[MUD-Dev] Stranger in a Strange Land

[coder at ibm.net]

On 04/10/97 at 07:47 PM, Adam Wiggins <nightfall at user1.inficad.com> said:
>[JCL:]

>> There's a social use that seem avoided here:
>> 
>>   When Bubba is in town, the fact that he is in town should be easily
>> determinable with decent probability, and he should be reasonably
>> easily findable once it is known he is in town (dependant on in-town
>> probability).
>> 
>>   If Bubba is out in the wilderness, it should merely be determinable
>> that he is probably not in town.
>> 
>> Compare this to the location of your own friends in town.  You can
>> find them most any time you want if they're in town.  Once they leave
>> town, you're SOL.  In a game world this would seem to encourage
>> socialisation while in-town, and discourage it out of town...seems
>> fair.

>I like it, but what's the mechanics, exactly?  This reminds me a little
>bit of the first diku I played - it had a zone-wide 'where' command for
>players, and all communications (yell, tell, auction, etc) were
>zone-wide.  This had a nice effect where there was a lot of chatter going
>on when you were hanging around in town but it was quiet when you were in
>some obscure zone.

That is the obvious and simplest approach, yes.  Its minorly consistant if
you allow your characters some sort of implicitly ranged sensing ability
to locate others.

This is not to say I like it.

>However, given my lean towards realistic, consistant mechanics for the
>game, I'd hate to tack something like this on there (like a town-wide who
>list) just to help people find their friends a little easier.  

First preference (and first thought):

  A hacked log:

  > say, "Hmmm, wonder if Bubba is in town."
  > go to pub
  You are in the pub.
  > ask barmaid about Bubba.
  She says, "He just left a couple minutes ago.
  > run out
  Boffo is here.
  > examine Boffo.
  He looks much like Bubba.
  > go to square
  You are in the square at the center of town.
  A watchman is here.
  > ask watchman about Bubba
  The watchman says, "He's been seen down on Flinders street."
  > go to Flinders street
  Bubba is here.

It takes work, and it takes ingame and in-town mechanics noticing who goes
where.  The most pleasant aspect of which is:

  > ask watchman about Bubba
  The watchman says, "He's been seen down on Flinders street."
  > go to Flinders street
  Boffo is here.
  > go to gatehouse
  > ask gatekeeper about Bubba
  THe gatekeeper says, "I just saw him leave."
  > sigh
  > go to pub
  Bubba is here.

As characters can now work to delude the game systems (Bubba snuck back in
town by other means).

>Other
>options might be town registries (you sign in with the guards at the gate
>- if you snuck into town by illicit means, you won't be in the registry),
>NPCs whose specific task is to keep track of who is where in the town, or
>a town crier who you can ask to 'page' someone for you, ie "Boffo the
>Elf!  Bubba the Troll is waiting for you at the town square!"

Precisely!

--
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
----------(*)                              Internet: coder at ibm.net
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...