Friday with Means - November 11th, 2011 - 111111 - Open questions

[Rantopha]

Why is there a tip of the week on the ao launcher when it has never been updated since It's first introduction?

They just lost a "s" Must be:
Tip of the week(s (38-52))

[xtasie]

Regarding the new engine : When? Built a new computer to guarantee I could run the new engine in April 2008....Already past do on another upgrade :|

[Mireiawen]

Ask away and I'll do my best to answer as many of them as I can. (in this thread..just to be clear.)

Could we actually have answers in its own thread, so less need to go through multiple pages of partly same questions?

[Jandorith]

Means: You you guys really have any plans to actually fix Metaphysicists and give us a purpose that will let us get teams? I would really like to see neutnet spams saying "Looking for MP for xxx and we are ready to go!" or some such. Basically, will you listen to the people that play MPs more than you all seem to now?

After you have dealt with things like the engine, rebalance, new startup, will you guys finally STOP, listen to what the issues the players are talking about, and fixing them? Having a new patch comes out that deals with the various threads and getting those fixed would be nice. You can add new bug, er, content later.

After all the grief that you seem to get from us, have you ever just wanted to post "Hell with you ALL! I QUIT!" and run off and become an encyclopedia salesman?

[Phargus]

Regarding the new engine : When? Built a new computer to guarantee I could run the new engine in April 2008....Already past do on another upgrade :|

Quick! Upgrade it so it's ready for the new engine!

[-LL-]

Means: You you guys really have any plans to actually fix Metaphysicists and give us a purpose that will let us get teams? I would really like to see neutnet spams saying "Looking for MP for xxx and we are ready to go!" or some such. Basically, will you listen to the people that play MPs more than you all seem to now?

THIS.


Also, as previously stated:
- AO population is dying and needs a refresh. I hope you realise that players want to play a MMORPG not a offline game online. POPULATION MORE THAN EVERYTHING ELSE.
- PVP titles, did you realise we have a bad system now, and that it doesn't show at all who's strong but just who has time?
- ENGINE, REBALANCE. What are the ETAs?
- Battlestations. Do you realise it's should be time for new content there, for more fun? More maps, more different types of objectives.
- Stop wasting time on designing content that is empty a week later and does NOT keep or attract new players. What are you going to advertise, the buggy content you released? YAY for no people attracted.
- Did you realise you need to focus on what makes AO unique? This while fixing the startup experience and other problems people already listed.

[lainbr]

What in current rebalance is Set in Stone and nothing we can say will change it? And what we can put our fingers on and make madness sugestions that can make sense?

:P And... When MPs will be ungimped?

[Escapegoat]

Another question:
Will it ever be possible for froobs to buy things off GMS - not have player shops, just buy from them?

[Lheann]

Means,

One reason you stated for S10 bounties being removed was the "purpose built" toons created to farm them. I have long complained about "Disable XP Gain" being one the stupidest moves FC ever made. The "rude" players in S10 you referred to using their purpose built toons is in my opinion the best example of why disable XP gain is bad. So what are the chances that FC will remove this option and return AO to game that you are always progressing? If purpose built toons cannot exist then there are a lot of areas where rude players on their (TOTW/Foremans/CoH/S10/Subway) twinks would no longer create grief.

I am aware that people can just die before leveling and wipe their XP bar but that is a player action and there are many twinks that well frankly will at some point screw up and level.

What is FC going to do about OST? Note I said what are going to do vice do you have any plans. Failure to fix OST will be one of the complete failures of AO with a relaunch campaign. The time of trying and talking is past and as this thread indicates a great number of folks are wanting it fixed.

What is FC going to do to fix the junk content that are in RK shops? Again I said what vice plan. This is another complete fail area of AO when looking at a relaunch campaign.

There are many other questions but this one sums most of them up: Given the state of the MMO landscape today how is AO going to preserve the great AO concepts but make itself appeal to current MMO players? In games today that have content that allow steady progression of gear that can be bought/found/quested for as a person plays, AO stands out as just a PITA for true new players and raging against a model that frankly works well.

