Hunting and Creature Behavior Suggestions

[Morgenes]

Ok now assisting is something we haven't looked at. Good point. I'll look at that ASAP

[Dalmeth]

We're not saying that, though.  In fact, we've found that aggressive NPCs do not (and should not) attack instantly.  We found a bug in a script that allowed this to occur with a particular NPC type.  We fixed it.

This is a separate issue.  Let me put it this way :

Code Select Expand


> e

Next Room [NSEW]
Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.
Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.
Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.  Blah, blah blah.  Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah.
A giant, ruddy-skinned mekillot has arrived from the north.

> l n

> l s

You look the north :
Nada.
PLAYER THINKS : Holy Shitmonkeys on a stick!
> l e

You look to the south :
Nada
> run

You look east :
Nada

> w

You start running.

> w

A giant, ruddy-skinned mekillot attacks you.
A giant, ruddy-skinned mekillot bites you, doing horrendous damage.
You reel from the blow.

> w

You are in combat and cannot escape, type FLEE.
You are in combat and cannot escape, type FLEE.

>

You are in combat and cannot escape, type FLEE.


This is not always the way it happens.  Sometimes, the NPC will stay in its own room for a full second before entering, and there's the problem.

There are times where doing the cautious thing and looking both ways when you enter a room can cost you precious reaction time you need to escape.  Looking both ways or just looking at that line that snuck onto the bottom of the room text can cost you the time you need to flee.

So the reaction time given to a player is variable, and a mere handful of commands can be the difference between life or death.  It's depressing that doing the smart thing, being as aware as the code can let you be, can get you killed based on chance.   I said let's make sure the NPC stays in the room long enough to be seen.  Synthesis said let's make sure the NPC's first move gives them reasonable time to escape on a decent mount.

Either way, I think this is something that could be improved.

[Maso]

Isn't the biggest problem not realistically being able to stay a safe distance from said creatures in the first place, because they are hiding in those awkward diagonal rooms. Most people wouldn't be within a stones throw of a 'met out of choice, and yet end up getting tangled up in them because they simply didn't know they were there. And scouting out the diagonals simply puts you in the same danger because you can't see the diagonals...off those diagonally placed rooms...If that makes sense.

[MeTekillot]

The way movement seems to work is there's a 'build-up' time after entering a room to where you're allowed to move to the next room. The thing with this is that if you're in a room long enough, you can move in any direction instantly. Why not alter that game-wide to where it's the same amount of time to move from room to room, but the build-up time stops about half-way and only continues upon input of a movement command?

With queued movements there'd be no difference, is what I'm saying. I know very little about code, so I don't even know if this would be viable or even possible.

[MeTekillot]

And as a separate idea and thus a separate post, would it be possible to give mekillots and bahamets a sort of room-desc thing that broadcasts a certain number of rooms from them so that you see "You see a large shape very far/far/nearby to the southeast."

[Dalmeth]

Isn't the biggest problem not realistically being able to stay a safe distance from said creatures in the first place, because they are hiding in those awkward diagonal rooms. Most people wouldn't be within a stones throw of a 'met out of choice, and yet end up getting tangled up in them because they simply didn't know they were there. And scouting out the diagonals simply puts you in the same danger because you can't see the diagonals...off those diagonally placed rooms...If that makes sense.

This is where your language can trip you up.  How is that mekillot or bahamet hiding?  Besides, when you see it, why can't it see you?  Why won't it chase you down from a diagonal room the exact same way it would from an adjacent room?

So, running away is the method by which you, "keep your distance."  We just assume that getting attacked is what happens when you don't keep your distance.

Remember, this is a game, and it's important that you don't make your  rules to simulate real life (no rule can), but make sure they generate consistent statistics.  This is all an abstraction, so you can't translate your experience in-game directly to a real life situation.

My problem is the reaction time available to a player is not consistent, and at times, suspiciously beyond the threshold where a player on an average connection can be expected to respond.  Let's just forget about those people with bad connections.  That's just depressing.

[Morgenes]

Per my earlier post, from my desk check of the code, NPCs assisting each other should be subject to the same wait conditions on movement as simple aggression.

[Kryos]

Thanks for checking up on that, its appreciated.

It indeed felt devlishly fast, but, time is subject to perspective and perhaps I flinched before trying to flee and thusly was obliterated.  Maybe the bad has a lot more agility then would be expected from a outside perspective.  Stuff happens.