Anyone mind testing ...

[Jumpkick]

Would like to get some people to connect to my game server and test out account creation and character creation. Let me know if you have any trouble, just wanting to see what the connection is like and if I missed anything with this update.

IP: 76.104.190.87
Port: 4000

[Bobmuhthol]

I keep getting "failed to create account."

[Jumpkick]

Hrmph. Let me look into that. I have to run out for a bit. Should have an update later this evening. I didn't expect anyone to be that quick to check ;)

[Jumpkick]

Account creation issue should be resolved.

[Cephalopod]

Account and character creation worked fine, no problems.

Your parser is a bit funky. "W" resolves to "WEALTH" instead of "WEST", which would be more intuitive. Same with "S" ("SAY") and N ("NOD"). Not much else to play with.

[Makkah]

Wow. This is jacking GS so hard, son.

[Back]

So many eye color choices...

[Jumpkick]

Thanks to everyone for testing out the creation process. I know it has a long way to go, but every little step helps.

I'm not trying to make a Gemstone clone ( I don't think the world needs another one of those ) but they do have a pretty decent amount of choices when it comes to customizing your character.

[Jumpkick]

Is it alright to post updates on this forum?

[pabstblueribbon]

Yes. But included must be pictures of nice female breasticles.

[Makkah]

Are the professions gonna be directly ripped from GS too?

[Jumpkick]

Hard to say they are being ripped from Gemstone, since they are pretty generic to fantasy gaming.

[Jumpkick]

I would appreciate some more creation testing if you have a free moment. I have implemented the beginning skills and starter equipment for all classes. Everything is subject to change of course, just making sure the creation script is running well.

[Jumpkick]

Looking over the melee and magic combat systems, I am going to try and keep things pretty simple. Everything is going to be based on stats, much like World of Warcraft and similar MMORPG games that are coming out these days. Most of your stats are going to come from items either found off creatures, purchased from merchants, or created by players. However, each player will be given 5 stat points to place wherever they want when they level. I am hoping this will create a diverse enough field so all Warriors don't look the same. The treasure system should also be complex enough that items are being generated programmatically rather than being pulled out of a database for a given creature kill or quest completion ( do people even want to do quests in text games these days? ).

For melee combat your primary stats are going to be Strength, Agility and Dexterity. The guilds that are typically going to be using just these stats are the Rogue and Warrior, as they do not know any particular spells that would require anything else.

For magical combat your primary stats are going to be Intellect, Wisdom and Presence. The guilds that are going to be using primarily these stats will be the Priest and Wizard, as they should be using spells to do most of their role.

Rangers and Paladins are going to be a hybrid class that will be using a mix of all the stats. I realize this is going to make for some difficulty in balancing and ensuring they can do enough with a spread out stat assignment, but should be interesting to see.

More to come as different systems get hashed out and people like/dislike certain ideas.

[Jumpkick]

It's been awhile since I played Gemstone, and I wanted to grab peoples opinion about healing classes. With the introduction of so many graphical MMOs over the years, a common practice is to have everyone able to do solo-hunting quite easily. Back in the day, I remember most empaths and clerics sitting in towns and waiting for someone to die before springing to action. The low level hunting grind was annoying but once you reached some level ( 10? 16? ) you could pretty much just hunt dead characters and bring them back to life.

Do most classes in Gemstone offer enough power to hunt solo these days? Have the times of empaths sitting in town square waiting for injuries gone by?

[Makkah]

Empaths are ridiculously capable of hunting. I'd say all the professions are, really.

[Makkah]

Also... is your game down? Can't connect.

[Caetul]

It's been awhile since I played Gemstone, and I wanted to grab peoples opinion about healing classes. With the introduction of so many graphical MMOs over the years, a common practice is to have everyone able to do solo-hunting quite easily. Back in the day, I remember most empaths and clerics sitting in towns and waiting for someone to die before springing to action. The low level hunting grind was annoying but once you reached some level ( 10? 16? ) you could pretty much just hunt dead characters and bring them back to life.

Do most classes in Gemstone offer enough power to hunt solo these days? Have the times of empaths sitting in town square waiting for injuries gone by?

Well, the way I see it is this.

