Dartmud Bulletin Boards: Player Discussion

Last updated: Thu Aug 21 10:31:40 2008

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1: [Sep 13 2007] Swimming (Slithe)
I've thought about swimming quite a bit and have been frustrated
by it somewhat in the past, and recently as well. Mainly because
there seems to be so many places that require it, and going to
those places as a fighter is generally much more dangerous than if
you were a mage. That in itself seems a bit odd but I can get past
that fact. Really what gets me is how one mess up can mean certain
death for a fighter whereas it can pose no problem to a mage. If
you fail and are starting to lose breath, you are dead, since your
conc will not recover.

Let's say you're at the bottom of a pool in real life. You swim
up and up and up and eventually you have to breath and if you aren't
out you'll take water and drown. You don't really get tired and can't
move, instead your breath is the real limiting factor. Here its like
you swim up, then get stuck, have breath still.. still stuck, and
can't manage to move at all until finally your breath is gone.

At a certain conc, a fighter can't move even in the easiest water.
For a mage, they can be at the same conc, then screw up a few more
times until their conc is really bad, but still cast to save
themselves.

The conc hits from lack of oxygen basically mean its time to cast
soon for a mage, and for a fighter it means bye-bye. I would like
to know what other people think about it. I guess if I could have
things my way then instead of losing conc and health from lack of
oxygen, you would only lose health. Conc would still suffer from
failing to swim due to currents or poor skill, but at least as your
breath was running out you would still have a chance to recover
conc to try again before you can't breathe anymore and die.

Slithe

2: [Sep 13 2007] Swimming (Lixen)
I don't think there is really an issue with this. Yes, swimming
is deadly for a fighter. Mages have magical abilities that let
them totally avoid other dangers as well. BAI being the most
obvious. Mages are also generally vulnerable to fighter attacks,
more vulnerable to being killed by groups of monsters (especially
in the underdark), and have to spend insane amounts of time to
get their skills to the point where they can cast a dpd at
shot conc underwater and not kill themselves doing so. I think it's
a matter that they spend enough time training (or preparing, in a
way) to be able to avoid dangers using their abilities. Yes, we
fighters don't have the ability to explore as far underwater.
There are differences and limitations. In general, I think mages
have more versatility and capabilities than fighters, but it takes
longer to get to a usable point with them. I don't think the
difference in swimming is a critical issue. If you really are
concerned about the difference, befriend a mage skilled enough to
oss a dpd on you for emergencies, or quest to find some fishy pills,
or have a mage make you marks places and recall you there.

Hmm, guess that rambled a bit.

Lixen

3: [Sep 14 2007] Swimming (Katsumi)
The swimming has always kinda irked me, but on the flip side I just accept that certain places are easier for a mage to function while some areas in the mud a mages spells are useless and they could never explore without a fighter to tank. Water is one of these places mages win out in. That and there *are* alternatives at the disposal of fighters to survive underwater already so water area's aren't entierly off limits for fighters, just dangerous.

Also if all places could be accessed easily by a single person then there would never be a need for cooperation anymore. So it takes away current demands for mages like the ones lixen described, oss'ed dpd's, marks, recalls, or even the ability to perform dangerous underwater rescues all of which are detracting from the need for coooperation between mage and fighter.

- Katsumi

4: [Sep 14 2007] Swimming.. again (Katsumi)
Just a random thought... what bugs me about swimming isn't the death rate but rather the floating.. an unskilled swimmer swims into the deep end and sinks, takes off his brais and a few pieces of jewelry and floats.. what's up with that? :)

- Katsumi

5: [Sep 14 2007] Swimming (Slithe)
You both make very good points, and I want to clarify that I don't
want it to change where fighters can go any further distance in
water, or to have everyone be able to access all places easily,
(although for a large group of mages it is extremely easy to
access the many water areas. plus the time needed for a mage to
get there is pretty insignificant when you take into account other
skills and the bonus you get for it.)

I just think it would be nice to have basically an extra shot at
trying to swim by recovering conc still as you lose breath. This
won't let people get by if their skill isn't high enough, or let
them go any further in places where they don't get stuck.

It seems like just a tiny upgrade making it so that one mistake
doesn't totally doom you, and you would still be much better off
interacting with mages to make it safer or using alternative tactics.

Slithe

6: [Sep 14 2007] RE: Swimming (Ogma)
The last time someone tweaked swimming about 20 people died in one
evening.

7: [Dec 02 2007] breeding (Ochri)
Thank you very very much, Creators, for the 'breed' command. That alone will make a ton of things easier, not just herding but all the crafts it supplies as well. The reason I'm not posting this on the praise board is that there's just one itty bitty fix I think it might need.
I'd like to be able to tell if a herd/flock currently has a limit and what that limit is if it does. This could just be another few words in the 'view' information or maybe 'breed <group>' should tell you and you remove the limit by something like 'breed <group> to 0'.
Anyway, thank you all again. --Ochri

8: [Dec 02 2007] Re: Breeding (Danor)
Um, You can tell what a flock's limit is, if it has one, by examining the flock.
Just thought you'd like to know. :)

--Player of Danor

9: [Dec 02 2007] RE: Breeding (Ogma)
Actually, you can tell that a herd or flock has reached or surpassed
its limit by examining it. If it it has, it will show that the males
and females have been separated.

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