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| Note: This article has been eliminated from AIDG proper, since the functionality it describes was implemented in the new 6/11 standard library. It is being kept for posterity.
CompassLook:Scenery From a Distance I found myself very frustrated with outside direction descriptions. The opening scene in my work in progress includes a very panaramic view of the world. Obviously, the default behavior of the library is insufficient to describe background scenery. If a player were to try:
> LOOK EAST
I only understand you as far as wanting to look.
...clearly this is a jolt to the player. I wanted something more like this;
> LOOK EAST
You cover your eyes and squint into the morning sun, trying to make out the
landscape in the distance. To the northeast, a grove of orange trees
stretches into the distance, directly east is a long and winding dirt road,
and southeast is widespread farmland with mountains in the background.
...this gives the player a much larger feel for the game and I would try to encourage use of this feature to help with imersion. So the changes I added to the library are as follows: Modifications: In english.h
*** OLD ***
Class CompassDirection
with article "the", number 0,
has scenery;
*** NEW ***
Class CompassDirection
with article "the", number 0,
before [;
Examine,Look:
if (location provides compasslook) return
location.compasslook(self); ],
has scenery;
In grammar.h
*** OLD ***
Verb 'look' 'l//'
* -> Look
* 'at' noun -> Examine
* 'inside'/'in'/'into'/'through' noun -> Search
* 'under' noun -> LookUnder
* 'up' topic 'in' noun -> Consult;
*** NEW ***
Verb 'look' 'l//'
* -> Look
* noun=ADirection -> Examine
* 'at' noun -> Examine
* 'inside'/'in'/'into'/'through' noun -> Search
* 'under' noun -> LookUnder
* 'up' topic 'in' noun -> Consult;
Implementation: In order to use these changes, you simply add a compasslook property procedure to a given location object:
Object Spot_In_Road "Spot In Road"
with name 'spot' 'in' 'road',
description "You're standing in a spot in the road
that stretches east and west. You can see a great
distance in all directions.",
compasslook
[ obj;
switch(obj){
e_obj,se_obj,ne_obj: print "To the far east
stretches a great sea of wheat.";
n_obj: print "To the north you see a large mountain.";
w_obj,nw_obj,sw_obj: print "To the west there is large
wall stretching from north to south.";
s_obj: print "A great wall curves from the west and around
to the south.";
u_obj: print "As you look up a large bird does dootie on
your face.";
default: rfalse;
}
rtrue;
],
has light;
It would be convenient if the IFNDEF WITHOUT_DIRECTIONS was placed before the CompassDirection class and Compass object because then this would possibly be a library contribution. But if you want to post it on your site, that's good enough for me. I think many people have asked for an elegant way to handle this situation. |