Every Profession, in any Game/MMO, given the capability of item usage to allow so, is able to Solo Hunt Effectively.

For Gemstone's example, there are Herbs to cure every physical and mental ailment (Just like in Real Life!), not to mention Societies that offer things like Sigils that ignore wounds, clot your blood loss etc. Which basically makes me see things as having every class being able to "Solo" hunt.

Some professions obviously require more thought into Solo hunting, or patience. But all in all, every profession I see it is already capable of doing so, with the right player behind them.

And in newer MMO's today, they too have adapted that thought process of how every player wishes to be able to Solo. Take Star Wars The Old Republic for example, a new MMO coming out from Bioware. Almost every class there, is able to heal themselves in some way, while one or two are more capable of healing better, all of them can heal themselves.

I personally don't see the point of having people claim themselves as "Pure Healers" all while being able to rip stuff apart. My view of a Healer would be just that, one dedicated so much to their profession, that the majority of their time is spent learning the healing arts, healing others as services, Triage etc....Problem in, in alot of games, Healers for instance can't level fast and well enough simply by healing...Which I think should be doable, considering they are healers.

So because of that whole reason, it's why alot of people are all Hybrids in some sense.

Enough of my run on reply though...I t hink the first or second paragraph said what I wanted to say about the question you had, everything else just ignore :p

[Jumpkick]

Also... is your game down? Can't connect.

The game is currently offline during the day while I am at work. I am looking into getting a server setup once there is enough content that people might want to spend some time in there.

My plan is to have every guild be able to solo hunt, but with guilds like Priest and Paladin, they will have some spells that are specifically dedicated to healing ( remove bleed effects, disease effects, etc ).

I am torn on the idea of having Talents like in WoW and other games. It is something to think about, but I think even if I was to add talents, each 'tree' would be able to successfully solo hunt or I wouldn't do it at all. This isn't meant to be a group required game like EverQuest II was very early on ( I understand they have made significant changes to make it more solo friendly ).

Every class should be able to heal themselves to some degree ( first aid ) and most will have some way of generating health based on damage ( life siphons and such ). I like the idea of having herbs that can heal and are readily for foraging in the game, as well as having professions for alchemy to make healing mixtures.

I look forward to hearing some great ideas for guild specific spells/skills. If there is something you really are dying to get into a game, I would love to hear about it. Being the only person on the concept right now, I don't have enough time to finish up each guild at the same time.

[Makkah]

How about... new professions?

[Jumpkick]

How about... new professions?

I'm all for it! If you can think of something to make them 'unique'. I don't want to make a guild called 'Berserker' which would basically be a Warrior that does more damage.

[Jumpkick]

Part of my reasoning for the guilds that are in there today was to have 2 that are specific to casting magic spells ( priest, wizard ), 2 that are specific to using weapons ( rogue, warrior ) and 2 that are hybrids ( ranger, paladin ). I realize this looks very much like how Gemstone does things, but essentially I think it enables people to have enough options to play the type of character they want without having any of the guilds overlap in usefulness.

[Tordane]

Do most classes in Gemstone offer enough power to hunt solo these days? Have the times of empaths sitting in town square waiting for injuries gone by?

Empaths have been redesigned for a while now, they do pretty well to never have to heal at all. The beginning levels are hard if you would try to solo as a pure, but with the 30 mitigation period since GSIV no one has to suffer that any longer. By level 30 I would say an empath could easily solo for exp without ever having to heal again, maybe even a little earlier.

[Jumpkick]

Gemstone IV uses training points for a player to customize their characters skill progression, which has a calculation based on your current stats.

WoW and other MMOs use skill progression by measuring the use of a given skill ( 4.0.1 changed that for weapon skills ), which has a calculation based on your current skill vs. whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.

What is the preferred way of people on this forum? The Gemstone way certainly lends itself to generating spreadsheets to figure out optimal paths, whereas the other lends itself to customizing your character by using him/her differently.

[Sam]

Grinding sucks. Make a reputation system, so people can fuck off and entertain each other, then rep == exp.

[Jumpkick]

Make a reputation system, so people can fuck off and entertain each other, then rep == exp.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. What I don't want to see, is someone picking boxes and getting better at using a sword.

