Random idea: no intro, no way

[Fnord]

Ir -really- gets annoying when you try to play a PC you want to keep out of the public eye.... Because all it takes is for -one- single solitary person to see your sdesc for everyone in the Known World to have an sdesc keyword with which they can use to contact your character.

[Potaje]

Even so if you use a mask and hood then they look at you they should only get your equipment list and not your desc to fish out a further conntact desc when your barrier is up.

[Lizzie]

Even so if you use a mask and hood then they look at you they should only get your equipment list and not your desc to fish out a further conntact desc when your barrier is up.

That just doesn't make sense. A person's main description -shouldn't- consist entirely of a person's head.

With a mask and hood up, you can STILL tell that the buxom, tall woman is a buxom, tall woman. Her main description should not be hidden. Even if she's wearing a cloak..if she's truly buxom, she's gonna be bumpy enough in the chest area that people will notice.

If her hair goes down to her waist (which every tressy-tressed buxom woman's hair does, as you all know), then you -will- see some of that hair with her hood up and wearing a mask. If she's got it all coiled up in a bun, you'll see a clot of -something- sticking up from under her hood, and it won't be too hard to guess that it's hair, knotted in a bun.

If the man has really big broad shoulders and a barrel chest, a mask and hood won't hide that.

If a guy has a peg-leg, a mask and hood won't cover that. If a woman is missing her left arm, a mask and hood won't cover that.

Inks all over their skin? Nope. A crimson left eye and an amber right one? Nope. A missing eye? Nope. Remember if the PC can see OUT of the mask, then other people can see IN to those eyeholes.

[Potaje]

Lizzie, i disagree. If you have a peg leg then it should be in your eq list. Your hood could hide the clear view of eyes and hair. The cloak and mask many of the other features. And if i am a shadow then even more so. Also if i am barriered, masked, cloaked and hood and seen as a shadow then looking at my character to see who they are as if i were naked cheapens the idea behind the cloak mask shadow hood barrier. Also i could of had the hair pulled back, not to mention to see my eye color accurately with a hood up you would have to be very close to my face, not across a crowded road.

[AmandaGreathouse]

How would one know whether or not your hair was pulled back to RP seeing it or not seeing it without looking at you? If you are a shadow, you are visible to those who can see you. If you are invisible, you are still visible to those who can see you. A shadow is something you can perceive. If I can perceive something, chances are, it's going to get the same casual once-over most of the shit I consciously perceive does. Sneak/hide/barrier/cloak/mask do not make you invisible. Invisibility does that.

[a strange shadow]

And this is why we need mdesc-hiding and a command to counter it, called 'stare'.

[My 2 sids]

Ok, not a computer person... but, it'd be nice if the Way could only be used with cirtain keywords instead of description.  Upon creation of a PC the player creates cirtain Way keywords.  So..

> contact Lexi
> you contact Lexi, an image of red hair comes to your mind
>psi Lexi, blah blah blah

> contact Xin
> you contact Xin, an image of Nenyuk insignea comes to your mind
> psi blah blah blah


So, something from the main description or affilation could to confirm this is the individual you're actually trying to get ahold of (maybe you can't even way NPCs?)  w/o giving away the sdesc?

[Lizzie]

Ok, not a computer person... but, it'd be nice if the Way could only be used with cirtain keywords instead of description.  Upon creation of a PC the player creates cirtain Way keywords.  So..

> contact Lexi
> you contact Lexi, an image of red hair comes to your mind
>psi Lexi, blah blah blah

> contact Xin
> you contact Xin, an image of Nenyuk insignea comes to your mind
> psi blah blah blah


So, something from the main description or affilation could to confirm this is the individual you're actually trying to get ahold of (maybe you can't even way NPCs?)  w/o giving away the sdesc?

And again, if it's your best friend, your mom, your lover, your sister, your son, or the ef standing next to you with his hood down, facewrap off, and wearing nothing but a loincloth, why -wouldn't- you get his sdesc?

This issue is about player responsibility, not the code. I'm sure I've been desc-checked before. I'm sure everyone has. However, it is up to the person doing the desc-checking to behave responsibly. If the person is wearing head-to-toe bahamet shell chitin armor and a faceless mask, the only thing he -should- notice is his overall height, his overall girth, and possibly the color of his eyes. If he's able to explain about everything on the guy's main desc to a templar, then someone needs to report him for not RPing believably. That doesn't warrant a change in the code. It warrants a player complaint.

