Temporary descriptions (semi repost / better forum)

[Marauder Moe]

Over a year ago I (re?)introduced the idea of temporary descriptions (tdesc) in this thread: http://www.zalanthas.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10862&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I still love the idea and at the time it seemed to have a lot of support.  I never seemed to get any solid staff response, though.  Is it on the immortal to-do list?  Is anyone working on it?  Maybe one of the new guys?  :wink:

Just want to at least know that the idea hasn't been forgotten.

[Agent_137]

I remember this. it would be fantastically sweet. Did you ever idea it ingame?

[Marauder Moe]

I don't remember.  I know I at least emailed the mud account about it, though.

[Dakkon Black]

Always thought this was fantastic. Go into the grimy shit of the sewers, and append the fact that you stink like shit and have it covering your legs up to your knees in your tdesc.

Hopefully before someone complains that it could be abused I'll suggest that I could also emote being a 50 cord tall marshmallow man with super powers right now.

Go Tdesc!

[LauraMars]

This is an amazing idea.  YES PLEASE.

[spawnloser]

Sorry, guys and gal... http://www.zalanthas.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16676

[Dakkon Black]

I say we revolt, Halster can't st-

*transmission ends*

[Halaster]

Well, someone else may think it's a great idea and veto me and do it.  I'm just stating my opinion.

[Agent_137]

It doesn't have that much more room for abuse than change ldesc, or the EMOTE command.

As a matter of fact, the emote command has much more abuse potential than a line or two in some one's mdesc. I mean, who reads that crap anyway?

[Bestatte]

Bad comparison though. Emote is a one-shot deal. It shows up, and then it's done. The only people who will see it are those who are there, the moment the emoter hits the enter key. A temp desc will last until it reverts back to its original state, which means everyone and their brother will have the opportunity to see something like this:

l twink
Teh man u c is huge mussles thin face long flowin har liek elf in lr0d of teh rings...

etc. etc.

And you'll keep seeing it until a staff member is alerted to it, or until twinkie changes it. I think the idea of secondary descriptions is great, but the implementation of a "temp" description might not be the way to go about it.

[Desertman (not logged in)]

Well that is not a very good excuse for doing away with the skill all together. If there is someone flat stupid enough to put....The man u c...so on and so forth in thier desc....I would expect the players who fell witness to such bad writing to either A. Explain to the new player that they cannot do that....B.Wish up about it.....C. Find an IC reason to do away with the character to teach the player a lesson...(Yes C has happened lol). These are exactly what everyone does now when they see someone doing horrible, Y U 8 Mih Kank? emotes. People do not put enough faith in the player base in my opinion, in six years of play I have never seen anything that anyone has done that might make me think this code should not be used, I may be wrong, but in instances where one person is fucking up, the players around them usually resolve it themselves or are prudent enough to quickly inform the staff. It is not a -new- problem, it is just -another- problem that will weed out it twists and turns over time, just like every other skill and ability in the game has done throughout the years.

[LoD]

People do not put enough faith in the player base in my opinion...

It's not a question of faith in the playerbase.  It's a question of controls.  Halaster has a legitimite problem with allowing any PC to add a description line to their PC without any supervision or approval from the Imm staff to make sure that it's consistent with their current description, doesn't break any basic rules, doesn't constitute some sort of abuse, etc...

Rules are not implemented because of a lack of faith in the masses.  Rules are implemented because a criminal few demonstrate repeatedly that a rule must be made to stop abusive behavior.  While I agree that this feature would be both useful and a lot of fun, I can also see where it may lead to abuses.

Now, perhaps it could still be implemented for use at a certain level of karma so tha the Imms have some control over who is able to make use of this feature.  A karma level one, perhaps, that is then removed if the feature is ever abused.  That way, you don't have new players being confused and adding something incorrect, but the Imms can demonstrate their trust by allowing players to still use the feature down the road.

Just a suggestion as a possible way to still include the feature.

-LoD

[Medena]

It seems to me that a temporary desc is no more abusable than a drop desc.  While a bad drop desc -can- be corrected by another player who comes along it also has the potential to be seen by a lot more players than a temp desc before being corrected.

