Minor Changes

[Bactrian]

This thread is for the announcement of minor changes to the gameworld. Thank you to the players who suggested we implement this, and to Sceadu who has demonstrated its importance over in Grendel's Revenge

[Bactrian]

It seems that a number of characters have been sitting idle at their keyboards for a long period of time in order to accrue role-points, only entering input once an hour to keep from idling out of the game. To safeguard against this misuse of the RP rewards, we have randomized the time that the RP award is given out. Once per hour, at a random point, the system will check and award RPs. We have also instituted a check for idle time in the role point allocation itself. If you are idle for more than 10 minutes when the system checks, you will not receive role points for that hour.

Scripting or simulating keyboard input when not actually at the keyboard to gain role-points will be punishable with a stiff RP fine to be determined by mitigating or exacerbating factors (ie. past offenses, length of time away from keyboard, cooperation with staff, etc.).

[Bactrian]

The bank clerk will now accept your requests for the second or third item of the same or similar name in your bank storage inventory.

For instance:

"clerk Inventory?
The clerk tells you, "Our records show that we are holding my signet ring and a big diamond ring for you."
withdraw 2 ring
An old bank clerk gives a big diamond ring to you.

As always, please report any bugs.

[Bactrian]

The @SP-R?ESET command will now remove all the skill points you have in a skillset. This will allow you to remove unwanted SP in a skill that may be hampering your ability to gain SP efficiently in each cycle.

Usage: @SP-R?ESET <skill name>

[Bactrian]

The bug that allowed any truncated version of "Inventory?" to pass at the bank has been altered so that any statement with the (full) word "inventory" will be accepted. This is to standardize the bank code with the shopkeeper code, and will make things easier in the long run.

You may now use any form of vocalization, ie. WHISPER, to speak with the bank clerk, rather than just the SAY TO command.

[Bactrian]

The CONDITION command has been augmented to display more combat-necessary information. It will display your fight level directly below your stance. Additionally, you will be told if you are in practice mode.

Thank you to Lucentius for the idea.

[Bactrian]

Based on Marnevel's suggestion, your PASSIVE status will also show up with the CONDITION command.

[Bactrian]

A command has been added that will give you a shortened display of pertinent combat information, such as health, fatigue, your state, load, encumbrance and position.

Usage: SS?TATS

Note: The question has been raised several times about the syntax we use to describe commands. The ? in the middle of the command verb denotes how much of the command you must type to activate it. In this case, typing as little as "SS" or as much as "SSTATS" will call the command (as will "SSTA"). I hope that clears things up.

[Bactrian]

Due to a bug that deals with the handling of wounds, blows dealt while in "practice" mode will no longer assign any form of damage to the target.

[Bactrian]

In order to light candles that are placed in candlesticks:

1. Place candle on candlestick.
2. LIGHT CANDLESTICK.

You may now EXTINGUISH CANDLESTICK as well.

[Bactrian]

It is now possible, when holding a small bladed weapon such as a knife, to label clay molds and wax imprints. The usage is the same as with labeling of parchments.

Thank you to Arara for the suggestion.

[Bactrian]

Be careful when picking up furniture. Items unsafely stored on top may slide off, and the more fragile among them may break.

[Bactrian]

Justices are no longer restricted by a character's online or disguised status to issue warrants.

[Bactrian]

New characters will now start with two (2) luck! points rather than one. This change is not retroactive, nor will it be extended to cover previous luck point losses.

We find this necessary to keep the gameworld balanced for new characters. Thank you to all the input that lent credence to its necessity.

[Bactrian]

The SIZEUP command can now be applied both to places and to other people.

Usage: SIZEUP <place | person>

Please note that some non-player characters will give weird results from this command due to improper stat setting. Please report strange results, and don't go around telling everyone that so-and-so is larger than a house.

[Bactrian]

Shopkeepers will now cram more money into those pesky small sacks.

Additionally, for a ten percent cut of your change, shopkeepers will deposit it directly in the main Iridine branch of Seneda's bank.

[Bactrian]

The jogging couriers you may see running around near constables or Legionaires are newly hired by the Senate to share warranting and arrest information with all the lawkeepers who are in a town or city.

[Bactrian]

It is now illegal to wield a weapon most places in the city.

[Bactrian]

Try FLIPping a coin, now.

Thanks to Seculus for the suggestion.

Don't forget to look at the coins, either.

[Bactrian]

If you're near someone who smells, watch out. You'll get a whiff of it every so often now.

[Bactrian]

You can now use the OFFICIALS command to access a complete listing of government jobs held by patricians.

[Bactrian]

Information on the proper channels to use when contacting the staff has been revised and added to the help files. Please see ?contacting for more information.

Please note that we don't have these rules to be mean or inaccessible. Things can get pretty hectic for the staff, though, and as much as we enjoy talking with players about non-essential issues, it can really eat into our time. We're making a serious effort to push out some very neat changes in the next few months, so bear with us if we seem cranky or short. Thank you, as always. :)

[Bactrian]

You may notice a new option in the Role Point Expenditure menu and the org menu. There is now an option to purchase a kish (a kill ticket). The functionality of the command exists, but will NOT subtract role-points or org credits at this time. Feel free to acquaint yourself with the menu. We hope to make kishes fully functional within a short time period.

[Bactrian]

The ESCORT command has been altered so that it is usable by all players, not just lawkeepers.

Usage: ESCORT <bound character> <direction>

[Bactrian]

Be careful: Attempting to bribe a lawkeeper may result in jailtime for those unlucky enough to be poor AND low-class.

[Bactrian]

You can now SCRUB <dog> to remove an aroma.

[Bactrian]

Woodsmen may now use the STOKE action to greater effect; a number of common wood, paper and cloth items can be consumed by flames.

[Japes]

Brawling is now available to Character Generation and a trainer has set up shop in the Steps district. The trainer is located in the basement of a seedy tavern / knucklematch ring.

For more information, see @help unarmed combat

[Japes]

The long-standing bug of being disabled by lingering wounds (small bruises and the like) has been fixed.

Additionally, the way body parts are incapacitated are now calculated differently. Any major wound or groups of major wounds can incapacitate a body part, whether or not a bone is broken. A severe slash or puncture to a leg will work the same as having that leg broken.

Once these wounds heal to a more minor status, however, the incapacitation will disappear.

