Roleplaying your character's eating habits

[Marshmellow]

No.

+1.

Seriously, get out there and cook with your characters.  Don't spam cook, but cook like a real person does, enough for your character to eat at one meal, repeat whenever your character gets hungry.  This is, of course, if your character should be the sort to do this... instead of eat the meat raw, or buy ready-to-eat food that costs as much as most people will spend on food in a week, etc.  Many if not most classes allow people to become at least adequate if not awesome cooks.

[Cindy42]

Do you have your characters eat a regular meal (or even better, meals) every day, or do you wait for the 'You are hungry' messages to kick in before eating? 
Yes. Starting at the first or second You're a little hungry, I whip out something to eat if I'm somewhere I can sit down.

When you do eat, do you intersperse it with other actions, such as talking, or working on something as people do in real life?
Not really. I sometimes like waiting to get to the bar before eating if I can help it, and then concentrate on eating and drinking. I never eat when I work, and if someone talks to me while I'm eating that's just a coincidence. Emotes are the rarest when I'm eating and drinking.

If you are spam eating, do you have an in character reason for doing so?
I spam eat ALL the time. If I know I'm seconds away from losing health, I eat instead of taste, but that's usually the only exception. If something interesting is going on in the room, I wait between bites for a minute or so, usually to make sure the others know I'm currently busy eating as I watch. This stems ENTIRELY from me almost always playing a character who struggles simply to survive, and I don't want to waste a bite of food, which eat or drink commands might do. I enjoy spam eating, like I enjoy regular RL eating without gulping it down.

[Lizzie]

Cindy, eat and drink commands don't waste food. In fact, it's the sip and taste commands that cause you to consume things even after you're full/sated.

If you type "eat cake" and you're full, then you get a message saying you can't eat anymore. And you can then roleplay wrapping up that last morsel and saving it for later, thus preventing waste.

If you type "taste cake" and you're full, you continue to use up that cake, until you either stop tasting it, or until it's gone.

[Case]

I spam eat, or at least eat fast, when alone because I do not feel I have to RP so slowly or dramatically for my own purposes. I RP eating a lot and I have to eat a lot. I'm online a lot.

Do you have your characters eat a regular meal (or even better, meals) every day, or do you wait for the 'You are hungry' messages to kick in before eating? 
I eat if there's a legitimate pause in RP or whatever. I starve often.

When you do eat, do you intersperse it with other actions, such as talking, or working on something as people do in real life?
If with others, always. If alone, not always. Maybe one bite per room if I'm walking around.

If you are spam eating, do you have an in character reason for doing so?
Yes.

The way hunger code is doesn't bother me too much. It feels well paced at times but often not. When the time compression is so high, it will always have this effect because a couple of RL hours is almost nothing to the human body in regards to hunger, so our cues as players do not match up. A person IRL can definitely survive longer and better without food than a Zalanthan ceteris paribus though.

I do find it interesting that, and it's arguable depending on your specific PC but I'm going by my thin experience, that starvation is much worse than dehydration on Arm.

Firstly, my PCs consume much more food than water. Water is a bigger problem if travelling, but if I'm in the city, water is a thing I drink a half skin of every 2 or 3 RL days of heavy playtime, maybe longer than that. It barely comes up. I have never dehydrated except when trying to. In comparison, food is a constant worry, coming up every couple of hours.

Secondly, the effects of starvation vs dehydration are, imo, far worse in the former category. I would argue they're around the wrong way. The human body is far more able to go without food than water, especially if one keeps fed most of the time. The effects of starvation, at least early stages of it, are not dramatic. Dehydration is immediately serious and gets progressively worse very quickly. If the effects of these were swapped, I think there would be less of a need to worry about starvation immediately, if they're doing something relatively safe, giving players more leeway with when to eat, and also possibly leading to the more realistic situation where you starve so much you can't get water and die of dehydration first.

Moe's idea of a scale of reported fullness between not hungry and full is excellent and would be very helpful for planning ahead.

