November 14th, 2002

Backstab Change = More Misses?

Karrion says, 'I was wondering about how the backstab code change effects level 50 chars'

Karrion says, 'I seem to be missing quite a few more since than I had before'

Kaige looks around for Huginn.

LadyAce finishes writing on a small piece of paper from LadyAce.

Kaige panics and attempts to flee.

Kaige says, 'lemme look and see what I can tell from the code here.'

Karrion smiles happily.

LadyAce nods her agreement with Kaige.

LadyAce says, 'while she's looking, any general thoughts about the game & perc?'

Sandra says, 'I don't think the hit/miss was changed. Just damage'

Kaige nods her agreement with Sandra.

Kaige says to Sandra, 'that was my impression too'

LadyAce says, 'and dex too, I guess'

Sandra says, 'and it shouldn't be noticeable for lvl 50s'

Karrion says, 'hmm.. well, xpin' in Klien I am missing quite a bit more since that change, however..'

Jenna says, 'bad rolls'

Jenna comforts Karrion.

Karrion says, 'maybe it's just my turn to have crappy luck :P'

Kaige says, 'yeah. damage was the only thing changed'

Kaige nods her agreement with Jenna.

Sandra giggles.

Sandra nods her agreement with Karrion.

Karrion says, 'for many days in a row :P'

Karrion snaps his fingers. ATTITUDE!

LadyAce points at Orphen.

Where to Find Past Update Info?

Orphen says, 'where can I find all the changes up to 2 years back?'

Kaige says, 'LT archives would have the majority of them'

Orphen says, 'it HAS been that long since I last logged on'

Sandra says, 'help updates has major changes'

Kaige says, 'help updates would have the high-lights'

Orphen says, 'thanks'

LadyAce smiles at Orphen.

Kaige says, 'and you should be able to surf more easily between issues with the new Previous/index/next links at the tops and bottoms of the web issues'

Jager cheers wildly!

Bow Discussion

Karrion says, 'bows were changed to 2 handed a bit back, wonderin' if that was for realism or..?'

LadyAce says, 'there's an element of realism, absolutely'

Karrion nods solemnly.

Kaige says, 'wasn't really a balance issue other than people who didn't have a free hand to pull the string shouldn't have been able to do it for realism reasons'

Karrion says, 'well, got an idea about that'

LadyAce says, 'there's a bit of balance to it because of differentiating it from guns'

Kaige says, 'no, you can't use your teeth. =)'

Karrion says, 'why is it that a bow can jam, realistically? :P'

Karrion says, 'if your an expert archer'

Orphen says to LadyAce, 'will there be an introduction of one-handed mini-crossbows? ^ ^;'

LadyAce says, 'an advantage to guns'

Kaige says, 'because they do.. inferior crafted arrows mostly'

LadyAce says to Orphen, 'it's allowed by the spec, sure'

Jager nods solemnly.

Karrion looks up into the sky and ponders.

Karrion says, 'I do some archery rl and havn't had that happen yet, but what can ya do?'

Karrion chuckles politely.

Sandra says, 'we need to change the message for that. RIght now I think we just bastardized the gun code =P'

Karrion jumps in the air and slams a thunderous high-5 with Sandra!

Kaige nods her agreement with Sandra.

Karrion says, 'xactly'

Karrion giggles.

Sandra giggles.

Karrion says, 'also, was wonderin' what the chances are that bows don't break sneak?'

Karrion whistles innocently to himself.

Karrion says, 'be kinda nice, gun/bow differance thing'

Kaige says, 'just be glad we remembered to case out exploding'

Jenna says, 'you'd think a deadeye would notice a defective arrow'

Karrion says, 'and realism be cool.'

Karrion nods his agreement with Jenna.

Karrion wrinkles his nose at Kaige.

Karrion says to Kaige, 'I should say so!'

Sandra says, 'Probably something we'd need to discuss a bit more, regarding breaking sneak. I don't think it'd be a big thing, personally'

Kaige says, 'actually that's not code, but more on the building side'

Kaige says, 'the bows exploding.. not the sneak thing'

Karrion says, 'well, i've found I para more often while sneaking'

LadyAce says, 'I think it's more a matter of the message not being realistic...'

Kaige applauds Karrion's quick thinking and good judgment.

Karrion says, 'and seem to do more damage as well'

Karrion says, 'so it would be quite nice for stun shots (in the 1/20 chance I get a stab on it)'

LadyAce says to Kaige, 'do any bows explode? I was sure we found them all'

Sandra shakes her head in disagreement with LadyAce.

Kaige says to LadyAce, 'they shoudln't now.. only new ones might'

Kaige giggles.

Orphen says, 'bows explode now?!'

Orphen says, 'kewl =)'

Sandra says, 'they're all 0 chance'

LadyAce says, 'they shouldn't :) if you find one, it's a bug.'

Karrion giggles.

Karrion says to Sandra, 'pretty much :P'

Kaige fiddles with Sandra's cute little pink bow and sets it to 99%.

An aura of heavenly light appears above Kaige's head.

Sandra goes EEK! at Kaige in distress - isn't Kaige an awful person for teasing?

LadyAce says, 'mostly I think the jamming is very much a <> sort of thing'

Sandra says, 'no fiddling with my bow while I'm on pain medicine'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

Orphen looks up into the sky and ponders.

Kaige lies through her teeth (fingers?) too.

Karrion nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Karrion says to LadyAce, 'sucks that an expert fails something so simple, though :P'

Karrion says, 'but I understand what your meaning'

Karrion smiles happily.

Karrion says, 'that sneak thing be something should be looked into, though. Realism, gun/bow advantage/disadvantage, be a nice thing to go in.'

Everything's Tougher Now?

Orphen says, 'I noticed the mobs got harder in almost every area'

Orphen says, 'any reason for that?'

Sandra says, 'chars got tougher. I don't think we've beefed up too many existing mobs though'

Karrion says, 'I just wish there was an area with agg mobs and greater risk/dificulty factor that didn't require a group to spend time in'

Orphen says, 'most of the stuff in my regular hunting grounds seem to have toughened up'

Karrion says, 'i'm not really a big fan of the hurkin' group scene.'

LadyAce says, 'I agree that a more aggro non group area would be fun -- be sure to toss that on idea?'