Essentially, this means that it is possible for any combat skill set to use "leg strike" or "hand strike" maneuvers by targetting their normal attacks against a certain body part. It may not be as immediately effective, but it will work if the wounds caused are greivous enough.

Some other odd bugs have also been fixed to make this work. Left-handed fighters will no longer be disabled when their right arm is injured, unless using a technique that requires both hands. Having your off-hand injured will not prevent you from using your on-hand in strikes.

[Japes]

Wounds caused to body extremities will cause less HP loss than wounds to vital body areas.

For example, a strike to the hand will cause minimum HP loss compared to a strike to the head or chest.

The wounds themselves will be just as severe, so although targetting a hand will not knock out an opponent right away, it may disable it.

This change was made to make armor more relevant. It's no longer *as* necessary as it used to be to cover the entire body in bronze. Simply protecting the vital areas should be sufficient.

[Japes]

The difficulty in targetting individual body parts is now based on that body part's size and mobility. Prior to this, targetting body parts had a flat penalty all around.

Targetting a moving hand, for example, is more difficult than targetting the waist or thigh.

Generally, the smaller a body part is and the farther away it is from the opponent's center of gravity, the more difficult it will be to hit.

[Japes]

New attacks are available for several weapon skill sets. Among these are two new types of attacks, "Parting" attacks and "Shield Breakers."

Parting attacks are techniques available to polearms that allow them to attack and retreat simultaneously. This helps polearms maintain a reach advantage over melee weapons.

Shield breaking attacks are available to Axes and Clubs. They specifically target the opponent's shield and do extra damage to them. More damage is done as the attacker advances in skill.

Finally, some modificaitons have been made in the formulas for armor penetration, attribute bonuses/penalties, and defense "layering". As always, please @report any bugs you may find.

[Japes]

What were the problems or issues that lead to the changes?

Defense was an overpowered element of the TEC combat engine.

Elements of the Problem:

- There was only one rank bonus value that was used to calculate attack value - the attacking skill. On the other hand, there were as many rank bonus values that added together to form the defense rating as the character had defensive skills.

- There was no limitation on how many defensive abilities could be combined without penalty. A tank character with eighty pounds of armor and a full wall shield can duck, jump, and prance as effectively as Bruce Lee on a good day.

- Armor absorbed too much damage. Damaging an opponent meant slashing at the toes and fingers until he inexplicably fell unconscious.

- There was no counterbalance to Agility. No other attribute made a significant effect on offensive/defensive calculations. Strength and dexterity made, at most, tangential contributions through damage and critical hit modifiers.


Symptoms of the Problem:

- NPC difficulty was racked up to an absurd rate in order to penetrate PC defenses and provide a 'risk'. "Auto-5" mechanics were added as a stop-gap measure to prevent characters from becoming invulnerable.

- Armor acquisition and customization hinged around coating every free surface of the human body in bronze. Players desired to acquire and create armor that didn't exist in the gameworld, for the sole purpose of covering all targettable parts of the body. Much of this was due to the fact that armoring had little-to-no effect on a character's ability to dodge. A Roman-era gameworld was in danger of being subsumed in plate-mail, gauntlets, and heavy armored boots.

- Cookie-cutter characters. It was soon apparent which skill sets provided the least "holes" in their defense. The "best" characters were those who picked single-handed weapons with a good array of blocks (i.e., swords) and combined them with shields and dodging. With three full layers of defense, such characters were virtually invincible.

- Lack of differentiation between weapons. Although each weapon skill set had arguably a unique set of attacks, the only effective ones were those that could possibly go through several layers of defense. This meant that the only viable combat options were pumped-up easy attacks or feint-attack combinations. Grappling weapons had limited success, but still had to deal with the remaining two layers of defense.


Implemented Solutions:

- Defense "layering" calculations were modified. The strongest defensive skill against any given attack was used, and successive "layers" were added as partial bonuses, instead of a raw sum. Learning multiple defensive styles still works, but it no longer makes a character godly.

- Armor penetration modified. Armor effectiveness was adjusted to take into account the damage done by impact and partial penetration.

- Wounding and limb targetting. See related Mechanics post. This change keeps armor's viability by focusing damage on the vital areas that were historically protected by armor (and for good reason).

- Other attributes now have a significant impact in accuracy and avoidance. These include Speed, Dexterity, Perception, and Empathy.


Considered Possible Future Solutions:

A greater correspondence between armor levels and the ability to dodge. Fatigue affecting defense. Penalties for blocking multiple attacks at once. Simplifying the offense/defense matrix and eliminating the "holes".


Rationale

In almost every game or combat system reviewed, defense was a task far more difficult than attacking. TEC's combat engine is an exception, in which defense is relatively easy to develop, passive in action, and highly effective. This leads to a set of unique problems and implications, as well as some unreasonable expectations on the part of the playerbase. Combat difficulty was no longer judged based on whether or not the character "won", but whether or not the character took damage at all.

Melee combat is a dangerous, nasty business. Even trained fighters will take a possible confrontation with several unskilled opponents seriously. An effective strategy involves incapacitating your foes before they incapacitate you.

TEC is a story-based fictional RGP. Some leeway is given to realism, but premium consideration is given to game play, balance, and story. And from all of those perspectives, defense needed to be toned down greatly.

Combat should not be about rank bonus calculators and memorizing a table that organizes the holes in the defensive skils. In my view, better gameplay would be centered around the strategic use of attacks and techniques to bring down an opponent effectively. Multiple strategies should be possible, including disarming, disabling limbs, grappling, or simply going for a knockout blow at a vital area. When you make a game, it's a good rule of the thumb to design one that you would want to play. I wouldn't want to play a game where I'd have to memorize where to aim with each attack to make it go through on a given opponent.

The many balance issues of the problem have already been outlined above. Suffice to say, it is more cost-effective to address the root problem rather than add in temporary solutions to all of the problem's symptoms.

And as for telling a good story, epic blows are remembered far more vividly than a drawn-out battle of blocks and dodges. The colosseum games are a good indicator of this. Almost every set of games needed some kind of mechanical "band-aid" to fix the defensive issues and make the fights entertaining. This has included such measures as temporarily adding berserker traits, restricting wearable armor, and sending out an esecarnus when the fighters refused to leave their defensive stance.


Current Conditions

The changes have not removed the importance of defending yourself during a battle. Blocks, dodges, and parries are still extremely important for keeping your character alive.

However, with the changes, a lot more becomes possible. Weapons can be differentiated by more than roundtime, auto-target attacks, and defensive holes. Polearms were given the parting attacks to represent their control over range. Clubs and Axes were given defense-cracking moves to represent their raw power. Brawling takes a completely different route through the grappling system. For a long time, players have complained about a lack of difference between weapon skill sets. Now, alternative offensive strategies are viable.

[Bactrian]

You must be holding an item to stoke a fire with it, now. Thanks to whomever stoked the fire in the clearing with the bandit chest.

[Japes]

Instead of specifying a target for every macro, try using the term <target> in the command line. For example, when prompted to enter the string you want the command to expand to, you can enter:

chop <target>
or
diagnose <target>

Then, set your current macro target by using the @mtarg command.

@mtarg Calsuan
@mtarg M'kerron

This will allow you to change your current macro target on the fly.

[Bactrian]

The letter "b" is no longer the command for the "babble" verb. The usage is now BAB?BLE.

[Bactrian]

Guarding no longer prevents the offering of goods.

[Bactrian]

An alley that runs off of the forum and behind the Constable's Headquarters conveniently passes next to a grated window that looks in on the main holding cell. Speaking through this window is possible, if you need to communicate with some criminal.

[Bactrian]

A new command for keeping track of players' availabilities has been created.

Usage: @AVAIL?ABILITY EXCLUDE
For your exclude list.
Usage: @AVAIL?ABILITY EXCLUDE <name>
To add or remove <name> from your exclude list.
Usage: @AVAIL?ABILITY EDIT
To change your personal availability.
Usage: @AVAIL?ABILITY <name>
To view another character or player's availability.
Usage: @AVAIL?ABILITY VIEW
To view your current availability.

Please note that you can check account availabilities when you are in the Welcome Room, and character availabilities when you are in-game. Your account availability is the default availability for your entire userlist, but you can also adjust each character's availability individually by entering the game and using the @availability command. Great pains have been taken so that you have the flexibility to use the command and keep your account information private at the same time. Please report immediately if there are any bugs, particularly bugs that indicate account information (such as a character list).

[Japes]

Combat damage has been modified to check for unconscious or death states immediately after damage is dealt. Hopefully, this will solve 'damage lag'. Please @report any problems with the new setup.

[Bactrian]

We'll be evicting everyone who through bug abuse was able to rent more than one inn room at some point after 4:30pm today.

[Bactrian]

The ability to view kill permits that are open on your character has been disabled.

[Bactrian]

In order to save valuable items from the all-consuming fiery destruction of Object Cleanup, we've instituted the @custom?-item command. Please use the command on items that have been customized and are unique. Abuse of this command by use on non-custom items will result in the command being taken away.

[Japes]

An old bug has been fixed in which ranged attacks could not be directed at multiple targets of the same name using numerical entries. Now, numbers can be entered to distinguish between scanned targets.

In simple terms, "shoot 2 Cineran" didn't work because of a bug. Now it does.

[Bactrian]

The Phoenix Guard will now stop anyone attempting to enter the city with a weapon drawn at the checkpoint.

[Bactrian]

Several things:

- INSTALL is now functional again.
- A new action, UNINSTALL LOCK, has been added. It is an impossible action, and failure risks jamming the lock.
Usage: UNINSTALL <lockable item>
- We will gradually be designating some doors as "free to pick"; these are doors in the general domain that would not be protected by such niceties as guards, etc. If you find a door you believe should be unlockable, please send in an @request from directly in front of it and we'll evaluate. Please do _not_ send in frivolous @requests about doors that quite clearly don't fit this description. No, we won't be opening up shopkeeper doors or random warehouse doors in the city.

Please let us know ASAP about any bugs.

[Bactrian]

As a follow-up, the Worm Temple doors are unlockable.

[Bactrian]

To clarify, since my description of doors that would be 'workable' was apparently not precise enough, this change will not affect inn room doors. Inns and other places are generally presumed to have protection (like guards) that would render any such attempt immaterial.

[Japes]

We have streamlined language mechanics.

Instead of entering speak <language> <text>, you can now enter speak <language> on its own in order to toggle a language on and off.

Once you have toggled a language on, all your say, whisper, and say to commands will come out in that language.

For example,


> speak Cineran
You are now speaking in Cineran.
> "Brutus Iridinians are fools.
You say to Brutus in Cineran, "Iridinians are fools."
> whisper to Brutus Keep your hand on your blade in case he tries anything.
You whisper to Brutus in Cineran.
> speak common
You are no longer speaking Cineran.
>"Julius I'm sorry, what were you saying?
You ask Julius, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"


Notes:
- 'Yell' currently does not work with languages. This is due to the way the propagation system works and will be looked into in the future.
- Special skills used to overhear whispers will still work, as long as you know the language being spoken.
- The lang?uage command can also be used instead of speak for switching languages.
- As always, please @report any bugs found with these new mechanics.

[Bactrian]

Please note that the ability to speak through portals (doors, arches, etc.) has been temporarily disabled while we adjust it to work with the new language mechanics.

[GMWombat]

Updates made before this announcements thread was created and during its period of inactivity have been documented in the following two threads:

http://forum.skotos.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29459
http://forum.skotos.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50811

A big thank you goes out to the players who have helped maintain them.

[Sceadu]

Changes to faceplated helmets:
*************************************************
New styles available:
-------------------------
-- Faceplate is concealed inside the helmet when open (the faceplate will not be seen in the name or description when opened). This means all currently existing faceplates cover the top of the helmet when opened. This is to let you know that alterations such as crest added to the old faceplated helmets can not be done. This new style may also have the advantage of making you less of a target of theives since they won’t notice your helm is equiped with the much sought after faceplate.

Example is the imfamous faceplate in Gladiator: http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/movie/gladiator/gladiator_9.jpg

-- Fixed faceplates (The helmet and faceplate are forged or solidly riveted together) These will offer slightly less protection than hinged faceplates, but they are slightly lighter. It is also much more difficult to uncover someone wearing a fixed faceplated helmet.

Many examples here: http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com/ahb_medievalHelmets.htm


In adding the fixed faceplate, some changes had to be made to the uncover command. While doing this it was discovered that currently there was no difference in difficulty when trying to uncover someone in a hood and someone wearing a faceplated helmet. The difficulty to uncover the faceplate has been slightly increased, though not as much as a fixed faceplate.