[a strange shadow]

I've never seen 'starving' in my entire gaming existence. I've been involved in some pretty lengthy scenes.

You people do realize you can keep eating after your 'hungry' prompt goes away, until you are too full to eat, right?

I mean, I guess I just kind of don't get it.

As for emoting out eating, that would be easier and less annoying if it didn't take (for example) so many bites to down a bowl of Byn stew.

I always roleplay eating though. I mean, if you're eating, your character's hungry, and therefore it's a logical IC reaction to eat, making it roleplay. Might not be pretty roleplay if I'm (theoretically) alone in the barracks and wanting to hurry on to the next scene for some interaction, but it's still roleplay.

[jhunter]

I've never seen 'starving' in my entire gaming existence.

Yeah, the only time I've actually seen it is because I was playing drunk and fell asleep at the keyboard. Woke up to my pc starving to death. 

[FantasyWriter]

I've played poor PCs who I never let get above "a little hungry/thirsty" unless it was by accident.

[a strange shadow]

Well, good for you, but that's deliberate. I'm talking about all these people who are evidently letting their PCs starve to death during lengthy scenes. Heh.

[titansfan]

I don't really have problems with this...alone I just eat something until I'm not hungry. Just as I would IRL, if I'm with someone else I throw in eat ham-smothered-in-honey (tearing off a piece with his, ofcourse, perfect teeth). I don't mind if people just chow down in front of my PC's....although my PC's might just think their are disgusting or poor and starving...one of those reactions.

[Shepard]

Just make "eat all" have a lag to it, where you can still emote and speak. It will change your ldesc is here eating a bowl of soup. Essentially it would be like crafting. Players wouldn't have to worry about multiple eat messages, and the lag would force this idea of roleplaying eating. *Shrug*

I personally think this would be a waste of time for the coders, as the eat code is what it is, and works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[zakattack]

Spam eating irritates me. Back to back: eat item; !;!;!;! gets really old. At least you could spice it up with taking a few bites, or wiping off lips, taking a drink, etc. How many people really slurp down food in two seconds without anything else in between? As far as I am concerned it feels like you just set an action with your mud client.

[hyzhenhok]

Spam eating irritates me. Back to back: eat item; !;!;!;! gets really old. At least you could spice it up with taking a few bites, or wiping off lips, taking a drink, etc. How many people really slurp down food in two seconds without anything else in between? As far as I am concerned it feels like you just set an action with your mud client.

Maybe we understand some things in the game are abstracted and not everything has to be literal.

[SMuz]

I don't really see what people have against spam eating. I know plenty of people who gobble up food IRL, and it's not even one of those things I'd notice unless I was actively watching them. More like "Huh, you're done eating? I've barely touched my food."

[Cindy42]

Cindy, eat and drink commands don't waste food. In fact, it's the sip and taste commands that cause you to consume things even after you're full/sated.

If you type "eat cake" and you're full, then you get a message saying you can't eat anymore. And you can then roleplay wrapping up that last morsel and saving it for later, thus preventing waste.

If you type "taste cake" and you're full, you continue to use up that cake, until you either stop tasting it, or until it's gone.

I did say that I rarely use the eat command unless its serious, and that I always taste most of the time, and that I spam eat all the time. Thanks for the stuff, but I already know all this, and am not sure why you said it.

[Lizzie]

This is why I posted, since you're asking why I posted...

This stems ENTIRELY from me almost always playing a character who struggles simply to survive, and I don't want to waste a bite of food, which eat or drink commands might do. I enjoy spam eating, like I enjoy regular RL eating without gulping it down.

My response, is that eat/drink commands do -not- waste food, but rather it's the sip/taste commands that DO waste food. So if that is your entire reason to do it, you're doing it backward.

Also, I think maybe some people (including you, but not exclusively you) aren't understanding what is meant by spam eating. Spam -anything- would be to use a command with rapid-fire speed, with no delay, no roleplay, no occasional pauses to explain the sudden influx of screen scroll. Such as:

get fruit pack; taste fruit; taste fruit; taste fruit; taste fruit; taste fruit; taste fruit; get fruit pack; eat fruit; eat fruit; eat fruit; eat fruit; eat fruit.

