Everybody IF!

Authoring Inform 7
21

It is absolutely okay, I edited the post as soon as Viktor caught it.

I’m not sure what that entails. Don’t descriptions, Instead rules and understand statements qualify as code?

(Edit: all right, that works for me.)

Memscribing is an action applying to one thing. Understand "memscribe [something]" as memscribing.

Definition: something is susceptible: if it is a person, yes.

Instead of memscribing the child, say "Far too dangerous to consider with any infant, let alone your own blood." 
Instead of memscribing yourself, say "Memscribing yourself? You wouldn't even know where to begin."
Instead of memscribing something not susceptible, say "[The noun] can't be worked by memscription."
22

Well, that was easy -

http://playfic.com/games/Mostly_Useless/everybody-if

As (now) mentioned in the OP, I can’t work out how to change the Author Name (or edit my profile at all) on playfic.com, so if anyone can hep with that please let me know.

Eleas, sorry for any confusion - the post I referred to was

Any posts at all, even thanks or comments, the only exception being mine, should include some new code - however short and simple it may be, even just including an extension or an undescribed item will do - the idea is just to keep the ball rolling. So sleep well, and edit some in tomorrow if you get time.

Edit - Nice, Eleas! You have a wild imagination, I genuinely look forward to seeing how memscribing will fit in! I’ll look forward to updating tomorrow, and now I’m going to sleep, too.

23

[code]The wind is a backdrop. The wind is in the Perilous Perch and the Rocky Ledge. The description of the wind is “This wind is unnatural: fast, but not overwhelmingly so; perceivable with every sense, yet repulsive to the same.”

Instead of listening to the wind: say “The wind wails painfully over a deep minor melody.”

Instead of listening to a room when the wind is in the location: try listening to the wind.[/code]

24

Eleas, now your last post needs some code! [EDIT: And now it has it. Heh heh.}

[code]Cave Entrance is east of Perilous Perch.

The passage is scenery. [description needed]
The crack is scenery in Perilous Perch. [someone else write the description, please!] The crack is a container.
Instead of inserting something into the crack: say “The crack is too narrow to accommodate it.”
Instead of inserting the blade into the crack:
say “With a shower of dirt you work your mother’s blade into the crack. The crack’s edges seem more yielding than rock should be, and the blade suddenly slips into open space. Could it be?[line break]Within a couple of minutes you have cleared away the vines and dirt surrounding the crack to reveal a narrow dark passage to the east.”;
remove the crack from play;
now the passage is in Perilous Perch.

Instead of going east in Perilous Perch when the crack is in Perilous Perch: say “You press yourself against the crack, but it is far too small for you to enter.”
Instead of entering the passage: try going east.[/code]

I’m not sure this will work as intended, and my spaces need to turn into tabs! (EDIT: And I don’t know if that should be a line break or a paragraph break.)

25

Oh, and:

Instead of going inside in Perilous Perch: try going east.
26

I’m not sure how you want us to format revisions as code, but here goes. This is the previous description of the child with a little extra something:

Code:
The player can be pregnant. The player is pregnant.
The description of the child is “It’s a girl, according to the doctor who discussed the 20-week echo with you. When he heard that, Jack tried to force you to have an abortion. That will never happen.[paragraph break]You rub your belly and imagine a newborn cradled in your arms. She would be perfect, of course. Beautiful and intelligent.”.

Neil

27

Revision:

The beacon is a backdrop. The description is "Far to the west, sunset gilds the metal spine of the pharos." It is in the Perilous Perch and the Rocky Ledge. Understand "tower/pharos/lighthouse" or "great tower/pharos/lighthouse" as the beacon.

Addition:

After waiting during Overture: say "[one of]You fidget as you wait[or]Time passes in silence[or]You glance uneasily about as the seconds creep by[or]You wait, restless[at random]."

Also, I recommend making the crack a scenery door instead. That way, we get the benefit of still recognizing it as the crack even after we’ve widened it.

28

Ok, so totally new at this, but…

[code]The Obsidian Cat is in the Cave Entrance. “Standing about four inches tall, this small statue has eyes made from polished garnet.”

Every turn:
[tab]If the player carries the Obsidian Cat:
[tab][tab]now the location of the player is lit;
[tab][tab]say “Your brand seems to be giving off an eerie sort of light.”;
[tab][tab]continue the action.[/code]

And please tinker with the idea. I’m still very new at Inform, so this may not have been the most awesome way to do this.

