Tales of the Aggronaut

Rift PTS 1.2 Addition #2

May 3, 2011 by Belghast

Fighting off some kind of a lung thing so not really feeling terribly verbose. As a result you guys are kinda getting cheated out of a real post today. Many apologies ahead of time.

A new patch seems to have landed on the PTS with a bunch of changes. As per my usual posting them for your perusal.

PTS Notes

Original Thread

PTS 1.2 Addition #2 – 5/2/11

GENERAL
* Added weekly quests to Meridian and Sanctum to obtain a random Expert Rift lure.
* Currency caps are now shown on the character sheet.
* Potentially fixed player armors randomly changing color!
* Daily quest on offer for a particular day now stay the same before and after a shard restart.
* If the last leader-ranked member of a guild is removed due to trial player restrictions, a new leader will automatically be selected.

LOOKING FOR GROUP
* Dungeon Daily quests are now obtained via the Quest tab in the Looking for Group tool.
* Votekick. You can has it.

RIFTS AND INVASIONS
* Zone events now show on the main map which Wardstones need to be defended.
* Defender Achievements for each zone no longer list Rift events that do not occur in those zones.

COMBAT
* Diminishing Returns changes:
* Abilities are now consolidated into two groups for diminishing returns.
– Movement abilities [Root, Knockback, Snare] which were not previously set up with diminishing returns.
– Control abilities [Banish, Disarm, Silence, Fear, Confuse, Mesmerize, Stun]
* In PvP, being hit with a crowd control effect starts a diminishing returns timer. (We are currently testing this value at 30 seconds.) If you are hit with a second effect from the same group (Movement or Control) during that time, the effect is reduced by 50%. You are then immune to additional effects from the same group until the initial timer has expired.
* Crowd control-breaking effects have also been updated with the new Diminishing Returns groups:
* Breaks all effects:
– PvP Souls: Break Free
– Bladedancer: Untangle
– Elementalist: Sever Bonds
– Pyromancer: Flicker
– Ranger: Escape Artist – Escape Artist no longer grants immunities.
– Riftblade: Rift Walk
– Riftstalker: Flashback
* Breaks Control effects:
– Paladin: Devotion
– Reaver: Tempered Will
* Breaks Movement effects:
– Bladedancer: Flash of Steel
– Champion: Ruthless Pursuit
– Marksman: Getaway
– Riftstalker: Shadow Stalk
– Shaman: Battle Charge
– Vindicator: Unrestrained
– Warden: Dissolution
* Damage Reduction updates:
* The following powerful short-duration damage reduction buffs will no longer be overwritten by weaker effects:
– Nightblade: Twilight Shelter
– Riftstalker: Planar Refuge
– Vindicator: Phalanx
– Warlock: Neddra’s Essence
* The following abilities no longer stack with other powerful short-duration damage reduction buffs:
– Druid: Strength of the Fae
– Infiltrator: Ignore Pain
– Sentinel: Healer’s Covenant
– Void Knight: Singularity
* NPCs will prefer unstealthed targets when picking between targets they’re equally mad at.
* You should no longer see NPCs targeting ‘invisible man’ or other un-targetable phantoms.
* Falling damage no longer triggers abilities and other effects that react to damage taken.
* Fixed an issue causing ability effect tooltips on others to often show incorrect values.

SOULS
* Taunts can now be used three times before diminishing returns affects NPCs [previously 2 times].
* Fixed an issue with the use of Rogue tracking abilities while mounted that would cause the Rogue to ‘fall through’ their mount.
* Also fixed a bug with Feign Death and Slip Away abilities that sometimes didn’t keep you from gaining aggro right after use.
* Cleric snares now list the movement speed reduction on the effect tooltip.

CLERIC
INQUISITOR
* Nysyr’s Rebuke: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Control abilities.
* PTS bug fix: Life and Death Concord: The cooldown given to Bolt of Depravity when this procs will now show properly in the UI.
SHAMAN
* Vengeance of the Frozen Earth: No longer applies a snare to the target if they are already snared.
TEMPLAR [PvP]
* Barb of Shackles: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Movement abilities. No longer applies a snare to the target if they are already snared.
* Blessing of the Martyr: Now gives your damaging abilities a 20% chance to remove 1 buff effect from enemy players. Once triggered, this cannot happen again for 2 seconds.
* Ethereal Shell: Once triggered, cannot happen again for 15 seconds. Reduced duration to 5 seconds; damage reduction reduced to 3% per point spent.
* Arcane Defenses: Spell damage reduction has been reduced to 1% per point spent.