[Farn]

I prefer skill gain by practice. I think "general experience" is silly because of situations like you mentioned: picking boxes and then using that "experience" to improve your sword skill. Doesn't make any sense. If you want to get good at a skill, go out and practice it.

Just means you have to provide plenty of opportunities for people to practice various skills. A few other fun things to implement are teachers, books and so on that can be used to improve skills as well, so there can be little boosts here and there.

Are you going to have character levels, then?

[Jumpkick]

Are you going to have character levels, then?

Yes. I am a firm believer in having character levels. It not only gives someone a realistic view of the progress of the character, but it also helps keep characters out of areas they don't belong.

Currently you are capable of gaining 5 ranks in any skill per level. This is done through use of skills with progression becoming harder at higher levels.

I like your idea of having 'teachers' and 'books' to help ease progression for skills that really don't have a useful counterpart in the game that isn't completely boring ( ie. swimming/climbing ).

[Farn]

Are you writing this from scratch, or adapting an existing MUD setup? Which programming language are you using? Curiosities from someone working on a similar project.

[Jumpkick]

The engine is written from scratch in C# using an MS SQL database backend ( I work at Microsoft so I use what I know ).

[Farn]

Awesome. Going from scratch is the way to go, so you know how and why everything works. I'll pop in sometime and fiddle around. I'd love to help out where I can, even if it's just testing, bug-finding and providing feedback/suggestions.

[Jumpkick]

I'll add a few more commands this evening for bug, suggest and report so people can message me with suggestions and problems while in game.

[Farn]

I'm getting "Failed to create account" whenever I try to create one.

[Jumpkick]

Looking into it. I moved some stuff around in the database to speed up saving. Give me a few moments.

[Jumpkick]

Should now be resolved.

[Farn]

heal
Health: 250 / 250
Energy: -2147483487 / 250
>
'Wow. I'm feeling rather lethargic
You say "Wow. I'm feeling rather lethargic".

[Jumpkick]

Oof. I just noticed that as well. Something strange in the character creation process.

[Farn]

I also seem to be incapable of doing any damage with my iron daggers. 0 damage each hit on rats so far. They've been able to bite me for up to 11ish, though.

[Jumpkick]

I am still working on figuring out the base damage for each weapon type. Most likely they will be scaled based somewhere on the level of the item you are wielding. Just need to figure out the base numbers.

[Jumpkick]

I have added Suggest, Bug and Report commands.

[Farn]

report I just had to re-create this character. Apparently he got deleted at some point.
Failed to submit report.



bug The leather cloak I start off with is "an leather cloak" - the article should be "a".
I do not understand.


On the bright side, it looks like the negative energy problem is fixed.

[Jumpkick]

Whoops had a 50 character max on the Message ... should be resolved.

[Farn]

BUG still seems to not be working, and there's a bug with stances (see below).



bug The Stance verb seems to be wonky. I switched to a defensive stance, and STANCE by itself tells me I'm in defensive, but when I put STANCE OFF it tells me I'm already in an offensive stance.
I do not understand.

[Jumpkick]

Bug and Stance should be resolved. Thanks for checking it out!

[Jumpkick]

I hope to be adding Armor and Resist today.

Armor is designed for physical damage reduction. Expected values are based on your characters current level and can allow for up to 75% reduction. Each armor type ( cloth, hide, mail, plate ) offer varying degrees of protection. Expect to have values increase as you move from cloth to hide to mail to plate.

Resist is designed for magical damage reduction. Expected values are based on your characters current level and can allow for up to 75% reduction. Each armor type ( cloth, hide, mail, plate ) offer varying degrees of protection. Expect to have values increase as you move from plate to mail to hide to cloth.

I think for right now I am just going to keep Resist for all magical damage types. I don't know if I want to go as far as having resist for different elements. Thoughts?

[Jumpkick]

Also, to help with health/energy issues, I will be putting in regeneration for each of those values. Right now you should regenerate 1 per second to begin with, and will increase as you increase your intellect ( energy ) and stamina ( health ). For now, only players will regenerate health.

Hopefully I will be able to put in some foods and drinks that will increase your regeneration for short durations as long as you stay out of combat.

[Farn]

I think for right now I am just going to keep Resist for all magical damage types. I don't know if I want to go as far as having resist for different elements. Thoughts?

