It's that time again... so let's jump into another installment of player-submitted Featured Questions! I'm always happy to chat and hear your questions and concerns regarding Nodeka; you can submit any Nodeka-related questions you may have as a comment on this blog or via e-mail, and I will select a number of them every other Tuesday to answer in this column.
Featured Questions #6:
Why is the affect you get when you fail a trade with Gerahf so long (4 days)? Seems like a severe punishment for making a typo.
Is the spit affect for Gerahf being angry with you made invisible once you acquire a smile affect? That is to say, you have the spit affect, he smiles on you, and the spit affect is visibly replaced with the smile affect, but he still holds you in scorn due to ripping him off, and refuses to accept offers that were acceptable pre-spit affect? If this is the case, would it be possible to clear the spit affect once you get the smile affect so you can obtain the full benefit of the smile, or make the affect not disappear?
Gerahf's favor is on a sliding scale. Every time you anger him with a poor trade offer, his opinion of you slips down a little bit. Every time you please him with a particularly good trade (i.e., not just any successful trade but one in which he smiles at you), his opinion of you increases a little bit. "Spit effects" and "smile effects" are not actually differentiated; there's just one sliding scale based on the sum of your positive/negative interactions with him. If you're at the undesirable end of the scale, the effect's duration is reduced a bit.
In invasions, if you hit something smaller than you and don't kill it before you get jailed, when you come out of jail, it hunts you down and hits you and sends you right back (unless someone else kills it). This can result in a cycle of permanent jailing. Can it be fixed to clear the player from the mobs agg list if the player is jailed for hitting the mob and the mob is too small?
Thanks for reminding me. I think there might be a clever way to address this; adding it to my to-do list. =)
...I noticed (or hope) that 'help resistances' is out of date. Reason being it says there that for any given attack only -one- resistance can proc, with the logic being that all resistances provide equal damage reduction. Seeing as this is no longer the case - do resistances work differently now?
Multi-part question, but really just looking for an entire chart as an answer:
1. What is the % damage gain for a vulnerability?
2. What are the % damage cuts for the following resistances: magic, mental, holy, physical?
Currently, some resistances are more effective than others. They work along these lines:
1. All applicable resist percentages are attempted. Of the successes, only the most effective successful resist is applied.
2. Vulnerabilities work the same way; only the most 'painful' successful vulnerability is applied.
All resistances reduce damage by 20%, except for the elemental resists which reduce damage by 50%. These resists are considered elemental resists: fire, frost, lightning, earth, elemental.
All vulnerabilities increase damage by 20%.
Thus, if Serenity has 70% lightning resistance and 50% physical resistance, and is hit by a lightning bolt (which is physical + magical + lightning):
1. If the lightning resist check is successful, Serenity takes 50% less damage.
2. If the lightning check fails, but the physical check is successful, she takes 20% less damage.
3. If both checks fail, she takes full damage.
Statistically speaking...
70% chance: takes 50% damage
15% chance: takes 80% damage
15% chance: takes 100% damage
An attack can be both reduced (via resistance) and increased (via vulnerability) simultaneously.
For empowered aspect - aura: jta rank 1, what's the rank number mean? What's the highest rank attainable? Do they grow naturally?
That rank is the power level of the aura; this power level is determined by the number of times the player has inscribed that aura. For example:
- Iblis has no inscriptions. When he successfully empowers an 'xt' aura, it will be of rank 1.
- Alala has four inscriptions -- [ armor: loj ], [ lightning: sji ], [ visit: xt ], and [ extrinsic elucidation: xt ]. When she successfully empowers an 'xt' aura, its rank will be boosted by 1 for every 'xt' inscription she possesses (thus, her aura will be of rank 3).
Higher-ranked auras are more durable, and they provide a greater combat bonus as well. In addition, many inscriptions base their effectiveness in part on the rank of the triggering aura (these are clearly marked as such in the online inscription list helpfiles).
I've always felt that sun stones played a crucial role in character development and even more so now with everyone needing to augment to progress. Any plans on implementing more ways to acquire these?
Yup, definitely! I feel that sun stones should be (in general) a PvP-oriented reward, with questing as a secondary source. There are plans. =)
How is the precedence of altered attack types determined? E.g. I'm a ru wulniothe fallad and have 100% spiritual attacks with creed of the gods volition, and 64% frost attacks from race, do I ever get any frost-based attacks? What if my spiritual attacks were under 100%?
Right now, halwen/spiritual/black magic are checked sequentially before the elemental attacks. Thus, while your 100% spiritual attack effect is active, you will never see a frost attack (you can verify this by expanding your combat output, since "altered" attacks have their text visibly altered).
I'd like to lodge a complaint about the koj spiritualist immoral trial. I ran around the arena for 15-20 minutes today without one spawning. >:|
Agreed. I think the Trials' concept is sound, but there's soooo much more I can do with them given the advances in AI tech that Nodeka has made since their implementation. The current set of trials on each side is pretty arbitrary and not necessarily superbly balanced (I still remember the two nights I spent drawing them up and trimming them down, in a rush to get this cool new feature out the door.) Expect a redesign. =)
What are you [working on] now? Any improvements for (my_class)?
