Sense Person Ability?

[jalden]

FantasyWriter mentioned this and I think it's a really good idea.

>addsense kate (she has to be in the room)
>You will now sense when the tall, dark-headed woman awakens.

<kate logs on>
You sense the tall, dark-headed woman becoming aware.

--------

You could add a time delay so that everyone doesn't sense her at the same time or even at all based on skill-level and distance.
You could also log off with barrier up (barrier already stays on through log-out) if you didn't want people to know when you logged in.

I think this would add a lot to the game.  Rather than spending 30+ minutes trying to contact people your character has relationships with when you log in, you would be aware of the people who you are tuned into.  People being offline is an OOC thing anyway, so why should you have to waste 30 mins trying to contact people who aren't logged in?

I think it's very important that the "psi sense" skill require that you have actually met the person. 

I also think it's important for there be a distance modifier.  From an IC standpoint you should not be able to sense someone if they are far away.  And if a person is in another city you probably aren't going to be able to rp with them, so knowing which far away city they are in is just knowledge that could be abused.

So... what are your thoughts? If you've met someone in person should you be able to tune into them so you can sense when they are in the same city/area?

[Xygax]

A system like this might be alright, but it should require a pairing (in other words, the other person should want to sense you, as well, and it should be possible to remove pairings)...  Also, there should be a limit of only two or three people with whom you can maintain a coupling like this.

-- X

[5 day lifespan]

Agree with Xygax assessment.  It is a link the two of you share, and is hard to maintain, and so must only be done with a few people.  Or make it a skill like any other, and the better you get with the way, the more people you can "branch" to sense.  This lets clan leaders (normally use the way alot anyway) have a larger number of people they can track.

And also has evil implications for mind benders who might be able to do this against your will... bwahahahaha.  Maybe even detect who you are connected to.  teehee

[AmandaGreathouse]

Agree with Xygax assessment.  It is a link the two of you share, and is hard to maintain, and so must only be done with a few people.  Or make it a skill like any other, and the better you get with the way, the more people you can "branch" to sense.  This lets clan leaders (normally use the way alot anyway) have a larger number of people they can track.

And also has evil implications for mind benders who might be able to do this against your will... bwahahahaha.  Maybe even detect who you are connected to.  teehee

Seriously.... fucking awesome idea.

And even if it did stay as just two or three, that would be great, because it would allow you to sense your mate and your boss and your child all at once, all people you are close to, but without giving you major amounts of psionic abilities.

[tortall]

I remember when you got a different message from when someone was offline, and online but you couldn't reach them.

If the imms are willing to put something like this in, why not just reimplement this? It's kinda the whole point. Don't keep trying to contact someone who isn't online.

People being offline is an OOC thing anyway, so why should you have to waste 30 mins trying to contact people who aren't logged in?

[RogueGunslinger]

Hmm. Good ideas all around.

[ibusoe]

So... what are your thoughts? If you've met someone in person should you be able to tune into them so you can sense when they are in the same city/area?

I'm not a huge fan of this.  On the one hand, it would add playability to people who have trouble using existing game features to keep track of friends, allies and associates.

On the other hand, it really exceeds the scope of what a commoner is meant to do with the game, and changes Zalanthas from a partially telepathic society towards something else.

I think that a lot of players get confused about the Way.  For non-mindbenders, it's meant to be partial, limited detection and communication rather than full-scope, high-speed, deep QoS, low latency instant messaging with multiple redundancy features.


Edit:  the idea is not bad on the surface, I'm just concerned that it would add more harm than good.

[Hi]

I remember when you got a different message from when someone was offline, and online but you couldn't reach them.

If the imms are willing to put something like this in, why not just reimplement this? It's kinda the whole point. Don't keep trying to contact someone who isn't online.

People being offline is an OOC thing anyway, so why should you have to waste 30 mins trying to contact people who aren't logged in?

I don't like that kind of idea. If your enemy or whatever tried contacting you and got the message that you were offline, then they would know they can come into your stomping grounds without having to deal with you.

[jalden]

I don't like that kind of idea. If your enemy or whatever tried contacting you and got the message that you were offline, then they would know they can come into your stomping grounds without having to deal with you.

Hmm.. Yep that's one of the problems with knowing who is online and offline.  It gives characters a more omnipresent feel if you don't know.  The last thing we want is for well known thief bob to be able to log on and check whether the templar who is on his case is online or not.  If we code in the ability to tell whether someone is around it needs to somehow be limited to friends.  

[Armaddict]

Seriously, after a decade of not having this sort of function, what makes knowing exactly when other people are online so essential to everyone now?

In a time where peaking, there were 28 to 35 people, we didn't need that.  In a time when it jumped up to more, we didn't need that.  Now, all of a sudden, there's a flipout over it.

In -any- case where there is a listing, a warning, anything that can tell you exactly when or where someone is, there is the potential for both role-play and for abuse, whether that abuse is intentional or not.  Hell, even without abuse...it still changes and affects things, it doesn't remain exactly the same but with added convenience.  However, as is, there is the potential for role-play...  .... ....  .........   and roleplaying finding people and not knowing if they're around.

[Synthesis]

We didn't have the ability to 'watch' for about a decade, either. 

[SMuz]

I think this would be fun. Potential abuse would also be fun. I'd like to see it slapped on everyone who started off with a background as related to each other, and they'd know when each other is on for good or for bad. Tribe mates would know when someone else is on. Marriage ceremonies would require that both parties consent to having it locked on each other. Nobles and templars can force a slave to accept the sensing. And when you remove someone from your "sense" list, they'll know and it's pretty much a sign that you don't want anything to do with them (or that you died). And barrier would make you detected as logged off.

Psions should be able to sense a few others without them sensing the psionicist back.

As for commoners being too psionically powerful... well, that's evolution. They weren't as powerful earlier, but now, heck, every teenager knows how to contact at a decent level. Only those with barely any psionic ability survived at first, and now, the ones who aren't passing out in public from basic use are the ones who are making the next generation.

I like it.

[AmandaGreathouse]

I think this would be fun. Potential abuse would also be fun. I'd like to see it slapped on everyone who started off with a background as related to each other, and they'd know when each other is on for good or for bad. Tribe mates would know when someone else is on. Marriage ceremonies would require that both parties consent to having it locked on each other. Nobles and templars can force a slave to accept the sensing. And when you remove someone from your "sense" list, they'll know and it's pretty much a sign that you don't want anything to do with them (or that you died). And barrier would make you detected as logged off.

Psions should be able to sense a few others without them sensing the psionicist back.

As for commoners being too psionically powerful... well, that's evolution. They weren't as powerful earlier, but now, heck, every teenager knows how to contact at a decent level. Only those with barely any psionic ability survived at first, and now, the ones who aren't passing out in public from basic use are the ones who are making the next generation.

I like it.

Very well put. Couldn't agree more. Especially if the change to starting contact goes in.

[Krath]

Seriously, after a decade of not having this sort of function, what makes knowing exactly when other people are online so essential to everyone now?

In a time where peaking, there were 28 to 35 people, we didn't need that.  In a time when it jumped up to more, we didn't need that.  Now, all of a sudden, there's a flipout over it.

In -any- case where there is a listing, a warning, anything that can tell you exactly when or where someone is, there is the potential for both role-play and for abuse, whether that abuse is intentional or not.  Hell, even without abuse...it still changes and affects things, it doesn't remain exactly the same but with added convenience.  However, as is, there is the potential for role-play...  .... ....  .........   and roleplaying finding people and not knowing if they're around.

I agree with this guy.