February 22nd, 2001

Skills & Learn Levels

Chaykin says, 'I was always under the impression that skills (fight skills) don't have learn levels, ie, the earlier they are learned, the better you are at them.'

Chaykin says, 'however I noticed in "help skills" it says bash has such a thing'

LadyAce says, 'doesn't matter when you learn the skill'

Chaykin says, 'I was wondering if that's true, and if so, whether or not all the fight skills have learn levels'

Chaykin nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Kaige says, 'wishful thinking in the helpfiles that still hasn't been fixed'

LadyAce says, 'it's fixed in the bash helpfile, lemme go fix it in that one'

Rowane grumbles.

Kaige says, 'it was SUPPOSED to.. or at least that was the impression that everyone but Sadist was under'

Kaige shrugs philosophically.

Chaykin laughs at Kaige.

Rowane says to LadyAce, 'yeah, that brings up a point, might lead other people to learn skills before they learn some of their spellwords'

Rowane pouts.

Chaykin says to Kaige, 'well it's going to be like that under trees right?'

Chaykin comforts Rowane.

Kaige says to Chaykin, 'I believe we had something like that in mind for trees, but I'm not sure where that lies in the current plans'

Kaige looks at Ea! questioningly.

Chaykin nods his agreement with Kaige.

Ea! says to Kaige, 'It's still on the list.'

Kaige nods solemnly.

Kaige smiles happily.

Chaykin smiles happily.

Chaykin says, 'that was my question :)'

LadyAce says, 'it has some devilish implementation details to overcome.'

LadyAce says, 'ta da, fixed.'

Ea! says, 'Actually, I think Rufus had managed to find a good idea that balanced skill learn levels with usage nicely in such a way that it didn't cause chaos or allow people to kick over and over again to be amazing at it.'

Chaykin cheers for LadyAce - huzzah!

Ea! says, 'It might even be coded.'

Chaykin says to Ea!, 'before trees?'

Ea! says, 'But I forget. Certainly never got into testing it.'

Ea! says to Chaykin, 'Nope.'

Chaykin nods his agreement with Ea!.

Chaykin giggles.

Kaige nods her agreement with Ea!.

Etheric Archer Spell

Rowane says, 'Guess I'll start off with an idea, was looking into the etheric archer spell...that is a lot of mana for a charmie that lasts only one fight, how about lowering the mana or maybe letting the charmie stay around for a bit?'

Rowane says, 'any thoughts on maybe changing it?'

Rowane looks hopeful.

Sandra says, 'alot of mana for a charmie that does a fair bit of damage'

LadyAce says to Rowane, 'part of the thing with the archer is it's geared toward those single fights'

Rowane says to Sandra, 'I suppose'

Ea! says, 'It's not intended to be a charmie for the 2-3 round fights -- it's intended to be for the big fights.'

LadyAce says to Rowane, 'it'd just be like every other charmy if we made it stick around. we'd have to decrease its power if it was persistent like that'

Rowane says to Ea!, 'but it still takes up a slot in fighting doesn't it?'

Chaykin says, 'I think it should chat more often'

Ea! says to Rowane, 'it does.'

Rowane says to Ea!, 'so maybe i misunderstand you, you mean big fights individually, I thought you meant big fights where you need a group to kill'

LadyAce says to Rowane, 'well, big fights that don't involve 10-person groups I spose'

Rowane nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Chunk says to Rowane, 'intended to use on mobs that are hard =p'

Ea! says to Rowane, 'Or in big fights -- start it off with the archer and have someone else jump in when it dies.'

LadyAce says, 'it's sort of a targetted spell for a niche market'

Chaykin says, 'the archer is really neat'

Rowane says to Chunk in a harsh grating voice, 'gee, thanks for clearing that up'

Rowane peers at himself myopically.

Chaykin says, 'and hey, you get a free timed bow out of the deal'

Chaykin giggles.

Ea! says, 'The problem being that if we make it less of a niche spell, we have to make it suck more.'

Bug with the Archer and/or Shoot?

