Well, it’s been so long since I last wrote anything about Angband that we have a LOT of new things to discuss!
First off, Angband went from 3.4.0 to 3.4.1 (bugfix release), and is now 3.5.0! (As of December 2013). There are too many changes to get into and the best I can do is provide the link to the main website again. There you will find the downloads for Windows, OS X, and Android, and the source code for Linux (speaking of, when will the folks who maintain the Debian repository edition of Angband update the version from 3.3.2 to 3.4.1 ?)
Also there is a list of changes for the new version, as well as the mostly updated player’s guide and manual. Nick McConnell has become the new maintainer for Angband. He also is the creator of FAAngband.
Several variants of Angband have also been recently updated! This is great news, it means that the *band community is still healthy and interested in their games.
Sil is now 1.2.1. This is becoming the best known and most recommended variant of Angband. Instead of a 100 floor slog, often facing somewhat generic monsters, you have 20 floors to get through, and you don’t kill Morgoth, you must steal one of the 3 Silmarils from his crown. The entire game is strictly “First Age” Tolkien, and offers various difficulty levels (justified ingame by letting you choose your race – elves are much easier than dwarves or humans (Numenorians I assume).)
You can get a copy of Sil at this website, along with the manual, source code, older versions, and the change list.
The following are variants that have been updated within the last 5 years (with one exception). This is not a complete list, but does comprise the games that seem the most interesting to me personally. The entire list is found here, at the official Angband forums.
Chengband (October 2012)
DaJAngband (November 2012)
FAangband (November 2013)
FayAngband (October 2011)
Gumband (January 2010)
Halls of Mist (January 2013)
Ironband (November 2012)
NPPAngband (March 2013)
PosChengband (April 2013)
Quickband (December 2012)
Sangband (October 2010)
Steamband (December 2007 )
UnAngband (September 2011)
Z+Angband (December 2010)
….and those are less than half the variants listed at the official Angband forums! My original plan with this blog was to discuss every one of the above games. Hopefully I can get to more than a few of them during the next year.
One Day, I Will Ascend 