Deathsights

Kresslack

I started thinking about how deaths are portrayed and announced to Sapience while browsing the Deathsights thread. Deathsights can be broken into three categories of causes: Adventurer, Denizen, Environment.

Adventurer: X has been slain by the might of Y.

Denizen: A troll has yanked X off a bridge and bashed their head in. (This is just an example, I know all Trolls aren't mindless brutes.)

Environment: X has been slain my misadventure.

Deathsights caused by denizens are generally entertaining and descriptive, while other deaths are really vague and, for me at least, come across as extremely generic and uninteresting. There are some Class based skills(Vivisect, Broken Star, Execute, etc) which give a more detailed and vivid depiction of how the person died, but as far as I've seen, that's about it.

I'd like to suggest adding in new potential Deathsights for Adventurer kills and Enviroment kills, to better give some indication of How they died, without leaving the entirety of the death up vagueness. For example, PvP kills could have various deathsights based on the killer's class:

Knight

Wiping their blades clean, X steps over the fallen corpse of Y.

Monk

In an impressive display of coordination and skill, X has beaten Y into unrecognition.

Dragon

Claws dripping with fresh blood, X has rent Y asunder.


These are just some quickly rendered examples to paint a bit of a picture. Alternatively, deathsights for class skills in particular could be expanded to give a more entertaining and personal touch to each PvP death. One thing I noticed a few months back, during a raid, is that the room message from when someone dies to Sniping has changed, something along the lines of the person getting sniped to death 'falling back with an arrow protruding from their heart'.

Stuff like that is amazing, and adds excitement and personalization to the areas of combat and death. For instance, that death(if it's still the generic Y has been slain by the might of X) could be something along the lines of:

X has felled Y with a well placed arrow to the heart.

This is just a thought I was having, and think it would be interesting to discuss, so if you have any thoughts to add or suggestions, feel free to list them below. Especially if you have any ideas for clever and worthy deathsight messages.

Antidas

I'm very much in favor of more interesting deathsights. Yes please.

Trevize

Love it.

Daslin

Love this idea. @Tecton prz can we haz?

Ramas

I think this would be a cool idea.

Arditi

Perhaps tie it into the specific damage type as well. Kai chokes, garrote, noose could all have a message about strangling the life out of the victim, as an example.

Kresslack

Arditi said:

Perhaps tie it into the specific damage type as well. Kai chokes, garrote, noose could all have a message about strangling the life out of the victim, as an example.

That would be pretty neat, adding a bit of a personal touch to it.

Xith

Add-on: could we actually have a CONFIG DEATHSIGHT BRIEF|FANCY?

That way you have:

Adventurer X has been slain by Adventurer Y

Adventurer X has been slain by Denizen_short_desc

Adventurer X has been slain by misadventure

if you don't want to have to trigger hundreds of neat skillset death variations.

HISTORY DEATHSIGHT would be fancy by default.

Kresslack

Anyone else have suggestions to offer?

Rispok

Kresslack said:

Anyone else have suggestions to offer?

Yes, but they're not forum appropriate, as they involve neck holes and toilet paper.

Krypton

Kresslack said:

X has felled Y with a well placed arrow to the heart.

Kresslack said:

Anyone else have suggestions to offer?

Y used to be alive like you, then X made [him/her] take an arrow in the knee.

Trevize

Y has given X the need for a coffin and an eyepatch, in that order.

Cardan

Custom deathsights for player abilities is reserved for the instakill or near transcendent abilities. If there are some of those abilities that don't have custom deathsights, feel free to suggest them here but I don't believe we would be setting a custom deathsight for every single player ability.

Eld

Cardan said:

Custom deathsights for player abilities is reserved for the instakill or near transcendent abilities. If there are some of those abilities that don't have custom deathsights, feel free to suggest them here but I don't believe we would be setting a custom deathsight for every single player ability.

