Link Loss and going IDLE

[mansa]

Hi,

I think that the game should automatically log out characters if they go idle for 15 minutes.

Every other game does that. 


I think it will prevent people from dying due to starvation when their player falls asleep / forgets to shut down / problems with link.

Every other game does that.

[Tisiphone]

This is already in the works for 2.arm, but for what 'tis worth, I agree.

[FuSoYa]

I agree as well... also for the reason I hate seeing certain PCs in rather popular spots for RL days on end just LDing it up.  Kills me a little inside each time.

Brandon

[Malifaxis]

I agree as well... also for the reason I hate seeing certain PCs in rather popular spots for RL days on end just LDing it up.  Kills me a little inside each time.

Brandon

I find that if you kill them on the outside, it helps.

[LittleLostThief]

In a game where time is your most important statistic, and it continues to accrue when you have a loss of link, I think this would be brilliant.

I get very suspicious when I see "long lived" characters regularly spending "time" in the game at 4am without a person at the helm.

Even more suspicious when they go LD a room away from gortok spawns with their sparring weapons out all night long.

[Clearsighted]

In a game where time is your most important statistic, and it continues to accrue when you have a loss of link, I think this would be brilliant.

I get very suspicious when I see "long lived" characters regularly spending "time" in the game at 4am without a person at the helm.

Even more suspicious when they go LD a room away from gortok spawns with their sparring weapons out all night long.

Has that seriously happend before?

Lol. I'm surprised staff wouldn't notice.

[staggerlee]

In a game where time is your most important statistic, and it continues to accrue when you have a loss of link, I think this would be brilliant.

I get very suspicious when I see "long lived" characters regularly spending "time" in the game at 4am without a person at the helm.

Even more suspicious when they go LD a room away from gortok spawns with their sparring weapons out all night long.

Are you suggesting that they're sparring with gortoks while LD?  That doesn't seem like a very good way to ensure longevity. 

[mansa]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

And if you quit out in a quit area, you don't have the 20 second timer.

[AmandaGreathouse]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

And if you quit out in a quit area, you don't have the 20 second timer.

This thing exactly. Not in combat of course, but seriously, having to go LD because you took your nonranger outside the gates and got stuck in a sandstorm sucks. Sometimes you need to go, for work, for thunderstorms, for all kinds of reasons. It's a horribly inconvenient thing. I am all for having all rooms as quit rooms.

[The Spoony Bard]

I love it when people go linkdead for so long they practically become furniture in the room. I use those people as coatracks.

[brytta.leofa]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

I would have said 5-10 minutes, but I do like the idea.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

I would have said 5-10 minutes, but I do like the idea.

I agree with mansa, but require Brytta's timer, or more. I love the way you have to go to a tavern or a quit-safe room right now. I absolutely do. I'm a masochistic SOB , though, and I know it.

[staggerlee]

I'd like to see more quit rooms. 

However.  I'm absolutely against having people pop in and out of the world willy nilly.  That would be jarring, confusing and have enormous potential for abuse.    I like that you have to find somewhere safe and quiet to log out, rather than having people log out in vaults, on rooftops, on a salt flat, in the middle of the street or half way down a cliff.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

I don't mind people needing to have quit rooms in the city, as opposed to popping in and out wily nily, but I agree that the desert situation can really suck.   Particularly on people with spotty connections, or RL things beyond their control.  I once had to run and do something for my job while my character was in the desert (at this point I had been lost for something like two hours, much longer than I'd planned to spend on playing) and he ended up rather dead.  I'd seen it coming though, but still, it was disappointing not to get to gasp out his final words.

[staggerlee]

I don't mind people needing to have quit rooms in the city, as opposed to popping in and out wily nily, but I agree that the desert situation can really suck.   Particularly on people with spotty connections, or RL things beyond their control.  I once had to run and do something for my job while my character was in the desert (at this point I had been lost for something like two hours, much longer than I'd planned to spend on playing) and he ended up rather dead.  I'd seen it coming though, but still, it was disappointing not to get to gasp out his final words.

