Help Files

Arbre

Or just add it to the bottom of the first.

Omei

I updated HELP SKILLRANKS with a gorgeous table and information for Miniskills, Talents, and the LEARNED command.

Omei

Macavity said:

HELP REST

HELP HUNGER

HELP SOBRIETY

HELP CLOTHING

Can all these help files (some are not created) have their ranks from STAT added to them, so we know what they are, and new players will know as well.  

I'll take a crack at these. I have to peek at the game's code so it'll take a sec.

Arbre

I WILL HAVE WORMATTACK!

I love you forever.

Omei

Thank you to @Oleis, for helping me out with the status messages. Help file changes as follows:

• HELP SLEEPING
• Added HELP REST as reference. Added rested levels as they appear in STAT, and added a note about the effects of achieving level 80.
• HELP HUNGER
• Clarified the somewhat inaccurate blanket statement regarding how to identify especially nourishing food. Added hunger levels as they appear in STAT, and added a note about the effects of achieving level 80.
• HELP ALCOHOL
• Added HELP SOBRIETY as a reference. Changed the stance on taking shots of tequila and whiskey. It seems the past author was a pansy. Added note about the alcohol resistance power at endgame, and listed the various levels as they appear in STAT.
  
• HELP CLOTHING
• You know the drill! Added the clothe-- clothinge-- er, clothedness levels.
  

Saybre

HELP CRYPTIC CHESTS
A four-pointed star of the Priesthood
--------------------------------------
* 1x a length of brass chain
* 1x wa ooden circle etched with sacraments
* 1x four-pointed wooden star
* 1x a gem of spirit
 
When someone breaks your magical shield (via hammer, raze, etc), you will be healed for a small portion of your health. Does not work when your shield is stripped by a skill that strips defences randomly, unless it always strips shield first).

WA OODEN CIRCLE.

That's either like..german speak or cajun south pronunciation, I'm not sure which.

Ferrik

Wooden would be 'Hölzern' in German. So Cajun south it is! Or maybe if you chant 'wa ooden' you unlock the secret actual power that makes it worth it!

In other news! Much love to Omei for those latest changes - some of those really bothered me without ever knowing it. Thank you so much!

Edit: Disclaimer! I am not German. It is one of the languages I can simply speak.

Omei

I kinda went nuts.

• HELP BASECOMMANDS is uh, different. Compressed and easier to read, hopefully.
• I removed a lot of the flavor nonsense from HELP SAYS and tried to clear up how says were used.
• HELP WHATNOW has been brought into the current decade. Still needs a little work.

Areka

>> Would you be up to updating HELP CLANLEADER? I can toss you a pastebin of what I think would be better. I'm always hunting for the same information in it and it's spread out in a really weird fashion. 

Omei

I don't mind suggestions. Go ahead and post it.

Areka

http://pastebin.com/Bv7MMt14

It might be a bit much - regrouped things into clearer sections by what they do, rather than everything just tacked in all higgeldy piggeldy.

Macavity

honestly I would really like to see HELP CLANLEADERS broken in subsets in which each section is put in its own, like 21.3.1, 21.3.2 and so on ...

this so when you do access the HELP files its not a long list of stuff when you are looking for one thing.

just a thought

Arbre

The Pill of Transmogrification isn't in any help file at all.

Edit: Or a resonating micro-cistern.

Moirean

Omei said:

I kinda went nuts.

• HELP BASECOMMANDS is uh, different. Compressed and easier to read, hopefully.
• I removed a lot of the flavor nonsense from HELP SAYS and tried to clear up how says were used.
• HELP WHATNOW has been brought into the current decade. Still needs a little work.

Shouldn't help whatnow reference the Academy?

Macavity

@Moirean not all cities have the academy, so putting it in there may confuse those in Bloodloch

Periluna

@Macavity: They will, you just have to be patient.

Macavity

help changelog does not mention the syntax for changelog search

Areka

Could information about the artifact shop shelves and how to use them be placed in HELP SHELVES?

Saybre

when doing 'get' in game you get


Usage:
   GET [amount] <item>
   GET [amount] <item> FROM <container>
   GET [amount] <item> FROM DRAWER <#> OF <furniture>

For the sake of gagging the spam of that 4 liner (Like when taking fist sigils off weapons/etc), can we change it to 'Usage: GET ' then the other lines? That way it can GAG off of that line. Otherwise doing a gag line on 'Usage:' will screw up looking up AB skill files and the like.

Areka

Not a help file, but could ORDER PRIVS also list syntaxes please, so we can figure out how to turn shrinewatch off? >>

Edit: As well as which are shrine powers and which aren't, and could HELP DIVINE ORDERS be updated as well?

Macavity

can HELP ENHANCEMENT be updated with the new information related to the recent change from announce 2214

example of missing information:  * You can no longer enhance a resist that your statpack already had innately.

I really do not know why it is so hard to update the affected help files as soon as an update on announce or changelog is created??!?!?

This is why our help files are grossly out of date

Periluna

@Macavity - you have to realise that the majority of our admins are -volunteers- Instead of constantly giving them a hard time, maybe just relax and realise that they have real lives with real jobs too.

Macavity

Periluna said:

@Macavity - you have to realise that the majority of our admins are -volunteers- Instead of constantly giving them a hard time, maybe just relax and realise that they have real lives with real jobs too.

I do realize that the majority of those within the Pools are volunteers, however, there are still a few that are actually paid.  In any case, from a procedural standpoint, it should go without mentioning that if someone puts in an announce or changelog then it should be on them or designate someone to change the affected help files.  

