FAQ about the server merge.

[nanoforcer]

Nowdays with outdoor cities we're used to being able to travel quickly through whompas in those cityplots, but i'm very curious to what will happen after the server merge.
Will the plots be removed or will they stay in some fasion and still have means of transport for the players?

And while we're at it, making one FAQ thread for server merged question would make sence so ppl don't ask the same question that (perhaps) has already been answered in 3453 different places already, just saying

So consider this question 1

[Togusa]

I think all Cityspots will gone for less server space

[sannz]

Makes you wonder about playfields like Coast of Lag.

[Mastablasta]

I hope they just go away. "We're used to traveling faster" screw that, seriously, and bring back the sense of open widths and adventure.

[cbus97]

Add a NW tower that acts like a faction-only whompah.

[Lheann]

Guys they have addressed that. The answer to your question is the item shop grid nano and instance grid items.

[nanoforcer]

I was hoping to hear from the management, but we'll eventually see in any case i guess

[Byste]

If I wanted to appreciate open spaces and adventure, I'd go to the ****ing Shadowlands like Scheol and Adonis.

Except I hate those places just like 99% of the population because transport is horrendous, and dread doing the quests in these zones because of it.

[Traderjill]

If I wanted to appreciate open spaces and adventure, I'd go to the ****ing Shadowlands like Scheol and Adonis.

Except I hate those places just like 99% of the population because transport is horrendous, and dread doing the quests in these zones because of it.

I don't think 99% of the population hates Adonis nor do I feel that transportation in SL is horrendous. You may want to do some fact checking on that statistic

I know I always loved traveling in SL and Elysium, Adonis and Penumbra have really beautiful landscaping.. guess it is a matter of personal preference. I also remember, pre-AI cities, traveling on Rubi-ka and some of my adventures were epic (at least they felt that way back then). The lack of transportation "on every corner" didn't really seem like much of a problem to me. Nowadays we have recall beacons, can /terminate without losing xp and collecting crap from reclaim as well as the professions that naturally have grid ability (Fixer, NT, Trader, Doc come to mind) and the shop buyable grid stuff too. I'm not saying I want the convenience of AI city whompahs to poof overnight but at the same time.. I never liked the way they looked.

[Mastablasta]

Also, AO does have transportation on every corner already. The whompas are transportation every meter of sidewalk. And it makes a mockery of the world, that was perfectly balanced travel time wise before these stupid whompas were introduced. Bad design, FC.

[Lazy]

easier solution: reroll fixer

[Canibaal]

buy recall becons!

[Byste]

{post removed by Vhab}

Where's the flag post button... Oh there it is.

I don't think 99% of the population hates Adonis nor do I feel that transportation in SL is horrendous. You may want to do some fact checking on that statistic

I know I always loved traveling in SL and Elysium, Adonis and Penumbra have really beautiful landscaping.. guess it is a matter of personal preference. I also remember, pre-AI cities, traveling on Rubi-ka and some of my adventures were epic (at least they felt that way back then). The lack of transportation "on every corner" didn't really seem like much of a problem to me. Nowadays we have recall beacons, can /terminate without losing xp and collecting crap from reclaim as well as the professions that naturally have grid ability (Fixer, NT, Trader, Doc come to mind) and the shop buyable grid stuff too.

I deeply enjoy Penumbra, it's my favorite zone I think. Not all the SL zones are bad, and there is a difference between how pleasing a zone is aesthetically and how navigable it is. I'm just saying, what I find most displeasing about the shadowlands is trying to navigate Scheol, followed by Adonis. Please read more closely to what I'm saying. As for my carefully researched and precise statistic of 99%, my feelings are crushed by your refutation. :C

I totally agree with the rest of what you say here, but that really doesn't mean we have to get rid of the shortcuts... More below in my 2nd response to Masta.

I'm not saying I want the convenience of AI city whompahs to poof overnight but at the same time.. I never liked the way they looked.

