Animating npcs?

Started by , March 06, 2003, 01:53:42 AM

I was wondering what the staff's opinion on animating npc's is?
Do you guys only like to do it during emergancies? Or do you -like- coming down and interacting with PCs through these normally dull and quiet people spread throughout the world?

If you do like it... do you like receiving requests to animate them? Or just like doing it on the spur of the moment?

Thanks.

For me, personally, it really just depends. I usually really enjoy animating NPCs. However, since I'm on from work, I often only have a short amount of time for an interaction (5-10 minutes) before I'll be called AFK. Therefore, I'm much more likely to animate an NPC if someone is very specific with what they're looking for out of the NPC, because I can then judge how much time will be required for the interaction and whether it is feasible for me to jump into the NPC or not.

That's just me, personally.  I think that staffers generally enjoy animating NPCs, though.
ack to retirement for the school year.

I'll side with Bakha.

I love animating NPC's, and typically, thats what I'm spending alot of my time doing, when I'm online...unless I'm working on another project, or just wasting time, heh.

I don't mind switching into an NPC at request, however it should be noted that sometimes Immortals have Other Things To Do; are short on time; don't know all the facts over an area (and thus, the details of the NPC); or have about a bazillion other factors comming into play.

So, I'd say the answer is: all of the above. I like to switch into NPC's during the a slow boring time of day, and have spent a few hours as several lonely Rangers Kanks in the desert, or spent alot of time as a bartender, shooting the shit. I've also switched into NPC's to put out a few fires, during emergencies, or done so at the request of a player who wished up.

-Tlaloc
Tlaloc
Legend


While I think it's generally safe to say that all staff members enjoy getting involved by utilizing an NPC, the issue of requests is a more muddled picture.

Personally, I don't usually have time to pop in on immediate demand, but on the other hand I can sometimes be drawn in.  For example, I'm less statistically likely to leap into action after a "I'm trying to convince this dude to save me 'cause i got poisoned" than I am to start watching and possibly step in -later- after a "we've gotten drunk and started talking nasty about the nobles here..".  But I should stress that's just me, others tend to prefer brief specific requests -- I happen to like to hear what's going on, and choose to start watching or potentially engage myself after a few moments.

In short, though, you aren't going wrong by asking for some livening up of things.  Usually someone will at least start watching, but it may be minutes before they either a) learn the situation enough, b) have enough personal time, or c) become interested enough, to actually become directly involved.  The main thing I would avoid is wishing up about the exact same request multiple times, or without actually attempting to talk to the NPC before it talks back (I can't count how many times someone wishes up saying "I wanna talk to a templar about something," then I start watching to see what they want to talk about, but they never say anything -- some don't even bother finding a templar NPC, but that's fairly rare these days).

-Savak
i]May the fleas of a thousand kanks nestle in your armpit.  -DustMight[/i]

Quote from: "Savak"The main thing I would avoid is wishing up about the exact same request multiple times, or without actually attempting to talk to the NPC before it talks back (I can't count how many times someone wishes up saying "I wanna talk to a templar about something," then I start watching to see what they want to talk about, but they never say anything -- some don't even bother finding a templar NPC, but that's fairly rare these days).


I have a question about that part about wishing up to talk to an NPC about something (since I am afraid I may have fallen into that situation before).  
How far do you take it?  I mean - as a player, you don't know if this templar (for instance) is animated, so after the wish do you keep talking to the templar at length until it's animated?  My concern with that is that at some point it seems a little unrealistic - especially if you just wanted a merchant's license in Allanak or something - for a commoner to be rambling on to a templar who is standing there stonily.  

I'm just curious as a (newbie) player how to handle this.  And if you've wished up once, and then again a few OOC hours later for the same request, should you keep trying once every couple of OOC days or mail the mud?
"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream." - Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

Personally, if I am doing something like getting a merchant token, then I just change my ldesc to show that I am in line to see the templar, and RP accordingly.  If I want to interact with an NPC and don't know how long the wait will be, I generally find ways to describe why the NPC might be distracted and not able to get around to me yet.

I generally initiate a conversation with the NPC, change my ldesc, wish up and then do about 2 'look templar expectantly' type looks a minute for five minutes and then just do an emote to the effect that the templar/npc is busy and move on.

Most of the suggestions are good ones, but I'll throw in my own thoughts too.

On a given night, personally I think it's fine to wish up about the same thing up to twice over the course of about a half an hour.  I wouldn't wish up requesting this kind of fairly minor NPC interaction again for at least a few hours.  An example of how I might do it if I were a player:

I'm a character who has decided to start regularly buying/selling openly in Allanak, I want to do it "legally" so I want to purchase a merchant's license.

1) I find a templar.  It so happens that the only templar I can find over the course of a couple of game days is an NPC.

2) I make an inquiry directly with the templar, stating what I'm after.  I wait an RL minute or so. (This gives someone who is already watching you a chance to make the interaction completely seamless.)

3) I wish up, something to the effect of "Hi, I've asked to purchase a merchant's license from this NPC templar, any help?  Thanks!"  I then wait a moment before repeating/continuing with my formerly initiated request. (This allows time for a recently alerted staff member to pop in, check the background/quirks of the templar, make sure they know an appropriate price range, and make sure they know how to load the license item; meanwhile if you start talking to the NPC again they can step in relatively seamlessly rather than wondering if you're about to wander off without saying anything.)

4) If there is no response, I slink off to do something else.  Repeat the attempt the next in-game day (usually within an RL 30min-hour).  (This gives someone who's around but busy a chance to prepare and be ready the next time, and gives a chance for there to be a different staff member online.)

5) If there is no response after a couple of RL days with a couple of attempts each day, then I'd probably email MUD.

Meanwhile it's usually useful to also change your objective to something like "Want to purchase Allanaki merchant license, seeking templar."  That way someone with time -might- seek you out, or at the least can be mentally prepared and more able to act "quickly" if/when you speak to an NPC templar or wish up.

-Savak
i]May the fleas of a thousand kanks nestle in your armpit.  -DustMight[/i]