Friday with Means - August 6th, 2010 - Preemptively Recursive
It was fantastic last night to sit in The Grind and just relax and listen to the show on Gridstream...thanks to all who kept me company...it was great to chat with you all. Good show too Nushen...really enjoyed it.
What made relaxing in The Grind so nice was that it was great to not be panicking on patch day. Everything seems to have gone out smoothly...and the "test" version of the new playfield has been running so generally well that the issues we are going to fix have not justified actually shutting it down in the meantime. People seem to be having a good time just casually shooting each other in a nice relaxed setting.
Things that will be fixed/changed:
1. People outsided the level range of the playfield will not be able to get in.
2. There will be a method of healing/nano refill inside the start area.
3. There will be no contagious flags inside the playfield.
4. More landmarks that make it obvious at quick glance where you are without having to look at the map.
5. Shop/Ammo/etc store added to the start room.
6. More random exits to different places in the playfield to avoid spawncamping.
7. A way to easily get back to the start area will be added.
8. More random fun elements will be added.
Things that likely will not change:
1. We will not be removing the ability to team. People will always be able to help each other in some way...even if it means simply not attacking each other. Nothing will truly prevent cooperation so there is no point in making it inconvenient for those who want to play together. I am not against the idea of some kind of "challenger" setup where it is always 1 on 1...but this isn't it.
2. Running on rooftops will not be in this area. Ranged professions enjoy a significant advantage everywhere and more so against pet professions. Allowing roof running would make this advantage larger than it already is. This can be the one place where standing on a box is not the best defense against a sophisticated kill robot. I know it would be fun to run accross the rooftops...but not for everyone.
Anyways, Kintaii/Mstrbstrd have done a great job in getting the playfield this far and I am sure they will get a changed version together soon for us to distribute accross all levels and get live soon.
Thank you again for all the helpfull feedback that will make this new area more fun for everyone.
Have a great weekend.
