Ideas

[Dimetrius]

I think a "task status" command for guild tasks would be very helpful.

- With the alchemist and shipyard tasks it could show the current state of the potions or sails.

Unnecessary, in my opinion. It may help with those irritating rounds where you change things that don't need to be changed in the first place, but that's part of the challenge. If you could check the status without going through the trial and error, the task would be too easy.

- For the scout tasks it could show where the scout is currently located.

Rebels and novices can be located, so I imagine scouts can as well.

- Intruder task, it could display the health of the intruder and/or where he is.
-- Also he will kill someone if you are too slow, yet you punch him. The scouts are friendly and greet you with a warm smile, but you chop them up. Just an observation.

See above, replace when and where appropriate. Seeing the mob's health is a really silly thing to hope for, as it really doesn't matter much. It's tailored to your level, that's all you really need to know. As for the greeting...if they were made to be aggro mobs, we would undoubtedly end up running into a case where a novice is just traipsing around, and runs into an intruder meant for a level 100 task-taker. This is a problem. Unless a mob can be set to be aggro for just one specific person, I don't see this changing. Though, given that they don't block, it may not be such a bad thing.

It would also help if there was a static gnome in Nisse for the retrieval task so you don't have to run around the village trying to give the box to whichever gnome it was that wanted it.

I agree.

Additionally, a "task forfeit" command could be useful so you don't have to wait for a task to expire before getting a new one. This could be used if you get a task you're not interested in completing.

This, please.

[Jaethor]

Greetings,
I believe I should interject My own opinions/decisions on the matter, however late it may be.

Ysallyra's light:
It was discussed previously as Ysallyra does not have a light source in the center of the city. The decision was that as it was a city full of secrecy and shadows, it was preferable not to have one. If you feel strongly about it still, you can speak to your patron concerning the matter as it is ultimately up to him.

Dave's Ideas concerning tasks:
- The alchemist/shipyard idea would make things too easy
- The scout and intruder ideas: There are already skills that allow you to assess health and locate them.
- The scout greeting: See Dimetrius's response
- Nisse: Ultimately, I would like to change the village for that one. Even as I tested it, I hated when Nisse came up.
- The task forfeit command is not a bad idea. I would think you would lose more points (not by much) if you forfeited rather than attempting the task and failing.
- Rewards: You earn different rewards depending on the task. You have insufficient points to reach tasks with better rewards.

Signed,
Jaethor, God.

[Dave]

Tasks

I can't locate the scouts or novices without the number.

If I locate "novice" I get a (very) lost Shadow Warrior novice wandering around in Elysium, and scouts are identified as "woman" which alone will get you Alaina. Also on that note, if you try to attack them without the number you will find yourself attacking one of the mage city guards.

Finding them was my primary motivation for suggesting the "task status" command in the first place, but I felt it should apply in some way to the other tasks as well.

Maybe a better alternative would be if you could type "task" on its own to display your current task, if you have one. For example:

You are charged with returning a lost shaman novice (novice39821) to his guildhall.

[Jaethor]

Greetings, I've been a bit under the weather, but things will kick back up soon enough as I am immortal and I do not let such a trivial mortal matter of illness stand in My way.

I have forgotten that the scouts are females, so I have fixed it so that you can refer to them as scouts now in addition to woman.

In addition, I have taken the liberty to graciously allow the lost novices that have been wandering around for years to find their way into the heavens, no doubt a step toward Enlightenment.

[Kaal]

Skills

Hello everyone,

I was thinking of an idea and I was hoping to hear some responses to it.

The foundation of this idea is simply put: The more you use it, the more proficient you become with it.
Originally, this idea was meant to only include such skills like weapons and brawling but the more I think about it, the idea could be applied to almost all of the skills, both guild and general alike. Take weapons for instance, if every 100 swing/bash/lash/stab you were to get the equivalent of 1 crystal, than you could be rewarded for a specialization.

This would be much more beneficial to new people to the land (myself) because it might only take 1000 swings to get a advance in skill rank. then another 4000 than another 16000 and so forth. Eventually the number would be so massive it wouldn't be relevant for any to seriously make an effort for, yet still rewarding as you use.

I do understand there are cons with this idea. However, specifically with weapons, it might encourage people to hunt. I say this, because from what little i have seen, there is a lack of movement. Though, i also know I can not see a person at all times because I am moving.

