Messages

61

News & Announcements / Re: Throw a pie, get a token!

« on: July 06, 2013, 05:55:48 am »

I bet you'd slay them, Kvetch, if you had the chance.
And Prom would burn them to a crisp.

Personally I'd just look really cool, wipe the pie off my face and say, 'hmmm, I prefer lemon meringue.'

62

Building Board / Exotic mobs cannot put stuff in containers!

« on: June 12, 2013, 10:22:02 am »

Here's something weird, that I just noticed. Thought I'd share it, while I remember.

I've made a script that makes a mob randomly go around to a number of different rooms, and put an object in a container in one of them.

That is, that's what the script was supposed to do, only the mob just dropped the object on the floor instead.
I couldn't figure out what was causing it, until I noticed that I had used a small android for the task, and it had the race set as exotic. I changed the race to humanoid, and then the script worked fine.

I guess exotic mobs have no arms and hands?
Actually I don't understand why the code is set this way, but maybe there is a deeper meaning behind it, that some of our coders could explain to me?

Does it have to do with the famous snakes with arms and legs that irritated me so much in the past?

63

Scripting Board / Re: Object Script syntax for object entering rooms

« on: June 06, 2013, 02:26:08 am »

I like the idea, but given the number of rooms we already have in the mud, it would be a next to impossible task to add it to all those.
Also the script would be so long and hard to overlook that it really isn't feasible.

Now if the script was set on an object, let's say a Room Counter Gadget, we could make a gadget like that for each zone that we want to add the room counter feature to.  (Or maybe we could set the script to the zone's  Questcard, almost every zone has that).

Once we have a working script, it could easily be copied to new vnums.

This would be a feasible way to add it to one zone at the time.
It would be up to the Builder to provide a list of which rooms in their zone that are:
1. accessible
2. unaccessible for mortals
3. unused.

One problem, that Erwin pointed out, is that at present there is no ENTER flag for objects. We need one to be added to the DG-script code, which means a Coder effort.


Also we need to make sure that this ENTER flag works both if the player walks into the room or is teleported there.

That said, I really like the idea, it could be very useful, especially for zones with mazes and hidden parts. Not all zones would need a room counter.

64

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Easy for the newbs, and to get newbies to stay.

« on: March 23, 2013, 02:23:13 am »

Lionheart has some good ideas about improving Mud School with a 'Bragging Base", where we can display some of our unique features for the newcomers.

If any of you come to think about cool features that we have and most other Muds don't, please post suggestions here, so we can add them to that room. They have to be reasonably unique, however.

Already mentioned are: Orcrist, Golems, Gladiators, Woodsing trees, Artisave Rooms.

65

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Easy for the newbs, and to get newbies to stay.

« on: March 14, 2013, 10:31:30 am »

As for the main topic of the thread, I'm all for making life easier for newbies.
It's a good idea, so I think we should go for it!
Perhaps not "massive insane", but some sort of substantial exp bonus.

66

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Easy for the newbs, and to get newbies to stay.

« on: March 14, 2013, 07:19:32 am »

What would help even more would be, if our players tried to be a bit cautious about what they say on open channels, and didn't treat newcomers and returning oldbies like shit. We give you a lot of space when it comes to free speech, but in return we also expect some responsibility. Most of you aren't kids any more.

Honestly, I would have thought some of our long time players would be more mature by now, and think a bit more about what is generally good for the Mud, than on their own "fun".

But some of the things I've see happening lately on 4D have made me really disappointed.

An empty Mud is definitely not fun for anyone, but that's where we risk ending up, if certain players don't change their attitude.