Tell me, when was the last time you saw:

The packsack lies here ticking like there is a big fat atomic bomb in it.

or

lolz, the packsack is coverd n shit n stuffz tht u cant see, lolz

Ever?  Didn't think so.

[Desertman (not logged in)]

I cant say I have either Medena. Which is my point exactly. Sure this has potential for abuse,,,but is a temporary change to desc...not permenant...so it can be fixed just as fast as it is abused, just like emote, change ldesc, drop, and various other skills that do pretty much the same thing as this skill, "allowing you to add specific text for elaboration and better understanding"...I think the main issue people are having is it is changing the way a person looks in thier minds....but it isnt changing how someone looks, you can still see the entire desc...you still know who they are no matter how much they try to hide it...all they are doing is adding a little snippet to the end to let those that see them better understand an occurance that has happened to them...They might be covered in blood....Thier entrails could be hanging out.....and if they dont emote that to every single person that walks in the room....you can potentially have an entire room of pcs who dont realize they are stepping all over Bob's guts....which seems alot worse for the game than some newbie screwing up and putting...."Has hair like the lord of the rings"....which will be corrected by the first pc that sees him.

[LoD]

All of the examples being given seem to concern l337 speak or something completely out of the ordinary as compared to something more subtle, yet abusive.

This man stands over five cords in height, broad shoulders framing a heavy frame.  His coppery skin has been layered in silvery scars, most likely the result of more than a few scuffles.  Clumped about his brow in a chaotic swirl is a mop of matted, wisps of which dangle about his murky eyes below.  His eyes seem to glow an eerie red.

It's borderline.  It is a mutation?  Is it magick?  Should it really be there?  There's a lot of questions that can come up as a result of someone adding a questionable tagline.  As with an emote, object drop or ldesc, players can easily disregard or change them if they are out of place.  But a desc change won't be changed unless by an Imm (or the player) and that may just not be something they want.

Even taglines that seem okay aren't always fine for descriptions because they aren't maintained ALL the time:

-His expression is melancholy and it looks like he's been crying.
-His teeth part in a feral grin as he notices you looking at him.
-She constantly looks over her shoulder, seemingly paranoid.
-I have extremely good strength, #$%^es!
-He radiates with an aura of confidence and power.
-Little rats chitter at you from the depths of his monstrous beard.

-LoD

[ale six]

Everyone who makes it in the game has the ability to write an mdesc that passes standards. The rules for tdesc could be the exact same as for an mdesc (no actions, no silliness, etc). If people abused the feature, it could just be disabled for their account.

I think it'd be nice to have a way to reflect semi-permanent but still changeable aspects of an appearance. Specifics of a hairstyle, or if the character looks weary and tired, or if they're bruised or gashed up and so on.

On the other hand people might forget to update the thing when needs be. And you can always bring stuff like that out in emotes. Still, I like the idea and I don't think the worries of abuse are that big a deal.

[Halaster]

Everyone who makes it in the game has the ability to write an mdesc that passes standards.

Not entirely true.  We edit quite a few descriptions to make them fit the standards for new players.  Once someone has made a couple of character, we stop being so nice and start rejecting, but the first few we tend to be lenient and just fix the mistakes for them so that they 'pass'.

I like LoD's idea about having it karma-based.  I was thinking along those lines too.  I wonder, though, if it would be a problem in that "Oh, that dude can add a tdesc, he must have karma".  Not that it's such a horrible thing to know another person has karma, but something to think about.

[EvilRoeSlade]

If somebody is playing a half-giant or a gemmed magicker than that's a pretty good indication that they have karma.  It's no big deal.

However, if an ability like this were karma-based, then suddenly you would have a way to tell if someone DOESN'T have karma.  Which I really don't like.

[Maybe42or54]

Putting the Tdesc at 1 karma wouldn't be much of a problem, I think.

However, I don't like the idea that imms have to approve the Tdesc for everyone. Highly abuseable? So is emote. Can they somehow do more more damage with this, than emote? Yea sure. I really can't think of a situation that abuses Tdesc where a simple emote would not.

