On or Off?

[Beux]

I was thinking. Wouldn't it be cool if you could turn the lights on and off in rooms? Basically it would be a status flag on the room, it would not include alternate descriptions like day/night in Arm, but simply an echo at the bottom of the room desc - leaving it up to the PC's to RP it correctly:

"This room is lit" or "This room is dark"

You would be able to lighten or darken a room with the commands light on or light off. However we know we don't have electricity in Arm (do we?) So the echo's would be more like:

The woman lights the room.

The woman brings the room into darkness.

And should definately be surroundable by command emotes, basically allowing people to snuff candles or light torchs on the walls.

If a room is 'dark' it's not 100% pitch black, thus why you can still see the room, light from outside/other rooms etc would filter in. I think it would add a nice RP element. Also a boost for the hide skill.

Thoughts?

[Larrath]

I would really love the ability to see how a room is lit - is it brightly lit, or dimly lit?  What color is the light, etc..

As far as snuffing torches and such, however, I don't really see where it would be applicable.  You can't go into a tavern and snuff out the torches.  Maybe in houses and apartments, but since complete darkness is difficult (with the shoddy building and all), I still can't see it making such a large difference.

[Beux]

Really, I only think this option would be available in apartments and estates/compounds. Basically only rooms that are in the responsibility of PC's, places such as taverns and such should have multiple torches lighting them, and due to the 24hr opening times - the bartender would not wish these put out.

[Tlaloc]

In some places, I believe this is already coded. I know the script is in place somewhere, anyway, though it might not be used as readily as it could be. Maybe use the 'idea' command in-game, if you see a place which could use such functionality?

[Beux]

Awesome.

[Forty Winks]

Hmm, just for clarification, but by 'lighting' a room, that entails lighting a virtual lamp/torch? If there's already light in the room to see, shouldn't a coded light source be used instead of a virtual source, in order to affect the code? I may be misunderstanding this...

And so if there are virtual lights in the room, and can turn them on and off, and make the room dark like "You can't see anything" dark, or just dim, casting the place into shadows?

Instead, I'd rather like to see you be able to dim coded light sources such as lamps in order to have it more long-lasting, but give the steathy bonuses to the room you are in if it is in the 'dim' mode.

light torch
dim torch

You dim the oil lamp, casting shadows across the room.

-FW, who is confused about what is being referred to in the original idea.

[Socko]

I like the idea, but it needs to give off less of an electric connotation. It just implies that you're flicking a light-switch. Perhaps make it more obvious that it's a lamp/crystal/candle/torch/ball of flame?

[Beux]

I was referring to the fact that most rooms have lamps, candles, domes of irrig beetles - whatever - in them to bring light but that the player has no control over whether or not they are lit.

Yes, when lighting or darkening a room you would using whatever form of lighting is already in the room desc, however for the echo to be exact to the individual item, that is only referenced in the room description, would probably take a hell of a lot more work than having a generic message that the players could surround with emotes in order to make it more appropriate.