29

[code]Section - Sgt Duffy NPC

[ Is it ok to add a character? This is not fully fleshed out, but rather as a starting point so that others might add more interaction with the character, ask/tell etc. Note that the character starts out off-stage. I hope others will add to this. ]

A person can be neutral, friendly or angry. A person is usually neutral.

Sgt Duffy is a man. Sgt Duffy has description “Sgt Duffy looks like a cop whose mission in life is to avoid trouble. He’s a couple of pounds over his uniform size and his skin glistens faintly from the humidity. Or maybe he’s just nervous.”

Understand “Duff/duf/dufy/diffy/duggy/sargent/seargent/sarge/sergeant”, “the seargent”, “the sergeant”, “Seargent Duffy”, “Seargeant Duffy” as Sgt Duffy.

Instead of pushing Sgt Duffy:
say “Sgt Duffy easily blocks your move. [one of]‘What in blazes has gotten into you?’[or]‘If you try that again, I’m gonna get angry.’[or]He glares at you coldly.[stopping]”;
now Sgt Duffy is Angry.

Instead of attacking Sgt Duffy, try pushing Sgt Duffy.

Section - Summoning

[ A character can be summoned with SUMMON Sgt Duffy ]
[ Additional logic could be added to deal with other NPCs, or give them other tasks. ]

[ Note: visible means “in scope”, not necessarily in the same room ]
Summoning is an action applying to one visible thing. Understand “summon [any thing]” as summoning.

First check summoning the player: instead say “You’re already here.”

Check summoning when the noun is not a person:
if noun is visible:
say “You can’t summon a thing, only a person.”;
else:
say “That’s not something you can see now.”;

[ Add some further logic to summon other characters if necessary ]
Check summoning when the noun is a person:
if noun is Sgt Duffy:
if noun is not visible:
move noun to location;
say “[noun] steps into the room. [one of]‘You called?’[or]‘What can I do ya for?’[or]‘Here I am.’[or]'All yours.[or]‘Yes, sir.’[then at random]”;
else:
say “‘Dollar, I’m right here.’”;
else:
[ other code for other NPCs might go here ]
say “There’s no response.”
[/code]

30

A lot of intertwined things and changes – sorry if this is too much.

The blade

Understand "sword/weapon" as the blade.

The perch

[code]The Perilous Perch is northeast of Rocky Ledge.

The description of Perilous Perch is “From here, you can see the entire harbor, but the wind is so treacherous that your concentration is mainly spent on staying afoot. The [if the passage is open]only path[otherwise]path you came by[end if] leads down to the southwest but [if the passage is open]now a tunnel yawns[otherwise]a small crack can be seen[end if] in the rock face behind you.”

The hidden passage is a scenery door. It is unopenable and closed. The printed name of the passage is “[if the passage is open]passage[otherwise]crack[end if]”.
The description of the hidden passage is “[if the passage is closed]The crack is narrow in the otherwise dust-covered rock[otherwise]The darkness in this passage is compact[end if].”

The hidden passage is east of the Perilous Perch and west of the Cave Entrance. Understand “crack/crevice/opening/hole” as the passage when the passage is closed. Understand “tunnel” as the passage.

Instead of trying inserting something into a closed passage, say “The crack is too narrow to accommodate it.”
Instead of trying inserting the blade into a closed passage:
say “With a shower of dirt you work your mother’s blade into the crack. The crack’s edges seem more yielding than rock should be, and the blade suddenly slips into open space. Could it be?[paragraph break]Within a couple of minutes you have cleared away the vines and dirt surrounding the crack to reveal a narrow dark passage to the east.”;
now the passage is open.
Instead trying opening a closed passage: say “You press yourself against the crack, but it is far too small for you to enter.”

This is the silenced can’t go through undescribed doors rule:
if the door gone through is the passage and the passage is closed:
silently try the actor opening the passage;
stop the action;
otherwise:
abide by the can’t go through undescribed doors rule.

The silenced can’t go through undescribed doors rule is listed instead of the can’t go through undescribed doors rule in the check going rules.[/code]

The cat, the cave and the glow

[code]
The Cave Entrance is a room. “A narrow opening choked by fallen masonry and choking vines. The remnants of a wagon wheel rises from the dirt; the wood is dark with rot. To the northeast, where the cliff wall breaks surface, is a dark slash of an opening into the rock.”