My solution to this would be two fold:

1)  More quit spots.  Holes in the ground, lone trees that provide shade, big rocks to hide behind... things that can be crudely called shelter or land marks and provide some comfort.

2)  Make tents quit spots.

[mansa]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

I would have said 5-10 minutes, but I do like the idea.

I agree with mansa, but require Brytta's timer, or more. I love the way you have to go to a tavern or a quit-safe room right now. I absolutely do. I'm a masochistic SOB , though, and I know it.

With that timer, you can probably walk back to a city and quit out normally.

And who is going to type quit, and then wait 5 minutes to log out.  5 minutes will seem like 5 hours.  Even 1 minute will seem long.   5 seconds of nothing on the radio is DEATH to the station.  A good timer is 20 seconds.  You could do it like WoW and have the user cancel the quit if they type -anything-.

The whole point is to allow any user to stop playing when they want, and allow their character to be "safe" without being killed when they must get off the computer.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I also think that you should be able to quit _anywhere_, with a 20 second timer that count downs for you.

I would have said 5-10 minutes, but I do like the idea.

I agree with mansa, but require Brytta's timer, or more. I love the way you have to go to a tavern or a quit-safe room right now. I absolutely do. I'm a masochistic SOB , though, and I know it.

With that timer, you can probably walk back to a city and quit out normally.

And who is going to type quit, and then wait 5 minutes to log out.  5 minutes will seem like 5 hours.  Even 1 minute will seem long.   5 seconds of nothing on the radio is DEATH to the station.  A good timer is 20 seconds.  You could do it like WoW and have the user cancel the quit if they type -anything-.

The whole point is to allow any user to stop playing when they want, and allow their character to be "safe" without being killed when they must get off the computer.

Bah.

[Riev]

I hate to sound callous, but if something comes up in real life that forces you to be unable to take 10 minutes to find a nearby quit-safe room, then perhaps worrying about your character should be last on your mind.

I'm of the opinion that if you -do- need to do something, send a wish up and tell the staff that you need to go immediately, some sort of emergency, and see if they can purge you from the world. Would that be easier than imposing some new code for quitting out anywhere for those not as Rangers?

[Bogre]

I would have loved this feature two years ago.

Yes please.

[LittleLostThief]

How about a "camp" command with a 15 minute timer that allows non-rangers to quit in the wild?

For those times when you just HAVE to go... you can start camping and drop link and hope for the best.

With a long wait time it would be hard to abuse it if you're being hunted.  Any kind of action should break your timer.

[Cerelum]

Littlelostthief totally hit it on the head, have some type of timer for quitting and finding a good spot to hunker down when you're not a ranger.  This way if you're trapped by a sandstorm or something else, you can type quit, go do whatever you gotta do and provided you're not attacked or otherwise molested in the timer, you quit out.

Jarod

[Shiroi Tsuki]

I hate to sound callous, but if something comes up in real life that forces you to be unable to take 10 minutes to find a nearby quit-safe room, then perhaps worrying about your character should be last on your mind.

Sometimes, it takes a lot longer than ten minutes to find a quit safe room.  I re-emphasize that once I got lost in the desert for two+ hours.  I honestly thought I had plenty of time on the character, since I like to plan on quitting out about half an hour before I actually have to go do something, but with move drain and having to rest/rest mounts.. getting lost in the desert can be severely time consuming.  Much more time consuming than ten minutes, even.

I know there are ways to avoid it, but I wouldn't even mind having to wait fifteen minutes for my character to set up a camp so that I know he at least has a slim chance of survival if I absolutely MUST vacate the premises RIGHT NOW because my house is burning down.  A lot of 'must quit now' situations suck enough without having your character die on top of them.

There aren't always staffers to be able to respond to a wish, particularly if you play heavily offpeak.

In short, I like the idea, with limitations.  I think twenty seconds is way too short.

