Idea to stop people abusing gate guards

[Cerelum]

I've seen a few people go out and kick a dangerous critter, then run back to the gate to have the gate guards kill said critter and then pick up the body and roll out.

So my idea is this, code the gate guards to automatically take the corpse and dispose of it for any critter that they off.  This way it's handled IC, People hopefully stop using guards this way and if they do, they don't get any benefit.

Just my two cents

[A Large Bag]

Not necessary, if staff are watching they'll usually have the gate guards get pretty pissed off about it. If they aren't and you witness it, wish up. Although, I have done it on accident myself before so I give benefit of doubt. I thought I lost the nasty thing that was chasing me only to have hit show up moments later anyway. Staff was around and had gate guards chew my ass over it and and charge me as well as taking the body.
Also, I've rarely ever seen this happen over the years. At least to the point where it actually looked at all like that was their intent.

[Majikal]

In all my years I've only ever seen this done a few times, usually by accident with raptors and the like. Is it currently that commonplace?

[Cerelum]

I've only been back about maybe two weeks IF that and I've seen it three times.

Now, these might have been accidents, but there was no rp, in any but one, it was HALF-GIANT SMASH! Get body, pack body, direction.

[WWYD]

A better solution would be to submit a player complain, if you feel someone is doing it on purpose.

[Nyr]

Player complaints, indeed.  That is how to go about it.

[Synthesis]

Sometimes people who had nothing to do with the critter being there are present when it arrives, and they reap the benefits of the gate guard carnage.

Don't assume that the person skinning the corpse at the gate is the one who trolled it back, because often it isn't.

[roughneck]

IC'ly, I've always been surprised there's not a rule that anything killed by soldiers is the property of the state.

Soldier's need to eat, too.

Leading a critter back can happen accidentally, fairly easily.  Especially if you're riding a slow mount that is having trouble outrunning whatever is chasing you.  When it happens to me, my pc's usually keep their hood up and bolt while the soldiers are fighting it, or assist the soldiers, then apologize profusely and skin the animal and offer the meat/hide as a donation.

I'm sure occasionally there's a new player that does it on purpose, but for the most part I think that's pretty rare.  Any spider/raptor that ends up at the gates likely tracked someone there.

Reporting them to other soldiers or a Templar IC is the way I would handle it, over a player complaint.  Only because it seems like more fun than using my time to filie a complaint with the request tool.

[Maso]

I've totally done this by accident, it's usually scrabs around RS with all the freaking storms! And then it's like....ahhh...there's a scrab there...and the guards aren't doing anything. It's pretty hard to then resist the temptation to have a shot at skinning it.

I imagine this is done more often by accident, if you're being chased by something killer - you're going to run to the safety of the nearest gates. I imagine when people abuse the function they are given a swift tap on the nose by the staff anyway.

I wouldn't mind seeing the guards do something with the corpses though, then I wouldn't be tempted to. :p

[RogueGunslinger]

It's incredibly dumb to fight something that you cant kill mano y mano by relying on your flee skill... These sort of people get what's coming to them eventually.

[HammerofJericho]

Honestly most of the people who do this end up doing it because they are travelling and suddenly big meanie #3 pops out of nowhere to take a chomp. I think it's realistic for someone mining to duck into the gates if a spider is hot on their tail. The guards are there to protect the citizens anyways aren't they? Now doing it on purpose to only get the skin or whatever, yeah, that should deserve a spanking and a time-out but how do you tell the difference between the two if the PC him/herself doesn't role-play the scene correctly?

[Drayab]

These sort of people get what's coming to them eventually.

Yep. If they keep it up, they'll get caught baiting the guards or eaten baiting the critter.

[brytta.leofa]

Number of lone riders who visit Red Storm > number of lone riders who can tank a beetle.

[Patuk]

You know, the whole discussion about whether or not people do this on purpose or not would fade away if you would indeed just let the soldiers drag the thing away.

[A Large Bag]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away. Also, people should probably focus on their own roleplay instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing and -if- they are cheating/abusing something or not. If you think they are, wish up or submit a complaint. Personally, I'd rather see something happen IC about it when they arise. Stop and chew someone out, wish up for gate guard animation, etc.

[Cerelum]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away.

I think these instances are so rare it's a non issue, just drag it away and the problem is solved.

[A Large Bag]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away.

I think these instances are so rare it's a non issue, just drag it away and the problem is solved.

Then if it's a non-issue, there's no problem to be dealt with. As I said, stop worry about what other people are doing and worry about what you are doing. Most who do this are newbies, help them learn to be better roleplayers rather than jumping to conclusions and bitching. Help make the world react and come alive. I know when I was new, and did something thoughtlessly, not realizing how unrealistic it was, others responding to it made me think about such things.

