Hey, guys. The module that allows you to name your Mount in the Hunter's Lodge is an enormous performance drain for what it does. In rewriting the Hunter's Lodge, I want to effectively scrap this module entirely. Will you guys be devastated if I do that?

Is...is it still as draining to only have it in our bios -- not on the vital stat bar? The same thing could go for weapon/armour names, because what's important there is what shows up on the little mouseover box -- not what you see on the right hand. Honestly, it gets a little bit confusing sometimes, because it's hard to check what weapon I really have when my stat bar says only my custom name.

But...mounts...I am rather fond of their names, although if it's really that big of a problem I guess I could live with the feature's demise. *pats Hamlet the ZD reassuringly. "'S okay, boy. I hear they're very humane at the slaughterhouse."

Well, there's an elegant solution.

Okay, we'll bring Mount Naming back, but only hooking into the Bio and Stables - this way we won't have to use the everyhit-loggedin hook, which is where the bulk of the Horrible Performance Hit lies.

You've also given me an idea for the custom weapons and armour; they work by changing your weapon in the charstats hook, which executes every page load. I've changed it so that that hook only fires at the start of each day, and after buying something from Sheila's. The Island should be running nice and fast once the new Hunter's Lodge is up and running.

Hail the conquering hero

The thing about mount-naming, Dan, is that it really doesn't add that much.
Here's where I'm coming from, just so no one takes offense: What I suspect we want (by taking what I want, and assuming that I'm a decent representative of an average player) is to be able to call whatever the object (with its associate characteristics) IS -- something else.
F'rinstance: Some players would like to be seen driving a Harley, a flightless dragon, a Taun-Taun (and I thought they smelled bad....on.....the outside), or whathaveyou, versus, say, a Zombie Donkey.

In my character's case, I wish to be seen driving an oversized IBM Selectric III, with spidery metal legs, and an auto-backspace-erase feature.
Calling my mount Spider-Typewriter Adler is one thing. Having it show up as Spider-Typewriter Adler the Zombie Donkey is...less than what I'd like.

If we can call a spork Mjolnir, the Nuclear Hammer of Supreme...Smashy...Stuff, then we ought to be able to call our Budget Horse Steve, or Pegasus the Winged Spam Tin, or our Haiks bike a Roc Made Completely of Jam.

We want (or I want) the ability to name object completely. Rather than have (Name of Awesome), the nag.

Sort of removes the awesome.

And the RPing possibilities.

And the sense that we're doing anything other than kidding ourselves about what we spend so much time riding.

So: I would say, whatever it is you're able to do that gives players who buy custom names the ability to really rename their crap mount, and have it show up as whatever they've named it without the crap mount tag, then you've done a world of good.

That's just my opinion. I'm not forcing it on anyone. But I suspect there's a few folks out there that may agree.

Godspeed, and much brilliance to you,

~CTP

Yeah, this is really what the Mount Naming module should be doing. Unfortunately we'd need a rewrite to the Buffs system (and indeed the core Mounts system - and this would probably be so much easier with the new Variable Output system...) in order to change the buff messages. This is going to happen, one day - but it's a big job, and it's not gonna be anytime soon.

Hearty DISAGREEMENT with CTP. Chester (my Zombiedonk) is CHESTER. Think Jayne Cobb and his favorite gun, 'Vera'. Bo and Luke Duke had 'The General Lee'. King Arthur had 'Excalibur'...Scooby and the gang had 'The Mystery Machine'...see where I'm going?

Not much good for roleplaying, my white butt!!

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

Name it Chester the Zombie Donkey instead of just Chester, and nothing has to change.

As for the general mount-naming thing, eh. To be honest, I don't use it much, so I can't have much of an opinion.

Dear Harris,

Terribly sorry to hear about your white butt. I try to make sure mine sees the sun every so often. Even if they oddly call it "mooning."

