Messenger Updates for Consideration

[Kinaed]

- Toggle if they're public or private on arrival
- Make them like mail and require a 'receive' sort of command to be received when the player is in an ICly appropriate place.
- Make them unable to be sent when a player his hiding, invisible... or wanted?

Any opinions, folks?

[Estelle]

As much as I wish perfect realism could exist, in which case messengers would not be able to be sent to wanted people, I think that would virtually force anyone on a warrant to either go on a suicide mission (because really, without messengers or mail, it will be pretty much impossible to do anything bar cheating, ie oocly arranging meetings), or change their identity. If a change is necessary, I would recommend simply making it harder to send messengers to wanted people; the person himself/herself has to pay 5-10s to receive, maybe, and cost more to send as well. To account for the fact that you probably had to smuggle the message through other ways instead of just flagging a page down.

I like the public/private suggestion. Also the 'receive' command, but I think the player should be notified when there is a messenger waiting, also.

AFAIK you already cannot receive messengers while invisible/hiding, but that might've been a bug, since I didn't try that many times.

[Kinaed]

Is your concern only about not being able to send messengers while wanted?

Hiding and invisible are skills or magic flags that I don't think it makes sense to send a messenger whilst doing. In fact, I'm wondering if we ought to make it that people have to go to a street room to send messengers - but I think that'd add little to the game and be too hard.

I'll nix the wanted, I agree it won't do much for anyone. Invis and hidden okay though?

[Estelle]

I agree that we should not be able to get/send messengers while hiding/invis. What I was saying though is that AFAIK that already is the case? Regardless, it would be nice if the messenger stays in the buffer (ICly keeps looking) so that we can receive after becoming visible, without the sender needing to resend.

[mattc]

I like most all of these updates as discussed, but I would say that I would like for the ability to receive a messenger whereever one is at. The main feature distinguishing messengers from mail is that they are more instantaneous: remove their greater reach, and you remove most of their utility. So, I like the idea of needed to type a 'receive' command to receive the message if you are in a private place, but I don't like the idea of one having to go to specific locations to type that command.

[Estelle]

Btw, while I'm all for these suggestions, may I request having the message code fixed first?

The messaging system on this TI seems to be a little buggy. I've had more than a few instances where there was absolutely no reason why a message should not have reached me or my target, but it happened. There was one time when I was messaging one target; her first message to me got through perfectly fine with my whererp off, the second one in a row did not.