sometimes scanning isn't very useful because you see so much, and get spammed at high level.

Is it possible to allow us to use an argument to cap our scanning range?

Like:

SCAN N 1

to scan only one room north.

It seems to me that scanning in an area where there is one mob per room shouldn't give you sensory overload.

I think it should be possible to do this in your client.

Basically, when you scan, there's these lines like:
***** Range 4 *****

Then there's maybe stuff after that line, then finally a blank line.

You could set up your client to gag starting at the ***** Range X ***** lines you don't want to see, and stop at the blank line. (And, if you're as paranoid about gagging as I am, turn off this whole thing as soon as you get your next prompt. Actually, if you're as paranoid about gagging as I am, you won't even try to implement this, but that's just a detail.)

I gagged the perfected skills in my practice list, and then prayed to the imms about a problem with my gear.

I think I got Scarabaeus and I started going on about how I couldn't wield a weapon, because I was already wielding one, yet my "eq" list showed I wasn't.

I tried detect invis and all that and I definitely wasn't wielding one, because my staff of wizardry had vanished.

Then I realised just before he suggested it that I'd gagged "staff", since it was one of my perfected skills.

It doesnt make sense as far as realism is concerned.

If you look in a direction in real life, your vision doesn't cut off at a certain distance.

If you're looking for something that you know is within 200 feet of you, yes you might see other things in the distance, but you'll stop looking once you find everything within the radius that you're focusing on and won't look further.

Your eyes focus on whatever you are looking at. If I look to my left and there is a man 10 feet away from me I'm looking for I'd see him, anything behind him is usually slightly out of focus because of the way our eyes work. but yeah I see what you mean that you wouldn't see anything else, but I say lets throw it all up into that pile of stuff we don't understand called "game mechanics" :)

You also don't get spammed in real life if there are several creatures in your field of view.

>You also don't get spammed in real life if there are several
>creatures in your field of view.

Yeah but if it is a crowded place it's harder to see who you are looking for.

pick out an elephant in a field of sheep, which the scan command could not. I would see so many sheep that the elephant would not be noticeable without some consideration of the sensory input.

I like the distance argument. If we assume that everyone in Thera is adept at 'scanning' then you should be able to know what you're scanning for. So "scan east 1" would be a quick glance in that direction, and is completely feasible. Good idea.

As far as Scan All goes... It tends to annoy me when I see...

Blah scans east.
Blah scans west.
Blah scans north.
Blah scans south.
... etc.

spammed on my screen when ranking. I think it should have a 1 second refresh-type lag on it, because it just makes sense. You're turning completely around and looking throughout all the surrounding rooms.

That and/or the code shouldn't display "Blah scans east." (to either the user or others in the room) if the east direction does not exist.

I very rarely use scan all because it is so inconvenient... dunno these ideas just popped into my head.

I like yours, though.

nt