Developer Chat - 2002/02/06
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Transcript of Developer's Chat, February 06
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We have here from Turbine: Kim Payson, Content Designer, Fiendish mind behind the Training Academy and Elysa's Favor quests. Les Nelken, Content Designer, the man responsible for placing all the housing in the world, our builder extraordinaire
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Sean Dickinson, Data Integrator, the one who makes all of our content work. We love him. (Sean is not actually here, but we feel his spirit) Sean Huxter, Lead Artist, the one who makes all of our content pretty. We love him too.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Todd Berkebile, Server Programmer, Last Man Standing. Sandra Powers, Game Systems Programmer, We love you, Sandra, oh, yes we do.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Brandon Chamberlain, QA Master, Mystic Mordheim Manchu Madness! and myself, Ken Troop, Producer of AC Live.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: Thanks Ken...
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: Lets get right into the questions...
DemonicPumpkin in AsheronsCall asks: Will the Post-GSA be "upgraded" to Pre-GSA by giving it to the appropriate GSx crafters?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Ok, here is how the dynamic will work:
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: If you have existing "Post-Patch" GSA, you will be able to trade it in for a "new Pre-Patch" equivalent
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: there will be two main differences:
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: (differences between old prepatch and new prepatch): 1) The colors will be different
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: 2) The new prepatch will have a "Wield Requirement" of level 30
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: meaning to even wear the PrePatch armor, you have to be level 30 or above
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: the color introduced in Feb, will be only one of 4 possible colors the user gets to choose
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: the other 3 colors will be available in March
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: finally, you will be able to trade back new prepatch for postpatch, if you determine you would rather have it back
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: there is no limit to how many times you can trade it back and forth
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: but once you trade in "old" prepatch, you are forever locked into either new prepatch or postpatch
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: One last addendum:
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: That was the dynamics for Greater Shadow Armor
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: For Lesser and Medium Shadow Armor, you can trade in postpatch for the exact version of prepatch
Slayer_Seven in AsheronsCall asks: We all know that hoary's are coming back in a few days... Will the way to get them be the same as it used to be?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, pretty much. The Hoary Mattekars are somewhat tougher than their "Sudden Season" cousins
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: and because they are permanent fixtures to the landscape, they no longer drop the hides at 100%
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: other than that, the dynamic remains the same
verandatoo in AsheronsCall asks: Will weddings ever officially be part of AC again?
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: Yes, you will be seeing Weddings back in the land of Dereth very soon.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: We were hoping to have it in for February, but that did not come to be... but look for it very soon.
xyder01 in AsheronsCall asks: Will Mansion Recall be available in Feb Patch?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, there will be an ability for people in allegiances who own a mansion to recall to that mansion
Von_Hugenstien in AsheronsCall asks: Will there be improvements on other hollow weapons or just a decrease in hollow ua?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Right now the plan is to make improvements to the other hollow weapons. We are trying to get this improvement in for March or April. The changes will probably not be drastic.
Jorgandor in AsheronsCall asks: Will the Singularity Weapons for all classes finnally be availible in Feb?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes.
LimpViscid in AsheronsCall asks: Are we going to get a bael'zharon-like admin controlled bossdude ever again?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes.
Malengine in AsheronsCall asks: Is there an ETA for the patch, yet?
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: Currently, we are schedule to have our update out late next week. Look for confirmation early next week and a teaser on Monday.
Alkeron in AsheronsCall asks: Will there be loot generated atlatls in the future?
Payson_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes! The design's there, it just has to be implemented at this point.
Saigon_Jack in AsheronsCall asks: Id like to know what exactly is the alternative housing you said is coming and when is it coming?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Right now we are working on a concept that we call "Residential Quarters"
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: The basic idea is for a very cheap price, and no maintenance, a user can have storage in a "dungeon-type" setting (basically, not on the landscape), in a single room with probably no hooks
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: This room would be part of a complex of a number of such rooms in the same "dungeon area"
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: A lot of the details still remain to be worked out, and some of the above stuff could change
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: but this is the basic idea
scottntammy in AsheronsCall asks: What are the chances of making packs that can hold all components of one type, including peas?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: According to Todd, our server/game systems programmer:
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Larger packs, never. A solution to your problem, maybe.
lil_devil77 in AsheronsCall asks: Hi! Will the crash to desktop bug be fixed, "soonish"?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes. Like a week from now.
