Ok, this particular entry has a very specific purpose. We'd like to use this entry as a collection tool for abilities that you feel are not scaling properly beyond 100%.
As per the 4/30/09 MotD, we're trying to move Nodeka away from the "class change of the month" model and a little more towards personal investment and individuality in each class. Since ability clearing will have a steeper cost associated with it, the balancing of abilities which scale beyond 100% mastery will become an even stronger focus for us.
This is where you come in. If there is a scaling ability which you feel is too weak (or strong), you can place your explanation/argument/analysis in a comment here. Obviously, I cannot guarantee that everyone will agree with your analysis, but I can guarantee that I will take a close look at every well-constructed explanation (and even some of the more scattered ones).
I will be happy to look at the code even if you suspect something is off-kilter - I understand that not every ability is easily tested.
If this thread grows too cluttered, I will start a new one. =)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Math is hard
Last night and today were spent on a bit of a diversion, but an important one.
In working on the Twisted Divide AI, I kept thinking to myself that it could be implemented much more cleanly with a certain piece of AI functionality, which I'll call 'X'. The desire for X is far from just an isolated random wish, however; all of the more complicated AI I've designed (crafting, the Tabernacle, and the Trials of Karmova) tries to "hack together" a form of X with our current tools (which are by no means meager, by the way - Nodeka has some crazy strong AI).
It works, but the problem is that things get really complicated. For example, the live crafting mob AI alone (just the handful of mobs with the portion of the crafting system that is live) is over 200,000 lines long. When things go wrong, sometimes it can be REALLY tough to figure out where the issue is. (For example, the crash issues with the seasonal quests last Christmas, or that pair of morality Trial bugs that still pops up from time to time.)
As my plans for the Divide expand, it has become apparent to me that it would be a huge benefit if I worked on implementing X first. Having X would greatly simplify my work on the Divide and just about every other piece of future AI I've been planning.
Thus, my current focus is on adding that AI functionality. I've already implemented the base, so right now I'm in testing and bugsmashing mode.
The flipside to this is that, if I can get X working, it would enable me to easily finish up a pvp-based Trials extension that I've had on the design table for a while now - much sooner than I could possibly have the Divide ready. Thus, I may work on whipping that out for you in the near future. If I can get X working soon, expect an entry by this weekend chronologically outlining the details of what major area/event based additions to Nodeka will be coming next.
In working on the Twisted Divide AI, I kept thinking to myself that it could be implemented much more cleanly with a certain piece of AI functionality, which I'll call 'X'. The desire for X is far from just an isolated random wish, however; all of the more complicated AI I've designed (crafting, the Tabernacle, and the Trials of Karmova) tries to "hack together" a form of X with our current tools (which are by no means meager, by the way - Nodeka has some crazy strong AI).
It works, but the problem is that things get really complicated. For example, the live crafting mob AI alone (just the handful of mobs with the portion of the crafting system that is live) is over 200,000 lines long. When things go wrong, sometimes it can be REALLY tough to figure out where the issue is. (For example, the crash issues with the seasonal quests last Christmas, or that pair of morality Trial bugs that still pops up from time to time.)
As my plans for the Divide expand, it has become apparent to me that it would be a huge benefit if I worked on implementing X first. Having X would greatly simplify my work on the Divide and just about every other piece of future AI I've been planning.
Thus, my current focus is on adding that AI functionality. I've already implemented the base, so right now I'm in testing and bugsmashing mode.
The flipside to this is that, if I can get X working, it would enable me to easily finish up a pvp-based Trials extension that I've had on the design table for a while now - much sooner than I could possibly have the Divide ready. Thus, I may work on whipping that out for you in the near future. If I can get X working soon, expect an entry by this weekend chronologically outlining the details of what major area/event based additions to Nodeka will be coming next.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Back in action
Vacation's over! I've updated live with a few mastery-over-100% improvements (stance of symmetry for you monk lovers out there, and shadow cast for those who prefer basements and shady alleys).
Work continues on the Divide. In the meantime, the next live update will likely be mastery-over-100% improvements for some subset of: druid, nojohr, sorcerer (simply because these are the most thoroughly tested updates I have on local so far.) Keep in mind that it may not be all of the above at once, and I'm going to fit the new paladin stuff in there somewhere as well.
I have some cool stuff tested for valkyries as well, but despite their handful of issues, they do have some excellent scaling beyond 100% with their current skill set. To be honest, I have a lot of potential abilities that are simply on "indefinite hold" simply because their base classes scale exceedingly well - classes such as warlock, poliir, marauder, and the like. Should I be looking at reining in the more egregiously overpowered skills so that I can develop each class on an even keel, or simply let them slide at the cost of a drought of updates for those classes? A tough dilemma. Thoughts?
Work continues on the Divide. In the meantime, the next live update will likely be mastery-over-100% improvements for some subset of: druid, nojohr, sorcerer (simply because these are the most thoroughly tested updates I have on local so far.) Keep in mind that it may not be all of the above at once, and I'm going to fit the new paladin stuff in there somewhere as well.
