Status

A Status, also called a Status Effect, is a data structure used by Alter Ego. It represents a condition that affects a Player.

Status Effects that are loaded from the spreadsheet are static; once loaded, they do not change in any way. Thus, the GameEntitySaver class will never make changes to the Status Effects sheet. As a result, the Status Effects sheet can be freely edited without edit mode being enabled. Only instantiated Status Effects — Status Effects that are inflicted on a Player — are dynamic.

Attributes

Status Effects have several attributes. However, their behavior is relatively limited. Note that if an attribute is internal, that means it only exists within the Status class. Internal attributes will be given in the “Class attribute” bullet point, preceded by their data type. If an attribute is external, it only exists on the spreadsheet. External attributes will be given in the “Spreadsheet label” bullet point.

ID

Spreadsheet label: Status Effect ID
Class attribute: String this.id

This is the unique ID of the Status Effect. This should be given in all lowercase letters. Punctuation is allowed. This should ideally be an adjective, because messages sent to Players which contain the ID of a Status Effect are written assuming they will be given in the form of an adjective.

Name

Warning

This attribute is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Use this.id instead.

Class attribute: String this.name

This internal attribute is a copy of the Status Effect’s ID. It was how Status Effects were identified prior to Alter Ego version 2.0. This attribute will be removed in the future.

Duration String

Spreadsheet label: Duration
Class attribute: String this.durationString

This is a string which determines how long it will take the Status to expire after it is inflicted. This should consist of a number (i.e. 30, 1.5) with a letter immediately following it, with no space between them. There is a fixed set of predefined units that correspond with each letter. They are as follows:

Letter	Unit
s	seconds
m	minutes
h	hours
d	days
w	weeks
M	months
y	years

So, a Status Effect that should last 30 seconds should have a duration of 30s, one that should last 15 minutes should have a duration of 15m, one that should last 2 hours should have a duration of 2h, one that should last 1.5 days should have a duration of 1.5d, and so on. If no duration is provided, the Status Effect will not expire on its own.

Duration

Class attribute: Duration | null this.duration

This is an internal attribute which contains a Duration object created from the duration string. If the Status has no duration string, this is null.

Remaining

Class attribute: Duration | null this.remaining

This is an internal attribute which contains a Duration object indicating how much time is remaining until the Status Effect expires. This is null for all Status Effects loaded from the spreadsheet. This is only assigned to an instantiated Status Effect that has a duration. If the instantiated Status Effect has no duration, this is null. While the instantiated Status Effect is active, 1000 milliseconds are subtracted from this Duration every second until it is less than or equal to zero, at which point the Status Effect expires. However, the amount subtracted every second can vary. If at least one Player in the game has the “heated” Status Effect, the amount subtracted is multiplied by the HEATED_SLOWDOWN_RATE setting, effectively making the Status Effect take longer to expire.

Fatal

Spreadsheet label: Fatal?
Class attribute: Boolean this.fatal

This is a simple Boolean value indicating whether an instance of this Status Effect will kill the Player when it expires or not. If this is true, then a Player inflicted with this Status Effect will die when the Status Effect expires. If this is false, the Player will simply be cured of the Status Effect. However, Alter Ego will not check if the Status Effect is fatal if it has a next stage.

Visible

Spreadsheet label: Visible?
Class attribute: Boolean this.visible

This is a simple Boolean value indicating whether an instance of this Status Effect will appear if a Player inflicted with it uses the status command. If this is true, then it will appear in the Player’s status. If this is false, then it will not. However, it will still be visible to a moderator who views the Player’s status.

Overriders Strings

Spreadsheet label: Don’t Inflict If Player Is
Class attribute: Array<String> this.overridersStrings

This is a comma-separated list of Status Effect IDs that prevent this Status Effect from being inflicted. If a Player currently has any of the Status Effects listed here, then they cannot be inflicted with this Status Effect under any circumstances. However, it should be noted that overriders do not automatically cure Status Effects that they override when they are inflicted on a Player.

Overriders

Class attribute: Array<Status> this.overriders

This is an internal attribute which contains references to each of the Status Effect objects whose IDs are listed in this.overridersStrings.

Cures Strings

Spreadsheet label: Cures
Class attribute: Array<String> this.curesStrings

This is a comma-separated list of Status Effect IDs that an instance of this Status Effect will cure once it is inflicted on a Player. Among other things, this allows particular Status Effects to be mutually exclusive, allowing for cycles where a Player can only be inflicted with one Status Effect in the cycle at any given time. For that reason, if the Status Effect is being inflicted due to being a previous Status Effect’s next stage or cured condition, it will not cure any Status Effects on this list.

