Animals

[the_antisocial_hermit]

It was stated several times that it wasn't the problem. New things develop, or things that weren't seen before are seen. *shrugs* It doesn't matter whether some people's hunches about the animals were right or not, as long as the problem eventually gets solved.

[Sicofonte]

It was stated several times that the world was plain.

It was stated several times that tobacco do not kills.

It was stated several times that Clinton and his scholar assistand do not...

It was stated several times that Irak was full of massive destruction weapons.

It was stated several times that Thetaris wasn't N-Aldwich.

It was stated several times that a woman shoulden take a shover with the period.

It was stated several times that George W. Bush is stupid.



BUT! Only one of all those is true.

[N-Aldwitch]

It was stated several times that the world was plain.

It was stated several times that tobacco do not kills.

It was stated several times that Clinton and his scholar assistand do not...

It was stated several times that Irak was full of massive destruction weapons.

It was stated several times that Thetaris wasn't N-Aldwich.

It was stated several times that a woman shoulden take a shover with the period.

It was stated several times that George W. Bush is stupid.



BUT! Only one of all those is true.

This one?

[Sicofonte]

Which one?

You quoted everything.

[Doug R.]

The one in bold.

[Frits]

LOL The 5th one, about himself Sicofonte.

Hmm reading your statements i think i'll give you one but that's it. The world is odd and not plain that is clear.

Tobacco kills like cotton kills, only the smoking of tobacco raises the risk of cancer which can kill.

I don't want to know anything about sexual activities involving a laughing old man and a 'fresh' overweight woman.

Those WMD are still hidden somewhere in that big country or transported to somewhere else, it's very easy to hide something in a desert.

Pardon my ignorance but i don't know any Thetaris but i do know N-Aldwitch therefore they are clearly not the same.

I think that not showering with periods is to do with cleanliness of the bathroom floor and not health or personal hygiene, that's kind of highly strung but they used to be like that in the old days.

The more i look at George doing that the number i feel... now i have to think of something, aargh! .. Well i'm not sure on this but i guess the number on his bankaccount will show he's far from stupid.

[the_antisocial_hermit]

The more i look at George doing that the number i feel... now i have to think of something, aargh! .. Well i'm not sure on this but i guess the number on his bankaccount will show he's far from stupid.

That doesn't really show anything... He comes from a rich family, and when you are rich, you can hire people to make you even more rich.

Sico, my point before was, that people had just as much reason to believe that animals were not at fault as they did to believe that they were at fault (indeed, more reason to believe that they were not, as it was a programmer that said they were not). Now we have new information that shows it is part of the problem still (from another programmer). And in the end, it doesn't matter which it is, as long as the problem is fixed. So people don't need to snap about who was right or wrong or just simply didn't know.

[Doug R.]

We've settled on an immediate partial solution to the animal's contribution to the lag (they are not the only culprit, it turns out, just a major one).

Animals will now warp immediately to their next location, bypassing the roads, and all traveling animals will be culled. This will get rid of over a million animals and leave animal densities in locations unchanged. Animal processing has been turned off until this change is made.

Side effects of this:

-No more road hunting. You'll have to pass the time now by playing the alphabet name game,or I Spy. If you're alone, you'll have to resort to singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

-The effects of overpopulation will now be seen much more rapidly, as herds from overpopulated locations won't be able to hide on the roads anymore. This would be a bad thing if I wasn't watching, but I am, so it's actually a bit better.

-hopefully a major reduction in lag

Is this change permanent? We haven't thought that far. Only time will tell.

As I said, this is an immediate solution. Changing the way animals work, including reverting to the old herd system, are not immediate changes, and would require much time and effort.

[The Sociologist]

As I said, this is an immediate solution. Changing the way animals work, including reverting to the old herd system, are not immediate changes, and would require much time and effort.

Understood, but does the passage I've emphasized suggest sanity may yet prevail? It's under discussion among staff, perhaps?

[marol]

Currently reverting to the old herd system isn't under consideration.

[The Sociologist]

Currently reverting to the old herd system isn't under consideration.

Might I ask why not? Consider the following:

1) The "indivualized" system provided no new functionality visible to or usable by the end-users, ie the players;

2) The old "herd" system provided what still remains superior functionality in certain respects, namely easier maintenance of breeding herds by the players (hence "only hunt when more than 4") and enhanced animal diversity (eg MacGregor lions and wolves, and many other populations now extinct through no fault of the players trying to maintain them);

3) The old herd system generated no lag whatsoever, whereas the new individualized system has been responsible for chronic lag over a period of more than a year.

4) A clear preference in favor of returning to the old system has been expressed by a majority of the handful of players who bothered to vote (57%) versus a much smaller number in favor of retaining the current system (33%).

How then can you say bluntly that it "isn't under consideration". What are the grounds for this? Has there been discussion?

[Sicofonte]

In fact, it is under consideration by some of the staff, but not by the ones that have the power to decide.

Maybe, after an extra pair of months with the programmers full involved in the fixing of the current system (as they are now), with no good results (take me as the Divine Oracle), they will at last give up and come back to the rationality.


At least, we have a bearable lag now (no lag most the time, 2-3 senconds of latency the rest).
So the players can wait patiently.

[marol]

The Sociologist, we appreciate your help in this matter. We have reviewed current situation, took all known pros and cons (including yours), took our knowledge of Cantr engine architecture into account and decided to keep current animal system with apropriate modifications.

Unfortunately we don't have enough time to explain all aspects of this matter, also many of them are related to game engine and current database status.
If you don't trust us making our best to keep the game working, you are welcome to join the staff and get better knowledge of current situation, which probably would change your opinion in the matter.

[kasuo]

The game is definitely running smoothly right now. Thanks guys!