Posted by Nepenthe(IMM) on September 28, 2000 at 22:54:05:
In Reply to: Re: The obligatory counter response posted by Tdr(VIP) on September 28, 2000 at 22:33:14:
It's definitely not mind-breaking, but the first time it was a lot harder than you're making it out to be in my opinion. > Righto. Flags. As I said, adding a mobile. Form 'Ability' flags AFPQ. oh, and we mustn't forget Act_dlammf. That's just icing on a cake. Um. . .okay right, some of the form abilities are represented by flags. Now, given that I just said that basically every form has some ability (some relatively trivial to code, some less so) that *nothing* else in the game has and that has never been seen before. . .what do you think the odds are that those flags are pre-coded and waiting? Right. Again, not brain surgery, but there's some time there. Most of the code I've personally written for the mud is not difficult code. . .but even the most trivial addition takes more time than you probably imagine. I tend to look up having been coding for what seems like a little while and. . .oops, three hours have passed. I'd give you the analogy of copying a 20 page paper out by hand. Do you know how to do that? Sure. Is it mentally strenuous? Not really. Is it going to take you a while? Well, yeah.
> Hey, I didn't mean to make it sound like it wouldn't take ANY time, like I said.. I hack code. I've been working on a few routines for quite some time now. And what you describe (the mess) is what a friend of mine calls 'UglyCode', he says I'm infamous for it. The point I was trying to convey is that it really isn't a mind-breaking experience to do. Hell, I'd keep a few "null" spots just to do a copy on a standard form and spruce up its looks a bit, as a simple reward for those who earned it.