[quote=“Wuzzy, post:84, topic:2519”]I think that all these “thereshold” descriptions are not really helpful. Yes, they are all perfectly translatable. But the problem is they are really not descriptions at all. They are just comments on something.
The game has some poor descriptions. I call them “pool” because they actually don’t describe anything; they are just a comment on something. The “thereshold” descriptions miss the main point that the player IS now a sort of a plant/hunter/bird/whatever. This would be a problem in any language.
I suggest the following description style: First, it should describe. After that there may be space for comments / funny remarks etc. Remember that not all C:DDA players are native English speakers and lots of translations are still to be made. Descriptions can be very helpful since many words in C:DDA are NOT self-descriptive.
Maybe I’ll open an issue on GitHub and suggest some concrete string changes by myself, who knows?
Here’s an example for a description how I imagine it for “Plant”:
"You have become a mobile plant and you are fine with that. Well, you still have those other walking flowers—and the mushrooms, too—to deal with. But you’ll manage."
In case this does not fit, get rid of the last sentence, one for one, until it fits. Note this is just an example, please comment.
Note I’ve also replaced “-” with “—”. C:DDA is an UTF-8 game, so this SHOULD be no problem.[/quote]
Just saw this one. I put quite a lot of thought into each of those, and took a lot of time digging through code to help you.
Post-Threshold, the mutation descriptions are (almost*) uniformly appreciative of their mutation and reinforce that its a good thing. That’s a design decision intended to reinforce the fact that the character is no longer human. I’m sure they could be reduced to a terse description of what they toggle. But then there would be very little creative work involved, and different mutations giving the same effect (necessary to preserve category-separation) would be practically indistinguishable.
I’m not particularly happy with your proposal, Wuzzy; it insults my time and effort, and I’ve already asked for guidance on string-length caps, which you blew off. Specifically, you said something to the effect of “I don’t know, you tell me,” despite you being the one asking for shorter strings.
So whoever requires more space, let me know what string length I have to work with, if you would, please.
*PER_SLIME, Sensory Disintegration, is unhappy with its condition. Since it depicts a condition where the character’s senses are literally a moving, chaotic, and unpredictable mess, I think having the description be unhappy with it is acceptable. For the Terse crowd: reduces sight range; randomizes hearing; randomly blinds, deafens, or visual-hallucinates; drops Perception by 8, but won’t take it below 1.
