Homeland was a pretty big mud
Homeland was a pretty big mud
so where are all the zones?
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- FORGER AREAS
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Just wanted to echo what Shiallia said up above. There was initial excitement and busywork and a few simple zones were plunked in all at once, but since then a bunch of things have happened to slow things down, primarily dealing with a lack of coders.
The "next big areas thing" will be the introduction of quite a few zones from HL. I was going to post about this in a week or so anyway, so might as well talk about it here:
BGR is a great zone, but it travels waaaaaaaaaaaay too far in its course. Specifically the Goblin Marches are placed waaaaaaaaaaaay too far west. Since everything from WD to the Goblin Marches existed on HL, the plan we're currently working on is this:
1) Chop BGR up so that it makes geographic sense, but still retains all of its excellently described rooms, quests, mobs, etc.
2) Add in zones from HL that make geographic sense, such as Secomber.
3) Write new roads that make everything connect beautifully.
When done (within a month I think) you should be able to walk from WD south and east and follow along on a FR map as if you had a GPS unit in yer mailed hand!
Hopefully that whets your appetite a teeny bit.
The "next big areas thing" will be the introduction of quite a few zones from HL. I was going to post about this in a week or so anyway, so might as well talk about it here:
BGR is a great zone, but it travels waaaaaaaaaaaay too far in its course. Specifically the Goblin Marches are placed waaaaaaaaaaaay too far west. Since everything from WD to the Goblin Marches existed on HL, the plan we're currently working on is this:
1) Chop BGR up so that it makes geographic sense, but still retains all of its excellently described rooms, quests, mobs, etc.
2) Add in zones from HL that make geographic sense, such as Secomber.
3) Write new roads that make everything connect beautifully.
When done (within a month I think) you should be able to walk from WD south and east and follow along on a FR map as if you had a GPS unit in yer mailed hand!
Hopefully that whets your appetite a teeny bit.
Scorched forest is on Evermeet now. All your burning undeads belong to us!
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
since then a bunch of things have happened to slow things down, primarily dealing with a lack of coders.
Are you guys planning to do anything about this issue? Just curious. I'm a software engineer with about 10 years experience, some of which has been spent writing commercial game code for Sony Online/Verant Interactive among others.
Look me up in game sometime and we'll chat.
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Cyric wrote:Just wanted to echo what Shiallia said up above. There was initial excitement and busywork and a few simple zones were plunked in all at once, but since then a bunch of things have happened to slow things down, [b]primarily dealing with a lack of coders.
The "next big areas thing" will be the introduction of quite a few zones from HL. I was going to post about this in a week or so anyway, so might as well talk about it here:
BGR is a great zone, but it travels waaaaaaaaaaaay too far in its course. Specifically the Goblin Marches are placed waaaaaaaaaaaay too far west. Since everything from WD to the Goblin Marches existed on HL, the plan we're currently working on is this:
1) Chop BGR up so that it makes geographic sense, but still retains all of its excellently described rooms, quests, mobs, etc.
2) Add in zones from HL that make geographic sense, such as Secomber.
3) Write new roads that make everything connect beautifully.
When done (within a month I think) you should be able to walk from WD south and east and follow along on a FR map as if you had a GPS unit in yer mailed hand!
Hopefully that whets your appetite a teeny bit.[/b]
Lack of coders? Did we not inherit another coder when homeland/toril merged? I seriously thought Vhaeraun became a coder for Toril when we merged, as well as receiving some new builders also.
That makes....Eilistraaee, Vhaeraun, and Shevarash. 3 coders and we still can't get things done?
Aristan group-says 'nurpy=tripod'
Shevarash GCC: 'Tiamat stands here, fighting Nurpy.'
Shevarash GCC: 'Tiamat stands here, fighting Nurpy.'
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Shevarash and Vhaeraun have been beaten down by the thing called real life.
That leaves Eilistraee, who isn't really supposed to be so much a coder as an RP/Quest member who can code cool things for that sphere.
We did also get some new builders, all three of which has also been beaten down by real life. They are still working on getting things converted and moved over, but at a much slower pace as they only work in the limited time they have available.
That leaves Eilistraee, who isn't really supposed to be so much a coder as an RP/Quest member who can code cool things for that sphere.
We did also get some new builders, all three of which has also been beaten down by real life. They are still working on getting things converted and moved over, but at a much slower pace as they only work in the limited time they have available.