[brytta.leofa]

... with move drain and having to rest/rest mounts.. getting lost in the desert can be severely time consuming.  Much more time consuming than ten minutes, even.

And if there's a sandstorm, you're just hosed.

My reason for the relatively longish timer, btw, is so that it's difficult to desert-quit fast enough to avoid someone stalking you.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

Someone stalking you, or trying to quit in a room next to an Evilly Bad Creature spawn, or any number of reasons.  The twenty seconds suggested by someone else is just too short a period for a character to set up a camp or anything of that nature.

Furthermore, I'd like it if your ldesc was changed to something like :

The tall, muscular man is setting up camp here.

So that folks know that you are probably not even there, should they happen to come across you in the desert while the lag on that command is going down.  Or, maybe not, since folks might try to take advantage of that to kill your AFK ass.  Hmmmm.

[mansa]

For those who think 20 is too short...

Go to a tavern, and sit down, and time 20 seconds.

Is it too short?  Perhaps.  But I would never want to wait longer than 1 minute.

[Clearsighted]

There's already alot of quit safe rooms out there. Honestly, no matter what's happening in your RL, if you don't have the knowledge of surviving in an harsh environment such as a ranger, you should be hosed if you have to log out on the silt sea. Journeying outside the city must remain perilous.

[brytta.leofa]

For those who think 20 is too short...

Go to a tavern, and sit down, and time 20 seconds.

Is it too short?  Perhaps.  But I would never want to wait longer than 1 minute.

Dude, it takes 20 seconds for most people just to compose a suitable talk emote.  And the combat timer is well over a minute.

[mansa]

For those who think 20 is too short...

Go to a tavern, and sit down, and time 20 seconds.

Is it too short?  Perhaps.  But I would never want to wait longer than 1 minute.

Dude, it takes 20 seconds for most people just to compose a suitable talk emote.  And the combat timer is well over a minute.

I'm willing to concede for 60 seconds for a "quit now" fuction.

[Gunnerblaster]

I saw someone mention a 10-15 minute Auto-log out timer. I think that's adequate enough.

As it is, Armageddon is a tough game. -Anyone- could leave their computer for more than 20 seconds to go run and get something. Doesn't help to return to constantly having to log in. And, honestly, it would get pretty tiresome to have someone logging in and out just because they have to run and take a piss while someone else in the room is making an important announcement.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

I only support the fifteen or twenty minute in-room log out feature in the desert or other forms of wilderness, where quit rooms are hard to come by.  I don't support it in the middle of a city or other area where quit rooms occur every ten squares or so.

[FightClub]

I like the way this thread is going.  My option, and one that you may or may not agree with.  Would be to enable and instant quit out for non-rangers.  Face it, people who abuse it, are going to be reported, and the staff will come down on them, it's not much an argument as to why not to do it.  All of the arguments I've seen before dictate realism, and I personally say screw realism when it comes to playability.

My option would be this.  For non-rangers you have an instant quitout, not just quit, a special command.  And a disclaimer that pops off: Type quotout now! if you really wish to proceed and quit, you will not be able to log back in for 30 minutes after doing this.  Personally I think a 30 minute lock on an account would dissuade people from abusing this, give people a chance who -really- need to get the fuck out, the chance they need, and by time they got back, the timer would be off anyway.

[najdorf]

Yesterday, my computer crashed when my character was at a place and he could loose his life very easily.
It would be really lame if that happened, and currently, there is no way to prevent it. 

[Winterless]

I like the way this thread is going.  My option, and one that you may or may not agree with.  Would be to enable and instant quit out for non-rangers.  Face it, people who abuse it, are going to be reported, and the staff will come down on them, it's not much an argument as to why not to do it.  All of the arguments I've seen before dictate realism, and I personally say screw realism when it comes to playability.

My option would be this.  For non-rangers you have an instant quitout, not just quit, a special command.  And a disclaimer that pops off: Type quotout now! if you really wish to proceed and quit, you will not be able to log back in for 30 minutes after doing this.  Personally I think a 30 minute lock on an account would dissuade people from abusing this, give people a chance who -really- need to get the fuck out, the chance they need, and by time they got back, the timer would be off anyway.

