coupons and the POLICY about them! ooh

Posted by Zak on 03/15

Why be sooooo unreasonable about such a little detail! Let the players be responsible for their own stringing of items. Maybe a system could be set up that gave the players the right to change a strung's short description to whatever they liked.... a mob ooc could be used..or a command that would check for existing short desc's of in game items to make sure that item is in deed strung... after checking the player would just input the value of the short desc and it would be changed.... if the player abuses such a priveledge and is caught wearing offensive items or uncalled for items, then these priviledges could be revoked and either nev -er be allowed to restring an item again, or have to go through an imm until the flag can be removed once trust is established again... I hate to say it, but we are being treated like children with a dangerous toy.

Please treat us as responisible people that know what is right and wrong. Why restrict the priviledges of the many for the immaturity of the few?! If any further ideas or comments about such an idea occur to anyone, pleas append! I dont know how much attention this post will get... but I would really appreciate a response from the playerbase and from Rusalka or an Imm that can talk about the possibility of it going in, or its impossibili for implementation. With all the new code going in I know it might seem trivial, but it would really be MUCH appreciated. It is my single point of contention really with the game as is, and it just seems a bit shortsighted as stands.

Zak

From: Dudley Friday, February 20, 12:57AM Or like current long/short desc stuff, have it able to send mail through imms, they mail back something you can put in a slot machine with the eq, and ta-da! :P

but it'd be nice to have it automated. If a certain string is offensive, you'll prolly hear about it.

From: Arsene Friday, February 20, 04:24AM Its like the skill swap deal, its imms who dont wont to spend time interacting with the players in mundance tasks, part of being an imm. when you immort peopel who take long sabbaticals and not some whod stay and do this work, its what happens.

If you dont have the time(rusalka's protest) either give it to payers to do, or semi-immort people willing ot do it.

From: Marcel Friday, February 20, 05:22AM Insofar I know of, the main problem with multiplying the number of strings available - not discussing HOW they are available, o how they should be - is memory. I gather that even on the new machine strings are RAM gobblers.

We weak link people would really rather be lag free and unstrung :P

From: Zak Friday, February 20, 10:10AM I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough about what I was saying. What I meant to propose was not multiplying the number of strings, but rather to merely have the ability to change the value of existing strings whenever we feel it necessary. I have another idea. If you read the original post (44) and agree with it, and only if you also agree that if such a policy as outlined in 44 was instated that you would not abuse it in any way, then (and grumble has agreed to do this because I can't handle the weight of many letters) send a postcard to Grumble with the message: I agree, and then your name.

I would rather do this than spam the discussion board with I agrees, the discussion board is meant for discussion -heh-. And please, if you have any further suggestions about the post, append :)

Zak

From: Sandra Friday, February 20, 10:43AM Actually, its like getting a coupon for a free haircut then thinking that you can get free haircuts every time after that. Once an item is strung, its strung. You can restring it to another item, but you can not change the string. Unless, of course, there is a typo in the string.

IMO, making a mob to do what you've explained, and giving players a way to string items, would be more work than we've got to do now. We would still have to check everything. And again, as I said above, once an item is strung, its strung. If we're going to allow them to be changed constantly, then what's the use of a coupon at all?

From: Zak Friday, February 20, 11:48AM actually a coupon is more like a priviledge to string ONE item into whatever you want. by saying that once the value of the coupon is redeemed and the item is changed, that that priviledge is now gone and that item is just like any other item in the game. strung items to me retain that importance and that uniqueness. Changing the strung item should be an option!

The use of a coupon? The coupon as you define it is only a way the immortals can put off stringing someone's item as stands. what your saying is that once we decide its final and thats what i'm saying is wrong.

if you read my post carefully the immortals wouldn't have to check every string out as they do now, only ones that are reported. doesn't sound like a whole lot of work to me. the checking i was refering to in the post was jsut to make sure that the item is one that has been strung before, not an item that is just one from the game.

you are taking the coupon and giving IT value, I'm taking the value of the coupon and saying it also applies to the item that it was used on because all the coupon really is is a strung item to be strung at a later date.

From: Fatale Friday, February 20, 01:26PM They COULD always just totally remove coupons if they become too much of a headache, and it seems like they are by now. If you're allowed to change a strung item to a totally new desc, that'd be exactly like getting a whole brand spanking new coupon, which would completely lower the value of coupons rather than making them greater.