One last one: I linked in a PM to you in Kintaii a suggestion for new lowbie weapons found in the Subway based on the CoH model with damages inline with exisitng decent (not uber) weapon choices for the level range. Of course no word from anyone makes wonder if you read it. Even a get loss this is a loser idea would be nice. Your opinion on the concept please.

Thanks for answering the questions.

[Arlanon]

Disable XP Gain and Outside Tanking are the two biggest gameplay issues AO has. Junk in the shops and the new player experience are right behind. These are smaller in scope than the Rebalance and Reengine, and should be addressed immediately.

/remove Disable XP Gain
/make Hecklers run from high level players
/bacon

poof, done

[MrPete]

The agent document has been released to the Professionals this week so NEXT week we should be able to share the altered version with the open community.

But are you going to implement this in the actual game, or is this an exercise in excel usage?

[haxi]

Seven pages and people are still restating questions that were asked on page two. Means could have guessed what 90% of the questions would be ahead of time and just copy/pasted his answers. In fact, that is my question:

Assuming you knew (had to...) what 90% of the questions would be, why didn't you just go ahead with the preemptive strike and provide the answers?

[Utopian]

Seven pages and people are still restating questions that were asked on page two. Means could have guessed what 90% of the questions would be ahead of time and just copy/pasted his answers. In fact, that is my question:

Assuming you knew (had to...) what 90% of the questions would be, why didn't you just go ahead with the preemptive strike and provide the answers?

THIS^^^

Quite honestly, I cannot understand why not just put out some answers to the questions you knew were coming (if your intent was to truely answer questions).

[Louderer789]

Is this life all there is?

[drainbamage]

Disable XP Gain and Outside Tanking are the two biggest gameplay issues AO has. Junk in the shops and the new player experience are right behind. These are smaller in scope than the Rebalance and Reengine, and should be addressed immediately.

/remove Disable XP Gain
/make Hecklers run from high level players
/bacon

poof, done

If you want to solve the problem of twinks ruining low-level dungeons for "regular" players, instance them.

[Gatester]

A note to the OST complainers...I could kite ely hecklers at 90 on my NT so there is more than just mongo to deal with.

Just a few quick ones:

Is increasing the XP pool (currently 200million) possible in the future, since 200million goes very quickly from about 150+?

Do you realize how hilariously overpowered a 200 NT is?

[byteflush]

Regarding the new engine, has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Tazalanche]

Regarding the new engine, has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Huh?

Please clarify.

[Lheann]

Means,

Additional question: When SL released Gaute and team tried something of interest but had to roll it back so that all the 200's could get the items needed to progress. The concept they tried was: When you kill a mob that is gray to you (awarded loot rights) that mob will not have any loot on it. The idea was to prevent gray mob's having any value at all to high level players. Of course 200's needed keys and other items so they could level and it was pulled very quickly to allow existing toons a way to move up.

However today when a 220 can farm all the Ado Dryad's for the rare drops and usually does prevent proper level toons from accessing them (also see predator's) this mechanic would be a great way to stop players farming gray mobs. So is there any chance of making this happen again? I really do not see how having a system where 220's can own every low level spawn is helping AO. If you feel that allowing 220's to camp/own the gray spawns is acceptable please explain why.

Thanks.

[Gatester]

Props to you, you're playing the game as intended. Just don't be Disabling XP Gain so you can sell team spots to players who sit around on their asses at Sunken House all week, so they can infect the high level game with their Profession Ineptitude.

The NT will not level if it teams at least one player outside XP range.

Profession ineptitude is not due to players not manually killing their hecklers. If you want players to learn their toolset then you either:

Force pvp at lower levels and make them learn against other players.

or

Create raids or quests for players which require their toolsets to be used, and used well, to achieve the rewards.

That is, unless you can somehow explain how grinding regular mobs creates adept players?