I like this except for the 30 minute lock out. On rangers I will log out to just do things like use the bathroom or get a drink... I wouldn't like having to wait to play again just because I'm about to piss myself or die of thirst.

[FightClub]

I like the way this thread is going.  My option, and one that you may or may not agree with.  Would be to enable and instant quit out for non-rangers.  Face it, people who abuse it, are going to be reported, and the staff will come down on them, it's not much an argument as to why not to do it.  All of the arguments I've seen before dictate realism, and I personally say screw realism when it comes to playability.

My option would be this.  For non-rangers you have an instant quitout, not just quit, a special command.  And a disclaimer that pops off: Type quotout now! if you really wish to proceed and quit, you will not be able to log back in for 30 minutes after doing this.  Personally I think a 30 minute lock on an account would dissuade people from abusing this, give people a chance who -really- need to get the fuck out, the chance they need, and by time they got back, the timer would be off anyway.

I like this except for the 30 minute lock out. On rangers I will log out to just do things like use the bathroom or get a drink... I wouldn't like having to wait to play again just because I'm about to piss myself or die of thirst.

I'd prefer to make you piss yourself, then be locked out for 30 minutes while you clean up.

[UnderSeven]

I agree whole heartedly with quit anywhere.  It makes no sense that the ranger class has an ooc perk (the ability to quit outdoors)  Seriously. No sense at all.

[Bilanthri]

I agree whole heartedly with quit anywhere.  It makes no sense that the ranger class has an ooc perk (the ability to quit outdoors)  Seriously. No sense at all.

Seriously? No sense? How else would you have the code support a class that is supposed to be able to pick turf and live there with out any interaction with more civilized folk? Sure there's quit rooms out there...but what if my ranger's chosen turf doesn't have one? Then I have to break character to go find a quit room outside of my chosen lands.

Check out some of the DarkSun docs on their ranger class and you'll see that they're more like non-magical druids rather than fighters, and druids (if present in Zalanthas) would need that wilderness quit perk too. It makes perfect sense.

[Qzzrbl]

Rangers are men of the desert.

It would make less sense if they -couldn't- set up a camp and quit outdoors.

Rangers are the only class who should ever even come close to feeling safe and at home in the wastes, and wilderness quit reflects that.

[Tisiphone]

Rangers are men of the desert.

It would make less sense if they -couldn't- set up a camp and quit outdoors.

Great, so we've proved that rangers should. Can we prove that others shouldn't?

[fourTwenty]

Rangers are men of the desert.

It would make less sense if they -couldn't- set up a camp and quit outdoors.

Great, so we've proved that rangers should. Can we prove that others shouldn't?

Sure

Rangers are the only class who should ever even come close to feeling safe and at home in the wastes, and wilderness quit reflects that.

[mansa]

This is a game.
I need to log out, and it shouldn't kill my character.

[AmandaGreathouse]

This is a game.
I need to log out, and it shouldn't kill my character.

Quoted for truth. Shit, what if I'm out 30 rooms from the nearest quit room I (as a -player-) know about, out in the middle of nowhere, grebbing. Then a sandstorm stirs up. I (as a player) can't quit out, even despite a wicked thunderstorm outside that's about to knock my (as a player['s]) power out. Or despite the fact that <insert any number of perfectly good ooc reasons to _QUIT_, an OOC THING>. Because my CHARACTER is not a ranger? That is totally penalizing anyone who isn't a ranger on an ooc level for an IC thing, like their character's guild.

[Fathi]

I support quitting anywhere for any guild.

It's a game. Quitting is an entirely OOC thing. It's not about your character "feeling comfortable in the wilderness." It's about you, the player, needing to stop playing the game for OOC reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with your PC's wilderness knowledge.

The game should be hard for the PCs struggling to survive in the environment, not hard for the players behind them. Armageddon is very user-unfriendly as it is.