MAGE
ARCHMAGE [PvP]
* Due to the below changes, characters with Soul Points spent in Archmage will receive a free soul respec.
* Lethargy: Removed.
* Degeneration – New Ability: Channels dark energy into the enemy player, dealing Death damage over 3 seconds and removing a single buff effect from the target each second. 30 second cooldown. This ability is obtained after spending 10 points in Archmage.
* Ethereal Shell: Once triggered, cannot happen again for 15 seconds. Damage reduction has been reduced to 3% per point spent.
* Steelweave: Physical damage reduction reduced to 1% per point spent.
CHLOROMANCER
* Seed of Life, Soul Tether: Can no longer be cast on a pet.
DOMINATOR
* Durable Control: Now causes Transmogrify, Mass Exhaustion, and Disorient effects to break after the enemy receives damage equal to 1.5-3% of your max Health, plus 0.15-0.3% of your maximum health for each point spent in Dominator. This only occurs with enemies above 85% health.
ELEMENTALIST
* Water Elemental’s Ice Bolt no longer snares the target.
NECROMANCER
* Skeletal Zealot, Skeletal Horror: Readjusted their armor values, which were not previously readjusted after the cloth armor increase in 1.1. Other pets are unaffected.
PYROMANCER
* Ground of Strength: Reduced resistance bonus to 60.
* Cinder Burst and Fulminate can no longer be used within 5 seconds of each other.
* Cinder Burst/Pyromancer’s Armor: Fixed an issue where the damage from Cinder Burst would consume a Pyromancer’s Armor proc incorrectly if the proc occurred after Cinder Burst was cast but before it landed on the enemy.
STORMCALLER
* Spark of Life: Can no longer be cast on a pet.
WARLOCK
* Improved Life Leech: Updated ability description for more clarity.

ROGUE
INFILTRATOR [PvP]
* Against All Odds: Now triggers from stun, root, or disarm, reducing damage by 3-15% for 5 seconds. Once triggered, cannot be triggered again for 15 seconds.
* Evading Thoughts: Reduced duration to 2 seconds per combo point.
* Take Cover: AoE damage reduction reduced to 3% per point spent.
MARKSMAN
* PTS Bug Fix: Rapid Fire Shot: Fixed a bug where all hits for this would crit if the first hit was a crit.
SABOTEUR
* Traps will no longer follow you when zoning into an instance or using a porticulum.

WARRIOR
PARAGON
* Touch of Tranquility: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Control abilities.
VINDICATOR [PvP]
* Forced Recon: No longer applies a snare to the target if they are already snared.

ZONES
* Resolved some issues with major or elite Invasions not dropping loot – mostly seen in Stonefield and Iron Pine Peaks.
* Fixed a bug which could occasionally cause players to ‘pinball’ over areas of water.
SANCTUM
* Guardian players wondering how they can be knighted as a member of the Sanctuary Guard can now speak to Sir Guysun Lawless in the Lodge of the Planes to the rear of Sanctum. Sir Guysun can direct those seeking this honor to where they may have prerequisite quests incomplete. [Kain storyline quests]
SILVERWOOD
* Rift: Gedlo Supply Drop: Adjusted to prevent creatures getting stuck in stacks of crates…again.

DUNGEONS AND RAIDS
* With the upcoming addition of the Looking for Group tool, we’re also in the process of tuning our Expert Dungeons to be completable with one appropriately geared healer per group, instead of frequently requiring a second full healer on top of support heals. Additionally, the power of the items purchased from the Expert Dungeon stores has increased to assist gearing up for further challenges. With these changes we expect more dungeons to be completed more often; as a result, the cost for Expert Dungeon merchant items has increased. Overall, this should net a similar or improved gain rate of plaque-purchased items.
* Reduced the damage dealt by general Expert Dungeon NPCs.
* Dungeon Daily quests are now obtained via the Quest tab in the Looking for Group tool.
* All Raid bosses now drop 5 Plaques of Achievement for each member of the raid.
ABYSSAL PRECIPICE
* Added a portal to Calyx’s platform that activates once he is killed that allows players to exit the instance.
IRON TOMB
* Humbart the Bold no longer cleaves players behind him!