I have some cool stuff tested for valkyries as well, but despite their handful of issues, they do have some excellent scaling beyond 100% with their current skill set. To be honest, I have a lot of potential abilities that are simply on "indefinite hold" simply because their base classes scale exceedingly well - classes such as warlock, poliir, marauder, and the like. Should I be looking at reining in the more egregiously overpowered skills so that I can develop each class on an even keel, or simply let them slide at the cost of a drought of updates for those classes? A tough dilemma. Thoughts?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Little R & R
I'll be off on vacation for a week, from today until next weekend. I won't be able to implement updates on the road, but I'm bringing my Twisted Divide work with me, so progress will be made there. Once I'm back, I'll have some beyond-100% skill improvements implemented as well, so that we don't have too large of an update gap.
I'll also be coming up with some potential topics of discussion for this blog. If you have any burning issues that you think should be the center of a focused public discussion, bring them up here and I'll add them to the list of candidates.
I'll also be coming up with some potential topics of discussion for this blog. If you have any burning issues that you think should be the center of a focused public discussion, bring them up here and I'll add them to the list of candidates.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Decree of Guilt
The aforementioned major remort paladin skill is now live - Decree of Guilt. It's a short-range (three target) AoE attack with a twist: it will only strike enemies that are attacking the paladin or his/her groupmates. (Thus, it's much safer than abilities like Fury, but by the same token it can't be used to initiate a path of destruction on a room of smaller mobs.) It also buffs the paladin's +dam increasingly for each target that it hits; thus, the bigger the enemy force s/he's smiting, the greater the combat benefit s/he receives.
The second base major paladin remort ability will be a second Decree on the same prevention with a different role. This is already designed, but it may not be the next update, since I have a lot to work on. Now that this is live, I'm going back to working on the new area (the Twisted Divide) for a bit. Feel free to drop a comment if you have feedback or concerns about the new Decree.
The second base major paladin remort ability will be a second Decree on the same prevention with a different role. This is already designed, but it may not be the next update, since I have a lot to work on. Now that this is live, I'm going back to working on the new area (the Twisted Divide) for a bit. Feel free to drop a comment if you have feedback or concerns about the new Decree.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Evildoers, beware
Finishing work on a new major remort paladin (general) skill for the next update; the skill is fully functional locally and so I'm just spending time on balancing the numbers.
Paladins have some interesting issues on the design board. My estimation of the class is that they are pretty strong in their warrior role; they have some very powerful pk tools and White Dragoons especially eat evil opponents alive. Dragoons are also no slouch when it comes to running.
However, paladins do lack some of the more exciting scaling factors beyond 100% that other classes enjoy, and I think they lack something in the "feel" department combatwise. They also suffer from a mild subclass imbalance (mild in comparison to some of the more severely deficient class tierings); while 4 of their 5 subclasses have fairly decent talents, Dragoons outstrip all of the others in practical functionality and power.
Addressing these issues can be tough when taking into account the fact that they're already fairly strong as a baseline class. The upcoming skill has been designed under the framework of this assessment, with several goals in mind:
- Add another tactical option to paladin combat; add another scaling option beyond 100%.
- Address the subclass imbalance.
- Do so in a satisfying way without overpowering a strong class.
The skill itself won't do all of this alone; it is, however, a first step in a series of future paladin improvements that will shoot for these goals. It will eventually compete with another new general paladin ability on the same prevention. Both of these are general paladin abilities, not subclass-specific; however, I need to implement them first because my plans for differentiating and polishing the paladin subclasses will be partly related to this pair of new abilities.
Paladins have some interesting issues on the design board. My estimation of the class is that they are pretty strong in their warrior role; they have some very powerful pk tools and White Dragoons especially eat evil opponents alive. Dragoons are also no slouch when it comes to running.
However, paladins do lack some of the more exciting scaling factors beyond 100% that other classes enjoy, and I think they lack something in the "feel" department combatwise. They also suffer from a mild subclass imbalance (mild in comparison to some of the more severely deficient class tierings); while 4 of their 5 subclasses have fairly decent talents, Dragoons outstrip all of the others in practical functionality and power.
Addressing these issues can be tough when taking into account the fact that they're already fairly strong as a baseline class. The upcoming skill has been designed under the framework of this assessment, with several goals in mind:
- Add another tactical option to paladin combat; add another scaling option beyond 100%.
- Address the subclass imbalance.
- Do so in a satisfying way without overpowering a strong class.
The skill itself won't do all of this alone; it is, however, a first step in a series of future paladin improvements that will shoot for these goals. It will eventually compete with another new general paladin ability on the same prevention. Both of these are general paladin abilities, not subclass-specific; however, I need to implement them first because my plans for differentiating and polishing the paladin subclasses will be partly related to this pair of new abilities.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Pleased to meet you
Welcome to the Sixth Sense! This blog will serve as a point through which Nodeka's players can access the latest news, ideas, and upcoming developments regarding the Nodekian realm. This blog is run by Whim (responsible for world/system design and artificial intelligence).
Having a spot through which I can keep you all updated on ongoing developments and foster further Nodeka-related discussion should benefit us all, players and developers alike. I'll talk a little bit more about our plans for this blog in upcoming weeks, as the wheels are set into motion. Once again, welcome to the Sixth Sense, and thanks for being a part of the world of Nodeka!
Having a spot through which I can keep you all updated on ongoing developments and foster further Nodeka-related discussion should benefit us all, players and developers alike. I'll talk a little bit more about our plans for this blog in upcoming weeks, as the wheels are set into motion. Once again, welcome to the Sixth Sense, and thanks for being a part of the world of Nodeka!
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