News from the front

[Taernath]

Some of you may have been testing in beta, some of you might not have.

CMGR Changes

Overall I like them. Because of the change to the TP formula, my characters are able to train in skills that they previously weren't able to have.

New Races

They're out. They're pretty much as they've been described, with several different appearances you can choose in the magler.

Food and Drink Improvements

This one is kind of funky. You can get eating utensils and eat with them. Certain food items leave behind leftover plates or steins, which you can re-use, and all seem to have new 'flavors' to them - they no longer just say "mmm, just like mom used to make". According to the website description food will also mold/decay, but it probably takes a while.

Stealing / Pickpocketing

The new stealing system. Perception now plays a much larger role, and working in crowds is to your advantage. There's also a 'watch' verb that lets you focus on one person you suspect of being a thief. You can tell if someone's watching you if you're perceptive enough. With 36 ranks in perception I was able to detect thieves pretty regularly (moreso if I watched them).

Characters can "grab" your hand if they catch you stealing, but so far this is just for show and doesn't do anything. Perhaps they'll do something like DR paladins have, where they give you hand injury (IIRC) or cause RT to the thief.

Justice System

This one is a lot of fun but still needs some bugs worked out. Rather than just being fined, you can also get community service, be placed in stocks and have rotten vegetables thrown at you, or, if you've been bad enough, lynched. Each town has a different community service system. Icemule has you sweep penguin poop, for example.

512

Creates a small patch of ice that causes NPC's to possibly fall down if they attack you. PC's seem to be immune to this effect.

I have 5 ranks of water lore at level 27, zombies seemed to fall down slightly under 25% of the time they attacked, so it's possible more water lore will increase that chance. Overall I don't see much use for this spell, since 410 and 909 do the same job for less cost, but things could change.

Lores

The elemental ones (the only ones I've really been able to test) didn't seem like they've been implemented yet. Firebolts (Fire lore at 12 ranks, my highest) had neither a higher AvD, AS or noticeable DF.

If anyone has any experience please share it.

[Edited on 7/13/03 by Taernath]

[Skaster]

From what I've seen..


Empaths can't heal their own wounds.

Doubling or tripling in harness power produces massive amounts of mana. My empath had about 100 at level 16.

Lots of weapons have 0/0 stats for breakage (dentage)

No mandis crystal, so you can hunt in and around danjirland with magic users.

There's a bug where if you get 999 mana by people using healme and send, you keep that 999 mana even on pulses or if you send it, you can only lose it if you cast.

Lots of stuff isn't implimented that they said would be, like bone shatter *mumble*.

If they keep the harness thing the same, it's very possible empaths could be hunting like pures instead of semis.

The CS bugs are seemingly thinning out, but the TP bugs remain.

It's kinda laggy. ;)

[Caels]

Empath's cannot heal their own wounds? Doesn't that deprive the empaths of their very purpose? Or do they now heal wounds directly from the person's body instead of transferring them?

Also, on the food issue, perhaps they should make it so that food goes bad or decays relatively quickly, and add in a skill called preserving. This way, food just dropped on the ground won't stay there for extended periods of time, and if a person wishes to keep food longer than normal they can just preserve it. (This is of course assuming that food might play a role in the game from now on, other than role-playing purposes.)

[Skaster]

Well, it's just a bug with empaths not healing their wounds. It shows the heal message, yet the wound itself does not heal.

[Scott]

Originally posted by Caels
Empath's cannot heal their own wounds? Doesn't that deprive the empaths of their very purpose? Or do they now heal wounds directly from the person's body instead of transferring them?

Also, on the food issue, perhaps they should make it so that food goes bad or decays relatively quickly, and add in a skill called preserving. This way, food just dropped on the ground won't stay there for extended periods of time, and if a person wishes to keep food longer than normal they can just preserve it. (This is of course assuming that food might play a role in the game from now on, other than role-playing purposes.)

I'd like to see a baking skill implimented. Although this is like Everquest, once you get to a certain skill, you can make foods that give you a boost in skills. It would be nice to have something like that, or perhaps the ability to make foods that give you spells or something.

[Bobmuhthol]

If you catch a thief that actually stole something, you'll take the item back.

[Caels]

Originally posted by Gemstone101
I'd like to see a baking skill implimented. Although this is like Everquest, once you get to a certain skill, you can make foods that give you a boost in skills. It would be nice to have something like that, or perhaps the ability to make foods that give you spells or something.