Chaykin says, 'I think I may have bugged this but I thought I'd bring it up anyway. The etheric archer is exploitable'

Chaykin says, 'this happened between my create mage and another person'

Chaykin says, 'we killed one mob, she animated the corpse'

Chaykin says, 'we attacked another of the same mob, I cast archer, it fled'

Chaykin says, 'the archer shot and attacked her charmie'

Chaykin says, 'and we weren't accepting each other'

Rowane chuckles politely.

Ea! looks up into the sky and ponders.

Ea! says, 'Wierd.'

LadyAce says, 'probably because it can't tell your charmy from your enemy'

LadyAce says, 'seems reasonable enough to me :P'

Chaykin says, 'yeah but it could be used to kill mobs belonging to non enabled people couldn't it?'

LadyAce says, 'well, I can see why it'd be a bad thing, but I can also see why the mob would get confused.'

Chaykin says, 'granted it's kinda obscure but still'

Chaykin says, 'thought it worth mentioning'

Darla says, 'couldn't it be fixed to only target non-chamed mobs?'

LadyAce says, 'well, unless you were fighting a charmy and wanted help'

Darla says, 'but you couldn't attack the charmy anyway'

LadyAce says, 'it's more likely a matter of keywords'

Chaykin says, 'but to be fighting that charmie you'd need to be accepting its owner right?'

Chunk says, 'not a good idea for fix =p'

LadyAce says, 'right, but the archer wouldn't know that'

Chaykin says, 'maybe the archer should just be bound by the same pk rules its summoner is, could that be done?'

Darla has faith that coders can fix anything.

Ea! says, 'I'm sort of suprised that it isn't...'

Darla smiles at Ea!.

LadyAce says, 'the problem is in the keywords of the mob, I would bet'

LadyAce says, 'not in the rest of the coding'

Chaykin nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Chunk says, 'it would but its just like killing someone elses dopple.. it can be done without pk accepting'

LadyAce says, 'the shoot act has to have a target after all'

Chaykin says to LadyAce, 'yeah but at least the archer would fail if it tried to attack the charmie, if it were bound to the caster's accept list'

Hp says, 'they still shoot ageing arrows?'

Chaykin says, 'oh well, that was it for that'

Ea! says to Hp, 'That's in-game info, so I can't answer it.'

LadyAce says to Chaykin, 'well, Ea is checking. I think it's a matter of shoot being different.'

Hp says, 'ohh'

Hp says, 'heh my bad'

Chaykin nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Chaykin says, 'okie'

Ea! says to Chaykin, 'It'll take some real investigation to figure out what's going on -- from a quick look it does look like it should be blocked from fighting.'

Chaykin says to Ea!, 'strange'

Ea! will need to reproduce it with the mud under a debugger to figure out what's going on.

Chaykin says to Ea!, 'we can do it again for you if you want'

Ea! says to Chaykin, 'It'd be nice to see that it wasn't just some sort of wierd fluke... 'cause it'll be a bit of a pain to work through.'

Chaykin says to Ea!, 'after the Q&A we can stage a reenactment Unsolved Mysteries style'

Chaykin says, 'but with better actors'

Naming Player Housing

Rowane says, 'wanted to know about naming houses, I know you can add specific names to the house in the room title if you ask an imm, is there any possibility that players can have a bit more freedom in changing the room title, no offense but as i'

Chaykin nods his agreement with Rowane.

Rowane says, 'err, but as is, housing names can be pretty bland'

Chunk nods his agreement with Rowane.

Chunk says, 'been asking that for a long time now'

LadyAce says, 'There's no ability for players to choose house names. Suggest your ideas to the area builders with the idea command.'

Chunk even knows the answer to this one..

Chunk grins evilly at LadyAce.. wonder what he's thinking...

Chaykin says, 'I'd be happy to keep the actual room name if we at least had some flexibility in the name department, ie, we could add the last name instead of first'

Paribus says, 'is it because of a code limitation or is it because of policy?'

