The messaging here says the spectral defender came down a staircase, when it actually came up. Its not specific to this critter and staircase and appears to be the same bug for all critters and stairs in Nelemar, but this clip is the most obvious example of it I've logged so far.

...

H>sneak se
[Ruined Temple, Third Floor]
Constant exposure to the brine of the sea has encrusted the bases of several pillars with salt. Cracked pottery has been bleached and worn well from the elements, piled in a small area around a leaning marble column. You also see a spiral staircase.
Obvious paths: northeast, northwest
Roundtime: 2 sec.
HR>
Your disk arrives, following you dutifully.
H>
A spectral triton defender just came down a spiral staircase.
H>

Aren't you on cool terms with triton defenders? They're down with you.

---

"What Kaldonis does on his off time is totally Kaldonis's business, dude." ~Scribes

>> No. I just hate messaging that implies critters left when they actually arrived. Its often vitally important to know that there are two critters rather than none in the room with you and I hate the buggy messaging that implies the opposite.

This was posted about a year or two back when similar messaging was corrected elsewhere (good luck finding the associated folder and discussion thread).

>> A spectral triton defender just came down a spiral staircase.

I believe if you ignore 'down' and 'up' and instead look for 'came' and 'went' it will provide an accurate indication of if a critter is arriving or leaving. Even knowing that, I still get confused if the thing I am fighting has left or if another has joined the fray at times. Might be worth highlighting those two words to assist (and am now thinking about doing that myself).

Also I notice where it switches between being a door/stairs it says 'arrived' when the critter arrives.

-- Robert

"Wyrom isn't interacting with me, I think he is AFK scripting."

>This was posted about a year or two back when similar messaging was corrected elsewhere (good luck finding the associated folder and discussion thread).

It wasn't corrected. Thats another thing about this bug that really annoys me. Its been reported by me and others in half dozen areas of the game for something like 10 years and we either get ignored completely or get staff pretending that there are another set of stairs that aren't visible and the critters are using them to go from the second floor to the third via the fourth while characters just see the direct route. One critter and one set of stairs maybe. Every critter every time on every set of stairs and slopes and climbs in the game, its just not credible. It probably just takes a couple of "down/up" edits and a hundred of these bugs disappear.

The most important cues for my immersion are directional. So I get confused in mazes and thats fair enough when there actually is a maze. But pretending that every set of stairs has five other sets of stairs for the use of critters only isn't. Pretending that every mountain top actually has an invisible peak above it that critters use to transit from the valley below isn't. This is immersion destroying messaging and it ought to be fixed.

Plane 4 is mostly navigable by a NE-NW or SE-SW zigzag but there are a couple of places that will end up bouncing you back and forth between the same two rooms. Thats misleading messsaging, but its a fair description of a situation thats supposed to be disorientating. It wouldn't be fair if every time in every room in the game, when you wanted to chase a critter that ran north, you went north but if you wanted to chase a critter that ran north west, you had to go south west. That would be a bug, and one that I'd expect to be fixed easily and swiftly. Yet if you want to chase a critter that ran up, you go up, but if you want to chase a critter that went upstairs, you have to go downstairs. And thats also a bug and one that I'd have expected to be fixed easily and swiftly but one thats still present more than ten years after I first reported it.

Thanks for the illustration Contemplar. I do not believe the stairs in Nelemar are behaving as you described, meaning that a person in room A will see 'A critter went UP the stair.' when a creature is leaving room A and 'A critter came UP the stair.' when a critter is arriving into room A. Per your example, one or the other should indicate DOWN.

I'll do some additional testing/validation this evening and post the results as confirmation.

-- Robert

"Wyrom isn't interacting with me, I think he is AFK scripting."

Okay. I had about 20 minutes over lunch and tested most of the stairs in the temple. They all seem to be working correctly at present with regards to the laws of physics (up being UP and down being DOWN).

I'll post if I encounter any specific cases where there is still an issue.

Thanks for your time and effort on this issue!

Rathboner,

Since Contemplar seems to be willing and able to address any outstanding directional bugs (as per the movement example given) would you mind posting any issue you notice that I may have missed in my testing? Let's get this wrapped up once and for all!

-- Robert

"Wyrom isn't interacting with me, I think he is AFK scripting."

>>This was posted about a year or two back when similar messaging was corrected elsewhere (good luck finding the associated folder and discussion thread).

>It wasn't corrected. Thats another thing about this bug that really annoys me. Its been reported by me and others in half dozen areas of the game for something like 10 years and we either get ignored completely or get staff pretending that there are another set of stairs that aren't visible and the critters are using them to go from the second floor to the third via the fourth while characters just see the direct route. One critter and one set of stairs maybe. Every critter every time on every set of stairs and slopes and climbs in the game, its just not credible. It probably just takes a couple of "down/up" edits and a hundred of these bugs disappear.

I wasn't sure who had made the original posts, or what the outcome was. At least from my end, it was more curiosity to find the original thread and who said what as a reference. That's why, finally, I only made a joke on word play in my initial comments since I had searched for the old thread, thought about the topic, and finally came up blank.

>This is essentially the key here. 'Came' and 'went' are indicating which direct the critter/player takes through the portal/stair/etc. Coming (be quiet DAID!) or leaving.

LOL. I can't possibly see any word plays to make in this sentence. My imagination must be lacking today.

---

"What Kaldonis does on his off time is totally Kaldonis's business, dude." ~Scribes

West Side; Third Floor

[Ruined Temple, Third Floor - 12720]
Constant exposure to the brine of the sea has encrusted the bases of several pillars with salt. Cracked pottery has been bleached and worn well from the elements, piled in a small area around a leaning marble column. You also see a brackish green arrow and a spiral staircase.
Obvious paths: northeast, northwest
>
A triton radical just came down a spiral staircase. (entering from the second floor)


[Ruined Temple, Third Floor - 12720]
Constant exposure to the brine of the sea has encrusted the bases of several pillars with salt. Cracked pottery has been bleached and worn well from the elements, piled in a small area around a leaning marble column. You also see a siren that appears stunned, a coiling dark purple abyran'sa, a brackish green arrow and a spiral staircase.
Obvious paths: northeast, northwest
>tel aby to go stai
You instruct your dark purple abyran'sa to move . . .

The dark purple abyran'sa went down a spiral staircase. (leaving towards the second floor)

West side; Second Floor

[Ruined Temple, Second Floor - 12718]
A pair of large stone statues, carved to resemble large droplets of water, rests on either side of the spiral staircase that leads to the floor above. The statues are partially submerged and have been bleached with natural wavy patterns formed by years of sea meeting rock. Ruined tapestries cling to the walls, soaked with the moisture that has claimed dominance over the room. You also see some muck.
Obvious exits: southeast, southwest

A coiling dark purple abyran'sa slithers into the room.
>
A siren just came up a spiral staircase. (entering from the third floor)

>tel aby to go stai
You instruct your dark purple abyran'sa to move . . .

The dark purple abyran'sa went up a spiral staircase. (leaving towards the third floor)

It is bugged for critters, but appears to work properly for my demon.