DarkRabidWolf in AsheronsCall asks: Will quiddity ingot be avalible in any other way than the raids?
Payson_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes.
Ulath_Pyreal in AsheronsCall asks: What about an upgrade to the Atlan weapons? Something that would give them attack and melee d bonuses would make them useable again.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: That's a very good idea. They might be considered useless again in two months from now. But it's still a very good idea.
xyder01 in AsheronsCall asks: Rubble mechanics working correctly?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: They are working as designed. The design will be changing slightly in February, however.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: OK, I have seen this question come across in many forms so let me summerize it: What is being done about the horrible lag in some areas? What is causing this?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: The snow particles we introduced in January caused a lot of client/cpu lag for many of our players' machines. This is being removed in February.
DrakousLC in AsheronsCall asks: Will Martine, Asheron, and Elysa make an appearance in the coming months?
Dampyle in AsheronsCall asks: With the new fellow bonuses, many places that a solo hunter would gain good xp at have been overrun with high level characters (80+), are there any plans to accomodate mid level (35 - 50) characters with newer hunting areas?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: ok, first the Martine one
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: I would say that the preeminent players in our current storyline will be making an appearance in-game at some point in the future.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Second question, the solo hunter one -- this is the first that I've heard of this kind of problem...
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: While there are no current plans for a new mid-level playground (our assumption was that areas like the north mountains were appropriate) we can certainly look into it if we get enough player feedback
UnfadingPlague in AsheronsCall asks: Lady Quest: Will the 3 hour timer from watchmen to Res Golem ever be lowered?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: There are no plans on changing the timer at this time.
pbfanatic in AsheronsCall asks: Will there ever be a way to see individual timers? For example: what is my timer for the idol gem submission?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: It's a great idea, and one we've been kicking around. But it's still in the concept stage right now.
batsumishi in AsheronsCall asks: Is anything being done about the "Spiderman" wall glitch, or perches for combat macros?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, we have a fix for the wall glitch in February.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Fixing perch situations will be an ongoing process
P0NCH0_ in AsheronsCall asks: Will the OP Shards ever be nerfed so the tusker camps will open up again?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, we plan on changing the setups of these object so that it is no longer possible to perch on them.
thecreation in AsheronsCall asks: Are there ever gonna be more hunting grounds? Since the fellowship bonus was intro'd all the good hunting spots are sooo camped, we need new hunting grounds! Gonna happen?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: There are some concept plans for a new high level hunting ground, but if we expend any work on it, we'd like to hear feedback from the community on what they feel is lacking most in terms of hunting grounds.
DummyHouseWife in AsheronsCall asks: I have played since Beta 0 and am *sick* of buffing. Do you plan on increasing how long spells last? I think 2-4x longer would be good.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, we have been actively discussing this idea -- however, our first priority is making sure characters without magic have abilities and powers that make them feel they have their skill credits' worth
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Once that is accomplished, then we can look into tweaking how magic works in the game.
Sharpshoot5 in AsheronsCall asks: How many houses to have estimate will be in the game when you are finished releasing them? Or do you plan on releasing more every month till the game ends?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: With February's event, we will have close to 2500 houses in the game
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: I do not see that number growing as rapidly as it has in the past.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: But we are shooting for 3000+ (this could mean 3000, it could mean 4000) houses, and an equal or more number of alternate housing mechanisms
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: But all of this is still in a state of flux
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: But that's our best estimate right now.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Oh, and that's per world
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: sowwy
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: so -- shooting for some 8000+ house types per world, which we will continue to monitor as we gauge demand and player feedback
KodisDad in AsheronsCall asks: Any plans on making XP chains less effective?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Right now we are looking at the dynamics of XP chains
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: And evaluating if we want to change it, and if so, what specifically
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We are well aware that this is a big issue for many players, on both sides of the fence
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Like many systems in Asheron's Call, the allegiance system may have to evolve to match the realities of our current game
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: It's still too early to tell.