Orphen says, 'they either hit harder.. or doubled in hps..'

Karrion nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Sandra says to Orphen, 'so did alot of chars =P'

Karrion says, 'i'm hoping Kae dosn't make another SL/PD/KZ/AT outta inferno'

Karrion says, 'would be a huge disapointment.'

Sandra says, 'as far as I'm aware, that's not her intent'

Karrion says, 'that was one of the joys of the old hell'

Karrion gets all misty eyed.

Karrion giggles.

LadyAce says, 'I think she does intend it to be eeevil :)'

LadyAce says, 'a lot of these group areas are mostly group areas because people group up to avoid the evil'

Orphen says, 'I really miss those newbie days where it takes you 7-8 rounds to kill a monster at your level, sleep 4 or 5 ticks, and go after another monster at your level..'

LadyAce says, 'People have solo'd SL and AT.'

Karrion says, 'that would be good, but - the massive, annoying, spammy, headache causing group'

Karrion says to LadyAce, 'yes, yes.. but a noncaster can't go in there and actually do anything.'

Karrion says, 'mine remmed light and hung out with skatha.. bout it, though'

Kaos says to Sandra, 'pft saint'

Sandra winks suggestively at Kaos.

Karrion says, 'your speaking mainly of con keres with no life at all there, LA'

Nephiel nods his agreement with Karrion.

Karrion says, 'I wanna be able to go into an aggro, risky area and actually do something without a spammy group'

Kaos says, 'con create = bad and boring and giving create a bad name'

LadyAce says, 'well, not with AT, I'm not :) Noncasters can live through a fair bit of it :) but yes, being a mage does help a great deal with solo actions'

Karrion says, 'consisting of the same 4 folks on EVERY run ever done on the mud.'

Karrion says, 'with a few alternates to fill out the remainder of the group.'

Orphen says, 'I don't know of a non-mage who could solo SL..'

Orphen says, 'not by themselves anyways'

Nephiel nods solemnly.

Kaos says, 'my alt with a surgy :)'

LadyAce says, 'well, maybe you should form groups that don't include the usual suspects :)'

Karrion says, 'bleh.. missing my point entirely'

Karrion chuckles politely.

Poppy says, 'that's not soloing, that's duoing'

Kaos says, 'well cant do cuch and horse but all the warrios hounds sons'

Nephiel says, 'con creates aren't quite soloing, it's that they're the only actual player'

Kaos says, 'most consider that solo'

Kaos says, 'I dont'

Kaos smiles happily.

Nephiel nods solemnly.

Orphen says to Kaos, 'wouldn't that be fixed by making guns 2 handed?'

Kaos says, 'Im create and I cant even kill a hound with my crappy charmies'

Karrion says, 'just saying you sure as hell can't level up in AT/SL/KZ/AT alone'

Kaige would go insane from boredom with trying.

LadyAce says, 'I don't think you can expect a solo char to have all the advantages of a group of characters working together.'

Nephiel comforts Kaos.

Orphen looks up into the sky and ponders.

Kaos says, 'the hound would dying laughing at me maybe'

LadyAce says, 'having an area to have fun in solo doesn't sound like a bad request, that's why I said to use idea to remind us of the need :)'

Karrion says to LadyAce, 'I don't, I just miss being able to go to a more difficult area and be able to xp and money run and grab eq alone'

Karrion nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Kaos says, 'KZ needs ripped out'

Karrion shakes his head.

Kaos nods to himself.

Sandra says, 'why? too hard for ya? ;)'

Orphen says, 'any chances of a future +3str/+2spi earring?'

LadyAce says, 'if you don't like it, don't go there, gosh.'

Karrion says, 'nah, people just need to grow some b.. nuggets'

Karrion says, 'I been trying to go forever, but never enough people willing.'

LadyAce says, 'don't tear down somebody's hard work just cuz it's not your cuppa'

Kaos says to Sandra, 'dunno I refuse to go in there. poorly built all the mobs outta whack'

Sandra says to Orphen, 'dunno. Idea it and we'll see'

Nephiel says to Karrion, 'same with me'

Karrion peers at Kaos, looking him up and down.

Kaos says to Sandra, 'and only one good peice of EQ'

Karrion says to Kaos, 'you wierd'

Sandra says, 'if you refuse to go in, how do you know if the mobs are out of whack and poorly built?'

Karrion says, 'best xp I have found in the game'

LadyAce says, 'then give your suggestions for improving it, I know Bart works on the area all the time.'

Karrion says, 'and I been on all those other group runs multiple times'

Orphen says to Karrion, 'where?'

Karrion says, 'I personally like the area'

Karrion says to Orphen, 'Kill Zone'

Orphen looks up into the sky and ponders.

Orphen says, 'where's that?'

LadyAce says to Orphen, 'there's an expansion to Paris Opera which has been dubbed KZ for Kill Zone'

Karrion says, 'just because the mobs are about meaner dosn't mean they are outta whack'

Kaos says, 'I like going places where I can kill things solo/ most people dont like grouping with me anyways'

Orphen says, 'hm.. no area discription on kill zone..'

Nephiel says, 'i don't mind grouping if things are still interesting in the group'

Sandra says, 'it's the paris sewers'

Kaige says, 'try parisexp'

Orphen says to Karrion, 'good xp?'

Karrion nods his agreement with Orphen.

Kaos says, 'paris at level 50?'

Karrion says, 'best in game that I have seen'

Karrion says, 'and like I say, been to all the other spots countless times'

Nephiel waves happily.

Karrion says, 'just a bit time consuming due to the difficulty level.'

Kaos says, 'I used to level in paris so long ago with another alt'

Orphen says, 'I used to until the fobs went broke..'

LadyAce says, 'who else has questions & comments & whatnot?'

Karrion says, 'I used to level from 25 to 50 in hell'

Kaos says, 'and noblemen'

Karrion says, 'was great.'

Kaos says, 'yea I loved hell'

Kaos says, 'hell went away so I retired my con create. im hopeing Kae will make me wanna play them again'

Karrion says, 'that is the kinda area I am hoping we get soon. Soloable mostly, decent risk factor.. takes much exploring before you can solo run it, too.'

Karrion says, 'but you can actually explore without needing a cr for your cr crew'

Karrion says, 'I used to run hell with non casters'

Kaos says, 'I used to run Hell with Killer, yo =P'

Kaos smirks.