Heh...post ressurrection, but bear with me.
BGR is one of the poorest, worst written zones I have ever encountered. It breaks every rule in the area description guide, multiple times. My favorite is how it describes to you in third person the details of history long since passed, in a direct manner without any connection whatsoever to a traveler from the present. I mean, it just TELLS you this stuff that happened a thousand years ago. Also, the ansi sucks, and it is a long long long road to a waste of time.
My two cents. I didnt mean for this post to be rude or in any way degrading to the staff on a personal level. I just take a certain amount of professional pride when it comes to writing. Oh by the way, I still have the files to my giant swamp zone, which was almost done (at least the room descriptions) before my computer fried and I was forced to get RL life. If any areas gods want to look it over (we are talking a couple thousand very detailed, beautifully ansi'd, grid formation rooms), then just email me and I would be more than happy to send them over. Doubt I have the time to finish it, what with quantum mechanics courses and a full time bartending job...
BGR is one of the poorest, worst written zones I have ever encountered. It breaks every rule in the area description guide, multiple times. My favorite is how it describes to you in third person the details of history long since passed, in a direct manner without any connection whatsoever to a traveler from the present. I mean, it just TELLS you this stuff that happened a thousand years ago. Also, the ansi sucks, and it is a long long long road to a waste of time.
My two cents. I didnt mean for this post to be rude or in any way degrading to the staff on a personal level. I just take a certain amount of professional pride when it comes to writing. Oh by the way, I still have the files to my giant swamp zone, which was almost done (at least the room descriptions) before my computer fried and I was forced to get RL life. If any areas gods want to look it over (we are talking a couple thousand very detailed, beautifully ansi'd, grid formation rooms), then just email me and I would be more than happy to send them over. Doubt I have the time to finish it, what with quantum mechanics courses and a full time bartending job...
I didn't realize there was so much public information on this project. Ambar is correct; this is a big, BIG project with the first phase containing nine zones that will add around 2,700 rooms to the mud. In addition, it will provide a more realistic geographic representation of that area of Toril providing more room to build other areas. Tempus/Vaprak, Mielikki/Shailia, Sehanie, Bane, and I have been working on this a long time.
This work has included three brand new zones and massive work on updating room desc's in the other six zones. In addition, when we convert zones from the HL format to Toril, lots of things have to be fixed by hand including doors, hidden stuff, stats for everything, proc's, and lots more. The room desc's have been important to us because that is a large part on how zones are judged.
By the way, I think BGR is fantastic myself. I love the mobs and feel of the zones. This new project complements BGR.
So let's get to the details, Secomber has a few rooms left to update. A couple of other zones have mobs to spruce up. Our plan is to finish HL editing by the end of the month. Many of the zones are already on Toril Test where Eili has been working to help with a complicated zone and proc's. October is earmarked for fixing flags, bits and all that nonsense. We hope to having testing done in November and get this imp'ed around Thanksgiving.
This is our goal, and the schedule to accomplish it. It has taken so long because sometimes you write a list of your things to do and prioritize them. Some things, such as, writing room desc and editing bits, fall toward the bottom of that list and languish there until you can get to them. We are making a concerted effort to get it in. Once it is in, we may go back and update things. I know personally at least one zone that I want to add to later myself.
An updated Crystal Caves is on the Toril Test, but I haven't had time to get into the frame of mind to get out the area docs and fool around with the bits.
Lastly, I did meet with another area writer last week about using content from another section of HL. You may be seeing that, but I'd doubt that would be less than six months.
This work has included three brand new zones and massive work on updating room desc's in the other six zones. In addition, when we convert zones from the HL format to Toril, lots of things have to be fixed by hand including doors, hidden stuff, stats for everything, proc's, and lots more. The room desc's have been important to us because that is a large part on how zones are judged.
By the way, I think BGR is fantastic myself. I love the mobs and feel of the zones. This new project complements BGR.
So let's get to the details, Secomber has a few rooms left to update. A couple of other zones have mobs to spruce up. Our plan is to finish HL editing by the end of the month. Many of the zones are already on Toril Test where Eili has been working to help with a complicated zone and proc's. October is earmarked for fixing flags, bits and all that nonsense. We hope to having testing done in November and get this imp'ed around Thanksgiving.