Start off simple, and once you get the core concept working you can add to it and make it fancy. It would be nice to eventually have different reduction rates for different damage types. Plate would be fairly good against fire, but bad against electric, for instance. Chain armor would be good against slash, but bad against crush. Of course, you don't have to get that complicated/realistic - it's just a game, after all.

In my setup there's no difference between "magical" and "physical" damage. Each armor type has a reduction value for the various damage types, such as slash, crush, fire, cold, and so on.

[GS4_HappyTimez]

Indy MUDs generally suck. Yours looks no different.

I stopped into Farn's once and immediately logged out. It was pretty dumb.

Good luck!

[Jumpkick]

Appreciate the thoughtful and well formed opinion.

[Fallen]

Classy.

[Farn]

I stopped into Farn's once and immediately logged out.

:thanx:

[Paradii]

Indy MUDs generally suck. Yours looks no different.

I stopped into Farn's once and immediately logged out. It was pretty dumb.

Good luck!

You should stick with leaving vague and nonessential information about monks.

[Jumpkick]

I put in a bakery ( to purchase some baked goods for roleplay consumption ), a furrier to sell any skins you might receive off of the large rats in the catacombs, and a bank to deposit your hard earned silver coins.

[Farn]

Can I skill up at all before leveling? I've killed (and failed to skin) a fair amount of rats, but haven't skilled up in daggers or skinning yet. Any general idea on how much it takes to skill up?

[Jumpkick]

I noticed a slight mistake in the skinning equation, and at level 1 it could become very hard to gain ranks. I've resolved the issue. The equation is very simple right now, and just takes into account your level, the creatures level and your skill. This will probably change at some time in the future.

As for your weapon skill, I have verified that you should be able to gain skill as long as you are using a weapon you can actually use.

[Jumpkick]

I am going to make some modifications to skinning, so that the rats can yield a better bounty for younger players.

[Jumpkick]

Currently whenever you deal damage to an opponent ( non-player ) you will gain experience. Once you have reached enough experience ( 2500 * level ) you will gain 5 points to place in any of your 7 stats.

I have modified character creation to set all of your starting stats to 20 and giving you 25 points to allocate wherever you want using the Train command. Hopefully this will allow for enough customization so not all characters feel the exact same when starting out.

[Farn]

Can we get a general breakdown of what the different stats will effect? There are the usual assumptions (strength = melee offense, dexterity = ranged offense), but different people have different ideas on what stats will effect, and how much.

[Jumpkick]

Can we get a general breakdown of what the different stats will effect?

Sure thing!

All stats have varying degrees of significance with respect to each of these particular categories, but you can assume that if you are doing something physical against a player or creature you should expect to be using your Strength, Dexterity and Agility. Likewise, if you find yourself locked in mental combat with a player or creature you will be most likely using your Intellect, Presence and Wisdom.

Although currently I have no plans for implementing a ranged combat system, I don't see why there couldn't be in the future if that is what players want to see.

Hope that helps.

[Jumpkick]

Sorry about deleting characters from accounts. I want to make sure the character creation process is getting ample testing, and should stop doing that once I have hashed out the starting skills/spells for each guild.

[Farn]

I'm guessing Presence would be like what Charisma or Influence is in other games, right?

Could you give an example or two of situations in which Wisdom would be used instead of Intellect, and vice versa? I'm always interested in the interpretations of those two common stats.

[Jumpkick]

I'm guessing Presence would be like what Charisma or Influence is in other games, right?

Correct, but mostly when dealing with magic. It is basically the measurement of your influence over the magical energies of the world.


Could you give an example or two of situations in which Wisdom would be used instead of Intellect

Sure thing. Essentially I am using Intellect as your raw innate ability to force the magical energies to do your biding, whereas Wisdom is being used as your overall knowledge of how the magical forces work. Intellect is going to be the primary stat when casting offensive spells and calculating your offensive spell strength and the bonuses of certain defensive auras/spells. Wisdom is going to be used as a primary stat when calculating your magical defenses as well as being a primary component when calculating the duration of certain defensive auras/spells.

Does that help?

[Jumpkick]

Rise from your grave zombie cat!

