July 19, 2010: Searchable Objects

Across the lands, I'm going to be starting to alter and place objects (doors or placeables) that can be searched for hidden compartments (containing stashed gold or items) or for hidden information (maybe some etched words or something). There will be more of these objects as time passes.

Each hidden item/info/gold will only be findable once per reset per character, so multiple PCs can find the stuff, but each will find it only once per server reset.

To perform this search, just use the Select feat/tool on the desired object, then enter the VC command pc tool search. Oh, and you'll need to be within 5 meters of the object to search it (how could you do a careful search from farther away?). Oh, and switching into active search mode before calling this command will aid in your searching.

This function will start to become active after a reset tomorrow (the 19th) sometime.

Interesting... I weep for the loss of yet another quickslot to the search command. I don't think I want to be repeatedly typing it out as I try to search a gabillion objects. If there were some indicator on the objects that searching might be useful, it would save the quickslot and lots of wasted typing.

I plan on shortening this command up once we settle on a new prefix for VC commands, so it'll end up as something like \\s or ;;s (so it won't really need a quickslot). The "pc tool " one is just so I could get the function in sooner. A few of the other most commonly used VC commands will get the same treatment.

The only real indication that a search of a placeable or door might yield something would be that you can target it with the Select tool and it will highlight when you hit the Tab key. After all, how will you know if there's something there or not unless you search it? Granted, some things probably won't have anything hidden (like pretty much any door you'd normally encounter, or road signs or the like)...but you'll be able to search them anyway if you really want to.

You use doors as an example of placeables to use the search command, but it seems that I can never be close enough to a door when I try it on one. It always says I'm too far away even if I'm literally up against the door.