rotorhead79 in AsheronsCall asks: Will the upcomming changes for melees be more inherently based to the whole melee system or in the form of quests ie.. Bandit hilts? or is it neither?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We are looking at non-quest based systems
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: More overall dynamics that just exist
LordMycal in AsheronsCall asks: Any ETA on getting multiple recalls & portal ties per character? Everyone has item magic -- surely it's due for some love as that would benefit the most people...
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We love this idea. And we don't want to exclude the people without Item Magic either! While there is no definitive timetable for it, we're looking into options that will make everyone, whether they have Item or not, happier than before
Ferran1231 in AsheronsCall asks: Is the future prize for the tumerok banners coming? Or has it been forgotten about?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: It has not been forgotten. There also isn't anything immediately forthcoming.
Dlboyd in AsheronsCall asks: Any word on if the 126th lvl cap will be changed?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: At this time, we have no plans on changing the 126 cap.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Todd's translation of my answer, "No."
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: One says "tomato" the other says "tomato."
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: hmm that doesnt translate well into text
Umatica in AsheronsCall asks: Great looking new(ish) Mosswart models! What's the next critter to get an appearance update?
Sean_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: Thanks. That was mostly the work of Ben Smith, who did some work on the Expansion.
Sean_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: With his help, we were able to imrove the look AND variety of the Mosswart's textures, to give some really cool results.
Sean_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: Next? It hink I'd like to see the Banderling done next, and perhaps the Armordillo, but so far that's not on the schedule
Sean_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: Still, these things have a way of happening.
Sean_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: done
JayVee44 in AsheronsCall asks: Will major war cantrip gauntlets still be possible from the post-Feb patch loot generator?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.
ChewableMerlin in AsheronsCall asks: Will ANY area on the new ML island have a Lifestone or be tieable or recallable? and if so, when? no one even fights there anymore because of the run to get a bod if you die
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We think the dynamic works exactly as intended, and extremely well.
hmc42 in AsheronsCall asks: Are there any plans to fix @fillcomps so that it will work with more then 100 of a component again?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: At this time, no. The reason for this may become apparent at some point in the future. Or, conversely, we could just look like jerks for making the dynamic more tedious. I'm hoping for the former.
Haney in AsheronsCall asks: jesus, do you guys only post sugar coated answered a thousand times questions or do youl ike to just say you listen to the gaming community?
Orion_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: With all of the changes that have been made to this game over the past two years I think that it shows that we have been listening to the community. If there is trouble seeing that then we are sorry.
Orion_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: The reason that questions sometimes get answered several times in a chat is that we are looking over hundreds and hundreds of questions..so sometimes like all humans we make mistakes.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: We are sorry... very sorry.
SlyH13 in AsheronsCall asks: Will the Chests in houses become bigger?
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: We don't have the tech to make your chest bigger when you enter a house.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: For houses I would assume...
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: But that would be kind of interesting.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Oh!
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: I see.
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says:
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Yes, at some point soon, we would like to have storage chests that the users could increment over time, so that they have larger storage.
Scottc2000 in AsheronsCall asks: When will Ken Karl be less of a self absorbed fool?
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: A fool I am... I don't see that ever changing.. though Turbine may choose to nerf that at a later date.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: And with that, we would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight.
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: I know there were a lot of questions we were unable to get to. We do plan on having the dev chats return as a regular feature of AC
kentroop_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Thanks everyone! It was a fun chat. Good night.
Payson_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Nite nite!
mrquazarr_MS in AsheronsCall says: Night everyone.
Orion_Turbine in AsheronsCall says: Good Night and thanks!
les_turbine in AsheronsCall says: Thanks and g'nite!
srand_turbine in AsheronsCall says: *wave*