Cures

Class attribute: Array<Status> this.cures

This is an internal attribute which contains references to each of the Status Effect objects whose IDs are listed in this.curesStrings.

Next Stage ID

Spreadsheet label: Develops Into
Class attribute: String this.nextStageId

This is the ID of a single Status Effect that an instance of this Status Effect will develop into when it expires. When it expires, it will be cured, and the next stage will be inflicted on the Player. If the Player cannot be inflicted with the Status Effect’s next stage because they are inflicted with any of the next stage’s overriders, they will be sent the Status Effect’s cured description. Otherwise, they will be sent the next stage’s inflicted description.

It is not possible for a Status Effect to have more than one next stage.

Next Stage

Class attribute: Status | null this.nextStage

This is an internal attribute which contains a reference to the Status Effect object whose ID is given in this.nextStageId. If the Status Effect has no next stage, this is null.

Duplicated Status ID

Spreadsheet label: When Duplicated
Class attribute: String this.duplicatedStatusId

This is the ID of a single Status Effect that an instance of this Status Effect will develop into if it is inflicted on a Player who already has an instance of this Status Effect. If the Status Effect is duplicated, the Player will be cured of it without being sent its cured description, and they will be inflicted with the duplicated Status. However, the Status Effect cannot be duplicated if the Player is inflicted with one of its overriders.

It is not possible for a Status Effect to have more than one duplicated Status.

Duplicated Status

Class attribute: Status | null this.duplicatedStatus

This is an internal attribute which contains a reference to the Status Effect object whose ID is given in this.duplicatedStatusId. If the Status Effect has no duplicated Status, this is null.

Cured Condition ID

Spreadsheet label: When Cured
Class attribute: String this.curedConditionId

This is the ID of a single Status Effect that an instance of this Status Effect will develop into if it is cured. When it is cured, the cured condition will be inflicted on the Player. However, it will not be inflicted if the Status Effect is cured by being duplicated, by being one of a recently inflicted Status Effect’s cures, or by developing into its next stage. The cured condition will only be inflicted if the Status Effect is cured by expiring with no next stage, or if it is cured by some external phenomenon (such as a moderator command or the Player using an Inventory Item) before it normally expires. When the cured condition is inflicted, the Player will not receive its inflicted description; they will be sent the cured Status Effect’s cured description.

It is not possible for a Status Effect to have more than one cured condition.

Cured Condition

Class attribute: Status | null this.curedCondition

This is an internal attribute which contains a reference to the Status Effect object whose ID is given in this.curedConditionId. If the Status Effect has no cured condition, this is null.

Stat Modifiers

Spreadsheet label: Stat Modifiers
Class attribute: Array<object> this.statModifiers

This is a comma-separated list of stat modifier objects that an instance of this Status Effect will apply to a Player inflicted with it. Stat modifier objects have the following structure:

interface StatModifier {
    /** Whether the stat modifier modifies the player's own stat. */
    modifiesSelf: boolean;
    /** The stat to modify. */
    stat: string;
    /** Whether it assigns the value or adds to it. */
    assignValue: boolean;
    /** The value to assign or add. */
    value: number;
}

In order to define a stat modifier, the name or abbreviation of the stat to modify must be listed. This must be strength, perception, dexterity, speed, or stamina; or their abbreviations, str, per, dex, spd, or sta. It must then be followed by an operator: +, -, or =. Next must be an integer value from 1 to 10. Finally, if the stat is meant to modify the attacker’s stat in a Die roll where a Player inflicted with this Status Effect is the defender, prefix the modifier with @.

Valid examples of stat modifiers for a single Status Effect are:

per-1. This decreases the Player’s perception stat by 1.
str-2, dex-2, spd-2, sta-2. This decreases the Player’s strength, dexterity, speed, and stamina stats by 2.
spd+4. This increases the Player’s speed stat by 4.
str+9, per+9, dex+9, spd+9, sta+9. This increases all of the Player’s stats by 9.
spd=1, sta=1. This sets the Player’s speed and stamina stats to 1.
@str=0, dex+9. This increases the Player’s dexterity stat by 9 and temporarily sets the attacking Player’s strength stat to 0 when this Player is the defender. Effectively, this makes the defending Player immune to attacks.

Note that regardless of the values of stat modifiers, a Player’s stat cannot be less than 1 or greater than 10. It will be clamped between these values if the modifiers would exceed these values. The only exception is when a stat modifier assigns a value with the = operator. In this case, the clamp function is bypassed, and the Player’s stat can be set to any integer value outside of that range.