These new faceplates will not be any more readily avaiable than the current style, so don’t look for a flood of faceplates in the game world. We wanted to let you know, however, these new faceplate styles will be available as custom items.

We hope this answers any questions that may arise once these new faceplates start showing up out there.

[Sceadu]

We’re about to be making some changes that will actually make it possible for a character to starve to death. Currently your character will only lose fatigue if he/she doesn’t eat, but after the change they will also lose health. We wanted to give everyone fair warning before putting this into affect. These changes will probably start tomorrow evening and continue into Sunday. These changes will only affect your character once they reach the point were they are “starving to death”, so if they eat before reaching that point they have nothing to worry about.

This change will allow us to make things such as the beams mechanically useful. It will also give new value to healers that know how to administer food to unconscious patients.

[Sceadu]

Players will now be awarded 100 role-points when they log in for first time on their birthday. If you notice a problem please @report it right away.

[Sceadu]

I've implemented a system that should reduce the weight of food as it's eaten. If you notice anything strange going on, please @report it right away. I'm aslo taking a look at the weights of food (not liquids for the time being) and adjusting as I see they're totally out of whack. Roast mutton now weighs 2.5 lbs. opposed to the 5.3 it was weighing. Oysters weigh .1 lb. as opposed to the 2.3 lbs they were weighing. Remember, the system usually rounds any fractions up, so if you pick up an oyster and notice an increase of 1 lb., nothing is wrong. You should be able to pick up 10 of them now though and still only notice an increase of 1 lb.

In the future I may also be looking at how many bites there are per item and if they're were they should be. I may also evaluate how much each bite satisfies a person's hunger. But first I want to make sure nothing goes wrong the the current change.
__________________

[Sceadu]

Quick Grab will now cause the thief to come out of hiding.

[Sceadu]

We are in the process of implementing a system that will actually make the weather in TEC mean something. Currently the only difference you will notice is your character will now know when they’re cold or hot and there will be appropiate echoes along with that. Long term plans with this system include causing characters that are too hot or cold to lose fatigue faster. Characters that sweat a lot will start to notice (along with everyone around them) a distict body odor. Also, rain and wind will eventually figure into the temperature equasion and things such as sagums and paenulas will help with that. To do this, each clothing item had to be given a warmth factor. These factors are currently the same across the board for each type of clothing item. In the future, things like fur lining will help a piece of clothing keep a character warmer than the basic item. We’ll be discussing wether will be altering the warmth of any currently existing clothing and let you know.

[Sceadu]

I have made some changes to the way the smell of dog rubs off on a person. You can no longer catch the smell of a dog by simply touching it once (nor by batting your eyelashes at it like was happening before). Now you will have to actually touch the dog more than once. The chances increase the more you touch the dog.

Also along with the above change, you can no longer bathe with only a glassfull of water. You’ll have to find out exactly how much you’ll need in game.

[Sceadu]

Bleeding wounds are now tended to when a character is hauled off to jail. This should open up the option to allow bladed weapon users into the various law enforcement organizations.

[Sceadu]

A new warrant of “Banditry” has been added to the list for the law enforcement organizations. This warrant carries with it a fine of 10 talents and a year in jail. This has been done due to the nature of banditry and the fact that it is virtually impossible to hold someone accused of banditry in jail long enough to set up a trial, which anyone accused of such should have. To be charged with banditry, a character must have commited numerous assaults and lootings of travelers. A single instance of this is NOT enough to charge someone with banditry.

[Sceadu]

To help solve the situation of inactive organizations stockpiling guild credits, we have implemented the following changes:

Organizations no longer automatically earn 3 GCs per month. They now earn 1 GC for the first 10 ACTIVE members and 0.1 for every ACTIVE member above 10. ACTIVE means active within the last 28 days.

Members of an organization can now purchase GCs for their guilds using the new @donate command. For every 500 RPs a member donates, the organization will earn 1 GC. RPs will be cumulative, so if you can not donate a full 500 RPs, or if you donate an amount other than a multiple of 500, the extra RPs will be stored until enough is added to make a full GC.

This change does not affect previously gained GCs. No organization will be losing any GCs they have already gained.

This change should encourage the growth and activity of organizations in that the more active members an organization has, the more potential they will have to earn GCs to spend.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible for lawkeepers to have a room at an inn or insula in their jurisdiction cleared and the occupants brought to them. Currently only the leaders of the lawkeeper organizations, Constable Legate, and Justices can have this done. If this action is requested by one of the lawkeeping organization leaders, the organization will be charged 1 Guild Credit. As of now there is no charge to the Constable Legate or Justices. Anyone found abusing this mechanic in any way will be dealt with harshly and could cause its removal from the game.

To use this new mechanic you will have to ask the innkeeper of the inn or insula in question to “clear” the room in question and any occupants will be dragged out of the room and brought to the location of the innkeeper.

Anytime this feature is used, you are asked to enter a reason it is being done. Please enter both IC and OOC explainations if they apply. These reasons will be posted for the GMs to review.

[Sceadu]

A new ‘exercise’ command has been added to add a little fun to things such as military style training or just having friendly competitions among friends. All you need to do is type ‘exercise’ and choose the exercise you want to do. Currently we only have pushups and situps available, but more may be coming in the future.

Before the questions of whether this will help your character’s attributes pop up, I’ll tell you now that it won’t. Something like that could be too easily abused. Although, since there are no positive affects, I have also added no negative affects such as fatigue drain to the system.

[Sceadu]

I've made some revisions to the TEACH command that should solve the problems people were having when wanting to teach a skill in their list of skills that happened to match the name of a skill that came before it in the list. Now, if there is more than one match to the 'skill' you're trying to teach, it will give you a list and ask you to choose the one you really wish to teach.

As always, please @report any problems you may find.

[Sceadu]

In case some of you have not noticed yet, I have made some changes to lawkeeper NPCs that will cause them to react when people that are standing next to them are used as a target for bows or thrown objects. They should also react if they’re in the path of the missle but not actually standing with the target.

[Sceadu]

The fines for crimes will now increase each time you are arrested for that particular crime.

For example, if you’re arrested for petty theft multiple times, each time you’re arrested for that charge the fine will go up. If you then get arrested for the first time for major assault, the fine for that charge will be normal fine associated with that charge. However, the next time you get arrested for major assault, the fine will be more.

Keep in mind this means increased jailtimes if you don’t have the money in the bank to cover the fines.