ITEMS
* Dragonslayer Covenant, Order of Mathos, and Icewatch notoriety merchants now sell only a single version of their armored mounts.
* Greater Bottle of Tricks, Exalted Bottle of Tricks, Whisker Concoction, Sheepish Concoction, Prancing Concoction, and Abyssal Modifier now share the same diminishing returns as Control abilities.
* Guise of Death and Shroud of Anti-Life now sort properly as Trinkets in the Auction House.
* Fixed Swift Desert Najmok to move at epic mount speed (110%). It was incorrectly using the rare mount speed (90%).
* Corrected an issue with the Greater Essences Rekindled Flameshard, Cinder Flamesource, Combusted Flamesource, Engulfed Flamesource, and Smoldering Flamesource which prevented them from proccing correctly in some situations.

PVP/WARFRONTS
* Diminishing Returns changes:
* Abilities are now consolidated into two groups for diminishing returns.
– Movement abilities [Root, Knockback, Snare] which were not previously set up with diminishing returns.
– Control abilities [Banish, Disarm, Silence, Fear, Confuse, Mesmerize, Stun]
* In PvP, being hit with a crowd control effect starts a diminishing returns timer. (We are currently testing this value at 30 seconds.) If you are hit with a second effect from the same group (Movement or Control) during that time, the effect is reduced by 50%. You are then immune to additional effects from the same group until the initial timer has expired.
* Elementalist: Water Elemental’s Ice Bolt no longer snares the target.
* Inquisitor: Nysyr’s Rebuke: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Control abilities.
* Paragon: Touch of Tranquility: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Control abilities.
* Templar: Barb of Shackles: Now shares the same diminishing returns group as other Movement abilities.
* Greater Bottle of Tricks, Exalted Bottle of Tricks, Whisker Concoction, Sheepish Concoction, Prancing Concoction, and Abyssal Modifier now share the same diminishing returns as Control abilities.
* Crowd control-breaking effects have also been updated with the new Diminishing Returns groups:
* Breaks all effects:
– PvP Souls: Break Free
– Bladedancer: Untangle
– Elementalist: Sever Bonds
– Pyromancer: Flicker
– Ranger: Escape Artist – Escape Artist no longer grants immunities.
– Riftblade: Rift Walk
– Riftstalker: Flashback
* Breaks Control effects:
– Paladin: Devotion
– Reaver: Tempered Will
* Breaks Movement effects:
– Bladedancer: Flash of Steel
– Champion: Ruthless Pursuit
– Marksman: Getaway
– Riftstalker: Shadow Stalk
– Shaman: Battle Charge
– Vindicator: Unrestrained
– Warden: Dissolution

CRAFTING
* Crafting daily and weekly quests now scale to match your character level and always award appropriate experience and notoriety.
* Made adjustments to sync up Runebreaking and Outfitter better. Previously, items crafted by Outfitters were too high level to be runebroken by an equal-level Runecrafter. The level ranges for Runebreaking have been updated and expanded to account for this and to be more flexible in general.
* Restricted the drop of crafting Cores to specific mob types when in Shimmersand, Iron Pine Peaks, and Stillmoor – once discovered, these can be targeted for hunting if you’re after more Cores!
* Brilliant and Blazing Life Resistance Rune recipes are now differentiated by required skill and planarite cost.
* Resistance Vial recipes now cost 2000 planarite, Heroic Warding Potion recipes now cost 2500 planarite, Brilliant Resistance Rune recipes now cost 1500 planarite, Blazing Resistance Rune recipes now cost 10,000 planarite.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO
* Fixed an issue with physics which could cause players to become stuck in a ‘falling’ state on certain collision. Oh, silly gravity.
* Corrected some audio stuttering at the end of combat, specifically in Iron Pine Peaks, Shimmersands, and Droughtlands.
* Turned up the relative volume of the ready check sound.

UI/SETTINGS
* The Guild Exp contribution column on the Guild UI has been changed to show the member’s total Achievement score.
* Raidframe ready check marks should be more readable.
* Text for raid warning messages should be more visible, appear instantly, and come with a sound effect.
* The Settings option for ‘Show All Party Buffs’ is now ‘Show only my buffs on target’, which behaves the same was as the Debuff visibility options.

CLIENT
* Added alert flashing (similar to aggro flashing) to the client on the Windows taskbar for LFG popups while the game is minimized.

The Next Big Thing

May 2, 2011May 1, 2011 by Ariad

It’s starting to feel like we’re gearing up for a post-Warcraft MMO scene, where the current powerhouse has settled into its paradigm and has made it clear what it’s doing (and, perhaps more importantly, NOT doing). For anyone who was surfing games during the end of the Everquest era, more and more people are starting to look for something different, or something to play “on the side”, or what have you. The last time this happened, we started to get a lot of competition, slowly eroding the base of the current leader (Everquest, at the time) and usually all trying something a little different from the norm.