67

General Discussions / Re: Bobas

« on: February 20, 2013, 02:35:16 pm »

Whatever name you choose for the Bobas, I'd like the 3 categories to reflect:
1. Strongest and most honourable player (i.e The White Flame)
2. Most knowledgeable about the game, best Questor (i.e The Sage)
3. Most helpful, kind, entertaining, popular etc. player (i.e the Alabastor + the Bleeding Heart + the White Heart)

As much as I'd like to see a category for  new players, I think it's too hard to define the basis for it.
For instance.
- When does a player stop being a newbie and start being a seasoned player. A year is a long time in a Mud?
- Who can tell for sure if a newbie is really a newbie, or an alt of some oldbie, just using a different isp?
- A new player who advanced on their own is in my eyes worth more than one that received a lot of help and powerlevelling. But who can keep track?
- And finally - do we even get enough new players that stay on long enough to provide enough choices?

Perhaps there could be another way to encourage competition between new players?
For instance a regular global quests, based on already existing quests and/or scavenger hunts. restricted to Seekers that are not oldbie alts.
Some of the Clans run quests like this to encourage their members to explore and decide who is worthy to advance in the ranks.
The Seekers Clan could do something similar.

68

General Discussions / Re: Bobas

« on: February 20, 2013, 01:56:38 am »

"imporoved " ?
Are there really typos like that in the Bobas? 

On a more serious note - absolutely max 3.

69

General Discussions / Re: Bobas

« on: February 17, 2013, 10:59:31 am »

The problem is, that the Bobas were a Hero run feature.
And since we have very few active heros left, and are not planning to make any new ones, we need to figure out another group of people to handle this.

This is definitely a feature that should be run by players, not imms.
Perhaps the Clan Leaders could work together on it?

Another problem is that we need a minimum player base for it to be worth the effort, since it does involve some builder work too. The last few years there just hasn't been enough players around, since almost every active player would have gotten a Boba, if we'd tried.

However, if we still have a decent player base come autumn, I'm not against resurrection, as long as nobidy expects ME to run it.

70

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Blue Band of Victory (BBV)

« on: February 09, 2013, 03:05:39 pm »

If I wanted the BBV without fighting for it, I would just challenge the person when I know they are busy or away. If they are gone long enough, I get the BBV. If they are here, well alright I fight and lose. No skin off my back. That is why I think if the wearer refuses the challenges or fails to accept the challenge, the BBV should just auto load to some specific place, like the Excalibur.

Hmm - didn't think about that.
However, let's say ot loads on some altar somewhere, where anyone can get it.

What's to stop this dishonourable challenger from just running there and get it as soon as it is forfeited?
He might have to race some others for it, but since he's prepared, he'd stand a much larger chance of beating them to it. Hell - he could even be standing beside the altar, when he makes his challenge.

We've got to figure out some better way och dealing with the AFK prblem.
Suggestions anyone?

71

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Blue Band of Victory (BBV)

« on: February 09, 2013, 03:32:57 am »

Good discussion, with good points from several participants.
And thanks for summing it up, Xeriuth! 
Here are my own opinions on the BBV.

Things that need to be addressed:
1. Would changes to the BBV make it more desirable?

Definitely - but let's not go overboard. Whoever has the BBV is already "The strongest Player". Making it considerably better than all other equipment would be an advantage that he/she doesn't really need, and also making it harder for the BBV to change owner.

2. Should it be PK only?

I think it should, since it is a PvP object.
One possible idea could be to autoset both wearer and challenger as PK. As long as the challenge is valid or you are the BBV champion, you stay PK. After that you can pay to have the flag removed, if you wish.

3. What wear slots should the new items be? Stay Arm for melee? Should casters get a focus?

Making a separate item for Casters is a good idea, we can use my grizzled fur script for it.
Stay Arm for melee.
If there is a combination of stats that could make it equally good for a casters, I think it would be better to keep the same wear_loc for both.
Wouldn't "the best focus in the game" be worth a lot more than "the best arm item in the game"?
But if a focus can be balanced against an arm item, by all means let them get a focus.
But call it The Blue Bolt of Victory, so both items get the same abbreviation.

What should the stats be?
Don't go overboard on this (See point 1)
Slightly better than the best existing item for the same slot should be enough. The Prestige of having the BBV should do the rest.