More seriously, okay, granted -- you like the existing system where you name a (thing with name) as (yourname) + (thing with name).
You like that format. And I love your examples: Sure, the Mystery Machine was likely an early 70s GMC van (that if we saw it today would likely feature "Free Candy" spray-painted on the side), and The General Lee was a 69 Dodge Charger.

I prefer the idea where you have a (thing with name) and you get to name it (yourname), without the (thing with name).

To use two of your examples as a thought experiment, I would much prefer saying I'm driving the General Lee across the Island, versus General Lee The 1969 Dodge Charger across the Island. Similarly, I would rather say I'm driving the Mystery Machine to New Home offering free candy, than saying I'm driving the Mystery Machine the early 70s GMC van with harvest orange shag carpeting package, if only for the reason that it's clearer, more to the point, and less wordy. That's MY preference, and possibly mine alone.

But what about someone who wants a fearsome mount, LIKE a zombie donkey, but doesn't necessarily think a zombie donkey is RILLY what his or her character is all about? Say they want (as an integral part of how they roleplay) a VERY SCARY tricycle. With a headlight that has a skull on it! And streamers made of human entrails. And three-wheels of doom! And now they are forced to (in order to reproduce the effect) drive around Christine, the three-wheeled tricycle of the apocalypse, the zombie donkey. Sort of loses...something. At least to my eye.

Also, I didn't quite say that the existing system wasn't good for role-playing... You've proven it certainly is, and I accept that argument prima facie. What I was trying to get across was this: That it may fit into YOUR style, but it may not be one-size-fits-all. That's an assertion, I grant that, and candidly, this isn't about me being right. My sole point is that it's a beautiful world when all of us can choose.

Therefore, I agree with Anonymous' prior post as suggesting a healthy middle path.

But you raise excellent points Harris, so I thought I'd try to offer a thoughtful response, as well as have the opportunity to flesh out my prior thoughts with more illustrative examples, which you generously provided me.

Thank you for those, and all my best,

~CTP

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BARK BARK BARK.

Okay, I STRONGLY resent whomever installed that camera in my office.
But! I do like the casting. He's quite handsome. And he has my mouth-puff down, as well as the flourish/gesture with which I extract my sheets of flimsy from my manual typewriter.
Now I must be off.
Someone is WRONG on the Internet. (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png)

~CTP

Wait--what's all this about naming mounts? Who would want to do that? A completely useless feature, one sure to never catch on. No, better to spend your time bringing back Shipwreck Kelly and spats.

I hope with the renaming module changes that a fix to restore your object names to "defaults" is hiding in there somewhere My poor midget has been running around in Nudity for quite some time now.

Spend the quarter to change it to "Horrendous Nudity" You won't get a buff from it, even as a midget, but at least it'll be more accurate...

I was going to post here and say something along the lines of "I'll get over it", even though I am rather partial to Meowbinger Cujo's name...but if mount names will be brought back to the bios then that's even better!

As long as it's nothing too complicated to do, of course. If it turns out to be a hassle, I'm sure those of us with mount name's are entirely capable of keeping those names alive in spirit.

Or writing them down somewhere.

CTP: Aha! I had read your earlier comment as being a beef with naming, period, not a beef with being required to name it "something the something". Thank you for the clarification.

It also seemed like you wanted custom mounts INSTEAD of just being able to name your Kittybike "Shorts" (or somesuch). I'm guessing what you actually meant was being able to rename the mount one has completely- that way if one wants to roleplay that you're riding something that isn't avaliable in the shops, you can.

Y/N?

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

CMJ:

Just poked my nose into my inventory, and saw the new toys. Thanks much! They look snazzy too!

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

@Harris:

Yes, you've apprehended my meaning completely.

CTP:

Sweet. Let's hear it for the powers of iced coffee!

CMJ:

Uhm, having found said items- how does one USE the collar? Chester's name is now gone, and I can't suss how to put it back...

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

Scratch that- I have successfully re-re-named m'donkey. Thnaks again!

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead