console command: altitude

[Arimus 81]

It would be extremely useful if there was a console command that when issued gave the height in dirts above water level for the lowest corner of the current tile on which the player is standing (only works when standing on a tile, not when on a tile border or mounted.)

 

Something like this would save much frustration when planning mine openings and large scale terraforming projects. 

 

 

[CreZ 284]

Or you can just find the water level by digging to max depth below sea level and then count slopes. That way one has to have some skill and intelligence in order to pull off a large scale project without making mistakes. If you don't then you "suffer" the consequences of having to fix it later and learn to be more careful the next time and possibly creating a good reason to make friends or business acquaintances with a mag priest or trader owner.

 

I mean sure it would make life easier, but do we *really* need to make everything easy?

[Arimus 81]

Yes we should add convenience where it makes sense. It doesn't take skill or intelligence to count slopes, but it is certainly tedious especially over long spans and in scenarios involving mines and openings on mountains. This is a convenience feature like firepillar. You don't "need" firepillar. You can count tiles to find your position but many people prefer to be sure.

 

[Finnn 3,303]

Use dioptra.. it was possible to plant the range-pole.. and use the dioptra.. on your own.. but maybe that changed... I gave up tracking this

There might be other ways... but (besides logging and alt or bugging a friend to carry the range-pole.. just to check the steps above water level)

Double check the ppl @ca-help, some of them are more familiar with the options, some have no clue this is possible 😕 now you have a quest to find the right person/s there.

[Arimus 81]

Thanks Finn. That's a good suggestion for when you have an open view between two characters. I play two accounts and have used the dioptra and range pole to build lots of bridges in my mine (one for each floor of my house.  But there is a check made where the two players have to be able to see each other. This can be very limiting.

[CreZ 284]

40 minutes ago, Arimus said:

Yes we should add convenience where it makes sense. It doesn't take skill or intelligence to count slopes, but it is certainly tedious especially over long spans and in scenarios involving mines and openings on mountains.

 

Who needs all that tedious thinking, planning, and keeping track of things. We have computers to do all that mundane stuff. In fact, let's just integrate deed planner so you can plan things with no risk then import a blue print and link it to the crafting window. This way you can just keep clicking continue and adding materials until everything is perfect.

 

I mean we could say that being an accountant, a surveyor or an architect doesn't take skill or intelligence either. For that matter a computer programmer, car mechanic, or medical doctor. Its all just tedious procedure following. 

 

Anyway, I won't keep raining on your parade here. Sorry to have intruded. Best of luck with the suggestion. It "dumbs" things down enough that you'll probably have a pretty good chance at getting it implemented to make large projects more accessible to a larger and  less committed player base.

[Arimus 81]

Crez, I'm saying having to jot down all the slopes between two target points that are many tiles away is tedious.  If you feel that jotting those numbers down and adding them requires skill and intelligence then that is fine. I would choose to disagree. I would argue that it is trivial in intelligence and skill but time consuming. 

 

Knowing the altitude of certain points doesn't relieve the player of having to plan out all of the slopes and directions. It does however relieve them of mistakenly missing a number when adding them up. In my mine I sometimes have to calculate altitude 30 or more tiles from my flattened area to where I'm planning an exit. In between is an area in which the slopes vary, sometimes going up and sometimes down and often differing on each side of the tile. I have to write down the slope of each tile on the particular path I take till I reach my destination. Then I add them up. That is tedious to me. It adds nothing to the game.  

 

You say 'Who needs all that tedious, planning, and keeping track of things.'   

• Thinking: observing, recording, and tallying slopes requires a modicum of thinking, but at the basest level. It might require some thinking for an elementary student (maybe). 
• Planning:  possibly planning your trek from point A to point B. This is intuitive in most humans. I don't think this qualifies as planning.
• Keeping track of things: I agree. Determining altitude requires keeping track of things.

 

Your statement about the various professions is irrelevant to the suggestion. But since you mentioned it, I'm sure if we asked experienced members of those groups that they would say that some aspects of their work is tedious. But for you to say it is '..just all tedious procedure following' for obviously high skilled workers is simply condescending sarcasm.

 

And your 'Sorry to have intruded/best of luck' comment feels disingenuous to me. Your comments are really just aimed to ridicule, but you are a nice enough person that you don't want me to take it personally. You could have made your point without the condescension and exaggeration, but like many of the other frequent forum contributors you've chosen an easier path (perhaps one that requires less skill and thinking?  

 

It's understandable that many players are wary about changes that could potentially make the game "too" simple or easy. I tend to fall into that camp myself. I hope that Wurm never becomes as easy as Minecraft or some of the popular survivor games. But that doesn't mean that everything has to be a pain in the neck either.

[CreZ 284]

I do actually mean it though. I felt the entire tone of my comment had become far too dismissive and I respect your right to make a suggestion without being "ridiculed" as you say. I do think that one should have to put in effort and attention (which I think we actually agree is the main "skill" involved here and seemingly in most professions as well) to do a large scale task and do it well. That doesn't mean that my opinion on the subject should block you from being able to express yours or make others feel they can't chime in to support it without earning a negative reaction. I'd said my piece for the record and did (and do) wish you well, hoping to not detract from your post.

 

Since I'm already responding again though... You say it doesn't take skill or intelligence to count slopes, but if thats the case then why do people get it wrong? You have to work out a functional method for doing it, often overcome obstacles in the terrain such as caves or dips and dives, and be able to apply it accurately  in order to get the finished product you wanted. I say that takes a certain amount of intelligence to get it right and becomes something of a skill in itself. In fact I would go so far as to say that good terraforming is a skillset (even though it was already "dumbed down" with the level command). If it is a purely elementary matter other than being tedious then what causes the issues with projects,?

[nekoexmachina 172]

19 minutes ago, CreZ said:

You say it doesn't take skill or intelligence to count slopes, but if thats the case then why do people get it wrong?

Being able to pay attention to a boring and big task is indeed a skill, just not one which I for instance would be happy to exercise in a video game. If you want to, you can still count the slopes by hand, even after a command like that is added. But people who don't find it nor fun neither challenging would have a way around the boring part.

[Ohana 907]

I suggested a upgrade to mole sense here.