Someone please enlighten me.

[RunningMountain]

What's the difference between this and change ldesc, or scribble, or any of the other potentially abuseable commands. You can argue it anyway you want, lots of stuff is abuseable, that's no reason to say it shouldn't be implemented if it's a good idea. Imagine where we would be if someone said change ldesc was too abuseable to put in. We'd all just be standing around.

[jhunter]

I agree. I don't see this as being any more abusable than emote, ldesc, and locdesc at all. It seems to me that it has exactly the same potential for abuse and would be easy enough to catch I think.

[Agent_137]

I think the potential benefit greatly outwieghs any potential abuse.

Imagine if we didn't have change ldesc. Or drop descriptions.

Further, Tempdesc should reset on logging out. Otherwise it's not very temporary, is it?

Plus, it'd be way to easy to forget that you were bloodied up from combat, and then walk into the mess hall 3 IC weeks later, still bloodied up.

[jhunter]

I think the potential benefit greatly outwieghs any potential abuse.

Imagine if we didn't have change ldesc. Or drop descriptions.

Further, Tempdesc should reset on logging out. Otherwise it's not very temporary, is it?

Plus, it'd be way to easy to forget that you were bloodied up from combat, and then walk into the mess hall 3 IC weeks later, still bloodied up.

Good idea.

[Rindan]

I think you could make a tdesc as abusable as change ldesc.  As others have already mentioned, making it so that it resets each time you quit would help alleviate people bleeding in their tdesc for months on end because they forgot they changed it.  

As far as policing goes, I could see two things that might help.  

First, make the tdesc clearly marked.  Don't just slap it in at the end of the mdesc.  Give it a space break, an indentation, or something to point it out as a tdesc.  This way, you know it isn't an approved description.  If someone throws in that they have glowing red eyes, you can just treat it like they emoted that they have glowing red eyes, not as if glow red eyes is a part of their approved description.  This also leads to quicker reporting of abuse.  I would be hesitant to report a poor mdesc because I assume it has already passed an imms eyes and their might be a reason for any oddities in it.  I would be pretty quick to report a tdesc that seems insane as I know it hasn't meet any sort of approval.

Second, if a coder is feeling ambitious, throw in the ability to get a 'who' of all the tdesc currently being used in the game.  So, an imm can type "who –t" (or whatever) and they get a who list with tdesc appended to each name.  This way, at a glance they can see if there is anything really outlandish going on.  That said, I think if the tdesc is clearly marked, there is not much need for policing beyond what is already done for a simple emote.

I don't really like the idea making it karma restricted.  If it is clearly marked as not being apart from the mdesc and it resets each time the player quits, I don't see a reason to police it any harder then emoting or ldesc changes.  It isn't any more open to abuse then any other emote command.  Parceling out what I consider to be a pretty trivial RP device based upon karma doesn't seem to me to offer much benefit and will almost certainly led to resentment.  I have met a few n00bs who have emoted poorly or emoted inappropriate things and didn't have my eyes bleed out of my skull.  I imagine if I can tolerate the tall, muscular man and the tall, dark haired man fumbling with the emote command when they are still new to the game, I can tolerate them fumbling with the tdesc command.

[path]

Oh.. I just realized.. everything I had to say... has already been said. In any event. I'm strongly in favor.

[MorganChaos]

I would really like this feature, or a feature like it. If it was separate from the maindesc, I can't imagine it being any more of a problem than emote. I understand the concern that there's no way to approve it, but adding a paragraph break or some symbol (I'd think it would be fairly easy to code a tdesc to have a * or ~ or a few line breaks before it, but perhaps I think too much like a Java coder) would make it much easier.

