Friday with Means - February 5th, 2010 - Epeen Epreserved

[Means]

There is a question intriguing me for a long time.

Roughly 99% of all the weapons in the item database are CRAP. USE-LESS. Good for nothing good for no one. Not even the gimpiest noob. Heck, not even as shop fodder. Some weapons suck even harder than the solar powered stuff you get on nub island. I seriously doubt if they were useful even at AO launch. With all the new weapons, there are only 3 old weapons functioning, the onehander, the sapphistic bow and supernova. With the upcoming specials nerf, all of these weapons become completely obsolete.

Same applies for armor and some misc items. I have made a quick research (thx for xyphos.com) of the items:

around 10,800 weapon entries in the database
around 11,000 armor entries

So....

Is there any future plans to reintroduce these old weapons/armors with modified stats? To make them actually useful. Some weapons for gimps (go and play a total gimp, that has just arrived to RK with no friends etc, and you cant find a better weapon in subway other than that you have brought from nub island and that just scratches the mobs). I'd suggest sometime in the future these weapons can be used to add diversity (very different weapon mechanics, with huge tradeoffs that might make people to alter their setups for that weapon believing in a situational advantage). Currently they do not serve any such goal and to be honest they should be just cut out of the game so AO will take up 1,5 gb instead of 2+.

To the question with BIG text. I don't think we will be adjusting that many old weapons any time soon...but it is likely we will be putting "better" weapons into the hands of lower level players directly to make them playing with "crap" less likely. The ultra amazing stuff will still be there to get.

edit: I forgot to add...removing them isnt really an option either and won't really save us much space.

[Means]

Read it, agreed with it wholeheartedly, and bumped it, but as I said there, the cynic in me isn't too hopeful :/

Unrelated: if shades are allegedly getting token boards (unless they changed their minds), how about adding Shade (and Keeper) tags to some of the HI 1750 boards?

Shade (and Keeper?) token boards are pretty much guaranteed.

[Means]

This has been confirmed by Means before. What we originally had to do was kill all towers, kill the bosses while stoping the aliens from spawning a second tower. A bug caused the AC to spawn sometimes when killing the second tower like we did/do and it was changed. AC was also supposed to randomly come to any of the raidgroups.

Yep..thats about it. Hey...who told you? Was probably me...I have trouble keeping secrets.

[Means]

Another question!


Well we get any more world bosses, in the foreseeable future that equal the shear killing power that Mercs used to have back in the day? You know 20-30 dead people

And no just paining Mercs pink, and giving them OS won't suffice

Yes to Pink Mercs with OS! Great idea...especially the pink part.

[Means]

Q: Do you plan to look at (and adjust) the pvp & pvm level ranges after 150?



Check here (or here or here) to see what I mean about pvp level ranges.

And pvm level ranges could be ajusted so 220's couldn't team up with 160's. So we'd get more activity in ado & pen. With people actually teaming up with other people around their own level, instead of just waiting to be invited to a 220-team to leech some fast & easy levels.

It has been discussed...but nothing concrete to share about the details at the moment unfortunately.

[Means]

How about fixing it so Ado/Pen would be worth doing for lower level char's, rather than add another artificial restraint on the game play?

This was pretty much the reasoning...but no specifics yet.

[Means]

That or you got some wife agg and/or hit with a to do list and can't now.

Happening right now actually...How is it going for you? You are posting more in this thread than me :P

[Means]

You mean like.. maybe adding some sort of team instance with nice xp rewards? Yeah... if only we had something like that!

We always need more.

[Means]

I forgot one, a very important one.

Are you going to do anything about Cyathus mobs in LE mishes? A 110 mob should not double hit and chain 2k crits. No mob should not have more health, damage, and attack range than the boss of its mission. Cyathus are the GTH of the PVM world.


Just for a little more to think about.

Cha Cyathus
Level: 114
(17:43) Cha Cyathus hit Confane for 1083 points of melee damage.
(17:43) Cha Cyathus hit Enmity Personification for 1980 points of melee damage.Critical hit!

Thank you. We will look into that little offender...somewhat more important now as he is unlikely to be grey to everyone

[Means]

Means could you please take a look at this thread.

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...d.php?t=569381

And try to justify that GM's actions, pvp is an important part of the game. We dont need carebear rules, people using AoE effects should be more careful when doing so and accept the risks, Nts have single nukes, enforcer have single taunts + taunt perks, if someone is in sneak hoping they aoe (with flag) so what? be more careful next time.

Whilst on the subject, can we expect anymore pvp content, IE instances like tara, playfields like BS, more ANARCHY in anarchy?

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...d.php?t=567426

like stuff along those lines

i used to love running from 2ho to foremans as a froob, never knowing if i was going to get ganked or have the chance to gank someone, likewise with the totw tower field

I doubt anyone was suspended for the in-game mechanic...it was more likely that it was the harassment and behaviour during or after this incident. I wasn't there so I don't know what happened. I'll try to find out. I won' be posting about this here...and you shouldn't really be either. PM me about this kind of thing please.