It’s been interesting to see history repeat itself, or at least start to show hints that it’s going to. It’s taken a lot longer this time around; WoW has managed to stay on top for a lot longer than Everquest did, and there’s still no definitive successor to the throne.

The Last Big Thing

In 2001, Everquest had been on top for two years, having largely usurped Ultima Online and staying reasonably ahead of its competition: Asheron’s Call. That year saw the first shots across EQ’s bow, in Dark Age of Camelot and Anarchy Online. Dark Age of Camelot took the Everquest model and shaped a strong PvP environment out of it. There was a goodly amount of PvE in the game, but everything at the end came down to its Realm-vs-Realm model, in which three player factions fought over contested territory, especially Keeps. Anarchy Online took a different route, hitting the sci-fi angle rather than the fantasy angle, but keeping much of the gameplay the same. These managed to be different enough that they coexisted with EQ quite solidly, unlike a large number of the similar fantasy-style MMOs that came before and after.

Two years later, in 2003, the experimental phase was in full force. The games released four years into Everquest’s reign deviated hugely from EQ’s model, all trying new things to see what the next success would be. The foray into sci-fi games continued with EvE Online and Star Wars Galaxies, both extremely innovative games that presented the MMORPG in a new way. Shadowbane released as a massive foray into the concept of player housing and player-run content, with its player-made cities and siege-focused PvP, and A Tale In The Desert was a game unlike any other that had been released before, with an entire gameworld shaped by its players.

As with all innovation, not all of these experiments proved to have long-standing appeal, but a lot of the concepts introduced in them made their way into the big release the following year. In these games we saw the introduction of dungeon instancing, the player auction house, mounts, significantly improved chat functionality, and the beginning of quest-oriented gameplay, all of which appear in 2004’s World of Warcraft.

Today’s Big Thing

Just prior to World of Warcraft’s release in late 2004, two other games made their appearance: City of Heroes and Guild Wars. These games both moved back towards the EQ model, albeit with some notable differences. City of Heroes managed to capture the superhero genre in a game the way nothing else really had, and Guild Wars moved heavily into a quest-centric model and gathered quite a large following with its no-subscription-fee model, circumventing something that is still a sticking point for players even now.

World of Warcraft dropped in late 2004, alongside Everquest 2. The surge of popularity for WoW launched the new era of MMORPGs, and set the standard for everything that came next.

Toppling the Giant

The same cycles that we saw with Everquest are starting to make the rounds again. The process has been slower, as the bar set by World of Warcraft has made is significantly harder to make a strong showing in the market, especially for something as difficult to make as an MMO. Player tolerance for instability, lag, or a dearth of content is close to nil, and over the years WoW has made the average player much, much more skilled than they were prior to its release, as well as bringing millions of new players to the genre. It’s no longer acceptable to have punitive, “hardcore” penalties in games, and the feeling of power WoW’s PvE progression brings has proved intoxicating, leaving few players to want to go back to the harsh, unforgiving environments of previous games.

As a result, the scope of innovation has been tightened, as wild, unproven designs are simply too expensive to take the risk on, especially considering the various elements that *must* be excellent for a new MMO to compete. Games have tried and failed to release at the level of polish required of the previous generation, The Matrix Online being a notable example of this, and games like Warhammer Online struggling to compete against the WoW juggernaut. Games like Mortal Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes made it clear that while a certain subset of players sought the hardcore environments of the previous generation, they wouldn’t capture the kinds of players they used to. Lord of the Rings Online proved a strong contender by staying close to the WoW model, but presenting itself in subtle but numerous different ways.

Iteration, Not Innovation

We’re starting to see the next generation of MMOs start to surface– games that expand incrementally on the existing template, rather than spiralling into completely new ground. Video games are an iterative process, and while occasionally a shining success in the industry is borne of something completely out of left field (hello, Katamari Damacy), by and large the big hits in the industry are based on what has come before, but with some carefully added features and a couple of new designs, rather than a completely blank slate.

We’re starting to see those games now. Rift is the first, introducing the concept of dynamic content in a way that makes sense and actually works within the MMO framework, as well as honing the idea of character customization to a much greater degree than previous games. Star Wars: The Old Republic looks to be following suit, only emphasizing storytelling and characterization in new ways, something that WoW now struggles with. Guild Wars 2 also seeks to subtly alter the mold, by presenting content and quests to players in a different way, and building on the idea of dynamic content.

