So I'm looking to replace all of the default error templates such as "I don't understand that command" with a single catch all dynamic template that cycles through multiple responses. Because I want to use a dynamic template I can't just replace the text in the templates UnrecognisedCommand and UnresolvedObject, I need to alter the scripts that cause those templates to be printed. I've modified the function UnresolvedCommand to take care of cases where an object isn't recognised, but it doesn't cover cases where the verb or command itself does not exist. I've scoured the default functions and object types and haven't had any luck so far. Anyone have any ideas?

EDIT: Don't worry, after half an hour of searching with no luck, I find found what I was after almost immediately after I posted this. (It was in the function HandleSingleCommand.) I must have glanced over it and missed it the first time. Thanks for reading though.

Liam315 wrote:So I'm looking to replace all of the default error templates such as "I don't understand that command" with a single catch all dynamic template that cycles through multiple responses....

Is that a good idea? The current system gives the player an indication of why his command failed (eg the verb was not recognised, or the noun, or whatever). Sounds like your system will not do that, which may make your game more frustrating for players. Better to have numerous cycling dynamic templates, I would suggest.

The Pixie wrote:The current system gives the player an indication of why his command failed (eg the verb was not recognised, or the noun, or whatever).

The current system does nothing of the sort. If the verb or command doesn't exist it just says "I don't understand your command." If the object doesn't exist, it says "I can't see that." Seeing those same 2 outputs over and over again is what gets frustrating; all I've done is expand the pool of possible responses to those scenarios to make it a bit less monotonous. Besides, default expressions on the verb/command level take over when both verb and object are recognised. I'm not overriding all default responses, only the very last tier of "catch all" error responses.

Liam315 wrote:

"The Pixie"

The current system gives the player an indication of why his command failed (eg the verb was not recognised, or the noun, or whatever).

The current system does nothing of the sort. If the verb or command doesn't exist it just says "I don't understand your command." If the object doesn't exist, it says "I can't see that."

But that is two different responses telling the player the problem in either in the verb or the object. Sure, get the variety of responses, but keep the differentiation between these two responses, is what I would suggest.

Yeh you're right. At first I thought the responses were open enough to cover the possibilities but after testing them out a lot of them don't make sense for the cases of not seeing the object.

If I may chime in (a bit late), I'd like to offer an opinion similar to Pixie - feedback is critical in these games. While it may be frustrating to see the same message over and over, the frustration comes not from the repeating message as it does from the fact that I'm not doing something right. If the message changes, then I will (at first) think that my different input has produced a different response, since I'm searching desperately for clues. I will learn over time that the different messages all actually mean the same thing (at which point, the frustration is the same), but in the interim, I will be frustrated *and* going down random paths, reading significance into something that is not significant, and ultimately just being more frustrated because the game was actually making it harder for me by not being consistent in what it's telling me.

I can see the motivation for this being that you want the game to not seem so fixed - that it's a bit more variable and dynamic... that more than the frustration factor, which is not really alleviated by varying the message. But I would bet in the end it will make it harder for people who are trying to work out how your game works.

Just my take.