Scan

[Jarek]

I have a problem similar to this with the code. Characters that can spot *shadows* and *blurs* have no problem noticing them at a distance, but when someone wants to engage them, they have to spam the look command and hope they get lucky enough to see whatever it is. Then again, I always Rped it as not being able to quiet make out what it is. So, it doesn't bother me that much.

This got me thinking.  How difficult would it be to change scan to have varying degrees of success or failure.  Instead of success always meaning you saw a shadow or a blur, why not have stages of success.

Absolute Failure: You detect nothing in your looks
Partial Failure: You sense something is amiss.
Success: You see a shadow or a blur
Critical Success: You get the sdesc of the offending party.

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

This will be in as of the next reboot. Thank me for telling Xygax to do it. Of course, you could always thank Xygax too.

This is a great start, thanks to Xygax and Olgaris for the above. 

Another pair of things I'd like to be looked into have been bugging me as well.  One the inability to target the shadow figure, or the blur.  I believe for all purposes, if you are seeing something, you should be able to target it by that word, it only makes things more difficult by having the spam keywords to look at what you're encountering, or attack it, before it hopefully gets the upper hand on you, or immediately runs off before you have a chance to shoot, attack, look, whatever, when you've already targeted it with scan.  Another matter I'd like to be changed is the fact that scan likes to fade out and in no matter your skill level.  This only makes things obscenely more difficult, as you have to spam ten times more, in hopes to land another keyword to look, or attack, what you know is already there.  Anyone else feel the same way I do?

[Gunnerblaster]

The Absolute Failure, Partial Failure and Success already 'exists' IG but I wouldn't mind seeing a Critical Success to seeing the target's full desc.

Saves time by not having to actually wander into that direction just to see if that shadow is either tiny animal or animal the size of a wagon.

[Good Gortok]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

[a strange shadow]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

Stop judging me!

(More seriously, I agree.)

[FantasyWriter]

Cool stuff... go read the post.

I like this idea. (I would like for just seeing a shadow to be considered a failure.)
As it has been said with the new change, scan is much harder to train.  So there you go, a good counterbalance brought to you by Jarek.

[jstorrie]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

This.

I can't tell you many times I've had to stop a trip because I couldn't tell if [shadow] was a jozhal, a quirri, a gimpka rat, or a stealthed half-giant ranger/thug waiting to sap me.

I'd prefer to be able to just keep riding past the 'very small shadows', since they're either animals I don't care about or halflings I don't want to see.

[Olgaris]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

This will be in as of the next reboot. Thank me for telling Xygax to do it. Of course, you could always thank Xygax too.

[FantasyWriter]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

This will be in as of the next reboot. Thank me for telling Xygax to do it. Of course, you could always thank Xygax too.

Thank the both of you very much!

[Jarek]

Awesome, thank you.

[Jarek]

Modified to change OP.

[musashi]

If you "watch" a blur/shadow that you caught with your scan skill ... doesn't that keep it from disappearing on you again? Or at least greatly decrease the chances that it will?

I had always thought it did, and that might solve your problem.

[Jarek]

If you "watch" a blur/shadow that you caught with your scan skill ... doesn't that keep it from disappearing on you again? Or at least greatly decrease the chances that it will?

I had always thought it did, and that might solve your problem.

Well, I'm sure that -could- help in theory, but in practice it seems a bit much.  One it's one more command you're going to have to spam if you're in the same room, and trying to attach watch, due to the fading.  If you're trying to watch from another room, I doubt it is going to work, because watch cancels scan.

[Nyr]

Merged these two topics since they were discussing the same skill and related very closely to each other.

[Yokunama]

Shadows should totally be distinguished by size. Very small, small, regular (no adjective), large, very large.

This will be in as of the next reboot. Thank me for telling Xygax to do it. Of course, you could always thank Xygax too.

Nice!