FAQ -- accurate policy on emotes?

Reneziel · **Joined:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:18 am **Posts:** 6

I'm the kind of person who likes to know what he's getting himself into before committing fully to a game, so it is of little surprise that I have been perusing quite a number of help files and the FAQ to go along with my initial in-game impression. My in-game impression is actually quite positive, and though there are some rough corners, I can soundly say that my overall impression thus far is quite positive.

A particular entry in the FAQ, however, gives me great pause.

(Quoted to make this thread self-contained)

FAQ Answer 50 wrote:

Why does the emote command rely on the knowledge of a language?

This has long been debated, however the reason for it is because spoken languages can, in certain circumstances, prevent communication: for example, when a sprite and a human meet and try to talk, only to find they do not share a common tongue - much the same as meeting someone in real life who didn't speak your language at all.

In the past, some players would abuse the 'emote' command at an impasse, in order to communicate. And so, emotes as a gesture are sometimes mis-understood due to the language barrier (which itself is a common occurrence in the real world, due to different cultures interpreting gestures differently). Some examples of how not to use the emote command are shown below:

> emote bows deeply and says to the sprite "Hello. I'm from Krychire."
A thin human bows deeply and says to the sprite "Hello. I'm from Krychire."

> emote screams back "Really?! I'm from Ayamao! They says you Krychire-peoples is EEEVIL!" and then runs away
A male sprite screams back "Really?! I'm from Ayamao! They says you Krychire-peoples is EEEVIL!" and then runs away

The proper way to express the above words and gestures is shown below using an emote, speech and a social command:

> emote bows deeply.
A thin human bows deeply.
> sayto sprite Hello. I'm from Krychire.
A thin human says to a male sprite 'Hello. I'm from Krychire.'

> scream
A male sprite screams loudly.
> say Really?! I'm from Ayamao! They says you Krychire-peoples is EEEVIL!
A male sprite exclaims 'Really?! I'm from Ayamao! They says you Krychire-peoples is EEEVIL!'
> speed run; south
Speed set to run.
A male sprite sprints south.

First and foremost, I want to know if this is still considered up-to-date in terms of "incorrect" and "correct" manner of posing and emotes. While I personally find that the game is satisfying at present, I don't think I would *ever* be able to consider the "proper" method as one facilitating good roleplay. While these "proper" examples are not so egregious in relation to their original counterparts, I fear that for anything even slightly more detailed or -- dare I say it -- interesting, a satisfactory "proper" translation seems next to impossible. The usage of the word "abuse" implies enforcement. The subsequent wording also implies it to be current policy (it gives examples as to "how not to use" as opposed to "how they *were* abused").

Has the supposed move to make emotes reliant on language changed the policy?

Dulrik · **Posted:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:47 am

The enforcement is implied in the question. If the other party does not know the language you are using, an emote will likely be seen to them as 'A thin human makes some incomprehensible gestures.' That's not stated in the answer, I assume because the FAQ question was written as a response to a new player discovering that feature. Probably the FAQ could use a small re-write to include this information.

PS. Socials are universal gestures that are always understood regardless of language.

Reneziel · **Joined:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:18 am **Posts:** 6

Ah. Thank you. That clears up a few things.

I am still in want, however, of a definitive response as to whether the policy in regards to "proper" and "improper" emotes are still considered valid.

Purely for example's sake :

A russet centaur readies his bow, his movements careful and steady as he places his attention fully on his prey. "You shan't escape from me *this* time," he whispers lightly under his breath, a small smile spreading across his face in anticipation.

If it were to be broken down via so that it is "proper", it would be...

A russet centaur readies his bow, his movements careful and steady as he places his attention fully on his prey.
A russet centaur says (or whispers), "You shan't escape from me *this* time."
A russet centaur's face breaks into a small smile of anticipation.

The "proper" form is practically butchered and each individual emote / say leaves little indication of whether it is ongoing or standalone (it would not be impossible to believe that the centaur was finished emoting after each individual line). I want to know if I'm going to be expected to do this.

ObjectivistActivist · **Posted:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:24 pm

You cannot, by the rules, include anything spoken in emotes or pemotes. It is considered an attempt to circumvent the language code. Alt+return between each line, stack the commands, and it comes out almost simultaneously giving a clear indication that all emotes and says are intended to be a single, joined series.

Reneziel · **Joined:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:18 am **Posts:** 6

Thank you. That is what I was looking for, ObjectivistActivist.

It's certainly... not something I find particularly tasty, but I suppose your suggested solution will help if I find I can overlook it.

Thanks again.

reader · **Joined:** Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:41 am **Posts:** 103

After spending a year~ playing MUSHes, I occasionally goof up and put a 'say' in my emotes.

And yeah, the only way to really do it is to command stack.

emote waves as the elf walks in and calls out.
sayto elf Hello there!
emote looks the elf over as she speaks.

If Big D could code the emote command to run anything inside of " " marks through the language code, that'd be awesome, and this rule would no longer need to exist. Then you could just bust people who abused the command.