This is our goal, and the schedule to accomplish it. It has taken so long because sometimes you write a list of your things to do and prioritize them. Some things, such as, writing room desc and editing bits, fall toward the bottom of that list and languish there until you can get to them. We are making a concerted effort to get it in. Once it is in, we may go back and update things. I know personally at least one zone that I want to add to later myself.
An updated Crystal Caves is on the Toril Test, but I haven't had time to get into the frame of mind to get out the area docs and fool around with the bits.
Lastly, I did meet with another area writer last week about using content from another section of HL. You may be seeing that, but I'd doubt that would be less than six months.
BGR was always one of my favorite areas, in spite of its obvious problems. I love the research that was put into it, and how it's drenched with the history of that locale in Faerun. It's one of the few areas in Toril that really hearkens back to its roots and makes it what it's supposed to be... a Forgotten Realms-based mud. I loved working on the quests in the area, even banging my head against the wall because most of them didn't work when I started them.
I, for one, hope we do not lose the foundation of what BGR represents.
I, for one, hope we do not lose the foundation of what BGR represents.
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
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Ashiwi wrote:BGR was always one of my favorite areas, in spite of its obvious problems. I love the research that was put into it, and how it's drenched with the history of that locale in Faerun.
I, for one, hope we do not lose the foundation of what BGR represents.
I also really like BGR. BGR was the first place I got 15-man groups together, and it was the first place in which those 15-man groups were slain to the last.
I've never thought it was a horrible zone. Yes, mob descriptions relate history and a lot of that should be moved to NPC responses when you talk to them. However, having content is better than not having content. People are right to point out that the way that content is displayed is unrealistic, but at the same time, that can be fixed.
Yotus group-says 'special quest if you type hi dragon'
Shevarash OOC: 'I feature only the finest mammary glands.'
Silena group-says 'he was so fat and juicy..couldnt resist'
Shevarash OOC: 'I feature only the finest mammary glands.'
Silena group-says 'he was so fat and juicy..couldnt resist'
moritheil wrote:Ashiwi wrote:BGR was always one of my favorite areas, in spite of its obvious problems. I love the research that was put into it, and how it's drenched with the history of that locale in Faerun.
I, for one, hope we do not lose the foundation of what BGR represents.
I also really like BGR. BGR was the first place I got 15-man groups together, and it was the first place in which those 15-man groups were slain to the last.
I've never thought it was a horrible zone. Yes, mob descriptions relate history and a lot of that should be moved to NPC responses when you talk to them. However, having content is better than not having content. People are right to point out that the way that content is displayed is unrealistic, but at the same time, that can be fixed.
I'm pretty sure somebody still owes me a Khanjari for doing all those damn quests out there. Who was that... do you remember, Ashiwi?
Fotex group-says 'Behold! penis!'
Kifle puts on his robe and wizard hat.
Thalidyrr tells you 'Yeah, you know, getting it like a jackhammer wears you out.'
Teflor "You can beat a tank with a shovel!!1!1!!one!!1!uno!!"
Kifle puts on his robe and wizard hat.
Thalidyrr tells you 'Yeah, you know, getting it like a jackhammer wears you out.'
Teflor "You can beat a tank with a shovel!!1!1!!one!!1!uno!!"
Just because I spent more time doing quests on BGR than cinching your girdle does NOT imply a necessity for fiscal reparations. I don't care HOW many pairs of pantyhose you tore just because you couldn't give yourself a decent manicure.
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
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Kifle wrote:moritheil wrote:Ashiwi wrote:BGR was always one of my favorite areas, in spite of its obvious problems. I love the research that was put into it, and how it's drenched with the history of that locale in Faerun.
I, for one, hope we do not lose the foundation of what BGR represents.
I also really like BGR. BGR was the first place I got 15-man groups together, and it was the first place in which those 15-man groups were slain to the last.
I've never thought it was a horrible zone. Yes, mob descriptions relate history and a lot of that should be moved to NPC responses when you talk to them. However, having content is better than not having content. People are right to point out that the way that content is displayed is unrealistic, but at the same time, that can be fixed.
I'm pretty sure somebody still owes me a Khanjari for doing all those damn quests out there. Who was that... do you remember, Ashiwi?
I gave you mine, you should have kept it.
How to go from Waelos to Weylarii.
