Because no one reads the patch notes...

[Fire Wraith]

And no one pays attention to the wall of text on login, the following is now true:

1) You can now see the area people are in when using /listpcs
2) The /hidestatus command will toggle whether you show up as "hidden" when others use /listpcs (and is persistent through reboots/event server transitions)
3) People in the same area as you will still be able to see you're in their area even if your /hidestatus is on, even if you're invis/stealthed/etc (though they'll have no idea where in the area)

That is all for now.

[Fire Wraith]

Also, just to note, the added information to /listpcs is OOC information, intended to help people find others to roleplay. It should be used accordingly.

And if anyone is wondering why people can still see if you're in the area, regardless, well... basically, the idea is that if you're going to spy on someone using engine mechanics, we want there to be at least some degree of OOC trust involved. Past experience (and see my post on "the Hardest Part") has shown that if players don't have that kind of trust, anything someone discovers using engine based spying is just going to pour gasoline on the fire, and the resulting fire-shit-storm is something we'd prefer to avoid.

In short, if you don't think you can trust someone with knowing you're there OOCly, maybe you shouldn't be engaging in a PVP activity against them in the first place?


(Incidentally, we're going to also consider removing the Arabel Central Stealth nerf, as it shouldn't be necessary with this fix in place, I think)

[Nymera]

A /listpcs function may be the best addition to CD I've seen in years.  Thank you!  

I do have a concern that people will abuse the fact they can always know a hidden PC is nearby...not by seeking for them via metagamaing, but by changing their behavior and dialogue to not divulge information they otherwise might have.  It's a more subtle form of metagaming that's impossible to catch.

However, I'm content to live with it for the reduction in server drama.

[aceheart]

Does scry work? If it does, it should also give an OOC wink that you're being watched, for the same reasons.

[ClockworkMayhem]

As far as I know, it does work - and it tells you that you're being watched (whether your character knows it or not), but it doesn't tell you who's doing the scrying.

[The Red Mage]

You get a will save. If you fail, you're not supposed to know. If you pass, you get a feeling of being watched.

[ClockworkMayhem]

You're not supposed to know, no, but it does tell you something to let you, the player, know you're being scried.

[Fire Wraith]

In both cases, you have OOC knowledge that something is up. This was part of a desire to put things on the same level.

Yes, it's possible that people can metagame the fact and avoid saying anything they wouldn't want revealed. I decided that if we're at that degree of lack of trust, then it's better to not go down that road anyway. If things stay hidden, nothing has changed; whereas if someone's big secrets get revealed prematurely, it can ruin a lot of effort (and we may not even be talking about the players immediately involved).

[The Nameless Bard]

If it's not someone that I would send a tell to and say "someone is watching you!" then I probably don't want to RP with them in the first place, so, I guess, just as FW has said.


I like the change.  I'm not sure if it persisting over restarts is the best idea as people may 'set it and forget it', but I guess we'll see in a week if everyone is on hidden.

[bknuckles]

It's a nice feature, thanks!

[Fire Wraith]

It does send up a status reminder when you log in - it's just in with the other reminders that people don't usually pay attention to.

[Garage Trashcan]

If it makes you feel any better, I always read the patch notes.

But also yay, because something like this has been needed for years.

Can we get the Meeting Spot Locator removed now?

[Vincent07]

It'll vanish with the next update.  I'll slowly be replacing all those widgets with commands and/or a player tool feat.