A calico cat just wandered in.
>
A calico cat corpse slumps to the ground!
>
A calico cat corpse decays into the ground.
>
A calico cat corpse stands up.

[Jumpkick]

If by change you are bested in combat, you will be transfered to the Haverton Temple after 5 minutes ( if not resurrected ). You can also use the DECAY verb to speed up the process.

[Drew]

Does Vista not have Telnet anymore? I can't seem to pull it up from the run command (not sure how to connect to these games otherwise.)

[Jumpkick]

I personally use a client called MushClient. It's free and pretty decent for these sort of games.

I plan on making a custom client ( perhaps silverlight? ) in the not so distant future.

[Drew]

Easy transition from Gemstone, just me playing. Once I go out the north gate I can't seem to go anywhere else?

[Drew]

Also I don't know if this is you or MushClient but the 5 key on my numpad does WHO instead of OUT.


This makes me sad:


[Haverton, North Road]
You see nothing unusual.
You also see a calico cat.
Obvious exits: east, west.
>
west
[Haverton, North Road]
You see nothing unusual.
Obvious exits: north, east, west.
>
west
[Haverton, North Road And Main Street]
You see nothing unusual.
Obvious exits: east, south, west.
>
east
[Haverton, North Road]
You see nothing unusual.
Obvious exits: north, east, west.
>
east
[Haverton, North Road]
You see nothing unusual.
You also see a calico cat.
Obvious exits: east, west.
>
fuck cat
I do not understand.
>
pet cat
I do not understand.
>
touch cat
I do not understand.
>
rub cat
I do not understand.
>
kiss cat
I do not understand.
>
lick cat
I do not understand.
>
molest cat
I do not understand.
>
punch cat
I do not understand.
>
attack cat
You are unable to attack that.
>
A calico cat purrs quietly.

[Jumpkick]

Yeah, MushClient isn't designed exactly for the input types that i am expecting, but you can change that in the World Configuration settings in the application. Right now the only hunting available is in the sewers, more to come when i get more spells and abilities to make combat more interesting.

[Jumpkick]

i'm thinking about making the Priest guild have some spells that are health/energy siphon spells that will take health/energy from the target and give it to the caster. I'm trying to figure out how well this is going to translate to a MUD with combat not being so 'immediate' as in games like WoW. Anyone have any experience with a game that does this?

[Farn]

Are you saying you want it to drain over time?

[AnticorRifling]

You mean like Drain Life and Drain Mana from WoW?

[Jumpkick]

You mean like Drain Life and Drain Mana from WoW?

Kind of, but not channeled. It would be something more like you cast on a creature and gain x life per second over 15 seconds ( unless removed by the creature via some other means ). You would probably have to remain in the same room with the creature for the 'link' to work.

[Bobmuhthol]

So it's like poison on one target and the opposite on the other. If you know how to put in a poison effect, you're halfway there.

[AnticorRifling]

Kind of, but not channeled. It would be something more like you cast on a creature and gain x life per second over 15 seconds ( unless removed by the creature via some other means ). You would probably have to remain in the same room with the creature for the 'link' to work.

So it's devouring plague from WoW.

[Fallen]

Blood Burst.

[Jumpkick]

Any of those spells are essentially the idea. Has anyone seen them translate to a text game very well?

The engine has the ability to add effects that can pretty much do whatever you want on a given interval ( ie. poison damage every second, heal you every 5 seconds, change your gender every 30 minutes )

[Makkah]

Yea... sounds most like Blood Burst from GS to me.

You gesture at a kobold.
CS: +159 - TD: +3 + CvA: +20 + d100: +46 == +222
Warding failed!
A ragged wound rips open a kobold's jugular, which begins spurting blood.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.

[Jumpkick]

Yea... sounds most like Blood Burst from GS to me.

Great! I think it will be a fun mechanic to put in there to help with priests taking physical damage during combat.

[Jumpkick]

Players are now able to give items to other players using the GIVE command. I opted for a similar process to how Gemstone does it, so you have the option to CANCEL, DECLINE or ACCEPT within 30 seconds of starting the transaction. I will work on adding in the ability to give an item to someone for a specific amount in return ( something like give sword to blah for 100 )

[Makkah]

Why not just jack GS's exchange verb too?

