Order Checker Request

[Lord Thanatos]

I absolutely LOVE the order checker program.  It does amazing and wonderful things for the player.  It makes our order entry much, much quicker than in the past.

I have a request:

When a new emissary is hired please have the program check "in memorium" names as well.  In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.  When hiring any character except a HP it really doesn't matter because the program will assign a random name and place your new character.  But when hiring a HP I usually also enter a 750 order, which uses the first two letters of the new HP name for the order.  When the HP is assigned a different name (because the one I selected previously belonged to a long dead former emissary) this means that the 750 order subsequently fails.  Quite annoying!

Can you please have the order checker program confirm new names do not duplicate names from "in memorium"?

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

Anyhow, this is simply a request not a complaint.  The problem with my orders is due to my error and I acknowledge that.

[Hawk_]

I absolutely LOVE the order checker program.  It does amazing and wonderful things for the player.  It makes our order entry much, much quicker than in the past.

I have a request:

When a new emissary is hired please have the program check "in memorium" names as well.  In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.  When hiring any character except a HP it really doesn't matter because the program will assign a random name and place your new character.  But when hiring a HP I usually also enter a 750 order, which uses the first two letters of the new HP name for the order.  When the HP is assigned a different name (because the one I selected previously belonged to a long dead former emissary) this means that the 750 order subsequently fails.  Quite annoying!

Can you please have the order checker program confirm new names do not duplicate names from "in memorium"?

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

Anyhow, this is simply a request not a complaint.  The problem with my orders is due to my error and I acknowledge that.

It would be helpful for those new agents doing 970 also.  I like this idea a lot.

[bananas]

In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.

That is the curse of having really good tools!
But yes, I second (third?) that request.  I assumed it was already checking!

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

This comment brings to mind a request I was afraid to make.  If you use an HP or wizard to locate something (ie, the result of that operation is an area), I would so love to be able to feed that into a subsequent recon order. That may not be much harder to implement than the above suggestion, but it would surely make that the most confusing order users have ever seen. But I'll suggest it anyway.. maybe they will consider it for 3rd....

Example of Divine artifact location + teleport brigade
795,  H.P. ABB.,  SHORT NAME, (variableName)
850, groupID, PowerLevel, area OR (variableName)

Example of Locate char/group + recon
855, groupID, PowerLevel,'E' or 'G', id, kingdom, (variableName)
970, agentName, area OR (variableName)


The orders already look like assembly code, why not throw in variables, branching, loops, and other higher level constructs?

[Lord Diamond]

In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.

That is the curse of having really good tools!
But yes, I second (third?) that request.  I assumed it was already checking!

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

This comment brings to mind a request I was afraid to make.  If you use an HP or wizard to locate something (ie, the result of that operation is an area), I would so love to be able to feed that into a subsequent recon order. That may not be much harder to implement than the above suggestion, but it would surely make that the most confusing order users have ever seen. But I'll suggest it anyway.. maybe they will consider it for 3rd....

Example of Divine artifact location + teleport brigade
795,  H.P. ABB.,  SHORT NAME, (variableName)
850, groupID, PowerLevel, area OR (variableName)

Example of Locate char/group + recon
855, groupID, PowerLevel,'E' or 'G', id, kingdom, (variableName)
970, agentName, area OR (variableName)


The orders already look like assembly code, why not throw in variables, branching, loops, and other higher level constructs?

You want to be able to both divine a short name and divine the location of that artifact in the same turn? I would not be in favor of anything that makes it easier and quicker to clean up the unusual sightings. 

Rather than use your 970 to re on the same item you just divined, I would rather have a more powerful divination order that both divined the location and scryed it out on the same turn. Perhaps a 5th level spell rather than a 3rd. 

[Cloud]

I heartily endorse the original post and have another related request to throw in:

Currently, if you do not list a name for the 510 order, the checker notes it as an error and does not count the order or count the expense.  Perhaps it could be changed to simply note that a name was not specified and one will be assigned but actually count it as a valid order and deduct the expense as appropriate. 

As it is, I'm able to manage by throwing in a stand-in name for the check and then removing it before submitting, but I confess I have a few ASDFs and QWERs running around.

[unclemike]

I absolutely LOVE the order checker program.  It does amazing and wonderful things for the player.  It makes our order entry much, much quicker than in the past.

I have a request:

When a new emissary is hired please have the program check "in memorium" names as well.  In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.  When hiring any character except a HP it really doesn't matter because the program will assign a random name and place your new character.  But when hiring a HP I usually also enter a 750 order, which uses the first two letters of the new HP name for the order.  When the HP is assigned a different name (because the one I selected previously belonged to a long dead former emissary) this means that the 750 order subsequently fails.  Quite annoying!

Can you please have the order checker program confirm new names do not duplicate names from "in memorium"?

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

Anyhow, this is simply a request not a complaint.  The problem with my orders is due to my error and I acknowledge that.

Try it now...

[Lord Thanatos]

I absolutely LOVE the order checker program.  It does amazing and wonderful things for the player.  It makes our order entry much, much quicker than in the past.

I have a request:

When a new emissary is hired please have the program check "in memorium" names as well.  In the years before using the order checker I routinely verified that any new characters hired did not share a name with previous characters.  Now I have come to rely upon the order checker and do not self-verify new character names.  When hiring any character except a HP it really doesn't matter because the program will assign a random name and place your new character.  But when hiring a HP I usually also enter a 750 order, which uses the first two letters of the new HP name for the order.  When the HP is assigned a different name (because the one I selected previously belonged to a long dead former emissary) this means that the 750 order subsequently fails.  Quite annoying!

Can you please have the order checker program confirm new names do not duplicate names from "in memorium"?

Alternatively, maybe the Alamaze program can be programmed to recognize when a HP is provided an alternate name and confirm that subsequent HP orders use the appropriate first two letters?  [This is probably vastly more difficult.]

Anyhow, this is simply a request not a complaint.  The problem with my orders is due to my error and I acknowledge that.

Try it now...

Thank you Unclemike.  Great job!!!

[Frost Lord]

Uncle Mike is the BOMB! I love it when he sees a problem and can jump on it like that. Thanks UM.

[Lord Alz]

No doubt UM is awesome unless he is controlling a large RD force with blood in its eyes.

[Ry Vor]

No doubt UM is awesome unless he is controlling a large RD force with blood in its eyes.

And then he is ultra-awesome.