PDA

View Full Version : Gemstone IV Update



CrystalTears
09-08-2003, 08:02 PM
GEMSTONE IV UPDATE · on 9/8/2003 2:49:07 PM 353

COMBAT SYSTEM CHANGES

This evening we will be taking down both test instances in order to roll in many changes to combat. These changes include, but are not limited to:

* Evade, Block, Parry -- as well as the incorporation of the dodge skill.
* Revisions to criticals to be less dependent upon weapon Damage Factors.
* Changes to encourage the use of lighter armors.
* Changes to STANCE to make more stances useful in combat.
* Changes to Ambush to reduce a target's stance, but with less lethality compared to the current version.
* Improvements for lighter weapons to make them more appealing. (Faster RT)
* Revised 2 weapon combat handling
* Introduction of spell caster staves for defenses to offer alternative to weapon/shield approach.
* Adjustments to AS/DS modifying spells as required by other combat changes.
* Adjustments to shields

For more information consult:
http://www.play.net/gs3/news/gemstone_iv/combat.asp

A shop in town square central will be made available for those who wish to purchase staves or one of the new shield types for testing.

PLEASE NOTE: None of the creatures in the game have been updated yet, so testing against creatures will not yield the results that you would expect. A more accurate test of the combat system at this stage would involve PvP.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTACK SOMEONE WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CHARACTER AUTO-CONVERSION

The testing on the character auto-converter this weekend went well. As a result, the auto-converter will be rolled in as a permanent feature this evening. From this point on all characters who have not yet been converted or who have not yet reallocated will be auto-converted when they FIRST log-in to the game. Until the skill and stat migrators are available for testing, those who are not pleased with how their character was auto-converted should check themselves into the character manager and reallocate.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COMBAT LEADERSHIP

We have decided, after some deliberation, to change an element of our design and not release the skill "Combat Leadership" as a character manager skill. This decision was born out of multiple factors.

First, in general, we didn't feel that the skill was met with much excitement or interest. That's usually not a good thing.

Second, the skill was originally intended as a skill that would make squares more desirable as members of hunting parties. As other elements of the combat system changes have firmed up, we have decided that this goal can be better achieved through other combat additions, such as the maneuver list or abilities that dovetail with the Evade/Block/Parry system.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COMBAT MANEUVERS

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have experienced an unexpected delay in the development of Combat Maneuvers. While there is some chance that Combat Maneuvers will be completed before the end of Beta testing, we have elected to remove it from the Phase I release list.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


UPDATE ON VARIOUS GS4 FEATURES

In Testing:
(As of this evening.)

VARIOUS SYSTEMS SPELLS COMBAT
New Level Designation System 119: Spirit Dispel (modified) Evade, Block, Parry
New Attributes 140: Wall of Force (moved) Critical Revisions
New Races 218: Spirit Servant Armor Revisions
Food and Drink Improvements 512: Ice Patch Stance Revisions
NPC Upgrades (Some) 610/620 Combined Ambush Revisions
Meeting Hall System 707: Eye Spy (enhance) Weapon Revisions
Rogue Lock Mastery 708: Limb Disruptions (enhance) 2Weapon Revisions
Stealing / Pickpocketing 712: Cloak of Shadows (enhance) Staves
New Verbs 714: Scroll Infusion Spell Adjustments
Death and DR Changes 1106/1109 Combined Shield Adjustments
Justice System 340: Resurrect (moved)
Shop Upgrades (Some) 510: Hurl Boulder
NPC Upgrades (Some) 514: Stone Fist
New Skills (Some) 519: Immolation
Skill Rank Checks (Some) 914: Sand Storm
Spell Rank Checks (Some) 1117: Empathic Link
Character Manager Changes 1140: Empathic Dispel (moved)
Auto-Conversion for Charactes 1106: Bone Shatter
Interlevel Skill Training 620: Resist Nature
1118: Herb Production
208: Living Rune (modified)


Still Coming:
(These systems should be in before the 15th.)

New Front End Damage and Repair
Stat Migration System Skill Rank Checks
Skill Adjustment System Spell Rank Checks
Graphical CMGR 325: Holy Receptacle
NPC Upgrades 725: Minor Summoning
Shop Updates 520: Stone Skin
Citizenship 640: Wall of Thorns
Extended Skill Gain Elemental Spells Account for Lores
New Skills Completed Spirit Spells Account for Lores
Creature Overhaul



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


GEMSTONE IV LIVE LAUNCH

GemStone IV may be launched as soon as a month from September 15th. We have some surprises that are planned for you, some of which we will keep secret.

However, a couple are either appropriate to announce at this time, or are necessary to announce at this time (so that you can take advantage of them.

Our Gift to You (Thank you for your loyalty):

Starting on the day that GemStone IV is launched, and extending 45 days after that, all basic characters who have been billed at least once will be granted a 1.5x experience multiplier. The multiplier will expire 45 days after GemStone IV is launched. (To be clear: NOT 45 days after the character first logs in.) Characters who have been a premium member for at least thirty days prior to the GemStone IV launch will receive a 2x multiplier until it expires 45 days after the GemStone IV launch. (To be clear: NOT 45 days after the character first logs in.)

GS3 to GS4 Level Adjustment:

As we have completed our auto-converter, a few problems have come to light:

First, we have made significant adjustments to the Rogue profession. It's clear at this time that in many ways Rogues have been the Masters-Of-All-Trades. As a result, their skill costs have been increased in order to balance them more appropriately to other classes. The result of this is that the Rogues in many of our test cases (particularly Rogues that were very HEAVILY oriented towards magic) were unable to meet all of their ratios.

Second, we have known for a long time that there would be difficulties with Semi conversions. The fact that Semis were once single-trained spell users, combined with the new experience curve, has resulted in Semi's losing more spells than we're happy about. Unfortunately, after serious discussion, there was little that could be done about this loss.

Third, no matter what profession, there are those who have created unusual characters (you call them mutants) that simply will not convert into GemStone IV without experiencing some loss.

We understand that it is not fun to lose abilities that you earned, so in order to try to defray some of that loss, we will be granting all existing characters two levels worth of experience based on the character's level. This will be two full levels worth of experience, NOT just enough experience to gain two levels. This experience reward will be granted AFTER the character is auto-converted.

By our calculations, we expect that users will earn AT MINIMUM, three levels with the multiplier mentioned above alone. When added to the flat two levels of experience, MOST users will experience an overall gain.

This message was originally posted in The Next Generation of GemStone, Discussions about the new GemStone. To discuss the above follow the link below.

http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=30&category=101&topic=3&message =9990

Artha
09-08-2003, 08:06 PM
Psssst, I already posted most of this.

[Edited on 9-9-2003 by Artha]

CrystalTears
09-08-2003, 08:09 PM
Not all of it. Don't be so picky. :P

Artha
09-08-2003, 08:12 PM
Wonder what they're doing with Combat Leadership. They made it sound like they're taking it off, but I dunno...

StrayRogue
09-08-2003, 08:30 PM
Maybe make it a warrior guild skill?? I like the idea of it, but I think it was every 20 bonus your group would get +1 AS/DS or something. Not worth the points really.

Shalla
01-22-2004, 05:21 PM
I don't know where else to post this. But has there been any news regarding Four winds/premium alteration scroll being fixed? Because I've been waiting a very long time for my armor to be altered. Or is the bug fixed already?