Save objects

[Salt Merchant]

Currently Arm implements a "save room" concept. Items left in these rooms will reappear after reboots.

I propose that this concept be extended to include specially designated objects as well.

Not only would the objects keep track of their contents, so that they reappear between reboots, but also their locations. Wagon objects would benefit from this (if they still reset to default locations, that is). A "save flagged" chest dropped in the middle of the desert would not vanish (without inteference).

In fact, code could be added so that such a chest could be hidden or buried.

The save object concept would make it easier for groups to set up temporary or not so temporary encampments wherever they wish. Tents could be made save objects, for example. A non-save-room cavern or crevice could be occupied in a lasting way.

[Zalanthan]

I wholeheartedly agree.  I wonder how difficult this would be to implement?

[spawnloser]

Wagons are only an object from the outside, just like other buildings.  They are rooms on the inside.  People can't go into objects, just rooms.  Objects can be in either rooms or other objects.

Save objects would only be good, in my opinion, for items that the staff says should NEVER leave game.  That super cool sword that someone fell from the sky and died with out in the middle of nowhere?  Yeah, it's still there until someone gets it.  Your backpack and its contents?  Not nearly so important.  Also, likely much of it is biodegradable and won't last forever, whereas a magickal sword likely could.

Having code that allows things to be buried has been discussed, and is cool.  It would allow for all the things you'd like this to allow... but doesn't add in a secondary step.  The burying code could handle everything a save object would handle under your idea.

[Maso]

I'd rather see every room in the game as a Save room. With items left in open desert rooms eventually blown away or covered with sand over time, to avoid clogging. And perhaps street cleaners (PC or NPC!) in towns and cities that will pick up little.

[psionic fungus]

As per previous discussion in the Arm Reborn forum (and I swear they have said that all NEW code discussions, like this, should be brought up in that forum, since they aren't going to add new things to 1.Arm, and only possibly fix bugs)...

Every room should be a save room.  We have the technology.  We have the power.  There is nothing the prevents this from being a reality on 2.Arm, embrace the future.

:twisted:

[Yang]

Wouldn't this be rife with abuse? It would allow treasures to be hidden wherever a person wanted, with hundreds of thousands of rooms to chose from. Once a PC died who has hidden such a thing, any later characters of theirs could 'stumble upon' it.

Just a thought.


On the other hand, I would love to see how this might affect tents. Little nomadic PC-maintained tent villages would be neat.

[Mood]

Also, likely much of it is biodegradable and won't last forever, whereas a magickal sword likely could.

Decay happens very slowly, or not at all in a desert environment.

[psionic fungus]

I once saw a Nine Inch Nails concert video with this neat time-lapse of a dead fox in the desert... It decayed.

What, again, prevents decay from happening in a desert? I know that extremely dry conditions can lead to mummification. This is because the bacteria that cause most decomposition cannot grow without water... The cold nights are likely to slow bacteria, and it seems that they would adapt to at least survive the heat, if not thrive in it.

The question becomes whether or not there are bacteria on Zalanthas that can thrive in the extremely hot (cold at night) and dry climate.  I contend that yes, there most certainly are.

Of course, I'm all for having things mummify, jerkify, and just plain ole dry out if you leave them somewhere like the salt-flats or rocky badlands opposed to the thorn forest or scrub...

Wow... Decomposition based on terrain.  There's a concept.

Wouldn't this be rife with abuse? It would allow treasures to be hidden wherever a person wanted, with hundreds of thousands of rooms to chose from. Once a PC died who has hidden such a thing, any later characters of theirs could 'stumble upon' it.

There are a million ways we can cheat in this game. I don't think this is that big of a concern, as there are current parallels (possibly more 'risky' to engage in), and anyone caught cheating like this is bound to be dealt with harshly.

[spawnloser]

Decay happens slowly, but scavengers do not.  Food and meat still goes sour and scavengers in the form of rodent, bird, lizard or insect will come along quickly enough.

Editted to add: Oh, and yeah... decay doesn't cease in a desert environment.  It slows but does not cease.

[Morgenes]

We're working on some blog updates to discuss the engine for Arm 2.0, and one of them will be a discussion of the technologies we're choosing and what that means for the game.

This blog post will address this specific question.  To go ahead and give you the answer you want, in Arm 2.0, every room will act like save rooms do now.  There's more to it than that, but I'll discuss that later.

[Ammit]

We're working on some blog updates to discuss the engine for Arm 2.0, and one of them will be a discussion of the technologies we're choosing and what that means for the game.

This blog post will address this specific question.  To go ahead and give you the answer you want, in Arm 2.0, every room will act like save rooms do now.  There's more to it than that, but I'll discuss that later.

Huzzah! I knew that was one of the dreams of the staff, but I wasn't sure if it would be implemented in Arm 2 at first. So its great to see that it will be.

[psionic fungus]

Having seen it done on far inferior muds, I had faith that we would see it on 2.Arm... Hopefully it will be improved upon as well.  Like many other things...

[Maso]

Whoop whoop!