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The secrets of CF

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:10 pm
by jan
It seems to me that there are certain things in Crossfire that are underdocumented.

One such thing is scripting - I have heard about it, but where can I find eg. a manual? I am aware that this is considered bad form - but I say, either get rid of it, or make it accessible to everybody by documenting it, thus creating equal conditions for all.

However, this is not my main concern - I find that there are far too many things that are only accessible if you happen to know somebody 'in the know'. For a player like myself who prefers to play alone, it gets very boring in the end, because there are maps one can only find by systematically scanning the entire continent - or perhaps not even then. I hear people talking about 'Heaven' and other places that are somehow very difficult to find, unless, of course, you happen to know.

Perhpas now is a good time for the developers to stop adding coolness and instead making things a bit more friendly and accessible. I'm sure it feels great to be a high level player, who can walk comfortably everywhere and knows it all, but to me it just looks like smugness and elitism.

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:27 pm
by cavesomething
Documentation on scripting is here:
http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/* ... ml?rev=1.2

It should cover everything you need to know on that subject.

There are some places that are difficult to find because they involve some very difficult quests to get there or are in somewhat obscure places, you won't find out about them unless you happen to find out about them or ask someone else. They won't often be mentioned in shout because they are spoilers, however if you were to ask then you will find that you will normally be answered.

You might also want to use hoz's 'maps' command to see which places are popular, that normally gives a good clue as to places that are worth going to.

wrt to 'heaven' it is quite straight forward, just go to the top of valariel's church in scorn, be warned, the higher levels aren't especially safe.

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 2:30 pm
by Guest
I would have to agree with last post, some maps are just plain difficult to find and yes you wont find em unless someone tells you or you just happen across them, others must be found through quests, some are a little bit of common sense(Heaven isnt the name of the area: but what else are you gonna call a 98 level dungeon filled to the brim with angels), also if you really want to find some areas, try using the map spoilers, they will give you a general idea of where they are, what they are and so forth.

As for scripting, thats meant mainly for development, and isnt really meant to be used by players to figure out maps and such(yea they do it anyways but thats not the point) and many of em just happen to know how to do it cuz they are compunerds:

Re: The secrets of CF

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 2:56 pm
by Casper
jan wrote:It seems to me that there are certain things in Crossfire that are underdocumented.

One such thing is scripting - I have heard about it, but where can I find eg. a manual? I am aware that this is considered bad form - but I say, either get rid of it, or make it accessible to everybody by documenting it, thus creating equal conditions for all.
Try looking here:
client/Documentation/Scripting.html

It comes with GTK client, and has sufficient documentation for most needs, with examples.
jan wrote:However, this is not my main concern - I find that there are far too many things that are only accessible if you happen to know somebody 'in the know'. For a player like myself who prefers to play alone, it gets very boring in the end, because there are maps one can only find by systematically scanning the entire continent - or perhaps not even then. I hear people talking about 'Heaven' and other places that are somehow very difficult to find, unless, of course, you happen to know.
I think what you are trying to say is that CF is a hard game to play, and a group of players playing together will find lots of cool stuff faster than a person playing on their own. CF is a multiplayer game though, and is designed to be played by groups of players. It is possible to play it on your own, as you do, but as you say, it takes longer. Most things aren't secrets though... spend enough time loking and you will find!
jan wrote:Perhpas now is a good time for the developers to stop adding coolness and instead making things a bit more friendly and accessible. I'm sure it feels great to be a high level player, who can walk comfortably everywhere and knows it all, but to me it just looks like smugness and elitism.
Discovering things is fun! We have done it, and don't want to spoil your enjoyment, that's all. I do agree with your point about some things being difficult to find though, such as entry points to quests being far too subtle. Some of the game documentation could also do with a bit of updating.

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:43 pm
by jan
Discovering things is fun! We have done it, and don't want to spoil your enjoyment, that's all. I do agree with your point about some things being difficult to find though, such as entry points to quests being far too subtle. Some of the game documentation could also do with a bit of updating.
I understand what you are saying - but I maintain that in some cases things are simply too difficult to find, especially since the map spoilers don't fit the bigworld map. Eg. the 'Dark Forest' - where is it? I haven't been able to find it in spite of several attempts - it is rumoured to be somewhere along the road, but it's a damn' long road if you ask me, and it's not really my idea of fun to spend hours looking in vain for something that may or may not be there.

I'm all for 'difficult' - within reason. But I think perhaps the design group have lost contact with the beginners. I suspect that you guys have ground your teeth on the small world map, and once you know what features in the landscape to look for it may not be so difficult to spot (still talking about Dark Forest).

Maybe the best solution to this is simply to update the map summaries a bit. In most cases they are fine, but there are several areas that need work, IMO. I would volunteer if only I knew where things are :-)

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:56 pm
by Salathar
Come up to cf.mf.net and bug guys about spoilers(in private), I am sure you'll find a bunch that will be glad to help (points in a vague direction of his own multiple self)
Also trade information or go questing with others, they will show you what they know - you will contribute with your experience. It is primarily a multiplayer game afterall :)

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:40 pm
by jan
It is primarily a multiplayer game afterall
[In a trembling voice] Multiplayer? You mean, with other people? Me?

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:08 pm
by Casper
jan wrote:
It is primarily a multiplayer game afterall
[In a trembling voice] Multiplayer? You mean, with other people? Me?
Yes. Of course there are a few rules you may want to follow, like don't bite other people's heads off. It is generally considered impolite. Likewise with setting their clothes on fire, passing 100 000 volts through them, and sticking random sharp objects into them.

Oher than that you are free to interact with other players. They have very complex pattern matching built in and may produce most interesting replies!

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:24 pm
by Leaf
<shameless_plug>

Don't forget that anyone can update the Crossfire Wiki of Lore with details of map summaries and locations. If enough is added, I'm sure they can be used for NPC dialog

http://crossfire.freezope.org/wiki/CF_l ... /FrontPage

</shameless_plug>


ex: a hideous beast resides in the Tower of Grukk, but he's not alone..

ex: demons dwell in a volcano many leagues south east of brest, if you encounter the ocean.. you've gone too far!

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:41 am
by Avion
There were changes to the code to allow for maps to contain lore information about places, the only problem is someone has to write all that lore information - hense the wiki of Lore. If there gets to be enough lore to actually catagorize maybe we can sort it and commit it to the game.