Exchange item with person [for] 1000

[Jumpkick]

I don't really like the exchange verb, since I am logging all GIVE uses, I figure might as well go in the same table for GIVE for amount. Thanks though.

[Makkah]

So what happened to ShadowRealms?

[Jumpkick]

So what happened to ShadowRealms?

Not sure what you mean.

[Makkah]

http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?t=45332

Your first attempt at all of this.

[Jumpkick]

Same game, just a different approach. I had setup that game to function primarily off Facebook as a means to authenticate users. After some time spent with the Facebook API and Facebook in general, I have decided not to go that direction. That being said, I have found some free time after work that I didn't have before to pick the project up and start moving forward.

[Jumpkick]

I think I am going to get rid of skill and spell ranks. They really just force people to sit and do tedious things in order to get their ranks up to a maximum for their level. Instead I am going to make skill checks assume you have max ranks for your level and put more weight on stats than currently im place.

Thoughts?

[Farn]

So it'll be completely level/stat based? I think it'll cut down a lot on character customization and uniqueness. I don't know. I'd feel kind of lame knowing that every other member of my guild is going to be exactly the same as me, except for a few small bonuses and negatives due to different stat placement.

[Jumpkick]

It will be differences in stat placement and gear. Most of the gear is going to come from merchants, monsters or player crafting. Assuming I can get a good treasure system put together, there should be enough uniqueness at higher levels to be enticing.

The skill progression through use model just makes me feel like people are going to be doing the same thing over and over just to get higher skill levels ( maxing at 5 * Level ) so there isn't much customization there either.

[Delias]

change your gender every 30 minutes )

That sounds like an awesome spell for cybering... or just humiliating your enemies by making them actually wear dresses.

[Jumpkick]

I've decided to remove the Skinning skill as a skill for all players. Instead, I am going to add it as a skill you learn when picking up the Leatherworking profession ( not yet implemented ). I've changed the layout of skills to reflect the lack of 'ranks' and have put them into 2 categories, Active and Passive. Active skills being skills that have an action you take to use that particular skill, and Passive skills which either do not have a specific action or are general in their overall usefulness.

Azaizel (at level 1), you the following skills:

Passive Skills:
====================================
Daggers
Dual Wield
First Aid
Mail Armor
One-Handed Axes
One-Handed Maces
One-Handed Swords
Perception
Polearms
Shield Use
Staves
Two-Handed Axes
Two-Handed Maces
Two-Handed Swords

Active Skills:
====================================
Climbing [Climb]
Foraging [Forage]
Hiding [Hide]
Skinning [Skin]
Swimming [Swim]

[Jumpkick]

Does Gemstone have a quest system? Do people like questing in text games? I remember when I played Gemstone so long ago, I didn't really mind the grinding because of the RP and doing it with people I liked.

[Makkah]

Yea, GS has had a "quest system" in place for a few years. It basically lets you get foraging, kill x creatures, kill boss creatures, escort, and a few other bounties.

http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Adventurer%27s_Guild

[Jumpkick]

Thoughts on that system? Seems pretty generic and boring.

[Makkah]

I think it does exactly what it should do: it provides a break from the hunt-rest cycle to gain EXP, minimal coins, and stack up points to earn enhancer chargings.

I don't really know what else you would have in mind, but I'd be interested in hearing.

[Jumpkick]

It's on my list of things, but I think a quest system is something that will provide just what you mentioned. I've got a few hides in my head, but they are a bit down the road after all the guilds are fleshed out.

[Makkah]

Yea, I'd definitely say you should get professions worked out first. That should be priority 1.

[Farn]

Makkah's profession-obsessed.

Yeah, I enjoyed the Adventurer's Guild quests in Gemstone. They weren't super exciting or interesting, but it gave you more of a sense of purpose than "walk out to same hunting ground as past few months, kill same monsters, walk back, rest, repeat." It really helped make the grind more enjoyable for me. It was fun to get sent out to the less popular areas and explore new places.

[Jumpkick]

Makkah's profession-obsessed.

Me too. I want to make sure the basic game machincs are in place before adding 'fluff' to the game like crafting professions and questing systems.

[GS4_HappyTimez]

So has any progress been made in this thing?

