cmd594
10-26-2015, 11:59 AM
Not a big deal, but something I noticed while idly fighting in Unrest, and compared my text to the target, "a death beetle."
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] Auto attack is on.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] You pierce a death beetle for 1 point of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] A death beetle bashes YOU for 2 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] Jonn tells you, 'Attacking a death beetle Master.'
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] A death beetle bites YOU for 2 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:11 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:12 2015] Your target is too far away, get closer!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:13 2015] Your target is too far away, get closer!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:14 2015] You begin casting Languid Pace.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:14 2015] You can't use that command right now...
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] A death beetle slows down.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] Auto attack is off.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:17 2015] A death beetle tries to bite YOU, but misses!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:21 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:22 2015] You begin casting Choke.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:24 2015] a death beetle was hit by non-melee for 20 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:24 2015] A death beetle begins to choke.
So basically, this name discrepancy only happens when the mob's name is at the beginning of a line of text. I noticed that the (lower-case) mob name would be capitalized when it attacked me or when I would see a spell emote land, but it would report the lower-case name in a non-melee or dot damage report.
While I knew this wasn't "classic," I had difficulty proving it, but managed to find at least one nostalgic screenshot on the web. http://home.comcast.net/~orbo/ghouls.jpg from this website here: http://home.comcast.net/~orbo/eqbook.htm
Further research showed me that the uppercase/lowercase problem was inconsistent across zones and mobs.
Screenshots of consistent lowercase-name reporting:
1) http://www.gamespot.com/images/1300-307549
2) http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/everquest-the-ruins-of-kunark/screenshots/gameShotId,353325/
Evidence of inconsistent lowercase/upppercase name reporting:
1) http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/everquest-the-ruins-of-kunark/screenshots/gameShotId,353324/
2) Someone's random log on the Daybreak forum https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/test-update-04-15-15.219585/:
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:51 2015] You begin casting Retribution.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] a thorn drakeling screeches shrilly as it swoops in to attack.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] Ceeddoe hit a thorn drakeling for 214419 points of non-melee damage.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] a thorn drakeling's corpse falls to the ground with a pathetic screech
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] A thorn drakeling has been struck by the wrath of the gods.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] You have slain a thorn drakeling!
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] Ceeddoe delivers a critical blast! (214419)
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] You deliver a critical blast! (214419)
Further review of my logs proves that all the p1999 mobs I've killed have reported as lowercase in the target window and capitalized in the instances mentioned above (hitting me or when my spells landed). As a caster, I have my pets' and group members' melee text filtered out to declutter my chat windows, so I have no data to provide there, but I think it would report the same way.
Summary: While it would be better for consistency if all mobs were reported in text as they appear in the targeting window, it seems even the original game struggled with keeping the names straight. The coding might be more trouble than it's worth. It shouldn't cause confusion unless a player happened to be fighting multiple mobs that included some identical mobs with capital letters (named mobs, maybe?) and no instances of this immediately come to mind.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] Auto attack is on.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] You pierce a death beetle for 1 point of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] A death beetle bashes YOU for 2 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] Jonn tells you, 'Attacking a death beetle Master.'
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:10 2015] A death beetle bites YOU for 2 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:11 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:12 2015] Your target is too far away, get closer!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:13 2015] Your target is too far away, get closer!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:14 2015] You begin casting Languid Pace.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:14 2015] You can't use that command right now...
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] A death beetle slows down.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:16 2015] Auto attack is off.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:17 2015] A death beetle tries to bite YOU, but misses!
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:21 2015] Taunting attacker, Master.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:22 2015] You begin casting Choke.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:24 2015] a death beetle was hit by non-melee for 20 points of damage.
[Mon Oct 26 08:37:24 2015] A death beetle begins to choke.
So basically, this name discrepancy only happens when the mob's name is at the beginning of a line of text. I noticed that the (lower-case) mob name would be capitalized when it attacked me or when I would see a spell emote land, but it would report the lower-case name in a non-melee or dot damage report.
While I knew this wasn't "classic," I had difficulty proving it, but managed to find at least one nostalgic screenshot on the web. http://home.comcast.net/~orbo/ghouls.jpg from this website here: http://home.comcast.net/~orbo/eqbook.htm
Further research showed me that the uppercase/lowercase problem was inconsistent across zones and mobs.
Screenshots of consistent lowercase-name reporting:
1) http://www.gamespot.com/images/1300-307549
2) http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/everquest-the-ruins-of-kunark/screenshots/gameShotId,353325/
Evidence of inconsistent lowercase/upppercase name reporting:
1) http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/everquest-the-ruins-of-kunark/screenshots/gameShotId,353324/
2) Someone's random log on the Daybreak forum https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/test-update-04-15-15.219585/:
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:51 2015] You begin casting Retribution.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] a thorn drakeling screeches shrilly as it swoops in to attack.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] Ceeddoe hit a thorn drakeling for 214419 points of non-melee damage.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] a thorn drakeling's corpse falls to the ground with a pathetic screech
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] A thorn drakeling has been struck by the wrath of the gods.
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] You have slain a thorn drakeling!
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] Ceeddoe delivers a critical blast! (214419)
[Wed Apr 15 20:37:55 2015] You deliver a critical blast! (214419)
Further review of my logs proves that all the p1999 mobs I've killed have reported as lowercase in the target window and capitalized in the instances mentioned above (hitting me or when my spells landed). As a caster, I have my pets' and group members' melee text filtered out to declutter my chat windows, so I have no data to provide there, but I think it would report the same way.
Summary: While it would be better for consistency if all mobs were reported in text as they appear in the targeting window, it seems even the original game struggled with keeping the names straight. The coding might be more trouble than it's worth. It shouldn't cause confusion unless a player happened to be fighting multiple mobs that included some identical mobs with capital letters (named mobs, maybe?) and no instances of this immediately come to mind.