Rowane says, 'is there any reason why you wouldn't want to give players this option?'

Chaykin says to Rowane, 'the builders don't want the mood of their areas ruined'

Hp nods his agreement with Chaykin.

LadyAce says, 'it's a matter of policy, the builders have pretty much personal control over the content of their areas'

Paribus nods solemnly.

Somar sniffs sadly.

LadyAce says, 'and the review process for that would be a real pain'

Rowane says to Chaykin, 'makes sense in the introductory room, but in back rooms in big houses, I just wish there was more freedom'

LadyAce says, 'we do allow first & last names if you have your desc done that way, or pretitle if you have that'

Darla says, 'I wish we could know what the rooms to add on are before building a house'

LadyAce says, 'like Sir West & Lady Minako's (etc)'

LadyAce says, 'that's a feature we want too'

Chaykin says to LadyAce, 'not just the last name though, like for a family'

LadyAce nods her agreement with Chaykin.

How's Assassin Game Going?

Rowane says, 'how is the assassins game going?'

LadyAce raises her eyebrow at Kaige.

LadyAce doesn't know :)

Rowane chuckles politely.

Kaige doesn't either really. She's been out more than in.

Kaige hangs her head.

Chaykin comforts Kaige.

Rowane laughs with amusement.

Rowane nods solemnly.

Paribus blinks.

Rowane says, 'suppose I can ask ruby'

Kaige says, 'I haven't thought to check the deaths log too.'

Paribus chuckles politely.

LadyAce gives Kaige a huge bearhug - your ribs ache in sympathy.

Kaige nods her agreement with Rowane.

Kaige says, 'easy on the ribs'

Kaige giggles.

Rowane says, 'ok, thanks'

SkillTrees

Paribus says, 'I haven't been playing for a long time so forgive me if the answer is obvious. Who is currently coding the skill trees nowadays?'

LadyAce says, 'nobody, the project is officially 'on hold''

Ea! says, 'No one -- it's on hold.'

Paribus nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'the plans for now are to work on things that need to go in before trees'

Darla says, 'I think an imm should wear an item strung skilltrees'

Darla giggles.

Chunk says, 'that include new hometowns and item acts?'

LadyAce giggles.

Hp snickers at Darla nastily.

Chaykin giggles at Darla.

LadyAce says, 'those are sort of after-trees type things'

Chunk snorts derisively.

Ea! says, 'Object acts aren't planned for trees -- they're an independant project.'

LadyAce says, 'only so far we can get on hometowns without skills to put in them'

Chunk snorts derisively.

Kaige says, 'I dunno if I'd term them a PROJECT as much as a MESS'

Chunk says, 'darn both of it!'

Chaykin winces in sympathy with Kaige.

LadyAce says, 'not much use designing an area for code that is so far from done'

Chunk says, 'skill trees.. grumble'

LadyAce says, 'better to put in the areas on a more independent model, yanno?'

Chunk nods his agreement with LadyAce.

How's the Balanace Looking?

Chaykin says, 'a pair of questions really, first'

Chaykin says, 'before the hp code change went in, you all said you wanted to wait and make sure everything went well with that for the time being. There don't seem to be many complaints, so would you rate it pretty well balanced and basically a succes'

Chaykin says, 'er success?'

LadyAce says, 'I think another week before I'd close the book on it'

Ea! says, 'Yeah, basically. I think there's probably still some more things that need to be done.'

LadyAce says, 'I'm conservative on matters of balance :)'

Hp says, 'ohh im just a tiny bit upset...'

Hp says, 'i would have over 1000hps if they didnt do that change =P'

Hp says, 'only gonna have 970 something now =P'

Darla says, 'I gained 37 hp in the change'

Chaykin says, 'okay cool, and second, you mentioned a package of changes to dex, is that still in the works and is it one of the projects being worked on after hp is a closed case?'

Ea! says, 'It's still in the works.'

LadyAce says, 'it's something that we want done, but no one is working on it yet'

Chaykin nods solemnly.

LegendMEET Scheduled yet?