Heeeeey are you thinking what I'm thinking? How about we update the graphics engine I'll go start the game suggestion thread right away omgomg so excited

Also, AO does have transportation on every corner already. The whompas are transportation every meter of sidewalk. And it makes a mockery of the world, that was perfectly balanced travel time wise before these stupid whompas were introduced. Bad design, FC.

Sooo I still play this game and I work with newbs all the time being the Pres of a mostly PvM org. And wouldn't you know it, despite Rubi-Ka having all these transportation shortcuts like the whompas, grid, fgrid, player city whompas, SL jumpoffs, terminating, the BS terminals, etc... New players don't seem to know about all of these! It's sooo weird! They're liek forced to run around and explore things the long way you seem to prefer and they usually don't care, which is why they don't learn about the fast way of getting around. Until someone shows them, long after they did it the longsuffering route. It can take years to find all the shortcuts. Hell, I'm still finding new ways to get some place faster. You can call it being jaded, but I consider part of the game to be getting around it fastest.

Just because you disagree doesn't mean I'm an entitled whiny child. We'll all play through the game the long and slow way the first time even if shortcuts exist because we don't know about them, THEN we use the shortcuts. I simply don't want to reexplore the planet every time I want to go do something. It's exactly like level grinding... You do the 1-220 once, you marvel at all the stuff you can do. You do it twice, and it's lost some of the novelty value, you want to reexperience what was fun for YOU, whether that was s10 or running 10 minutes across Rubi-Ka for a rolled mission (hmmmm) or pwning Beast, etc. If I'm out for a stroll on the planet or I'm deep in a static dungeon in underwater Adonis, I want to get back to civilization fast because **** being forced to run everything the long way, I want to get to that 12-man raid NOW because that team is waiting on me and god knows we're lonely enough already.

easier solution: reroll fixer

I am a fixer. How telling is that?

[Traderjill]

I deeply enjoy Penumbra, it's my favorite zone I think. Not all the SL zones are bad, and there is a difference between how pleasing a zone is aesthetically and how navigable it is. I'm just saying, what I find most displeasing about the shadowlands is trying to navigate Scheol, followed by Adonis. Please read more closely to what I'm saying. As for my carefully researched and precise statistic of 99%, my feelings are crushed by your refutation. :C

I did read what you stated. If scheol is difficult for you to navigate then perhaps the suggestion is to fix those issues. I personally do not have issues navigating Scheol from a transportation aspect as much as falling through cracks and getting /stuck in places due to issues with the game geometry. But in terms of being able to get from point A to point B in a timely manner.. I actually fine Scheol's placement of garden and sanctuary statues to be more than sufficient for the things I've needed to do. Now of course if you ask me this after I've completed the Scheol questline you might get a different response BUT that would be because of the nature of the questline and not the availability of transportation statues.

Heeeeey are you thinking what I'm thinking? How about we update the graphics engine I'll go start the game suggestion thread right away omgomg so excited

I think you misunderstood what I was saying when I commented that I never liked the way the AI cities looked. It goes beyond how the cities are rendered in a graphics engine and moreso about the fact that they just always felt out of place to me amongst the existing Rubi'ka landscape. AI cities always felt like someone threw a vegas nightclub right in the middle of .. I dunno.. a jungle or something. Gawdy, inappropriate.. there are other words I could use but ultimately I wasn't making a reference to the graphics engine at all. But feel free to start whatever thread you wish about the engine. I think if you check the Game Suggestions forum, however, Kintaii has a sticky regarding its status so might not want to spam that forum area more than it already is.

If I'm out for a stroll on the planet or I'm deep in a static dungeon in underwater Adonis, I want to get back to civilization fast because **** being forced to run everything the long way, I want to get to that 12-man raid NOW because that team is waiting on me and god knows we're lonely enough already.