Weylarii group-says 'oh shit! my penis is stuck in the toaster. afk'
Corth ASSOC:: 'up to you.. need a ranger, but if you want to afk i can probably find someone else'
Weylarii group-says 'oh shit! my penis is stuck in the toaster. afk'
Corth ASSOC:: 'up to you.. need a ranger, but if you want to afk i can probably find someone else'
Lathander wrote:I didn't realize there was so much public information on this project. Ambar is correct; this is a big, BIG project with the first phase containing nine zones that will add around 2,700 rooms to the mud. In addition, it will provide a more realistic geographic representation of that area of Toril providing more room to build other areas. Tempus/Vaprak, Mielikki/Shailia, Sehanie, Bane, and I have been working on this a long time.
This work has included three brand new zones and massive work on updating room desc's in the other six zones. In addition, when we convert zones from the HL format to Toril, lots of things have to be fixed by hand including doors, hidden stuff, stats for everything, proc's, and lots more. The room desc's have been important to us because that is a large part on how zones are judged.
By the way, I think BGR is fantastic myself. I love the mobs and feel of the zones. This new project complements BGR.
So let's get to the details, Secomber has a few rooms left to update. A couple of other zones have mobs to spruce up. Our plan is to finish HL editing by the end of the month. Many of the zones are already on Toril Test where Eili has been working to help with a complicated zone and proc's. October is earmarked for fixing flags, bits and all that nonsense. We hope to having testing done in November and get this imp'ed around Thanksgiving.
This is our goal, and the schedule to accomplish it. It has taken so long because sometimes you write a list of your things to do and prioritize them. Some things, such as, writing room desc and editing bits, fall toward the bottom of that list and languish there until you can get to them. We are making a concerted effort to get it in. Once it is in, we may go back and update things. I know personally at least one zone that I want to add to later myself.
An updated Crystal Caves is on the Toril Test, but I haven't had time to get into the frame of mind to get out the area docs and fool around with the bits.
Lastly, I did meet with another area writer last week about using content from another section of HL. You may be seeing that, but I'd doubt that would be less than six months.
Orly?
It will be fixed in Toril 2.0.
Aremat group-says 'tanks i highly suggest investing 20 silver in training weapons from cm to cut down on the losing scales to shield'
Aremat group-says 'tanks i highly suggest investing 20 silver in training weapons from cm to cut down on the losing scales to shield'
Anyway, here's an update.
Delimbyr Crescent project suffered due to real life intruding in the fall. A number of things are left to do. Shiallia, Sehaine and Twinshadow have made big contributions to making this possible. We're talking about 2,700 new rooms between all the zones for this project, so you can see why it is taking a long time.
I want to give a big shout out to Shev, Eili, Cyric and Marth though. In the last couple of months, some exciting changes have come through that helps a coding newb like me actually get work done. I know the changes aren't apparent to players, but they have had a huge impact on me.
With that said, a HL zone, Crystal Caves, should be coming over extremely soon (day or two). In addition, I have a side project to fix the Menzo quests that is half done, and it should be done this weekend or next (depends on what my wife finds for me to work on this weekend).
Additionally, the next project is to tackle preparing six to seven zones for a supporting role for a new exciting zone that is being worked on by another zone writer. This is going to be done before the Delimbyr project so be aware that Delimbyr is getting prioritized down.
There is a bunch of stuff being worked on by other folks as well. As I said before, some changes are making it easier for the staff to get things done. As many of you know, I'm an OLC guy. Some of the recent changes, while not OLC exactly, are making it so much easier to get work done. Stay tuned, I think this year is going to be a lot of fun.
Lath
Delimbyr Crescent project suffered due to real life intruding in the fall. A number of things are left to do. Shiallia, Sehaine and Twinshadow have made big contributions to making this possible. We're talking about 2,700 new rooms between all the zones for this project, so you can see why it is taking a long time.
I want to give a big shout out to Shev, Eili, Cyric and Marth though. In the last couple of months, some exciting changes have come through that helps a coding newb like me actually get work done. I know the changes aren't apparent to players, but they have had a huge impact on me.
With that said, a HL zone, Crystal Caves, should be coming over extremely soon (day or two). In addition, I have a side project to fix the Menzo quests that is half done, and it should be done this weekend or next (depends on what my wife finds for me to work on this weekend).