Hp says, 'anyone know if theirs going to be a legend meet this year?'

Chunk shrugs helplessly.

Chunk says to Hp, 'im thinking about holding one'

Darla says, 'yes there is, we'll pick you up'

Hp grins evilly at Chunk.. wonder what he's thinking...

Chaykin giggles at Darla.

LadyAce says, 'no one's announced one as of yet'

Chunk says to Hp, 'not sure yet if so or when'

Chunk would love to..

Why do pk bans carry to pk tourneys?

Chunk says, 'mind if i ask a personal question? and hopefully not be taken "special" or whatnot'

LadyAce says, 'ask away, no promises as to an answer'

LadyAce winks suggestively at Chunk.

Chunk says, 'first a quick part.. do you know how long i have been pk banned?'

Kaige says, 'this time or before?'

LadyAce says, 'I don't think I've kept track, but I could look it up.'

Chunk says to Kaige, 'this time =p'

Chunk thinks close to 3-4 months..

Chunk looks up into the sky and ponders.

LadyAce says, 'what was part 2? Or did you want me to go look it up? :)'

Chunk says to LadyAce, 'can look it up :)'

Chunk says, 'next part being.. why do we hold pk bans over onto other ports aka pk tourneys'

Chunk says, 'being that pk tourneys are organized pk also limited to what immortals tell you to do.. dont see why a ban would hurt someone from not competing'

Sandra says, 'for the same reason we'd hold any ban on other ports'

Chunk looks up into the sky and ponders.

Chunk says to Sandra, 'but its not like its a site ban im dealing with =p'

Sandra says, 'that's like sitebanning someone, but letting them come to tournies =P'

Chunk looks up into the sky and ponders.

Chunk says to Sandra, 'nah site ban i can see'

Kaige says, 'If you recall before pkok, we used to require individuals who competed in most Pk tourneys on other ports to be pk enabled here as well.'

Sandra says, 'it's the same thing. It's still a punishment'

Chunk says, 'pk ban over tournies seems strange..'

Kaige says, 'The reason was, why give them all the fun and advanatages of pkill without any of the long term responsibilities'

Chunk says to Kaige, 'true but still had more than a share of non-enabled players'

Kaige says, 'I said most. But the reason remains the same. And I was never for having non-enableds play anyway.'

Chunk tickles Kaige.

Chaykin says, 'well, I don't really see how you're giving someone "all the fun and advantages of pkill" in a twice-a-year tourney though'

Chunk nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'well, I stick to the policy on the grounds that if you've had something taken away as a punishment, my actions (like running a game) should not ease the pain of that punishment.'

Darla says, 'I never did quite see the fun and advantage in pkill'

Darla shrugs to herself.

Kaige says to Chaykin, 'well if they're not pkilling at all...'

Kaige shrugs helplessly.

Chaykin conjures a duck out of midair and throws it at Darla!

LadyAce says, 'I don't have any problem with non pkers in tourneys. Just banned folk.'

Chunk says, 'lastly would be.. i figure pk bans arent permanent and was wondering when you review them or whatever to that degree'

Chaykin says to Kaige, 'well I'm not saying it in Chunk's defense, only because I know one or two people who were against pk, entered a tourney, and decided to try it afterwards because they had fun'

Chaykin shrugs philosophically.

Kaige says, 'well first time bans are often more lenient than second time ones.'

LadyAce says, 'some bans are permanent, some have a date attached to them.'

Chunk says, 'would mine be perma?'

Chunk raises an eyebrow inquiringly.

Kaige nods her agreement with Chaykin.

Kaige says, 'I don't recall if it was stated that way or not when the latest ban was given'

LadyAce says, 'I think Sandra would remember.'

Chunk was just given it wasnt really told..

Chunk also kinda thought it was dumb but thats a different story =p

LadyAce says, 'as I recall, the situation was "we'll remove your pk ban, but if it happens again, the ban will be permanent"'

Chunk says to LadyAce, 'nod'

LadyAce says, 'so the 2nd ban was perm.'

