Alter Aeon FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

FAQ Section 19 - [policy] Game mechanic policy decisions

Question 19.1  - Informational - what is this?

This section is a holding pen for gameplay design decisions that may
not be obvious, or that may get lost over time as builders and coders
drift in and out of circulation.

This is necessary as there may be frequent misunderstandings about
the purpose of a feature, or there may be frequent requests to modify
some feature to make it 'better', or to remove some restriction that
players find annoying.

While a lot of things can in fact be made better, some features and
restrictions are intentionally designed to operate a certain way.  In
some cases, the functionality can be critical, or can seriously affect
gameplay in an unobvious way.

For features in this class, it is better to have a list of them than
to accidentally change them and damage the game structure.  Hence, this
faq entry.

See also http://alteraeon.com/misc/AA_game_physics.html for some general
information about the AA in-game cosmology model.

Question 19.2  - Waypoints are not supposed to cross planes

While waypoints are convenient, they are very explicitly not intended to
allow travel between planes.  If a player finds themselves stranded on a
remote plane, they must find some other way out than a waypoint.  Recalling
and portals are both fine.

There are two exceptions to this rule:  the hall of boards, and clan areas.
It should always be possible to waypoint to these areas and back to your
starting location.  Note that this will not allow you to use the hall of
boards or clan areas to bridge between planes.

Both exceptions are for non-gameplay areas that allow players to communicate
and interact with each other.

Question 19.3  - If a room has a fire in it, it should be an object

While most static features in rooms, such as furniture, decor, rugs, etc.
do not need to exist as objects, campfires, firepits, fireplaces and other
features that involve open flame that might be reasonably used to heat
and cook with should be made as objects of the FIRE type, typically with
NO_SAC and NO_TAKE flags.

This adds a passive regeneration effect for resting and sleeping
characters in a room, and also allows characters to use the cooking skill.

If you find a room where the long description mentions a fire and there
is no such object, it is appropriate to add one or typo log it for the
responsible builder to handle.

Question 19.4  - Barrier exit flags and GAME_AUTOMATION room flags

If you need to make rooms where players are not supposed to enter, make
sure they are connected to the rest of rooms in your area. You can prevent
players from seeing the exit and entering the room by setting a barrier flag
on the exit into the room. This will ensure the room is properly mapped and
not widowed as part of a fragmented negatve plane by the mapper.

A GAME_AUTOMATION flag will prevent the room from showing up on where,
block scrying spells and otherwise prevent players from seeing it using
remote methods.

Question 19.5  - MEAT vs. CORPSE composition

To avoid strange situations where butcher jobs may ask for pieces of
humanoid bodies, if you make an object such as 'a human arm' or 'a dwarf
eyeball' please make it composition CORPSE. This is especially important
for FOOD object types, so people won't be cooking cannibal stews and soups.