Karrion chuckles politely.

Karrion says, 'I always preferred it solo, myself.'

Sandra says, 'so did I =P'

Orphen says, 'rudh guiding used to be my main source of mud income'

Karrion says, 'never got a chance to get a house out there, either'

Karrion pouts.

Kaos says to Sandra, 'yea but Im cooler =P'

Sandra giggles.

Karrion says, 'eq from hell was mine.'

Karrion says, 'anywho, tanks for listenin' n stuff'

Karrion jumps up and down.

LadyAce giggles.

Karrion waves happily.

LadyAce says, 'enough nostalgia? :)'

Kaos winks suggestively at LadyAce.

Kaos says, 'ahh :('

Change for Low Level Backstab?

Kaos says, 'my question was about modifying backstab again to ungimp low level dexies'

Kaos says, 'cus as it stands now a dexie vs a dexie with a 10 level disadvantage in pk cant win'

Kaos says, 'making it level based was bad'

Sandra says, 'sure they can. The range isn't as narrow as that'

Kaos says, 'cus its affecting mob kill too'

Kaos says, 'its nerfed. I know you folks enjoy nerfing us morts and I dont know why I care cus I hate dexies I just think its unfair'

Kaos shrugs helplessly.

Ea! says, 'What's a nerf to one player is a boost to another.'

Poppy says, 'I got a char to lvl 8 in 3 hours using the new backstab code (including quests/juggling eq for stuff). It's not that bad at the really low levels.'

Sandra says, 'I play dex chars all the time. It put the damage in the range it should have been in all along'

Sandra says, 'a level 15 doing 100 points a backstab was a problem'

Kaos says, 'well I lost over 18 points on my backstab cus of level difference'

Kaos says, 'well my alt did hehe'

Kaos says, 'oh ow I backstabed him for 5 points of damage ohhhh'

Kaos rolls his eyes heavenward.

Changes for Create Mages?

Kaos says, 'oh and when will create mages be ungimpd?'

Orphen looks up into the sky and ponders.

Sandra laughs.

Sandra says, 'ungimped?'

Ea! says, 'We have no plans to modify create mages at this point in time.'

Kaos says, 'well, I like how there are actually'

Kaos says, 'BUT'

LadyAce says, 'didn't you just finish telling us how they were so rough and tough and could solo so much stuff? :P'

Sandra says, 'when I see it difficult for a create to solo PD and SL, I'll worry about them being gimped =P'

Orphen says to Ea!, 'any plans on modifying cause mages?'

Ea! says, 'None that I can recall.'

Kaos says, 'some poeple use charmies to get xp and making greaters level 35 was rude cus now it takes longer to get xp'

Sandra says, 'um'

Sandra says, 'Israfel has a billion xp by using a doppel'

Kaos says, 'and I have 50 mill only using a dopple'

Kaos says, 'and Im strength whats you point?'

Sandra says, 'then where do you get that it's harder to get xp?'

Kaige says, 'before 35'

Kaige assumes.

Sandra says, 'it's pretty easy, if you fight things your range'

Kaos nods his agreement with Kaige.

Kaige nods her agreement with Sandra.

Kaos says, 'ok Kaige is right'

Kaos says, 'sorry pre level 35 to 40'

Menion says, 'we talking about xp?'

Orphen says, 'that's not fair.. keres get doppels..'

Orphen says, 'and they can hit just as hard as me..'

Kaos says to Orphen, 'and 60 mind 40 con strenbth cause gets 500hp skeles'

LadyAce says, 'bringing about some balance between pure fighters and mages is a long term plan :)'

Kaos says, 'I at for con with a ton of +hp gear get a 441hp dopple'

Orphen says, 'don't dopps get the same hps as the caster?'

Kaos says, '40 con'

Poppy says, 'I've seen some skellies with more than 500 HP lately (been away for a bit). Why were they changed to have more HP, since charmies are supposed to be a create strength, not a cause strength?'

Menion says, 'if ya want xp don't go around and kill stuff higher then you just to get xp cuz you end up losing hp and having to wait for a while just make xping fun and kill stuff lower then you thats what i do at least'

Kaos says, 'see orphen your assuming ALL creates are CON man'

Sandra says, 'um, I changed the cause charmie code. 60 mind does not get 500hp skeletons'

Orphen says to Kaos, 'true but only if you kill a nice L50 mob first.. otherwise the skeletons are pretty skinny'

Kaos says, 'I know the mage code is about gimped now'

Kaos says, '3c anyways'

LadyAce says, 'all the charmies were re-worked, really -- buffed up in some ways and decreased in others. Try out the full range of them and let us know what you think based on the whole set of changes.'

Kaos says, 'its almost not worth being 3c anymore'

LadyAce says to Kaos, 'I'm pretty sure you were talking about how people used charmies to kill big areas and stuff....'

LadyAce says to Kaos, 'I don't think a 2c can solo SL.'

Sandra says to Poppy, 'you get a bonus for higher mind, and a penalty for lower. That's the skeleton hp change'

Menion nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Kaos says, 'OMG Sabu soloed all the way to the witches with just a dop'

Kaos says, 'dont tell me 2c cant do it'

Kaos hugs LadyAce.

Menion says, 'what level is he?'

Kaos says, 'level 50 con druid'

Menion says, 'well more then likely he also must have beefed up his dopp with eq too'

Kaos says, 'wow you dont know sabu holy mackrel =P'

Menion says, 'just kill stuff lower then you like fairly easy'

Mob Availability For Killing?

Orphen says, 'hm.. continuing my whining, back when I was a lowbie, there used to be plenty of mobs to kill.. ie rats.. but at the higher level.. there's only a handful of mobs for a specialized char to kill.. and you tend to get a lot of competition'

Orphen says, 'the repop time is also a lot longer..'

Kaos says, 'I only kill 100k+ mobs now...'

Kaos scuffles his feet around in the dirt.

LadyAce says, 'there's a lot of zones for higher level folks to kill stuff in.'

Orphen says to Kaos, 'I wish I could do that'

LadyAce says, 'Aztec is really great for my mid to high levels these days'

Kaos is a 3c strength create =\

Kaige says, 'and there's lots of mobs that stand around and never or rarely get killed with no competition too.. Exploring will help you out there too'

Orphen says to LadyAce, 'any hints on high-to-higher level chars?'