Chunk rolls his eyes heavenward.

Chunk says, 'but the ban this time was really misunderstandings.. if you can actually see that'

LadyAce says, 'i don't feel like we're in a position where we have to rehabilitate people.'

Chunk raises an eyebrow inquiringly.

Ikaru giggles.

LadyAce says, 'at some point we can simply shrug our shoulders and say the end.'

Ikaru says to LadyAce, 'makes sense considering the nature of this game'

Ikaru says, 'game being the key word'

Chunk says, 'so you feel even if the ban was made because of misunderstandings you just turn your head and say forget it?'

LadyAce says, 'it's not fair to other players to let ourselves deal with repeat offenders'

Chaykin nods his agreement with Ikaru.

LadyAce says, 'we wouldn't put a ban in place without some pretty strong feelings.'

Chunk has no clue why he was banned then..

Chunk is completely boggled.

Ikaru says to Chunk, 'they didn't tell you?'

Chunk says, 'strong feelings for my pker in question being multied while trying to talk to my best friend end resulting in a ban?'

Kaige says to Chunk, 'it's not just misunderstandings... it's how you handle them and your tendency to type before thinking a situation through that's more at the heart of the problem'

Ikaru giggles at Kaige.

Chunk says to Kaige, 'sorry if i care for my best friend..'

Ikaru says to Kaige, 'oh yes i do that alot'

Ikaru says, 'way too much'

Sandra says to Chunk, 'you know it was more than that'

Sandra says, 'so don't try and make it like it wasn't =P'

Chunk says to Sandra, 'actually it wasnt'

Chunk says to Sandra, 'even she will tell you that i promise you'

LadyAce says, 'oh, gosh, let's not hash this out in this forum.'

LadyAce says, 'who else has a question?'

Kaige nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Sandra nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Chunk shrugs philosophically.

Chunk says, 'just wanted a real answer for "strong feelings" that dont sound stupid'

Chunk scuffles his feet around in the dirt.

Ikaru comforts Chunk.

Chunk sighs loudly.

LadyAce says, 'well, as I recall, it was a matter of mixing IC and OOC actions, a great deal of temper tantruming, xplay, harassment, and legions of complaints and imm time handling it all.'

Chunk laughs with amusement.

LadyAce says, 'it was a giant mess that sucked people in for weeks, and I think it's very unfair to do that to the rest of the players.'

Chunk says, 'we should really talk about this somewhere else because it seems you know nothing of what happened'

Sandra says, 'I was there, and she seemed to nail it pretty much'

LadyAce says, 'laugh all you like. I thought "strong feelings" was a polite summary :P'

Darla says to Chunk, 'trying to use more imm time now?'

Chaykin says, 'heh'

Chunk says, 'well considering all that happened was between 2 players one of mine one of hers i dont see all the other stuff even peek into more than half that category'

Chunk says, 'unless you count icq as xplay'

Chunk snickers softly.

Ikaru says, 'i'm sure there speaking strictly about mud things'

Chunk says to Ikaru, 'my point being the misunderstandings they have ;)'

Ikaru says to Chunk, 'well then be specific=) after write it all up'

Any more on March Madness Tinyplot?

Chaykin says, 'okay! when will we be hearing more about March Madness?'

Darla says, 'yeah, I have some ideas for it'

Chaykin smiles at Darla.

Darla says, 'well, with an alt. I've had enough madness with this char'

LadyAce says, 'Right now my general aim is to make sure that there is NO talk of evil, good, light, dark, heaven, hell, angels, or devils.'

Darla cheers for LadyAce - huzzah!

Chaykin cheers wildly!

Chunk snickers softly.

Chunk says to LadyAce, 'amen!'

Chaykin says, 'gee, you're excluding 80% of Legend's RP there'

Chaykin snickers softly.

Darla says, 'good, I've had enough of evil vs good.'

LadyAce says, 'and I'll need about 3 people to kick things off, and lots of joiners from there.'