Additionally, the next project is to tackle preparing six to seven zones for a supporting role for a new exciting zone that is being worked on by another zone writer. This is going to be done before the Delimbyr project so be aware that Delimbyr is getting prioritized down.
There is a bunch of stuff being worked on by other folks as well. As I said before, some changes are making it easier for the staff to get things done. As many of you know, I'm an OLC guy. Some of the recent changes, while not OLC exactly, are making it so much easier to get work done. Stay tuned, I think this year is going to be a lot of fun.
Lath
Any chance of changing the name on crystal caves to hugo's house of horrors?
Arishae group-says 'mah sunray brings all the boys to the yard'
Shadow Scream
Shadow Scream
Alabas wrote:since then a bunch of things have happened to slow things down, primarily dealing with a lack of coders.
Are you guys planning to do anything about this issue? Just curious.
Yes, sure they are, thats why my email (and yes, it was sent to 3 emails, not to just one) asking if I can de-rust my years old Unix coding skills and help with it was left unanswered, not even rejected. Guess thats was an answer.
Va'esse deireadh aep eigean... Something is ending...
Instead of Crystal Caves, can we get Crystal Castles?
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'
Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'
Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
Lathander wrote:
With that said, a HL zone, Crystal Caves, should be coming over extremely soon (day or two). In addition, I have a side project to fix the Menzo quests that is half done, and it should be done this weekend or next.
Lath
lath,
i fail to see what was so wrong with CC as it was in homeland that it needed to be changed and made harder. did the areas forgers deem the zone boring? whatever, its not like they actually take the time to exp in it.
The whole point of bringing in the homeland exp zones is to remove the bottleneck factor that plagues the existing exp spots, however THEY ARE USELESS AS THEY ARE NOW. my prime examples of this statement are hobs (ehl'cahl niar or however you spell that here) serene forest, wormwrithings and scorched forest. first of all, the exp in all these spots is BROKEN; i'd rather poke my eyes out than exp at hobs for the levels i used to exp in homeland since the mobs hit way too hard for their exp value which is close to nothing. you probably get more exp from the faeries in bgr than from these mobs. the ghouls and several other mobs in scorched forest are broken, they have like 35 hps and 0 exp value even for a lvl 5. serene mobs assist everything; if a drow were to wander there and an elf tried to kill it they'd probably assist the drow and kill you. again and watch for a pattern here, they give no exp and hit way too hard. kobolds in wormwrithings, jezuz, they're meant to be some small leveling place for menzo drow, or they were at least in homeland, they (insert pattern i've been talking about here).
please lath, dont let this happen with cc. dont let it become just another unused zone nobody's ever heard about. it was a great exp spot in homeland, it should be a great expspot here as well.. give it the same freaking exp bonus that retarded zones like pship ds and CM. give them all the same bonus.
now, common sense dictates that i end the post there, at a high note, however i do have more gripes to air out. i'll make them short:
1- should have used this opportunity to implement earth plane even without the code to be able to gate to it.. there WAS a portal to it in cc remember? i barely do
2- please do not nerf the menzo rewards from the start.. that is extremely annoying and is why i dont race to quest or lead the homeland zones anymore. its as if the toril staff considers homeland and everything from it opprobrius and should not deserve a spot on anyones eq no matter how hard it is to get. remember how dsc went in? lizard marsh? exactly. and they wonder why there's like two homelanders left.
3- the priest of vhaeraun quest is still doable even tho its half done should have changed the keyword before bringing it in. the reward sucks by the way, i mean you can get a better ring by just going to short ttf, please fix
i know this is long and tedious but i hope you read it and reply
thx
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Well Grundar, I'm not lathander but I'll respond to at least the top portion regarding the relative merits of the exp zones you mentioned.
I compared a couple of hobgoblin kills in Elg'cahl Niar to the orcs found in Comarian mines. Each were level 41, each were warrior flagged similarly. Neither of them wields a weapon most of the time. The exp logs of kills between the two are almost exactly the same; variances of 100-1000 points on average and when we're dealing with 100,000's of exp points, that's a small margin of variance.
The ghouls and probably the other mobs in Scorched forest very definately are broken, they currently yield zero exp and have not had their stats set. Look for this to change now that we know about it.
