Idea: Substance Code

Started by valeria, October 11, 2021, 08:01:47 AM

This also came up in the voice chat at the AMA yesterday.  It's very hard to play an alcoholic or addict, when a lot of characters might enjoy exploring those options.

Alcohol.  Could we please have an update to the drunk code?  It is, for lack of a better term, really stupid right now.  The code punishes you for being just 'intoxicated.'  I tell you what, I've been extremely inebriated and I haven't tripped over my feet multiple times every time I try to cross a room.  Garbled messages come almost every single message when you're 'semi-intoxicated' or even 'intoxicated.'  It would be nice to have the instances of this be reduced, or maybe instead of making it so you can't way at all, alcohol intoxication should just reduce your focus pool.

Spice.  It's so punishing to be a spice addict.  Addiction happens fast, and the consequences of coming down are pretty insane.  I played a character that was a spice addict to that cocaine-esque, who came off of it because of a friend staged an intervention, and I was unconscious for a literal hour before I quit-died.  I have no idea how long that would have gone on.  Kind of related, it would have been nice if she could have fed me at least a little spice or something to wake me back up.  Maybe that came in with the 'pour' command but I suspect not.

It's also known to some people but not others that when the spice wears off, it's not out of your system.  It has to stop coming as a smell off your skin before you're in the clear to use again, unless you want to get addicted.  I didn't know that at the time or I would have paced my addiction.  However, the next time I wanted to try to play a spice addict, it took so long for that to happen that, as much as it would be fun to be try it again, I just couldn't see it working out.
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I agree that drunk code is very low brow right now. Never fun especially on a new character to have a drink or maybe two and now you are "semi-intoxicated" and can't walk two rooms without falling ten times. I don't know if their are other penalties involved with intoxication but I'd rather see other things played up more then you just can't walk anymore.
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That part of the drunk code should be removed...replace it with like in darkness/storm. But only at "intoxicated" Level and above. Moving in a random direction while drunk is WAY more realistic (long as not over done like falling now) . Falling down, Meh, maybe at totally plastered, But even then it should not happen often, INSTEAD, make it harder to get back up. That could be some fun scripts to build.

As you try and get up for the next few seconds....get the message, You are almost up and stumble random direction as you fall over.

Semi-intoxicated should only get you a bit of risk of "loosetongue" Style things...If coded at all.

As to spice, I rather wish it was brought more in line with reality on recovery.

All addictions I can think of have detox that only lasts a few days, The level of addiction depends on how bad it is, but the time does not really change. I do not see why that could not be done in arm.

The current way is punishing to the player, far more then the PC and if you do it and survive it once, it is unlikely you will do it again, Not because your pc would not but because YOU don't want to.
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I agree that the drunken code could take another glance over.

Suggestions:
Bump the level of intoxication required up one level for 'stumbling/falling while drunk'
Bump the level of intoxication required up one level for 'unable to use the way'
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Quote from: Morgenes on April 01, 2011, 10:33:11 PM
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Would be low key kind of interesting if each character responded to alcohol differently.

One character might get sleepy (I'm a sleepy drunk IRL), one might get really mad, etc.

I think individual responses to alcohol is a bad idea to be randomly assigned at chargen. Let players make that decision for themselves as a part of the character as a whole.

I made my own thread in regards to spice; I think its addictiveness should be OOC as well. Using spice should be something you as a player want to do because it feels rewarding (detailed in my thread).

Wholeheartedly agree with changes to drunk code. If anything, maybe you should get slight bonuses to some skills from the first drink or two, on account of it calming your nerves without you being to the point of incapacitation.

I think we could just trust people to roleplay the level of intoxication that seems suitable for their characters. Never really understood why there had to be these WoW-like effects. That's clearly a holdover from the 1990s when the game was way more camp. Maybe if you drink a truly significant amount of alcohol you can start falling down and stuff, but it's pretty annoying how you can barely have three shots without turning your character into a stumbling idiot for the next in-game day.

Quote from: Greve on October 11, 2021, 06:02:27 PM
I think we could just trust people to roleplay the level of intoxication that seems suitable for their characters. Never really understood why there had to be these WoW-like effects. That's clearly a holdover from the 1990s when the game was way more camp. Maybe if you drink a truly significant amount of alcohol you can start falling down and stuff, but it's pretty annoying how you can barely have three shots without turning your character into a stumbling idiot for the next in-game day.

I don't hate alcohol tolerance being coded though. Isn't there a Hitchcock film that more or less starts with "subdue man; pour shotglass man; pour shotglass man; pour shotglass man; release man skimmer"?
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