option file, is to use the command line options
-extra-opt-first or -extra-opt-last, which make it as if the given
option was (repsecitvely) at the top or bottom of the option file. For
example,
-extra-opt-last wiz_mode=yes
will cause any new game to start in wizard mode. -extra-opt-first and
-extra-opt-last can be used multiple times on the same command line.
0-c Options and how to set them.
------------------------------------
There are three broad types of Crawl options: true/false values
(booleans), arbitrary values, and lists of values. In this document,
options are usually described with their default values (if there is a
default); this should also explain which of the above-mentioned types
it is. Each option should have some remarks on how it's typically used
- but keep in mind that the options you want to use depend on your
playing style and sometimes also on your operating system.
The standard init.txt distributed with Crawl includes all boolean
options, commented out. The commented-out values are always the
_non-defaults_, so you can toggle boolean options by uncommenting
them.
There are two styles you can use to set options. The classic
name=value syntax, one option per-line:
remember_name = true
explore_greedy = false
drop_mode = multi
And the NetHack-style combined option line:
OPTION = remember_name, !explore_greedy, drop_mode:multi
The second style is useful to specify simple options in a few lines,
but it cannot be used for options that take complex lists of values
(such as the autopickup_exceptions option).
Some options need a path as an argument; here you have to use a
filesystem path suitable for your system. Other options accept regular
expressions (regexes): here you can simply use ordinary strings, adapt
the suggested regexes to your needs or search the internet for regex
syntax.
Note that, in the tutorial, some of your options settings may get
overwritten to facilitate the explanations. This concerns the
following options, and their enforced setting for tutorial games
are as follows:
delay_message_clear = false
auto_list = true
weapon = hand axe, for Berserkers
book = random, for Conjurers
and, for Tiles,
tile_tag_pref = tutorial
0-d Aliases and variables.
------------------------------
For long option names, you can define option aliases by doing:
alias := long_option_name
For instance, you can use:
ae := autopickup_exceptions
and thereafter use "ae" instead of "autopickup_exceptions":
ae = >uselessness, >inaccuracy
You can define shortcuts for option values (variables). For example,
$useless := darkgrey
could be used in conjunction with
menu_colour = $useless:random uselessness
To prevent a variable from being changed you can make it a constant:
constant = useless
This is usefull if you wish to prevent an included file from altering
a variable.
See settings/standard_colours.txt and settings/food_colouring.txt
for usage of aliases and variables.
1- Starting Screen.
====================
The following options are a convenience to help you quickly start your
game of Crawl.
name = Delilah
If set, that's the name all your Crawl characters will get.
remember_name = true
Crawl remembers the options (species, job etc.) you used to
create your last character. You may recycle them in the
starting screen for a new character. If this option is set to
true, Crawl will also remember the last name you used.
If you use this option and want to enter a name _after_
choosing your species and job, you must enter . at the initial
name prompt - hitting Enter at the name prompt will simply
reuse your old name if remember_name is set.
use_old_selection_order = false
If set to true, the character selection screen will offer
species and jobs in the order of version 0.3 and earlier.
Note that this needs to be set before the "species" or "job"
options (see below), or they won't be interpreted correctly.
weapon = (random | short sword | hand axe | spear | mace | trident)
Specifying the weapon option allows you to bypass the weapon
selection screen. Note that tridents are restricted to only
merfolk and gladiators, but you'll get the standard query in
illegal cases.
book = (flame | fire | ice | cold | summ | summoning | random)
Several spellcasting jobs can choose their starting
spellbook. Note flame=fire and ice=cold and summ=summoning.
wand = (enslavement | confusion | magic darts | frost | flame | striking | random)
Artificers can start with either a wand of random effects and another
wand out of enslavement, confusion, magic darts, frost, or flame, or
with a rod of striking.
chaos_knight = (Xom | Makhleb | random)
death_knight = (necromancy | Yredelemnul | random)
priest = (Zin | Yredelemnul | Beogh | random)
The above three make in advance the additional choices for
Chaos Knights, Death Knights, and Priests (Beogh for HO only).
species = (Human |...| Vampire | random)
The usual abbreviations (Hu, HE, etc.) work.
job = (Fighter |...| Wanderer | random)
Here again the abbreviations (Fi, Wi, Pr, etc.) can be used.
random_pick = false
The random_pick option will randomly generate a character.
The above options (weapons and species/job options) will override
where appropriate.
good_random = true
Whenever random_pick is used, species or job are set random,
or a remembered random choice is executed in the character
selection, the game will only pick good combinations.
2- File System.
================
crawl_dir = <path>
The path used for the relative paths when looking for other
files. Defaults to the directory that contains the Crawl
executable.
morgue_dir = morgue
Directory where morgue dumps files (morgue*.txt and
morgue*.lst) as well as character dumps files are written.
save_dir = saves
Directory where saves and bones are stored. This option may be
ignored depending on the settings used to compile Crawl, but
should be honoured for the official Crawl binaries.
macro_dir = settings/
Directory for reading macro.txt.
For tile games, wininit.txt will also be stored here.
It should end with the path delimiter.
sound = <regex>:<path to sound file>
Plays the sound file if a message contains regex. The regex
should not include commas or colons. For example
sound = LOW HITPOINT WARNING:sound\sounds2\danger3.wav
Getting appropriate sound files may be difficult. Check other
roguelikes or old computer RPGs. Alternatively, ask for help
in the newsgroup rec.games.roguelike.misc.
3- Lua files.
==============
Lua files are scripts which can provide existing commands with a new
meaning or create new commands (to be used in macros). To use Lua
files, Crawl needs to be compiled with support for user Lua scripts.
You can if your Crawl has Lua support by hitting ?V in-game. The list
of features Crawl displays should include "Lua user scripts".
Lua files are included using the lua_file option (one file per line):
lua_file = <path/name.lua>
The available stock Lua scripts are
stash.lua -- annotates the stash file for better searching
(Ctrl-F). Searching for 'Long blades' will also turn
up all weapons with the long blade skill. Similarly,
you can use 'altar','portal' etc. Also, you can look
for spellbooks ('book'), artefacts ('artefact'), and
ego items ('ego').
wield.lua -- shows more intelligent options when using 'w?'
kills.lua -- improves the Vanquished Creatures list in dump files;
currently gives three lists (Vanquished, Friendly,
Others).
runrest.lua -- allows overriding certain stop conditions when
running.
New options: runrest_ignore_poison,
runrest_ignore_message, runrest_ignore_monster
gearset.lua -- provides commands for switching of complete sets via
macro.
New macroable functions: rememberkit, swapkit
pickup.lua -- allows autopickup of a butchering tool if you don't
already have one.
trapwalk.lua -- allows travel to cross certain traps if you have
enough HP.
Also see section 7 on inline Lua fragments.
4- Interface.
==============
4-a Picking up and Dropping.
--------------------------------
autopickup = $?!+"/%
The above is the default list. The valid symbols are
) Weapons
( Missiles
[ Armour
/ Wands
% Food
? Scrolls
" or = Jewellery
! Potions
+ or : Books
\ or | Staves
0 Orbs
} Misc. items
X Corpses
$ Gold
Note that _whether_ items are picked up automatically or not, is
controlled by the in-game toggle Ctrl-A. Also note that picking
up takes a turn, but only one turn (regardless of the number of
items). If you teleport or blink onto a square with interesting
items, these will not be picked up.
autopickup_exceptions = <pickup-regex, >don't-pickup-regex, ...
A set of regexes that force matching items to be picked up (if
prefixed with <), or never picked up (if prefixed with >).
Excludes (>) take precedence over includes (<), so if the same
item is matched by both an exclude and an include, it will not
be subject to autopickup.
An example:
autopickup_exceptions = <curare-tipped needle
Forces autopickup to grab all curare-tipped needles, even if
missiles are not set in the "autopickup" option.