The bad thing at the moment is that the language code does nothing but hurt lowbies/true newbies.

Most people who have played SK for more than a few months will have all the languages learned by the time they hit level 10~(or if you're smart, before you leave the newb zone, so you can take advantage of that area never going over blue familiar). Or not until master~ for the plevelers who aren't RPing anyways.

Baldric · **Posted:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 2:10 pm

Yes, it might technically be against the rules to put dialogue into an emote. No, you will never be punished for putting dialogue into an emote, unless you are purposefully using the emote to circumvent the language code.

I really wish the incomprehensible gestures business was removed. When two people who speak different languages meet, they should be able to at least attempt some sort of interaction via emotes. It's silly because "emote waves his arms wildly in the air and shrieks like a banshee" is indistinguishable from "emote remains perfectly silent, his cold gaze on the other man," if the two characters don't speak the same language. This is hurting RP and limiting the depth of interaction.

Yes, I understand that people used to abuse this. Yes, I understand people might abuse it again if it were changed back. It really isn't the end of the world. If you catch people doing it, punish them. If you don't catch the people who do it, then uh, people will have circumvented the language code. A small price to pay for the improvement to the RP experience that would be provided for those who are trying to RP without breaking any rules.

The same goes for pemotes, which I use all the time.

Reneziel · **Joined:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:18 am **Posts:** 6

reader wrote:

After spending a year~ playing MUSHes, I occasionally goof up and put a 'say' in my emotes.

That's the problem. I've been roleplaying and MUDing for *almost* (getting closer now) half of my life, and this system kind of forces me to go contrary to those many years of experience to accommodate it... all at the expense of my roleplay's fluidity.

Quote:

If Big D could code the emote command to run anything inside of " " marks through the language code, that'd be awesome, and this rule would no longer need to exist. Then you could just bust people who abused the command. :)

That was actually the very first suggestion I was planning to make on the forums if this turned out to be true, or even a method to allow players to differentiate dialogue within the emote if it was possible and the above was not. It just seems so much more comprehensible and fluid.

Balric wrote:

Yes, it might technically be against the rules to put dialogue into an emote. No, you will never be punished for putting dialogue into an emote, unless you are purposefully using the emote to circumvent the language code.

And, ah... thank you. While I am certainly not the kind of person who enjoys breaking rules, I am also not trying to *abuse* the emote system... just use it to craft enjoyable, fluid emotes. I may have to a pull a card out of alignment unprincipled for this...

Nightwing · **Posted:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:21 pm

I wouldn't go about planning on circumventing the emote structure on purpose. However, just working with your example -- and imagining it being typed real-time -- reveals why it's actually more fluid to create and combine short emotes and says than to try and put everything on one line. Here's what other players would "perceive" with a typical 80 character width, assuming you type roughly 45 words per minute:

Reneziel's way wrote:

[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur looks at a zakami beast.

... (a full minute later) ...

[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur readies his bow, his movements careful and steady as he places his attention
fully on his prey. "You shan't escape from me *this* time," he whispers lightly under his
breath, a small smile spreading across his face in anticipation.

(3 seconds later)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur strikes at a zakami beast's stomach, DISEMBOWELING him!
A russet male centaur strikes at a zakami beast's stomach, DISEMBOWELING him!
etc., etc.

To be honest, that one emote meets the description requirement of the MUD... and my MUD eyes aren't trained to read text from other players in such a large group. That, and I don't even really get the chance to, because the combat spam takes over.

On the other hand:

SK way wrote:

[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur looks at a zakami beast.

(12 seconds)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur readies his bow, his movements careful and steady.

(10 seconds)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur places his attention fully on his prey.

(8 seconds)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur whispers lightly under his breath:

(8 seconds)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur says "You shan't escape from me *this* time."

(8 seconds)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur's face breaks into a small smile of anticipation.

(3 seconds later)
[HP: 100%] [ME: 100%] [PE: 100%]
A russet male centaur strikes at a zakami beast's stomach, DISEMBOWELING him!
A russet male centaur strikes at a zakami beast's stomach, DISEMBOWELING him!
etc., etc.

Even though it generates a little more spam, especially if you're typing on the fly, this actually comes out more fluidly, and is far more entertaining for the reader than almost a full minute of silence followed by a paragraph-long emote.

Reneziel · **Joined:** Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:18 am **Posts:** 6

Quote:

assuming you type roughly 45 words per minute:

I type at an average sustained speed of ~110 WPM... that's for material that is neither familiar nor my own.

And while you may feel that the sentences taken standalone make things more fluid, I suppose that is personal preference. For somebody who has gotten in the habit of almost always flavoring dialogue with some form of action or emotion (pure dialogue is rarely useful), this is a rather large restriction. I also like to have sentences that lead into each other and don't repeat the same thing over and over (A russet centaur).

Shattered Kingdoms

FAQ -- accurate policy on emotes?

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