Creature Handler Archive
Thread: A request for a Retire Pet option
What it seems to come down to is that we do need a "humane" way to deal with the retiring of our pets. While I understand the objections to keeping a creature as a "taxidermist trophy" in some people's opinions, and I would not want to see it as that way either, the idea still remains that this is worth it to the players.
As for a release animation, it seems like this would simply need to be a script of some already existing functions; the creature turns toward the master and gives it's "greeting" when fed, tricks are already established, and movement is a common and well developed graphic process. A script attached to the release command would not require anything excessive in the way of programming and would be as easy to implement as the movements of the wild creatures that are currently in game, so the "cost" should be pretty minimal in terms of the game's mechanics. The addition to the "texture" of the game, where a group might join a handler to see a valiant pet set free, or a solitary trip into the hinterlands for a private farewell would be well in character for many of us, and worth much more than it might seem to those that do not rely on these companions.
Whether it is to allow our pets to remain in comfortable retirement at our homes and greet and entertain us when we return or to have them say a farewell in their own way and leave to resume their life in the wild, we put much more into the virtual companions we take to us, and we deserve a way to do more than destroy a data device when it is time to let them rest.
Ake'lan
I agree with all of you on making a full grown, under 100 vitality pet a house decoration with their name, and only the original owner can take them, and can only place them in their own house, not an admin access house.This way there is no selling involved and becomes a personalch perk.
And yes, I think only CH's should be able to save their devoted friends.
But, I also agree, on a limitation on how many you can have for decoration at a time. Maybe based on your Maximum stored pets number, 16 for MCH, maybe double how many pets you can call, so 2, till manage 3, then 4 and then 6 at full MCH.
If we had a way to show our pets on display you might get less spam at star ports and city areas.
And this display in not-reversable, only option after this is: Pick-up, move, turn, destroy. Just like house items, and this is why the pet owner must be the house owner, less grievance this way with spamming another persons house or PA.
What's your comments on this?
/sign
I would absolutely love for this idea to be implemented.
I still think architects should be able to make a stable or barn or something, in which we could store creatures. Even as few as 5 would be nice. That way we could put our creature in storage or something but wouldn't be able to use it unless we took it back out of the stable.
I would LOVE to be able to train a pet as a "house pet" and have it just wander around ones home...not in the data pad or counting to our CL but still responding to commands if we were withing 100m of our declared residence. I know the devs will never do this because if you have all these extrapets active at one time it will probably create server lag.... but I can dream can't I?
Styphathal wrote:
I still think architects should be able to make a stable or barn or something, in which we could store creatures. Even as few as 5 would be nice. That way we could put our creature in storage or something but wouldn't be able to use it unless we took it back out of the stable.
I would LOVE to be able to train a pet as a "house pet" and have it just wander around ones home...not in the data pad or counting to our CL but still responding to commands if we were withing 100m of our declared residence. I know the devs will never do this because if you have all these extrapets active at one time it will probably create server lag.... but I can dream can't I?
You can dream.
I'll settle for the ability to transform one of my longtime friends who isn't much use in combat anymore (I'm thinking my wrix and my cu pa) into a piece of furniture in my house. BTW, this can be a permanent conversion as far as I'm concerned; Sparky and Dumbya never get to play anymore, they simply can't stand up to the punishment I'd be asking them to take.
I also advocate the stable/barn/paddock as an architect-crafted addon that allows you to store say 10 to 20critters and transfer them back and forth from your datapad. Here's where you've got your mount nursery, where you have your collectible pets that are cute (kwis, vir vurs, chubas) that you want to show off to friends (particularly the tricks) but have very little utility in your datapad.
I really don't think these two things are too much to ask for, but of course the devs seem to have a different opinion.
I completly agree. Both options sound good. I would prefer to be able to retire my pet to a life at home where I would be able to view him any time I wanted. Let him become an item or a shell like any non tamed bio. This would fit with the way we as C/H view are pets instead of just destroying them and dumping them like refuse.
Please push this along, I think it is a great idea!!!!
Akelan wrote:
While this has no doubt been suggested to death, I would like to see us given at the very least one of two options for dealing with an old favorite pet when it is time.
The first, and more preferable, would be an option to "Retire" the pet; turning it into an item similar to a bio-engineered "deed" for a pet. The creature would no longer be a datapad element, but simply able to be dropped in a building or even a camp, where it could do its "idle" animation, or even perhaps the trick animations suited for the species. The "retired" pet would retain the name it had been trained to at the time it was retired, and not be able to be tamed or used again as a creature pet.
The second, which would at the very least provide a better illusion than the current "destroy" option we are callusly called on to use the way we would drop an unneeded waypoint, would be to provide some type of "release" AI effect for the pet. Allow it to appear or execute the release command while the pet is "called"and the pet might perhaps face it's former CH master, possibly perform its tricks once or twice, roar or whatever greeting the pet makes, and then turn and depart, walking a few steps and then running off.
We know this is not a permanent thing; that we are not likely to run across a pride of kittens following Fluffy at some point later on in our travels, but for those of us that are animal lovers at heart, and who have chosen the creature handler for that reason, give us a little bit of an ability to handle the release of a treasured comrade, as you have described our pets, rather than the choice of destroying a data element. If this is a "roleplaying" game, give us a little room to play the role when it is what we are forced to do by the limits of the game in storing pets. If this is a fantasy, spare us a little of that fantasy when it means something to us.
Make the creature handler, who you describe in glowing terms as devoted to their creatures, a little less cold when it comes to saying goodbye, or offer us the chance to keep those treasured companions in our homes as we move beyond their hunting skills.
Ake'lan
Thank you, I have been trying to get this option fora long time.
Let's hope it goes thru. Either option, the statue would be nice for the loved pets you want to protect and keep as a memento. While the other lets you truly release the pet into the wild.
/sign
/applaud
SioBabble wrote:
Styphathal wrote:
I still think architects should be able to make a stable or barn or something, in which we could store creatures. Even as few as 5 would be nice. That way we could put our creature in storage or something but wouldn't be able to use it unless we took it back out of the stable.
I would LOVE to be able to train a pet as a "house pet" and have it just wander around ones home...not in the data pad or counting to our CL but still responding to commands if we were withing 100m of our declared residence. I know the devs will never do this because if you have all these extrapets active at one time it will probably create server lag.... but I can dream can't I?
I also advocate the stable/barn/paddock as an architect-crafted addon that allows you to store say 10 to 20critters and transfer them back and forth from your datapad. Here's where you've got your mount nursery, where you have your collectible pets that are cute (kwis, vir vurs, chubas) that you want to show off to friends (particularly the tricks) but have very little utility in your datapad.
I really don't think these two things are too much to ask for, but of course the devs seem to have a different opinion.
I've always felt they need to add some way of transferring pets better, and storing them. I still always cap on pets when MCH, so sad.
The idea of retiring a pet though is great!! House would be cool. Iwouldn't be as pushy to ask to redeed a pet so I could sell it though. Devs would never go for that. But the option to just display them (though I do dislike stuffed dead animals..) would be great, preferably alive and animating. So a barn would be great. If they are still looking for ways to suck money out of the game's economy this would work, just charge per pet per day along with a small barn maintence (it is a barn after all, pretty dinky requirements to run.)