Whitespace between <> and the match expression is significant,
so the following won't work:
autopickup_exceptions = < ebony casket
autopickup_exceptions replace the older ban_pickup. Using
autopickup_exceptions = >uselessness, >inaccuracy
is the same as using
ban_pickup = uselessness, inaccuracy
If the regexes are not prefixed with < or >, > is implied, so
the option setting above can also be written as
autopickup_exceptions = uselessness, inaccuracy
You can use multiple autopickup_exceptions lines. Some examples:
autopickup_exceptions = inaccuracy, scrolls? of paper,
autopickup_exceptions = immolation, curse (armour|weapon),
autopickup_exceptions = uselessness, noise, torment
Note that if pickup.lua has been sourced, you won't need to set
autopickup exceptions for potions except maybe for very special
cases.
default_autopickup = true
When set to false, the game starts with autopickup turned off.
You can still toggle autopickup in-game with Ctrl-A.
autopickup_no_burden = false
When set, autopickup will not pick up items which would increase
your burden status (from unencumbered to burdened, or from
encumbered to overloaded.)
pickup_thrown = true
pickup_thrown = true causes autopickup to pick up thrown/fired
missiles, which can make life much easier for hunter types. Be
aware that autopickup uses a turn, though it won't trigger if
there are hostile monsters in sight.
pickup_dropped = false
pickup_dropped lets autopickup affect objects you've dropped.
Set to false to block autopickup for dropped objects. This can
be convenient.
chunks_autopickup = true
If true then butchered flesh will be automatically picked up
right after they're generated (and after switching back from
the butchering weapon to the usual weapon, if necessary).
Respects all of the autopickup options. Requires '%' to be
in the autopickup line.
Does not apply to Vampires who will pick up bottled potions
of blood regardless of this option, and not pick up chunks.
assign_item_slot = (forward | backward)
When picking up items, the inventory slot into which the item
goes is normally the first free slot from a-zA-Z (this is the
default "forward" behaviour). Setting assign_item_slot to
"backward" changes the slot assignment to the first letter after
the last slot.
For instance, if you have items on 'a' and 'c', then with
assign_item_slot = forward, the next item will go into 'b',
assign_item_slot = backward, the next item will go to 'd'
instead.
With "backward", items dropped/fired and picked up later are
more likely to get their old slot back.
drop_mode = (multi | single)
Single is the classic behaviour; when you select an inventory
letter, that item will be dropped immediately. Multidrop allows
you to select multiple items to be dropped. (You can also switch
to multidrop from the classic drop menu using the '@' key).
Multidrop is the default and can be very convenient, but be
aware that every item dropped takes one turn. (This is different
from picking up.)
When selecting multidrops, the top right corner shows the
estimated number of turns.
The order in which items get dropped is from top to bottom in
the inventory listing, but equipped items will be dropped last,
and may be dropped out of order.
pickup_mode = (multi | single | auto:X)
Single is the classical behaviour (and default): when picking up
items, you are prompted for them one by one. Multi makes a menu
appear, where you can choose which items to pick up. Note that
no matter how many items you choose, picking up will always take
one turn.
If pickup_mode is auto:X, where X is some number (for example,
auto:5), then pickup will give a menu if there are at least X
items on your square, and will prompt one by one otherwise.
drop_filter = <regex>
When selecting items using the global (de)select keys (',' or
'-') in a multidrop menu, you can choose to select only items
that match a search regex using this option.
For instance, to quickly select carrion and rotting chunks of
meat, you could use:
drop_filter = skeleton, rotting, corpse
Other choices can come in handy as well, e.g. if you want to
regularly sacrifice all weapons except axes, use:
drop_filter = axe, broadaxe
drop_filter will match against the same keywords menu_colour uses,
except that it lacks identification status and corpse/chunk
information. It defaults to useless_item.
When a drop_filter is set, using the select/deselect keys will
set/clear selection of items that match the filter
expression(s).
default_friendly_pickup = (friend | player | none | all)
Using an in-game toggle, you can control what types of items
your allies will pick up:
none = They won't pick up anything at all.
(This is the old friendly pick up behaviour.)
friend = They may pick up anything they or another ally
dropped, e.g. if another ally dies.
(This is the default setting.)
player = Like 'friend', but they may also pick up anything
you've dropped or thrown.
all = They may pick up anything they want to have.
(This is how it works for hostile monsters.)
This option controls which is the default setting for this toggle
when you start a new game, or when you enter a level for the first
time.
Note that this only works for intelligent allies (such as you
can get when worshipping Beogh or when summoning intelligent
monsters), and that monsters have their own reasonings for which
items they may need, and when they feel safe enough to pick them
up. Except for "none", these options won't let you override these
requirements.
Also, friendly jellies won't ever eat any items, regardless of
this option.
4-b Targeting.
-------------------
target_zero_exp = false
Set to false to disable targeting zero exp monsters (i.e.
plants) in hostile targeting mode. This is usually convenient to
do. This also prevents the monster list from displaying them.
target_oos = true
When cycling through items with 'x' look-around, setting
target_oos to true allows you to jump the cursor to dungeon
features (<> for stairs, Tab for shops, ^ for traps) and stashes
(with the '*' and '/' keys) that are outside line-of-sight but
in the main view. Also see target_los_first below.
target_los_first = true
When cycling through items/features with the 'x' look-around
command, setting target_los_first to true will force the cursor
to squares in line-of-sight before going to squares outside LOS.
default_target = true
If set to true (the default), targeting will start on either
your previous target (if it is still visible) or the closest
monster (if not) rather than on the character. If no monsters
are in view, targeting will start on the character regardless.
If default_target = false, the targeting cursor will always
start aimed at the character.
default_target is mutually exclusive with
target_unshifted_dirs. Using default_target will automatically
disable target_unshifted_dirs.
target_unshifted_dirs = false
If set to true, targeting will use the old Stone Soup 0.1 /
Crawl 4.0 targeting keymap where unshifted direction keys fire
in that direction immediately. The default is to use the new
targeting keymap where unshifted direction keys move the
targeting cursor (and shifted directions fire in the given
direction immediately).
If you use target_unshifted_dirs, default_target will be
automatically disabled.
darken_beyond_range = true
If set to true, everything beyond range when targeting will be
coloured grey. Setting this to false will also suppress the brief
flash if there are no visible monsters within range, both for
ASCII and the Tiles version.
4-c Passive Sightings (detected or remembered entities).
-----------------------------------------------------------
detected_monster_colour = lightred
Monsters found by detect creatures will be coloured this colour.
detected_item_colour = green
Items found by detect items will be given this colour.
remembered_monster_colour = darkgrey
The colour for monsters you have seen before. Note that the
value of this option is meaningless if you set clean_map.
colour_map = true
Colours out of sight map features on the playing screen.
clean_map = false
Cleans up out of sight monsters and clouds on the map. This is
like pressing Ctrl-C (clearing both main screen and level map)
all the time.
Setting this to true can be disconcerting for summoners.
4-d Branding (Item and monster highlighting).
-------------------------------------------------
Branding refers to displaying particular monsters (e.g. summons) or
items in a special way; special as in reversing fore- and background.
There are several branding choices (these will not work everywhere; it
depends on OS and terminal):
standout -- often the same as reverse, might be underline or
dim
bold -- used by colour curses for brightening foreground
colours
blink -- used by colour curses for brightening background
colours
reverse -- this will probably work
dim -- probably no effect
underline -- this will probably work
highlight:colour -- set background colour of branded monsters to
"colour"
The last can be abbreviated to hi:colour.
See part Technical (6-) for dos_use_background_intensity under Windows
and DOS.
By default, only two of the item brands are active (and set to reverse):
heap_brand, feature_item_brand
They can be deactivated by setting them to "none".
friend_brand = hi:green
Brand friends in some way. This is very helpful for summoners. The
default setting shows friends with a green background. If the friend is
itself green, it'll show up as black on green.
neutral_brand = hi:lightgrey
Brand neutral monsters in some way. Useful both to get out of
a neutral monster's path, and to avoid accidentally killing it.