My active work right now is split between the new Fields of Guidance, a new monk skill, a new sorcerer spell, and helping to prep some new areas for you folks that other builders are working on. =)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Featured Questions #5
Featured Questions is back! Find the answers to your Nodeka-related questions in this column every other Tuesday - just submit your questions via the comments section or e-mail them to me.
Featured Questions #5:
Can you quantify for us what training nim past 100% does?
Training nim beyond 100% reduces the chance of being caught. Currently, no other bonus is gained.
If I have evasion at 250% and 400 willpower, does my evasion prowess increase with 500 willpower?
Yes. There are three ways to improve your chance to evade:
- Improve your evasion mastery beyond 100%.
- Improve your willpower.
- Improve your spellpower (that is, your maximum mana and maximum spirit).
The basic "challenge" to evade an attack is a randomized comparison of your willpower versus your enemy's. This randomized comparison is tilted in two ways. First, your evasion mastery beyond 100% tilts the chances in your favor. Second, the chances are tilted AGAINST you by a certain value - let's call it X. This X is multiplied by the ratio of the enemy's spellpower versus yours. If the ratio is 2:1 (your enemy has twice your spellpower), then X is doubled, making it harder for you to evade. If the ratio is 1:1.5 (you have 1.5 times the spellpower of your enemy), then X is multiplied by 2/3, making it easier for you to evade.
Why do empowered inscriptions only last for 1 use of the ability, causing the aura to shift immediately? Seems pretty harsh since a. most empower attempts fail and b. on a successful empower, the aura doesn't last very long in the first place.
At the risk of sounding ostentatious - "ah, but that's the beauty of the system!" =) The fact that your aura shifts when you fire off an empowered inscription is vital to the system's design.
First of all, point (a) is definitely valid right now. It is hard for a "vanilla" character to empower very often. That's the point of runed gear - by assembling a good collection of runes on your equipment, you make it easier to access the auras that match those runes. You'll find that as the system gets deeper, the combination of runes and ciphers (e.g., cyclopean) will allow you to design your character to access certain auras with more consistency than is possible right now. You'll be able to "customize" your character to access the auras which you want the most (or, conversely, you might choose your inscriptions based on which runes are on the best gear you've collected).
As for point (b) - remember, when the aura shifts, it also refreshes its duration! If you need to fire off that empowered inscription immediately, go for it, but if you can afford to time it, you can greatly extend your "aura uptime" by shifting your aura just before it's about to expire. This leads to an interesting dynamic in inscription choice as well. If you choose to learn several "kyf" inscriptions, then your "kyf" aura will be more powerful - but once you shift out of kyf, chances are you won't have any inscriptions to match the new aura. On the other hand, if you learn a variety of different inscriptions (say, a "kyf", a "bal", and a "zmo"), you greatly increase the chance that you'll be able to chain inscriptions off of each other when they shift, but none of your auras will be quite as strong as a stacked aura.
Finally, ciphers can change the inscription game in many different ways. The magi's remembrance cipher can make your auras last considerably longer, if duration is a concern; the cyclopean cipher can sometimes turn a failed empower into a success (albeit of a strange and different aura type); and so on. The sky's the limit - just wait 'til I start really expanding on the available inscriptions and ciphers. =)
Bash+trip+lock in groups of 2 or more is [harsh]... While lateral defense has been introduced as one means of defense... I would like to see [other methods of defense].
Actually, I've had plans to approach this from a skew angle. Expect bash and trip to be reworked at some point. I'd like these impairments to be useful as strategic counters and pacing tools; right now, at instant speed, they're usually just "spam me right away" spoilers, which is not where they should be.
Speaking of which, can we take Stun Immunity away from ranks as well?
I'm open to a reworking of rank bonuses. We have a lot of unique and interesting potential bonuses which simply didn't exist at the time that rank effects were introduced which could be interesting.
Will Sigil Citadel ever be automated? And will we be looking at more of such events in the near future?
Yah, this is easily doable with the advancements in AI sophistication which have been implemented over time. The primary reason that I haven't done this already is that I'd like to rework Sigil Citadels at the same time - they're a nice stepping point but right now they primarily devolve into a single, giant, bloody, game-ending Team A vs. Team B pileup (not that there's anything wrong with that, and that could easily be its own Citadel mode, but that's selling the intent of Sigil Cits a bit short).
I've talked online a bit about Citadel variants I'd like to do (for example, the champion idea I've mentioned a few times and even experimented with a few days ago via a MechaGodzilla-sized Issabella). I have several ideas that you'll see pop up eventually, and the plan is for these to be automated Citadel variants with a faction-based incentive to compete and win (a simple shared set of faction rewards).
Are there any gambling systems on the table to be implemented? Even something as simple as spinning a wheel and betting on even or odd with 1:1 plat payouts would be awesome!
The idea's popped up many times (ever since I started working on Aur-vindi all those years ago). I'd want to make it something interesting and unique to Nodeka, but none of the ideas I've ever come up with have struck me as "the one". It's something that shouldn't be too hard to do, though, so I'll take a look at it as a between-time project (the stuff I work on, like new abilities, "in between" sessions of work on a major project in order to clear my mind and change the coding pace a bit).
