The VDL language includes a set of adjectives to adjust certain characteristics of the effect description, such as the size of a shell’s break or the number of stars in the break. Here is the list of adjectives and their meaning.
| Meaning | Small adjustment | Medium adjustment | Large adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expand the size of the shell break or mine spread | Slightly big | Big | Very big |
| Reduce the size of the shell break or mine spread | Slightly small | Small | Very small |
| Brighten the stars and their trails of sparks | Slightly bright | Bright | Very bright |
| Darken the stars and their trails of sparks | Slightly dim | Dim | Very dim |
| Brighten the trails of sparks | Slightly bright trail | Bright trail | Very bright trail |
| Darken the trails of sparks | Slightly dim trail | Dim trail | Very dim trail |
| Brighten the stars | Slightly bright tip | Bright tip | Very bright tip |
| Darken the stars | Slightly dim tip | Dim tip | Very dim tip |
| Increase the number of stars | Slightly dense | Dense | Very dense |
| Reduce the number of stars | Slightly sparse | Sparse | Very sparse |
| Thicken the trail of sparks from the stars | Slightly thick | Thick | Very thick |
| Thin out the trail of sparks from the stars | Slightly thin | Thin | Very thin |
| Lengthen trail spark duration | Slightly long trail | Long trail (“trail” not “tail”) | Very long trail |
| Shorten trail spark duration | Slightly short trail | Short trail | Very short trail |
| Lengthen star duration | Slightly long | Long | Very long |
| Shorten star duration | Slightly short | Short | Very short |
| Make gerb/fountain sparks last longer | Slightly droopy | Droopy | Very droopy |
| Make shell break pattern more ragged | Slightly ragged | Ragged | Very ragged |
| Make shell break pattern more uniform | Slightly uniform | Uniform | Very uniform |
Even more pronounced alterations are possible by repeating adjustment adjectives in a VDL effect description. For example, to very significantly reduce the number of stars in a mine you would type, “Very Big Very Big”. In this way, each repetition of the VDL large adjustment adjective will further compound the changes to the effect.
In a VDL effect description, the position of the adjectives determines what part of the description they apply to. For example, if you type,
Red Peony w/ Big Blue PistilThat is obviously going to be different from,
Big Red Peony w/ Blue PistilSimilarly, if you type,
Bright Red To Green ChrysanthemumThat will be different from,
Red To Bright Green ChrysanthemumA good rule of thumb is that prepositions like “To” and “With” divide the effect description up into parts, and you need to make sure that your adjectives are in the right parts of the description. Within a part of the description, however, the position of adjectives doesn’t matter, so,
Red Peony w/ Big Blue PistilIs the same as:
Red Peony w/ Blue Pistil BigThe ability to locate adjectives before or after the noun or pronoun that they modify makes VDL easier for non-English users, because unlike English, many languages have a “post-nominal” grammar in which adjectives follow the noun or pronoun they modify.