Stat modifiers are stackable. If a Player has multiple Status Effects that modify the same stat, the modifiers will be added together before being applied to the stat. However, stat modifiers which assign a value to a given stat will overrule all other modifiers to that stat. So, even if a Player has one Status Effect with a stat modifier of sta+9, if they have a Status Effect with a stat modifier of sta=1, their stamina stat will be set to 1.

Behavior Attributes

Spreadsheet label: Behavior Attributes
Class attribute: Set<String> this.behaviorAttributes

This is a comma-separated list of keywords that give the Status Effect predefined behavior when it is inflicted on a Player. Through the combination of different behavior attributes, the Status Effect can transform gameplay for the inflicted Player in drastic ways.

While it is possible to add behavior attributes to a Status Effect that do not have predefined behavior, these will not have any effect. It can still be useful to do so, as it provides a way to store information about a Player in one of their Status Effects, which can be accessed with the hasBehaviorAttribute Player method. For example, if a Status Effect has the behavior attribute computer expert — which has no predefined behavior, it is possible to write descriptions which can show additional information to any Players who have a Status Effect with that behavior attribute.

However, the most useful behavior attributes are those with predefined behavior. Here, each predefined behavior attribute will be listed, and their behavior will be detailed. Note that behavior attributes are case-sensitive. Bracket characters ([]) should not be included when assigning behavior attributes to a Status.

`disable all`

Disables all commands.

`disable [command]`

Disables the given command.

`enable [command]`

Enables the given command when the Player has a Status Effect with the disable all attribute.

`enable say`

Enables the say command, which is disabled by default.

`no channel`

Removes the Player from the channel of the Room they’re in.
When the Player moves to a different Room, they will not be added to the Room’s channel.
If the Player is added to a Whisper as a result of hiding, they will not be given permission to read the Whisper channel, unless the only Status Effect they have with this attribute is the “hidden” Status Effect.

`hear room`

All dialog from other Players in the Room will be sent to the Player via DM.

`acute hearing`

All dialog from other Players in adjacent Rooms will be sent to the Player via DM.
All Whisper messages from other Players in the same Room will be sent to the Player via DM.

`knows [Player name]`

When the known Player speaks and their display name differs from their name, the Player will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity. Example: [Player display name], with [Player voice string] you recognize as [Player name]'s, says "[Message]".
When the Player has the no sight and hear room behavior attributes, they will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity when they speak. Example: [Player name] says "[Message]".
If the Player is in a Whisper and doesn’t have permission to read the Whisper channel, they will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity when they speak in the Whisper. Example: [Player name] whispers "[Message]".
When the known Player’s voice can be heard from an adjacent Room, the Player will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity. Example: [Player name] shouts "[Message]" in a nearby room.
When the known Player has the sender behavior attribute and someone in the same Room as the Player has the receiver attribute, the Player will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity when they speak. Example: [sender Player name] says "[Message]" through [receiver Player display name]'s [receiver Item name].
When the Player is in a Room with the audio monitoring tag and the known Player speaks in a Room with the audio surveilled tag, the Player will receive a DM revealing the known Player’s identity. Example: [Room display name] [Player name] says "[Message]".
Note: The Player name is case-sensitive. It must match the Player’s name exactly as it appears on the spreadsheet.

`no hearing`

The Player cannot be Whispered to. They will be removed from any Whispers that they are a part of.
If the Player is added to a Whisper as a result of hiding, they will not be given permission to read the Whisper channel.
If the Player is in a Whisper as a result of hiding, they will not receive any notifications about dialog sent in that Whisper.
The Player cannot hear shouted dialog from adjacent Rooms.
The Player will not be notified when someone in an adjacent Room performs a Knock Action. Instead of being narrated in the destination Room channel, knocking it will be sent to all hearing Players in the Room via DM.
The Player will not hear dialog coming from a Player with the receiver behavior attribute.
If the Player is in a Room with the audio monitoring tag, they will not hear dialog coming from a Room with the audio surveilled tag.

`sender`

All of the Player’s dialog (except Whispers) will be narrated in the Room of the Player with the receiver attribute, if there is one that isn’t also the sender Player, regardless of the respective Players’ locations.
The Player will attempt to solve any voice-type Puzzles in the Room that the receiver Player is in.

`receiver`

Non-Whispered dialog spoken by the Player with the sender attribute will be narrated in the Room of the receiver Player, regardless of the respective Players’ locations. Example: [sender Player voice string] coming from [receiver Player display name]'s [receiver Item name] says "[Message]".