LadyAce says, 'Oh, and I'm liking Pictish lands a lot too.'

Kaige says, 'but yes, we do konw we have some levels that need some work, and have that in mind for new areas/mobs being worked on'

LadyAce says, 'Klein is an old standby for highish levels...'

LadyAce says, 'Boston and Salem are good for the highishes too'

Kaige says, 'lots of competition there tho'

Kaos says to Orphen, 'kill rick blane in 9 rounds, brahman in 5, lawson in 10, hester in 12 to 15'

Kaige says, 'in klein'

Orphen says to Kaos, 'you freak'

Orphen says, 'I can't kill rick in 9 rounds'

Orphen says, 'least not anymore'

LadyAce says, 'there's a few fellas in Crusades for higher level folks. Some good fun to be had in the industrial run just like the old days.'

Menion says, 'if your around 30 or so like me try out romania you can get some good xp there'

Kaos says, 'I average 160k per crusades run =P'

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

LadyAce says, 'maybe more of you should sign up for the xp game'

LadyAce winks suggestively at Poppy.

Kaos says, 'LOL that game is a joke'

Menion nods solemnly.

Menion says, 'tried that once'

Kaos says, 'the xp awarded is NOT worth the effort'

Orphen says, 'I used to average 1M xp per casablanca+savannah+seoni run.. not anymore though'

Menion says, 'but forgot you had to kill in different areas'

LadyAce says, 'it's a good way to force yourself to find new people to kill.'

LadyAce says, 'and it's a good way for us to get feedback about what's out there.'

LadyAce says, 'so we both win :) you should try it'

Poppy says, 'can mages use charmies in that game, or is it strictly solo?'

Kaos says, 'why Im sorry but imms do not listen to players anymore'

Kaige says, 'and a good way to give feedback to the builders for what isn'tworth the effort so we don't sit here and tell you ther'es plenty of mobs, go find them and kill them for a change'

LadyAce says, 'There's a giant list of changes we make, every week, in response to your feedback'

Orphen says, 'hm..'

Kaos says, 'theres your problum crappy SSS'

Kaos licks the legendary battle-axe "Redeemer".

Level of Information?

Orphen says, 'here's an idea.. not sure if you guys will listen though.. can we have an option to turn other char and mobs descs off?'

LadyAce says, 'turn mob descs off?'

Orphen says, 'for example, instead of seeing a boy, you get the name of the boy'

LadyAce says, 'if he has a name.'

LadyAce says, 'probably, he's just a boy...'

LadyAce says, 'mobs don't have descs like players do.'

LadyAce says, 'their names are just what you see.'

Ea! says, 'I'm not sure we want to do that, though -- the descriptions add a vital part of the Mud's atmosphere.'

LadyAce says, 'If you're having trouble figuring out some keywords to interact with things, tho, you should report it as a bug and let us know.'

Kaige nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Orphen says to Ea!, 'yes, but we should have an option to turn it off/on'

LadyAce says, 'well, but the question is -- why do you want it off? :)'

LadyAce says, 'we *want* to spam you with details.'

Kaos says, 'cus some mob descriptions suck'

LadyAce says, 'if they suck and you haven't reported them, you suck :P'

Menion nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Orphen says to LadyAce, 'the same way I keep room description to off, and fighting reports to a minimum'

LadyAce says to Orphen, 'I think that there's only so much of the detail that we want to let go of.'

Ea! says to Orphen, 'Many of us think those shouldn't be options, either.'

Orphen says, 'mm.. but it's spammy.. and wastes server bandwidth ^ ^'

Kaige says, 'sounds like a matter of personal preference to me'

Silence looks accusingly at Poppy.

Ea! says, 'the bandwidth saving of any of those other then brief are minimal.'

LadyAce says, 'It seems like you come from the pure gamer sort of perspective, or at least that kind of request is a gamer type request'

Poppy projects an aura of heavenly light above Silence's head.

LadyAce says, 'since we're trying to balance a lot of different perspectives and preferences, we can't go too extreme'

Orphen says to Menion, 'client or system?'

Menion says, 'both'

LadyAce says, 'we could reduce the mud down to "Enemy hits you." "You hit enemy." "Enemy dies." but, well, we'd lose something there :)'

Kaige says, 'we could reduce it down to 0, 1 for hits and misses.. that could be fun for April fool's.'

Kaige looks up into the sky and ponders.

Ea! says to Kaige, '01001010001000111000 You are dead!'

Kaige nods her agreement with Ea!.

Kaige giggles.

Silence rolls around on the ground with laughter.

LadyAce giggles.

Kaige says, 'binary mud!'

LadyAce giggles.

Ea! nods his agreement with Kaige.

LadyAce says, 'ok, that's what we're doin.'

'Wow, binary mud is neat!' 0100101001001 says.

Silence's Damage Done Follow-up

Silence says, 'Several weeks before the elf hunt game I came here asking about why I was doing no damage with really good stats and you said weapon wasn't right for me'

Silence says, 'Meanwhile I thought my weapon was screwed up'

Silence says, 'but Now I got the same weapon have same stats and I hit like 10 times harder'

ArchAngel says, 'funny how things ilke that happens dont it?'

Silence says, 'I Dted so I got a new version of my weapon'

Menion says, 'maybe thats why'

LadyAce says, 'well, maybe your luck has improved?'

Silence chuckles politely.

Kaos says, 'OMY what a cop out answear'

Silence says, 'when one goes from can't decimate to eviscerate often, there's a difference'

LadyAce says to Kaos, 'what do you expect? If we haven't changed a line of code, what's your better explanation?'

ArchAngel says, 'its called unknown change'

Silence says, 'Well my opinion was that during a mundane stringing the weapon stats were changed'

Ea! says, 'Well, as I've always said, I'd avoid putting a lot of emphasis on those messages. They're not as clear cut as people seem to think.'

Kaos says, 'for you to say you dont have any idea for onece =P'

ArchAngel says, 'noone knows why it happened before but when it changes its unexplainable'

Kaige nods her agreement with Ea!.

Orphen says, 'wonder if there could be some consistency in damage and hits.. still wondering how I missed a kudu bull for an entire round...'

Silence says, 'is that possible?'