The default setting shows neutrals with a dark grey background. Since
there are no darkgrey monster glyphs anymore, this works fine.
stab_brand = hi:blue
Some deities object to you stabbing monsters. Certain jobs
specialise in stabbing monsters. Still other characters are
happy if they spot a monster before the monster spots them. In
all these cases, it helps to identify monsters that are unaware
of the character (and hence susceptible to being stabbed) without
using the 'x' command. All the normal 'brand' options apply.
may_stab_brand = hi:yellow
Stabbing may be possible even if the monster is not asleep (if
it's confused or distracted, for instance). This option brands
monsters that you *might* be able to stab.
heap_brand = reverse
Brand heaps of items (more than one item or stack).
feature_item_brand = reverse
Brands features (stairs, shops, altars) that would otherwise be
hidden by items. If you use this brand, the items on the square
are hidden by the feature symbol and the feature symbol is
branded.
trap_item_brand = reverse
Brands traps that would otherwise be hidden by items. If you
use this brand, the items on the square are hidden by the trap
symbol (^) and the trap symbol is branded.
verbose_monster_pane = true
If set to false using the console version of Crawl (rather than the
tiles version), the pane listing the monsters in sight will give
the older, less detailed information like "distracted" or "resting"
rather than "fleeing", "sleeping", "unaware", etc.
4-e Level Map Functions.
----------------------------
level_map_cursor_step = 7
How many squares the cursor moves on the level map when using
Shift-direction.
level_map_title = true
Whether to show the level name at the top of the level map
screen.
item_colour = true
Colours items on level-map.
4-f Viewport Display Options
--------------------------------
The viewport is the portion of the map that is displayed during normal
play. The viewport is 33x17 by default, but if you use larger terminal
sizes, you can set these options to make the game show a larger
viewport. (These options are not fully available on DOS.)
None of these options affects gameplay. In particular, your character's
line-of-sight is unaffected by these options.
view_max_width = 33
Sets the maximum width of the viewport (defaults to 33).
Making this larger will allow Crawl to show a wider viewport
on larger terminals.
view_max_height = 17
Similar to view_max_width, but sets the viewport's maximum
height.
* Note that using large viewports can slow the game down.
view_lock_x = true
Keeps the player character centered horizontally in the
viewport, continuously scrolling the viewport to match the
PC's movements. If this is not set, the player character can
move horizontally within the viewport, and the viewport will
scroll only when the character's line-of-sight reaches the
left or right edge.
view_lock_y = true
Keeps the character centered vertically in the viewport.
view_lock = true
Aliased option that sets both view_lock_x and view_lock_y.
center_on_scroll = false
If this is set, the viewport centers on the player character
whenever it scrolls (this option is irrelevant if view_lock_x
and view_lock_y are set).
symmetric_scroll = true
If this is set, the viewport will scroll in a manner consistent
with the character movement that caused the scroll.
To illustrate, let's say the PC is at the lower edge of the
viewport, but is near the horizontal center. Now the PC moves
diagonally down and right, forcing the viewport to scroll up
one line. If symmetric_scroll is set, the viewport will also
scroll left one column to match the PC's diagonal movement. If
symmetric_scroll is not set, the viewport will only scroll up,
not horizontally. symmetric_scroll can be less disorienting
than free scrolling.
This option is not relevant if view_lock or center_on_scroll
are set.
scroll_margin_x = 2
How far from the left or right edges scrolling starts. By
default, if the PC's circle of line-of-sight is closer than
two squares from the edge, the viewport scrolls. If set at
zero, the viewport scrolls only when the LOS circle reaches
the viewport edge.
scroll_margin_y = 2
How far from the top or bottom edges scrolling starts.
scroll_margin = 2
An aliased option that sets both scroll_margin_x and
scroll_margin_y.
4-g Travel and Exploration.
-------------------------------
travel_delay = 20
How long travel waits after each move (milliseconds), and also
how long auto-explore waits after each move unless explore_delay
is set. Depends on platform. Setting to -1 will jump to end of
travel - you will not see the individual moves.
explore_delay = -1
How long auto-explore waits after each move (milliseconds). Depends on
platform. In particular, setting travel_delay = -1 and
explore_delay = 20 means you will see the invividual moves of
autoexplore, but not the invidivual moves of other forms of travel.
Setting to -1 means the auto-explore delay will be the same as
travel_delay.
travel_avoid_terrain = (shallow water | deep water)
Prevent travel from routing through shallow water. By default,
this option is commented out. For merfolk and/or characters with
permanent levitation,
travel_avoid_terrain = shallow water, deep water
will prevent travel or explore from going through any water.
explore_greedy = true
Greedy explore travels to items that are eligible for
autopickup in addition to exploring the level, but is
otherwise identical to regular explore. Greedy explore is best
with pickup_dropped = false. Explore greed is disabled if
you're temporarily unable to pick up items (from uncontrolled
levitation, for instance).
explore_stop = items,greedy_pickup,stairs,shops,altars,gates
Explore will stop for one of these conditions. Whatever you
set this option to, anything that stops travel will also stop
explore. Multiple explore_stop lines are cumulative if you use
explore_stop += options, otherwise the last explore_stop =
options line will override all previous explore_stop lines.
When using non-greedy explore, items causes explore to stop
when any new item comes into view. When using greedy explore,
the conditions act as follows:
items: stop when items that aren't eligible for autopickup come
into view.
greedy_items: stop when items that are eligible for autopickup
come into view.
greedy_pickup: stop when you arrive at a square which contains
an item eligble for autopickup.
glowing_items: like items, but only for items which are
glowing/runed/embroidered/etc.
artefacts: like items, but only for artefacts.
runes: like items, but only for runes.
explore_improved = false
If set to true explore will attempt to reduce zig-zagging during
auto-explore. On average it increases the number of turns taken
by about 0.9%, sometimes actually speeding it up slightly and
sometimes increasing the turns taken by up to 5%, with
pathological cases causing a 13% increase.
tc_reachable = blue
tc_dangerous = cyan
tc_disconnected = darkgrey
tc_excluded = lightmagenta
tc_exclude_circle = red
The above five settle the colouring of the level map ('X').
They are
reachable: all squares safely reachable (without leaving the
level)
dangerous: squares which are only connected to you via traps,
etc.
disconnected: squares which cannot be reached without leaving
the level
excluded: the colour for the centre of travel exclusions ('e')
excluded_circle: the colour for travel exclusions apart from
centre
travel_stop_message = <list of regexes>
Travel will always stop upon hitpoint loss, confusion, stat
drain, getting encumbered, catching sight of a non-friendly
monster, and teleporting. In addition, a message containing one
of the expressions in travel_stop_message will stop travel. For
example,
travel_stop_message = Something appears
stops travel if Xom grants us a gift suddenly. To limit a
substring match to a message channel, prefix the substring with
the channel name and a colon (see section 4-k below on Message
Channels). For instance, if you want travel to stop when you're
hit by divine retribution, you could use:
travel_stop_message = god:wrath finds you
If you'd like to stop travel for any message sent to a
particular channel, use a travel_stop_message line with that
message channel name and a colon alone. For example, if you're
playing a ghoul:
travel_stop_message = rotten_meat:
Stop travel for any god messages (including prayer)
travel_stop_message = god:
Multiple travel_stop_message lines can be used.
Check the file travel_stoppers.txt in the settings folder for a
list of such options. It can be included by
include = travel_stoppers.txt
runrest_ignore_message = <string>
This only works if runrest.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt. Any message containing the string will *not* stop your
run. E.g.
runrest_ignore_message = offer a prayer,prayer is over
runrest_ignore_message = pleased with you,exalted
Note that monster talk and dungeon noises already do not
interrupt running or resting, by default.
runrest_ignore_poison = <poison damage>:<minimum hp>
This only works if runrest.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt. Poison damage of x will be ignored if you have at
least y hp if you've defined a runrest_ignore_poison = x:y
option. Running here means shift-running and resting only. Only
one runrest_ignore_poison line is considered. Note that for
this work, you should also tell Crawl to ignore the
"You feel sick" messages. For example,
runrest_ignore_message = You feel.*sick
runrest_ignore_poison = 4:100
runrest_ignore_monster = <string>:<distance>
This only works if runrest.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt.
Any monster containing the string will only interrupt your
activity if the distance between you and the monster is
less than the specified number. E.g. with
runrest_ignore_monster = fish:3
all of big fish, jellyfish, giant goldfish and lavafish will be
considered safe for travel, explore and resting as long as the
distance is at least 3.
trapwalk_safe_hp = <trap_name>:<minimum_hp>, ...
