[MUD-Dev] Re: Methods to Reduce Ecological Wipeout

[Michael.Willey at abnamro.com]

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     Subject:  [MUD-Dev] Re: Methods to Reduce Ecological Wipeout
     Author:   mud-dev at kanga.nu ("quzah" <quzah at geocities.com>)
     Date:          8/12/98 4:37 PM

>Here's an idea I've stated elsewhere at one time or another.
>Though it involves modifying rooms instead of, or rather in
>addition to the food chain. Create sizes for your creatures
>if you don't have them already, in addition, create exit
>sizes. Create a 'den' for say, some wolves, and plunk two of
>them in the den. Make the exit to the den smaller than the
>wolves are when grown. Add in age/growth, and now, only the
>smaller wolves can get out of the den. Make the den (parents)
>repop if they die of old age, and their children will run
>about the earth populating the world that is outside the
>'den'. If the den is smaller than most of your players (er,
>den doorway) then you are fairly safe in that respect, and
>you should at least always have a pair left to reproduce.
>(Add a mice den inside the wolves den, and now the wolves
>have food.) (Add many exits through tunnels, and now your
>wolves won't walk out the same door and get slaughtered as
>they walk out; preventing [sort of] players from camping out
>and butchering them all.

I'm not sure how this is effectively different from standard
repop schemes: wolves automagically appear in set places,
created by some mechanism invisible to the player/observer.
You may as well get the same effect through behind-the-scenes
calculations.

I don't think your idea is entirely without merit, though.
A related idea might help: Allow mating pairs to create their
own 'den', or otherwise hide within their environment while
breeding and raising young.  They can pick their own location
in which to hide, and occasionally emerge from the den to
forage for food.  It would be possible to discover a breeding
pair's den, but not necessarily a good idea.  Parents
protecting cubs are remarkably vicious.