I...Jmordetsky..hate the way.

[jhunter]

But see thats the thing, I do play the paranoid bastard and I have a problem with players who don't. Thats who I'm tallking about. They use the OOC knowledge about "the way". Knowing that the chances of a mind bender listening in is slim to none.

No. In the reality of the world the chances are very low. In the reality of the game the chances are very high. In a population of 100 PCs there's likely 1 or 2 or even 5 mindbenders. In the reality of the world there's likely 1 mindbender per 10,000 people, or even a higher ratio.

Characters shouldn't worry much about mindbenders.

And barrier doesn't suck. You people just gotta use it more. I've screwed people over and kept them from ever reaching me again and that's -with- The Way in place.

No, barrier SUCKS. It will continue to suck until barried's peoples' sdescs are no longer available over the Way.

When trying to contact someone who has a barrier up, one should get the message that they are unavailable, as if they were offline. Instead you contact them and find you can't send them a message. That's pretty f***** weak. I don't really care about the messages. I just don't want people to know that I'm still alive and ONLINE.

If barrier were beefed up, I'd be happy.

PLEASE REPLY jhunter

Actually I agree with you on one point. I think a successful barrier -should- give them the same message as if they were unable to reach you at all.

But, some people were saying that barrier sucks and that you can't block people from reaching you. It does work to block people, but just like any other skill you have to use it enough to get good at it. In that aspect, it doesn't suck. It does what it's -currently- supposed to do if you're good enough at it.

[Kalden]

Actually I agree with you on one point. I think a successful barrier -should- give them the same message as if they were unable to reach you at all.

Great. Who else wants that change?

Think of the added opportunities:

1) Hides your sdesc when you're cloaked and raiding.
2) Adds the ability to fake your death.
3) Cloaks your online status to your enemies, who may use it to OOCly know when to hunt you and when not to.
4) Gives a better IC reason for why people are uncontactable all the time - they're busy, not accepting messages (perhaps having sex or sleeping).

It'd be a very, very beneficial change. People might actually start to use barrier, and many of the problems associated with the Way would dissapear.

IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE BUT VERY POWERFUL ADJUSTMENT

[Morgenes]

How would you know that the code doesn't already do this?  You could be assuming that the player is offline when really they have a barrier up and are better at it than you.

Barrier by no means sucks, it is one of the most powerful skills in the game.

[mansa]

How would you know that the code doesn't already do this?  You could be assuming that the player is offline when really they have a barrier up and are better at it than you.

Barrier by no means sucks, it is one of the most powerful skills in the game.

Oh Snap.  You got told by Morgenes.

I'd like to add one small bit.

Magickers exist, and they are scary and can kill you in one spell.
Mindbenders exist, and can kill you with their mind.
Templars exist, and can kill you with their spells and soldiers.
The Highlord and the Suk-King rule two city-states, and can kill you inside there.
The Dragon exists, and can kill you from across the multiverses.

A lot of things can kill you.

I would say the average commoner knows all of this, and tries everything they can to avoid those people.  This doesn't mean they stop drinking water because of a Vivaduan may get angry, and it doesn't mean that they stop lighting torches because a Drovian -may- be around the corner, and this doesn't mean they stop using the Way because a Psionicists may be listening.  It just means that they are careful with what they do.

[Kalden]

All I know is that I've contacted people only to be rejected by their barrier. I saw their sdesc, I got a contact, but I couldn't message them. That's a pretty weak barrier. Basically useful only against mindbenders and nothing else.

Maybe skill level makes a difference. I'll start working on my barrier now.

[LoD]

I don't mind the Way, but I also have no point of comparison.

The Way vs. Face-to-Face Interaction

One of the main objections people seem to have is that there are less physical meetings because of the ease of communicating volumes of text between characters.  The arguement seems to be that changing the Way will encourage people to discuss their secrets more frequently in person, requiring them to travel, interact and give other players a better opportunity to catch a tidbit of proprietary info.

I'm more inclined to believe it would result in a lot of meetings in apartments, estates and back rooms where the chance of being overheard is likely as slim as when communicating via the Way.  This would pull players away from common areas and probably force a lazier attitude amidst the PC leaders.  Some people propose it would promote plots, but it may end up working against them.  Ease of communication has probably included many more people in plots than it's excluded.

The problem seems to be that some people feel the Way is somehow broken or overpowered, when it's been a part of the gameworld for over a decade.  For all its failings, the Way provides a great deal of benefits and depth to the game.  Because you CAN contact someone at a distance and effectively communicate, tools are made available for espionage, coordination, reports, inter clan communication, traps, threats, bluffs...

Consider the tribal elf that wants to see if his fellows are about and arrange a meeting with them.  Should he need to find them in person somewhere in the few hundred square room area they claim as theirs?

What about the noble, who may be forced ICly to remain within their estate or tavern?  Without the Way, this could be a near mind numbing experience after you exploited the last of your options for planned and random discussion.

The Way vs. Literacy

Tamarin begs that if the Way was lessened, literacy should be elevated to make up for the lack of functionality as if the two are interchangeable, but they aren't.  Literacy provides not just a method of communication, but a recording of ideas, histories and opinions.  Literacy is one of the portals through which innovation, discovery and education must normally pass in order to succeed.  It's one of the reasons why the Sorcerer-Kings would keep such a thing under tight wraps and in the hands of those loyal to him.  The Way does not offer any ability to revisit past ideas.  No methods for gleaning information from someone else's conversations or thoughts.  It cannot be mass produced and distributed to the masses nor can a single thought be used to inspire or motivate a people to action.

I do believe there are some tweaks that could be made to The Way to make it less powerful a tool, but my opinion on what should be changed has little to do with the frequency or volume of information that can pass between characters.

-LoD

[Morgenes]

BTW, it is possible to put up a barrier after you receive notice someone contact you.  Basically the equivelant of picking up the phone and shoving it under a pillow.