This only works if trapwalk.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt. Any square containing one of the listed trap types
will be considered safe for travel if your hp is greater than or
equal to the number connected to the trap in question.
All the existing trap types can be used, but in practice only
the mechanical traps (dart, bolt, arrow, needle, spear, axe,
blade) make sense. Note that travel tries to avoid traps if this
is easily possible. Defaults to none. For example,
trapwalk_safe_hp = dart:15, needle:25, spear:50
trap_prompt = true
If trap_prompt is set to true Crawl will use the trapwalk_safe_hp
values to decide whether the player should be prompted before
stepping on a mechanical trap. Note that you'll always be prompted
for non-mechanical traps.
rest_wait_both = false
If rest_wait_both is set to true then resting will only stop
when both HP and MP are fully restored, not when either one of
them is restored.
auto_exclude = <list of monster names>
Whenever you encounter a sleeping or stationary monster during
exploration that is included in this list, automatically a
travel exclusion is set centered on this monster, meaning
autoexplore won't ever bring you in its line of sight. If the
monster dies or wakes up while you are in sight, this exclusion
is automatically removed again.
4-h Stashes.
----------------
A stash is a heap of items tracked by Crawl. You can search in your
stashes with Ctrl-F. The weird name "stash" is for historical reasons
when the stash-tracker tracked only specific stashes that you asked it
to. Modern Crawls track all items in the dungeon without the need for
explicit steps.
stash_filter = <list of item names or numbers>
This option prevents certain items or classes of items from being
rembered by the stash tracker.
For example:
stash_filter = scroll of noise, scroll of curse weapon
will make the stash-tracker ignore scrolls of noise and scrolls
of curse weapon. The item names must be exact, and must be
singular, not plural.
It can also be used the filter entire classes of items by their
number. For example:
stash_filter = 14, 4:21
filters corpses (14) as well as food of the subtype chunks (4:21).
annotate_item_class = false
This only works if stash.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt. Automatically annotates items with their object class,
e.g. weapon or wand, for stash searching.
annotate_item_dropped = false
This only works if stash.lua has already been sourced in
init.txt. Annotates dropped items with {dropped} for stash
searching.
4-i Command Enhancements.
-----------------------------
auto_list = true
When set (the default), the appropriate inventory items are
automatically listed for commands like eat and read. This is
like immediately hitting '?', and can be confusing to beginners
because they won't get to see the prompts. This option does not
apply to spell casting... Conjurers would probably find that
really annoying.
easy_open = true
Open doors by moving on to them. Highly convenient. Note that
travel and exploration will automatically open doors depending
on this option.
easy_unequip = true
Allows auto removal of armour and jewellery when dropping it.
equip_unequip = false
If this is true, 'W'ear will also allow you to 'T'ake off worn
armour, and vice versa, and the same is true for 'P'utting on/
'R'emoving jewellery.
easy_confirm = (none | safe)
Make confirmation questions easier to answer:
none = force capitals on Y/N questions
safe = force only on questions that will end game (default)
WARNING TO KEYPAD USERS: The number 7 is mapped to the letter
'y', which can result in accidentally answering yes to
questions.
allow_self_target = (yes | no | prompt)
Allow targeting yourself with risky magic (e.g., the spell
Bolt of Fire or a wand of slowing.)
When set to 'yes', you are a valid target. When set to 'no',
you cannot target yourself with such spells. When set to
'prompt' (the default), you will be required to confirm
self-targeting. This option has no effect on area-effect
spells, such as Mephitic Cloud or Evaporate, where you
are always a valid target.
easy_butcher = true
If true, auto-switch to an appropriate uncursed weapon for
butchery. For such tools any special messages are ignored. If
false, you have to wield the tool manually.
always_confirm_butcher = false
If true, always request confirmation before butchering. If
false, butchering will proceed automatically if there is exactly
one corpse on the square. If there are multiple corpses on a
square, you will always be prompted, regardless of this option.
prefer_safe_chunks = true
The (e)at command will prompt for all chunks on the floor and in your
inventory, sorted by age. If this option is set to true, clean chunks
will be offered before contaminated ones even if the latter are older.
Poisonous, mutagenic, rot-inducing, and chunks forbidden by
your religion will always be offered last.
easy_eat_chunks = false
If this is set to true then when using the (e)at command, the
game will automatically determine the oldest chunk that is safe
to eat, and eat it without prompting.
If prefer_safe_chunks is set to false you will be prompted if
the oldest chunk happens to be contaminated, and you will always
be prompted for harmful chunks.
Note that this option is ignored for each of the undead species.
easy_eat_gourmand = false
If both this and easy_eat_chunks are true, and you're wearing an
amulet of the Gourmand, then religion-safe contaminated chunks will
be eaten without prompting. If prefer_safe_chunks is true then this
will only be done if you have no safe chunks to eat, but if it's
false then you'll auto-eat older contaminated chunks before fresher
safe chunks.
easy_eat_contaminated = false
Like easy_eat_gourmand, but always in effect, not just when you're
wearing an amulet of the Gourmand.
prompt_for_swap = true
If both this and easy_butcher are true, then if an auto-switch
butchery is interrupted by a hostile monster, the game will
ask if you wish to switch back to your weapon. It will also
prompt you if after butchery is interupted you teleport or
change levels and find yourself near hostile monsters.
easy_quit_item_prompts = true
Setting this option to true allows the quitting of item listing
with Space (as well as Escape, which always works). These lists
are essentially all of those that are requesting an inventory
item and accept '?' and '*'. The identify list will never easy
quit.
easy_exit_menu = true
In multidrop (and pickup) menus, paging past the end will drop
out of the menu if easy_exit_menu is true.
sort_menus = [menu:](true | false | auto:X)[:sort_order]
Controls if and how items are sorted in inventory and pickup
menus.
When sort_menus = false (the default), items are not sorted, and
will be ordered by inventory letter (or in the order they're
stacked for items on the floor).
When sort_menus = true, items are sorted according to the specified
sort_order, with the default being:
equipped, basename, qualname, curse, qty
If sort_menus = auto:X, items are sorted if there are at least
X items in the same category. For instance:
sort_menus = auto:5
will sort item classes that have at least 5 items. For instance,
having 4 kinds of potions would not sort them, but having 5
would.
You can explicitly specify sort criteria in the sort_menus
option as:
sort_menus = true : art, basename, qualname, curse, qty
Two items will be compared based on the first sort criteria
where they differ. So with the sort_menus line given above,
if only one of two different items is a known artefact, it will be
listed first, else (if both or neither are artefacts) if their
basenames are different they will be alphabetically compared using
their basenames; if the basenames are the same but the qualified
names are different it will compare their qualified names, and so
on.
The available sort criteria are:
* basename:
This is the name of the item type. The basename for all of
"a +0 robe", "an embroidered robe" and "the cursed +2 robe of
Ponies" is just "robe". The basename for both of "a brass
ring" and "a ring of fire resistance" are "ring".
* qualname:
The name of the item without articles (a/an/the), quantities,
enchantments, or curse-status. The qualified names for the
robes described above are "robe", "embroidered robe" and "robe
of Ponies", respectively. The qualified names for the rings
described above are "brass ring" and "ring of fire
resistance", respectively.
* fullname:
This is the name of the item as displayed in menus (including
(quantities, curse-status, etc.)
* curse:
Curse-status of the item (if known). Uncursed items show up
first.
* equipped:
Equipped items show up first.
* art:
Identified artefacts show up first.
* ego:
Identified ego items show up first.
* glowing:
Unidentified glowing/shiny/runed/etc items show up first.
* identified:
Identified items show up before unidentified ones of the
same type. An item is regarded as identified once you know
its subtype or ego.
* qty:
The quantity for stackable items (such as scrolls, potions,
etc.)
* slot:
The inventory letter for items in inventory; irrelevant for
items on the floor.
* freshness:
The freshness of chunks of meat; irrelevant for everything
else. It makes the oldest chunks of meat show up first, with
rotting chunks listed last for non-Saprovores.