As I understand it, some guilds don't benefit at all from a general skill such as weapons, where others benefit greatly. Though, more importantly, as a novice, I feel there is so much that must be learned. Right now I am told to focus on Symbiosis and although I know I have the choice to work on other things, there just seems to be so much to work on. It would be nice to be rewarded with the use of a sword even though it is not nearly as efficient as my claws. Be nice to be rewarded for the infrequent dodges or the amount of trees that are cut down.

Another thing that should be noted, this idea could have a cap off. So once you are to a specific rank in a skill, then you can no longer gain crystals for using it.

[Dimetrius]

Pretty sure a complete overhaul of the skill system is -not- something in our future.

Interesting idea but, having played games with similar systems in place, I don't think it would suit Akanbar.

[Kaal]

Villages

Maybe a 'Help Villages <name>' would be nice? It would be interesting to have a running history that kind of describes the nature of the said village and then something that indicates what is actually going on with the village. Something along the lines where if a village is trading with a particular city, their citizens would celebrate the presence of the city within their territory. Or If occupied, it could read along the lines that the village is oppressed and disgruntled or possibly even thankful for a military presence.

A general history might include past transgressions from cities and rare acts of kindness from others. What do you think on the matter?

[Pyrok]

Neat idea, probably a little impractical though considering for example the Burning of Khazir event. If that were included in the help file (it'd have to be, with the way you've presented it) Khazir would have to be this partially restored village, and have a severe hatred of anyone with claws and carrying torches/fireballs.
though for villages like bugia, it'd be nice. I'd like to know why that place seems so mysterious.
TL;DR Bugia! Y U SO MYSTERIOUS!?

[Dimetrius]

Maybe a 'Help Villages <name>' would be nice?

I'm unbearably fond of this. There is a lot of potential for lore within most of the villages, and even if it's never expanded upon, it would be nice to hint at some of it and bait the curious. Things like the presence of the theatre in Ischla'Os, or the looming threat of the brigands in Kervoza.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the sort that wants -everything- to be given away in just a single paragraph, but...I'm so down for enriching some of the more common (or dull) bits of the game and tempting people to explore and interact, rather than only breezing through to autoquest things they've learned from following others. I mean really, when's the last time you went through a village and actually bothered to look around? This would be a good start to correcting that for the newer players.

But to deviate a bit, I'll admit that (while we may not have the resources/expendable man hours for the big guys upstairs) a few places could use a little polish and plumping up in regards to lore. Why is Bugia so empty, and Orrendo so hostile? Jerod, who is hinted as being the Duke of Welsbury's bastard child, why is his sole function being led back to his mother? Where is the Duke, and what do the rest of the villagers have to contribute to the rumor mill?

Yes, a lot of these things are as they are simply -because-, and we don't have an overwhelmingly large staff of writers and coders to make all of this appear over night. Is this my sneaky way of volunteering, and ruining any credibility this post may have had? Oh dear!

But moving on, yes. Help files for the villages would be very nice to have, even if they don't include things like a rough geographical location or riveting back story. Things that may be trivial and pointless to some could really help improve the experience for others, I think this fits nicely into that category.

[Jaethor]

For note, I am always hiring (apparently paid, somewhat unloved) writers for room descriptions, item descriptions, npc descriptions and more. If you are a bad writer, however, please do not apply as I am prone to bursts of insanity that may end in disembowelment.

edit: I forgot I am supposed to pay my team in a way that pertains to your character.

[Ilshara]

Perhaps reverse order messages? newest messages being the ones first seen, oldest as you type NEXT. For those who have pages upon pages of messages, the hoarders of messages.

[Dimetrius]

Perhaps reverse order messages? newest messages being the ones first seen, oldest as you type NEXT. For those who have pages upon pages of messages, the hoarders of messages.

I approve this message-message.

[Jaethor]

I do as well. Interesting. I will also look into the possibility of deleting select messages. I dislike the all or nothing structure that we currently have.

[Dimetrius]

edit: I forgot i am supposed to pay my team in a way that pertains to your character.

WAIT, WHAT. This is new information!

[Jaethor]

Reward is based on quality, quantity and tolerability.

No one reads my posts, do they?