I know this was directed at Masta but.. if you're going to 12-man I'd hope you already know how to get around fast. If not, then once again the issue isn't the transportation but the lack of information available to people that haven't played the game long. Reality is that you can be at 220, without powerleveling, in a matter of a few weeks whereas the game was originally designed in such a way that people weren't getting to 'endgame' for a year or even longer. The amount of time a new player has to ramp up has been cut significantly and thus you have so many high level newbies running about.

[Byste]

I did read what you stated. If scheol is difficult for you to navigate then perhaps the suggestion is to fix those issues. I personally do not have issues navigating Scheol from a transportation aspect as much as falling through cracks and getting /stuck in places due to issues with the game geometry. But in terms of being able to get from point A to point B in a timely manner.. I actually fine Scheol's placement of garden and sanctuary statues to be more than sufficient for the things I've needed to do. Now of course if you ask me this after I've completed the Scheol questline you might get a different response BUT that would be because of the nature of the questline and not the availability of transportation statues.

I think you misunderstood what I was saying when I commented that I never liked the way the AI cities looked. It goes beyond how the cities are rendered in a graphics engine and moreso about the fact that they just always felt out of place to me amongst the existing Rubi'ka landscape. AI cities always felt like someone threw a vegas nightclub right in the middle of .. I dunno.. a jungle or something. Gawdy, inappropriate.. there are other words I could use but ultimately I wasn't making a reference to the graphics engine at all. But feel free to start whatever thread you wish about the engine. I think if you check the Game Suggestions forum, however, Kintaii has a sticky regarding its status so might not want to spam that forum area more than it already is.

I know this was directed at Masta but.. if you're going to 12-man I'd hope you already know how to get around fast. If not, then once again the issue isn't the transportation but the lack of information available to people that haven't played the game long. Reality is that you can be at 220, without powerleveling, in a matter of a few weeks whereas the game was originally designed in such a way that people weren't getting to 'endgame' for a year or even longer. The amount of time a new player has to ramp up has been cut significantly and thus you have so many high level newbies running about.

Okay, you're actually totally right about scheol statue placement, I'll admit. It isn't so hard to get around except for maybe a few spots, which is totally sufferable. The zone is even kind of cool, what with the gigantic cliffs in upper scheol and the giant organic cavern-y feel + ruins of lower scheol. The insufferable part about this zone is the unending errand-y quests that never seems to end, having to go back and forth, over and over. Which is what I meant to get at in my first post on the subject but didn't do it proper justice in the interest of brevity.

I'll stand by my statement that Adonis placement leaves a lot to wish for, though, and it doesn't help how confusing it can be at first figuring out where you're even going because of the underwater/overwater double layer. My heart goes out to every newb that tried to get to Ergo above water. Been there done that, hated since.

As for my comment about the graphics engine, I failed to be witty and I know it. It would have made more sense for me to include "graphics engine + texture update" but then the joke I was trying to make about the lack of a graphics engine wouldn't have been obvious, but clearly you missed it anyway so I suck. I agree the cities can be a sore thumb of technology in a forest, but I think this is best remedied by making cities more adaptive to their zones rather than eliminating cities... After all, cities DO exist in forests/jungles/deserts... Make them look the part. And if Funcom's solution is to obliterate city plots, I would just ask that they leave ruins or something that include a functional whompa. I realize it requires resources to design, but be honest, how cool would that be?

Lastly, my comments about wanting to get to a raid expediently were meant to come from the perspective of someone who has already walked the walk. I want to sacrifice the extra maybe 5 minutes of having to run from the middle of nowhere to somewhere that features a grid versus using that player city that would have been much closer. I realize we have other tools at our disposal, but they're coming at a premium: vet points or FC points, and even though my toons are personally equipped with means of getting where I want to go faster, I think others should have the right to player city whompas, and that's why I'm posting this stuff in the first place -- it's not a selfish kneejerk to something I rely on, it's a kneejerk to a tool I gladly remember using many times. An example that strongly comes to mind is omnis trying to get home from ToTW. Can't go to Tir, can't grid, but heeey look at that player city on the horizon! Salvation! And let's be honest, if that player city isn't there, are players going to jaunt across zones trying to find a transport they can use, or are they going to terminate? I wonder how the "committee for reinstatement of distance" will respond.