`send text`

The Player can use the text command to send text messages to another Player, as long as the command isn’t disabled.
The recipient must have the receive text behavior attribute, unless the text is being sent with the text Moderator command.

`receive text`

The Player can selected by another Player with the send text behavior attribute as a recipient for a text message.

`no speech`

Any message the Player sends to a Room or Whisper channel will be deleted.

`see room`

All Narrations (including those from moderators and Alter Ego) that are sent to the Room the Player is in will be sent to the Player via DM, unless the Player has the no sight behavior attribute or the hidden behavior attribute.
If the Player has the hidden attribute, all Narrations (including those from moderators and Alter Ego) that are sent to the Whisper they’re in (if applicable) will be sent to the Player via DM, unless the Player has the no sight behavior attribute.

`no sight`

The Player will not receive the Room description when they enter a Room. Instead, they will be sent Fumbling against the wall, you make your way to the next room over.
The see room behavior attribute is overridden; the Player will not be sent Narrations via DM.
The Player will not be told who is hiding in a Fixture if they inspect it or attempt to hide in it. Instead, the Hiding Spot’s occupants will be listed as [quantity] people or someone.
If the Player is found in a Hiding Spot, they will not be told who found them. Instead, the Player who found them will be described as someone.
If the Player has the hear room behavior attribute, the dialog they receive via DM will not have the speaking Player’s identity attached. Example: Someone in the room with [speaker voice string] says "[Message]".
If the Player has the acute hearing behavior attribute, any dialog they receive via DM will not have the speaking Player’s identity attached. Example: Someone in a nearby room with [speaker voice string] says "[Message]".
If the Player is in a Whisper and doesn’t have permission to read the Whisper channel, they will receive dialog sent in that Whisper via DM. However, the dialog they receive will not have the speaking Player’s identity attached. Example: Someone with [speaker voice string] whispers "[Message]".

`unconscious`

Alter Ego will narrate [Player display name] goes unconscious. in the Room the Player is in when this behavior attribute is inflicted.
- If the Status Effect which inflicts this behavior attribute onto the Player is named “asleep”, Alter Ego will instead narrate [Player display name] falls asleep.
- If the Status Effect which inflicts this behavior attribute onto the Player is named “blacked out”, Alter Ego will instead narrate [Player display name] blacks out.
Alter Ego will narrate [Player display name] regains consciousness. in the Room the Player is in when this behavior attribute is cured. They will also be sent the description of the Room they wake up in.
- If the Status Effect which inflicted this behavior attribute onto the Player is named “asleep” or “blacked out”, Alter Ego will instead narrate [Player display name] wakes up.
The Player will receive no notifications except those about Status Effects.
The Player will not receive dialog via DM, regardless of any other behavior attributes they may have.
The Player cannot be Whispered to. They will be removed from any Whispers that they are a part of.
Attempts to steal an Inventory Item from this Player will always succeed.
The Player will appear in the list of sleeping Players when another Player enters the Room they’re in.
The Player will not receive notifications about edit mode being enabled or disabled.

`hidden`

Alter Ego will narrate [Player display name] hides in the [Player hiding spot]. in the Room the Player is in when this behavior attribute is inflicted.
Alter Ego will narrate [Player display name] comes out of the [Player hiding spot]. in the Room the Player is in when this behavior attribute is cured.
The Player cannot be Whispered to. They will be removed from any Whispers that they are a part of.
If the Status Effect is inflicted by a Hide Action, a Whisper will automatically be created with all Players hiding in the same Fixture.
If the Player whispers and someone in the Room has the acute hearing behavior attribute, the whispered dialog that will be sent via DM will not have the Player’s identity attached. Example: You overhear someone in the room with [Player voice string] whisper "[Message]".
Narrations about the Player’s actions will not be sent to the channel of the Room they’re in, unless the action is coming out of hiding.
If the Player is in a Whisper, Narrations about their actions will be sent to the Whisper channel.
The Player will not appear in the list of occupants when another Player enters the Room they’re in.
The Player will not appear in the occupants string of the Room they’re in.
The Player cannot be inspected, except by another Player hiding in the same Fixture as them.
The Player cannot be given to or stolen from, except by another Player hiding in the same Fixture as them.
The Player cannot be the target for a Gesture, except by another Player hiding in the same Fixture as them.
The Player can only use the dress command to dress from the Fixture they’re hiding in, from its child Puzzle, or from Room Items contained within it.
The Player can only drop Inventory Items into the Fixture they’re hiding in, into its child Puzzle, or into Room Items contained within it.
The Player can only perform Gestures with no target, or Gestures that target the Fixture they’re hiding in, Room Items contained within it, Players hiding in the same Fixture they’re hiding in, and their own Inventory Items.
The Player can only give Inventory Items to Players hiding in the same Fixture as them.
The Player can only inspect the Room, the Fixture they’re hiding in, Room Items contained within it, their own Inventory Items, Players hiding in the same Fixture they’re hiding in, and their Inventory Items.
When the Player uses the say command, their display name appear as Someone in the room with [Player voice string]. However, their display name will not actually be changed.
When the Player uses the say command, their display icon will appear as the HIDDEN_ICON_URL defined in Alter Ego’s settings. However, their display icon will not actually be changed.
The Player can only steal Inventory Items from Players hiding in the same Fixture as them.
The Player can only take Room Items from the Fixture they’re hiding in, from its child Puzzle, or from Room Items contained within it.
The Player can only undress into the Fixture they’re hiding in, into its child Puzzle, or into Room Items contained within it.
The Player can only activate/deactivate the Fixture they’re hiding in.
The Player can only attempt the child Puzzle of the Fixture they’re hiding in.

