[MUD-Dev] Re: skill system

[s001gmu at nova.wright.edu]

On Fri, 19 Jun 1998, J C Lawrence wrote:

> On Wed, 10 Jun 1998 10:25:53 -0400 (EDT) 
> s001gmu <s001gmu at nova.wright.edu> wrote:
> 
> > On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, J C Lawrence wrote:
> 
> >>   > stats
> >>   Strength: 150
> >>   > l
> >>   Bubba picks up a huge boulder with one hand and crushes it to 
> >>   sand on his head.
> >>   > stats
> >>   Strength: 25
> >>   > l
> >>   A leaf flutters off the tree above and smashes Boffo to the ground.
> >>   Boffo is stuck under the leaf and can't move.
> >>   > stats
> >>   Strength: 65
> 
> > I'm not sure I really like the idea behind this system.  IMO, the
> > strength stat should be there to help you answer questions like 'Am
> > I able to lift this rock?'  I don't see how watching boffo lift it
> > (or not lift it) would affect my perception of MY strength.  It
> > might alter my perception of the weight of the rock, but not my
> > strength.
> 
> The idea is that both observation of others and observation of self
> will affect the internal stat weight.  Eventually you'll get an
> average which won't vary much until you meet real extremes.

The problem I have with the system is that all of this should have
happened as the character was growing up.  Unless you plan to start the
person at age 0, the 'average' should be firmly in place.  It's a keen
system for modeling growth of perception, but I should think that most
people's perception would be well formed by the time they are of
adventuring age.  If you start characters with their average already in
place, and add this system on top of that, that might be keen.  Starting
from scratch just seems silly.

>  The
> valuable bit is that (hopefully, but I haven't tested this bit) every
> player's average will be different, if similar, resulting in different
> if similar perceptions and stat reports.  Ergo stat trading as a form
> of genetalia waving is instantly ultra-silly.

I agree that it will most likely prevent any stat-genetalia crossovers,
aye.  :)

>  More interestingly
> given the grouping and clique habits of players, members of a clique
> will tend to have very similar if not identical averages and average
> histories, but new imports to a clique will/may have widely different
> averages which then slowly adapt to their new context.

Again, as I said above, as long as the character starts with a relatively
firm perception of their strength, then this layer on top will add a nice
flavor.
 
> An ecology of stat awareness.

Another ecology, eh?
 
> > All I see this system doing is hiding important information... I
> > would argue this most certainly crosses the line mentioned above.
> > How can I predict if 'lift rock' will work?
> 
> Bubba looks very strong, stronger than you (you have seen him do
> things requiring great strength) and fails to lift the or a similar
> rock.  It seems unlikely you'll be able to.  Boffo has demonstrated
> himself weaker than you historically, yet lifts the rock or a similar
> rock...

How does the above example answer my question?
 
> The neat bits which I don't address at all come when Bubba fails to
> lift the rock and Boffo does lift it, or Bubba lifts the rock, Boffo
> fails, Bubba gets flattened by the leaf and Boffo brushes it off.

Since extreem realism seems to be the point of the whole system, I'd think
any sane person (or at least a person wishing to remane sane) would brush
the rock and leaf off as 'one of them wierd things', bearing further
investigation.  It'd take a lot to convince me that a leaf is capable of
dropping Hulk Hogan, but if I saw it, I'd immediately suspect it, and want
to investigate further before asigning any divine properties to the leaf.
Again, however, it is the leaf that I would assign them to.  I do not
think it would alter my perception of my strength one whit, unless I
suddenly saw hundreds of ppl getting clobbered by leaves, and I manage to
remain as affected by them as by a normal barrage of leaves.

-Greg