4. Should the items increase stats upon kill milestones?

I don't think this is a good idea. We already have two levelling item - the Orcrist and the Golems, - and the scripts for those are very complex, and it would be hard to put in enough checks to stop all potential abuse.  (Also, see point 1 about not going overboard and point 7 about abuse).
The BBV is a unique item, that only one player gets. Let's keep that in mind.

5.  Should the BBV have a timer applied to it, that resets upon relog?

It definitely should, to avoid the situation when a bearer leaves for good, or stays away for a long time for IC reasons.
The Timer should be pretty long though, I think 3 days, allowing someone to go away for the weekend, without losing the BBV.
On the other hand, it should only reset on relog if the bearer stays logged in for at least half an hour. (To give other players a decent chance to challenge, and avoid a pattern of login/out once a day, just to keep the item.

If timer expires offline, the BBV should load in the BBV load room.  If so, what should the timer be?
or  Should the BBV poof upon logout/idle and reset in BBV load room
I think it's better if the BBV just resets on the bearer on log-in. Why complicate things unnecessarily?

6.  Should auto-challenges be allowed?

I think so, to avoid a person hiding out in their Clanhall to avoid challenges.

If so,
Should it change owners upon death?
Only if death occurs on a battle over the BBV, not if the bearer happens to die from a mob or other player during the challenge.

Should challenges have to be done in person? Or can they be done from a BBV Champions Altar (BBV load room)?
How long should the duration of the challenge last before expiring? And if denied, or the challenge expires, should it change owners at that time?
I think challenges should always trigger a message on a global channel that cannot be toggled off, so that everyone logged on can see them, not just the BBV-bearer and the ones in the same room. The message could be the one in the challenge social, only global. This part might need some coding, perhaps a dedicated global channel.

There should be a reasonably long timer, to give the bearer a chance to see it and respond. Perhaps 5-10 minutes?
Since a player might miss the challenge due to fight spam, it should then be auto-repeated over the global channel every 30 seconds until it's accepted, refused, or the timer runs out.

There should again be a reasonably long duration time after the challenge is accepted, to give the bearer time to finish what they are doing and equip properly, another 5-10  minutes maybe.

If there is no response, or the challenge is refused the band should autochange to the challenger.
It should however perhaps not be allowed to challenge a player who has the afk flag set.

How often can one challenge?
Not too often, that would be extremely irritating for the bearer.
There should be at least one days delay between challenges, perhaps more.

Should BBV get it's own BBV Arena?
I don't really see the reason for that.
But if someone else but me is willing to put in the work of doing one, by all means let them.
On a side note, I think Kvetch made some arenas for Horus that were never put in action for some reason. Perhaps we can use those.
    

7. For open world PK...

Should it change owners upon death?
It should - but no autoforce to wear.

Can a BBV holder be double-teamed? If so, how would you decide the next wearer? Or should it be a legit 1v1 fight?

Definitely no double-teaming allowed in a challenged BBV fight, that would be extremely unfair.
Even the attempt to do so, should be punished, if possible. Perhaps by autokilling whoever tries to jump in.
This might be one reason to have a separate Arena, if it cannot be controlled in any other way.

If it is normal PK, and not a challenged fight, a BBV-holder should have to take their chances like any other PK, i.e. they can be ambushed, double-teamed etc, but they keep the BBV if killed.

Should the BBV be lootable?
Definitely not. Nobody should be able to get the BBV without a proper challenge.

Should either of the players corpse(s) be lootable when the BBV is involved?
If so, should there be limitations on the amount of items take-able, or make the exp on their bbv exp reset as punishment. (assuming the exp doesn't reset by default on bbv loss)
I think it would be better to keep the BBV fights strictly to the BBV. So in a challenge fight the BBV changes hands automately, and no other looting is allowed.