If you're afraid people are going to run around in the wilderness and quit out when your PC is chasing them, then file a complaint once it happens. There's still a quit timer after combat anyhow, so they won't be able to quit out to escape if you've actually engaged them.

[Qzzrbl]

This is a game.
I need to log out, and it shouldn't kill my character.

Then don't put your character in a siuation in which he would die if you suddeny had to leave.

I think the real question is:

Why are there not more weathered storm rangers and dirty dune traders to guide common folk across the perilous desert so that we can avoid those

You say, out of character:
     "Are you kidding me?"

sort of situations.

TAKE. A. RANGER.

Seriously, this kind of shit is your own fault. I've never seen it go from clear to unnavigable save for a certain area that's coded different (but even then after a few minutes it goes right back to where it was.). If you're leaving the city when it's not clear or staying out as the weather starts to get worse then it's your own damn fault. I never leave the city if I can't see more than two rooms away, and if I can only see two rooms away and the wind starts to pick up I take my ass home immediately.

Moral of the story: Keep your non-ranger ass in the city if the weather's not clear or TAKE. A. RANGER.

Edit to add: Yall keep saying that quitting is an OOC thing being affected by IG conditions. But your in that situation in the first place because you ignored IG conditions to start with. Careful planning is the most important part of any desert trip and most people ignore it.

[Rahnevyn]

If you die while linkdead, or when you have been idle greater than 1 hour, please notify the staff. You can email me directly if you like. I'd like to find out how often this happens and would like to find ways to make it stop happening.

[mansa]

Autologouts for link loss characters after 15 minutes of linkloss?
Autologouts for idle characters who have not typed anything after 15 minutes.

Quit-now feature with a 1 minute countdown. If someone targets you or you type anything you will not log out.
Quit safe rooms / rangers have no change.

Please?  I'll pay 50 bucks for this!

[fourTwenty]

Autologouts for link loss characters after 15 minutes of linkloss?
Autologouts for idle characters who have not typed anything after 15 minutes.

This I could almost get behind. Shit does happen.
Connection went to crap.
Power went out.
House caught on fire.
Police are at door. <-- My personal favirot 
Forgot to pay internet/power bill

Quit-now feature with a 1 minute countdown. If someone targets you or you type anything you will not log out.

This is not long enough, make it 15 minutes like the other suggestions and then I could kind of see it. Like you -can- build a camp without being a ranger it should just take a ridiculous long time.


I mean, there are 2 separate issues here.
1.Dieing because you went LD and it could not be helped. That sucks and I could agree with some way to help.
2.Dieing because you went out, got lost, and need to leave/sleep/eat/shit. Well that's your own fault and as it has been so eloquently put before me, hosed.

And I'd almost rather it be a 30 minute timer, to help prevent abuse and such.

[mansa]

fourTwenty:

In 15 minutes, you can walk to a quit safe room.

Sometimes, you need to log out -now-.


Can you convince me on how there is potential for abuse?  I don't see it.

[Tisiphone]

Why not just have a linkdead timer of X time? That way, when you absolutely, positively must go, you just drop link. The game logs you out in that room X minutes later.

[musashi]

Why not just have a linkdead timer of X time? That way, when you absolutely, positively must go, you just drop link. The game logs you out in that room X minutes later.

I like this idea. Maybe a 10 minute timer after dropping your connection or something like that.

[fourTwenty]

fourTwenty:

In 15 minutes, you can walk to a quit safe room.

Sometimes, you need to log out -now-.


Can you convince me on how there is potential for abuse?  I don't see it.

You know what, your right. We don't really need a quit-now command at all. If you need to log out -now- there are only a few reasons you shouldn't be able to make it to a quit room (only 1 reason I can think of actually but I'm sure there are more). But if for some reason you need to log out -now- just kill your connection and hope nobody ganks you in the 15 minutes your waiting.

Besides, it's not unheard of to 

Code Select Expand


wish all Aww, crap. I'm terribly lost in a sandstorm, have been for hours and have to go to work now. Can somebody -please- quit my PC out

and it be granted, Just don't make it a habit.