If this sort criteria is placed before (or in the absence of)
basename and qualname, then non-chunk food items will be
sorted between the non-rotting and rotting chunks.
* charged:
Makes wands known or assumed to have some charges left appear
before wands known to be empty; irrelevant for all other item
types.
You can ask for a descending order sort by prefixing one or more
sort criteria with > as:
sort_menus = true : basename, >qty
You can also request sorting only for specific menus:
sort_menus = pickup: true
or
sort_menus = inv: true
(Menu types must be specified as name:, with no space between
name and colon.)
By default only pickup menus are sorted, and the sort criteria are:
"equipped, basename, qualname, curse, qty".
All other menus (drop, inv) will be sorted by inventory letter.
The menu selectors available are:
pickup: All pickup menus, stash-search menus, etc. for items not
in your inventory.
drop: The item drop menu.
inv: Inventory listings for any command (but not for dropping
items).
any: All menus; this is the default when unspecified.
For example,
sort_menus = true : equipped, basename, qualname, curse, qty
will produce the same inventory and drop menus as by default,
with the exception that all worn/wielded items come first. This
can be convenient if you use the '.' command to select
subsequent items.
If you define sort_menus differently for two or more selectors,
the last one matching will always take precedence, i.e. "any"
as last setting would override any of the others.
4-j Messages and Display Enhancements.
------------------------------------------
hp_warning = 10
hp_warning gives "* * * LOW HITPOINT WARNING * * *" on the
danger channel when the player takes damage and their hitpoints
are less than this percentage of their maximum (use 0 to turn
off these messages).
mp_warning = 0
mp_warning gives "* * * LOW MAGIC WARNING * * *" on the danger
channel when the player's magic points drop below this
percentage of their maximum (use 0 to turn off these messages).
hp_colour = 50:yellow, 25:red
hp_colour colours your Health appropriately in the status
display. In the default setting, your health will appear in
red if at less than 25%, yellow if at less than 50%, and in
the default colour otherwise.
mp_colour = 50:yellow, 25:red
mp_colour does to Magic what hp_colour does to Health.
stat_colour = 1:lightred, 3:red
stat_colour colours your stats if they drop below a given value,
in the order of their definition. This check takes place before
the ones for e.g. Might or degeneration.
For normal grey colouring, set it to
stat_colour = 7
status_caption_colour = brown
Sets the colour that is used to display the captions in the status
area (for instance the "Health:" in "Health: 10/10").
delay_message_clear = false
Setting this option to true will delay the clearing of messages
until the message space is full (default is false which results
in clearing between player actions).
show_inventory_weights = false
When this is set to true, inventory listings will mention the
weight of each item.
Note: This option doesn't currently work for Tiles unless you use
tile_menu_icons = false.
show_gold_turns = false
If set to true, this option adds an extra line to the stat area
to display the current gold and turn counters.
show_beam = true
When performing actions such as throwing or zapping, you can
toggle whether to show the beam path or not. This option
controls the initial status of this toggle. When set to true,
the path will be shown. This is always true for the tile
version.
item_stack_summary_minimum = 5
If you step over a stack with this number or more of items in
it, the first description line will contain a summary of all the
items in the stack (up to 50 items), in a format which looks
like this:
Items here: !! """ % ( )))))) [[[
Known artefacts will be coloured in yellow; glowing or runed
items will be in white, unless you already know that they are
not ego items.
list_rotten = true
Setting this to true will print a list of inventory slots for
all corpses and chunks that have become rotten along with the
rotting message, in the form of
"You smell something rotten. (slots f and m)"
Additionally, this option will make a default message appear
for Trolls, as well.
mlist_min_height = 5
If there is extra space available for the message area and
monster list, the monster list will expand to this height
before letting the message area get more.
(Note that the monster list is only available for ASCII.)
msg_max_height = 10
If there is extra space available after the monster list has
expanded, the message area will expand up to this height.
The monster list will get the rest.
mlist_allow_alternate_layout = false
Display the monster list wherever Crawl may find space on
your console display, usually to the left of the map, rather
than using the fixed position below the stat area.
This option is not supported in the tiles build.
mlist_targetting = false
Using the monster list you can directly target monsters in
targetting mode. There's a toggle that allows you to turn this
feature on and off. This option controls the initial setting
at game start or reload.
classic_hud = false
Remove the Health and Magic bars and the monster list, for a
more 0.3-like HUD display.
menu_colour = <match>:<colour>:<regex>
This prints a line (of the inventory, a menu, or the discoveries
screen) containing regex in the stated colour. There can be
several statements in a list, and also several menu_colour
lines. When using several menu_colour lines, the colour of the
_first_ matching regex is applied. For a list of colours, check
the colour option in 6-a.
The match specifies which listings are affected by the
colouring. If you specify 'any', or completely skip the <match>:
part, then all listings are used. Possible values for match are:
ability (the A screen)
description (the \ screen)
equip (the [, (, ), " screens)
help (the manual)
inventory (inventory and pickup menus)
pickup (specific to pickup menus)
shop (shop menus)
notes (the ?: screen)
resists (the % screen)
spell (the Z and I screens)
stash (the results from Ctrl-F)
Crawl has a couple of prefixes defined to make inventory colouring
easier. These are, in order of definition:
identified (The item is fully identified.)
known (You recognize the item's subtype.)
unidentified (You don't recognize the item's subtype.)
The following only apply to items whose subtype is known.
evil_item (Your god would hate it if you used this item.)
emergency_item (This item is invaluable in emergencies.)
good_item (This item is generally a good item.)
dangerous_item (Using this item can be dangerous.)
bad_item (This item is generally a bad item.)
useless_item (This item is of no use to you.)
evil_eating (Eating this item is punished by the good gods.)
inedible (You cannot eat this, or get no nutrition from it.)
preferred (The food type your character prefers, for example
for herbivores/carnivores.)
poisonous (Chunks/corpses that are poisonous)
mutagenic (Chunks/corpses that are mutagenic)
contaminated (Chunks/corpses that may cause sickness, but
ignored for Kobolds, Ogres, Trolls, and Ghouls.)
rot-inducing (Chunks/corpses that cause rotting.)
equipped (Equipped items.)
artefact (For artefacts, whether identified or not.)
When looking for menu_colour matches, these prefixes are prepended to
the actual item name, e.g. in the form of
identified evil_item wand of draining (4)
unidentified equipped artefact sparkling ring (left hand)
The same prefixes can also be used for highlighting prompts pertaining
to items matching the description, or to define autopickup_exceptions.
If you want to colour all items that contain a certain prefix, use
menu_colour = lightgreen:poisonous
To colour worn stuff and highlight cursed items, take
menu_colour = inventory:lightred:equipped.* cursed
menu_colour = inventory:green:equipped
menu_colour = inventory:red: cursed
To colour identified artefacts, try
menu_colour = inventory:white:( [-+] the)
or
menu_colour = inventory:white:identified.*artefact
If you frequently die because you forget to use emergency items,
try
menu_colour = inventory:cyan:emergency_item
menu_colour = inventory:lightcyan:wand of (fire|cold|draining)
To quickly check what potions were trashed by a mummy curse, use
menu_colour = inventory:lightred:potions? of (degeneration|decay)
If you'd like to see rotting chunks and corpses at a glance, use
menu_colour = inventory:red: rotting
menu_colour can also be applied to colour the in-game notes (to
be read with '?:'). The following line will show level ups in
white:
menu_colour = notes:white:Reached XP level
menu_colour_prefix_class = true
Setting this option to true will prefix the string against which
menu_colour regexes are matched (not the string displayed) with
the item's object type: armour, weapon, wand, etc.
Note that the prefix is put before the the *entire* string which
is displayed, so if you're wielding a uncursed dagger which has
the 'a' slot, the string the regexes will match against is
"weapon a - an uncursed dagger (weapon)".
menu_colour_shops = true
If this option is set to true the shop menu will be coloured
according to the menu colours (using tags "shop" or "any");
otherwise the lines are coloured alternately white or lightgrey.
message_colour = <colour>:[<channel>:]<regex>
message_colour allows you to override colours for individual
messages. For instance, if you find the low hp warning to be
insufficiently attention grabbing, you could do something like
message_colour = yellow:LOW HITPOINT WARNING
You can also narrow the message match to a specific channel:
message_colour = lightred:god:xom
If you don't want to see a message at all, you can mute it:
message_colour = mute:You start resting
force_more_message = <list of regexes>
Any message that contains a regex specified here, will enforce a
-More- prompt, so it can be used to highlight really important
events.