[Jumpkick]

Daily. Right now I am working on the skills for Warriors ( names like rend, sunder, pummel, strike ). Then I will probably move to Rogues ( ambush, vanish, backstab, garrote, kick, etc ). I am totally open for some ideas on skills. I'll probably be taking quite a bit from games like WoW and Gemstone when having a first crack at it. I am hoping that combat is a bit more attrition and variety to it than in Gemstone, but without the speed of WoW.

[Makkah]

Do so are the majority of all original additions gonna be combat-based? Not that it's a bad thing...

[Jumpkick]

Right now I am looking at the games that I have enjoyed playing over the years, taking the pieces I like and modifying the pieces I don't like to hopefully create a game that I would enjoy playing. The combat system and magic system are all original ( although having the same end result as most games on the market with things like damage over time and stat increase/decrease ). I am hoping to get at least a few people interested in the game and using their enthusiasm to build some great original systems.

[Jumpkick]

I've been working on some combat things for basic melee combat and have introduced the first warrior skill, Strike. Strike is an instant attack ( not subject to roundtime checks ) that does 75% weapon damage if your attack is successful and has a 30 second cooldown.

at rat
You attack a large rat with an iron sword!
Offense: 66 vs. Defense: 10 with d100 roll: 21 = 77
... and completely misses!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
>
at rat
You attack a large rat with an iron sword!
Offense: 66 vs. Defense: 10 with d100 roll: 56 = 112
... and hits for 30 damage!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
>
strike rat
You strike at a large rat with an iron sword!
Offense: 66 vs. Defense: 10 with d100 roll: 50 = 106
... and hits for 11 damage!
Roundtime: 9 sec.
>
at rat
... wait 7 seconds.
>
strike rat
... wait 27 seconds.
>
A large rat bites at you with its sharp teeth!
Offense: 76 vs. Defense: 34 with d100 roll: 3 = 45
... and completely misses!
>
at rat
... wait 1 second.
>
at rat
You attack a large rat with an iron sword!
Offense: 66 vs. Defense: 10 with d100 roll: 56 = 112
... and hits for 30 damage!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
>
A large rat slumps to the ground.
>
sear rat
You search a large rat.
It had nothing else of value.
>
A large rat decays into the ground.
>

[Jumpkick]

I think I am going to add another stat specifically for energy ( like stamina is for health ). I don't like the idea of using intellect both as the main component for offensive spells and the amount of energy you have. Also, energy is most likely going to be available to all classes in the game, as everyone will be using spells in some fashion. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe Logic or Discipline.

[Jumpkick]

I am thinking of removing Presence in exchange for Spirit ( really just makes more sense in name, would have the same purpose ). Also considering moving to a 100 energy maximum for all classes, with all spells coming out of that pool. Pure caster classes would end up with some spell/skill that increases their maximum or increaess their 1/sec regen rate. Thoughts?

[Makkah]

How are you doing spells, btw?

Shared circles like GS?

All closed circles like DR?

[Jumpkick]

Closed circles, but probably with some overlap in usefulness ( ie. priest and wizard will have some way to regen mana )

[Jumpkick]

Does anyone know a decent managed hosting company? Best I can find is around $150/mo but was wondering if anyone had a good experience and could recommend a company.

[Back]

meccahosting.com

I guess I should qualify this and say that I pay around $70 a year to keep my domain and mail server up.

They are pretty good at keeping spam out as well.

[Jumpkick]

meccahosting.com

Sorry, I meant to say dedicated hosting. I need a windows server hosted somewhere for web/database/game hosting.

[Jumpkick]

For those interested, it looks like Softlayer ( merged with The Planet ) is offering the best pricing at around $159/mo.

[ZeroCodeBurn]

Something change about the server connection? Using MUSHClient, getting a time out.


IP: 76.104.190.87
Port: 4000

[Makkah]

Sorry, I'm fairly excited about this project...

http://clok.game-host.org/play/hmud/

That's the easiest access now. Lots of hard work that looks great so far.

[Jumpkick]

I recently moved and have not gotten the NAT setup yet. I'll post new IP address soon.

[Jumpkick]

Would you be more likely to use a custom silverlight/flash web client or custom downloadable client?