The rate at which the fines increase may be tweaked after we have some time to monitor the current rate.

Edit: If you're pardoned for a crime before you are arrested for it, that particular charge won't count against you.

Edit v2.0: Also keep in mind that this change is retroactive, meaning all previous arrest before this change WILL be figured into the fine increase.

[Sceadu]

We have made some changes to some of the ‘affectionate’ commands. As of right now, you will need permission from the person you’re trying to KISS or HUG. When you allow someone to do either of these to you, you are basically adding them to a list of people you will allow to be affectionate towards you. To remove someone from this list you will need to perform a hostile act towards him or her. Currently the only command to remove someone from the list is the PUSH command. Over the next few weeks more ‘affectionate’ commands (nuzzle, lick, rub, blow, etc.) will be changed to act in this way and more ‘hostile’ commands (slap, spit, curse, etc.) will be changed to remove people from the list.

[Sceadu]

Update to the new ‘affectinate’ mechanics.

It was brought to our attention that some people were spamming others by trying to hug them over and over, causing them to effectively not be able to enter any commands. To fix this problem your characters now have a ‘disallow list’. This list is a list of all characters you wish to ignore anytime they make ‘affectionate’ advances towards you. This means you won’t have to answer any prompts to prevent the action. The PUSH command now not only removes someone from your ‘allowed list’, it also adds them to your ‘disallowed list’. To remove someone from your ‘disallowed list’ and allow them to begin making advances again, all you have to do is smile at them.

[Sceadu]

For those of you who are org leaders and have been adding and removing random members to your org to check on their activity, you must now wait 24 hours before removing any newly added member from the members list. This means that for at least 24 hours this random person will have access to your org forums and any other perk that comes with being a member.

[Bactrian]

We have adjusted the kill permit system so that rather than relying on a fixed calendar date for expiration, kill permits will expire after 100 hours of non-idle in-game play.

Extant kill permits have been prorated by a daily percentage.

I'm open to discussion about the number of hours we've selected.

[Sceadu]

In our attempt to better balance the law enforcement and criminal elements of the game we have made the following changes:

- Each law enforcement organization (constables / vigiles / legion) now has a finite number of npc “members” available to it instead of the infinite number that was previously available. The legion, of course, will have the largest numbers, followed by the Constables, and then the Vigiles. These numbers are based on the estimated populations of their respective jurisdictions.

- The chances of being intercepted while trying to make your way through the city while wearing cover has been decreased somewhat.

We will be implementing further changes in the future and monitoring the situation to see if any more changes may be necessary beyond that.

[Bactrian]

The bug that allowed NPC lawkeepers to remain in place when performing an arrest for a PC constable from a remote location has been fixed.

[Sceadu]

There is now a limit that can be won at any given gambling table per day. This means once you’ve reached the limit, if you want to continue gambling, you’ll have to find another table to do it at. The limits are under review and may change if we see a need.

[Sceadu]

For those of you itching to try out the new language learning mechanics, the
steps lingo trainer is up and functional. You'll need to use the new ECHO
command if you can find the trainer.

Syntax for the new command: echo <tutor>

[Sceadu]

We have made some changes to the way players being thrown in Nowhere works. It is now possible for us to enter a length of time (in hours) we wish the player to remain in nowhere and at the end of that time, the player (and characters) will be released automatically. This should help in those times none of us can seem to be online when a nowhered player can contact us. Along with this change, you will imediately receive a reason you’re being thrown in nowhere along with the amount of time you’ll be there. A copy of this reason and time will be sent to your WA mail for review and future reference.

We hope this change helps solve some of the frustration players who have been tossed in Nowhere feel when they just can’t seem to catch us online to work out the reason behind them being in there.

Along with this change, we have added a new NOWHERETIME command that will tell a nowhered player how much time they have remaining in Nowhere before being returned to the game.

[Sceadu]

We’ve made a small step towards making it where people who are unconscious, comatose, or stunned won’t be able to see what is going on around them. Currently we’ve only been able to cut out a portion of the echos, but not all. Due to the amount of times the method to tell or announce to a character something has happened or been said is called within the entire code base, we’re not exactly sure how much has been disabled. Feel free to send in feedback of your observations on the change.

Just to give you an idea, after a few test I have noticed:
You CAN see when someone talks to you.
You CAN'T see it when someone is talking to someone else.
You CAN'T see people entering and leaving the room.

[GMWombat]

The method used to display the recipe training output has been updated.

Parent recipes will be listed prominently, with the component recipes needed for its creation being listed alongside it. This may mean that a component recipe is listed multiple times (Tunic Back is listed under both Tunic and Sleeveless Tunic for example) but that's probably for the best.

Let us know via @report if you notice any oddities.

[Bactrian]

When you use one of the common smiley combinations at the end of your 'say' or 'say to' (a.k.a ' and ") text that causes it to be changed to a different verb, the smiley itself is now removed, removing unnecessary redundancy.

So for example:

"marnevel Hello! :)

Now ends up looking like this:

You smile to Marnevel, "Hello!"

Enjoy!

[Bactrian]

Chests can now be discarded.

Please note that any item can be discarded from the dumps.

Thanks to Oggiv for the suggestion.

[Bactrian]

The SHOVE command has been added.

Usage: SHOVE <person>

You see: Sapphira gives Brutyl a playful shove.

This action is an affectionate version of PUSH.

Thank you to Simulacra for the suggestion.

[Bactrian]

The PERMIT command will now show only hours and not minutes when referring to the amount of time left to perform a PK.

[Bactrian]

The LIGHTING command has been updated to accept directions.

Usage: LIGHTI?NG [direction]

For example: LIGHTING N will allow you to see the level of light one room north of your character.

LIGHTING on its own will continue to show you the lighting for your own space.

Thank you to Bhellings for the suggestion.

[Bactrian]

The STAT?S command will now display your dominant hand. It is located to the right of the "Weight" section.

Thank you to Bhellings for the suggestion.

[Bactrian]

The TEND command for healers will now give you a general idea of how critically injured a patient is, including how close to consciousness an unconscious patient is. The TEND command is unchanged.

Thanks to Bek_Levy for the suggestion

[Bactrian]

The ability of lawkeeper organizations (Note: these are only organizations with access to the legal system, including warranting and arresting) to purchase kill permits has been revoked. Existing kill permits purchased by a lawkeeper organization, if any, will be revoked and the cost of the permit returned to the organization.