[Means]

how old are your kids means? and what professions do they play in AO?

Almost 3 and almost 2. They don't get to play AO yet...but my eldest son kicks ass at Bob the Builder.

[Means]

Hi there,

I am an old time AO player waiting in anticipation for the release of the new engine. AO is the first MMO i ever played and I find myself "returning" to it frequently to keep tabs on things. But every time I return I have the same issue ... the control system. After spending years in other games I am just wondering if there are any plans to change the control system in AO to make it more customizable when it comes to setting key bindings? I would for instance want to be able to change all key bindings so that it can mimic the one I use in other games. This issue is the biggest reason for me not to return to AO.

Also ... changes to the user interface, any plans there? I would love it if given the ability to have a addon / mod community in AO like the one we have in WoW or AoC. I have however found a mod that I can live with in the AOUniverse one, but I feel it is a bit limited. Would love to see a new AO with a multitude of addons and mods to improve its appearance.

-S

We have no immediate plans to overhaul these systems. That being said, this is a very common request, so it is likely this is something we will make it to in the future.

[Means]

Is there anything in the works to make IPRs and Full IPRs unlimited, or setup much like the Perkreset guy is (free once every 2 days, 20mil for any extra), so that we can use one of AO's greatest strengths - customization and non-cookie-cutter?

Unlimited IPRs are not coming any time soon. At least not more unlimited than they already are.

[Means]

The way AO is moving now, its more and more limiting the choice of weapon each profession can/will use without great penalties (compared to other players using the "default" weapon). Could you please consider opening this up more? It was one of the things i enjoyed the most when i started playing this game.

We are opening things up more now than they were before...I completely disagree with your opinion concerning the direction the game is taking. The "free to use all weapons" thing went out with SL and AI years and years ago as all professions do not have perk support for all weapon types....so let's not pretend this is something "new". We are adding new lines that add support for more weapon types...is there something more we should be doing?

[Means]

4.5 question about rebalancing, please.

1. What is the philosophy behind the rebalancing?

2. Could you not achieve rebalancing with a series smaller, more targetted and efficient changes?

From the perk changes that were posted earlier, it seems that breeds will have a complete new meaning and influence on professions and hence we will be offered a one time breed change. Now it seems according to information posted by Kintaii and also by our Pros, that professions could be completely overhauled as well, to the point of making them completely different from what they are now.

The combination of new meaning of breed + complete profession overhaul means that my 220 toon will end up being something completely different and will behave in ways I had never foreseen. I will have a complete new toon, years of equipping it and learning the tricks of the trade will be wasted, and I may not like it. Is that intended?

If I want change, learn new things, do something else, I just roll another toon. I don't need my main changed by you.

Alternatively, if I do not like my profession after the changes, would I be offered a one time change of profession?

3. Could you communicate better about the implementation calendar?

A lot of things are left hanging in the air because of uncertainty about any agenda for this rebalancing:
- Should I level an alt? hard to say, I may not like the profession after the change
- Should I farm NODROPS? Hard to say, I don't know which will be beneficial for my toon
- etc...

We need regular updates, especially since many previously announced events were constantly delayed (DNW transfer just slipped by a month, for instance, and I won't even get near the new engine release calendar).

4. Do you really have the resources to do all these things at the same time?

New engine, rebalancing, minor improvements, bug fixes, DNW transfer, etc... It seems that you are chasing too many things at the same time. Would you not be better off focusing on less stuff and get them done faster?

1. This is an essay request.

2. Professions are not going to be completely different than they are now. Anything you could do before you will generally be able to do after. Old tools should work...new ones should be added that stay with the "flavour" of the profession. As to "single small and more efficient" ... haven't you had enough of that kind of approach by now? That approach has worked out very well for a small number of professions and generally poorly for everyone else. With this many professions updating one/month would leave one profession a year+ out.

3. I need to spend more time implementing and less time communicating.

4. Which one of these issues do you feel we should ignore first? Would you like to be in charge of apologizing to the group that feels their "most important" issue is last on that list. We probably don't have the resources to get all of this done on time/budget...but it isn't stopping us from trying. If over the years we had only produced content appropriate for our numbers and by strict project management we would be looking at a *much* smaller game.

[Means]

Question : will there be more in game event in the future like it was back then in the ol days? *is a returning player*

What kind of events do you miss? We would like to know

[Means]

I have been reading for a while of all these concerns/upcoming changes/balance issues/ Testing/ ..... from the Dev's ...

Making all weapons viable in PvP... AO has to many weapons that are crap in PvP because of the different rules applied to damage in PvP.



================================================== ===============

Synopsis

Implementation of a PVP Efficiency stat on all weapons in the game:

1) Remove the global "50 % damage" on all weapons currently in place in PvP.
2) add a PvP Effieciency Stat to all weapons and set it at 50%.

Note: This removed the global setting and replaced it with a weapon variable setting that's exactly the same as the Global 50% damage setting. All things are the same, except now you have a independent variable on each weapon that can be adjusted.

