1.69 Patch

[Gilradden]

Greetings,
I was just wondering if all the features of the patch are going to be implemented? I have discussed some of the "fixes" with quite a few players on North. Most of us agree that some of the features are going to make more than a few of us a bit upset as they will cause some of our best toons to be far less effective. An example is the change in ac modifier to UEF, another is the nerfing of the Neg Burst spell damage. I would certainly hope that the "fun factor" for loyal players is, or should be, a strong consideration for the devs. Making the game a challenge is one thing, how that is achieved is quite another. It's only my opinion, but it's shared by many of the regulars on North and probably many on East as well. Just some food for thought served up for Fang and Pros. I hope many other payers will share their feelings on this topic. Take care and happy hunting all!

[priestofbast]

heh. they solved the problem of invalid characters on ns4 by starting everyone over from scratch.

that's known as a wipe.

everyone that was so terrified of it here is having grand fun starting over.

i recommend it.


highly.

catfoot, formerly known as repairman jack, moonglum, and quickling death

[Gilradden]

I didn't say anything about invalid characters, I was addressing spells that will have their effects reduced or changed in some way. Perhaps you should have read my original post more carefully.

[Dr_Fangorn]

To be honest, Pros and I have moved onto other things, mainly real life stuff like work and family. I have been fairly heavily involved in NS 5 development in the past, and am ramping up more development time towards NS 5.

The new stuff for NS 3.5 is mainly touchups and finishing off stuff that I wish I had been able to do before my sabbatical started last July, such as an Isle of Dreams revamp, some extra underwater adventuring, and some stuff for the Old Trade Route. I really haven't delved into the nuts and bolts of the specific spell changes and fixes associated with 1.69, I've been more excited by the new stuff in the toolset.

Gil, this is the first I've heard about player concerns about 1.69. I wasn't aware of the changes to some of the spells, again, see above - I've been focusing on new content, not on the spell changes. With any major patches, there are bound to be things that happen that players might not agree with - lets look at what has happened in 3.5 over the past few YEARS, such as the palemaster nerf, all the changes to the shifters (undead, golem, dragon, etc.), to name a few. I'm not out to make things ridiculously tough, and I'll consider the player base in any changes made. However, I feel that players can't be resistant to change - for instance, you never know when Pros and I may have to pull the plug on NS 3.5 (god forbid). We're still running servers because of you, the loyal NS 3.5 players. If you are all vehemently against the play changes that 1.69 brings, then I'll abandon the new content and go back to real life.

BTW - I just went over the 1.69 changes with a fine toothed comb - What's the matter with them FIXING NEB and UEF? My favorite toons were clerics, and I personally don't see the 1.69 fixes as game breakers - When my cleric could cast 32 NEBs, a bit of lost damage from a 10/29/1 ftr/clc/monk really wouldn't be a big deal. Same with UEF - does a cleric with an AC of 98 REALLY benefit from a small Dodge AC bonus against Exalted Lord, who is going to hit ya no matter what?

[priestofbast]

see fang's a really nice guy.


not like cats.

ya'll are sooo lucky


catfoot

aka

moonglum
quickling death
repairman jack

[Gilradden]

Thanks for the quick response Fang that cleared up the neg burst part of it and I can see your point, but the uef concern isn't so much about the cleric's own ac as it is for the other toons it is cast on. But if it's a choice between the patch or no more new content, I'll take the patch sir.....lol. Didn't mean to overstate it I was just hoping you could pick and choose what content from the patch you wanted and not use what you didn't want. I don't know enough about the limitations you face as a dev to be sure so I was just asking if it was possible. Didn't mean to sound like an ingrate either, I know we all appreciate that we still have two 3.5 servers to play and we hope they'll be around for a long time . Thanks again for addressing my concerns and I look forward to the new areas you're workin on.

[Hastings]

that's known as a wipe.
everyone that was so terrified of it here is having grand fun starting over.
i recommend it.
highly.

Glad to see somebody enjoys server wipes. Starting over is fun once, but 3 times in a year would be enough to retire the game.

[Dr_Fangorn]

Heh. I started up North in March 2006...it hasn't had a single wipe. Are you implying that one wipe in 2 1/2 years is okay?

[priestofbast]

i started with the ns3 beta, back when bioware was still working on the first multiplayer patch, and testing it on NS.

i have been thru at least 5 wipes, and that's droppin few off what i think i remember so as not to exaggerate.

Yeah, when the social order and the game has gone static and boring, i love wipes.


catfoot

[Dr_Fangorn]

North has been updated to the v1.69 patch as of Saturday night.

Enjoy!

[Throst54]

wooot!

you're awesome fangzorz

[Cidrick of East]

Thanks for the update Fang...can't wait to see the changes and what's been done.

[Dr_Fangorn]

I'm still plugging away...so far, here's a quicklist of some changes:

Old Town North & Crypt revised for streamlined play
-Coastal Road and Rock Peak revised for a different feel
-Extension of Arronax underwater areas - more Sahuagin!
-Isle of Dreams completely revised with additions (will need extensive playtesting before general playing allowed)

And I am currently thinking about the following additions:
-Underwater extension under the Isle of Dreams, with direct connection to Arronax
-The Old Trade Route area
-Dragon realm revamp OR Epic Dragon Realm off of Enchanted City

[Zysek]

I've only discovered the changes to the Coastal Road and WOW is it nice! Absolutely loved the beach. The name of the critter there is still making me smile.

Also, updating while we were still playing was indeed relatively painless. Of course, having DM Fang shout "EVERYBODY STAND STILL" was a touch unnerving.

[Gilradden]

Fang and Pros,
Love the new look of Coastal Road and Rock Peak, makes me wish I could buy a beach chair and a Corona and hang out there... . We were talking last night and some of us were wondering if you could do something in the area thru the cave opening on the dead end run to Rock Peak off the beach. Maybe a "Pandora's Closet" type encounter with random big baddies or a "Wandering Druid" type encounter, something unexpected for the level of player who would be wandering around the area. Just a thought because it's a perfect place for an encounter of some kind. Just wanted to let you know that the new maps are beautiful and it'll make leveling there a much more fun and interesting. Thanks for the new content, we all appreciate it very much.