*hesitates to say this because knows she is going to burn for it but* Honestly, it gets tiring being told to rp something when it's really something that probably ought to be coded. For example, after rping something messy and doing "wish all hey, can i get these couple of items bloodied? thanks." am I really that wrong to be slightly annoyed when I'm told to RP it? You can emote scrubbing off the bloodied bedroll and stuff, but there are other examples where you're emoting something every time a new person walks in, especially when it's something they probably really ought to be reacting to. Ldesc can help here but there's also when you're walking through somewhere, and you intend to just pass on through, but a pc looks at you and you now have to stop. Wait. Emote whatever it is. Now you can keep going. Or the few moments between entering a room and getting settled and changing your ldesc, when someone comes in so now oop! Emote time! So really, I suppose the point is, tdesc would be very convenient, and probably wouldn't serve any function you don't already have ingame, but it would perform some functions a lot better.

I can see another argument being that this weakens the emote command. Yeah, well, you could argue that ldesc does that too.

[Vesperas]

Emoting 'states' gets highly annoying, and I use ldesc primarily for position, which leaves a lot to be desired.

So, yeah, I'm definitely in favor for it.

[Nao]

*bump*

Just wanted to bring this up again while the imms seem to be all on coffeine...

This seems to be VERY doable without too much potential for abuse - how often do you see an emote that's way off, anyway?

For injuries, hairstyles and other stuff that is too long for the long description (hardly anything really fits in)...

[FightClub]

i ain't a karma player, and I approve, even if it's karma only.  I don't see a problem with it, I don't even use those new emotes, change that much -- just good old emote and say, and think, it's all I need baby.

[Cegar]

I fail to see how a Tdesc would be any more abusable than scribble currently is.

[SpyGuy]

I also agree and love this idea.  No more abusable than change ldesc or any other combination of things.

Moreso, I've seen what slips through the app process in mdescs  :wink:   This would be no more jarring if someone abused it, PCs could just wish up or OOC to ask the character to change it if it was clear it was done intentionally.  But most of all this would be a rather complex command, I strongly doubt anyone without a good conception of the code and therefore the game world would even begin to think of finding and using a command like this.  And if it were being abused immortals should have an ability to flag a character or player no_tdesc or something like that.

Please?

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I throw my hat in the ring for this feature to be implemented.

[Cegar]

Somehow my browser came to this thread... not quite sure how, but I still think this is an excellent idea.

[Cyrian20]

I think what Hally is trying to get at (I am going to lose my char today I bet)

Is there is no way to tell if the pc assigned it or if it was already there and
approved by the staff. If you see a twink emote or ldesc you know the pc did
it and can ignore it. In their main desc you have no clue if maybe it is part of
their normal description and was approved by the staff.

[Forty Winks]

Heh, you might think there's isn't any way to abuse this, but there is. You could make a generic mdesc and have hair, eyes, nose, lips. Then once approved by the staff, could add a temp desc for a scar over the left cheek. And then commit some heinous crime and then switch the  tempdesc to not have a scar at all, or place it on a different location of the face.

I think there would be too much moderation by the staff needed for this to be any benefit for the game.

[Nao]

*shrug* make it obvious that it's a temp description, giving a free line or brackets or some way to know that it's not the main description.

[MorganChaos]

I still think tempdesc is sexy.

[Cyrian20]

To add to my earlier post (fuck edit I revolt!) I think it is a great idea, we
just need some way to make it safe. The concept of a blank line then the
tdesc is a good idea I think. The scars thing can already be done though
(see change locdesc) so maybe some sort of add-on to change locdesc.

Just an idea, of course all you people making slicked back hair and girls
with far far to much make-up better be buying it from me first  :evil:  I go
through to much trouble making and stealing it for you to ignore it  

[rishenko]

The greatest benefit that can come from a tempdesc is not having to continually reference things in your emotes just to show that something is there.  For instance, if my hair is singed because a Krathi chick got all hot and bothered, having a temp desc (I like Nao's idea - just put brackets around the damn thing) would make life much easier than having to tag or show that in my emotes every three or four minutes when somebody new walks into the tavern.

Please...please...pleeeeeeaaaase consider it, try it, give it a week or so, see how it pans out.

[Cegar]

What if you have henna tattoos? What if you're wearing your hair up in a bun? What if you are decked out in warpaints? What if you shaved? Grew a beard? Got bruised?

I'd just like to bump this and revoice my support in this thread, since I think that it is something that will be extremely useful in fleshing out characters and certain roles (finally a use for all of those jars of henna).

