On Thu, 24 Jun 1999, Jim Mattson wrote:

>
> Personally, my biggest gripe with /loc is that t considerably reduces the
> value of sense heading. I guess it also reduces the value of bards, since
> many people hit /loc just before dying, and therefore don't need our help
> finding their corpses. In game, when someone asks me directions to a place,
> I will give them compass headings or directions along the paths, even when
> I know they're after coordinates. I'm just mean, I guess.

I'll say the same thing I told a guildmate who is mapping
the zones. Maps are nice, but nothing beats just plain
knowing the terrain and topology. You could drop me anywhere
in Butcherblock, North Ro, Oasis, the Commonlands, or Misty
Thicket and I would just *know* where I am, no need for a map.
I'm almost to that point with Greater Faydark, Steamfont,
South Ro, the Karanas, and Kithicor.

Most everyone I meet is impressed when I tell them which trees
or landmarks to use to set up a running vector directly from
one place to another (just hit autorun and go get something to
eat). You don't learn this type of stuff from /loc or maps.
You learn it by playing the game. So while /loc does diminish
the roleplaying nature of the game, it is by no means the
ultimate in terms of in-game navigation. I'll note that in
the real world, the places where GPS is most useful are out at
sea and in the air, where landmarks are not readily available.

--
John H. Kim
kim@...