Heyooo,
Another idea. This whole problem with disappearing heads.
Could a command be made that allows a head to be 'treated' and preserved as an actual item that would save for the long term? Perhaps even off of the crafting code...
craft nessalin
You could make the dessicated head of the short, gnarled dwarf from that.
You could make the shrunken head of the short, gnarled dwarf from that.
You could make the scalp of the short, gnarled dwarf from that.
The skill to make these would run off of the same skill that lets you pick apart piles and entrails and stuff. The lower skill would yield the scalp, higher would be the dessicated. Tanning for the shrunken.
For the heads, something like this:
This head has been carefully preparred after being severed from the host's body. In life, this person probably looked like a short, gnarled dwarf.
Scalp:
This scalp has been carefully cut away from the skull of the owner and treated to prevent decay. In life, it could have belonged to a short, gnarled dwarf.
(naturally, a shrunken head would only be if you had the 'head shrinking' skill (or tanning))
Personally, I would love to walk into some templar's meeting place and just see row after row of scalps and shrunken heads from all the people this crazy bastard has killed.
Since I don't know anything about the crafting or decomp code here, I'm just taking a stab in the dark at possible solutions. But since corpses normally decompose, and you can cut them up into real items that save, there should be a way to work around the decomp problem.
QuoteFor the heads, something like this:
This head has been carefully preparred after being severed from the host's body. In life, this person probably looked like a short, gnarled dwarf.
I think this would cause a problem along the lines of seeing the headless body of the blue-eyed, scar-faced man. My best suggestion would be to just remove the sdesc and leave the race.
Rather than a whole subset of skills, why not just add craft head into tanned head (or whatever) to skill_tanning?
Well, realistically I don't think anyone should be able to identify anyone from just their scalp, so most realistic is to simply put the race, sex and general age category in there, and then it just might not be all that useful anymore.
Now, I'll grant that I know practically nothing about the Armageddon incarnation of Diku code, but I suspect that simply crafting a head isn't going to surmount the underlying code issues that prevent them from saving. ICly, preserving the head means it head won't decay, but heads aren't unsavable because they're ICly made of organic matter. Otherwise, the head could just load as a crafted, savable head in the first place. This is akin to saying that simply changing the string "a severed head of" to "a preserved head of" will solve the code problems.
Now, it's going to be a waste of time to ramble on about Diku item databases, because Arm is heavily modified, but I suspect the unsavability comes from the fact that a head/corpse is loaded with a non-default desc (because it includes the sdesc of the dead character), and that there's no field for this extra datum in the "items" section of the pfile. Adding this field for one and only one item type would be far from a trivial undertaking. Of course, Arm's mileage may vary.
I've wanted something like this for a long time now.
I'd like this ability even if it didn't add on a sdesc.
The drop command exists for a reason.
ERS...I really don't think the drop command was made so heads dont die in your inv. Uh. heh. -plenty- of reasons drop exists though.
Well I think I get the idea of how the coded objects work that...how it was described...having an sdesc head would be bad. -but- I'm sure corpses could be skinned for heads. As long as you don't behead -and- skin.
So make all humanoid corpses skinable (or at least...PC corpses) and have 'a dwarven head'.
But that doesn't solve retaining identity. For that...I'd suggest their gear. Be like 'this cloak proves its him' 'along with these daggers and this bloodied bracer' (thats rp advice though)
I would like to see the original posters idea worked out...if somehow...Somehow. That woudl be nice.
I like the idea, but only if it's easier to do that than to make heads persist, heh. Also, would be nifty to be able to craft skulls out of heads.
Yeah JGG, then it would make it easier for me to build that fortress out of humanoid skulls.
*sigh*
Quote from: "Mean_Old_Bastard"ERS...I really don't think the drop command was made so heads dont die in your inv. Uh. heh. -plenty- of reasons drop exists though.
That's not what I meant, try reading my post again.
The original idea sounds a little too complex, but it would be cool and useful if heads could somehow be preserved. This seems like one of those tough code obstacles that no one'll touch for several years, until one day Xygax will feel inspired and pop out a solution in about five minutes with one hand tied behind his back. So... yeah.
Or even if they could be made to last longer than the current code allows - some kind of set time would be great.
Hook it up to the auto-rental code maybe <chuckle> or something like that.
Quote from: "Bestatte"Or even if they could be made to last longer than the current code allows - some kind of set time would be great...
Bestatte, heads last forever, as long as the game doesn't crash, or you log out.
It's the hardcoded 'save item' feature that doesn't work the same with a head or body compaired to an 'object'.
That's what these people want changed, my dear.
That's what I meant, dear. If you log out, or the game crashes, or you get the head on saturday morning and the game shuts down 5 minutes later for reboot..you're SOL. I'd like to see these items last a set time. NOT forever. Just like corpses, they disintegrate after awhile if left on the ground.
"give head naiona"
Hehehe.
-Cindrak
Quote from: "jhunter"Yeah JGG, then it would make it easier for me to build that fortress out of humanoid skulls.
*sigh*
craft skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull skull into a small fortress made of skulls