This change has been made for two fundamental reasons:
A) Lawkeeper organizations have a significant amount of power, including the ability to have a criminal character executed through the legal system;
B) It is anathema to the philosophical underpinnings of a government-sponsored group to kill a person without the sanction of the law.

[Sceadu]

When a player recieves an OOC warning now, they will lose a Bonus Point along with the warning. Bonus Points are supposed to be a way to award a player for exceptional role-play and since OOC warnings are basically the opposite of that, it is only fair they lose a point.

This change will allow for a negative amount of role-points to accumulate if enough OOC warnings are received, so keep in mind you may have to dig yourself out of a hole if you have a tendency to receive warnings.

In case any of you are wondering, the affect on stats that OOC warnings had for a short time is no longer in existance.

[Bactrian]

The PG checkpoints have been re-tooled slightly to be more efficient in their handling of contraband items. They will also now warrant smugglers as appropriate for the possession of contraband. Please @report any problems that may arise from the PG searches.

[Bactrian]

The superstitious fears trait will now prevent the gathering of tears from amphoras.

[Bactrian]

A donation bin has been added to the textile merchantile. It is in the large workshop directly east of Marcavia. Throughout the day, citizens will be dropping in damaged articles of clothing for industrious tailors to repair.

Thanks to Celtor for the suggestion.

[Sceadu]

The ‘metal affinity’ trait has been modified to affect the forging of keys and lockpicks.
Those with this trait should notice a difference right away.

[Sceadu]

Shopkeepers will now give those with the trader’s tongue trait a discount on the items they sell. In my research, I found out they are already taking the trait into consideration when buying items from characters with the trait.

[Kritios]

Fulfilling tasks at the Hospice and Apula's should now offer pay commensurate with the current economic climate of the city. This will namely affect a longstanding issue with the installation of tumbler mechanisms for Apula's patrons.

[Bactrian]

There has been a small change in command syntax for the locksmithing skill UNINSTALL. The correct usage is now:

UNI?NSTALL LOCK FROM <lockable_item>

[Sceadu]

I have made some minor adjustments to the ‘following’ mechanics to allow for followers of followers to follow the main leader of the group.

For example: You follow Joe. Joe follows Ted. Ted follows Ralf. You will follow Ralf, along with everyone else, when Ralf walks. If Ted decides to stop following Ralf and go off on his own, you will then be following ted. If Joe walks off on his own, you will then follow Joe.

Currently it only works 4 levels deep. If we see we need it to go even deeper into the list, we can adjust it later.

Hope this isn’t as confusing as it looks. ;)

This was the cause that some of you had with following the last couple of days, but that should be fixed now. Please let us know if you have any futher problems with this.

[Kritios]

A minor adjustment has been made to Iridine wall shields. You should now be able to carry them on your back, similar to other large shields present in the gameworld.

[Sceadu]

Characters can no longer luck out of locked rooms.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible for players to toggle off the coma cost that others are charged when one of their characters is put into a coma.

Command: @toggle-coma?-cost

This command must be used while logged into the character that you wish to toggle the cost off on.

Note that once the cost is toggled off a character, it can never be toggled back on.

[Kritios]

The OFFICIALS command should now give a more extensive list of public figures than it did previously.

[Kritios]

The bug preventing the following of caravan drovers should now be fixed.

[Sceadu]

Most shopkeepers will now be closing up shop at night so they can catch up on the years of sleep they’ve missed. ;) Barkeepers and some other shops that would normally stay open 24/7 may close up as well. If you notice a shop that should probably be open and its not (bars, inn kitchens, etc.), please send in a priority @report from the shop in question and we’ll take care of it.

In the future, some of these 24/7 NPCs standing around may find themselves some relief to take over while they catch some rest themselves, so don’t be surprised if you walk in a shop and there’s someone strange standing behind the counter.

[Sceadu]

The jail time for "Use of Outlawed Magical Items" has been greatly reduced. Whereas it was previously around 11 real life months, it has been lowered to around 2 real life months. The monetary fine will stay the same.

[Kritios]

The character generator has been updated. You may notice two changes: First, new characters will have a much more diverse selection when it comes to descriptive options. Second, a new character should find themselves with a more unique style of dress fitting to their native land.

[Kritios]

The hairdresser has been updated to have some of the new options integrated into the chargen.

[Sceadu]

Descriptive stats have been slightly modified to give the player a better idea were they stand with those characters with stats in the ‘below average’ to the ‘above average’ range.

Also if your character has earned any ‘Language Points’ (LPs) through lessons with a language tutor, it will be reflected in the SSK command.

[Kritios]

The following is a list of several recently implemented additions to the gameworld:

You can now PLACE <item> instead of simply dropping it. This is intended to be used as a gentler alternative to the drop command.

You can now label multiple parchments using a similar syntax as with other commands. e.g. LABEL 2 parch with <title>

If you wield an appropriately sized axe, you should find firewood collection slightly more efficient.

Finally, you may notice that corpses have received a slight descriptive update based on the method used to kill them.

In terms of fixes:

The dating problem, whereby dates were occasionally off by two years on bank notes and other documents should be rectified.

Several of the layering issues involving paenulas, iron helmets, etc, should no longer be an issue. This is by no means an exhaustive fix, however, and several issues will still persist at this time.

You can now properly guard someone you are dragging or escorting.

Singing and recitation should work properly on most stages throughout the gameworld, and present less of an eye sore as a result.

[GMKevin]

We have added the ability for users of missile weapons(read: archers) to specify a preferred type of ammunition. While this preference is in place, you will quickload first with any preferred ammunition that you have, and then pull additional ammunition from your environment as you normally would. The command to specify your preferred ammunition is listed below.


The AMMO command has been added to facilitate the addition and removal of preferred types of ammunition.

USAGE: ammo <weapon type> <ammunition type>|none

Examples:

To add crude arrows as your ammo of choice --
ammo bows crude

To remove your preferred ammo --
ammo bows none

To view your current preferences, simply type AMMO.

Thank you to Marnevel for the suggestion. As always, please @report any bugs you find.

Enjoy!

[Tiehn]

To help make every wedding feast a blast, Aquari has added additional stock to her menu. Try the marinated olives!

[GMKevin]

We've updated a few items in the role-point expenditures menu today. Those of
you with regular accounts can now purchase speech-text alterations. Also, all
accounts now have the option to rearrange the skill slots on their characters.