[mansa]

fourTwenty:

I'd rather have something coded, than rely on immortals.

[Qzzrbl]

Maybe you should hire a trustworthy guide who will have you follow him to a safe place in a city, and wish up for the Staff to quit you out. Every time you leave the city.

[fourTwenty]

Mansa:

I can understand that. It's just that IMO you shouldn't be able to quit out anywhere.

For example.
If I could quit out anywhere I'd already know -much- more of the map than I do.

I mean that is one of the dangers of being lost. Whether it be the city/desert/moon you have no idea where a safe place to rest is, even if you have been walking for days. And I mean that IG and IRL

[KIA]

What about the thief or raider or assassin who is patiently waiting 3 hours for someone to log in, open their apartment door, so that they can commit horrendous, unthinkably sinister crimes upon them? You're telling me that the game would try to continually log me out over that three hour time?

And what if I've been waiting days and finally the guy shows up and at that moment goes link-dead/idle. I sure as hell am not -always- going to show mercy, though I agree this is good form, and a typical course of action. We are technically allowed to kill people who are link dead, and there are many circumstances where someone is idle and shouldn't be immune or have the option of escape simply by logging out.

Nope! I disagree. Sorry mansa.

[Fathi]

What about the thief or raider or assassin who is patiently waiting 3 hours for someone to log in, open their apartment door, so that they can commit horrendous, unthinkably sinister crimes upon them? You're telling me that the game would try to continually log me out over that three hour time?

There's plenty of stuff you can do during this scenario that doesn't involve straight-up idling.

That and it could be a flag you could set on or off, like nosave arrest and the other nosaves.

[mansa]

What about the thief or raider or assassin who is patiently waiting 3 hours for someone to log in, open their apartment door, so that they can commit horrendous, unthinkably sinister crimes upon them? You're telling me that the game would try to continually log me out over that three hour time?

And what if I've been waiting days and finally the guy shows up and at that moment goes link-dead/idle. I sure as hell am not -always- going to show mercy, though I agree this is good form, and a typical course of action. We are technically allowed to kill people who are link dead, and there are many circumstances where someone is idle and shouldn't be immune or have the option of escape simply by logging out.

Nope! I disagree. Sorry mansa.

Code Select Expand


>
You have been idle for 5 minutes.

>
You have been idle for 10 minutes.  You will be disconnected if you are idle for 15 minutes

>
You have been idle for 15 minutes and have been disconnected.

Code Select Expand


>
You have been idle for 5 minutes.

>
You have been idle for 10 minutes.  You will be disconnected if you are idle for 15 minutes.

>look
ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION
ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION
ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION
ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION
ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION ROOM DESCRIPTION

>
You have been idle for 5 minutes.

[FantasyWriter]

I like the linkdead/idle auto quit timer.
I do not like the not ranger camp unless it takes AT LEAST.

If you want your PC to survive in the wild, make a ranger, or established a "territory for your PC that centers around a quit spot.
I can't think of if VERY few places that are more that ONE spam walking minute from an outdoors quit spot. 
If it is an emergency, one minute is more than likely not going to kill you, but may save your PC.

Tips for non rangers when going out without a guide/ranger:
1.  The "weather <direction>" command (check the room ahead BEFORE you walk into a sandstorm.
2.  Don't let you or your mounts stamina get below half without resting it back up.  "assess <mount>" (in case you didn't know)
        (there have been MANY times where a few more points of stamina would have saved my dead PCs)
3.  If you don't have a mount, go back to the mountseller and get one...
        seriously non rangers should NOT leave the walls without a mount (elves excluded, of course).
3.  Know the quit spots between where you start and where you plan to go.
4.  Stop at all of them to rest, drink, eat.
5.  If you can't see at least two rooms away, head to the nearest quit spot and wait the storm out, or 'way' someone to help.

