| 8.5. Change of properties with values |
Changing properties with values is very similar:
change the printed name of the Closet to "Suddenly Spooky Closet"
Inform checks three different things to ensure that this change is safe to perform. Firstly, the value must be the right kind for the property in question, so this for instance would be rejected:
change the printed name of the Closet to 7
Secondly, the object in question has to be allowed to have the given property. This, for instance, would be disallowed:
change the initial appearance of the Closet to "Dusty"
(since "initial appearance" is a property which only things can have, not rooms). Finally, the object has to actually have the property, not just have the right to have that property. Thus:
change the printed name of the Closet to "Suddenly Spooky Closet"
...is only permitted if the Closet is designed with a "printed name". In fact this is certain to be true: all rooms and things automatically have a printed name, which is the short boldface description in the case of rooms, and the usual text briefly describing something in the case of things.
Though the map is not a property (it is meshed together with relations, really), a similar phrase exists to change map connections:
change the east exit of the Closet to the Tsar's Imperial Dining Salon
change the west exit of the Closet to nowhere
Altering the map itself is not a very subtle way to adjust when and where the player can move - writing suitable rules is usually a cleaner solution - so this phrase is best avoided unless really needed.
| Example Thirst A waterskin that is depleted as the player drinks from it. | |
"Thirst"
The player carries a waterskin. The waterskin can be full, partly drained, or empty. The waterskin is full. Understand "water" as the waterskin.
Instead of drinking the waterskin when the waterskin is empty:
say "There is no water left."
Instead of drinking the waterskin: if the waterskin is partly drained, change the waterskin to empty; if the waterskin is full, change the waterskin to partly drained; say "You drink a long draught."
After printing the name of the waterskin: say " ([waterskin condition])"
Campsite is a room. "It is solid night now, and the stars have come out. Unfamiliar stars. On the other side of the valley -- a valley round-bottomed but shallow, like a soup bowl -- burn other campfires, most likely bandits. Their voices do not carry, but the smoke rises and obscures the starlight over that way."
A sleepsack is an enterable container in the Campsite. "Your sleepsack is laid out in a pocket of sandy soil and coarse grass."
The sandy soil, the stars, the distant campfires, and the coarse grass are scenery in the Campsite. Understand "smoke" as the campfires. Instead of listening in the presence of your campfire: say "All you hear are the reassuring snaps and cracks of the sticks in your fire." Understand "campfires" or "fires" as the distant campfires.
Your campfire is scenery. Instead of pushing, pulling, turning, tasting, or touching your campfire, say "You would burn yourself." Understand "fire" as your campfire. The description of your campfire is "A reassuring protection against wild animals and cold."
The description of the stars is "You invent constellations for them. The slingshot. The scroll. The heart (upside down)."
Instead of going nowhere when the player is in Campsite:
say "Now is not the time for wandering, alone in the dark. Better to keep here[if your campfire is visible], by the fire[end if]."
Instead of singing:
say "You sing, deep and low, a song from home. It is a good night for singing and the song raises your spirits."
Test me with "i / drink water / i / drink water / i".
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| Example Thirst 2 A campfire added to the camp site, which can be lit using tinder. | |