On the fly adjectives [low priority] [player experience]

[Blecki]

Some object properties could supply adjectives that can be used to describe an object in a command. For example, in a room with two doors, one of which is closed and one of which is open, you might examine the closed door with the command 'x closed door'.

If you were to close the other door, than 'x closed door' would become ambiguous.

[ghost]

If I'm understanding this correctly, you mean to discern between doors for specific actions? If we're only allowing four entrances per room (n, e, s, w, I assume), could we just use the direction of the door to disambiguate? So, if the east door is locked, and the north door is open, and someone closed it, have it appear as "x closed door n" or "x closed north door."

[Blecki]

When I suggested limiting rooms to four exits in the area design guidelines, I did not mean limiting them to the 4 primary cardinals. I meant limiting each room to 4 links, which could be any of the 12 cardinals already defined. It would also be a soft guideline, so you could have a fifth link if it was better that way.

I've realized that the engine already supports this for the example I gave. It unfortunately does not for the example you gave - simply because the door is on both sides of the link, so from one side it is the east door and from the other, the west door. It will take a bit more work to make it work for directions, but it would be a nice feature to have.

Also it would be for more than doors - and more than the open/closed state. A better example might be a paintbrush. Consider this.

Studio
You are in a messy studio, etc etc.
Also here: A blank canvas, a blue canvas, a can of red paint, a paint brush

>x red canvas
You can't see any such thing.

>Get brush
Taken.

>paint canvas red
You splatter paint onto the canvas.

>x red canvas
This is a stretched canvas of mediocre quality, with a big blotch of red paint in the middle.