LadyAce says, 'it's the same thing, we say both all the time.'

LadyAce shrugs in response to Kaos's words.

Ea! says to Silence, 'It's just as likely that your pfile got corrupted and just happened to still be readable...'

ArchAngel says to Orphen, 'its pure luck really.. even the best matched hitter cant hit his hardest 24/7'

Ea! says, 'In otherwords, really unlikely.'

Orphen says to ArchAngel, 'I know. it's been like that for the past couple years'

Poppy says to Orphen, 'if you want better consistency boost your hitroll'

ArchAngel says, 'then there's nothing to complain about is there?'

Orphen says, 'but consistency would be nice.. not like comcast's comsumer isp'

Silence says, 'Well in my case it was very clear cut'

Silence says, 'and levels difference wasn't the case'

Orphen says, 'dns server down.. again...'

Kaige says, 'and unless you were fighting the exact same mobs with you and them having the exact same wary/aggs and all other variables held equal.. who can say'

Silence says to Kaige, 'difference was very constant and clear cut, like with half of my eq I could hit harder'

ArchAngel says to Silence, 'dude theres times when I hit weak and come back again and hit harder than ever before'

Kaos says, 'hitroll doesnt have to be there to be consistant'

Ea! gives a quick polish to rm -rf. It now shines brightly.

Orphen says to Silence, 'it happens.. I've hit a big mob, damcapped 3 times in a row, then barely, decimate, hardly, before it died'

Silence says, 'I think you all have the idea that I'm stupid'

ArchAngel chuckles politely.

Silence says, 'because I repeat NEVER decimate to ALWAYS decimate'

Orphen says to Silence, 'I don't, but send me a log'

Ea! says, 'Hm. Maybe it's not so much that the damage is inconsistant as the messages?'

Silence says, 'It doesn't vary'

Ea! says, 'In that, perhaps, your character isn't quite as good at estimating the damage as you expect?'

Silence says to Orphen, 'want me to go back in time?'

Ea! says, 'Just a possibility -- it might not be that.'

Silence says, 'I guess we'll never know'

Ea! says, 'If you really want to test damages you should do it with a pkiller who you trust.'

ArchAngel says, 'so in otherwords you cant really explain it?'

Ea! says, 'Well, no, I'm not allowed to explain how it all works.'

LadyAce says, 'we have a set of guesses, but we're not in his body so we can't say which one they are, either.'

Silence chuckles politely.

Kaige says, 'not without a lot more detail on the different sessions'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'you can be in my body'

Silence says, 'can't you?'

Kaige says, 'he said he had same stats and all.. and then said he had half his gear?'

Ea! says, 'I do know that players put a lot more emphasis on those messages than I would'

Kaige shrugs philosophically.

LadyAce says, 'it could be a stat/weapon/opponent thing. Fighting folks who are tough to take, that sort of thing.'

LadyAce says, 'It could be luck.'

LadyAce says, 'or it could be that you think 'decimate' means the same thing every time you see it, when really it means something part of a range'

Silence says, 'maybe spirit?'

Changes to Calm?

Kaos says, 'ok my question is was calm changed? cus the last 3 or 4 months when I've played Ill fight something and fail 5 to 6 calms all back to back with 100 preteige. why? what else affects calm? cus if you have 100 presteige and fail'

Kaos says, 'like that all the time why bother with even leaving it in the game :)'

Ea! says to Kaos, 'Not that I can recall. I'd check the LTs to see,though.'

Kaige says to Kaos, 'skill or spell?'

Kaos says, 'skill'

Kaige says, 'I'm missing a chunk of mail, but I don't see any since '98'

Kaige giggles.

Kaige says, 'spell since '99'

Bug with Armslore or ID Object?

Silence says, 'oh and another thing, how come armslore and identify object give different damage for items and such'

Kaige says, 'bug it if you think one or the other is wrong'

What's with the Pillars of Darkness?

Menion says, 'don't know if you'll be able to answer because it might be info for game or what not'

Menion says, 'but...'

Menion says, 'does anything happen when you bring together all the pillars of darkness?'

ArchAngel chortles with amusement.

Menion smiles happily.

Silence rolls around on the ground with laughter.

Menion says, 'had to ask imm :)'

LadyAce says, 'that sounds like the sort of thing that we can't talk about, I'm afraid.'

Silence pokes Menion in the eye with Death, the ninth pillar of darkness! What'd he do THAT for??

ArchAngel laughs.

Menion says, '?'

Silence says, 'it does!'

Silence says, 'let's perma aginor'

Menion says, 'because?'

LadyAce giggles.

ArchAngel blinks.

LadyAce says, 'well, it'd be item stats or a quest or something if we talked about it, right? And those are a no-no.'

Menion says, 'yes i guess'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'so its a quest?'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'cool'

LadyAce chuckles politely.

ArchAngel laughs.

LadyAce says, 'Did I say that? No. I was too careful :)'

ArchAngel watches silence go out and die :P

Menion says, 'only one way to find out'

LadyAce nods her agreement with Menion.

Menion waves happily.

Charmies with XP_GAME?

Poppy says, 'I asked this earlier, didn't catch the answer ... can mages use charmies in the xpgame, or is it strictly solo?'

LadyAce gives an xp game scorecard from LadyAce to Poppy.

LadyAce says, 'you can use charmies'

Poppy reads an xp game scorecard from LadyAce.

Poppy says, 'thanks'

LadyAce says, 'they're as much a skill for mages as kick.'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

Why ask about Dex/Perc?

Poppy says, 'why did you start the q&a with questions about dex/per. Are there balance changes coming up?'

LadyAce says, 'people were talking about backstab and there's been a tweak to hunt which is posted on welcome'

Silence says, 'are they changing backstab?'

LadyAce was hoping for some comments other than "I want to do lots of damage with low stats while I'm a newbie."

Huginn says, 'already went in I thought'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

LadyAce giggles.

Poppy says, 'you said something like asking for thougts on perc and dex right at the start, I thought?'

LadyAce says, 'that was after the backstab question'

Poppy nods solemnly.

LadyAce knows of no other nefarious plans.

ArchAngel says, 'backstabs overrated **duck**'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'maybe give more damage to non-newbies with high stats?'

LadyAce winks suggestively at Poppy.

Why Cap Backstab Damage?