We have to continue to remember that these help files are what new and old players will refer to in the future when they have a question or wonder why something is going strange, if they are not updated then our next course of action is to send a message to the Admins, Gods, or anyone else we can contact to verify this information.  Every time these messages are sent this takes away from that person in their continued work to make Aetolia a place for all to enjoy, if a simple step of updating a help file was done right after the post was made that caused a change, then this time to research or look into the issue would not be wasted and therefore the Pools can continue to focus on things like class updates or further events (as an example).  

Omei

I'm really going to level something on you here, @Macavity. When you make these kinds of complaints about the work that is (or isn't) being done by our unpaid volunteer staff, it makes us really not want to do it. I totally agree with your justification for updated help files, but you should consider that we're doing this for fun, and because we enjoy it. If you act to make that process less enjoyable, it only causes more problems than it fixes.

Daskalos

Macavity said:

Periluna said:

@Macavity - you have to realise that the majority of our admins are -volunteers- Instead of constantly giving them a hard time, maybe just relax and realise that they have real lives with real jobs too.

I do realize that the majority of those within the Pools are volunteers, however, there are still a few that are actually paid.  In any case, from a procedural standpoint, it should go without mentioning that if someone puts in an announce or changelog then it should be on them or designate someone to change the affected help files.  

We have to continue to remember that these help files are what new and old players will refer to in the future when they have a question or wonder why something is going strange, if they are not updated then our next course of action is to send a message to the Admins, Gods, or anyone else we can contact to verify this information.  Every time these messages are sent this takes away from that person in their continued work to make Aetolia a place for all to enjoy, if a simple step of updating a help file was done right after the post was made that caused a change, then this time to research or look into the issue would not be wasted and therefore the Pools can continue to focus on things like class updates or further events (as an example).  

As someone that has openly, and rather aggressively, bashed previous administration,  this is not the way to go. Look, it's one thing if nothing is being done for 6-8 months at a time, but this group of volunteers and paid staff is probably the best mix we've ever had in Aetolia, and actively telling them they're not doing enough, when they're massively better than any previous administration team, is not only a slap to the face but also a kick in the balls. The HELP files are -massively- outdated, and they're fixing them as fast as they can, along with all their -other- jobs (notice Omei just made maps better across the game by fixing a lot of buggy stuff?).

These people also have jobs, responsibilities, and such, that means that while they could be playing xbox, a mortal themselves, or whatever, they're instead here, trying to make this game great for you, me, and all the other players.

Step off. 

Moirean

@Macavity - Dude, I get lazy going into the editor to update something like a CHELP right away. I imagine it must be a lot harder for the gods given just how many help files there are. No need to rant at them.

Ashmer

Daskalos said:

Macavity said:

Periluna said:

@Macavity - you have to realise that the majority of our admins are -volunteers- Instead of constantly giving them a hard time, maybe just relax and realise that they have real lives with real jobs too.

I do realize that the majority of those within the Pools are volunteers, however, there are still a few that are actually paid.  In any case, from a procedural standpoint, it should go without mentioning that if someone puts in an announce or changelog then it should be on them or designate someone to change the affected help files.  

We have to continue to remember that these help files are what new and old players will refer to in the future when they have a question or wonder why something is going strange, if they are not updated then our next course of action is to send a message to the Admins, Gods, or anyone else we can contact to verify this information.  Every time these messages are sent this takes away from that person in their continued work to make Aetolia a place for all to enjoy, if a simple step of updating a help file was done right after the post was made that caused a change, then this time to research or look into the issue would not be wasted and therefore the Pools can continue to focus on things like class updates or further events (as an example).  

As someone that has openly, and rather aggressively, bashed previous administration,  this is not the way to go. Look, it's one thing if nothing is being done for 6-8 months at a time, but this group of volunteers and paid staff is probably the best mix we've ever had in Aetolia, and actively telling them they're not doing enough, when they're massively better than any previous administration team, is not only a slap to the face but also a kick in the balls. The HELP files are -massively- outdated, and they're fixing them as fast as they can, along with all their -other- jobs (notice Omei just made maps better across the game by fixing a lot of buggy stuff?).

These people also have jobs, responsibilities, and such, that means that while they could be playing xbox, a mortal themselves, or whatever, they're instead here, trying to make this game great for you, me, and all the other players.

Step off. 

I got the little chills I get whenever I see a movie with a really bad ass speech in it.

 

On hopefully a somewhat more helpful note, who is even capable, codewise, of updating the help files? I'm probably WAY behind on this, but would it be possible to have something like Liaisons for this kind of minor administrative work, where someone the administration trusts could go in and update a help file, like with CHELP and GHELP respectively? (Liaisons is probably a bad example, but I hope it communicates nonetheless.)

Oleis

The act of editing the help file is trivial -- It takes a few seconds in a website all immortals can access. The problem is understanding which helpfiles need to be updated and in what ways they're inaccurate. The problem is not necessarily keeping up to date with current changes (though Macavity makes a fair point that we should always be updating the file as we update the code). What's truly impossible about the situation is keeping up with the previous 10 years of changes that never got documented. Even if I read every single helpfile, I probably wouldn't be able to catch 80% of the necessary changes.

So best thing I can ask you to do is TYPO. They do get read (in batches) and something that easy will get solved pretty much immediately. But if one just TYPOs OH MY SWEET GOD CONJURATION IS SUPER OUT OF DATE and vaguely references a six year old change with no details, I'm out of luck.

Ashmer

Okay, that answers that for me, thank you. I'll make sure to send in typos whenever I see them, and reference specific updates.

Daingean

I feel that the HELP COMMODITIES help file is listing the wrong places for the location of the commodity shops.

I may be wrong, on account of my geographical ineptitude and welcome someone to tell me so.

Edit - I'd love to tell you what needs to be added, but I don't actually know. Currently though, I've been unable to locate a comm shop in either Jaru or Tasur'ke.