The wagon wheel is here. It is scenery.

The Obsidian Cat is in the Cave Entrance. “A small item lies in the dust.” The description is “[if the cat is handled]Standing about four inches tall, this small statue has eyes made from polished garnet[otherwise]The dust is so thick over it that you can hardly see[end if].” Understand “small” or “item/thing” as the obsidian cat when the cat is not handled. Understand “statue/figurine/garnet” as the cat.

After taking the obsidian cat:
now the brand is lit;
say “[one of]You carefully lift the thing and brush it off. It’s a small statue, intricately carved in vitreous stone.[paragraph break]You feel your shoulder beginning to itch[or]You pick up the statue again. Once more, there’s the itching[or]You take the statue, feeling the expected itch[stopping].”

After dropping or inserting when the noun is the obsidian cat:
say “The instant the figurine leaves your touch, the glow from your brand fades away and the itching stops.”;
now the brand is not lit.

Every turn when the brand is lit and the location is naturally dark:
say “Your brand seems to be giving off an eerie sort of light.”

Section - Lightless Shaft

A room can be naturally dark.

The Lightless Shaft is northeast of the Cave Entrance. It is naturally dark.
Instead of going northeast from the Cave Entrance when the brand is not lit, say “Much too dark in there for you to grope about without a torch or lumin or something.”[/code]

My apologies if I’m being too pushy here, myself.

31

Recompiled and updated Parchment. What are lunchbreaks for, anyway?

I’ve sorted out a bunch of compiler errors so the game runs (not had time to test it though), but there’s an indentation problem with part of the Sgt. Duffy code that I’ve bracketed out in the source (see the OP) which I don’t know how to fix. If someone could have a look and post here or pm me that would be great.

I’ve left your comments in the source as they should be helpful to others.

For simplicity’s sake I’m making suggested amendments automatically, of course anyone is free to contest amendments to their contributions. I’ve amended the Perilous Perch description to mention that the cliff face is to the east.

Loving the way this is going, by the way! Does anyone know if this has been done before?

32

Not bad at all. I have a few amendments to suggest. Firstly, the code I wrote replaces all of the “crack” code, without needing the crack scenery object or the container. As it’s now, the functionality is duplicated and will lead to disambiguation woes (we functionally have two passages now, occupying the same space).

By the same token, the “every turn: … now the location of the player is lit” is replaced by the code I supplied, since that routine won’t work as intended (it simply makes the entire room phosphorescent, permanently).

–New suggestion–

Instead of doing anything other than examining with the harbor, say "You can barely even make out details at this distance."

–Amendment–

Instead of jumping in Rocky Ledge or the Perilous Perch, say "While death [italic type]may[roman type] be preferable to what Jack and his gang will do to you if they catch you, you have not yet lost all hope of escape.".

I’m curious myself. It seems quite easy and inordinately inspiring.

33

Bugfix:

[HELP FIXING THIS BIT PLEASE! Not good with indentation.
[ Add some further logic to summon other characters if necessary ]
Check summoning when the noun is a person:
	if noun is Sgt Duffy 
	begin;
		if noun is not visible 
		begin; 
			move noun to location;
			say "[noun] steps into the room. [one of]'You called?'[or]'What can I do ya for?'[or]'Here I am.'[or]'All yours.[or]'Yes, sir.'[then at random]";
		else;
			say "'Dollar, I'm right here.'";
		end if;
	else;
		[ other code for other NPCs might go here ]
		say "There's no response.";
	end if;
]

To preserve indentation when you copy&paste code from a post, first push the quote button for the post, then copy and paste.

34

Hey, how did the kataphraktos wind up in Perilous Perch? I thought Eleas created it without a location, to be placed somewhere when someone felt like it – the blade-crack puzzle doesn’t seem like it’d work as well with the kataphraktos there.

OK, now I have to add some code. Hm, something simple.

Instead of going southwest in Rocky Ledge, say "Back to Jack and his gang? No."
35

OK, hopefully that’s all fixed - many thanks for the help, and nice tip from Felix on clicking “quote”. Also I have taken the kataphraktos out of the Perch. Now I should really do some (real life) work!

Edit - forgot to mention, MTW has suggested ‘Exquisite Corpse’ as an (extremely apt) working title. I also like Cadavre Exquis. Shall we go with one of these, or are there any other suggestions?