[musashi]

How would said templar know that he's behaving poorly? Said templar wasn't there to see the head-to-toe concealed person he's reporting.

How would the person being reported know he's behaving poorly, he obviously isn't there to see the guilty person in question talking to the templar.

So who's going to know to send in a player complaint?

There isn't a decent way to regulate that kind of behavior among peers that I can think of. The best we seem to be able to offer is the honor system ... and I think history has shown that goes out the window more often than not when it comes to "winning" against another PC.

That's why we're talking about coded alternatives Lizzie.

[Lizzie]

I just don't think there are any good code alternatives to roleplaying responsibly, in this kind of situation. If a player isn't trustworthy, they'll be sussed out eventually and dealt with. I mean sure, you could change the code. I've suggested a change in the past, others have suggested the same or similar. The suggestion, was 2 different descriptions: one for when you're covered neck-up, and one for when you're not. Of course this would result in more limited writing: you couldn't say "the hair on his legs is the same color as on his head" for the "covered" version, because you're not allowed to refer to the color of your hair on the "covered" version.

Or maybe it could be optional - that it isn't required, you could use one desc for both.

The problem is, it ain't gonna happen in arm1, the staff has already said this numerous times. The staff has already made it clear, that using the way to check sdescs is -allowed.- Punishing people who have best friends they know head to toe by not allowing them to discern that the person is who they think they are..simply by not allowing them to see a sdesc over the way - isn't helping the game. It isn't making things "harsher" it isn't preventing cheating. It's just punishing everyone for the inconvenience of a few.

People who want to cheat, will find ways to cheat, no matter what codes you put into place to prevent cheating. In fact, the more difficult you make it in-game to cheat, the more likely cheaters will find out-of-game methods. And that's when things get nuts, because the staff -cannot- do anything about it, once it's taken out of game.

[Qzzrbl]

http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,34854.0.html

Personal keywords anyone?

[MeTekillot]

http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,34854.0.html

Personal keywords anyone?

In response to that, how about an intro command?

Short bony man= Amos

without intro, from the tall, muscular man's view.

Code Select Expand

A tavern [leave]
The tall, muscular man is here.
The short, bony man is here.

look amos
You do not see an amos here.

contact amos

You suffer from use of the Way.
You are unable to reach their mind.

contact amos

You suffer from use of the Way.
You are unable to reach their mind.

contact amos

You suffer from use of the Way.
You contact the short, bony man via the way.
You learn who the short, bony man is via the Way.

look amos
You look at the short, bony man.

You suffer from use of the Way.
Your vision goes black.

Now, from the tall muscular man's view, with the short, bony man introducing to him.

Code Select Expand

A tavern [leave]
The tall muscular man is here.
The short bony man is here.

The short bony man says to you, in sihirish:
     "Hey, I'm Amos."
(short bony man uses intro command)

The short, bony man tells you his name.

look amos

You look at the short, bony man.

contact amos

You suffer from use of the way.
You contact the short, bony man via the Way.

You send a telepathic message to the short bony man:
       "Wow! That was a lot easier now that I know your name. And I can pick you out of the crowd now!"


Instead of their truename being a keyword out of the box, you'd have to contact someone or have them introduce to you to you to be able to use their truename as a keyword. And intro'ing to someone will also make using the way easier.

This wouldn't be able to function if someone had their hood up, or a mask on, or something. They'd get an echo akin to "Take that hood/mask off if you want to properly introduce yourself!".

Thoughts?



Edit: Add on to idea
And also being able to introduce someone to someone else.
Malik = tall, bony man
Amos = short, bony man

Code Select Expand

A tavern [leave]
The tall, muscular man is here.
The short bony man is here.

You say to the short, bony man, in sihirish:
   "Hey Amos. You know my friend Malik?"

The short, bony man says to you, sihirish:
    "No. Who's that?"

You say to the short, bony man, in sihirish:
    "Well, he's tall, and he's real bony. He looks a bit like me, except less muscle."

intro amos malik
You tell the short, bony man who the tall, bony man is.

Introducing someone to someone else would still allow them to be picked out of a crowd, but contacting that person via the way would only be slightly easier, instead of with relative ease if they had introduced to you themselves.

