Author Topic: A Compass  (Read 2397 times)

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #15 on: December 07, 2003, 05:07:00 pm »
Well, is the crystal seeable from all levels? If not, this way is usable only from level1 which is hellishly hot and unpleasant AFAIK.
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

Sifright

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« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2003, 05:17:47 pm »
tell me how do you get light if the crystal is only seeable on level 1?

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #17 on: December 07, 2003, 05:31:55 pm »
Refraction(reflection).

And the crystal should then be only 4/8 sided or you couldn\'t tell where you are. And it wouldn\'t work at night!

And even if you know that seeing green means that you\'re on the horizontal \"west\", you can\'t tell where you are...the stalagmite is round-ly...so you could only say in which quarter/8-er part of the level you are.

trouble, trouble, trouble.
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

Kixie

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« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2003, 06:49:08 pm »
well i dont have anyother ideas except a big map you can always see and without any N, S, E, W it would be very confusing ....

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #19 on: December 07, 2003, 06:56:21 pm »
True, but the only fixed point we have so far is The Crystal...which is upward, so essentially we\'re left with none.

Hm...troublesome.
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

frumbert

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« Reply #20 on: December 08, 2003, 12:01:15 am »
Why can\'t we arbitarily choose a direction to be north? Rather than it being a magnetic reading, just say that way back in the \"old days\" (in the history of the planet) someone (a wizened old sorcerer, etc) decided that a compass was a good idea to help people get around and decided that north should be the direction that his workroom window was facing (or a line between the tower and the main statue, etc). He realised that many ways of measuring direction were possible, but they all did the same thing: measured direction, and so chose one of the many, which over time had become the standard directions used by everyone.
A compass helps people navigate, whichever direction that is. That\'s all it needs to be.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2003, 12:04:30 am by frumbert »

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #21 on: December 08, 2003, 12:06:05 am »
Hm, but which point/way to choose?
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

frumbert

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« Reply #22 on: December 08, 2003, 12:16:49 am »
can\'t we lave that up to the programmer who has to develop it? Maybe there\'s a reason why one direction is easier to make \"north\" than another reason. As *new* players come along, they see that direction x is north and just go with it. They don\'t reason why. If they *do* reason why, they might like to ask the NPC from whom they got the compass and he can tell the story of the wizard and his workroom window...

just make it up!!

zinder

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« Reply #23 on: December 08, 2003, 10:41:54 pm »
If the world looks like in this thread, i see no problem with north as the position of the crystal.

That way north means toward the center, south toward the hull, west and east as clockwise and anti-clockwise.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2003, 10:42:47 pm by zinder »

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #24 on: December 08, 2003, 10:45:54 pm »
It\'s still a planet...so north is upward(let\'s asume the crystal is at the pole), south is down... but that isn\'t helpful.

East, west...clockwise? huh? How much clockwise, where.... nonono reread the thread.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2003, 10:55:21 pm by lynx_lupo »
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

Kixie

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« Reply #25 on: December 08, 2003, 10:57:30 pm »
maybe we could use stars! i know you cant see any real stars but there are other crystals in the stalagtite in the \"sky\"  so when its night they should reflect some light and act like a star! then we could use a basic naviagtion in the stars.... :D  pretty stars :P
« Last Edit: December 08, 2003, 10:57:55 pm by Kixie »

lynx_lupo

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« Reply #26 on: December 08, 2003, 11:02:26 pm »
Nice idea. But try to explain it to an average n00b (who can\'t speak English properly...).  I don\'t even wanna know how much they understand math and the 3D  coordinate system.
"Amor sceleratus habendi"- Ovid
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you eat them." -Godzilla

Kixie

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« Reply #27 on: December 08, 2003, 11:11:42 pm »
nah just have 4 very recognizable \'star\' formations... :)

zinder

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« Reply #28 on: December 09, 2003, 01:08:28 am »
Quote
Originally posted by lynx_lupo
It\'s still a planet...so north is upward(let\'s asume the crystal is at the pole), south is down... but that isn\'t helpful.

East, west...clockwise? huh? How much clockwise, where.... nonono reread the thread.


Assume north points to the crystal:
north is upwards if you hold the compass vertical. if you hold it horizontal to the ground, north is to center.

A compass only gives directions, which are always relative to the compass. so clockwise means left around and a how much value simply doesnt make sense
.
How much values are only needed if you want to create a worldmap. and need to decide where west becomes east.

Jaxan

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« Reply #29 on: December 09, 2003, 03:38:58 am »
Remember the point of a compass would be indoor use too, and you can\'t see \"stars\" through a celling. Maybe Dev Wizards can construct a big tower in each level, containing a huge \"compassium\" crystal (crappy name), each level having a different \"frequency\" magic poured through it. If you know what level you\'re on you set which level to respond to on your \"compassite\" needled compass. It\'s not science fiction, it\'s fantasy, keep telling yourself that.

Replace those crappy names with anything you want.  :P

Complex dungeons or vaults could put compassium in there walls to confuse thieves or something.

-just an idea :)