[MUD-Dev] UI Issues: Anti-scripting techniques

[Brian Price]

> From:          Adam Wiggins <nightfall at user2.inficad.com>
> > Brian Price <blprice at bedford.net> wrote:
<snipped content and I think someone else made the following comment
  although I agree with it>

> > For some skills, getting some basic training is a true necessity, since
> > failure can carry harsh consequences.  No one in their right mind would
> > want to learn the basics of defusing bombs by trial and error with live
> > bombs, for example.  :-)
 
> IMO this is how combat skills should work.  It's difficult to learn
> the things you need for mortal combat (combat skills, being able to handle
> fear or adrenaline, pain tolerance) without actually getting yourself hurt
> or killed.  Witness a good boxer - he probably is missing a bunch of teeth,
> has some brain damage, a few scars, maybe a chunk missing out of his ear.
> And these guys are fighting with set rules (no poking eyes out, no nad
> kicks, etc) and padded gloves!  Imagine when you get some guys with swords
> going at it..

This entirely depends upon the technological level of the training.  
In medieval times, combat training was indeed more dangerous than it 
is today.  Today we use more sophisticated equipment and techniques. in order 
to reduce the risk level of that training.  Indeed I believe that 
the higher the tech level of the period, the better and less hazardous 
the training will be.  A good example here is fighter pilot training, 
contrast the WWI training with today's simulators and practice 
exercises.

> Really this boils down to resources.  It could be that it's expensive to
> learn how to pick locks, because you have to buy lockpicks on the black
> market (probably semi-expensive) which break frequently when you don't
> know what you're doing.  A person who is trying to learn to pick locks might
> have to pick a few pockets as well to get by..
> Other resources for skill-training can involve location, timeframes,
> or special equipment.  Becoming knowledgable about astronomy is probably
> going to require a good location (the top of a hill, far from a city),
> equipment (a nice telescope), certain timeframes (studies done at night,
> and even then you can only study certain stars and planets at certain times),
> and possibly even other resources - access to a good library, being around
> others that are knowledgable about the subject, and so forth.  That's
> a lot more stuff than just typing "study stars" over and over again.

This brings me to the general point of my bias towards training vs 
practice systems in a mud.  Is the game attempting to model the 
training itself or the results of applying that training.  I prefer 
the second of those two.  There is somewhat of a time dilemma that 
makes training somewhat less realistic since training takes only a 
few minutes of mud time where it should take perhaps weeks, months, 
or even years.  Still, imo the game lies in applying the skills to 
solve problems, achieve goals, etc, not the training itself.

                   Brian Price
               <blprice at bedford.net>