Will the tech lock be reduced from 18 hours in the future?
I have no plans for this. Teching is fairly hard as it is (tip: tech chance is related to material cost, so a wrist has a much lower chance of teching than a chest), and reducing or eliminating the tech lock wouldn't do much except open up the system to "power-leveling".
Lots of questions this time around; I need to get back to development work so we'll stop here for this session. Keep those questions coming in, I appreciate them and I'm happy to help shed a little light!
Featured Questions #5:
Can you quantify for us what training nim past 100% does?
Training nim beyond 100% reduces the chance of being caught. Currently, no other bonus is gained.
If I have evasion at 250% and 400 willpower, does my evasion prowess increase with 500 willpower?
Yes. There are three ways to improve your chance to evade:
- Improve your evasion mastery beyond 100%.
- Improve your willpower.
- Improve your spellpower (that is, your maximum mana and maximum spirit).
The basic "challenge" to evade an attack is a randomized comparison of your willpower versus your enemy's. This randomized comparison is tilted in two ways. First, your evasion mastery beyond 100% tilts the chances in your favor. Second, the chances are tilted AGAINST you by a certain value - let's call it X. This X is multiplied by the ratio of the enemy's spellpower versus yours. If the ratio is 2:1 (your enemy has twice your spellpower), then X is doubled, making it harder for you to evade. If the ratio is 1:1.5 (you have 1.5 times the spellpower of your enemy), then X is multiplied by 2/3, making it easier for you to evade.
Why do empowered inscriptions only last for 1 use of the ability, causing the aura to shift immediately? Seems pretty harsh since a. most empower attempts fail and b. on a successful empower, the aura doesn't last very long in the first place.
At the risk of sounding ostentatious - "ah, but that's the beauty of the system!" =) The fact that your aura shifts when you fire off an empowered inscription is vital to the system's design.
First of all, point (a) is definitely valid right now. It is hard for a "vanilla" character to empower very often. That's the point of runed gear - by assembling a good collection of runes on your equipment, you make it easier to access the auras that match those runes. You'll find that as the system gets deeper, the combination of runes and ciphers (e.g., cyclopean) will allow you to design your character to access certain auras with more consistency than is possible right now. You'll be able to "customize" your character to access the auras which you want the most (or, conversely, you might choose your inscriptions based on which runes are on the best gear you've collected).
As for point (b) - remember, when the aura shifts, it also refreshes its duration! If you need to fire off that empowered inscription immediately, go for it, but if you can afford to time it, you can greatly extend your "aura uptime" by shifting your aura just before it's about to expire. This leads to an interesting dynamic in inscription choice as well. If you choose to learn several "kyf" inscriptions, then your "kyf" aura will be more powerful - but once you shift out of kyf, chances are you won't have any inscriptions to match the new aura. On the other hand, if you learn a variety of different inscriptions (say, a "kyf", a "bal", and a "zmo"), you greatly increase the chance that you'll be able to chain inscriptions off of each other when they shift, but none of your auras will be quite as strong as a stacked aura.
Finally, ciphers can change the inscription game in many different ways. The magi's remembrance cipher can make your auras last considerably longer, if duration is a concern; the cyclopean cipher can sometimes turn a failed empower into a success (albeit of a strange and different aura type); and so on. The sky's the limit - just wait 'til I start really expanding on the available inscriptions and ciphers. =)
Bash+trip+lock in groups of 2 or more is [harsh]... While lateral defense has been introduced as one means of defense... I would like to see [other methods of defense].
Actually, I've had plans to approach this from a skew angle. Expect bash and trip to be reworked at some point. I'd like these impairments to be useful as strategic counters and pacing tools; right now, at instant speed, they're usually just "spam me right away" spoilers, which is not where they should be.
Speaking of which, can we take Stun Immunity away from ranks as well?
I'm open to a reworking of rank bonuses. We have a lot of unique and interesting potential bonuses which simply didn't exist at the time that rank effects were introduced which could be interesting.
Will Sigil Citadel ever be automated? And will we be looking at more of such events in the near future?
Yah, this is easily doable with the advancements in AI sophistication which have been implemented over time. The primary reason that I haven't done this already is that I'd like to rework Sigil Citadels at the same time - they're a nice stepping point but right now they primarily devolve into a single, giant, bloody, game-ending Team A vs. Team B pileup (not that there's anything wrong with that, and that could easily be its own Citadel mode, but that's selling the intent of Sigil Cits a bit short).
I've talked online a bit about Citadel variants I'd like to do (for example, the champion idea I've mentioned a few times and even experimented with a few days ago via a MechaGodzilla-sized Issabella). I have several ideas that you'll see pop up eventually, and the plan is for these to be automated Citadel variants with a faction-based incentive to compete and win (a simple shared set of faction rewards).
Are there any gambling systems on the table to be implemented? Even something as simple as spinning a wheel and betting on even or odd with 1:1 plat payouts would be awesome!