The exp value of mobs in serene forest matches the exp value of those mobs in Druid Sanctuary. The only complaint I could see here is the wandering mobs which will assist and probably come to combat. I can see where that's problematic, but it seems that is the design. I don't know if they changed significantly from their Homeland implementation.
The kobolds in wormwrithings... where is the complaint with these exactly? This is a zone that I've actually played a low level warrior and fought in there, it seemed reasonable at the time. I'm willing to grant that I may have missed something... but I could say the same about your complaint about Wormwrithings kobolds.
There is no zone bonus for specific zones. That option has been requested but we've never set it. Those zone's mobs have the exact same experience range granted per kill as the zones mentioned above. The bonus comes in the designers of CM, DS, Randar, designing their areas around the Toril system to be able to maximize the experience gains. They seem better, because you are able to kill faster, and have denser groupings of mobs.
Starting quests in Menzo were way too much for what was involved. I'm sorry they were available on Homelands as they were, but gaining 100 platinum for traversing the whole of eight rooms, with no aggressives, was absurd.
There's no conspiracy against Homelands zones, their players or their staff. We're happy to have them all. I'm sorry if you feel that there is some discrimination against them, there's not really all that much I can say if that opinion is formed. I hope it can change some day.
I compared a couple of hobgoblin kills in Elg'cahl Niar to the orcs found in Comarian mines. Each were level 41, each were warrior flagged similarly. Neither of them wields a weapon most of the time. The exp logs of kills between the two are almost exactly the same; variances of 100-1000 points on average and when we're dealing with 100,000's of exp points, that's a small margin of variance.
The ghouls and probably the other mobs in Scorched forest very definately are broken, they currently yield zero exp and have not had their stats set. Look for this to change now that we know about it.
The exp value of mobs in serene forest matches the exp value of those mobs in Druid Sanctuary. The only complaint I could see here is the wandering mobs which will assist and probably come to combat. I can see where that's problematic, but it seems that is the design. I don't know if they changed significantly from their Homeland implementation.
The kobolds in wormwrithings... where is the complaint with these exactly? This is a zone that I've actually played a low level warrior and fought in there, it seemed reasonable at the time. I'm willing to grant that I may have missed something... but I could say the same about your complaint about Wormwrithings kobolds.
There is no zone bonus for specific zones. That option has been requested but we've never set it. Those zone's mobs have the exact same experience range granted per kill as the zones mentioned above. The bonus comes in the designers of CM, DS, Randar, designing their areas around the Toril system to be able to maximize the experience gains. They seem better, because you are able to kill faster, and have denser groupings of mobs.
Starting quests in Menzo were way too much for what was involved. I'm sorry they were available on Homelands as they were, but gaining 100 platinum for traversing the whole of eight rooms, with no aggressives, was absurd.
There's no conspiracy against Homelands zones, their players or their staff. We're happy to have them all. I'm sorry if you feel that there is some discrimination against them, there's not really all that much I can say if that opinion is formed. I hope it can change some day.
Eilistraee
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 956
- Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2002 6:01 am
- Location: Copenhagen
Some areas around Menzo are good xp spots. Mabye not CM level, but still good.
I am unsure how you can say they are crap xp spots, mabye you have xped with differen't setup.
Complaining over mobs doing too much damage is interesting, mob xp is better the more damage they do. The trick is to bring someone that doesn't get hit.
I am unsure about crystal cave, because it did look a little deadly for an xp zone. But I am still willing to give it a chance.
I am unsure how you can say they are crap xp spots, mabye you have xped with differen't setup.
Complaining over mobs doing too much damage is interesting, mob xp is better the more damage they do. The trick is to bring someone that doesn't get hit.
I am unsure about crystal cave, because it did look a little deadly for an xp zone. But I am still willing to give it a chance.
Folks, I'm trying to bring stuff over that is fun and is useful. Part of that though is saying, "Can we improve on this?" For CC, Shia and I added about 50% more rooms. Also, almost all of the room desc's are new. I'm not going to bring in zones that a vast majority of the rooms have the exact same room desc. If I'm involved in something, it needs to be a solid addition. I love the zone, but when we increased the size, we needed to add more mobs. Instead of adding more loads of the three existing mobs, we created additional mobs.
