Changing "*You see a strange shadow here*"

[Hymwen]

I would've just idea'd it in-game but I thought I'd get people's opinion first. How about changing what you see when spotting hidden people with scan? The current hidden-sdesc, the strange shadow, is a bit odd and I'd like to see it changed to something that doesn't suggest that the hidden person is doing some super ninja hide-in-the-vase thing. How about:

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*A hidden individual is here.*

*A very tall and thick hidden individual is here.*

*A short hidden individual is here, crouching behind a couch*
(I would love to see the ability to change your ldesc while hidden, to actually show perceptive people how you're hiding. I don't think you currently can)

Since hide can be many things, from cowering under a bed to standing unobtrusively in a thick crowd, I think it should be more ambiguous.

[Dalmeth]

I'm all for it.  Make the old shadow ldesc standard for the non-specialized hide messages and give special ldescs to city and wilderness folks hiding in their element.  Plus, it would be nice to get some idea of the size of what you've spotted.


I've also been dying to have my set ldesc reflected in my hidden ldesc.  I'm all for that feature as well.[/code]

[a strange shadow]

I like all of the suggestions, especially the one translating the set ldesc.

Even if it'd out-date my wonderful GDB name.

[daedroug]

How about "the inconspicuous person"

[rufus]

twenty foot tall mantises that eat people
magick flying out of peoples' butts left and right
ginormous worms
psionic powers that can do psionic thingies


.....and a shadow is strange?

[Belenos]

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*A short hidden individual is here, crouching behind a couch*
(I would love to see the ability to change your ldesc while hidden, to actually show perceptive people how you're hiding. I don't think you currently can)

Yes you can now. just change ldesc. However it will only show that way, if you can -fully- see them.  In other words they suck at hiding.  But think about it, if you couldn't see them, how would you know they are behind the couch?

I don't care for "a hidden individual is here".  It's just as silly as a "strange shadow is here".  The point of the message is to provide an OOC pointer to the player that "something" is here, but you can't see it.   It may be a flicker of movement out of the corner of your eye, it may be a sound that is out of place.   The point is you notice that something is out of place.  It may be a person, it may be an animal.  In the next version of Arm, it may be something completely different.    If we were to change the verbiage, I'd rather see "something is here" or "something seems out of place", and not give so many clues.

[Bebop]

How would this apply to hidden creatures though?  I think a strange shadow is just fine.  It portrays catching something moving out of the corner of your eye before you actually get to look at it more thoroughly.

[LoD]

How would this apply to hidden creatures though?  I think a strange shadow is just fine.  It portrays catching something moving out of the corner of your eye before you actually get to look at it more thoroughly.

I agree.  Hiding persons could be hunched over, kneeling, crouched, prone, partially obscured by vegetation, construction, furniture, people, or a host of other possibilities.  Seeing a "strange shadow" is as close as I want to get to identifying what exactly is being seen without just typing "look shadow".

It would be kinda nice if the ldesc was provided in the information you receive when you 'look shadow' as well.

For example:

Dusty Alley [EW]
*You see a strange shadow here.*

>look shadow
[MAIN DESC]
[INVENTORY]
The tall figure in a dark, hooded cloak lies prone here, flush with a wine barrel.

-LoD

[Belated Birthday]

I vote we change it

to something like

*There's be a d00d hiding on yo ass*

lol

[a strange shadow]

How about the long description showing up in 'assess', if applicable?

>assess shadow
[standard assess results]
Someone is pressed flat against a recessed doorway.

Just a thought.

[Fathi]

There is no use to offering suggestings at this point. Arm is going down, it would be fruitless to invest more time into it. I'd rather the imms focus on the new game.

But otherwise this is a great idea.

Some of these suggestions could apply to both games, though, simply speaking code-wise.