Familiarity
People you know well take a moment to place. Strangers take a proper look. Familiarity is the script's way of saying that.
How it works
Every time you successfully recognize the same person, your character gets a little more familiar with them:
| Level | After | Re-learning them runs at |
|---|---|---|
| Stranger | – | ×1.0 |
| Acquaintance | 3 recognitions | ×1.25 |
| Familiar | 7 recognitions | ×1.5 |
| Close | 15 recognitions | ×2.0 |
Familiarity speeds up re-learning. While you still remember somebody, you recognize them in 2–3 seconds anyway — familiarity does not change that, not by a single tick. It matters when a memory has run out and you have to take them in from scratch again: a close friend whose memory expired is re-learned in 45 seconds instead of 90 (plus the first two seconds, which are the same for everybody).
The rules that keep it honest
It only makes re-learning faster, never stronger. A close friend at 40 % is still 40 %. Familiarity buys you time, not certainty.
Only one recognition per person counts every 6 hours. You cannot farm it by scanning the same friend in a loop.
It does nothing while their face is hidden. The speed-up needs the face at least 60 % visible. A bandana or a mask switches it off completely, so a disguised friend is always scanned at stranger speed — otherwise the speed alone would tell you who is under the mask. Sunglasses do not switch it off. A voice changer does not switch it off either: a changed voice hides nothing about the face you are looking at.
It survives the memory. Your two-hour memory of somebody can run out while your familiarity with them stays. Meet them again and re-learning them is still quick — which is exactly how half-remembering a face feels.
It is one-directional. You being familiar with somebody says nothing about how familiar they are with you.
What players see
Only one thing: from the Familiar level (7 recognitions), the memory line on the HUD reads "I know him well" (or her / them) instead of where you first met. A name the person introduced themselves with still shows under it.
It never shows on a masked person you scan — that is a separate memory, see Disguises.
There is no familiarity meter, no level-up message and no list of people you know. Players only notice, over time, that some people are quicker to place than others.
What staff see
The Admin Panel pair page shows, for both directions, the
familiarity level as a row of dots with its name, the number of successful
recognitions, and the re-learning speed (for example ×1.50). Admins with the
edit permission get a Reset familiarity button there.
When it is erased
| Event | Effect |
|---|---|
| You die and respawn instead of being revived | You lose your familiarity with everyone within 25 m who watched you go down — see New Life Rule |
| A Face Implant | Everyone's familiarity with the patient is gone |
| An admin resets it | That one pair, logged with a reason |
Settings
| Key | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Config.Familiarity.Levels | 3 / 7 / 15 recognitions → ×1.25 / ×1.5 / ×2.0 | The ladder: recognitions needed and re-learning speed |
Config.Familiarity.CountCooldownHours | 6 | Only one recognition per pair counts in this many hours |
Config.Familiarity.RequireFaceCapPct | 60 | The speed-up only works while the face is at least this % visible |
Config.Familiarity.KnownWellLevel | 'familiar' | From this level the line reads "I know him well". false = never |
Config.Death.EraseFamiliarity | true | The New Life Rule also erases familiarity |
Full details: Memory & Familiarity.