The idea's popped up many times (ever since I started working on Aur-vindi all those years ago). I'd want to make it something interesting and unique to Nodeka, but none of the ideas I've ever come up with have struck me as "the one". It's something that shouldn't be too hard to do, though, so I'll take a look at it as a between-time project (the stuff I work on, like new abilities, "in between" sessions of work on a major project in order to clear my mind and change the coding pace a bit).
Will the tech lock be reduced from 18 hours in the future?
I have no plans for this. Teching is fairly hard as it is (tip: tech chance is related to material cost, so a wrist has a much lower chance of teching than a chest), and reducing or eliminating the tech lock wouldn't do much except open up the system to "power-leveling".
Lots of questions this time around; I need to get back to development work so we'll stop here for this session. Keep those questions coming in, I appreciate them and I'm happy to help shed a little light!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Featured Questions #4
Featured Questions time again - let's get into it! Remember, if you want answers, you gotta ask the questions - pop them in the comments section or e-mail them to me. The Featured Questions article runs every other Tuesday.
Featured Questions #4:
I'm curious as to how improved parry or improved dodge racial bonuses from races like sprite actually helps dodge or parry.
The avoidance abilities (dodge, parry, evasion, and now lesser evasion) aren't necessarily applied to every incoming attack. Avoidance generally works as follows:
1. Each avoidance ability has a chance to trigger on an incoming attack.
2. If the avoidance ability triggers, checks are made against external factors such as stat comparisons, ability masteries, and so on.
3. If the checks are successful, then the attack is avoided.
Improved parry and improved dodge each provide a chance to bypass step 1. Thus, if you were somehow able to obtain 100% improved dodge, you would have a chance to dodge every incoming attack (but a check would still be required for each). The trigger percentage currently cannot be affected by any other means and is low enough that improved parry/dodge provide quite significant benefits.
Evasion is based on willpower and spellpower... it's clearly not a stat/pool (ninjas) master whatsoever. Would that be a problem for the ninjas and a very minuscule improvement?
It's not an oversight; lesser evasion is balanced with the mindset that ninja will have to put in some extra training to make it truly shine, as compared to the caster version.
Is haste a spell that gives benefits over 100% practiced?
Yes; in fact, I think it may have been the first spell to ever do so (before training beyond 100% was introduced as a common method of advancement). It simply adds an extra speed per 10% of training. Not as flashy as some of the more modern options, but it does exist!
Here's my question: a pure platinum bar?
Here's my answer: back in spoils of war. =)
So question, somewhere in the future will there be a player driven economy system? E.g: unique character trade-profession (as most mmos have)?
Eventually, I hope to drive crafting in this direction with crafting specializations (something I've had planned forever, but I haven't been able to implement yet because of the care and foundational work which I feel are necessary in adding to the current crafting system). Currently, crafting is simply a "level up" system; specializations would differentiate people into chosen sub-professions. Beyond specializations, I have no other current plans regarding trade professions, but my comments box and e-mail inbox are always open to ideas. =)
Hello, I was told... that parry doesn't improve beyond 300% could you tell me if this is true or not?
Nope, this is untrue. Parry, dodge, evasion, and lesser evasion all improve in performance with every mastery point; there is no cap. In fact, there are no diminishing returns, either; the performance boost is linear (constant with each point). Don't believe the rumors and hearsay - if it sounds fishy, head straight to the Sixth Sense blog and click that comment button! =)
Featured Questions #4:
I'm curious as to how improved parry or improved dodge racial bonuses from races like sprite actually helps dodge or parry.
The avoidance abilities (dodge, parry, evasion, and now lesser evasion) aren't necessarily applied to every incoming attack. Avoidance generally works as follows:
1. Each avoidance ability has a chance to trigger on an incoming attack.
2. If the avoidance ability triggers, checks are made against external factors such as stat comparisons, ability masteries, and so on.
3. If the checks are successful, then the attack is avoided.
Improved parry and improved dodge each provide a chance to bypass step 1. Thus, if you were somehow able to obtain 100% improved dodge, you would have a chance to dodge every incoming attack (but a check would still be required for each). The trigger percentage currently cannot be affected by any other means and is low enough that improved parry/dodge provide quite significant benefits.
Evasion is based on willpower and spellpower... it's clearly not a stat/pool (ninjas) master whatsoever. Would that be a problem for the ninjas and a very minuscule improvement?
It's not an oversight; lesser evasion is balanced with the mindset that ninja will have to put in some extra training to make it truly shine, as compared to the caster version.
Is haste a spell that gives benefits over 100% practiced?
Yes; in fact, I think it may have been the first spell to ever do so (before training beyond 100% was introduced as a common method of advancement). It simply adds an extra speed per 10% of training. Not as flashy as some of the more modern options, but it does exist!
Here's my question: a pure platinum bar?
Here's my answer: back in spoils of war. =)
So question, somewhere in the future will there be a player driven economy system? E.g: unique character trade-profession (as most mmos have)?
