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Post by Gamemaster Tux on Aug 22, 2015 13:09:44 GMT 1
Okay. So, my name is Tux. Some of you may know me from other servers, under the mortal name Blitzkrieg / Maiden Mary / Joshua / Moses, and staff Tuxedo / Tux. I aided with the launch of the shard, doing some of the scripting, and then left to do my own things. There's a lot of reading for me to do, to catch up with bugs and suggestions. For those of you that know people that have left, or if you still check the forums, what drove or is driving you away from the server(and can it be fixed)? I understand there are minor bugs here and there. But small bugs don't ruin the quality of a game. I'm more interested in major bugs / unbalanced systems / lack of presence / lack of challenge...you get the gist. I look forward to everyone's input, and really hope we can get this server rolling in the right direction. We have a dedicated host. Let's put him to good use.
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Post by Deadly on Aug 23, 2015 23:02:00 GMT 1
Ive been one of the ones whining about the loot and thats due to the fact that ive been hunting crazy and didnt get that crazy items. But the items im mostly concern of is books which isnt that good of an item at all, they must be dropped easier cause without a book u cant really level magery so it kinda sucks that they are so rare. Ppl likes to play mages but on this shard its pretty much no idea to play mage. And the gmweaps, i dunno really cause now that the lootlevel is increased i really cant tell at all, but lootlevel is weird.
Skillgain need to be balanced, ive macroed magery now for 7 days and i got 90 in magery, dunno if the skillgain is slowed down?
And ye, more spawns for sure. The dungeons are half empty on bosses and with the lootlevel here we need more bosses around, 1 boss per level isnt really enough. Im not talking about the high end bosses, more like the brutes, ballys, balrogs, stomps, behes.
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Post by ironclad on Aug 24, 2015 9:08:38 GMT 1
This sounds like it could be a very good, and well needed change. I think in general the server needs to be made more accessible to attract new players, and there are a few changes I can think of that need to be considered to achieve this: - More even loot among mobs. Right now the only mobs worth killing are high-end bosses pretty much, unless you love power weapons and adept items then go ahead and farm balrons/behemoths/golden dragons. For a new player all these mobs are very challenging but the only ones that have a worthwhile chance to drop anything useful even for them seems to be the top level bosses. The lower bosses should at least feel like you want to loot and identify the items from imo, and not just for master items, but for decent damage mod weapons, higher prot level jewels etc. Books are also way too rare, we have found 0 books in several months hunting. I would say that mages are utterly useless apart from boosts here as a consequence. - Easier to get higher level mods on items. This concerns stuff like Devastation and level 4-6 prots. Skill mods seem to be at somewhat balanced level, with GM items dropping every now and then. But we find 1 devastation weapon in like 250 IDs from bosses (exaggerated), and when you find one it's 2-handed 1-tile or not swift or something that makes it useless. Level 4 prots I think we have found 3-4 of, while we have stopped picking up lv3 prots because they are EVERYWHERE. This does not include necro prot which seems to have been nerfed in % protection but buffed in how common it is. We actually found a lv6 necro prot shortly after the item wipe, but since then we have only seen lv4s everywhere (75% prot, same as we get from our armors). While perfect prot items should be rare, and swift deva weps should not be common either, the rate we're seeing now is ridiculous and not fun. - More spawns. Dreams had a lot of bosses spawned, and we did here before the last NPC wipe too. But now there's around 1 low-end boss per level in a dungeon, with a high end boss at the end. As I said earlier low-end bosses are basically useless to loot, so you are pretty much hacking your way through 2-4 levels of the dungeon just to fight 1 high end boss. This is not fun. Scatter low-end bosses on every level of a dungeon, not super many of course but 2-4 on each level as we have had before, and buff their loot. - Skill gains. This is a big one. If I were to start the shard right now I would quit in a week or two because my skills were barely progressing. Macroing and sparing is a big part of this game, but it should not exclusively be your first 2-3 months, right? We have been up for almost half a year or some shit, people who decide to join this late need to be able to get into the fun parts of the game faster than they are now. I started sparing a new char a few weeks back and I got to 130 dex and 130 str before I even had 115 tactics. Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with. And it's great to see that we have a bit more staff presence, Odin has had his hands full all summer I think
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Post by Tyr on Aug 24, 2015 12:30:59 GMT 1
thanks for the input guys. i will personally start spawning again like i did before the npc wipe and get some nice places up for you to hunt...
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Post by Gamemaster Tux on Aug 25, 2015 14:42:15 GMT 1
Sorry I hadn't had a chance to respond. We'll have some good things coming down the pipeline to enrich the atmosphere and encourage players to return, as well as attract new players. We just ask that you guys that are still here, get the word out that we're working to improve the shard, as requested by players.
Dungeon Spawns; are being handled by Tyr. As an avid and well known hunter on other servers, I feel he's best suited to spawn the world to a player's liking. Keep in mind that Tyr has a family, and will be working vigilantly with the time he has, I'm sure. He is handling world boss spawns, as well.
