Character descriptions

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SekoETC
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Character descriptions

Postby SekoETC » Sun May 09, 2004 10:22 am

I guess this must have been discussed before, but I really think there should be at least a brief personal description available. This is because otherwise you must name even those people who refuse to tell their names... and of course it would make the characters more like individuals, not mass. When I started the game, I thought the local "woman in her twenties" was some kind of an NPC, because it didn't have a name nor special description. Luckily I didn't attack her. Also if a person wouldn't have a description we would know it's probably abbandoned and we wouldn't have to ask the sleepers name several times and get frustrated when being left unanswered. It takes a while for a character to get clothes/accessories to make him/her individual.
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Postby .::. MysticGötén .::. » Sun May 09, 2004 10:37 am

It has been suggested before if I remember correctly, but it isn't implemented cauz when you see someone IRL and don't know or have ever talked to the person, you don't know his/her name aswell.

And not everybody looks the same in cantr, with the clothes and all, there are many different describtions of pple.
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Postby Pirog » Sun May 09, 2004 11:18 am

Yes...it has been discussed before, but I agree that it should be implemented.

It can be really frustrating when it comes to social interaction, when you don't know how others look and you can't tell people how you look.

Some people might want their characters to be beautiful while others want them to look rugged, or perhaps even ugly...and with no desciptions things can get very unrealistic.

The problem is to make a system that will not be mis-used by people...like thieves changing their desciptions to avoid getting caught by their pursuers etc.

But it would be great with appearances, since you could track someone better. When you come to a town you could ask them if anyone has seen a blond, blue eyed man with a scar over their left eye lately instead of asking if they have seen a man in his twenties...
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Postby Jos Elkink » Sun May 09, 2004 1:56 pm

This is already being worked on ;) ...

But it will be determined by the program, though, not the player ...
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Postby Revanael » Sun May 09, 2004 2:21 pm

So we can't choose to be ugly? Damn.
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Postby .::. MysticGötén .::. » Sun May 09, 2004 2:30 pm

I wonder how my chars will look like :lol:
Can u make me muscular Jos :twisted:

it would also be fun, if pple don't cut their hair they would get a mustache 8)
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Postby Pirog » Sun May 09, 2004 2:49 pm

Jos>

How will it work?
I would really like to see a player defined desciption, since a programed decription can become quite stale and lack personality.

I would like room for altering the desciption as the character grows, being able to change hair style or add scars or other markings that may turn up over time.

I have a character who is quite slobby, and I want him to be unshaved, with dirty clothes and scarred from earlier battles...and another one have a totally shaved head except for a long black pony-tail...will they just disappear?
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Postby creepyguyinblack » Sun May 09, 2004 7:41 pm

Well, there could be two parts to the descriptions. The first part would be the basic attributes defined by the "gene" system tentatively being worked on by Jos. Then there could be a player defined additional description, where they could add specific features to the more general game defined ones. This of course would have to be regulated someway, maybe only changeable every 5 days or possibly even a new department to oversee and approve changes, not entirely sure how it would work. But here's a brief example.
Lets say someone from Lad has the genes to make them have brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin and above average height. (not sure what features genes will control) Also age could be added into the description.
So it might read as, "This young man has brown hair and blue eyes. His skin is of a tan hue and he is above average in height."
A line down someone could write in a few lines about how their hair is cut, some facial features, any scars or other additional features.
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Pirog
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Postby Pirog » Mon May 10, 2004 7:23 am

Yeah, that is how I would like to see it to.
If possible I would like it if the players of the allready existing characters could decide their set values to...or at least in some cases.

I don't think it would be so hard to control the self-made desciptions if you started a new department.
You could send in your new desciption (with a motivation) and the old would follow, and then the department could decide if the change is realistic and motivated.

I don't think it would be to much work and I would be willing to help if they want me.
(Perhaps there should still be a limit on how often a certain character can change their description)
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Postby Jos Elkink » Mon May 10, 2004 3:03 pm

Yeah, the problem would indeed be the control over it. It leaves a lot of space for adding things that should not actually be in the description ... a whole new department might indeed be a solution.
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Postby Pirog » Mon May 10, 2004 7:02 pm

I really hope you find it worth adding such a department, because character created descriptions would really add another level to this great game! :)
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Postby kabl00ey » Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:50 am

Jos Elkink wrote:This is already being worked on ;) ...

But it will be determined by the program, though, not the player ...


Anyone have any idea how highly prioritised this currently is?
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Postby SekoETC » Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:57 am

lol If characters will suddenly get random descriptions, at least mine will be screaming out loud Oh my Jos, WHAT HAPPENED to my HAIR??! So if it's in any way possible that existing characters would have a chance to choose their hair colour (and straight/curliness) and skin colour, that would be preferred.

And bear in mind that characters have often travelled from some other area they were spawned in.
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Chris Johnson
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Postby Chris Johnson » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:10 am

No - I'm not sure of the priority , the highest priority is removing existing bugs , so it will be below that :D

Some work is going on on this , but it's a very large task. Some parts have already been implemented , the skills system is part of this, other parts are still on the drawing board so to speak. I'd hazard a guess that it will be a long time before it is ready.

Oh and Seko , we know where every character was spawned .... :twisted: ProgD knows all
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Postby Jos Elkink » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:34 am

Chris Johnson wrote:Oh and Seko , we know where every character was spawned .... :twisted: ProgD knows all


That's only true for 'younger' chars, not the really old ones ...

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