Posts made by Mercutio

It vaguely sounds like The Ineffible Game. But there, people were chess pieces to the gods.

@Thenomain
Certainly. That's why I stated them. I'm fairly certain you do (though not 100% of course - I am never 100% certain of such things).

P.S. God-damnit, MUX. Get your act together.
P.P.S. I used to actually do these: http://community.pennmush.org/node/924 -- in order to introduce problem concepts in PennMUSH and potential solutions.

@Thenomain
You can make use of nlsearch() combined with an upper and lower bound to solve that. A bit of a pain in the rear. nattr() with xattr() for the attribute lists.

But if you're storing such large amounts... SQL.

@Thenomain
Sounds like a good case for using @dolist instead of one giant @pemit.

As a sidenote, it's really easy to set Penn to 16k. But it can't go above that. [Edit mushtype.h]

@Thenomain said in Information Storage Question:

@fo me=@edit object/test=$, [repeat(-,234234234)]

I wish. it has to do with the player's command length. So if I recall correctly, the only way you will get it is by copying the output of [repeat(...)] and then saving that into an attribute. It generally just comes up if you try to store... for instance... poses. Or deal with bots.

For your consideration:

&reg obj=(?P<Text>.+?)|(?P<dbref>#\d+)\.(?P<desc>.+?)<(?P<int1>.+?)@(?P<int2>.+?)>(?P<int3>.+)
th regedit(stuff,v(reg),r(dbref))

Or:

regmatch(stuff,v(reg),text dbref desc int1 int2 int3) %q<int1>

However, I might recommend you don't store like that, if possible, and stick them into seperate attributes... or in SQL if you are going to store a lot of data. You've got roughly 2000 attributes to play with on for instance, Pennmush, per object.

Example:

object/stats`abilities`intelligence

If you want to check what your max length is to stick into something:

th strlen(repeat(-,234234234))

Note however, that max command length is lower than that. Half, in fact, for PennMUSH.

@skew

As long as you remain within the functions, or command-lists, it should be fine.
It's when your command lists start containing the following specific commands: (@dolist, @wait, @trigger, are the ones I can think of)

@emit a; @dolist b c d=@emit ##; @emit e; 

That you'll get stuff like:

a
e
b
c
d

This is because of how command queues work. This gets resolved with doing stuff like:

@emit a; @dolist/notify b c d=@emit ##; @wait me=@emit e;

@Thenomain

@Thenomain said in MU Flowchart:

@Mercutio said in MU Flowchart:

And then you get to Regular Expressions, the ins-and-outs of Command-style vs Functional-style (and their hybrid conventions) and what the pros and cons are for both, inheritance, controls / permissions, SQL interactivity, and the true test... fold()

With luck, someone can go their entire Mu* code career without any of this but inheritance and some limited permissions, which is just a subset of "grab an attribute".

I would rather someone learn how to abstract repetitive code blocks via function calls. And the ins and outs of flags. And come to think of it, a competent coder should be prepared to be a halfway competent builder which means a basic understanding of the various object types and how they interact.

I agree that most likely folk won't know those, and probably don't need to know them. But there's that dangerous difference between 'knows how to grab an attribute with the right permission set' and 'sets all objects wizard so they don't need to deal with permissions'. (Or: 's() evaluates the attribute I just grabbed, totes safe, right?' aka 'enactor, what's that?')

Most of the others I mentioned is just mastery for when you want to master the system and maybe have some big coding plans in mind.

And then you get to Regular Expressions, the ins-and-outs of Command-style vs Functional-style (and their hybrid conventions) and what the pros and cons are for both, inheritance, controls / permissions, SQL interactivity, and the true test... fold()

@Ashen-Shugar
That'll get you the young'ins, but to get the really good coders, you'll have to also /really/ get them excited. And keep them excited through the project.

Aka: Don't make them write the theme files, policy files, etc.

P.S. Also, good lord, getting a lot of upvotes for what basically was 'go to a site, download a file, upload it elsewhere', when Thenomain did all the work.

@Thenomain
I just visited the website with AdBlock on (Chrome). Waited a while, page took a while to load, then right-click and save the image. Uploaded it to here.

@Thenomain:

@surreality
The issue you quickly run into with that kind of system, is that duplicate topics come up quickly.
I have a similar system I am working on mainlining, that just ignores some of that heavily relies on Pueblo links for easier navigation. Navigation gets more difficult without that information - though a typed column could resolve that. But the UI design for that seems... well, not sure how I'd do that.

(Graph Storage SQL enginge for duplication between say, wiki and MUSH, using the kind of graph-mapping we use to remember things)

Mind that this is an administration view, but just like you, I'd love to see that in actual use.