[Djarjak]

I completely didn't read the other thread, so I apologize if this has already been answered, but why can't you just do this with your emotes?

As he walks in, the stench of @ is palpable.

> l foo
<desc follows>
foo raises a hand caked with filth and scribs at his already dirty face.

Sure, it's a little extra work on your part, but it's a hell of a lot more atmosphere, imo.  Short of a disguise kit, I can't see any good reason to do something like this, and that -would- be abusable for freeform entry.

[Cegar]

How about emoting that you changed your hairstyle everytime you meet someone? That'd become far too tedius, and you're really limited with how you can describe it. There are a lot of other uses too, almost all of which are illustrated in the thread.

As for abuse, it has no more chance for abuse than change ldesc or emote, for that matter.

[Nao]

This gets extremely tedious for every new person entering - also, through an emote, you make things overly noticable and obvious so every single person in the whole room is gonna notice that the tip of one pointed ear is missing cause you're a breed and cut it off. Also, you're pregnant, got a few injuries and are covered in mekillot puke - putting everything in emotes has its limits.

[Malken]

Like any new code, this can of course be abused, but since it would be easy for anyone to notice someone abusing it just by looking at him or her, it could also be just as easily reported.

If someone is found to be abusing it constantly, perhaps have the option for the Staff to remove the ability, the same way they can nowish someone?

I think its a great idea myself.

[rishenko]

... putting everything in emotes has its limits.

Damn straight.  Maybe if you did the emotes once.  But what if you have six people your character knows, each one walking in a few minutes separately from the other.  Now you must emote each time a new person comes in.  The same applies to walking down the street and coming across people.

Now, instead of referencing the exact injury and the nature of the injury, I can simply go "em favors his wrapped left leg."  Then the person can look at my guy and go "Aha!"

[Beux]

I love this idea.

My only issue would be, if the tdesc contradicted with something in the long desc.  

For example:

Somewhere in the ldesc: "Her hair falls loosely around her shoulders"

tdesc: "Her hair is tied up in a neat bun"

-----

ldesc: "His skin is unblemished"

tdesc: "Large red sores are apparent all over his skin"

-----

But thats exactly the kind of stuff we'd want to use it for, so it would have to be accepted that contradictory information in the tdesc overrules the ldesc?

[Nao]

My limits were less along frequency than along the sheer amount of varying stuff that could be put in, even if emoting that broken leg always seemed a bit awkward and gets more than annoying for every person that wasn't present you'll have to throw out a similar emote.

Things that are varying for your character, depending on what you play might be hairstyle, cleanliness (in addition to the coded flags you get on clothing), injuries and general condition to name the common stuff. with a temporary addition to your description, you could easily put this in quickly and nicely.

[Angela Christine]

I think the potential for abuse is actually quite low.  Your total description would be two paragraphs:

1.  Main description, as written currently and approved by staff.  This would still include race, sex, hair, eyes, skin, build and any persistent noticeable characteristics.

2.  Temporary description would be a separate paragraph in which you could detail temporary changes.

The first paragraph wouldn't be much different than what you get now, though items like hairstyle might not be included.  So instead of putting "Her hair falls loosely around her shoulders" in your main desc you'd say "She has shoulder-length brown hair."  Then in your Tdesc you'd say if it was falling loosely around your shoulders, was tied up in a bun or whatever your character's current hairstyle was.  Major permanent changes to your appearance would still have to be done through requesting your main description to be changed, but minor or temporary changes could be detailed in your Tdesc, to keep people up to date with your current condition.  So if your PC is normally well-groomed and tidy, you have a way to indicate that that you are temporarily disheveled when you do something messy.  Or if you are being manly and wandering around without a shirt on, you could use the Tdesc to note your six-pack and superfluous third nipple, things you wouldn't normally put in your mdesc because most of the time you wear a shirt and they are not visible.


Since the main description would be persistent, the Tdesc wouldn't work as a disguise, because everyone can still see your main description.  If you set your main desc to say you have glowing orange eyes, but your main desc says you have blue eyes, you aren't fooling anyone.  I imagine other players would be quick to report PCs whose Tdescs were wildly incompatible with their main desc, and any Tdesc that are clearly abusive.