Eventually, I hope to drive crafting in this direction with crafting specializations (something I've had planned forever, but I haven't been able to implement yet because of the care and foundational work which I feel are necessary in adding to the current crafting system). Currently, crafting is simply a "level up" system; specializations would differentiate people into chosen sub-professions. Beyond specializations, I have no other current plans regarding trade professions, but my comments box and e-mail inbox are always open to ideas. =)
Hello, I was told... that parry doesn't improve beyond 300% could you tell me if this is true or not?
Nope, this is untrue. Parry, dodge, evasion, and lesser evasion all improve in performance with every mastery point; there is no cap. In fact, there are no diminishing returns, either; the performance boost is linear (constant with each point). Don't believe the rumors and hearsay - if it sounds fishy, head straight to the Sixth Sense blog and click that comment button! =)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Featured Questions #3
Welcome to the third installment of Featured Questions!
If you have any Nodeka-related questions you'd like to see answered, just submit them in the comments section or via e-mail to me (Whim) - I will select and answer several player questions every other Tuesday.
Featured Questions #3:
Are you comfortable with the level Nojohr and Sorcerers are at?
Not really. Sorcerers don't quite scale the way I'd like them to, and they have a couple of significant tricks I'd like to introduce. Nojohrs have defensive/scaling problems as well, although they are a strong base class. They have the additional problem of lernen/magos versatility stunting their development.
Will Necro's ever get sixth sense?
No; at least, not for the spell power benefit. Necros have a different, more flavorful development path to look forward to which does not include "making my maledictions/siphons do tons of damage". The spy-detection functionality might be considered in some necromancer-appropriate variation, though.
Are footpads over powered with shoot?
Tough question. Quick answer: I don't like the fact that enmesh/projectile is, in some situations, equivalent to a slower manual silent malevolence. I do like the fact that footpads have a chance to take down much larger characters with a little work and the proper approach, and in fact I think all pk-oriented classes should have this capability to some extent. I do think it would be good to introduce a little more strategy into this scenario.
I mentioned before that I have a set of abilities in the works, of which every class in the game would be obtaining one variation. These abilities are intended to kind of work towards that goal, giving each class an ability which represents their "role" in pvp to a degree. I'll reveal more about this when design is further along. (Part of the problem right now is figuring out how to introduce and present them in a way which demonstrates their significance, given that they might simply fall into the large sack of abilities each class currently has - making them hard to pick out, especially given individual variations.)
Is unenhance ever coming back? What about a variation of unenhance that does X?
This question is frequently asked, but unenhance is not slated to return in any form. Its existence raises a number of substantial issues, all of which would need to be addressed before we would even consider it. No variation has presented itself which would address these issues.
"Excess pools" (such as mana and spirit on a warrior class) are an issue which I am aware of when designing for the long term, with an eye for justifying their existence. For example, mana and spirit potential now play a very large part in countering evasion; I will also be looking at developing overall rank as a meaningful and desirable attribute rather than just a way to "penalize" players by making missions harder.
Could 'inscriptions clear' return a percentage of the faction spent (on purchasing the inscriptions being erased)?
Unfortunately, no. Inscriptions have no inherent "cost" to them, because they can be obtained in a variety of ways (such as scrolls, which exist and are fully functional but won't actually be seen on Nodeka until the spoils of war are implemented). The faction you paid is just an arbitrary cost which Margrave Krijjkar decided to charge for the privilege of teaching you.
Having said that, I understand that the Invasion inscription costs are pretty high for experimentation right now. I have a few ideas in that regard (such as reduced inscription costs for high accolades) which I may explore.
The scar has been hyped for some time now, is it going to disappoint like Last Air Bender?
How soon can we expect it?
Will there be more areas like pains, except larger, perhaps requiring groups?
I'm sure it'll be a stunning disappointment; hype tends to do that, and well, some people aren't just tough to please, they don't want to be pleased. ;)
Having said that, it will be as good as I can possibly make it. Luckily, that particular benchmark increases over time, as every internal improvement I make for other AI purposes (Invasions, Fields of Guidance, etc.) opens up new doors for areas and events to come. In addition, I think it's evident enough that I'm committed to taking good ideas and developing them, rather than just throwing them out and letting them sit. I think the original Invasion event, as released, is almost laughable compared to what it's evolved into, even if I was proud of it at the time. =) Likewise, I will of course do my best with the Scar, and develop it wherever it needs developing.
Right now, I'm working on Fields of Guidance AI and newbie quest development. After that, I will be working on the Vl'lakian Ramparts (which is similar to what you're asking about a group-oriented Tabernacle) and the Scar concurrently.
Would it be possible for insanity et al. to show up under affects?
Not quite as easy as it sounds. Insanity and havoc aren't simple "add 50 hit, add 100 damage" effects; each affects the barbarian's combat in unique ways, some of which can't be duplicated by current temporary effects. I can, however, let you know what they do:
Insanity:
1. can't be parried
2. increases damage by a random percentage, range is based on strength and mastery beyond 100%
3. decreases hit to a random percentage, range is based on intellect and wisdom
4. drains endurance with each attack, drain can be reduced with mastery beyond 100%
5. makes the barbarian easier to hit
Havoc:
Similar to insanity, with the following differences:
1. the base hit and damage formulae are superior to insanity's
2. endurance drain is greater
3. mastery beyond 100% improves hit instead of damage
4. the "easier to hit" penalty is slightly less than insanity's
5. mastery beyond 100% reduces the "easier to hit" penalty, even going slightly below x1.0 at high %s
Would it be possible to program a 'donation' feature for the repair of Ruushi (during city Invasions) in exchange for faction?
