On Mon, 1 Jul 1996, George wrote: > Also wrote a fairly unwieldly function called do_consider after I > saw how simple Jeremy's was...(mortals at level 1 considering mobs > to be mad and then killing them in one stroke tipped me off too) > Well, this post will only apply if you are into role-playing more than hack and slash. Imagine yourself facing an unknown monster. If you 'consider' it, you would only have the following to go by: Monster's visible means of attacking you (claw/bite/etc) Monster's Size General scariness of the monster, body-shape, demeanor (maybe rumors, legends) You won't really get the info about its: THAC0 AC Max Hit points Level Dam Roll full Monstrous Compendium entry on its stats etc. So, the whole 'consider' command, in my opinion, is flawed. You could estimate it's THACO, AC, etc., but then, you'd have to be pretty high level to do it. It also takes the guess work involved out of the game. First time you come up to an Orc (think back to when you were... 11, playing your first D&D game). All you had to go by (unless you cheated and looked in the DMG) was it's description. So, it would make more sense to write 'consider' as a brief synopsis of the monster: "It's much bigger than you. It looks fairly well armored." and maybe a "I wouldn't do it if I were you." When people rely on the game to give them advice about what monsters can/ should be attempted, I think it takes the 'unknown' out of it. Where's the thrill of beating an aboleth if you knew before hand that it's "easy". If the going gets rough, that's when you recall or flee. Bottom line: Too good of a 'consider' will possible detract from the excitement of exploration. Of course, these are just my own opinion. What's yours? -- Billy H. Chan bhchan@po.eecs.berkeley.edu bhchan@csua.berkeley.edu CogSci/CompSci http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~bhchan ResumeInside
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