[Byste]

if you want to raid 12man with capitalized NOW, then you just dont go into places that are hard to get out.
its a result of bad playing, not bad mechanics.

Yes, self-enforced do-nothingness in borealis is better playing than playing the game, because you *could* get that team invite any second! Who wants to be caught with their pants down killing things where there isn't a go-home mechanic nearby? Absolutely agree. And the best way to reinforce this is with good mechanics, i.e. no player city whompas.

EDIT: oops, quoted your deleted post :\

EDIT #2: Of course, now I have to wait for traderjill to point out that it's bad playing waiting for team invites instead of starting that team yourself

[Traderjill]

I'll stand by my statement that Adonis placement leaves a lot to wish for, though, and it doesn't help how confusing it can be at first figuring out where you're even going because of the underwater/overwater double layer. My heart goes out to every newb that tried to get to Ergo above water. Been there done that, hated since.

I guess some of the things that you hate are really a matter of personal preference. I love exploring the map of a game. not just Anarchy Online. Part of the fun of the games I play is the exploration piece which quite often includes:

- Going the wrong way/getting lost
- Dieing to something that is way higher level than a mob I can kill
- Getting to see the different wildlife and vegetation that exist in a particular zone
- Learning how to play the game

So yeah, I can remember when recall beacons didn't exist and I was playing a MP as my main so no easy grid option to get back to a main city once I'd flown to the middle of nowhere. I don't remember it being such a horrible experience though because I had tons of fun in the process. I'll never forget the first time I flew over one of the swamp hags, got warped and killed before I knew what hit me. I think I was heading to a RK mission entrance at the time. I wouldn't take that type of experience away for anything. Same with those floater bloater mobs (whatever they're called) and how they used to run me down or the way higher than you mobs that always existed outside of mish entrances. Those types of things.. that was just part of playing AO and honestly I think new players would be better off figuring out how to navigate through those type of experiences rather than bypassing it (but that is just my jaded opinion maybe).

The problem that exists now is that the whompahs in AI Cities are now a part of the game experience. There is a thread where it was already mentioned by someone on Funcom staff that they recognize that AI cities are useful from a transportation perspective and would implement something so that players would have a similar convenience available. What they plan to do.. I have no idea. Or maybe it was another false promise, I dunno.

As for my comment about the graphics engine, I failed to be witty and I know it. It would have made more sense for me to include "graphics engine + texture update" but then the joke I was trying to make about the lack of a graphics engine wouldn't have been obvious, but clearly you missed it anyway so I suck.

Your wit was so far off from the point I was making that, to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was a fail attempt at humor or you really just didn't get what I was trying to communicate in my post.

Lastly, my comments about wanting to get to a raid expediently were meant to come from the perspective of someone who has already walked the walk. I want to sacrifice the extra maybe 5 minutes of having to run from the middle of nowhere to somewhere that features a grid versus using that player city that would have been much closer. I realize we have other tools at our disposal, but they're coming at a premium: vet points or FC points, and even though my toons are personally equipped with means of getting where I want to go faster, I think others should have the right to player city whompas, and that's why I'm posting this stuff in the first place -- it's not a selfish kneejerk to something I rely on, it's a kneejerk to a tool I gladly remember using many times.

I'm all about fast transportation.. I have no issue with it to be honest. I just think the AI cities were a poor implementation in the first place. As for whether or not people can get from point A to B in a fast manner.. I don't know. I guess I know the game well enough where it isn't an issue but I also have all of the gadgets needed to get around swiftly. That being said, there is something to be appreciated about people paying their dues a bit in the game. I'm not saying that basic transportation is paying dues but at the same time the way things are now has really allowed people to simply skip Rubi'ka. That being said, Rubi'ka needs a major update (especially when it comes to XP gain) so perhaps it is for the best that people don't know anything about it.