The syntax is identical to that of travel_stop_message (4-g).
msg_condense_repeats = true
If the same message is repeated multiple times during the same
turn, then it will be output in a condensed format indicating
how many times it was repeated. If the same output (including the
counter) is repeated over several turns, the Show Previous Message
command (Ctrl-P) will likewise condense them into one. For example:
The killer bee misses you. (x5)
4-k Missiles.
-----------------
fire_items_start = a
Sets the first inventory item to consider when selecting
missiles to fire. The default is a.
fire_order = launcher, return
fire_order += javelin / dart / stone / rock / spear / net / handaxe / dagger
fire_order += inscribed
Controls the order of items autoselected for firing. Items
should be separated by commas and items that appear first get
higher priority. You can use multiple fire_order lines - all
lines but the first must use "fire_order +=".
Items in any position may be slash-separated to indicate that
these are of equal priority. If this is the case, the first item
in your inventory that fits one of these will be picked for
firing.
'launcher' refers to firing the appropriate missile for the
wielded weapon (i.e. crossbow, bow, sling, blowgun). You'll almost
certainly want it first, as it'll be ignored when you're not
wielding a ranged weapon. 'return' refers to (identified)
weapons of returning.
'inscribed' refers to any item with the "+f" inscription. See
the "Inscriptions" section of Crawl's manual for more information
about inscriptions.
(See also pickup_thrown in 4-a.)
4-l Message Channels.
-------------------------
Crawl communicates to the players with its message window. Every message
belongs to one of the so-called channels. The behaviour of each channel
can be changed with the option
channel.CHANNEL_NAME = (COLOUR | mute | default | on | off | plain)
CHANNEL_NAME can currently be one of these:
plain = regular text (and things "uncoloured")
prompt = input prompts to the player
god = messages from the gods
pray = standard praying messages (start/end of prayer)
duration = messages about character spells/effects wearing off
danger = serious threats to the characters existence
food = warnings about food
warning = various other warnings
recovery = recovery from disease/stat loss/poison conditions
talk = monsters talking
talk_visual = monster performing some action that the player sees
intrinsic_gain = level/stat/species power gains
mutation = gain/lose mutations
monster_spell = messages about monsters gesturing or casting spells
monster_enchant = messages pertaining to monster enchantments
friend_spell = as monster_spell, but only for friendly monsters
friend_enchant = as monster_enchant, but only for friendly monsters
monster_damage = messages telling how damaged a monster is
rotten_meat = messages about chunks/corpses becoming rotten
equipment = messages indicating worn/wielded equipment
floor = messages when looking at or walking over a floor
item
multiturn = indicates long actions (wearing armour, dissecting
etc.)
examine = messages from examining your surroundings
examine_filter = boring messages from examining your surroundings
diagnostics = debugging messages
error = error messages
tutorial = messages from the tutorial
The channel options are
mute = show no messages from channel (dangerous, be careful!)
default = turn channel on to it's default scheme
alternate = turn channel on to it's alternate "colourful" scheme
on = same as default
plain = make channel the same colour as the "plain" channel
(won't do anything silly like "mute" if plain == mute,
though)
off = same as plain
COLOUR can be any of the colours described in section 6-a (colours
option).
The only multi-colour channels currently are monster_damage and god. All
other channels are defaulted to on, except for multiturn, which defaults
to mute.
Note that the template init.txt sets
channel.multiturn = on
in order to help new players. You may want to comment out this option,
if you feel the messages are too verbose.
4-m Inscriptions.
---------------------
See the "Inscriptions" section of the crawl manual for more information
about inscriptions.
autoinscribe = <regex>:<inscription>
Any item whose description contains the regex will be
automatically inscribed (if autopickup is toggled on). For
example, marking all royal jellies and honeycombs eases the Hive
(if food is not in the autopickup option):
autoinscribe = royal jell:=g
autoinscribe = honeycomb:=g
Another use of autoinscription is making sure that you don't
lose charges of important wands accidentally, as in
autoinscribe = wand of healing:!z
autoinscribe_artefacts = true
Automatically inscribes identified artefacts with their properties.
4-n Macro related Options.
------------------------------
flush.failure = true
flush.command = false
flush.message = false
These are useful when using macros. Setting one of these
sub-options to true will cause the entire input buffer to be
dumped and thus effectively stop the macro. The sub-options
currently are
failure -- when spells/abilities get miscast
command -- whenever the game is about to get the next command
message -- whenever the game outputs a non-mute message
macro_meta_entry = true
macro_meta_entry lets you specify non-printable keycodes like
\{3} when creating a macro. For instance, if you want to keymap
0 to Escape, you'd use a target keycode of \{27}.
additional_macro_file = path/to/filename
Add an additional macro file to be loaded after macro.txt.
You can have multiple additional_macro_file lines.
bindkey = [^D] CMD_BUTCHER
Change which key invokes which command at a lower level of
operation than macros. Useful in that macros cannot (yet)
invoke each other, but a macro can invoke a command whose
key has changed.
The syntax is always the same: [key] command
First, in square brackets, list the key you want to use, with
^X meaning Ctrl-X. After that name the command to be bound to
that key. You can bind several commands to the same key, as long
as they take effect in different areas of the game, i.e. one
targetting command and one for the main game. Likewise, you can
bind the same command to different keys.
For a full list of possible commands, see keybind.txt.
4-o Tiles Options.
----------------------
In non-tile games the tile options are ignored.
tile_show_items = <glyphs>
This option controls the order of items in the tiles
inventory. By default, its value is "!?/%=([)x}+\".
Items with glyphs not in the list will be shown last.
tile_title_screen = true
When this is set to true, the graphical title screen will be
displayed.
tile_menu_icons = true
Causes inventory menus and a few other ones to include tiled icons
and the menus to be displayed in up to two columns to make up for
the reduction of space.
If you would rather have the plain menus set this option to false.
tile_player_col = white
tile_monster_col = red
tile_neutral_col = red
tile_friendly_col = lightred
tile_plant_col = darkgreen
tile_item_col = green
tile_unseen_col = black
tile_floor_col = lightgrey
tile_wall_col = darkgrey
tile_mapped_wall_col = blue
tile_door_col = brown
tile_downstairs_col = magenta
tile_upstairs_col = blue
tile_feature_col = cyan
tile_trap_col = yellow
tile_water_col = grey
tile_lava_col = grey
tile_excluded_col = darkcyan
tile_excl_centre_col = darkblue
tile_window_col = yellow
These options allow configuring the colours used for the minimap of
the dungeon level.
tile_player_col - colour of player position, as well as of
map centre during level map mode ('X')
tile_monster_col - colour of hostile monsters
tile_neutral_col - colour of neutral monsters
tile_friendly_col - colour of friendly monsters
tile_plant_col - colour of zero xp monsters (plant and fungus)
tile_item_col - colour of known or detected items
tile_unseen_col - colour of unseen areas (usually stone)
tile_wall_col - colour of any wall type
tile_mapped_wall_col - colour of walls detected via magic mapping
tile_door_col - colour of known doors, open or closed
tile_downstairs_col - colour of downstairs, including branch stairs
tile_upstairs_col - colour of upstairs, including branch stairs
tile_feature_col - colour of any non-stair feature
(altar, shop, portal, fountain, ...)
tile_trap_col - colour of known traps of any type
tile_water_col - colour of both shallow and deep water
tile_lava_col - colour of lava
tile_excluded_col - colour of squares excluded for autotravel
(will only override tile_floor_col colour)
tile_excl_centre_col - colour of exclusion centre (overrides
tile_floor_col and tile_item_col, only)
tile_window_col - colour of the rectangular view window
tile_update_rate = 1000
The number of milliseconds that tick by before the screen is redrawn
without any input. If game response is slow, try increasing this
number. If, on the other hand, response time is fine but it takes too
long for redrawings to happen, set it to a lower value.
