I personally would like if the way:
1. Gave a more definitive statement when your skill just plain failed, like "Your meager attempts at contact failed"
2. If someone was blocking with barrier, "You attempted to contact ~fellow but couldn't touch his/her mind"
3. If you were blocking with barrier and someone attempted to contact you, "You feel a mind proding at your mental defense."
4. If the person isn't logged on, "You mind's eye search for them comes up fruitless.
What do you guys think?
JaRoD
I strongly disagree with anything that can be used to reliably determine whether or not someone is online. Right now there's at least some measure of uncertainty.
I actually like a lot of these suggestions.
Brains work by patterns and I would assume the Way works much the same -- sending out brain-wave patterns. These patters should "feel" different depending on what is being done.
If someone is blocking their mind, it should "feel" to the sender like something beyond the usual failed attempt is happening.
Added to that if the Way is OOC in any nature (like the who command) maybe it should say if someone is logged on or not.
Contact used to give a different message if your target wasn't online. It was changed deliberately to give less information.
Hmm ... well I have to agree with Good Gortok about not wanting a message that says if someone is online or not. Since virtually ... they're always supposed to be somewhere ... I would rather the message for a logged out person, a barriered person, and a sleeping person remain the same so that we can't tell.
But ... I am in favor of having a different message for failure, so that when you just suck at contacting and didn't even make it out your own brain ... you know that.
As for the message delivered to someone who has a barrier up, when another person tries to contact them ... I guess I feel indifferent. I could go either way on it and still be ok.
I also wouldn't mind it if I knew whether or not I actually threw a thought out of my own mind, or if it was just rattling around while I was trying to think at Joe Bynner. That's about the only thing I wouldn't mind, though it isn't something I'd push for.
I think the other suggestions imply that our folks have a lot more control over their mental contacts and psionic powers than I personally view them to. I picture the Way just like it functions - really clunky. And most people are not good at psionics. Those that are have other stuff they can do, and maybe even that stuff too, I really don't know.
In short, I think it would be too much.
Quote from: Cerelum on December 15, 2008, 02:51:31 PM
2. If someone was blocking with barrier, "You attempted to contact ~fellow but couldn't touch his/her mind"
This is the only one I would somewhat endorse, but only if the person was "gone," using the gone command. Otherwise, I absolutely love the way things are and don't want to see any changes. Once you get good enough at contact, you'll know within a few tries if your target is available or not.
If I have my barrier up, it's because I don't -want- to be bothered with the Way. The last thing I want, is to be told that someone is trying to find me, and then have me wonder for the next 2 hours who it is and why.
If they're good enough to break through my barrier, then they'll find me and irritate me just find and dandy, and good for them for being better at contact than I am with barrier. If they're not good enough to break through my barrier, then sucks to be them, let them try another time, obviously I am *not available* for the Way right now, for whatever reason.
Granted, I don't use barrier that often. But when I do, it's because I am *unavailable.* Intentionally. On purpose. I don't want to know who you are, or what the problem is. If I wanted to know, I wouldn't have my barrier up.
What Ourla said, but also if the person you're trying to contact is link-dead.
What we have now is otherwise fine.
Gotta get in on agreeing with Ourla.
If they're gone\link dead it should tell us. I also wish the "Has lost link", "Has reconnected" messages woul occur over the Way. Don't know how hard that would be though.
Other than that. I would hate to see it changed.
Quote from: Cerelum on December 15, 2008, 02:51:31 PM
2. If someone was blocking with barrier, "You attempted to contact ~fellow but couldn't touch his/her mind"
3. If you were blocking with barrier and someone attempted to contact you, "You feel a mind proding at your mental defense."
I like these two, especially #3.
"You sense a foreign presence withdraw from your mind" either needs to be fixed or brought back. Srsly. If I can feel another mind contact my own, I should be able to feel them withdraw.
Edit: The last part has been fixed! Yay!
Edit 2: Aaand it's broke again. :(
The point of barrier is not just that you are refusing contact. It's a kind of 'invisibility' to the Way. People don't know if you are online, or where you are, can't contact you, can't do anything to you... unless you can break through, of course.
As for #3, I think that someone who is barriered should not be able to use other Way skills, (at least the common ones) and therefore, receive no information about whether someone 'outside' the barrier is 'proding' at their mental defenses.
I also don't think that a change to the Way and link-death would be wise. If you are link dead, you're vulnerable. Though I suppose from a playability standpoint, if you were already connected to a person and they dropped link, a message could be useful so that messages could be re-sent when the player was connected to their character. But I understand why it's not like this, currently.
Quote from: KIA on December 15, 2008, 07:27:36 PM
As for #3, I think that someone who is barriered should not be able to use other Way skills, (at least the common ones) and therefore, receive no information about whether someone 'outside' the barrier is 'proding' at their mental defenses.
If someone is trying to break into your mind, you should know it. Especially if you are trying to shield your mind.
I think the (unbroken) Way as 'tis now is fine.
I've always felt that barrier is a little pointless when it doesn't hold up against someone with a similar skill level in contact. Considering that every PC who lives for any decent length of time will have maxed contact, maxed barrier serves no purpose besides what it may or may not do for you against an actual psionicist.
Quote from: Good Gortok on December 17, 2008, 02:28:51 PM
I've always felt that barrier is a little pointless when it doesn't hold up against someone with a similar skill level in contact. Considering that every PC who lives for any decent length of time will have maxed contact, maxed barrier serves no purpose besides what it may or may not do for you against an actual psionicist.
You will be surprised what uses barrier has.
In terms of resisting contact? Yes, I suppose I was initially surprised to learn that it doesn't help much in that regard unless the other party is a new character.
As far as I know, [stuff that has been removed by Nyr because it borders on/IS IC information]
JaRoD
Edited a post that got too IC.
Don't do that. Thanks.
Heh.
Definitely probably not the place to talk about what barrier can or can not do.
I dislike the idea of being able to tell whether or not someone's online as a surety. I would also dislike if every time I was probing/being probed at barriers it would alert me. I think ultra good psions should be able to make their presence known, or obscure it to someone's barrier if they're trying to get in.
Moderated a couple more. For emphasis:
Quote from: Nyr on December 17, 2008, 04:23:11 PM
Edited a post that got too IC.
Don't do that. Thanks.