The cost for swapping skill sets on a character is 1000rps, and will allow you
to swap any two -adjacent- skill slots. There is no limitation on how often
you can swap skill slots, and the menu will allow for bigger swaps according to
how many adjacent swaps it would take to get there. Examples:

You have Locksmithing in your first slot, and Streetsmarts in your third slot.
To swap these two skills around, it would require three swaps (Slot 1 with Slot
2, then Slot 2 with Slot 3, and then, subsequently, Slot 2 with Slot 1) and 3000rps.

Swapping a 5th slot with a 1st slot skill would cost 7000rps. So on and so
forth. Edit: For a detailed algorithm, check out the Skill Slot swapping thread in the mechanics forum.

The swap takes effect immediately at time of purchase. Please @report any bugs
you encounter. Thanks.

Enjoy!

[Sceadu]

The cost to purchase a kill permit on a character has been increased from 2000 RPs to 3000 RPs. This is in preparation of future options to Pking. Stay tuned for further developments.

[Sceadu]

Characters that use !luck to be taken to a coma ward after falling into a coma will no longer leave all their belongings behind.

[Sceadu]

Until further notice, a sentence of death resulting from a trial will have to be approved by the GMs.

[Tiehn]

Caradrus has begun offering free samples of his wares for those with discerning noses.

Take/get the scented splinter of your choice to sniff an example of the appropriate perfume.

Thank you to Resi for the suggestion.

[GMKevin]

The swear filter in the Welcome Room has been updated slightly. From now on, the names Dick Cheney and Dick Van Dyke will not set off the strike system any longer. And though I think this had already been solved previously, the word 'grape' will also not affect the strike system either after today.

As a reminder, the swear filter is only active in the main Welcome Room. Other rooms in the Welcome Area do not have this system in place. As always, wherever you are in game, try to keep the conversation on a clean respectable level. And you there, stop slouching...just makes you look lazy. :)

[Sceadu]

When trying to learn a skill from a trainer that is simular to another he/she teaches, you should now receive a prompt for which one you’d like to learn. I know this was a problem with the Veteran Character trainers, but I’m not sure about any of the IG trainers. Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

Along with eating, your characters will also now need to drink to stay
hydrated. This system is almost exactly like eating except that there are
certain things that will cause you to loose hydration, including rigorous
activities (such as combat). Keep in mind that certain liquids will hydrate
you better than others, the best, of course, being water. The first time you
log in with your characters after the implementation of this system they will
have their hydration set to max. It's up to you to keep them hydrated from
that point on.

[Sceadu]

Healers will now notice if a patient is suffering from dehydration or malnourishment when tending them.

[Sceadu]

The weight of water has been significantly reduced.

[Sceadu]

*** The following will be going into affect Sunday, June 9, 2008 at 5pm CST. ***

In our efforts to refine the PK system and give characters options other than PK when they wish to ‘send a message’ to another character, we have made the following changes/additions:

New commands:
Cuttongue <character>: This will remove the tongue of a victim. The removal of a tongue is permanent and will cause a character to not be able to speak. The victim must be tied up and passive, or unconscious and the actor must be wielding a knife/dagger/dirk. Cost: 1000 rps.

Bonebreak (or bbreak) <character>: This gives the actor the opportunity to break specific bones of a victim. Bones broken in this manner will heal as broken bones always have, although breaks of this nature are extremely bad breaks. The victim must be tied up or unconscious and the actor must be wielding a club/mace. Cost: 500 rps.

Changes:
Increased PK cost: This has already been implemented and was part of the new system.

The cost to put someone in a coma has been increased from 25/50/100/200/250 to 250/500/750/1000/1250 rps. For those of you that aren’t aware, the cost increases each time you put someone else in a coma within 30 days.

Now, when a character falls into a coma, they can only use the luck command to take them to a nearby coma ward. (Note that a prior change made it where a character’s belongings were taken with them, and no longer left where they fell into a coma) After this, luck cannot be used to awake from the coma.

Comas must be recovered from just as unconsciousness is. The length of time a person stays in a coma is dependent upon the amount of damage incurred to place them in the coma. The average time a character will stay in a coma is 2 rl days. Characters that are comatose (and in a coma ward) will eventually wake on their own. The player must be logged into their character for them to wake. This is similar to the way a person is released from jail.

Once a character wakes from a coma, they will suffer from ‘coma sickness’ (length of time equivalent to the time in a coma), which has the following effects:
* Health/fatigue will be significantly reduced and gradually increase as the victim recovers.
* Fatigue drain will be significanlty increased when performing actions.
* Slight chance to fall unconscious.
* Loss of ability to hear thoughts.
* Chance of stumbling and falling.

All of this makes putting someone in a coma a more viable option to PKing a character.

We will be monitoring the new system very closely for abuse. As always, please @report any problems you may encounter.

[Sceadu]

Minor correction to the previous post:

The cost of cutting out the tongue of another character will be 1500 rps.

[Sceadu]

In reflection of the increased RP cost for PKs, the cost of an org purchased PK ticket has been raised from 9 to 12.

[Sceadu]

Role-points spent on removing the tongue or breaking the limb of a character will now go towards the purchase of a PK of the same character for a period of 90 days. The credit will only be given to the player who spent the RPs to remove the tongue or break the limb.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible for players to purchase a custom logout message for when they log out of the welcome room. (“Sceadu leaves the Eternal City”).

This option is access through the PLAY meny in the WA.

There is a 50 character limit on custom logout messages.

Inappropriate logout messages will be removed with NO REFUND of role points to the player.

The current cost of doing this is 500 RPs, which is the same as a custom speech verb for the WA.

[Sceadu]

The restictions as to what level you can teach a skill have been removed. You can now teach to your maximum level in a skill again.

Enjoy.

[Caeli]

@org-menu now allows your organization to keep track of its recruits. Recruits added through this system will not have the powers of a full member (e.g. forum and building access). Recruits need not be removed in order to add them as a full member; they will be removed from the recruits list automatically. Please let us know if there are any problems.

[Sceadu]

Slight change to 'filling' mechanics. You can now 'fill <container> from <container>'. This solves the problem of not being able to fill water containers from things such as fountains. You may find some fountains (or other liquid holding containers) that this won't work from even if it claims it has water in it. If you find one of these, please send in an @report from the location and we'll fix it as soon as we can.