`concealed`

When this behavior attribute is inflicted:
- The Player’s display name will be changed. If an equipped Inventory Item inflicted this behavior attribute, then it will be changed to an individual wearing [Inventory Item single containing phrase]. If the behavior attribute was inflicted some other way, it will be changed to an individual wearing a MASK.
- The Player’s display icon will be changed to the DEFAULT_CONCEALED_ICON_URL defined in Alter Ego’s settings.
- The Player’s pronouns will be changed to neutral.
When this behavior attribute is cured:
- The Player’s display name will be reset.
- The Player’s display icon will be reset.
- The Player’s pronouns will be reset.
- Alter Ego will narrate The [Inventory Item name] comes off, revealing the individual to be [Player name]. in the Room the Player is in, if an unequipped Inventory Item cured this behavior attribute. If the behavior attribute was cured some other way, “MASK” will be used in place of [Inventory Item name].
The Player cannot be Whispered to. They will be removed from any Whispers that they are a part of.

`all or nothing`

All Die rolls when the Player is the attacker will be the minimum or maximum possible for the Die before modifiers are applied. For example, if the minimum is 1 and the maximum is 20, all of the Player’s rolls will be 1 or 20 before modifiers.

`coin flipper`

All Die rolls when the Player is the attacker will have a 50% chance of having a modifier of +1 applied if the Player has an Inventory Item with “COIN” in its name.

`no stamina decrease`

The Player will not consume stamina when moving.

`thief`

The Player will always succeed without getting caught when stealing an Inventory Item from another Player. However, they will still get caught if the Inventory Item is non-discreet.

Attributes

Warning

This attribute is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Use this.behaviorAttributes instead.

Class attribute: Array<String> this.attributes

This internal attribute is a copy of the Status Effect’s behavior attributes, expressed as an array. It was how behavior attributes were defined prior to Alter Ego version 2.0. This attribute will be removed in the future.

Effect

Spreadsheet label: Effect

This is an external attribute that is never loaded by Alter Ego. This should be a description of the Status Effect, explaining entirely how it works and what it does to a Player inflicted with it. However, it can be left blank.

Inflicted Description

Spreadsheet label: Description When Inflicted
Class attribute: Description this.inflictedDescription

When a Player is inflicted with this Status Effect, they will receive a parsed version of this string. See the article on writing descriptions for more information.

Unless it is manually specified, this Description will be sent using the STANDARD message display type.

Cured Description

Spreadsheet label: Description When Cured
Class attribute: Description this.curedDescription

When a Player is cured of this Status Effect, they will receive a parsed version of this string.

Unless it is manually specified, this Description will be sent using the STANDARD message display type.

Row

Class attribute: Number this.row

This is an internal attribute, but it can also be found on the spreadsheet. This is the row number of the Status Effect.

Timer

Class attribute: Timer | null this.timer

This is an internal attribute which contains a timer counting down until the Status Effect expires. This is null for all Status Effects loaded from the spreadsheet. This is only assigned to an instantiated Status Effect that has a duration. If the instantiated Status Effect has no duration, this is null. While the instantiated Status Effect is active, every 1000 milliseconds, 1 second is subtracted from the Status Effect’s remaining Duration until it reaches 0. When it does, the timer is stopped, and the Status Effect is cured.

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