Immortals, try not to take this personally :)

[Tor]

In a previous forum thread on this subject, Restring of statted Equip, from back in May;

The reason why is because restring just changes the way that one item that YOU carry looks (I don't know how it's coded to do it, my brain doesn't comprehend it) while keeping the same vnum.  A perz is actually a whole new vnum.  Which is why we can't reload restrings - that item is gone - while we can perz's.

I don't know if this helps any.

[Xeriuth]

I'm not certain if imm commands can be used in scripts but, the command to restring an item is this... string object short <what you want it to look like>

So to restring your Achilles heel  you'd type string object heel some old worn out running shoes

This would make your Achilles heel look like some old worn out running shoes.

Again, not certain or how this command can be used in scripts but I actually have an idea...
Maybe have a mob. Mob is set to imm level to do restrings does string command and then returns to normal level? I'll play with it after my test tomorrow. Back to studying..

[Once]

Making a player driven restring command from a technical perspective isn't really challenging. This is more a cultural/political challenge. Do we want players to have the ability to make their own restrings?  Or, do we want imms to focus as a sort of "Content Police" and maintain a certain level of standards to restrings whether it be for vulgarity, or colors, etc?

One method I've used in the past to handle colors was making each use of a color code increase the cost a certain amount to a point where something horridly ugly would cost a pretty penny. We could also remove colors from restring altogether. But if someone wants to make the dildo of power, should they be allowed to?

[Jaros]

Please.  Immortal supervision has never stopped eye-raping perzes in the past.

Dildo of Power?  If that's really what someone wants then who really cares?  Has anyone been to Mother Goose recently?

The notion that we should somehow be censoring things to try to protect 4D's cute little PG image is a joke.  Just don't look at people if you don't like it.

I wouldn't like 4D turning into something that looks as a DragonballZ mud.

Hey!  You leave DBZ out of this.

[Riley]

The notion that we should somehow be censoring things to try to protect 4D's cute little PG image is a joke.  Just don't look at people if you don't like it.

From the MOTD:

"DISCLAIMER: Some of the zones in this mud contain certain things that can be described as 'adult', and the language on the open channels is sometimes a bit free too.  So if you are very young, very sensitive or very prudish; maybe you should find yourself another mud to play? :-)"

So I don't think 4d ever was rated PG... maybe R... but not XXX.  So yeah..

[Kvetch]

Ok, I'm going to try to put in my 2 cents, seeing as I"m the one that tends to deal with restrings (at least it feels that way to me, maybe someone else does them when I'm not looking).  I'm all for players being able to restring their own items, but I also wouldn't mind it printing to a file like the bug and typo files.  That way someone (more than likely me) could look up what restrings had been done and if one isn't "kosher" to be running around 4D, I could 1) find the item and destroy it (yep, without any notice - though I do tend to leave notes when I do things like that), 2) hunt down the player and make them give it up (and explain why).  Though, quite often a promise to not have said item anywhere other than a player's house or personal area could be enough to keep it in (though if it's ever found outside of said place, it becomes fair game).

Tradepoints (not sure if this is the same thread or not, but here it is): Why not let players trade them like gold?  We're basically using them as another currency, like gold, and tokens, both of which can be traded.

Houses (pretty sure this isn't the same thread, but here it is): I would love to be able to have players build their own house and then pay to build "furniture" for the house if they choose to have it.  If there was any way to make it so players could access the ability to build: furniture (for things to sit on) or trash (for anything else), I would have no problem letting them pay X tokens for each room and then X gold to furnish it.  Of course, unless every room was crashproof, the items would still have to be zedited in so it'd load in said room.

Kvetch

[Asmodeus]

If people are worried about abuse. Then simply can add a lock to it, a way for hero's or imms to blacklist people who abuse the machine.

We still have heros?  Why?

[Asmodeus]

On another note, I like the restring machine.  Then i won't have to change my shoelaces myself...

[Molly]

The notion that we should somehow be censoring things to try to protect 4D's cute little PG image is a joke.  Just don't look at people if you don't like it.

So if someone ran around with an object called 'Jaros' minute dick' around their neck, that wouldn't bother you at all?

Well, it would bother me. Because sooner or later someone would make an object with the name of someone who WOULD be bothered. And then that other person would run to me to whine about it.

Believe me, that's how it works.

[Jaros]

I would inform them that the possessive apostrophe still requires an 's' after it unless the possessor is a plural.  Believe me, I've made the same mistake.

[Jaros]

I'd just like to reiterate the original point of this post, which was that in general, PEOPLE REALLY LIKE CUSTOMIZING THINGS.

Why do people perz things?

Why do people build unnecessarily large houses?

Why do people invest months, sometimes years into building huge and complex zones?

Because people like expressing themselves and leaving a mark on the world, even if it's just the 4D world.  That's also why people care about the Hall of Fame statues.

The easier we can make it for people to create things the more popular this game will be.  It already has an advantage in that it's text-based, so basically if you can read and write you already have the skills to make anything you want.

I'm not saying we should compromise all our beautifully built zones, but we can do other things.

[Calypso]

This would give the players the ability to restring any item, even non perzables, and have a completely unique set of eq to fit their RP. Don't have to see every melee person out there with an Achilles' Heel anymore because it's non perzable. You see them with socks, or shoes, or boots, or mittens on their feet.

aww.. I kind of like seeing male casters out there wearing dresses and belly chains and false eyelashes. Kind of adds a sense of diversity to the game. ;-)

[Kvetch]

Can I also mention that one of the hazards of restringing (at least as an IMM) is the "ability" to restring things you don't WANT to restring.  Just ask Asmodeus, I owe him a restring of a held item.  Heck if I know what it was because by the time I was done, it wasn't what it was but what I'd been trying to make.  Usually I catch myself earlier than that and am able to restring the old item back to what it was - or at least very close to what it was.  Loria's held boquet at her wedding - compliments of Asmodeus... *hehe*  It would be nice that if players got this option to do it themselves that there be a safety put in place so this didn't happen.

[Calypso]

On another note, I like the restring machine.  Then i won't have to change my shoelaces myself...

*facepalm*

[Calypso]

So if someone ran around with an object called 'Jaros' minute dick' around their neck, that wouldn't bother you at all?

Well, it would bother me. Because sooner or later someone would make an object with the name of someone who WOULD be bothered. And then that other person would run to me to whine about it.

Believe me, that's how it works.

Just deal with it the same way you deal with player names. Those don't have to wait for Imm approval.