I think a custom deathsight for every ability is a bit more extreme than @Kresslack was proposing in the OP. A default deathsight for each class or maybe each skillset, leaving the instakill ones as unique, seems less unreasonable.

I would love to see a custom deathsight for deathstrike, but don't have any good ideas off the top of my head.

Nellaundra

^
<Victim>'s heart has exploded from <BM>'s masterful strike.

...on second thought, that's awful.

Chryenth

With two masterful blows [X] has fatally ruptured [Y]'s jugular, killing them instantly.

With perfect precision, [X] has caused [Y]'s circulation to fail catastrophically.

Dead before they hit the ground, [Y] has been slain by [X]'s mastery of Striking.

Actually, that last one could be a general form for all adventurer-related deaths. Small flavor phrase, followed by the x-slain-by-y part then the skillset used. 'Mastery of' could be replaced by 'skill in' for people below (let's say) skill rank nine.

Overcome by vibrations, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s mastery of Crystalism.

Cut down in the name of the Light, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s mastery of Chivalry. (paladin)

Cut down in the name of Evil, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s mastery of Chivalry. (infernal)

Afflicted by the shamanic gift, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s skill in Curses.

Broken and battered, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s skill in Tekura.

Unable to see into the shadows, [X] has been slain by [Y]'s skill in Subterfuge.

Lukan

Separate deathsights for all skills is a lot. But deathsights for different damage types isn't a lot to ask for. Cutting, blunt, magic, etc.

Batang

I would LOVE it if the type of sword/axe was named on the Behead Deathsight.

Sarapis

This sounds fun. I only do very light code work these days myself, but I'll add some more custom deathsights when I need to take a break from other work. 

Sarapis

Eld said:

I would love to see a custom deathsight for deathstrike, but don't have any good ideas off the top of my head.

There already is one actually, but it looks like someone forgot to pass the correct var to the subroutine handling death messages. It'll be in today.

Cahin

I'm of the camp that if you want custom deathsights, you become an apostate.

edit: every apo insta has custom deathsight

Sarapis

Done and in-game. See announce #3841. 

We can add more for individual abilities, but doing it by class of attacker doesn't really work for a variety of reasons.

Eld

They look to be a bit buggy. On Rispok shooting me to death:

    2013/04/21 00:35:15 - 188 has bled out, slain by the might of Lupine Rispok, Indefatigable.

and on me devouring him:
   
    2013/04/21 00:36:24 - 44 has bled out, slain by the might of Grand Master Akechi Eld Fitheach.

Tecton

Yep, that's fixed.

Blujixapug

Sarapis said:

This sounds fun. I only do very light code work these days myself

Eld said:

They look to be a bit buggy.

Tecton said:

Yep, that's fixed.

I like this narrative of events.

Rispok

Devour should be something other than generic cutting death.

Josoul

Can we get these new deathsights for arena kills too? 

X has bled out in the Matsuhama Arena, slain by the might of Y .

X dies in the Theatrum Mortalis, features contorted from the poison delivered by Y.

etc.

instead of the plain old

X has been slain in <arena name> by Y.

Seldin

Cardan said:

Custom deathsights for player abilities is reserved for the instakill or near transcendent abilities. If there are some of those abilities that don't have custom deathsights, feel free to suggest them here but I don't believe we would be setting a custom deathsight for every single player ability.

Custom deathsight for execute and/or snipe plz.

Sylvance

Seldin said:

Cardan said:

Custom deathsights for player abilities is reserved for the instakill or near transcendent abilities. If there are some of those abilities that don't have custom deathsights, feel free to suggest them here but I don't believe we would be setting a custom deathsight for every single player ability.

Custom deathsight for execute and/or snipe plz.

Who ever dies to snipe?

*touches Shield*

Echald

How about a custom one for backbreaker? If there's an 'instakill' in tekura, it would be that.

Xli

Echald said:

How about a custom one for backbreaker? If there's an 'instakill' in tekura, it would be that.

Pah, AXK > BBT.