14 December 2009

Pathfinding, pathlosing and poetry

A reoccurring bug report filed by players is one regarding the pathfinding skill: players can open a path on one day and are unable to open the same path on another day.  I thought that it would be beneficial to review the pathfinding script so that I may better understand it, and perhaps one day improve upon it.  It didn't take me long to realize that I would have an easier time reading and understanding Dostoyevsky.

The script is actually a series of large, thoughtful, complex scripts with large, complex supporting files.  Each component of this script is like a crafted pane of stained glass window.  It is art that, when assembled with other panes of glass, glows luminously.  The GM who wrote this script is clearly gifted and well educated.  And here I am thinking that I could improve this stained glass window with just a bottle of window cleaner and a roll of scratchy paper towel.

This information does nothing to ease the frustration of losing a path, but I will say this: every time you encounter a pathfinding path, you're really encountering poetry.

1 comment:

  1. Why does it have to be that complex? What does all of that script actually do? Why does the pathfinding script have to be any more complex than something like this in pseudocode.

    If PLAYER_PF < PATH
    don't open the path
    If PLAYER_PF >= PATH
    open the path

    I think it's a case of the original scripter being too poetic for his and our own good.

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