The Next Big Thing

There’s no telling what game will topple the current reign of WoW, but by looking at what WoW is and is not doing, and what its competition is focused on, it’s not difficult to get a picture of what that game will look like. Dynamic content sits high on the list of things that WoW simply cannot elegantly do (and doesn’t seem interested in doing), but the difficulties of execution present a high bar, with the best implementation to date appearing in Rift. A new quest model is almost certainly in the cards, as both Guild Wars 2 and The Old Republic seem to be pushing. Expect that up-and-coming MMOs will eschew the “quest text, accept/decline” boxes in the future. Storytelling will also be big– as technology allows the fidelity of our games and the ability to present an MMO the same way a single-player game is presented, we’re going to see the same leaps in storytelling in MMOs as we did when games like Half-Life proved that first-person shooters could tell excellent stories.

I personally hope for a game that changes the way we approach MMO endgames, and while I still think it’s a ways off, an MMO that eschews levels entirely for a whole new model of progression would be very interesting to see. As usual, though, I expect that the next game to really capture me is going to be one I’m not prepared for and that does things I don’t expect. We’ll see what that looks like when the time comes.

Trion Fighting Spam

April 30, 2011April 29, 2011 by Belghast

Sitting on my server last night. I got this server message.

The image says it all. I have seen more work to fight gold sellers and spammers from this company than I have ever seen from another. It is unlike me to post something short and quick like this, but seriously they need credit for this. Now I am not sure if it was 500 accounts total or 500 from our server, but either way it is pretty cool.

All the work they have put into the chat spam filter, and mail spam filters are much appreciated. Keep up the great work guys.

Minecraft Update: Royal Quarters

April 29, 2011 by Belghast

I have been trying to decide what to write today. I have this post a brewing in my head regarding the moment I have pinned down that WoW ceased to be fun and became a job. Problem is, I feel it is far too introspective to end the week on. Instead I figured I would update on the progress of Belgarde in Minecraft.

This week I was happy to get back on the House Stalwart Minecraft server again. With the 1.5 patch, it broke Craftbukkit that we use to maintain our server. The number of bugs in 1.5 lead the Bukkit team to hold off updating for a bit, so we were forced to either downgrade to 1.4 or just simply stay disconnected. Personally I had other things going on so I didn’t go through the downgrade process.

The Farms Are Safe

Last time I posted about Minecraft, I said I was working on a sheltered farmland area. This has been completed and here are a few screenshots above of the area. These show the fields, 2 farm houses, condos, and the completely sheltered docks. The area is free of monster spawns and adds to the large safe zone that is contained in Belgarde city area.

Next project: Royal Quarters

In keeping with the flow of topics today, I will be highlighting Belgarde’s Royalty. Currently the dockside castle area includes a throne room, but no real living quarters. It was my intention to build these extending below the waterline in the earth. This was one of the features I started to flesh out and then never went back for. So currently being out of pressing projects, I decided to start building this area out. The above image shows the portion of the castle that extends out into the water.

There is an access shaft that leads down to the royal quarters, which is several floors below ground. The idea is, that keeping the quarters underground, would keep them safe from attack. The above image is the central nexus that breaks out into separate hallways. Included here are a number of chambers that have yet to be decorated, as well as an audience chamber with throne. My thought is this is where the majority of private business would be conducted for the city of Belgarde.

One floor below the royal quarters is the servant quarters. If the royals live below ground, so would all of the servants that take care of the castle. The idea in them being a floor below is that so visitors would never see them. Below here I have fleshed out 12 dorm rooms, a large kitchen with a small dining room, and a workroom. My plan is to continue downwards and build out additional levels. The current idea is to build out a storeroom directly below the servants quarters. Following the storeroom would be a prison to hold any criminals that have not been deemed as combatants in the arena. Below that would be the royal vault, with all manner of traps along the way.

Minecraft Song

Just because I can, I am embedding the Minecraft Song by Bobby Yarsulik. I seriously love this song, I am not sure why but to me it really fits this game. He has gone on to create many other minecraft themed songs. You can find him on facebook, or on twitter @byarsulik. Personally I think Notch should license this song for the menu in game. If you love the song too, you can pick up all his minecraft themed music over on itunes.

100th Post

So I just noticed that this is post number 100 for me. It doesn’t really feel like I have done that many, but according to WordPress I have. Just adding this in as an unimportant footnote.