[<a href='4736.html'>Next Message in Time</a>] | 
[<a href='4734.html'>Previous Message in Time</a>] | 
[<a href='4739.html'>Next Message in Topic</a>] | 
[<a href='0.html'>Previous Message in Topic</a>] <br/><br/>
<b>Message ID:</b> 4735 <br/>
<b>Date:</b> Mon Aug  2 16:35:25 BST 1999 <br/>
<b>Author:</b> Douglas Bierbower <br/>
<b>Subject:</b> Button Quest or &quot;Death to Twisting&quot; or How to make Bards more Fun or  Please improve the interface! <br/>
<br/><br/>
<div id="ygrps-yiv-293047019">I play multiple songs most of the time now.  That goes for between battles<br/>
(Clarity and Restoration) as well as in battles (usually 3, but sometimes 4)<br/>
and my fingers are tired.  The buttons on my keyboard are wearing out.  My<br/>
eyes are sore from reading all the darn messages which provide the most<br/>
reliable clue for me to begin the next song.  So besides whining about it,<br/>
what is my point?  I want a new, intelligent client interface!  I want to<br/>
select multiple songs to weave/twist/dicombobulate/phase-shift-modulate and<br/>
then I want to fight and watch the awesome graphics the game provides.    <br/>
<br/>
I know the interface will not support this right now.  The interface treats<br/>
bards like casters, but that does not mean they can&#39;t alter the interface to<br/>
accomodate this request.  Add a Harmony Ability (See Definitions below, esp<br/>
#4a, courtesy of Meriam Webster&#39;s Online Dictionary).  This &quot;Harmony&quot;<br/>
Ability could take the form of a button on the Abilities menu.  The Bard<br/>
pushes the &quot;Harmony&quot; button and then depresses multiple songs in the order<br/>
the Bard wants to play them.  The Server then starts each song and<br/>
immediately shifts to the next song until the list is completed and then<br/>
returns to the top of the queue.  To stop the auto-playing of songs, hit the<br/>
&quot;Harmony&quot; button and resume manual control.  Simple enough?  The idea is not<br/>
without precedent.  [The auto-attack feature of the game is a similar form<br/>
of redundancy elimination (which could also be enhanced, similarly to what<br/>
is suggested here, to include special attacks like kick or bash or the<br/>
myriad Monk abilities).]  There will be some resistance, perhaps even<br/>
philosophical rejection, to any form of scripting, but keep in mind that<br/>
this change would be completely voluntary for the user.<br/>
<br/>
This will make the game more fun.  This will make the game much more<br/>
relaxing to play.  This will also make things much more fair for Bards that<br/>
do not have an excellent internet connection and/or the good fortune to live<br/>
in San Diego (I have a very, very fast DSL connection and can easily weave 3<br/>
songs and almost 4, while I have spoken to many bards that usually can&#39;t<br/>
manage more than 2).<br/>
<br/>
Narcissus of Povar<br/>
Button Smasher Extraordinaire!<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Main Entry: har´┐¢mo´┐¢ny<br/>
Pronunciation: &#39;h´┐¢r-m&-nE<br/>
Function: noun<br/>
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies<br/>
Etymology: Middle English armony, from Middle French armonie, from Latin<br/>
harmonia, from Greek, joint, harmony, from harmos joint -- more at ARM<br/>
Date: 14th century<br/>
1 archaic : tuneful sound : MELODY<br/>
2 a : the combination of simultaneous musical notes in a chord b : the<br/>
structure of music with respect to the composition and progression of chords<br/>
c : the science of the structure, relation, and progression of chords<br/>
3 a : pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts &lt;a painting exhibiting<br/>
harmony of color and line&gt; b : CORRESPONDENCE, ACCORD &lt;lives in harmony with<br/>
her neighbors&gt; c : internal calm : TRANQUILLITY<br/>
4 a : an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative b : a<br/>
systematic arrangement of parallel literary passages (as of the Gospels) for<br/>
the purpose of showing agreement or harmony</div>