[MUD-Dev] Re: Introductions and descriptions

[Richard Woolcock]

Derrick Jones wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 26 Nov 1997, Adam Wiggins wrote:[snip]
> > Better yet, use seeded randoms.  Thus it's still a roll, it's just always
> > the same for a given object.[snip]
> Or if you simply determine the rand() call from PC and object stats
> (idnums) then you've picked which objects the player can and cannot
> identify from the point of creation.  Then the characters true probability
> of success for a given event is predetermined to be either 1 or 0.  Then
> you'll have PC's saying  "Sorry guys, I can't sneak in this room...meet me
> two rooms west...I always sneak there.".

The probability could be predetermined within any range.  Thus it would be 
a case of Bob not recognising Skull-Cap Toadstools until he has (for
example) 92% Survival, whilst Joe would recognise the same Toadstool at,
say, 19% Survival.  Certainly for many skills - like sneak - it wouldn't
be very good, but for some skills it could prove very interesting.  When
Bob learned his 92% Survival, he may not have spent much time on fungi and
such, whilst Death-Cap Toadstools may have been one of the first things
Joe learned about.  In this case, a skill range % simply represents how 
much you know about survival, not which particular aspects of survival.

> I don't like 'skill spamming' either, but simply giving characters a 0% or
> 100% success rate can't be the answer.  Perhaps not letting characters
> re-attempt a failure for a given amount of time.  For example, if Boffo
> fails to identify the mushroom, add the mushroom identification to a list
> of recent failed skill attempts, and each time Boffo attempts a skill,
> loop through this list to see if the skill has been failed recently.  If
> the failure is listed, simply assign a 0% chance of success.

It would be far easier, better, and less memory intensive just to use object
recognition: You either recognise it or you don't - if not, you can learn
about it.

> So if Boffo walks back and forth passing the mushroom repeatedly, then she
> won't 'suddenly' recognize the item.  If she passes another a week later,
> however, she has a normal chance of identifying it (looking at mushroom
> with a clear mind/different lighting/whatever).  The problem occurs when a

What if she spends a week walking back and forth?

> character does recognize the mushroom.  Should we just rely on the player
> to remember that the mushroom they saw in the forest is poisonous?  Or is
> this a place where I should 'bite the bullet' when it comes to memory and
> keep a table of recognized items?  I like to think(from personal
> experience as a player) that the player can remember that the 'strange
> mushroom growing on the forest floor' is really the 'deadly viper
> toadstool' if they are showed both strings at some point...

Better yet, if you use the recognition system:

There is a mushroom growing on the ground.
You suddenly recall one of your survival lessons!  Gain 5 exp.
You recognise the mushroom as a deadly Death-Cap Toadstool!
>lookThere is a deadly Death-Cap Toadstool growing on the ground.

Of course, this is just getting back to the original point, and my whole
post was about an alternative.

Object recognition is great, but I'm not convinced it is worthwhile for
MY mud.

KaVir.