Now on the mobs, I created a single mid level agro mob that is fairly rare to load to discourage botting on the upper grid. The lower grid has always been agro, and that's not new. As Eili said, toril does not have a setting in the zon file to do a global bonus for xp. Also, Crystal Elementals were set as air elementals. A decision was made that earth elemental would be more appropriate. Now, I'm bright enough to know how to improve on it. What I recommend is try the xp. If the xp isn't as good, say something. If the traditional xp mobs there are hitting too hard, just mention it. It is something we can play with to hit our target. This isn't here it is and like it. Give feedback.
I looked at Earth Plane. Right now, it is not up to the increaed power of Toril players vs Homeland. A group would roll through Earth pretty fast. It is better to work on improving it before imp'ing it. The portal exists, but it is rem'ed out until there is some movement on Earth Plane.
Eili is right about the low lvl quest in Menzo. I wrote that quest myself just before it came over. What it was giving was too much, and I suspect that one too many 0's got in there. There are two quests I still need to finish writing in there, but that's down the list right now.
I looked at the Vhaerun priest quest. On HL, that ring was the 10th best ring, and it had the most hps we allowed on rings. Here, it is in the mid 40's for rank, and there are 11 rings that have more hps than it. The high end zones on toril are tougher because they have to compensate for the added power of toril players.
When you have a problem with something, send a detailed email. If it is about a Homeland zone, include my personal email in your sender list, lathander@comcast.net. The whole areas staff, including me, is always ready to listen. If something like Scorched Forest is broken, let us know. If a Homeland zone made lots of use of the multiple opponent xp bonus, point that out as something to look at.
Now on the mobs, I created a single mid level agro mob that is fairly rare to load to discourage botting on the upper grid. The lower grid has always been agro, and that's not new. As Eili said, toril does not have a setting in the zon file to do a global bonus for xp. Also, Crystal Elementals were set as air elementals. A decision was made that earth elemental would be more appropriate. Now, I'm bright enough to know how to improve on it. What I recommend is try the xp. If the xp isn't as good, say something. If the traditional xp mobs there are hitting too hard, just mention it. It is something we can play with to hit our target. This isn't here it is and like it. Give feedback.
I looked at Earth Plane. Right now, it is not up to the increaed power of Toril players vs Homeland. A group would roll through Earth pretty fast. It is better to work on improving it before imp'ing it. The portal exists, but it is rem'ed out until there is some movement on Earth Plane.
Eili is right about the low lvl quest in Menzo. I wrote that quest myself just before it came over. What it was giving was too much, and I suspect that one too many 0's got in there. There are two quests I still need to finish writing in there, but that's down the list right now.
I looked at the Vhaerun priest quest. On HL, that ring was the 10th best ring, and it had the most hps we allowed on rings. Here, it is in the mid 40's for rank, and there are 11 rings that have more hps than it. The high end zones on toril are tougher because they have to compensate for the added power of toril players.
When you have a problem with something, send a detailed email. If it is about a Homeland zone, include my personal email in your sender list, lathander@comcast.net. The whole areas staff, including me, is always ready to listen. If something like Scorched Forest is broken, let us know. If a Homeland zone made lots of use of the multiple opponent xp bonus, point that out as something to look at.
thanks for the input eilistraee and lathander, i know i sound overly mean when i post as i enter my hangover. im not trying to tho, i just had these gripes and after nonstop exping in cm and ds i decided to air them out for a change.
i'll be sure to test hobs during multi weekend vs its equal in cm and see if what i said about mobs hitting too hard, still holds as true as it did when i was exping grundar. hell i'm rolling a troll warrior and foregoing scarsdale to inspect the ud
about the priest of vhaeraun quest and such, does it really need the restrictions, mainly the class flags? it is a rarehunt through at least 3 aggressive zones if you plan on keeping it as it was on homeland. also it has the addition of a really annoying quested piece that is a new addition. i bet the hassle of doing it should warrant it being a little better.
i aint asking this so you can upgrade my equipment, specially since i've gotten rid of the item... probably by mob breath and an excess in pff. im just speaking on behalf of the whole pbase who would overly work for a sub ttf reward
i'll be sure to test hobs during multi weekend vs its equal in cm and see if what i said about mobs hitting too hard, still holds as true as it did when i was exping grundar. hell i'm rolling a troll warrior and foregoing scarsdale to inspect the ud
about the priest of vhaeraun quest and such, does it really need the restrictions, mainly the class flags? it is a rarehunt through at least 3 aggressive zones if you plan on keeping it as it was on homeland. also it has the addition of a really annoying quested piece that is a new addition. i bet the hassle of doing it should warrant it being a little better.
i aint asking this so you can upgrade my equipment, specially since i've gotten rid of the item... probably by mob breath and an excess in pff. im just speaking on behalf of the whole pbase who would overly work for a sub ttf reward
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2004 2:02 am
Yes, move it from UD and put it 3 rooms north and west of the farm north of TP. In fact, just put every future XP zone as close to TP as possible so no one learns how to walk on the damn mud and bug druids and squids constantly for rides to zones.