Absolutely, although in a somewhat different form than what you describe. I have planned for the ability for experienced participants to alter the defense effort with certain global tactical decisions which last for one invasion - for example, the ability to increase golem repair rates or to inhibit the spawn rate of a certain invader class which has become too overwhelming. (These aren't slated to incur faction costs.)
This feature isn't on track to be released yet due to the ebb and flow of Invasion difficulty as I further develop the event. Given the recent enhancements, I feel that the event has drifted towards the easier side of the spectrum. (It was somewhat difficult before the golem grouping and shriveled spell nerf were introduced; there was also an unmentioned adjustment to the spawning algorithm which smooths out the spawn curve in certain situations). I have certain challenges I'd like to add to the event to spice things up, eventually; once these are ready, the time will probably be right for adding tactical benefits to balance out the added difficulty. (This is probably a slightly longer-term project, as I think Invasions are running smoothly now and I'd like to address other important areas before coming back to it.)
If you have any Nodeka-related questions you'd like to see answered, just submit them in the comments section or via e-mail to me (Whim) - I will select and answer several player questions every other Tuesday.
Featured Questions #3:
Are you comfortable with the level Nojohr and Sorcerers are at?
Not really. Sorcerers don't quite scale the way I'd like them to, and they have a couple of significant tricks I'd like to introduce. Nojohrs have defensive/scaling problems as well, although they are a strong base class. They have the additional problem of lernen/magos versatility stunting their development.
Will Necro's ever get sixth sense?
No; at least, not for the spell power benefit. Necros have a different, more flavorful development path to look forward to which does not include "making my maledictions/siphons do tons of damage". The spy-detection functionality might be considered in some necromancer-appropriate variation, though.
Are footpads over powered with shoot?
Tough question. Quick answer: I don't like the fact that enmesh/projectile is, in some situations, equivalent to a slower manual silent malevolence. I do like the fact that footpads have a chance to take down much larger characters with a little work and the proper approach, and in fact I think all pk-oriented classes should have this capability to some extent. I do think it would be good to introduce a little more strategy into this scenario.
I mentioned before that I have a set of abilities in the works, of which every class in the game would be obtaining one variation. These abilities are intended to kind of work towards that goal, giving each class an ability which represents their "role" in pvp to a degree. I'll reveal more about this when design is further along. (Part of the problem right now is figuring out how to introduce and present them in a way which demonstrates their significance, given that they might simply fall into the large sack of abilities each class currently has - making them hard to pick out, especially given individual variations.)
Is unenhance ever coming back? What about a variation of unenhance that does X?
This question is frequently asked, but unenhance is not slated to return in any form. Its existence raises a number of substantial issues, all of which would need to be addressed before we would even consider it. No variation has presented itself which would address these issues.
"Excess pools" (such as mana and spirit on a warrior class) are an issue which I am aware of when designing for the long term, with an eye for justifying their existence. For example, mana and spirit potential now play a very large part in countering evasion; I will also be looking at developing overall rank as a meaningful and desirable attribute rather than just a way to "penalize" players by making missions harder.
Could 'inscriptions clear' return a percentage of the faction spent (on purchasing the inscriptions being erased)?
Unfortunately, no. Inscriptions have no inherent "cost" to them, because they can be obtained in a variety of ways (such as scrolls, which exist and are fully functional but won't actually be seen on Nodeka until the spoils of war are implemented). The faction you paid is just an arbitrary cost which Margrave Krijjkar decided to charge for the privilege of teaching you.
Having said that, I understand that the Invasion inscription costs are pretty high for experimentation right now. I have a few ideas in that regard (such as reduced inscription costs for high accolades) which I may explore.
The scar has been hyped for some time now, is it going to disappoint like Last Air Bender?
How soon can we expect it?
Will there be more areas like pains, except larger, perhaps requiring groups?
I'm sure it'll be a stunning disappointment; hype tends to do that, and well, some people aren't just tough to please, they don't want to be pleased. ;)
Having said that, it will be as good as I can possibly make it. Luckily, that particular benchmark increases over time, as every internal improvement I make for other AI purposes (Invasions, Fields of Guidance, etc.) opens up new doors for areas and events to come. In addition, I think it's evident enough that I'm committed to taking good ideas and developing them, rather than just throwing them out and letting them sit. I think the original Invasion event, as released, is almost laughable compared to what it's evolved into, even if I was proud of it at the time. =) Likewise, I will of course do my best with the Scar, and develop it wherever it needs developing.
Right now, I'm working on Fields of Guidance AI and newbie quest development. After that, I will be working on the Vl'lakian Ramparts (which is similar to what you're asking about a group-oriented Tabernacle) and the Scar concurrently.
Would it be possible for insanity et al. to show up under affects?