36

You can call me Marshal, btw. :smiley:

Every turn while in Perilous Perch: [tab]say"[one of]The wind screams in your ears for a moment, then dies down.[or]The sounds of shorebirds can be heard from the harbor.[or]You think you hear voices, but you hope you are mistaken.[or]The wind whistles ominously around the cliffs.[or]You hear the sound of a solitary gull.[or]You think you hear movement down toward the rocky ledge.[purely at random]"

37

Sundry amendments:

The description of the obsidian cat is "[if the cat is handled]Standing about four inches tall, this small statue in the image of a cat carved in obsidian  has eyes made from polished garnet[otherwise]The dust is so thick over it that you can hardly see[end if]." 

The obsidian cat is in the Cave Entrance.
[better without capitals]

The Cave Entrance is a room. "Through the narrow opening to the west, choked by fallen masonry and choking vines, you can glimpse the sky. The remnants of a wagon wheel rises from the dirt; the wood is dark with rot. To the northeast, where the cliff wall breaks surface, is a dark slash of an opening into the rock." 
[noting the exit west]

Further amendments and additions to do with summoning:

[code]
The child is a woman.
Instead of summoning the child, say “Its time has not come yet.”

Carry out summoning a person:
if noun is not visible:
move noun to location;

Report summoning a person:
if the person is not visible, say "[The noun] is suddenly present with you,

looking around counfusedly.";
otherwise say “There’s no repsonse from [the noun].”

After summoning Sgt Duffy:
if Sgt Duffy was not visible, say “[noun] steps into the room. [one of]‘You called?’[or]‘What can I do ya for?’[or]‘Here I am.’[or]'All yours.[or]‘Yes, sir.’[then at random]”;
otherwise say “‘Dollar, I’m right here.’”;

Jack is a man. Instead of summoning jack: say “That’s the last thing you’d do right now!”[/code]

38

I love that bit with the child, Felix.

Truthfully, I have no idea if the summoning’s supposed to be verbal agreement, magic, technomancy, or something stranger still.

==Amendment==

Understand "girl" and "baby" and "daughter" and "foetus" and "fetus" as the child.

Instead of summoning or dropping the child, say "Its time has not come yet."

Instead of examining the player: say "You are twenty-four, obviously pregnant, and marked by a weird[if the brand is lit and the location is naturally dark], glowing[end if] brand on your left shoulder."

An incomplete brand is part of the player. The description is "Craning your neck, you look down to see the edges of the brand, bleeding but flawed, mercifully incomplete[if the brand is lit and the location is naturally dark]. You wouldn't see it in the dark at all if not for the dull, flickering light emanating through your torn flesh.[end if]."

After looking when the brand is lit and the location is naturally dark:
	say "Your brand seems to be giving off an eerie sort of light."

The last bit so we don’t get bored by reading the same message whenever we do anything else in the caves.

==New code==

Instead of pushing or pulling or taking when the noun is the child, try touching the child.
After touching the child: say "You lay a hand on your belly[if a random chance of 1 in 6 succeeds].[paragraph break]A kick! You're sure you felt [one of]her[or]another[stopping] kick just now[end if]." Understand "belly/stomach/tummy" as the child while the child is part of the player.

and just to make the light puzzle less overt,

The desiccated skeleton is in the Cave Entrance. It is fixed in place. The initial appearance is "Half-buried by rubble you see the broken remains of a body." The description is "It looks to have been dead for a long time. Under the tatters of its smock, little but bones and sinew remains. Whoever it was must have died in this unfortunate position, head thrown back, fangs bared, hands cradling one another against the chest." Understand "corpse/body/remains/remnants/bones/carcass/sinew" as the skeleton.

Some withered hands are part of the skeleton. The hands are plural-named and scenery.  The hands can be open or closed. The hands are closed. The description is "[if the hands are open]They are pressed tight over the body's breast bone[otherwise]Broken, the hands are fixed in impotent supplication[end if]." Understand "fingers/hand/grip/grasp" as the hands.

Instead of doing something other than examining to the hands for the first time:
	say "You pry the fingers apart, eliciting a noise like that of cracking walnuts from the hapless skeleton. Something slips from its grasp and falls to the ground.";
	now the obsidian cat is in the Cave Entrance.

(Note: this last requires the obsidian cat to not be placed initially).

39

Done the last compile for tonight. Great work, people, the world is starting to feel more solid!

40

Hey errrvrybody, any thoughts on the title suggestion? Even for a working one?

understand "knife" as the blade