World Spawns; while Tyr will be handling world boss spawns, we are discussing the option of bringing a Counselor on, that has a passion for exploration and can bring the world to life, not just around major cities.
Staff; as with all servers, this game is free to play and Staffing does not bring us any income. Family and work HAVE to come first. Staffing is a passion. If you feel you have that passion, Private Message me, with your experience, drive, and a brief explanation as to why you would like to be Staff, and what you have to offer. First and foremost, this CN's responsibility will be primarily spawning the wilderness and being a friendly face that the population enjoys being around.
Loot; this is a rough topic. Finding a finely tuned balance, is hard. Someone will always complain. We will lose players because loot is too easy. We will lose players because loot is too hard. I don't believe I've ever been on a server where someone wasn't complaining about loot on the forums or in-game. That said, loot is still a very big concern, with books being hard to find, especially. Testing isn't exactly something that HAS to happen, in order to feel like loot is in a good place. Loot is based on a percentage system, basically, based on loot table and modifiers, dictates which items are more common. Pre-launch it was decided that Lvl 3 items would be the most common, with each level above becoming increasingly less common. I feel like some parts of the loot is in a good place. I can't stand seeing bags and bags of Deva's and GM weapons/armor. I feel like these items should be very, very rare. I don't think it's unacceptable for there to only be a handful of GM weapons on the server. Makes getting them feel that much more rewarding. On the other end of that, people get scared to leave town in their good gear, in fear of being killed in PvP and losing it, or system issues, causing a death...where someone can loot your gear with zero work put in. We will slowly, but surely, try to find a better balance.
Skill gains; now, I haven't had a chance to personally look at this, as it's extremely hard to find a balance. Odin is, and has been testing skill gains and adjusting them as he feels needed. Odin is one of the more veteran players, that I know. If anyone is qualified to make this call, I feel confident in his ability to gauge skill gains.
Webpage; this is something I would like to address. If any of your are versed in web design, I think it would be killer to get our own unique look. UO players have been using Proboards and generic web pages for years. Private Message me if you're interested in helping out. Perhaps throw in some screen shots of examples and prior work.
I, myself, have a family and a full time job. There are quite a few bug reports, and I'm coming back to the shard at a rough time. It may take me a week or two to properly comb through and move forward. But, I need you guys to help notify me of the issues.
Lastly, let's bring this shard back to life, people. Let's get on Top 100 sites, and bring new players to our server.
I look forward to seeing you all out and about.
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Post by ironclad on Aug 25, 2015 15:40:15 GMT 1
I believe the last changes Odin implemented increased the number of items dropped from some sources and the level of items slightly, so the issues I pointed out with not finding some items may already have been addressed. Increasing the number of available bosses will also increase the amount of potential items of course and might be a better option than buffing the loot level. My concern is only that people won't dare to venture outside of town with their good items because they put in months and months of work to get them, this will somewhat always be the case though. Slowly and steadily trying to find the right balance is the way to work it out, yes, just be careful with nerfs to the loot, it is a very delicate matter because it can give some players an unfair advantage. Your plans sounds good, anyway.
Great that you guys are putting some time into spawns, makes the world feel way more alive and immersive. Great that you are looking into skill gains, as we have a feeling that they might have slowed down lately.
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Post by button on Aug 26, 2015 1:12:25 GMT 1
skill gains are ridiculous. there is no way to catch up to people who have lvl5 chars that they made in 3 months. at the current rate itll take 1-2 years to have a level 5 char. Need to look into the lvl 5 maps too. for some reason nemesis is spawning in them and shouldn't be. This is the worst loot on any server ive ever played. you should be able to find a swift dev after killing 50 end level bosses and 150 ballies , 500 umbral flickers, 500 ufs...etc. the point is, hunting just isnt fun, at all. I feel like all ive done here is waste a shit load of time. ive done 100 lvl4 tmaps and have 1 gm armor to show for it, along with a few masters and a couple of gm skill items. some guys ask who has the time to hunt 9 hours a day, well i have and its been fucking pointless. this shard will NEVER gain a playerbase, its lost its chance. im kind of surprised it hasnt gone offline already just like dreams to be honest. And then theres the corruption. Look at Roehler who gets the Godlike Sages robe (celestial mastery) 2 fucking days after its implemented. or kunai and some others who have ebook/nbook. i never see them out hunting, never see them at BB, never see them out doing tmaps, rarely see them online, but somehow they have all the items that people who are actually playing the game can never fucking get. Fuck this place.
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Post by Tyr on Aug 26, 2015 1:38:00 GMT 1
i am sorry about your hardships button i really am. if you would like to talk about your situation please feel free to contact me and i will answer the best i can.
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Post by Gamemaster Tux on Aug 29, 2015 20:41:59 GMT 1
We've gotten a couple applications in for new staff members. I just got back from the hospital; had my son two days ago, so I haven't been online. Those that have applied, give me 24 more hours, and we'll be making our final decision. Thanks you all for your patience and concerns.
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Post by Gamemaster Tux on Aug 31, 2015 17:38:20 GMT 1
I do not know if he introduced himself, but Counselor Rain is the newest addition to staff.
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