[Cerelum]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away.

I think these instances are so rare it's a non issue, just drag it away and the problem is solved.

Then if it's a non-issue. There's no problem to be dealt with.

I'm just trying to stop twinks in an ic way. It would probably take a coder two minutes to code.

[A Large Bag]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away.

I think these instances are so rare it's a non issue, just drag it away and the problem is solved.

Then if it's a non-issue. There's no problem to be dealt with.

I'm just trying to stop twinks in an ic way. It would probably take a coder two minutes to code.

But you aren't trying to stop them in an IC way. That's my point. You are cutting out an opportunity to roleplay and going to OOC means to deal with it. Dealing with it via code change.

[HammerofJericho]

I don't mind how it's handled right now at all, to be honest. It's a high risk, low reward situation depending on the creature. People get caught they get spanked HARD by the staff or PC's who find out. A bahamet attacking the gates is something most people will notice. Atleast the ones who dish out punishment.

I agree full-heartedly with A Large Bag on this one on adding code changes.

[Nyr]

Yep, shouldn't take more than a minute and a half.  That leaves 'em with 30 seconds to just goof off.

Seriously, I'd suggest filing a player complaint instead.  It's much easier to do to deal with this since it is not a big problem (or much of a small problem).

[Maso]

If you have the code decide everything, you take away roleplay opportunities. Roleplay dealing with the guards, roleplay other people getting pissed at someone you perceive as doing this on purpose, etc. I've seen people gutting an animal that was killed at the gates only to see an npc soldier suddenly go: What the fuck are you doing? Lots of potential lost there if the npcs just autoscript drag them away.

I think these instances are so rare it's a non issue, just drag it away and the problem is solved.

Then if it's a non-issue. There's no problem to be dealt with.

I'm just trying to stop twinks in an ic way. It would probably take a coder two minutes to code.

But you aren't trying to stop them in an IC way. That's my point. You are cutting out an opportunity to roleplay and going to OOC means to deal with it. Dealing with it via code change.

That's a very good point. On the last occasion this happened to me, I did appropriately rp being ridiculously apologetic to the gate guards, offering to skin it -for- them. I failed the skin anyway. :p

[Synthesis]

It's incredibly dumb to fight something that you cant kill mano y mano by relying on your flee skill... These sort of people get what's coming to them eventually.

There are plenty of things that hide, and plenty of things that are faster than typical mounts, and plenty of connections that lag.  Newb rangers suck at combat.  They get better.  During the interim, they sometimes have to flee.  You'll get over it.

[Trance]

This is really a code problem.

I would doubt heavily that the game world is full of dumb death-seeking critters.
I would think that most animals and beasts and what have you are very smart, very careful
and very concerned with their own survival.

So, in saying that how realistic is it for a raptor, or tembo or whatever to charge the gates when
certain death is...certain. I'd think a critter would try its luck on ambushing a lone person in the
sands, but if it got away, and then got back to the gates - it would call off the chase, not charge
in after it.

Using the real world, how many animals do you know that do this? Beside the badasses out most
run when out numbered and out gunned. Honey Badgers the exception.

A Mek might consider it but anything else would have seen the slaughter, or grown up following
mommy and daddy scrab who avoid it, because they have seen it - or who themselves grew up
with grand-daddy scrab who avoided it because aunt scrab mindy got smushed running after a
chalton leather-hoofed meat sack.

See what im saying? While the gates are up - it should be hard coded that -most- critters should
give up the chase when they come within range of the gates, and consider the meal lost, and
turn back.

Thus solving the issue of how to deal with the dead critter, and converting the gates from a point
of slaughter into deterint for attack.

That or simply do what a certain city gate does, and slams the gates shut when anything comes into
range. But then, who has claim to those chalton boots? The soldiers who placed bets on the carnage
and watched it or the grebber who stumbled onto it innocently once the danger had passed and the
gates lifted.

[RogueGunslinger]

It's incredibly dumb to fight something that you cant kill mano y mano by relying on your flee skill... These sort of people get what's coming to them eventually.

There are plenty of things that hide, and plenty of things that are faster than typical mounts, and plenty of connections that lag.  Newb rangers suck at combat.  They get better.  During the interim, they sometimes have to flee.  You'll get over it.

I agree, sometimes everyone has to flee. Relying on it as a way to kill something you know can murder you, is still dumb. Akin to, say, relying on your climb skill to kill the person following you, by jumping off the shield-wall. It may work. That doesn't mean it's safe.

I never had a problem with people running from a fight they could lose, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be getting over.