+entity/list Kingdom
.======================[ Entity List for Type Kingdom ]======================.
Outcasts                  The Eastal Free League    The Ezzo Empire          
The Fourland Dukedom       The Holy Empire Westelande
The Ninetails Dominion    
'=================[ +entity Kingdom=<Item> | +entity/list ]=================='
+entity Kingdom=The Eastal Free League
.=========================[ The Eastal Free League ]=========================.
A group of territories loosely aligned by treaties. Ruled by the nobility, Eastal ultimately places great value on freedom and democracy, but like any government, those in power wish to remain in power, and the nobility clings to its might indeed. Eastals primary Wave element is Wind, emphasizing its democratic spirit and dedication to the principles of freedom. Its Root Town is Fort Ouph, the Watchtower. Its color is Green.
-------------[ Outgoing Entity Info for The Eastal Free League ]--------------
-------------[ Incoming Entity Info for The Eastal Free League ]--------------
----------------[ The Eastal Free League is a subtopic of ^ ]-----------------
Setting                  
----------------[ The Eastal Free League has as member(s) ^ ]-----------------
Shirou                    Naotsugu                  Nyanta                   
----------------------[ The Eastal Free League owns ^ ]-----------------------
Fort Ouph                 Ouph Port                 Akihabara                
'==========================[ +entity/list Kingdom ]=========================='
+entity City=Ouph Port
.===============================[ Ouph Port ]================================.
One of The Eastal Free League's port cities. It has a magical elevator that grants access to Fort Ouph.
--------------------[ Outgoing Entity Info for Ouph Port ]--------------------
-------------------------[ Ouph Port is owned by v ]--------------------------
The Eastal Free League   
--------------------[ Incoming Entity Info for Ouph Port ]--------------------
'===========================[ +entity/list City ]============================'

@Lithium You may want to just inquire with Talvo/Mike on M*U*S*H.

@icanbeyourmuse
Get(), v(), or u() if you need it evaluated.

It didn't help that the center point to your group disappeared into the Ether. It's a real shame. We really liked you bunch. I understand where you are coming from though. I remember when I started there with my little level 5 character amongst people well established and more powerful than my character.

I ended up leaning into that, however, using RP to form connections, using it as a way to set goals and what-not. But that is, in the end, but one playstyle. Everyone plays the game in different ways. It is a typical problem, I agree. Over-dinosauring, that is. Of course, there's always characters of established players who are closer to the starting levels. But it's never a perfect situation.

@Warma-Sheen said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

@Faceless said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

@Warma-Sheen I think you're being a bit more critical than is necessary. Honestly it comes off as though you feel wronged by the current staffers, for the actions of past staffers.

I could very well be more critical than is necessary. I can admit that. Maybe it just feels more personal to me because it is me. I know that's a thing. But my experience and opinions about Mercutio have nothing to do with previous staff. Everyone's accountable for their own stuff. Myself, included.

@Mercutio I really find it hard to believe that the "interpretation" was a misunderstanding. But if you say it was, then there's no point in trying to argue. You know your intentions better than I would. If you're not doing the same things I experienced anymore and other people aren't experiencing the same issues, then great. I love Star Wars and more places to play, the better. But everyone has to decide for themselves and no one reading can say they weren't warned if your song remains the same.

No hard feelings man. I understand that experiences can color one's future ones.

@Meg said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

@Mercutio said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

In regards to the idea of older characters having more power - this is indeed the case. But there is a hard level cap. And while there are side-upgrade options, the costs climb heavily after a certain point. It's not perfect, but not the worst as a system. It's something we watch.

@Mercutio said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

Transparency with staff is harder to define or even comment on, as I am uncertain in what way that word is being used in this instance.

Ok, but like, how many of those older characters who have hit level cap but have a shitton of side-upgrade options are in the hands of staff? That's what I'm talking about looking at, and what I am talking about re: transparency.

I mean, I am glad you guys know your factions (spheres. potatoes. whatever you want to call them, really) but knowing who is getting all the cool stuff and getting to do the cool things is important, too. I'm not here to tell you how to run your game, but if all staff have really old characters with a lot of influence because of the things that they have, you can bet it's going to make your game less appealing to people.

Gotcha. Soft Level cap (level 12) has - ignoring NPCs - 13 players. Of which 3 are admin characters due to long-term play. We track the side-upgrades as well in sheet notes - of which Risi likely has the largest sum, but I don't think the top 5 contains further staff characters. There are 3 characters with a level above the soft level cap, a sum that contains 1 admin played character (Risi, who was the third one to get there), and no characters at the hard level cap (14).

We watch the cool stuff, and the levels, and the influence. Though, of all the admin characters, Risi is the only one with notable 'influence', and it's not even a lot. She's just an indie. No direct influence in any of the major organizations (Empire, Rebellion, or the crumbling Republic).

@Meg said in Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance:

Like always, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. @Warma-Sheen may be overly critical and the complaint is silly, but now might be a good time for @Mercutio to take a hard look at power balances in spheres and transparency with staff, too. Maybe there's nothing to look at! But hey, never hurts to do it.

It's certainly a concern at all times. Though we don't have 'spheres' as much as 'factions' around, the power balance across factions is, by design, very disjointed. There are some powerful characters in smaller groups that by themselves have far fewer resources - and we have lower level characters in large organizations (The Empire) who thus have far more resources to them. In a way, each has their own playstyle - as is inherent to this era we are approaching. But you get odd encounters in PvP situations. Example: when the Inquisition comes across powerful and well established higher level characters.

I'm actually commonly surprised in a positive manner, as the Inquisition members take these as opportunities to make it into long term missions, or plan around things instead of running at he wall head-first. Even if PvP is rare, they take it as character growth.

In regards to disjointed power, we have the obvious:
The Empire has overwhelming force, but can be slower to move on things, and tend to use hard-handed approaches on things.
The Rebellion has little in the way of Force, but is quick to get in and out to perform small strikes. Sometimes they have higher level characters. Sometimes lower level characters.
The Independents, for the most part, are a wild card of varying power. Their influence is adjusted by their own actions, and who they ally with.

In regards to the idea of older characters having more power - this is indeed the case. But there is a hard level cap. And while there are side-upgrade options, the costs climb heavily after a certain point. It's not perfect, but not the worst as a system. It's something we watch.

Transparency with staff is harder to define or even comment on, as I am uncertain in what way that word is being used in this instance.