When you enter the editor to set your Tdesc should give you guidelines and rules, just like when you set your main desc during character creation.  Perhaps all uses of the command could be logged, so interested staffers could keep tabs one what sort of Tdescs are being used, and issue warnings if people start to go too far?  That kind of staff oversight probably wouldn't be necessary though, player policing would likely report any grievous misuses of the Tdesc quite quickly.

[Beux]

I so don't want this idea to drift into the realms of forgotten. It really is a sweet idea. I keep thinking..."If only I could....ahh thats why we need a tdesc"

[Hymwen]

Yeah... I can only hope that the silence from the staff means that they are discussing it among themselves, because this is such an awesome idea that pretty much everybody has praised.

[bloodfromstone]

I love the idea, personally. Like another poster said, when you have something different about your char, like a broken limb, you end up having to emote it over and over again. Every time someone new walks into the bar, you have to throw out some sort of emote about your broken limb. I'm sure the barflies that were there to begin with start getting tired of it.

Secondly, there are a lot of things I think a lot of us would like to express that don't warrent a mdesc change. Pregnancy, filth on a usually clean PC, wounds, and hairstyle all come to mind pretty quickly.

I do understand that the staff likes to be able to approve such things, but, as others have said, the emote command lets you basically do anything you want. Plus, I'd rather see more options passed out, rather than limiting everyone's play because of an abusive minority.

[Dresan]

hmmm...I can't say i don't like it, but then i can't say i do...

LoD's post pretty much sums up it most of my concerns. Emotes and ldescs are usually only used to show what and how you are doing something in my mind or its at least how i usually use them.

My problem is that even with long description i've found myself putting down things that shouldn't be there. Putting feeling and idea into peoples mouths that they should instread get from my PCs action and emotes. On top of the the staff approves these descriptions and i've sometimes had to go back and ask for a modification. I don't do it intentionally but it only becomes obvious after a week or so of reading the desc over and over that it shouldn't be there and i assume its why the staff lets it pass after reading it only once or twice. Mistakes happen.

The ability to add bruises, fresh cuts, bleeding parts and burns temporarily to location slots would be enough for me. However a good compromise would be to have the ability to add staff pre-approved T-descs. For example:

This person looks like they were in battle recently
This person looks drunk
This persons eye are bloodshot.
This person's hair is unkempt, their belt is unbuckled and has a rosy glow.

code wise it could be:
Add tdesc 1
or
add tdesc 2

The list of what tdesc you get for what number would be on the website. People could submit tdescs for approval and the list would eventually grow to cover most situations.
I'm sure its not what everyone wants but it could be a start.

[Beux]

Mmm, I recon that definately wouldn't be so good, and may be quite jarring. People might want more than on tdesc at once, and then they'd just end up with a list of random statements at the bottom of their desc, rather than being able to compile it into a nice but short piece of well written descriptive writing.

I really think the majority of approved players on Arm would be competant enough to abide by the rules that were given to them. And any tdescs that didn't fit the rules could easily be reported to the staff, and 'sides, if you make a mistake in your tdesc and decide it gives away too much...-you- can change it, super quick, without having to wish up.

[ThirdEye]

tdesc would rock.

[Maso]

BUMPBUMP

[Synthesis]

So -that's- what the fuck this tdesc thing is.

This thread must've taken place when I wasn't playing the game or something.

I'm in favor.

Whenever I go Super Saiyan Level 2, I need to change my desc to reflect my growing power.

[Agent_137]

For new folks joining this thread who don't want to read back 3 pages, read this:


Here is the core problem with this idea [as originally mentioned by halaster (the killer, the legend]. There are some good suggestions on how to resolve this scattered about the thread. Particularly by Dresan a few posts up.

It doesn't have that much more room for abuse than change ldesc, or the EMOTE command.

As a matter of fact, the emote command has much more abuse potential than a line or two in some one's mdesc. I mean, who reads that crap anyway?