Silence says, 'and why is there a cap on backstab damage, like 127, why not leave it uncapped'

ArchAngel says, 'because it becomes too deadly?'

Silence says, 'heh, for some people its their only weapon'

ArchAngel says, 'thats half the skills most pkers use now a days'

LadyAce says, 'we have to cap it for balance, really. If you could do infinite damage with backstab, that'd be a little too powerfulmous'

Lorenzo says to ArchAngel, 'which, taunt?'

LadyAce says to Lorenzo, 'no, the other one :P'

Lorenzo says to ArchAngel, 'or whine?'

ArchAngel laughs.

ArchAngel says, 'well if you uncap backstab you better uncap hits :P'

Weapon Weight?

Silence says, 'is there a reason why there are only light backstabing weapons?'

Huginn says, 'there are heavy weapons'

Silence says, 'I know of one other weapon that is heavy, but its not a weapon really'

Silence says, 'hits worse than newbie weapons'

Kaige says, 'yes. the three classes of weapons do have different maxes of both damage and weight they can be...'

LadyAce says, 'oftentimes with heavy also comes length, which starts to make it not really a backstabbing item, too'

LadyAce says, 'I mean, if I have a 20lb knife, it's going to get mistaken for a sword unless it's made out of like, star alloy :P'

Silence says, 'well what's wrong with a sword'

Silence says, 'they're sharp at the point'

Silence says, 'nothing unrealistic really'

ArchAngel says, 'but not as swift'

ArchAngel says, 'not one thief used a sword to backstab a person in the old days'

Orphen says, 'wonder what class a kodachi would fall into then.. sword or knife?'

LadyAce says, 'the code lets longer & heavier weapons be used for backstabbing, but we're cautious with respect to balance.'

Imm/Mort or Mob vs Mob Fights?

Silence says, 'could we sometimes have like to imms ride like the demon kings and make them fight'

Silence says, 'just for fun'

ArchAngel laughs.

Huginn says, 'like rock'em-sock'em robots?'

Silence nods solemnly.

LadyAce giggles at Huginn.

Huginn chuckles politely.

LadyAce puts Huginn in charge of that event :)

Silence says, 'I mean it wouldn't hurt anybody'

Huginn says, 'that would be funny'

Silence says, 'like on april fools'

Silence says, 'Like people could have fun cheer for imms, make bets on whether herne can beat up mephisto...'

ArchAngel says, 'what would be fun is to allow times when imms and players are set on equal balances and allowed to fight. like with the tournys'

LadyAce says, 'well, if you want us on equal footing with you, pk against our morts.'

LadyAce says, 'oh wait :) you can! :)'

ArchAngel whaps LadyAce across the back of the head - your ears ring in sympathy.

Orphen says, 'oh wait, but we don't know who they are'

Kaige says, 'so?'

ArchAngel says, 'its no fun unless like a player kills a imm :P'

Kaige says, 'makes it all the more exciting for you! pretend everyone's an imm's mort'

ArchAngel says, 'bah'

LadyAce says, 'the only way to make us equal to you is put us down however many levels and put on equipment and set down our stats, etc. We'd be identical to mortals.'

Ea! says to Orphen, 'Next time you kill someone in pkill, feel free to chat "Hey, I just killed , Ea!'s pkiller!"'

Ea! says, 'I won't tell.'

Orphen makes sure Kaige has been taking her paranoia medication.

ArchAngel laughs.

Silence says, ' Well that's all I was wondering you know, just on April fools have big mobs like fight each other and we could enjoy the fight without worrying about dying. It won't wreck the game and its not compromising.'

LadyAce says to Silence, 'I've heard that suggested as an event before, I still toss it around in my head about how to do it and stuff.'

Orphen says to Ea!, 'I'd get warned for that'

ArchAngel says to LadyAce, 'whos talking putting you down lvls just make equal terms :P'

Silence goes EEK! in distress.

Silence says to LadyAce, 'hehe oops'

Ea! says to Orphen, 'Only if you were right!'

Ea! ducks to the ground.

LadyAce says to ArchAngel, 'it could never be equal terms if we weren't the same level as you'

Kaige says to Ea!, 'no.. even guessing's bad'

LadyAce says to ArchAngel, 'you'd just get a lot of the 'laughs at your feeble attempt to harm him.' thing'

Ea! quotes, 'No help available on 'entrapment'.'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'It would be like "Behind-the-Scenes" april fools, see how big mobs fight who is really better'

ArchAngel says to LadyAce, 'bah whats unequal was taking on like 5 lvl 45 mobs'

LadyAce says to ArchAngel, 'if we weren't your level you wouldn't be able to damage us at all.'

LadyAce says to Silence, 'that's part of what I worry about with the idea'

ArchAngel says, 'theres coding out there to remove that you just gotta work it just so :P'

LadyAce says to Silence, 'because it puts out their tactics for people to see them, that's an advantage that they haven't worked for or paid for'

LadyAce says, 'I'd rather see us do a whole lotta other stuff.'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'You know like there is a point were most people do know their tactics'

LadyAce ruffles ArchAngel's hair playfully.

ArchAngel says, 'like slaying players **duck**'

Orphen conjures a duck out of midair and throws it at ArchAngel!

Silence says to LadyAce, 'Like I just wanna see Calatin fight Mephisto and Herne fight Skatha'

LadyAce says to Silence, 'I think that it's a gray area, really. I agree it's not necessarily a massive surprise except for mobs that are tough to earn your way to'

ArchAngel conjures a silver longsword engraved "Excalibur" out of midair and throws it at Orphen!

Silence says to LadyAce, 'well Sl shouldn't be on that list'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'You can leave out KZ'

LadyAce says, 'Calatin and Skatha and the Master Assassin and Blackbeard are all mobs that you have to do some work to be able to get in there and see them'

Orphen sells the "Excalibur" for oodles of cash.

ArchAngel says, 'use mobs that everyone knows like cappies'

ArchAngel whaps Orphen across the back of the head - your ears ring in sympathy.

ArchAngel hugs a silver longsword engraved "Excalibur".

LadyAce says, 'it might make sense for really super wellknown ones'

Lorenzo says to ArchAngel, 'there's no mob that everyone knows'

Silence says, 'But Herne mephisto and maybe aengus'

Huginn slowly fades into thin air.