Not quite as easy as it sounds. Insanity and havoc aren't simple "add 50 hit, add 100 damage" effects; each affects the barbarian's combat in unique ways, some of which can't be duplicated by current temporary effects. I can, however, let you know what they do:
Insanity:
1. can't be parried
2. increases damage by a random percentage, range is based on strength and mastery beyond 100%
3. decreases hit to a random percentage, range is based on intellect and wisdom
4. drains endurance with each attack, drain can be reduced with mastery beyond 100%
5. makes the barbarian easier to hit
Havoc:
Similar to insanity, with the following differences:
1. the base hit and damage formulae are superior to insanity's
2. endurance drain is greater
3. mastery beyond 100% improves hit instead of damage
4. the "easier to hit" penalty is slightly less than insanity's
5. mastery beyond 100% reduces the "easier to hit" penalty, even going slightly below x1.0 at high %s
Would it be possible to program a 'donation' feature for the repair of Ruushi (during city Invasions) in exchange for faction?
Absolutely, although in a somewhat different form than what you describe. I have planned for the ability for experienced participants to alter the defense effort with certain global tactical decisions which last for one invasion - for example, the ability to increase golem repair rates or to inhibit the spawn rate of a certain invader class which has become too overwhelming. (These aren't slated to incur faction costs.)
This feature isn't on track to be released yet due to the ebb and flow of Invasion difficulty as I further develop the event. Given the recent enhancements, I feel that the event has drifted towards the easier side of the spectrum. (It was somewhat difficult before the golem grouping and shriveled spell nerf were introduced; there was also an unmentioned adjustment to the spawning algorithm which smooths out the spawn curve in certain situations). I have certain challenges I'd like to add to the event to spice things up, eventually; once these are ready, the time will probably be right for adding tactical benefits to balance out the added difficulty. (This is probably a slightly longer-term project, as I think Invasions are running smoothly now and I'd like to address other important areas before coming back to it.)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Featured Questions #2
As promised, another round of player-submitted featured questions.
If you have any questions you'd like to see answered, don't forget to submit them via comments below or via e-mail!
Featured Questions #2:
Why does upgrading cipher: cyclopean riddle from tier 1 to tier 2 use more inscriptions slots and not over write the tier 1 slot?
Upgrading a cipher from tier x to tier (x+1) does overwrite the previous slot. For example, advancing your cyclopean riddle to tier 2 from tier 1 will display:
in your inscription list, and the tier 1 version will disappear.
As mentioned in 'help inscription points', ciphers cost 1 inscription point per tier. Thus, holding a tier 1 cyclopean cipher costs 1 inscription point; tier 2 will cost you 2; and so on. The cost increase is linear, not cumulative.
Higher tiers obviously need to cost more slots than lower tiers; otherwise, there's little point to the tier system at all, and ciphers would all be balanced around the assumption that they were max-tiered.
Inscription points are obviously in short demand, and are designed to be that way up to a point - it's a system in which you need to choose a unique talent configuration for your character, not one in which you "get big and buy everything". Gear will soon be introduced which increases the owner's inscription capacity, which will add to the inscription options available for those who wish to invest in it. (The first set of this gear will be Invasion-reward oriented.)
Some subclasses just seem fairly outdated these days, do you have any plans on revisiting those soon?
Absolutely, I have a lot of subclass spells and skills sketched out which only need to be implemented and tested. My focus right now is on content + newbie experience + pvp, though, as I feel those need to be developed first.
Consider an item with the attribute of speed, can a minor major and divine inspiration be fixated on speed and the final product be greater than 3 times the speed of the base creation?
Inspirations are general boosts to the power level of an item. Each inspiration adds to the crafted item's potential in a couple of ways, but the overall result is an even power increase. There's no fixation on a single stat.
If you have any questions you'd like to see answered, don't forget to submit them via comments below or via e-mail!
Featured Questions #2:
Why does upgrading cipher: cyclopean riddle from tier 1 to tier 2 use more inscriptions slots and not over write the tier 1 slot?
Upgrading a cipher from tier x to tier (x+1) does overwrite the previous slot. For example, advancing your cyclopean riddle to tier 2 from tier 1 will display:
cipher: cyclopean riddle -+- tier 2
in your inscription list, and the tier 1 version will disappear.
As mentioned in 'help inscription points', ciphers cost 1 inscription point per tier. Thus, holding a tier 1 cyclopean cipher costs 1 inscription point; tier 2 will cost you 2; and so on. The cost increase is linear, not cumulative.
Higher tiers obviously need to cost more slots than lower tiers; otherwise, there's little point to the tier system at all, and ciphers would all be balanced around the assumption that they were max-tiered.
Inscription points are obviously in short demand, and are designed to be that way up to a point - it's a system in which you need to choose a unique talent configuration for your character, not one in which you "get big and buy everything". Gear will soon be introduced which increases the owner's inscription capacity, which will add to the inscription options available for those who wish to invest in it. (The first set of this gear will be Invasion-reward oriented.)
Some subclasses just seem fairly outdated these days, do you have any plans on revisiting those soon?