Or...
get feather pack; get freather pack; get feather pack; get feather pack; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; get feather pack; get freather pack; get feather pack; get feather pack; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; get feather pack; get freather pack; get feather pack; get feather pack; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; get feather pack; get freather pack; get feather pack; get feather pack; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; get feather pack; get freather pack; get feather pack; get feather pack; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag; put feather bag;

That's spam-commanding. Spam eating is the same thing, except with eat <food> as the command.

I do it often but I avoid doing it in front of people. I don't "like" doing it, but then, I don't "like" my character being forced to be hungry. I always assume she eats, sleeps, and takes a pee when I'm logged out.

[Kalai]

I don't really see what people have against spam eating. I know plenty of people who gobble up food IRL, and it's not even one of those things I'd notice unless I was actively watching them. More like "Huh, you're done eating? I've barely touched my food."

Heh. I eat a bit quickly myself; when you have around 5 minutes for lunch and want to get a conversation in too it's a habit one develops.

[Furien]

I don't 'spam eat', but I avoid eating or emoting out eating for a variety of reasons.

- If my character is out on their own and time is an issue (IE, hunting) I just take it out of their <container> and gobble it up wholesale without a second thought.

- On the other hand if my PC runs into their neighbour in the streets and they strike up a conversation and start getting really hungry, I feel like it's rather awkward to just take something out and start munching.

- Even if I am in a tavern or another eating-appropriate environment, I can only come up with one or two emotes before it looks like I'm deliberately struggling or consulting some sort of thesaurus. Plus, as with look commands, the echoes it gives to the room (depending on the amount of people present) make me feel rather... awkward.

That said, I like emoting cooking far more than I do eating. I'll set up my utensils, test baking bread, flip meat, add spices, whatever, I'll go to fucking town. If I have a self-sufficient NPC working for a noble or a GMH or something with stable food/water supplies, I'll keep them topped off at full in all attributes because I know I'm able to replace it. Anyone else (self-employed, unemployed, generally poor) generally only eats at 'a little/very hungry' message, and only until the message stops coming.

[Nyx]

I typically try to add a bit of emotes into eating, atleast to the point that it is known how I'm eating, spooning up the soup, a spoonful at a time, tilting it back and slurping it. I suppose the biggest problem I've had with it, is the large volume that needs to be consumed, my characters are typically smaller, having to eat two full bowls and some bread to fill her up is a bit absurd. Additionally, a person or rather adult can supposable go three weeks without food before dieing from starvation. If eating very small ammounts I've found that the headaches don't start till about three days and they get progressively worse as a person approaches the three week point. (Had a rough time and survived off of free samples at grocery stores, consisted of stale cheese bites and if I was lucky stale crackers) For somereason while the critters in Arms are physically stronger and more durable than in the real world, they sure do fall over pretty easy when it comes to hunger and water. That being said- I hope noone minds me casually using a repeating emote with an occasional emote during the meal.

[Lizzie]

I typically try to add a bit of emotes into eating, atleast to the point that it is known how I'm eating, spooning up the soup, a spoonful at a time, tilting it back and slurping it. I suppose the biggest problem I've had with it, is the large volume that needs to be consumed, my characters are typically smaller, having to eat two full bowls and some bread to fill her up is a bit absurd. Additionally, a person or rather adult can supposable go three weeks without food before dieing from starvation. If eating very small ammounts I've found that the headaches don't start till about three days and they get progressively worse as a person approaches the three week point. (Had a rough time and survived off of free samples at grocery stores, consisted of stale cheese bites and if I was lucky stale crackers) For somereason while the critters in Arms are physically stronger and more durable than in the real world, they sure do fall over pretty easy when it comes to hunger and water. That being said- I hope noone minds me casually using a repeating emote with an occasional emote during the meal.