tile_key_repeat_delay = 200
If you hold down a key, there's a delay until the pressed key will
take action. This option controls this delay, in milliseconds. If it
is set to 0 key presses will never repeat.
tile_tooltip_ms = 500
The number of milliseconds before a tooltip appears when hovering the
mouse over part of the screen. Setting this option to 0 will
deactivate the tooltips entirely.
tile_tag_pref = (none| named | enemy | tutorial )
This option defaults to "enemy" normally and "tutorial" in tutorial
modes. This setting determines which monsters receive text tag
none - turns off all tags.
named - shows names of all named monsters, ally or enemy
enemy - shows names of named enemy monsters
tutorial - shows names of all monsters not yet killed this game
and of named enemy monsters
Examples for named monsters are uniques and ghosts.
tile_window_width = 0
tile_window_height = 0
The width and height of the window, in pixels. If set to zero, it
will auto-size the window.
tile_map_pixels = 4
The number of pixels each minimap square should take up.
tile_full_screen = false
Setting this option to true will start Crawl in full screen mode.
tile_font_crt_file = VeraMono.ttf
tile_font_stat_file = VeraMono.ttf
tile_font_msg_file = VeraMono.ttf
tile_font_tip_file = VeraMono.ttf
tile_font_lbl_file = Vera.ttf
Fonts used in various sections of the screen. If you want to use
another font, you'll have to place the corresponding *.ttf file into
the dat/tiles/ folder.
Screen regions are as follows:
crt - non-map screens (menus, message history, etc.)
stat - stat area (hit points, AC, etc.)
msg - message area
tip - tooltips (mouseover information)
lbl - item/monster names in inventory/main map
tile_font_crt_size = 15
tile_font_stat_size = 16
tile_font_msg_size = 14
tile_font_tip_size = 15
tile_font_lbl_size = 14
Font size for the screen regions listed above.
5- Character Dump.
===================
5-a Items and Kills.
------------------------
The character dump or morgue files end with a list of all monsters that
perished while the character was active. By default, dead monsters are
grouped in three parts:
Vanquished Creatures -- monsters killed by the character
Collateral Kills -- kills of friendly monsters
Others -- all other casualties (e.g. traps, hostile
monsters)
kill_map = friend:you, other:you
will merge friendly and other kills into the main vanquished
creatures list. Note that the merging is only for display (the
game still maintains three separate lists internally) and that
kill places (see below) may be in the wrong order for merged
entries. The default is an empty list.
dump_kill_places = (none | all | single)
In the Vanquished Creatures list, this option controls how the
locations of each kill are displayed. Use 'none' to suppress
place display altogether, 'all' to display all known (up to 5)
kill places, anything else to the default of showing kill places
only for single kills
dump_item_origins = artefacts, rods
The game remembers where you find items. If you want this item
origin memory listed in your dumps, use this option to select
which items get annotated. Available selectors are:
artefacts, ego_arm, ego_weap, jewellery, runes,
rods, staves, books, all, none.
If you use multiple dump_item_origins lines, the last line takes
effect; all preceding lines are ignored.
If you don't want any items to be annotated, set
dump_item_origins to none, and set dump_item_origin_price to -1.
dump_item_origin_price = -1
Item origins are dumped if the price of the item is greater than
or equal to this amount. Set this to -1 to prevent selection by
price.
dump_message_count = 7
The number of last messages to be displayed in character dump
files.
dump_order = header,hiscore,stats,misc,notes,inventory,
dump_order += skills,spells,overview,mutations,messages,screenshot,
dump_order += monlist,kills
Controls the order of sections in the dump. You can use multiple
dump_order lines - all lines but the first must use
dump_order +=
Two optional dump sections are "turns_by_place" and
"kills_by_place", which add detailed statistics to where turns
were spent and monsters were killed. You can add them to your
dump as:
dump_order += turns_by_place, kills_by_place
Another optional dump section is "vaults", which will list the
locations and names of all the vaults that have been generated
in the game. This will only be included in the final dump
which happens when you die, quit or win (or in ordinary dumps
while in wizard mode).
dump_book_spells = true
By default all randart spellbooks in inventory will have all their
spells listed in the dump. If this option is set to true, spells will
also be dumped for non-randart spellbooks.
5-b Notes.
--------------
Crawl can automatically log certain events during play. You can read
these in the dump or morgue files. Below are options for tweaking this behaviour.
The following events are logged:
- Gaining or losing a level
- Entering a dungeon level for the first time
- Memorizing a spell of higher level than any learned before
- Becoming a worshipper of a god
- Abandoning a god
- Being put under penance and being forgiven
- Receiving a gift from a god (except Xom)
- Being able to invoke a godly power for the first time
- Picking up a rune, the Orb of Zot, or an artefact for the first time.
- Identifying items.
- Killing OOD or unique monsters (see below)
- Reaching critical HP levels (see below)
- Gaining or losing mutations
- Reaching significant levels in a skill (see below)
- Dying
You can use the command ':' for manually adding notes.
user_note_prefix = <string>
Prefixes manually added notes with the given string, to make
them easier to find.
note_items = <regexes>
When an item is identified for the first time, it will be
noted if its short description matches a regex. E.g.
note_items = rod,book,acquirement
Artefacts (fixed, unrand, or random) will always be noted when
identified, regardless of note_items.
The description matched against has the same prefixes as notes
for the menu_colour option (e.g., "emergency_item").
note_monsters = <regex list>
Monsters whose name matches an item in this comma-separated list
are considered interesting. You can have multiple note_monsters
lines. E.g.
note_monsters = Klown,orb of fire
ood_interesting = 8
Monsters which are out of depth (OOD for short) for their
current level, e.g. a dragon on level 2, will be noted if they
are out of depth by at least ood_interesting levels. To disable
OOD monster noting, set ood_interesting to 500.
Unique monsters are always noted, regardless of this setting.
OOD monsters are only noted in the main dungeon.
rare_interesting = 9
Monsters which are rare for the location they're in will be
noted. Increasing the number causes more common monsters to
be noted, while decreasing it causes only the most rare of
monsters to be noted; setting it to 0 will turn noting of rare
monsters off. Really wimpy monsters (such as rats or butterflies)
won't ever be noted.
note_hp_percent = 5
If your HP falls below a certain note_hp_percentage of your max
hit points, a note will be taken. There is some code to avoid
repetitions of notes based on the same incident.
note_skill_levels = 1,5,13,27
This sets which skill levels are noteworthy. You can have
multiple note_skill_levels lines. The default is nothing (no
notes.)
note_all_skill_levels = false
This is a shortcut for note_skill_levels = 1,2,..,27. If you set
this to true, all skill levels are considered noteworthy.
note_skill_max = true
Setting this option will cause a note whenever a new maximum in
skill levels is reached. If note_skill_max is true and
note_skill_levels is nonempty, notes will be taken whenever
either of the criteria are met.
note_all_spells = true
Will add a note for each spell memorised.
note_xom_effects = true
This will add a note whenever Xom does something.
note_messages = <regex list>
Messages which match an item in this comma-separated list are
considered interesting. You can have multiple note_messages
lines. E.g.
note_messages = Something interferes
note_messages = protects you from harm
If you want all banishments to the Abyss noted, use
note_messages = [bB]anish.*Abyss
If you want a note when your draconian scales turn <colour>, use
note_messages = Your scales start
6- Miscellaneous.
==================
6-a All OS.
---------------
mouse_input = false
When enabled, the mouse_input option allows the game to use
mouse input events on certain platforms (Windows and Unix).
Note that the extent of mouse support varies greatly across
platforms and is strongly influenced by your terminal settings.
On Unixes, you're only likely to get mouse support working with
ncurses in xterms (specifically your $TERM probably needs to
contain "xterm" for ncurses to activate its mouse events;
if you're running Crawl in GNU screen in an xterm, the mouse
will probably not work).