Absolutely, I have a lot of subclass spells and skills sketched out which only need to be implemented and tested. My focus right now is on content + newbie experience + pvp, though, as I feel those need to be developed first.
Consider an item with the attribute of speed, can a minor major and divine inspiration be fixated on speed and the final product be greater than 3 times the speed of the base creation?
Inspirations are general boosts to the power level of an item. Each inspiration adds to the crafted item's potential in a couple of ways, but the overall result is an even power increase. There's no fixation on a single stat.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Featured Questions #1
And here we go! As promised, I will be selecting some interesting player-submitted questions regarding Nodeka and answering them for you in this regularly updated article. For now, we'll say that Featured Questions will run every other Tuesday, and I'll modify that in the future if necessary =).
If you have any questions you'd like to see answered in upcoming articles, please don't hesitate to ask (either in the comments section of this blog, or via e-mail). The questions below are quoted as submitted, edited slightly for grammar and spelling.
This week's Featured Questions:
What does Difficult To Hit actually do?
Difficult to hit is a simple, strong mechanic. Whenever it triggers, it reduces the hit bonus of the attacker by a certain amount, making you... difficult to hit. =)
- Crafted items level
What/how does the item level outcome work? Is it better to use Tier 3 materials for the primary component and Tier 1 components for the secondary, rather than using Tier 1 materials for the primary and Tier 3 for the secondary?
This is correct. Crafted items have a primary component and a secondary component; these classifications correspond to the material which you need more and less of respectively. While both components contribute to the power level of the crafted item, the primary component has a greater influence.
- What abilities do gemstones have besides the only one truly verified (Transform one bonus to another)? (Example: increase chance of inspirations, add levels, something else ) ?
- Does using multiple gemstones of the same type do anything for the crafted item?
- Is there a system to gemstones that can be 'figured out', like there is with components and bonuses using the (quest action, crafting) list?
The set of currently available gemstones can be divided into several different categories, each of which increases the power of (or transforms) the resulting crafted item in various ways. While every gemstone has the potential to improve the craft on its own, the greatest benefits can only be attained through combining certain gemstone categories together.
Using multiple gemstones of the same name does not *currently* do anything to improve the craft.
There is, of course, a system that can be figured out, as with any of Nodeka's various mechanics. The crafting system, as a whole, has only two elements of randomness to it - the chance to gain a tech when crafting with a new material, and the chance for an inspiration. No other aspects of crafting utilize random rolls of any kind.
If you have any questions you'd like to see answered in upcoming articles, please don't hesitate to ask (either in the comments section of this blog, or via e-mail). The questions below are quoted as submitted, edited slightly for grammar and spelling.
This week's Featured Questions:
What does Difficult To Hit actually do?
Difficult to hit is a simple, strong mechanic. Whenever it triggers, it reduces the hit bonus of the attacker by a certain amount, making you... difficult to hit. =)
- Crafted items level
What/how does the item level outcome work? Is it better to use Tier 3 materials for the primary component and Tier 1 components for the secondary, rather than using Tier 1 materials for the primary and Tier 3 for the secondary?
This is correct. Crafted items have a primary component and a secondary component; these classifications correspond to the material which you need more and less of respectively. While both components contribute to the power level of the crafted item, the primary component has a greater influence.
- What abilities do gemstones have besides the only one truly verified (Transform one bonus to another)? (Example: increase chance of inspirations, add levels, something else ) ?
- Does using multiple gemstones of the same type do anything for the crafted item?
- Is there a system to gemstones that can be 'figured out', like there is with components and bonuses using the (quest action, crafting) list?
The set of currently available gemstones can be divided into several different categories, each of which increases the power of (or transforms) the resulting crafted item in various ways. While every gemstone has the potential to improve the craft on its own, the greatest benefits can only be attained through combining certain gemstone categories together.
Using multiple gemstones of the same name does not *currently* do anything to improve the craft.
There is, of course, a system that can be figured out, as with any of Nodeka's various mechanics. The crafting system, as a whole, has only two elements of randomness to it - the chance to gain a tech when crafting with a new material, and the chance for an inspiration. No other aspects of crafting utilize random rolls of any kind.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sumer Is Icumen In
... and it brings with it good tidings and mad updates. =)
Things have been hectic recently, but my vacation officially starts next week, and with it comes the next towering wave of major updates (finally!) and some new tidbits to chew on. In addition to new online content, I'll be moving forward with an idea that's been kicking around for a while - a "featured question" article (probably every two weeks or so) in which I'll select and answer one burning player-provided question regarding Nodeka and its mechanics.
My apologies for the recent real-life-imposed break; thankfully, it's summertime, so bring on the parties! (Someone in Ruushi needs to invent the hot dog.)
Things have been hectic recently, but my vacation officially starts next week, and with it comes the next towering wave of major updates (finally!) and some new tidbits to chew on. In addition to new online content, I'll be moving forward with an idea that's been kicking around for a while - a "featured question" article (probably every two weeks or so) in which I'll select and answer one burning player-provided question regarding Nodeka and its mechanics.
My apologies for the recent real-life-imposed break; thankfully, it's summertime, so bring on the parties! (Someone in Ruushi needs to invent the hot dog.)
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