Another thing to add might be that certain foods must be cooked in order to eat, lest they cause status defects like poison, confusion or even internal bleeding (much like disease I would guess).

[Scott]

<<<Another thing to add might be that certain foods must be cooked in order to eat, lest they cause status defects like poison, confusion or even internal bleeding (much like disease I would guess). >>>

Not many people would do that though, unless there was an incentive for wasting the time of going to cook it.

[Caels]

I'm saying that perhaps eating and drinking should be included in the game as a requirement... Get hungry and thristy every so often and if you don't eat or drink you start to get weaker until you die.

[Taernath]

Originally posted by Skaster
Doubling or tripling in harness power produces massive amounts of mana. My empath had about 100 at level 16.

It's on a sliding scale though, after 40 ranks you get 2 per train, and after another 40 only 1. Extremely useful when you're young and mana is tight, my wizard has about 50 more mana after doubling in harness.

Almost forgot, sending isn't 100% anymore even if you're fully trained for the sphere you're sending to... it's more like the max is 95% now.



Originally posted by Caels
Get hungry and thristy every so often and if you don't eat or drink you start to get weaker until you die.

Judging from some of the responsesevery time that comes up on the official boards, most people would be against that. ;)

[Edited on 7/14/03 by Taernath]

[Ilvane]

What I would really like to see are instruments that actually do something. :saint:

Maybe someone plays a drum, or a song, and it helps to make the group hunt better(something along the lines of what some of the warcries do for warriors).

I always thought that would be interesting.

Maybe a guild skill?

-A

[Caels]

<<Judging from some of the responsesevery time that comes up on the official boards, most people would be against that. >>

People are just being too damned lazy. I think it would add a little more realism to the game and keep people from being able to just zone out for hours.

<<What I would really like to see are instruments that actually do something.

Maybe someone plays a drum, or a song, and it helps to make the group hunt better(something along the lines of what some of the warcries do for warriors).

I always thought that would be interesting.

Maybe a guild skill? >>

Prolly only for a bard guild... wouldn't make much sense to take away from bards what is special to them alone.

[Dighn Darkbeam]

<<Judging from some of the responsesevery time that comes up on the official boards, most people would be against that. >>

People are just being too damned lazy. I think it would add a little more realism to the game and keep people from being able to just zone out for hours. >>

People would then just script the necessary requirement of eating food and it would be one more hasle for those who dont.

Food should give slight time limited bonuses when well prepared that affect your ability to rest, hunt, practice guild skills, ect.

Kris na Su'ta

[Caels]

That's when the GM's should allow an autoeat function... as some clients call it, an alias.

If yer hungry, automatically eat some food you have on you. If not, then the person simply needs to run to the store and buy more.

[Edited on 7-15-2003 by Caels]

[Dighn Darkbeam]

I still fail to see how this will add to the enjoyment of the game for the majority of its player base.

I rather see work for this on artisan guild skills like alchemy, scrollbooks, culinary arts (not just run to the store), Dancing, sewing, ect

[Makkah]

Well 218: Spirit Servant was just released in Beta. Seems to be really cool. Will auto-LK you if you die and look for help, kinda like a familiar. Will also hold stuff for you and retrieve disarmed weapons. REALLY good descriptions and a very good variety of them.

rht

PS: Nilven rocks.

[Caels]

The run to the store would be for the culinarily challenged. Store would sell ingredients for those who might wish to cook up something that boosts stat or what not, and also something simple like bread that doesn't need to be cooked, and satisfies hunger without any additional boosts.

[Dighn Darkbeam]

The run to the store would be for the culinarily challenged. Store would sell ingredients for those who might wish to cook up something that boosts stat or what not, and also something simple like bread that doesn't need to be cooked, and satisfies hunger without any additional boosts.>>

I still fail to see anyone exlaiming "They made it so I HAVE to eat now or I die. YESS!"

By all means add Culinary arts, make it very detailed and useful. Just dont force it down my throat. Pun horribly intended.

Kris na Su'ta

[Caels]

I guess some people are just too lazy.

I wouldn't mind seeing it implemented but I'm just psycho. I guess I just tend to like games with those kinds of details.

[Dighn Darkbeam]

I believe I will agree to disagree with you on this one.

[Caels]

LOL, hey what the hell. Disagreement is what makes the forums grow.