Sasha says, 'what are you talking about? I thought you were talking about basketball'

Sasha laughs with amusement.

Chaykin says to LadyAce, 'I'll vounteer, I have several chars that don't fit any of those categories'

LadyAce smiles at Chaykin.

Ikaru says, 'all of my characters are human'

Chaykin nods his agreement with Ikaru.

Ikaru says, 'don't get me started on that=p'

Chaykin jumps in the air and slams a thunderous high-5 with Ikaru!

Darla says, 'almost all my chars are neutral. I'd have to know more of what your are planning to know how to fit in though'

Ikaru says, 'i am the demi god of cheese and baloni sandwichs fear me!'

Chaykin nods his agreement with Darla.

Chaykin giggles at Ikaru.

Chunk snickers softly.

Darla cowers in fear of Ikaru's wrath!

Chaykin says, 'all bow down to the Almighty Grapefruit!'

Ikaru says, 'oh another one, i just met someone like that last week=)'

Chaykin falls to his knees and worships the earth and sky.

LadyAce says, 'this is one where it's tough to give out details without giving out the key plot twist :)'

Chunk says, 'i have only ever made one sorta non human character'

Chunk flops about helplessly.

Chaykin nods his agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'but the basic idea is pretty much as I was saying last week... bizarre behavior sweeps the mud with an unknown cause.'

Darla says, 'I have two I guess, but they aren't almighty'

Chunk cant stand all these oh im supreme being from hell sent to heaven as a spy now working for the Dark Lord but loving trees!

LadyAce says, 'and so I will need some volunteers to cause it'

Chaykin says to LadyAce, 'neat.'

Ikaru says to LadyAce, 'cause bizarre behaviour?'

LadyAce says, 'but from there I am hoping people will be able to just be loony :)'

Ikaru says, 'but what if i am already bizarre?'

Chaykin says, 'I behave pretty bizarrely as is ;)'

Ikaru throws his head back and cackles with insane glee!

Ikaru grins evilly.

Chunk snickers softly.

Darla says, 'hmm, I can cause it, but I'd rather not be loony'

LadyAce nods solemnly.

Chunk says, 'fall in to that category of "strange and unusual"'

Chaykin says to Darla, 'you did that once already anyway'

Ikaru says to Darla, 'the boat has sailed?'

Darla nods her agreement with Chaykin.

Ikaru giggles.

Darla says, 'though you might need somebody magical to cause it. I have no powers other than good aim'

Darla says, 'and my charm'

Darla bats her eyelashes.

Chunk is completely boggled.

Chaykin says, 'if Chay goes loony, I think he'd start dressing up in a suit and tie and become an investment banker'

Ikaru says to Darla, 'charm?'

Ikaru says, 'really?'

LadyAce giggles.

LadyAce jumps in the air and slams a thunderous high-5 with Sasha!

LadyAce says, 'I will have to remember to post some more details'

Chaykin says to LadyAce, 'so it'll be going on around the beginning of March, middle?'

LadyAce says, 'starting the 3rd of march...'

Chaykin smiles happily.

Chaykin says, 'I'll be there with bells on'

LadyAce says, 'not sure how much it'd continue from there, depends on what people do with it'

LadyAce nods solemnly.

LadyAce giggles.

LadyAce says, 'so, anyone else have questions?'

LadyAce says, 'if not I'll go back to reformatting the expies thing to send out over email'

LadyAce says, 'timeconsuming!'

Chaykin comforts LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'okie, sounds like we covered everything :)'

LadyAce says, 'thanks for stopping in, crew.'

LadyAce waves happily.

LadyAce gives a big hug to everyone in the room.

Chaykin says, 'nice brisk Q&A tonight'

Paribus waves happily.

Paribus says, 'wow..this was considered brisk?'

Chaykin says, 'yeah sometimes it goes twice this long'

Ikaru peers around the room intently.

Darla says, 'yes, only an hour'

Paribus faints.

Ea! waves happily.

Chunk nods his agreement with Chaykin.

Darla says, 'well, no big changes this week'

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