Re: CF: Illusions (plus some more ideas...)

[Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com>]

Rick Tanner wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 18 Aug 1999, David Andrew Michael Noelle wrote:
> 
> >     This could probably be done by adding an "Illusion" monster type and
> > checking for that type when assigning damage.  Or it could be done by adding
> > an "Illusion" flag to objects.  Is there any need for illusions other than
> > monsters?  Creating illusionary chests or pits or walls, for example.  Can
> > anyone think of a use for such things?  Would illusionary objects be worth
> > implementing, or should Illusion spells be limited to creating monsters?
> 
> What about allowing the spell to create an illusion of the caster, like
> the Mirror Image spell from the AD&D?
> 
> Being able to create illusions of pits, or traps doesn't seem to slow down
> monsters at all, since I have seen spike floor traps, runes of fire
> (etc.), gates crushing them in doorways, etc. damage them as they still
> came after me. However, against another human player, this would probably
> be different.  Being able to create illusions of doors/exits, and create
> earth wall, or illusions of a normal wall could make for interesting
> player killing, if the server allowed that....

 Monster AI is really pretty weak right now.  Monsters try to damage players. 
They try to get to players in the shortest path.  Except for a few exceptions
(gnome, acid blobs), that is the logic for monsters.  IF there is a trap in the
way, they don't both about it.

 OTOH, you just can't have monsters avoid traps - otherwise,  a player puts a
couple runes in a narrow hallway and can pick off the monsters indefinately
since they are afraid to pass over it.

 Also, using base monsters int really isn't a good idea, as monster int really
has a bit of a different meaning (all monster stats do).  The will probably
change a bit in 0.96.x, and at that time, int might be meaningful for monsters.

 Note that player killing is currently supported, most server admins just frown
on the procedure.

 In terms of illusionary walls, currently players can actual create real
walls of various sorts.  So that probably isn't a big gain.

 Illusionary golems would have to be carefully balanced - there probably should
be some maximum power the spell can generate in any case - otherwise, a player
calling even a short lived illusion could get a powerful advantaged.  The other
problem is that the creature levels are not always meaningful, so I have a
feeling that such a feature would result in finding at least a few monsters with
not meaningful levels.
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