[Synthesis]

What if someone else is in the room when Amos introduces himself to Malik, and overhears the conversation?  Wouldn't that someone know he's Amos?  Shouldn't they be able to then contact him, having seen him -and- overheard his name?

If there's an introduce command, it should immediately work for anyone who has the capability of hearing the conversation going on.

Examples:

> introduce -whisper malik (leaning over and cupping a hand to ^malik ear)  This would introduce you to Malik and anyone who passes a listen check

Malik sees: Amos introduces himself to you, leaning over and cupping a hand to your ear.
Listen-check passers see: Amos introduces himself to Malik, leaning over and cupping a hand to his ear.
Everyone else sees: the tall muscular man whispers something to the tall, brown-haired man, leaning over and cupping a hand to his ear.

> introduce -talk malik (extending a hand to !malik) This would introduce you to Malik, anyone sitting at the table with the two of you, and anyone who passes a listen check.

Malik sees: Amos introduces himself to you, extending a hand to you.
Everyone at the table sees: Amos introduces himself to Malik, extending a hand to him.
Listen-check passers see: Amos introduces himself to Malik, extending a hand to him.
Everyone else sees: At a dirty bar, the tall muscular man introduces himself to the tall, brown-haired man, extending a hand to him.

> introduce -shout I AM AMOS, HEAR ME ROAAAAR! (bellowing loudly over the din of the crowd) Would introduce you to anyone within earshot.

Everyone sees:  the tall muscular man shouts, in sirihish, bellowing loudly over the din of the crowd:  "I AM AMOS, HEAR ME ROAAAAR!"

> introduce -psi Hi, I'm Amos. Would introduce you to anyone you're in contact with, and any filthy mindbenders who happen to be OM NOM NOMMING your brainz.

Malik sees: Amos sends:  "Hi, I'm Amos.
Mindbenders see: Amos sends "Hi, I'm Amos" to Malik. MMMM TASTY BRAINZ.

> introduce -wish Hai guyz come and get me lol wut? Would flag you for immortal brainz eating.

Immortals see: Amos (the tall, muscular man) wants to make a brainz donation, saying:"Hai guyz come and get me lol wut?"

Not that I think this would be a particularly good idea or anything.  This is just how I see it working, if implemented.

[Dar]

Another mud I played had a different type of naming. Basically, the naming was up to the others, not the owner of the name.

A tall, muscular man is standing here.

name tall.muscular as Amos

Nameverbose
Nameverbose is on
A tall, muscular man name (Amos)

Contact Amos, you'll contact a tall, muscular man.

Yes. You'd be able to basically just do a codename <contact person you dont know ABC> and you'll be able to contact him. But ... you have to be in the same room with him to do this. And you cant get anybody 'else' able to contact them, since the name you've given the guy is YOURS, and yours alone.

Add a few refinements to it. Like ... the potential of a "true" name, that if given out by the person, anyone can contact him using it. Inability to name a person who is hooded/masked. A coded way to alter your appearence, to strip all name tags. Maybe some other stuff.

[Lizzie]

How does the code of the other game handle this:

1. there are 2 different tall muscular men in the game, and both are logged in at the same time. You've named one of them amos and now need to contact him over the way.

2. there are 3 different people named Amos logged in. One is the tall muscular man that you named Amos. The other is the stocky blue-skinned dwarf, whose name really is Amos. The third is the shaven crooked elf, who has added Amos as a keyword for himself, though is truename is something else.

[Dar]

How does the code of the other game handle this:

1. there are 2 different tall muscular men in the game, and both are logged in at the same time. You've named one of them amos and now need to contact him over the way.

2. there are 3 different people named Amos logged in. One is the tall muscular man that you named Amos. The other is the stocky blue-skinned dwarf, whose name really is Amos. The third is the shaven crooked elf, who has added Amos as a keyword for himself, though is truename is something else.

The names get stored in the file of the Namer, not the Namee. Therefore there can be ten people who were named Amos by various people. As long as it wasnt you, who named all of them the same, you'll contact the one whom you named Amos. And someone else who named the same character Soma, will contact them via Soma. It's a reverse keyword.

The only time a confusion can happen, is if someone creates a character with a true name of Amos, and you've managed to name some other PC Amos. Then you might accidentally contact a wrong guy. But ... well, then you've just guessed someone's true name. You have to keep in mind, that ... not everyone are going to be using a name so ... cliched as Amos.

[Lizzie]

Oh I know. More often they use Malik