-Byste, chairman of the committee for Go **** Yourself, I have Places to Be and a Game to Play

I'm not sure what's up with the two of you and these rude statements/titles but... really uncalled for in a post responding to me anyway.

EDIT #2: Of course, now I have to wait for traderjill to point out that it's bad playing waiting for team invites instead of starting that team yourself

People are free to play however they want. I tend to bring up the comment about people making their own teams only when someone is complaining that they've waited on LFT for hours and aren't getting anywhere. If a person is content waiting for an invite from someone else then I say let them have at it. If they're going to whine and moan over it then that's when I present a solution that makes sense.. making their own team.

[Mastablasta]

If you have so much trouble navigating a game world, I suggest you stop playing and do something different. There's no argument.

[Byste]

I guess some of the things that you hate are really a matter of personal preference. I love exploring the map of a game. not just Anarchy Online. Part of the fun of the games I play is the exploration piece which quite often includes:

- Going the wrong way/getting lost
- Dieing to something that is way higher level than a mob I can kill
- Getting to see the different wildlife and vegetation that exist in a particular zone
- Learning how to play the game

So yeah, I can remember when recall beacons didn't exist and I was playing a MP as my main so no easy grid option to get back to a main city once I'd flown to the middle of nowhere. I don't remember it being such a horrible experience though because I had tons of fun in the process. I'll never forget the first time I flew over one of the swamp hags, got warped and killed before I knew what hit me. I think I was heading to a RK mission entrance at the time. I wouldn't take that type of experience away for anything. Same with those floater bloater mobs (whatever they're called) and how they used to run me down or the way higher than you mobs that always existed outside of mish entrances. Those types of things.. that was just part of playing AO and honestly I think new players would be better off figuring out how to navigate through those type of experiences rather than bypassing it (but that is just my jaded opinion maybe).

Well that's all part of playing the game, and like I said, we all play it the first time through and marvel at it, but we like to focus on the parts we like most the second time through, keep learning and refining our playstyle... I don't want to detract from that experience, just not slow the game down unnecessarily. I don't enjoy getting lost myself though, especially when I just need to get off the game but I'm stuck with low runspeed training a bunch of mobs around trying to get home without losing that hardearned XP. Or when I just swam a long way to a location that is actually underwater because the map was poor and I didn't know better the first time.

Your wit was so far off from the point I was making that, to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was a fail attempt at humor or you really just didn't get what I was trying to communicate in my post.

It was a joke about the lack of a graphics engine update after 5 years, not directed at what you were trying to say at all. And I did get what you were trying to say about the odd look of cities in the wild, as one could infer from my explanation you're quoting. The core suggestion I was poking at was that cities should simply blend in more with a texture revision, but of course it's all a moot point to start with, including the thread in of itself, since as you point out FC has already stated they have plans made.

Though I stand by my suggestion that leaving ruins of player cities with functional whompas would be damn cool.

I'm not sure what's up with the two of you and these rude statements/titles but... really uncalled for in a post responding to me anyway.

Yeah sorry about that, for starters it wasn't directed at you and of course it was dumb to stoop to that level, I'll go remove that. I was just kind of appalled that Masta responded the way he did in the first place, especially since I respect his more characteristic posts.

If they're going to whine and moan over it then that's when I present a solution that makes sense.. making their own team.

Oh, and I wholeheartedly agree, I was just feeling anticipatorily ironic about criticism that stems from people being difficult because they can. Not to say that you would do such a thing, I only attributed it to you because I recall you expressing that idea many times.

[Byste]

If you have so much trouble navigating a game world, I suggest you stop playing and do something different. There's no argument.

It's sooo hard! sure you can't come find me and team warp me to Tir?