From: Zak Friday, February 20, 02:48PM Here is an afterthough about sandra's previous append: getting another free haircut? coupons are REALLY free and SOO available.

okay:

it seems to me that mostly what is involved in this contention is merely the player's happiness. Here is a message from one of the immortals and I quote, "coupons do not affect game balance". If this is true then why not give players this right? Think about it, if a player has to get 21 new coupons (thats how many slots there are) to change his roleplay because his current eq is opposite what he is trying to roleplay...do you think this is conducive to a fun and flexible roleplay situation?!.

coupons are still just as valuable as they were before. you are not increasing the amount of strung eq on your person, just what it looks like.

From: Stick Friday, February 20, 03:18PM Well, I'm not sure I support it, but here are my thoughts anyway...

The way I perceive it, the issue questioned here is the value of the coupon itself. Currently the meaning of a coupon is you can by using it change the way an item looks to something else. When you have - poof, no more coupon. Zak means (as I see it) that a coupon should instead be perceived as an item allowing you to have a customized piece of equipment.

Now that I have stated the obvious, I can't see any problem with Zak's idea, really. The whole point of coupons seems to be to enhance and further RP (which I fully support, so don't twist this into me some- how saying that we should take coupons out of the game), and if so it would stand to reason that when a character changes his RP he/she would be able to change the string. After all, another tool for the benefi (benefit) of RP is our description, something we all cherish. And we are, after all, able to change our desc when we change our RP. (And no, I'd rather keep coupons as they are than make descs permanent for the sake of consistensy.)

Stick

From: Cawti Friday, February 20, 04:51PM The point you seem to missing, Zak, is that coupons are supposed to be rewards. They are supposed to be rare. You talk about how you would need 21 coupons to completely change rp, and you sound as if you should just be able to restring your entire character anytime you happen to feel like it. That's not the way it works. You should have to either earn each individual coupon, or be willing to pay dearly for one. If anyone who has ever gotten a coupon can just up and decide to change their gear anytime they like, than coupons will become worthless, cause once you've gotten a coupon for each slot, you would never need to even think about getting another coupon again.

Cawti

From: Dudley Friday, February 20, 05:18PM It seems that most rp'ers here could care less about how their chars truly stack up against mobs, and when you don't go for that max-stat char, there is a lot of room to choose eq in the game that befits your rp.. case in point i guess is firehorse's stash of sm eq and stuff, you can just decide to lug it around and change into them when mob killing becomes unnecessary or simply boring..

From: Galron Friday, February 20, 08:07PM the point everyone seems to be missing is that the game isn't very friendly to roleplayers who have all their eq strung. sure its easy for people who dont have many strings to say, just get another. but if you have 21 strings on your person and roleplay dictates you change your act... see how happy you are then. The game would be so much more fun if the changes went in... in my opinion. and yes, once you get all your slots full with coupons you should be rewarded with never having to get another one cawti.

21 coupons is no easy thing to do. People just don't value coupons rightly, they are too scarce as is and thus too valuable for a mere one time string. If you increase the number of coupons then maybe making it one string per coupon, but with the scarcity, it seems a new policy would be better and more fun. I'm sorry if you have never had the joy and burden of 21 coupons on your character cawti, you just wont understand until you do.

From: Solomon Friday, February 20, 08:47PM Allowing you to change your string, in addition to the current restring policy, would amount to a perpetual string privilege. You would get an item strung, restring it to another item, change the string, restring it to some other item, ad nauseum.

I fully appreciate the points you are trying to make. The point that you seem to failing to appreciate is that strings have always been intended for stringing one item, one time. They are intended as a reward or as a prize, not the key to a lifetime of free strings.

If you have 21 strings, I envy you. I salute you. I congratulate you. But if you want to change a string, you'll have to give me another coupon until and unless the policy is changed.

If you can't rp without a string, then maybe you need to look around and see how others are doing it.

From: Wraith Friday, February 20, 09:56PM Why do you need strung eq to RP? You are using your imagination, aren't you?

- Wraith

From: Dudley Saturday, February 21, 01:42AM just having an automated restring mob would be good. not to change the des desc, but to change the eq it is on. kinda hard to find imms to do that..

From: Mandrake Saturday, February 21, 09:09AM -nod Dudley- was about to suggest the same..

Usually when I need restringing I can't rent the stuff I want to replace and there isn't an IMM available, just gotta hope the MUD doesn't crash (and be glad I at least have a clan hall to store my eq).