The NPC is standing here.

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

There is a strange thing happening in NPC land that I find simply perplexing. There seem to be more and more NPCs appearing without ldescs. It used to be that almost ever NPC had something appended to it's sdesc, even if it was as simple as "is standing here, his arms folded across his chest" or "is sitting here, looking around sternly". A while ago, however, I started noticing NPCs (mainly around Allanak, for some reason) that had no ldesc. Just the normal, code-generated "is standing here". At first I didn't say much about it, thinking it was a bug that had been overlooked, or maybe just a bizarre player that enjoyed hanging out in the streets and abhorred EMOTEing. But as the number of these ldescless NPCs increased, I'm beginning to think they're an intentional addition, and I'm starting to wonder why.
The only possible reason I could see for doing this is to make NPCs less distinguishable from PCs, in hopes of making PCs interact with NPCs more. Well an admirable cause, I don't think that this is the best way to go about it. Most of the time, when you mistake an NPC for a PC, it rarely turns out to be a wildly exciting RP experience. Generally, you walk up to the NPC, speak or EMOTE to it, wait far too long for an answer, then come up with an awkward IC excuse to back away. Obviously, there are the rare occasions when the staff will animate the NPC, but I seriously doubt the Imms would place in more ldescless NPCs with the "hopes" of getting a "chance" to animate more.
Honestly, if I want to interact with an NPC, I will. If I don't, I won't. I don't particularly want to be "tricked" into it. While I think everyone should be aware of NPCs, and treat them like real people, the fact is that our ability to interact with them is severely limited by our ability to understand them. We don't know anything about an NPC's personality, and therefore, have no idea how they'd realistically react to slamming our shoulder into them on the street. Heck, we don't even know for certain if they speak sirihish! Therefore, my interaction with NPCs is generally limited to glaring at that elf, tossing a coin to that beggar, and staying the hell away from that gith, simply because doing much anything else would be powerEMOTEing.
My main gripe with ldescless NPCs, however, is that they don't add much to the game enviroment. Think about it. Would you rather see: "the burly half-giant is here, juggling heavy stone orbs" or: "the burly half-giant is standing here"? With a ldesc, I at least have some idea of what the half-giant is doing, and that opens up some avenues for interaction, as one-sided as they may be. I could watch the half-giant's performance, boo or compliment him, run for my life for fear he might drop one... anything. But when he's just "standing here", I have no idea what's going on. Is he wandering up and down the street listlessly, calling for his mommy? Is he mugging passerby? Screaming out praises to the Highlord? Hauling obsidian? Personally, I change my ldesc all the time. I think it's a great tool for "setting the scene" that is Armageddon. But when I see ldescless NPCs, it seems like a misplaced prop, or an actor that wandered on to the scene on the entirely wrong cue.
So seriously, some one help me out here. What's the point of ldescless NPCs? Is it some glorious quest to further confuse newbies on the difference between NPCs and PCs? If we're given no clue as to what the NPC is doing at any given time, are we therefore expected to exert more control over it to fit it into our own RP? Is this even intentional?
Anyone have a clue?

[Rhyden]

You lead two very good sides of this arguement, FDMG. I'd have to say it's better with the ldesc npcs just because it adds setting and atmosphere.

Then again, it is neat that some NPCs are indistinguishable from other PCs.

Perhaps a mixture of the two components would be a solution? Some NPCs standing here while others are ldescing. It could alter with triggers so that an NPC stands here for a while then a ldesc is added during a certain point of the day?

As for reasoning and if this may be a bug, I have no clue.

[Larrath]

I think it's best that NPCs all had custom ldescs.  The 'standard' ones only serve to further confuse our newbies and give them a hard time.

[Agent_137]

I think it's best that NPCs all had custom ldescs.  The 'standard' ones only serve to further confuse our newbies and give them a hard time.

[wizturbo]

I think it's best that NPCs all had custom ldescs.  The 'standard' ones only serve to further confuse our newbies and give them a hard time.

Confuse?  Or get the point across even further that NPC's are indistinguishable from PC's in that you shouldn't treat them like they aren't there.  I'm sure immortals can testify that plenty of stuff no one would do in front of PC's, is done in front of NPC's on a regular basis.  The more NPC's blend in with the PC population the better in my opinion.

[Larrath]

I strongly doubt that lessons like this are something a newbie needs.
I know that when I made my first character, I spent over half an hour trying to talk to that half-giant in the Gaj, and I know that it took me a fairly good time until I figured it out.
And I was a seasoned mudder when I started Arm, so let's not even bring up the truly new mudders.

No, I believe this lesson is absolutely unimportant.  Newbies have a hard enough time telling NPCs and PCs apart, and they get discouraged enough by that.

[Savak]

This trend started when NPC's became both more mobile, and more likely to be "controllable" by certain PC's within their clan.  While I don't know what NPC's you're taking issue with specifically, many/most of the ones with nonspecific "is standing here" ldesc's are ones which might be ordered or otherwise manipulated (scripts or other code, etc.) into moving somewhere else and doing other things.

By and large, I think having a completely erroneus ldesc in those scenarios (Dude is standing here juggling burning skulls, or is snoozing here, or is training with a pink mantis, etc.) is more jarring and inappropriate than having a bland one.  Particularly when in some cases those NPC's can be controlled by a PC in such a way that other players don't necessarily know (or may think they're switched).

I suppose an argument could be made that not so many of those kinds of NPC's should be made available to begin with, but I think using the generic ldesc with those that exist is still the best available route to take.

-Savak

[Kankman]

I think it's best that NPCs all had custom ldescs.  The 'standard' ones only serve to further confuse our newbies and give them a hard time.

See how much Xamminy didn't have to write?