LadyAce says, 'the klein guards versus the romanian ones, that kinda thing :)'

Silence says, 'Aengus is a monster'

ArchAngel says to Lorenzo, 'unless you've just joined this mud'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'Aengus vs Richard?'

Lorenzo says to ArchAngel, 'well, people do.'

Kaige says, 'I think aengus would win...'

Orphen says, 'richard?'

Silence says to LadyAce, 'When competition for customers gets violent?'

ArchAngel laughs.

LadyAce says, 'but I dunno, it's a little dull to watch mob fights :) It might be fun to do, I agree. I'm just still thinkin about how to make it good.'

Kaige says, 'it'd be close between Richard and Thomas tho!'

LadyAce giggles.

ArchAngel says, 'aengus would kick'

Orphen says, 'unless the imms updated richard.. richard's a wuss..'

Silence says, 'its true'

Orphen says, 'I used to solo richard'

Silence says, 'my create mages angel died in 1 round'

Kaige winks suggestively at Orphen.

ArchAngel laughs.

Silence says, 'nothing can compare to 6 decimates a round'

Orphen says, 'hey.. it was tactical..'

Silence says to ArchAngel, 'what?'

ArchAngel snickers softly.

Orphen says, 'kill the innkeeper so the target you were jumping couldn't rent out there'

LadyAce says to Orphen, 'I think it's your turn to ask a question?'

Orphen says, 'kewl =)'

Damage Ranges?

Orphen says, 'what are the damage ranges on mobs for devestate and eviscerate?'

Ea! says, 'We can't give out in game information.'

LadyAce says, 'all that info is not public, you'll have to figure it out by practice'

Kaige says, 'more than missing less than dam capping'

Silence says, 'like 100+ on eviscerate'

Silence says, 'damcap is 127'

Orphen says to Ea!, 'point me to a helpfile then'

LadyAce says, 'we do tell you that they're numerical ranges.'

Kaige says, 'no such thing'

ArchAngel laughs.

LadyAce says, 'no, the point is we can't say -- if we can't say, helps can't either'

Ea! says to Orphen, 'There's no help file because it isn't information we can give out.'

ArchAngel says, 'you can only guess'

Orphen says, 'are the damage descriptions based on the same ones for dikumud?'

Kaige says, 'not particularly'

Ea! says, 'It's probably best to do some experimentation to find out the details.'

Kaige nods her agreement with Ea!.

Bug with Seoni Deathtrap?

ArchAngel says, 'this is more directed to kaige as I've kinda send her a paper about it before...'

ArchAngel says, 'but a couple days ago while working on the seoni quest I made a mistake and went back throught the dt there... next day because I had no time that day to get it I went back finished the quest and didnt find my strings or anything'

Kaige says, 'it's like I said in the note I sent back to you about it.. it's a regular dt.'

ArchAngel says, 'yes but I went back through it and couldnt find my strings'

ArchAngel says, 'I checked and double checked for my strings as well'

ArchAngel says, 'I know between when I dted and when I checked again I didnt archieve yet'

Kaige says, 'no reason it would function differently...no scavenging mobs or anything like that'

Kaige says to Ea!, 'heard of anything like that with dt's before?'

ArchAngel says, 'and I hadnt had time to bug it been trying to get re eqed and all..'

Kaige says to Ea!, 'the room turns into a dt if you don't have the right flag... doesn't if you don't... '

ArchAngel says, 'and I asked snapper if he knew why and he couldnt answer me why too'

LadyAce has heard complaints about people not finding their stuff, and their stuff has always been there.

Kaige says, 'there's nothing obvious to cause it'

Kaige nods her agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'it happens all the time when there are more than one exit out of the dt, it's just in a different spot than where they're looking them'

ArchAngel says, 'I've checked a couple times before actually leaving it'

Kaige says, 'espeically with the ones that "exit" to more than one room'

Kaige says, 'yeah but this one only has two, and both would be along the path of doing it correctly'

ArchAngel says, 'thers a north and a east exit in the dt... I had to go THROUGH the dt for the quest.. didnt see a thing'

Kaige says, 'umm.. no.. it doesn't kink at the dt'

Kaige giggles.

ArchAngel laughs.

ArchAngel says, 'well anyways..'

Ea! says, 'I haven't heard of any problems with that code before.'

ArchAngel says, 'I checked as much as I could at the other end...'

LadyAce says, 'we could test it pretty easily :)'

Kaige says, 'no wait.. you're right.. I was remembering wrong.'

ArchAngel says, 'I even checked a couple rooms past it to be sure'

Kaige peers at herself myopically.

ArchAngel says, 'thought I was right'

Kaige often gets directions funky in her head.

Kaige says, 'maybe that's why I hit my own DTs all the time?'

Kaige looks up into the sky and ponders.

ArchAngel had a pain trying to FIND the place so dirs got melded into head

LadyAce says, 'it feels different to walk an area than write it.'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

Kaige says, 'no.. even on Carnage I had east/west flipped in my head in a couple of places'

ArchAngel says, 'but its like I know I didnt miss anything'

ArchAngel says, 'typed get all as I went through rooms as well'

LadyAce says, 'well, like I said, let's go check it out :)'

ArchAngel shudders.

ArchAngel says, 'I aint going to that dt :P'

LadyAce says, 'if it's a repeatable bug, we have procedures in place to respond.'

Lorenzo says, 'Field trip? Can we all go?'

ArchAngel says, 'aint it a one time quest though?'

Kaige was loading up a testmud to test it.

LadyAce nods her agreement with Kaige.

Kaige says, 'not to hit the dt!'

Kaige giggles.

ArchAngel blinks.

ArchAngel laughs.

ArchAngel says, 'but I know I didnt miss any of my strings which is why I'm asking this... took me a while tog et the amount I had'

ArchAngel peers at himself myopically.

ArchAngel says, 'I so cannot type'

Kaige says, 'missing string turned up in the next room'

Kaige shrugs philosophically.

ArchAngel blinks.

Kaige says, 'were they strings or zips?'

ArchAngel says, 'strings'

ArchAngel says, 'lotta from this last halloween hunt'

Kaige looks up into the sky and ponders.

LadyAce says, 'you sure they weren't food?'

ArchAngel says, 'positive'

LadyAce says, 'like spaghetti and bat wings or whatever all else?'