Bad comparison though. Emote is a one-shot deal. It shows up, and then it's done. The only people who will see it are those who are there, the moment the emoter hits the enter key. A temp desc will last until it reverts back to its original state, which means everyone and their brother will have the opportunity to see something like this:

l twink
Teh man u c is huge mussles thin face long flowin har liek elf in lr0d of teh rings...

etc. etc.

And you'll keep seeing it until a staff member is alerted to it, or until twinkie changes it. I think the idea of secondary descriptions is great, but the implementation of a "temp" description might not be the way to go about it.

[Synthesis]

change ldesc is here, humping a templar.

Permanent, until a staff member is alerted to it, or the dude changes it.

Next?

[Agent_137]

Permanent, until a staff member is alerted to it, or the dude changes it.

or the dude moves. Or sits. Or starts crafting.

[Synthesis]

"...or the dude changes it" covers those eventualities.

I do believe the point remains:  we already have a command in-game that allows you to semi-permanently say things about the game world, without direct staff supervision.

tdesc could be coded such that it resets to null whenever you log out, forcing you to re-add it whenever you log in, if you really want it to be less persistent.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I'm for it. As Syn says, it's just another tool. There is nothing wrong with another tool. Abuse comes in all sorts of forms. With as many people looking at your PC as there are in this game, inappropriate tdescs will not last long.

Put it in. Let us tell you just why our PC is bleeding all over your floor. Maybe he is just black and blue from a good knuckle sandwich.

[Marauder Moe]

I am in favor of this idea.

[Eloran]

I am in favor of this idea.

[a strange shadow]

I am in favor of this idea.

Originally I was a skeptic, but I've come to love the possibilities. Yes please.

[Zoltan]

I am in favor of this idea.

Originally I was a skeptic, but I've come to love the possibilities. Yes please.

I like it now, too. I read earlier in the thread that someone said something about parsing the tdesc out of the mdesc. That's the way I'd like to see it. It'd be kind of like how certain spell effects show up in a look now. Also, it'd immediately bring to my attention that something's a little different than usual with the character I'm looking at.

I'm with the others who say that the benefits far outweigh the potential for abuse. It would rule to have this. Ldesc and the arrange command bring so much to the game, and I'm sure tdesc would be a great addition.

[Morgenes]

The tdesc command will be available after maintenance.

[a strange shadow]

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3!!!!!!!

[RogueGunslinger]

... Whoah.



Quick, someone crash the server!

[Kassindra]

Ha, oh wow.

[Eloran]

The tdesc command will be available after maintenance.

Do you prefer weed, DMT, or cold hard cash?

[Marauder Moe]

 

My quiet crusade of... four and a half years... has finally come to an end!

Thanks, Morgenes!

[staggerlee]

The tdesc command will be available after maintenance.

I love this. Quite a lot. 

[mansa]

http://www.armageddon.org/cgi-bin/help_index/show_help?tdesc

Tdesc     (Character)

This command allows you to describe temporary changes to your character that would be visible upon looking at them. It is not intended to be used for permanent changes, those still require a description change request.

This is not to be used to write messages or to directly cross language barriers. If you are caught abusing this command, your character will lose the ability to use it.

Syntax:
    tdesc
    tdesc clear

    Example:
    > tdesc
    Enter a temporary description.
    Terminate with a '~'
    > His hair is tousled from the wind.
    > ~

    > tdesc clear
    Temporary Description cleared.

    See Also:
    Request_Tool, Descriptions

[hyzhenhok]

Methinks everyone needs to spam the request tool with Kudos for Morgenes. Seriously.

[BuNutzCola]

Tdesc is destroying the world, look at all the crashes!

[Riev]

There's finally a reason to look at people whose MDescs I've already committed to memory!

There be Kudos incoming, for sure.

[Zoltan]

Oh fuck yes. Did you guys notice that alcohol is brew-able now too?!

[Agent_137]

Oh fuck yes. Did you guys notice that alcohol is brew-able now too?!

thought it was only for those neckers.

[Maso]

OMFG. YAY.

So glad I res'd this thread.

This is AWESOME.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Tdesc is destroying the world, look at all the crashes!