Aggro mobs give more xp, as do spellcasters. God forbid rogues can't sneak in and roll every xp zone with twinkjari.
Aggro mobs give more xp, as do spellcasters. God forbid rogues can't sneak in and roll every xp zone with twinkjari.
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2004 2:02 am
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2002 6:01 am
- Location: Crawfordville/Florida
- Contact:
let me just say this, there is only 1 zone that's not worth visiting, and that is Izans, everything else has something to offer, maybe not to everyone, but that doesn't mean that it should be denied existince. People spend a lot of time and energy writing zones, no matter what they are or how they are used. To say a zone should just be taken out because it's worthless is to call the writter worthless, to say that no matter the effort they put forth, their work isn't good enough for what you want. Get real man, if you want something specific, follow the steps and create your own zone to fit the world. Don't talk crap about other people's work. This really annoys me, incase you couldn't tell by my ramblings. People always criticize the work of others, the work that they couldn't do themselves. Get a life, show some respect. People who make things to make the game more diverse and bigger should not be ridiculed because you don't like what they've done. How many people bitched about choking palace? It's still not been done yet, but, it's there, it gives people something to do, and it's not what everyone thinks is fair, but that doesn't mean it's crap, and shouldn't exist.
okay, back to work, and for the record, you can all kiss Xolan's bum
okay, back to work, and for the record, you can all kiss Xolan's bum
"When you close your eyes, is it hell that you see?" Ghost, Ginger Snaps 2
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2004 2:02 am
Larem you are right, but i am not criticing the zone writer....
02/08/08 [Lathander] Homeland was a pretty big mud...
- With a violent earthquake, a new area of the Underdark has been found.
After all this long thread is all mud get to see from homenland zones, thats lame (tired of announcements).
PS: If you do any reply take the time to read all the thread, that show respect for others ppl who have something to say.
02/08/08 [Lathander] Homeland was a pretty big mud...
- With a violent earthquake, a new area of the Underdark has been found.
After all this long thread is all mud get to see from homenland zones, thats lame (tired of announcements).
PS: If you do any reply take the time to read all the thread, that show respect for others ppl who have something to say.
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 956
- Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2002 6:01 am
- Location: Copenhagen
Walking a full group into crystal cave was a crappy experience.
The zone has a few points where it makes no sense to me.
As I see the zone it can be used a little like smoke xp. Some of the good mobs resemble smoke mephits a little bit.
But the aggroes makes absolutly no sense. On smoke you have the regal mephits that can assist, and I find that a fair level, but especially the dust mob and the xorn are way to annoying for making this a valid xp zone.
I therefore think top grid is ok, but I fail to see the point of the bottom grid. Mabye make the very big aggro mobs !track, then all fights could be done at zoneedge, and only pulling would be dangerous.
And then I am annoyed on the half zone. I am not one of those players that petition, and I spend a long time trying to open that door. Then monday Sotana had to petition to learn that its not implemented behind the door. Then don't load in the door. Dead ends like this is very very annoying.
The zone has a few points where it makes no sense to me.
As I see the zone it can be used a little like smoke xp. Some of the good mobs resemble smoke mephits a little bit.
But the aggroes makes absolutly no sense. On smoke you have the regal mephits that can assist, and I find that a fair level, but especially the dust mob and the xorn are way to annoying for making this a valid xp zone.
I therefore think top grid is ok, but I fail to see the point of the bottom grid. Mabye make the very big aggro mobs !track, then all fights could be done at zoneedge, and only pulling would be dangerous.
And then I am annoyed on the half zone. I am not one of those players that petition, and I spend a long time trying to open that door. Then monday Sotana had to petition to learn that its not implemented behind the door. Then don't load in the door. Dead ends like this is very very annoying.
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