Riddle Help

[Brad_Brunet]

Trust Brad to throw gasoline on a fire.

Dude, you gotta chill your hate list, it’s all one way and I don’t see it making you a happy person. I had an experience relevant to the thread, I even gave you ammunition to be hateful elsewhere…should have earned me a brownie point, but this is what you’re motivated to spew…

[Brad_Brunet]

I’m deleting the business.

Trust Brad to throw gasoline on a fire. In the Army we use to say “Once is chance, twice is happenstance and three times is enemy action”. You provide the second example. The third comes from own experience, but probably should not count. So, one more example and we have a pattern.

Don’t blame me for your lack of integrity dude. My thread-relevant post was simply that. I accept no responsibility for your incessant witch hunt. Go in peace.

[daehir]

Ok gentlemen, explain how this came about:

The Game is #234, hex is 1923, artifact is uncontested, the Riddle is well-known (you’ll recognize it from the answers), and the sequence goes:

T7: Initial encounter
T8: Respond “Sea-Bell” Nothing
- Query Harly (Rob?), told that missing a word like “A, An or The” won’t affect result - they’ll edit it in
T9: Respond “Frodo’s Dreme” Nothing
- Using alternate name for the poem, since missing the “The” shouldn’t matter
T10: Respond “The Sea-bell” and secure the artifact

Now there are several disturbing things here - and not just concerning the misinformation after T8. That could easily have been just a simple mistake, and after years of dealing with GSI (before Harly), weeellll, let’s just say I’m used to it. I’m more worried that:

1. If there is editing going on, is it being done uniformly? Are there rules for when the GM can fix typos and add letters, helping words, whatever, in order to add some welcome flexibility to a rigid response?

2. Is there uniformity when the GM substitutes? Are we at the mercy of the knowledge base of the indivdual GMs? I can see a case where a GM might know that Khazad-dum is a synonym for Moria, but not know Dwarrowdelf is - or that Frodo’s Dreme is an alternate name for The Sea-bell. Is there a standardized ‘list’ of acceptable responses?

Personally, it’s not such a big deal for the teams I play on - we’ll end up with the artifacts eventually anyway. But it is something to ponder…

I doubt there is any editing going on unless it is just for artifact repsonces. I know in GB games, orders are not being checked for violation of the rules i.e. 525’s in friendly pop centers. I also know that game balance issues are not factored in replacing GB posistions so I doubt anyone is checking much of anything. I dont think they have time/willingness to do that. Just my opinion though.

[Ed_Mills]

This business plays into two comments I made on the recent company questionnaire. These being the company’s tendancy to have practices that amount to unpublished policy and the company’s tendancy to ‘spoonfeed’ the players. It also has implications for the game’s future.

There are enough data points to conclude the company sometimes edits players’ turn submissions. But, as pointed out, they are busy people. Therefor, the practice is erratic, situational and ‘iffy’.

Why should BPG bother to learn the correct response to a riddle? The company as a ‘service’ will put in the correct one for him. Why should Brad proooof his riddle answers? The company will correct typos.

For that matter, why have riddles at all? Do they serve a purpose?

[Brad_Brunet]

For that matter, why have riddles at all? Do they serve a purpose?

So did you mention on your questionnaire that you’d like to see either new riddles or the whole idea of riddles removed from play? See, with the code, new riddles is something they might be willing to put together. Toss in some new encounters, randomize encounter responses, and presto, the 285/290’s have some flair again.

I don’t recall the company’s “official” policy stated here First Hand. The idea that “oh, if we see something we’ll take care of it” was proven useless in the example given, so it very simply has to be hard coded in the program or left alone. Did someone change the spelling of my word or did the computer recognize the attempt? I don’t see the database having the possible permutations in it (way too many…) or the “sound like” logic capabilities to make deductive guesses.

I don’t personally care enough to make the request in an email to me@middleearthgames.com, but if anyone else does, this thread would only be more complete with the response.

Brad