This patch tightens a number of the server messages, using proper nouns where appropriate, fixing the tense of a few words, and correcting an incorrect homonym ('fowl' -> 'foul').
Is this really a bug?
The 'fell fowl to gravity' was, for example, a purposeful choice by the original game designers. It's not an 'incorrect homonym' but a play on words. Specifically, fowl usually refers to 'game birds,' very frequently relatively flightless ones. So saying someone 'fell fowl to gravity' is saying they tried to fly, and did about as good as throwing a chicken off the Empire State building. It's akin to grammar-checking a Monty Python skit. Professional, perhaps, but less charismatic and playful. :-)
The 'tense changes' are more questionable though, as I believe you are misinterpreting the intended tense of the death messages. They are not meant to read like an obituary column (ABC died from radiation) but more like a sportscaster's play-by-play (Ooh, ABC got too close to the reactor again!) since they are the only textual updates to the game-status that show up on the console in the original game architecture.
I fully agree with the Proper Noun fixes though. :-)
I'm not so sure - I'd agree with Overmind but I don't really regard Medical Station as a proper noun, rather just a station that happens to be medical; a Tesla Generator certainly isn't a machine for producing Austrian scientists. They appear so in menus due to Title Casing.
The apparently inconsistent use of tense does bother me, though, and I'd think that worth fixing.
Comment 4Chris "Lakitu7" Schwarz
2009-02-27 19:20:32 EST
I agree. We should fix the tense inconsistencies (though I don't care what tense they are all made to be), but we shouldn't enforce Title Casing everywhere. Tesla generator is iffy, though. Apparently "Tesla coil" (which our 'generators' clearly appear to be) is usually capitalized, but "tesla" the SI unit not necessarily so.
This patch tightens a number of the server messages, using proper nouns where appropriate, fixing the tense of a few words, and correcting an incorrect homonym ('fowl' -> 'foul').Created attachment 986 [details] Tightened messages. Here's the patch for the tightened messages.