If you are stuck outside the walls for an OOC reason: rough magicker/escaped slave, etc.:
1.  Find a secluded quit spot near food and water, make it your hermitage. (eliminates the IC reasons to need to travel far)
2.  When you do need to go on a long journey, follow all the tips tips in the first list.
3.  Make a friend... even your spec app Sorcerer-Nilazi combo defiler will get lonely from time to time.
4.  Have your friend bring you supplies or escort you to the nearest village to get them.

[Rahnevyn]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

[Gimfalisette]

That is so awesome. Thanks, staff. I know of at least a couple PCs who have died from hunger/starvation in a safe location, and this code change would have prevented that. No more! Rock on.

[AmandaGreathouse]

W00t. Thank you staff. My ISP is crappy. A couple of times a year, they randomly close down the area over night with no warning. Thank you for saving us Zalanthas people whose players have crappy ISP's.

[KIA]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

That's a brilliant solution to an age old problem.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

Wow.

A-Ok.

[Taven]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

Wow.

A-Ok.

I believe the correct response is actually "Rav, I want your babies!"

Bonus points if you're a filthy gemmer who plans to eat them. Everyone knows gemmers eat babies.

[FantasyWriter]

Lots to be thankful for today! here's another!!!

[Dar]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

I like that change. If only it came in 13 days earlier.

[musashi]

Sounds cool!

[Kryos]

Hmmm.  I would suggest a tiered system here.   Idle for <time> leads to <link dead>  Any link dead characters are insta-booted from the world.  With this system, camping in the wilds is not required, but still somewhat valuable.  I think a 1 minute timer for logout, that requires you not be acted upon in a negative fashion(read combat) is more then reasonable for both sides.  Dying because you lost your internet in a storm, etc, is not role play enhancing, fun, or reasonable. 

[Synthesis]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

So now to survive being caught in vicious sandstorms, you no longer need a tent or a safe place to hunker down...you can just suck it up for an hour, then wait indefinitely for the storm to clear while watching reruns of the Colbert Report?

[Synthesis]

After much discussion on the IDB, I am happy to announce to you all that characters who are idle over 1 hour will no longer suffer affects of hunger and thirst. (You will get hungrier and thirstier for one hour, and then stop after that until you become unidle.) This should mean the end of deaths of characters who die of dehydration after being left idle on a city street all night.

So now to survive being caught in vicious sandstorms, you no longer need a tent or a safe place to hunker down...you can just suck it up for an hour, then wait indefinitely for the storm to clear while watching reruns of the Colbert Report?

Proposed solution:

When the MUD recognizes a character as being idle/linkdead, it stops sending all text to that connection in addition to turning off the hunger/thirst timers, until the player a) logs back in or b) starts sending more text to the MUD.  This way, if you wanted to "game" the idle code, you'd a) be incurring the significant risk that someone might find you there, and you'd be unable to respond and b) be unaware of when the storm had actually cleared, so you'd have to start re-sending text periodically, which would reset the 1-hour idle timer. 

You'd still be able to game the system, but it would be harder to do, and would be significantly riskier.  This would also prevent people from tavern-idling while waiting for someone to log in:  under the current system, it seems like you could avoid racking up hunger and thirst penalties by simply declining to respond to anyone for hours on end until your target arrived. 

Idle/linkdead characters would be unaffected, because if you're -truly- linkdead, you wouldn't be receiving the text anyway.

[KIA]

When the MUD recognizes a character as being idle/linkdead, it stops sending all text to that connection in addition to turning off the hunger/thirst timers, until the player a) logs back in or b) starts sending more text to the MUD. 

I like this proposal because it prevents people from idling (to a certain extent) in order to learn accents, which I've seen aplenty. That is, if there's any interest in preventing this type of skill-gaming.

[Sephiroto]

I was thinking that we could turn on the "Merchant Flee" script on any persons idle over 30 minutes or link dead persons so that as soon as they are attacked they disappear.  Prior to this happening their location is saved.  When they log back in they reload where they last saved and then the flag is turned off.