Obligitory Lizzie Insert:

Armageddon is fantasy, not reality. Realism is not a priority, nor should it be. The focus should always be a good balance of believability + playability + functionality of code. Realism should, and thankfully does, always fall way down at the bottom of the list, when compared to the other three main attributes Armageddon code and roleplay.

[Qzzrbl]

I typically try to add a bit of emotes into eating, atleast to the point that it is known how I'm eating, spooning up the soup, a spoonful at a time, tilting it back and slurping it. I suppose the biggest problem I've had with it, is the large volume that needs to be consumed, my characters are typically smaller, having to eat two full bowls and some bread to fill her up is a bit absurd. Additionally, a person or rather adult can supposable go three weeks without food before dieing from starvation. If eating very small ammounts I've found that the headaches don't start till about three days and they get progressively worse as a person approaches the three week point. (Had a rough time and survived off of free samples at grocery stores, consisted of stale cheese bites and if I was lucky stale crackers) For somereason while the critters in Arms are physically stronger and more durable than in the real world, they sure do fall over pretty easy when it comes to hunger and water. That being said- I hope noone minds me casually using a repeating emote with an occasional emote during the meal.

Obligitory Lizzie Insert:

Armageddon is fantasy, not reality. Realism is not a priority, nor should it be. The focus should always be a good balance of believability + playability + functionality of code. Realism should, and thankfully does, always fall way down at the bottom of the list, when compared to the other three main attributes Armageddon code and roleplay.

Maybe I missed something, but I didn't know realism took a back seat to everything else.

Either way, having to eat three or four full bowls of stew to get full after you wind up at "starving" when locked in a long conversation-- that comes on to believability, and to a lesser extent, playability.

[Marshmellow]

Actually, one of Arm's selling points is a good amount of realism.  The staff expects us to, by and large, play realistically within the confines of the world.

[hyzhenhok]

Actually, one of Arm's selling points is a good amount of realism.  The staff expects us to, by and large, play realistically within the confines of the world.

How many bites it takes to eat a food object should not be something to be a stickler about realism on.

I am not required to input multiple commands to craft something made from multiple parts. I type one command and then emote the rest. I am not required to input multiple commands to swing my sword more than once at an opponent. I type one command and then emote the rest.

I cannot simply type one command and then emote the rest with eating. But why shouldn't I? Realism? What's unrealistic about "The face-faced manly man eats a petoch fruit"? No one is telling you that he ate it in one bite. I have no idea where this accusation came from, and I'm frankly very surprised to see Morgenes proliferating that interpretation. The code does a lot of things instantaneously that obviously do not occur instantaneously. And if you must, add a command delay.

[Reiteration]

Actually, one of Arm's selling points is a good amount of realism.  The staff expects us to, by and large, play realistically within the confines of the world.

How many bites it takes to eat a food object should not be something to be a stickler about realism on.

I am not required to input multiple commands to craft something made from multiple parts. I type one command and then emote the rest. I am not required to input multiple commands to swing my sword more than once at an opponent. I type one command and then emote the rest.

I cannot simply type one command and then emote the rest with eating. But why shouldn't I? Realism? What's unrealistic about "The face-faced manly man eats a petoch fruit"? No one is telling you that he ate it in one bite. I have no idea where this accusation came from, and I'm frankly very surprised to see Morgenes proliferating that interpretation. The code does a lot of things instantaneously that obviously do not occur instantaneously. And if you must, add a command delay.

#loop 3 { #send eat fruit; #delay 5000; }

I can type one command, emote the rest!

[hyzhenhok]

I can type one command, emote the rest!

Very clever. But everyone saw you "spam eating" and apparently that's bad.

[Qzzrbl]

I can type one command, emote the rest!

Very clever. But everyone saw you "spam eating" and apparently that's bad.

Does get pretty bad when the sarge shouts, "Fill up before we ride out!" though. >_>

That conversation we were having?

Oh, right, hang on, lemme sift through the eat spam, and the occasional half-assed emoted spam-eat spam to find the last thing you said.