On Windows, you'll need to disable QuickEdit Mode on your
console for Crawl to use the mouse (QuickEdit is disabled by
default, so you shouldn't need to change anything if you're
using a stock console). You can disable QuickEdit by
right-clicking the titlebar of your command-prompt, selecting
Properties and disabling QuickEdit in the Options tab.
wiz_mode = (no | never | yes)
Wizard mode options (available only in WIZARD compiles):
yes -- start games in wizard mode (game will not be scored)
no -- still allows player to enter wizard mode after start
of game
never -- never allow a wizard command to be used
char_set = (ascii | ibm | dec | unicode)
Chooses different character sets for the game play screen. DOS
and Windows users will want to use the IBM character set, Unix
users will prefer DEC or plain ASCII.
On Unix, Crawl may be built with Unicode support, in which case
you can use char_set = unicode to use unicode characters in the
map display.
classic_item_colours = false
Crawl uses 4.0 b26/0.1.x-like item colours if
classic_item_colours is set to true. The default (false) is to
use the new 0.2 item colours.
This option will not affect the colour of existing items, only
items generated after the option is set.
colour.OLDCOLOUR = NEWCOLOUR
Useful for terminals where some colours are hard to read (and
cannot be adjusted), as well as for creating a custom scheme,
especially when used with the background option on a terminal
with a non-black background.
Format is colour.OLDCOLOUR = NEWCOLOUR, later rules take
precedence and the NEWCOLOUR is always literal (ie. it won't
re-evaluate to a different colour).
The colours are:
black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, brown, lightgrey,
darkgrey, lightblue, lightgreen, lightcyan, lightred,
lightmagenta, yellow, white
with lightgray = lightgrey, darkgray = darkgrey. Some examples:
colour.lightgrey = black
colour.lightcyan = cyan
colour.yellow = brown
cset_ascii, cset_ibm, cset_dec, cset_unicode, cset_any
Can be used to change individual characters in a specific
character set (the character set used for display is determined
by the char_set option). The syntax is the same for all of
these; cset_any changes characters in all character sets.
cset_XXX = <dungeon_character_name : symbol>
a list of these is allowed, as well.
The possible entries for dungeon_character_name are:
wall, wall_magic, floor, floor_magic, door_open, door_closed,
trap, stairs_down, stairs_up, altar, arch, fountain, wavy,
statue, invis_exposed, item_detected, item_orb, item_weapon,
item_armour, item_wand, item_food, item_scroll, item_ring,
item_potion, item_missile, item_book, item_stave,
item_miscellany, item_corpse, item_gold, item_amulet, cloud
Most of these are self-explanatory. "arch" is used for shops and
portals. "floor_magic" and "wall_magic" are used to display
magic-mapped squares on the level map. "invis_exposed" is the
character for water creatures submerged in shallow water, or
invisible creatures wading in shallow water.
Symbols can be specified using a letter, or by a number (decimal
code), or a hexadecimal number (prefixed with x):
For an example on IBM displays,
cset_ibm = wall:219, arch:0, wavy:x7E
shows walls as solid blocks, shops and portals as '0', and water
as '~'.
feature = <regex> { <symbol>, <magicmap symbol>, <view colour>,
<levelmap_magic_colour>, <levelmap_seen_colour>,
<emphasised_colour>, <levelmap_emphasised_colour> }
where <regex> is a regular expression describing a dungeon
feature. This regex should match the description when using the
'x' command. In case the regex matches several descriptions, all
such features are affected.
The list in {...} specifies the appearance of the dungeon
feature(s), and should be self-explanatory. <symbol> can be used
to override the above cset options, or also to distinguish among
subtypes of a character.
'magic' always refers to magic mapping. So the <magicmap symbol>
entry determines what symbol will be used for features only
detected via magic mapping.
'emphasised_colour' refers to the colour used to highlight
unvisited stone stairs; for non-stair features, setting emphasis
colours does nothing useful.
Leading parameters in the {...} list can be omitted by leaving
them blank and using placeholder commas. Trailing parameters can
be omitted without placeholder commas.
Multiple feature option lines can be used, as can multiple
feature descriptions strung together on the same line separated
by semicolons.
Examples:
* Colour rock walls red:
feature = rock wall { , , red }
* Use # for metal walls in all character sets:
feature = metal wall {#}
Symbols can be specified as with cset:
feature = metal wall {#}
feature = metal wall {35}
feature = metal wall {x23}
all do the same thing.
mon_glyph = <monster name or symbol> : <colour> <glyph>
The mon_glyph option allows you to customise the symbol and
colour used to display a monster.
You can customise symbols based on monster names or their
existing symbols. For instance, if you want to put elves on E
and efreeti on e, you can do this:
mon_glyph = e : E
mon_glyph = E : e
If you want to change the symbol for a monster that uses a space
as a symbol, specify an underscore on the left:
mon_glyph = _ : #
(That changes shades to use #.)
You can specify a different symbol, or a colour, or both, in any
order. Here are more examples:
mon_glyph = deep elf annihilator : E lightmagenta
mon_glyph = Xtahua : lightmagenta D
mon_glyph = large zombie : darkgrey
mon_glyph = small simulacrum : x
(The left hand side of the : is case-sensitive.)
You can specify symbols using their code points using the syntax
as shown in the "feature" option. If you're using
char_set=unicode, you can use unicode code points:
mon_glyph = draconian scorcher : x6e9
A single _ is treated as a space; if you want a real underscore,
put a \ in front of it like this:
mon_glyph = player ghost : \_
pizza = <topping name>
The player's choice of pizza topping.
6-b DOS and Windows.
------------------------
dos_use_background_intensity = false
On DOS and Windows, if you're using a console that can do
high-intensity background colours, set this option to true for
superior friend-branding. If your console doesn't like this
option, some friendly monsters will appear as blinking
characters (and setting this option to false may be advisable to
preserve your sanity in such cases).
6-c Unix.
-------------
background = black
Sets the default background colour by name (defaults to BLACK).
This may be useful if you're using a terminal with a background
colour other than black (such as an xterm), but this option is
still experimental and the results may not be very good.
use_fake_cursor = true
If true, Crawl draws the cursor explicitly on the level-map and
targeting screens instead of relying on the term to draw the
cursor. Use this if your term cannot show a cursor over
darkgrey/black squares.
On non-Unix builds this option defaults to false.
7- Inline Lua.
===============
7-a Executing lua.
----------------------
Lua code can be used directly in your init.txt/.crawlrc. You can
execute Lua code using the following syntax.
: Single line of lua code
< Possibly multi-line
Lua code >
{ Possibly multi-line
Lua code }
In the second and third cases, the restriction is that the delimiter
characters appear at the beginning and end of a line, respectively.
The difference between the <> and {} is when the code gets executed.
Code {}, it is executed right away. Other Lua code is executed only
after the entire init file is read in.
Examples:
# Print a welcome message
: crawl.mpr("Hello " .. you.name())
<
-- Another welcome message (lua code uses lua comments)
crawl.mpr("Hi there")
>
{
function ch_autopickup(it) [ ... body omitted ... ] end
}
7-b Conditional options.
----------------------------
You can use Lua to selectively include parts of your init.txt (based
on character type, for instance) using the same syntax.
Example:
: if you.race() == "Mummy" then
autopickup = $?+"/
: else
autopickup = $?+"/!%
: end
Options can be rerefenced by lua via "options.option_name". For
example:
:if string.find(options.autopickup, "!") then
# Do something here if potions are included in autopickup
:end
"options.option_name" can even be used for options that crawl itself
doesn't recognize. This can be combined with setting options on the
command line (see section 0-b) to use the command line to control
conditionalization of options in the options files. For example, on the
command line you could set the option "foobar" with "-extra-opt-first
foobar=true", and then do:
:if options.foobar then
# Do things here
:end
7-c Conditional option caveats.
-----------------------------------
Note that none of the options listed under "Starting Screen" (section 1)
can be set conditionally. This is because the options files are
actually read in twice: once before character creation with Lua turned
off, and a second time after character creation with Lua turned on. If
you attempt to set a starting-screen option conditionally then the value
furthest down in the options file will be used regardless of what
conditions you set.
The above caveat applies to the "wiz_mode" option as well. Instead of
conditionalized wiz_mode, you can add to the command line
"-extra-opt-last wiz_mode=yes" to make any new game start in wizard
mode.