Who cares?!?!

It will all be ironed out, and it will all be sexy. Corpse descriptions AND tdesc? Are you fucking joking me?

Morgenes is the S.H.I.T. Seriously.

[Kol]

Code Select Expand


The short, weedy plebiean drops to his knees and begins to worship the Tall, swarthe immortal.

The short, weedy plebiean cries out "Oh!, Morgenes, I bow before your coded might!"

The tall, swarthe immortal cocks an eyebrow briefly before raising a single finger and flicking the Plebiean to death.

Mogenes says, chuckling softly "commoners...."



[Kol]

On a more serious note, thank you to all the Imms who made this possible, It must have been hard work to get this code in, and I, for one, appreciate all the time and effort you guys put in to this game, so I can waste my life away.

[Majikal]

Whooooooooo! I lurve it. Morgenes if you had a vagina... I should probably stop that thought right there so this stays work safe.


>change mood happy happy joy joy
Your mood is now happy happy joy joy

[Kol]

Whooooooooo! I lurve it. Morgenes if you had a vagina... I should probably stop that thought right there so this stays work safe.


>change mood happy happy joy joy
Your mood is now happy happy joy joy

>emote High Fives ~Majikal, both stopping thier hands abaout an inch from each other and moving them in a circular motion.

>say Have a rat burger, its better than Taco Bells/Bills?

[Marauder Moe]

So, uh, tdesc is great and all, really really great, but a few minor improvements would be nice:

1) I don't really like that it has to use the text editor.  I wish it was like ldesc (>change ldesc this is my ldesc), or at least that you have the option to do it that way (>tdesc this is my tdesc) or tdesc alone enters the editor.

2) I wish you had the option to not have it reset when you log off.  However, the point above would allow people to have aliases and client-side scripts that would take care of it.

3) Have it show up in assess.

[NoteworthyFellow]

1) I don't really like that it has to use the text editor.  I wish it was like ldesc (>change ldesc this is my ldesc), or at least that you have the option to do it that way (>tdesc this is my tdesc) or tdesc alone enters the editor.

I'm all right with that aspect, personally, because it allows the tdesc to have multiple lines without requiring a huge input--plus, it allows the player to format it how he pleases in regard to that line length.

2) I wish you had the option to not have it reset when you log off.

I definitely agree with this.  Perhaps a new operator on tdesc, such as "tdesc persistent" or something simpler than that?  You set your tdesc, then just as you'd type "tdesc clear" to clear it, you'd type "tdesc persistent" (or whatever) in order to prevent it from being cleared on logout.

3) Have it show up in assess.

This would be wonderful.

[Jenred]

2) I wish you had the option to not have it reset when you log off.  However, the point above would allow people to have aliases and client-side scripts that would take care of it.

I would -venture- that this is possibly a code/storage issue? Like creating a new -whatever- to store -whatever value- tdescs are stored as in each player-code-file. Having it reset on log-offs probably removes this issue.

Also there is an issue of people logging off for -months-, which really doesn't make that "fresh bleeding gash" relevant anymore (the majority of Tdescs I've seen have been fresh-injury related). And they might forget to change it.

[Taven]

So, uh, tdesc is great and all, really really great, but a few minor improvements would be nice:

1) I don't really like that it has to use the text editor.  I wish it was like ldesc (>change ldesc this is my ldesc), or at least that you have the option to do it that way (>tdesc this is my tdesc) or tdesc alone enters the editor.

2) I wish you had the option to not have it reset when you log off.  However, the point above would allow people to have aliases and client-side scripts that would take care of it.

3) Have it show up in assess.

1) I like the text editor.
2) I'd like the option to not reset, too, but I figure it's there so you don't forget about it. I can do it pretty quick with an alias, I assume it shouldn't be that hard for anyone with a client.
3) In some cases this might be too long, or odd to show up.

[Morgenes]

Next reboot tdesc will save with your character.

[jcljules]

Yay! Wow I love this command.

[Maso]

God this game just keeps getting better.

[RogueGunslinger]

God this game just keeps getting better.

[BlackMagic0]

God this game just keeps getting better.