[Sceadu]

We have added the ability for the players to perform a search through their own mail for a particular subject or string they may be looking for.

@mail-s?earch <string>

[Sceadu]

We have now made it possible to cancel a PK permit after it has been purchased. The permit must go active before this option is available. When a PK permit is canceled the purchaser is refunded role-points based on the amount of time left on the permit.

New command line; @cancel-pk

This command is used while IG.

This option is not currently available for org purchased PK permits, but we do plan on making it available for them in the near future. Any RPs spent in the transfering of a permit will not be refunded.

[Kritios]

The abnormal login behaviors for new accounts should be resolved now. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Lexa and and Luco should properly develop relationships with people once again.

The Rock Valley landmarks should properly be visible again.

[Sceadu]

A new command has been created to allow those that are in a coma to see how long they have before waking. Keep in mind that the time displayed may be off by as much as 5 minutes due to the schedule of when the code to wake comatose people is called.

Syntax: @coma-time

[Kritios]

We have revamped the request system in an attempt to streamline the whole process. You will notice that the @request command now gives you access to two separate options: a request submission option, and a request review option.

First, to address changes to the submission system, you will now be asked to give your request a specific category. Depending on which category you are submitting to you may be prompted for further information, or be prohibited from choosing that category (e.g. you must be in an organization to submit an organization ticket). In appropriate cases you will also be asked which character you would like to tag the request appropriate to. Otherwise, you will submit the actual prose of your request identical to the old system, as well as give the request a descriptive title. Please take the time to review what each category is intended for prior to submitting a request.

Second, to address the new request reviewing option. Using this option you will be able to view any open requests that you have. Any requests that have been replied to by a member of the staff will be marked (and you will be notified of this fact when you login to the game). You can reply/add notes to your ticket at your discretion, or dismiss your ticket if you no longer wish a response. As a result, it will no longer be necessary to submit responses as @requests.

Please note that should you have any open requests submitted under the previous system you will not be able to view them under the open request menu. These requests still exist, and will be responded to using the old mail-response method.

[Kritios]

Name tagging has been adjusted slightly in an attempt alleviate some of the scrolling issues encountered in busy areas.

In addition, new characters will also be notated in green. This is meant to discourage inappropriate behavior towards new characters. Any breaches of the existing rules will be taken seriously.

Should you decide you do not want to view name tags at all you can toggle it off using preferences.

[Kritios]

A source of water should now be available in most common jail cells. You can drink from it by cupping your hands via:

cup <target>

[Bactrian]

Small changes with searching:

- The search roundtime is now dependant upon your character's speed.
- It is now possible to search passive or unconscious characters. Searching people thoroughly takes twice as long as a normal search would take.
- Searching people reveals their inventory. Depending on your character's perception, this list may not be complete.

Implementation of this ability was undertaken with an eye to allowing skills that perform the same function to maintain their superiority as a scouting tool. Those skills may now be performed completely covertly, depending on the searcher's rank.

[Bactrian]

Emoting may now be targeted by placing the name of the target between < >. For instance:

:waves to <cule>.

Will be seen by you and others in the room as:

Bactrian waves to Culexus.

And by Culexus as:

Bactrian waves to you.

Only one target is permissible per emote.

As with all free-emotes, please be careful not to abuse this ability by forcing the play of other characters and players. This tool is meant to help smooth the gap between system-generated and player-generated messages. If this implementation becomes frequently abused, it will be taken away.

For now, newbie characters will not have access to this ability.

[Bactrian]

Two additional notes on targeted emoting:

It is possible to make the targeted string possessive by using +p at the end of the target's name. For instance:

:sniffs <hephaistion+p> armpit.

Will look to you and others in the room as:

Bactrian sniffs Hephaistion's armpit.

And to Hephaistion as:

Bactrian sniffs your armpit.

Finally, please note that you may use the same target more than once in a targeted emote. So, the following command:

:jabs <onyxum> between the ribs before staring at <onyxum>.

Will look to you and others in the room as:

Bactrian jabs Onyxum between the ribs before staring at Onyxum.

And to Onyxum as:

Bactrian jabs you between the ribs before staring at you.

[Bactrian]

In an effort to broaden the sensory experience of TEC, we're more fully implementing texture into the game. By touching objects, you'll be able to gather information about them--information that may come in handy later on.

Do you have a proposal for the texture of an object or substance? Send in your submissions with @request. Submissions that we use in the game will earn their submitter 5 RPs per. Please try to limit the number of requests you send--use one big message, not a lot of small ones.

[Bactrian]

It is now possible to exchange character slots. For 500 RPs, you may move your character one slot up in the list. This option is accessible through the @play menu, using the [S]pend role points and [E]xchange character slot options.

Please note that no refunds will be given for accidental use of this command.

Thanks to Cbaker for the suggestion.

[GMKevin]

We've fixed a longstanding bug with the TRAIN command. You can now
once again type something like 'TRAIN <skill name>' and it will give you just
the skill you specify that's being taught, instead of the full listing. I.E. if
you type 'TRAIN STAVES' while in Leda's, you will now only get back the listing
for stave moves she teaches, and nothing else. Enjoy.

[Bactrian]

You may now convert skill points to general skill points using the command @sp-t?o-gsp. The conversion rate has been set at 25 SP for 1 GSP.

Usage: @SP-T?O-GSP <skill> [to] <gsp_amount>

Please report any bugs or potential abuse issues. Thanks to Rupert1 for the suggestion.

[Sceadu]

The cost of PK permits has been altered to act similar to the cost to put a character in a coma. The base cost of a PK is now 3000 RPs, with an additional 1000 RPs for every PK permit you have bought within the last year.

[Kritios]

The climate system has been tweaked to give a moderate reprieve from frigid temperatures, while these adjustments will likely be an ongoing process, you should notice an increase in the temperature as a whole, more in-line with intended seasonal temperatures.

The town of Blackvine has been adjusted to be visible at a distance. You should now be able to tell how far you are from it without necessarily counting your steps.

[Tiehn]

Waterskins are now sold by the following shopkeepers:

Gratilo
Andronitus
Sesquiculus
Cantus
Tarnal
Lumbarius
Sejanus

Thanks to Blackening for suggesting this.

[Kritios]

Bleeding has been given a slight aesthetic update.

You may now wear short bows without unstringing them.

The scan command has been rewritten in an attempt to improve performance. Most noticeably, it should take less time to successfully scan in most situations.