Frack the roundtime system, or, why it's broken

[Nappist]

I'm actually making a separate post for this based on viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1173

Is it based on real time? Is it based on game time? If it's three seconds and always three seconds, what happens when the server lags? What happens when you lag? And this is a MUD. People are expected to not have high end machines or connections. You are actively working counter to the capacities of your playerbase, and not only that, increasing spam and workload on the server because the best way to maximize DPS or effectiveness is to rapidly spam commands. Even with the queue system they might suddenly need to change something, so that doesn't actually fix anything.

This is not to say you *cannot* have a delay system. It simply should not operate on real time or imply that it does.

My recommendation is an arbitrary chess clock or some other system that is initiated by certain actions. Players can use settings to increase or decrease the length of time in their 'turns' and potentially take several or single acts before saying, "I am done selecting what I am going to do." Mobs would operate the same way and could *force* you to start initiating in this turn-based, slow tempo strategic combat.

Ditto with other players attacking you, giving folks ample time to react as their characters would instead of being blindsighted by multiple assaults while lagging and not having a weapon out.

As for wanting certain actions to take time: You already have several other systems that accomplish exactly the same thing with delays. Energy bars, morale, and exp buckets. Pick one of them, they're all less obnoxious and don't literally tell you're not allowed to play when engaged with.

[Maina]

I don't see anything here that explains how it is "broken." It works just fine. I do see a lot here and in your other post that suggests you might want to get to know the game and its systems better before critiquing them. For example:

the best way to maximize DPS or effectiveness is to rapidly spam commands

This is false. Your defense is lower the higher your roundtime is. The most effective time to attack is immediately after your enemy puts themselves in high roundtime, making timing very important. Spamming commands in combat is very ineffective. This is clearly laid out in the combat helpfiles.

[Alicron]

If this game works anything like another MUD I used to play, then it probably relies on an internal loop that keeps track of the time and allows for the counting down, or up, of the roundtime. That means it is susceptible to lag spikes or anything else that might hold up the synchronous code. So, it is not quite in-line with real time but on something similar. With that said, think of roundtime and as a game recreation of real time. An attempt to give some real pauses and meaning between actions. Otherwise, people WOULD just spam things and zip instantly to places or script all their commands.

If your concern is with having more roundtime than another player due to having a shoddy internet connection then that is unfortunate, but it is not something that can be helped. Many competitive E-Sport game players today also struggle with that very issue.

[Rias]

My recommendation is an arbitrary chess clock or some other system that is initiated by certain actions. Players can use settings to increase or decrease the length of time in their 'turns' and potentially take several or single acts before saying, "I am done selecting what I am going to do." Mobs would operate the same way and could *force* you to start initiating in this turn-based, slow tempo strategic combat.

There are some MU*s out there that work more like this, and I've heard from plenty of people who really enjoy it. For COGG, this would be a massive change to the game's code, mechanics, pacing, and overall feel. At that point I feel it would be better to create an entirely new game than to try and retrofit it into one that was deliberately designed a different way.