ArchAngel shakes his head.

Kaige says, 'couple examples would be helpful'

ArchAngel says, 'somewhere or other, the black mercedes'

Lorenzo says, 'somewhere or other indeed'

Ea! says, 'when did this happen?'

Kaige says, 'yeah. both those are flagged string for me'

ArchAngel says, 'I wanna say maybe 4 days ago or so'

Ea! says, '10th or there abouts?'

ArchAngel says, 'about'

ArchAngel says, 'it was a day before I got the seoni whois quest'

Ea! says, 'Before or after you archived?'

ArchAngel says, 'before'

ArchAngel says, 'I know without a doubt it was before I archived'

Ea! says, 'Did you check for it before archiving, or only after unarchiving?'

ArchAngel says, 'before archiving'

Ea! says, ''course, you archived on the 8th, 9th, and 10th...'

ArchAngel says, 'I know it was before I archived when I checked again'

Ea! says, 'So before the 8th?'

Ea! says, 'That is, before Friday?'

ArchAngel says, 'has to be'

ArchAngel says, 'because when I hit it was late here so I just left afterwards and came back to finish it the next day'

Ea! says, 'It looks like you waited longer than the owner timer and it all became unowned.'

ArchAngel says, 'less than 24 hours?'

Kaige says, 'and with as many crashes as we've had lately'

Kaige wrinkles her nose with distaste.

Ea! says, '2 days.'

ArchAngel says, 'the days I checked were back to back'

ArchAngel says, 'night after I dted I went and checked again'

Ea! says, 'Well, here's what I think happened:'

Ea! says, 'You died at 23:00 or so. The owner timer was decremented some time after midnight, then the next midnight came around and it was unowned. The mud must have crashed shortly thereafter and it was gone. So while it was 26 hours or so, the'

Ea! says, 'timer had time to go down to 0... and then we crashed/rebooted causing it to poof.'

ArchAngel says, 'the only crash that had happened when I double checked was for the reboot and the reboot was earlier that day'

Ea! says, 'The mud crashed at 00:13:30 on Nov 8th.'

Lorenzo says, 'hmm, so ownership ticks at a specific time of day, not fractionally at each hour?'

Ea! says to Lorenzo, 'I believe the time is randomized slightly, but, yes.'

ArchAngel says, 'either way by time I could get on again I couldnt find my things'

ArchAngel says, 'which as everyone knows I'm on almost everyday'

ArchAngel says, 'and I know it was no more than 24 hours when I checked again'

Lorenzo says, 'so it's effectively 1-2 days, not exactly 2 days'

Ea! nods solemnly.

Ea! says, 'The idea behind the timer is to give long enough that people can get a recovery group together. A day is plenty for that.'

Lorenzo says, 'I misunderstood that from verbal reporting, I guess -- is that in a help file somewhere?'

Ea! says, 'No clue.'

ArchAngel says, 'dont think so'

ArchAngel says, 'but I asked snapper about it the next day and only thing he could think of was when the mud restarted'

ArchAngel says, 'but even then my items should've still been there'

Ea! says, 'No, they were unowned for being unclaimed over two nights.'

ArchAngel says, 'it was bearly two nights I be sure of that'

Ea! says, 'Barely two nights, sure, but it was two nights.'

Ea! says, 'Two 00:00s.'

Kaige has created a small piece of paper!

Kaige starts writing on a small piece of paper from Kaige.

Kaige finishes writing on a small piece of paper from Kaige.

Kaige reads a small piece of paper from Kaige.

LadyAce says, 'it wasn't 48 hours, but we don't promise you 48 hours'

Kaige gives a small piece of paper from Kaige to Ea!.

Ea! reads a small piece of paper from Kaige.

ArchAngel says, 'it was bearly even 24 hours la'

LadyAce says, 'we happen to give you two midnights to do it, which gives you 24-48 hours for certain.'

ArchAngel grumbles.

LadyAce says, '24 hours is enough time to find your way over to get your stuff, tho'

ArchAngel says, 'anyone here understand the word BEARLY and the mud hadnt crashed lately when I check'

Ea! says to ArchAngel, 'Well, we know for a fact that the mud crashed shortly after your items were unowned. And it's "barely", not "bearly".'

LadyAce says, 'I understand barely...but you shouldn't need more than 3 hours to get your stuff if it's in a terrible place, and this wasn't even that.'

LadyAce says, 'it's awfully nice of us to give you so much more time than you need.'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

Ea! says, 'We can certainly take a look at it and see if we can find anything wrong in the code. I don't know what we'll find, though.'

ArchAngel says, 'so basically you got less than a day to get items back.. nice'

LadyAce says, 'yea, it is pretty nice.'

ArchAngel says, 'screw it I've had enoug arguing'

LadyAce peers around intently.

LadyAce says, 'other questions?'

LadyAce says, 'it's been 2 hrs anyway, time to close up shop!'

Kaige has cats to herd to bed.

LadyAce giggles.

LadyAce says, 'good luck :)'

Kaige says, 'hehe'

Ea! slowly fades into thin air.

The aura around Kaige slowly fades and she is gone.

Additional Topics Answered

Also, some of the builders will often have some feedback on suggestions and typos that get reported with some of their reasoning for why things are the way they are or won't be incorporated into the areas.

Commonly Reported Bugs

o When this guard kicks me, it says " a guard kicks you in the head." -- with a space and then a lowercase a. Is this just me? weird!

Nope. Information about this has been posted on the welcome board since the end of September in the post titled, 'Kick Skill Message "Bugs"'.

If you see, " you kick ...." at the beginning of the line its because you have (or the person using the skill has) the combat mood set to normal (the default). You can set a custom combat mood by using the new CMOOD command.

We hope to get the cosmetic bug that is causing the problem with these skill messages and the normal mood fixed as well. We're still looking for the right way to do this.

General Suggestions/Questions

o I'd like to see a recast command for those of us on telnet with bad cast levels, where you can just type recast and it will chant whatever the last word combination you had was with the same target if applicable

That's what the ! command is for -- it repeats the last command sent.

o When I withdraw all my money from the bank, the fee is taken from the withdrawl, rather than charged to my account. Just a little confusing.

Not really. Since you can't have a negative account balance, the fee is taken from your account balance and then the remainder is given to you.

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