From: roarf@stud.cs.uit.no (Roar Foshaug)
Subject: Reality, (was Re: player interaction...)
Organization: University of Tromsoe, Norway
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 12:18:19 GMT

In article <92280.150914CMS129@psuvm.psu.edu>, Chris Stoy <CMS129@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
|> This is just my opinion:
|> 

[lots of interesting stuff deleted]

|> Who ever said life was fair. Just get by for now and maybe one day you can do
|> something about it.
|> 


I read your post and thought about it a while. Ordinary I've been against
player killings because it has a tendency to fence off new players. But I
got inspired from your post : Why not solve it as in real life (with a
few simplifications)?

When someone gets killed (or attacked/robbed/etc) then one can (based on
location) give a percentage chance that someone saw it and reported it to the
police. This might be 99% in the town centre and 10% in the forrests.

The police starts investigation, by sending out one or more patrols to the
spot, and they search for the killer. How this search is done is irrelevant. 
They may put up "Wanted" posters all over, and again (based on location)
there is a chance that some (imaginary) person recognizes the killer and
reports to the police.

Sooner or later the killer will be caught, or after a sufficient time the
police "forgets" it, ie the case is closed. When the killer is caught,
he is arrested, has to wait in a prison cell for an amount of time,
being harassed by computer controlled guards, and then put to trial.

In the trial the wrong-doer is asked questions, and a sentence is given.
There is a certain probability of being convicted (about 80% or so?).

If the wrong-doer is convicted, he must serve in a prison for some time,
maybe a day of real time, and all posessions are taken from him.
Then he is let out into the game again.


OK. This perhaps sounds boring, but that is the point. If you kill someone
(after attacking them), or rob or whatever, you run the risk of being
arrested, convicted and having to serve a time in prison. In other words,
your character is removed from the game, for a certain time (of active playing,
mind you). If you allow only one character per player, this should be
quite an efficient punishment?

Of course, if the character is real wild, it may even succeed in killing of
the police when they attempt to arrest him, etc etc...
Also, by sneaking round in the woods or non-public places only, the chance
of being sighted and reported is smaller... But again, that is also a sort
of "punishment" in that it restricts the player...


Thoughts, anyone?

And yes, I know it will take some implementation work... :-)
Object oriented games programming is the Answer.


|> 
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
|> Chris "Slothman" Stoy |  "It is in the nature of the mind to forget
|> cms129 at psuvm       |   and in the nature of man to worry over his
|> cms129@psuvm.psu.edu  |   forgetfullness"    (I dunno, sounded cool)
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
Roar Foshaug                                      (roarf@stud.cs.uit.no)
Department of Computer Science
University of Tromsoe                             'oe' is '\o{}' in Tex
N-9000 TROMSOE, NORWAY                            'OE' is '\O{}' in Tex