Sign o' the Times

I have received some feedback on the new signposts from some of the players.  The feedback has been very constructive, and I spent this evening preparing the script and items for the next generation of signposts.

I just had an idea.  Neon signposts!  The action bubble box could change from red to blue to green!

Signs on Top of Signs

In another post, K'vynn commented:

Suddenly i'm envisioning a signpost forest springing up... signs on top of signs on top of...

I gave that some thought.  Well, at least from a technical standpoint.

In the first draft of the new signpost script, it was possible to have signs on top of signs.  Because the new signposts have no mask – one may not bump into them, nor could one sign collide into another – it was easy to dogpile signposts on top of each other.  In solving one problem, I had created another.  A player could move freely through a sea of signpost spam.

I have wedged a little bit of ugly code in to curtail this from happening (ugly in that it is not elegant scripting).  Now should the signpost detect another signpost nearby, then the player is prohibited from planting the signpost at that location.

A little more testing and this updated tool should be ready for prime time!

Here's Your Sign

There's a lack of signs in Puddleby.  Specifically, there's a lack of signposts.

If you are unfamiliar with signposts: they are items which rarely turn up in town.  Bumping the signpost will reveal an action bubble and some text.  The rarity of such signs is – in my personal opinion – because of the risk of abuse in using the signs.  That is not to say that we GMs are concerned with players using adult language within the text: we're far too busy to be policing in-game language.

My perception of the problem is a (simple) technical issue: once a signpost is placed into play, it is there, and there it stays for the duration of its life.  I equate this to placing down a pretzel box that hangs around for an hour or so, regardless of how many player bump the box.  And I have seen the pretzel box maneuver several times: it is a clever way to creating a short-life obstacle for players which can not be circumvented by the sword, as with kudzu plants.  A couple of well-placed pretzel boxes on a narrow bridge makes that bridge impassible for as long as the pretzel box remains there.  In that vein, a couple of well-placed signposts could conceivably block players from entering (or leaving!) the library for much much longer than a life of a pretzel box.

I see a need for signposts.  They are great tool for in-game communication.  They just need an adjustment so that they are able to perform their job without behaving like a brick wall.  Or a stack of pretzel boxes.

I am working on a solution, and I hope to have revised signposts available for this upcoming update.

The Potion Of Disguise

While holding a fairgrounds chat prior to the update, I entertained myself by throwing disguise potions at several of the attendees.  This item has been around for a while – it was created circa V321 – and I admit that I have never seen disguise potions available in game (I should also mention that I never saw oak bashers available in game, so your experiences may differ from mine).  I had wondered as to why this item has been unavailable for so long.

Allow me to begin by stating that there's more to designing an item than "what can the item do?"  A designer should think ahead on how the item will impact the game.  Personally, when designing an item, I do not think "what cool things will this item do," but instead I tend to take the cynical view of "what can go wrong" and "how will this item be exploited?"

Having said that: the potion of disguise is a frivolous toy.  The technology that powers this potion is similar to a butterfly's kiss.  The change of appearance is temporary and cosmetic; it does not actually change the race of the player.  One may not quaff a potion of disguise and then enter a tree on KI which one would normally not have access.

If the potion is harmless, then why is it unavailable?

It may be that the potion is simply confusing.  If you see a character with a human icon and their /INFO reads that they are a thoom, then that is confusing.  It may have been decided that such a situation conflicted with the expectations of the /INFO command, and therefore the potion of disguise brought more trouble than fun to the game.

Another reason why this item may not have made its way into the game is because, like a bottle of paint, one player may use the potion upon another (unwilling) player.  We've all grown accustomed to our personal character's appearance, and I can understand how some players may not appreciate having a change forced upon them.  A player who wishes to avoid a butterfly kiss may move away from the butterfly, but that is harder to do with a thrown potion of disguise.

In truth, I do not know the reasons why the potion of disguise was never made publicly available.  But as a designer, I have some ideas.