Should repeat kills be allowed or have diminishing returns be scripted in. So upon a rekill of your friend the next reward is less.
Also, how far back should it go. Example: a clan of 3 PK'rs could hook each other up and kill the other two members over and over and back forth to get full return without having killed the same repeatedly.
See, this is the main reason why I don't think the BBV should evolve at all. Experience tells us that if a feature can be abused, it will be, sooner or later. The above are two example of how it could be abused. I'm sure our inventive players can think of more.
See also point 1 and 4 above.

8. Should the BBV be forced to wear upon changing of owners? And forced to wear always?
If not, suggestions for how someone can always know who has the BBV, if it changes hands often, you might not as easily know the current owner of it.
Perhaps have the champion altar display or prompt who the current owner is?

Definitely no force wear.
There might be several reasons why a player would choose something else for the wear slot.

I think the WHO list should display who the current BBV holder is. Both for prestige and info reasons, this would be a good thing.
 

9. After all these changes would you participate more actively in obtaining the BBV?

I'll take the 5th amendment on this.
  

Also, keep in mind through this discussion, due to the lack of active coders much of this would need to be scripted. Not everything can be accomplished via scripts, that's why work-arounds would need to be provided and included behind the thought-process.
Example: We could have the current PK Champion be the BBV holder, but that would need to be coded.

Agreed.
I think it would be best to get as much as possible coded.
At least the challenge, and how it affects the BBV-holder and the BBV itself would need to be coded, especially if we use a separate global channel for it.

It would also be nice to see the present BBV holder on the WHO list, this needs coding too.

Hopefully none of this would be overly hard or time consuming for a coder to do, you just need to drag them out of their cozy nest..

72

Building Board / Re: Something NEW in building

« on: January 26, 2013, 04:43:59 pm »

I really wish the coders would consult with us Builders before changing or taking out things that could affect the zones.

In this case the feature hadn't been used yet, so it's no carastrophy, but what if it had been and a quest would have been ruined?

Like Kvetch I had plans to test it in the Utopia zone that I am currently working on, so it was a bit of a disappointment that it seems to have gone poof.

It seemed like a nice enough feature, so why on earth was it removed?

73

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Pre title and log messages

« on: November 15, 2012, 03:18:32 am »

We'd really like to see some more RP in 4D, it's a pity that nobody seems to care much about it any more.

I am sure that Kvetch would take RP logs too.

You could also post them on the Forum. There is a special Forum for Roleplayers, and reading some logs there might inspire others..

Perhaps Bane is right that the awards should best come from imms to avoid favoritism. But having mortal Roleplay leaders is also a way to inspire players who want more responsibilities, and most roleplaying is probably done one-on-one, without any imms present.

The best way for a player, who wants to become RPL, would be to think out a good RP event, and then run it with some imm support. We always try to support initiative from players, with whatever is required to make it work.

Currently I am working on finishing Snowbird's old zone Utopia, and we could have a RP event when it is opened. This will however not be for another couple of months, since it is a big zone and needs a lot of work.

Any ideas about other ways in which we could promote roleplaying in 4D?

74

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Pre title and log messages

« on: November 12, 2012, 01:56:50 am »

Can we discuss the possibility of bringing roleplay back to 4D? 

75

Suggestions & Ideas / Re: Please fix this...#2

« on: October 08, 2012, 01:43:58 am »

Just in case it is not clear, the two lines I highlighted is the item loading a second copy of itself, then purging itself.  I mean.. why?  Maybe I'm just dense and not seeing the point, but that seems entirely unnecessary to me.  Maybe just change the output to floating around uselessly, and skip the purge and load?

There are three different return items, one for dry land sectors, one for water sectors and one for space/air sectors, which is the main reason for the wand not working in space, but obviously I made a mistake with loading and purging a second copy.
Thanks for fixing it.

Perhaps you should also take a look at the hunting facon from Avalon, the scripts on that were set up in a similar way, and I think there may be similar bugs on them. The vnums of these scripts are 3929-3932.