3) slowly bring back weapons into the mix by adjusting the PvP Efficiency on each weapon. Now you can adjust weapons that become Outdated or Overpowered based on Game Changes.
4) adjust for balance on each weapon as the game continues to mature.


================================================== ==================

Illustration of the PvP Efficiency Stat:

Advanced Joint Clans Scout Pistol

Flags Visible, Modified Description
Can Carry, Wear, Fling Shot
Patch 14.9 15.0.1
QL 200

Type Weapon
Slot Right hand, Left hand
Value 1200000

Equip time 1s
Attack time 3s
Recharge time 1.5s
Range 26 m
Clip 36 - Bullets

Damage 45-420 (300) - Projectile AC
Attack rating cap 2000
PvP Efficiency 50%

Initiative skill Ranged init
Mass 0.98kg
Multi ranged 804
Attack skills Pistol 100 %
Defense skills Dodge ranged 100 %

Requirements
To Equip
User Profession == Adventurer and
User Pistol >= 1051 and
User Fling shot >= 526
EffectsOn Equip
User Modify Multi ranged 12

Notes:
If the Developers think that this weapon is not viable anymore in PvP, They can adjust the "PvP Efficiency" percentage.

The idea here is that each weapon can be easily adjusted up or down based on the PvP efficiency stat.

================================================== ==================
Historical Change in PvP

Most weapons in AO were created and balanced by the original Developers before the Global Changes were put into place. After the global changes, this left hundred's of weapon, not viable. Most of these weapons were never adjusted after the change...

In 2002, PvP damage was adjusted with a Global Setting:

-half damage
-1/2 crit chance
-100% healing

These Global Changes adversely effected specific weapon types. Fling and Burst took the biggest hits, while full auto and Aimshot got a tramendous boost. This left only a handful of weapons viable for PvP.

General breakdown on the global changes had on ranged weapons:


FLING Shoot:
Fling before the 1/2 crit implentation give u a decent chance to get a high damage shot, basically a crit. With the 1/2 crit nerf, weapons that relied on High Dmg Crits were severaly hurt and not viable in PvP without the support of another more powerful special like: Aimshot.

BURST shoot:
Most weapons that have burst without FA seem to do adv. damage and have a recycle rate on burst of about 30 sec.
Because PvP is 1/2 damage, the fight usually doesnt last long enough for the sec burst. Burst is basically 3 normal shoots. So, under the current system it is reduced to 1.5 shoots in pvp.

Medium Damage Weapons with high speeds:
The current system with the 1/2 crit and 1/2 damage kills these weapons.

Low Damage Weapons with super fast speed and a very high crit:
The 1/2 crit nerf seemed to nullify all these weapons. Most of these weapons if they have a special. it will be fling or burst. This gives very little incentive to pick them because what I stated above.

So, It seems we are down to 3 types of weapons that can deal with the current pvp system: 1) mega damage 2)Aimshot and 3) FA.

MEGA DAMAGE weapons:
The current system is 100% heals, So in order to be effective you have to do more 1/2 damage then the 100% healing. If you had a weapon that does 1000 pts of damage normally, It would be 500 pts in pvp. So, this leave us a hand full of weapons that are available.

Aimshot weapons:
Aimshot has the potential of doing 10k of damage normally. So, in pvp that will equal a potential damage of 5k. This makes Aimshot a very viable choice in PvP, as long as the recycle time on Aimshot is fast. Slow recycle Aimshot weapons are not viable, so those weapons are out....

Full Auto weapons:
Full auto weapons that have the capablity to reach 10k are mostly limited to Assault rifle class of weapons. And there are only a few in that class that have the potential to reach 10k damage. But the same rolls for Aimshot apply to Full Auto. Recycle time is the Key on Full Auto.

I read all that and could not find a question.

[Means]

will chuck norris be making a special appearance in game when the new engine is implemented?

also, of less importance, will we be seeing any changes made to the 000 rubeweapons so that they will be viable choices for those of us that like to be different but still competitive?

Nothing is more important than Chuck Norris.

[Means]

1. This is an essay request.

2. Professions are not going to be completely different than they are now. Anything you could do before you will generally be able to do after. Old tools should work...new ones should be added that stay with the "flavour" of the profession. As to "single small and more efficient" ... haven't you had enough of that kind of approach by now? That approach has worked out very well for a small number of professions and generally poorly for everyone else. With this many professions updating one/month would leave one profession a year+ out.

3. I need to spend more time implementing and less time communicating.

4. Which one of these issues do you feel we should ignore first? Would you like to be in charge of apologizing to the group that feels their "most important" issue is last on that list. We probably don't have the resources to get all of this done on time/budget...but it isn't stopping us from trying. If over the years we had only produced content appropriate for our numbers and by strict project management we would be looking at a *much* smaller game.

OK..reading this again myself this is not really "fair". It IS fair to say the general frustration you feel at the moment due to the speed of this process and the lack of an easily accessible "big picture" to base your future actions/enjoyment on is fully justified. All I can say is that we are working on these issues as quickly as we can and trying to keep the process as "open" as possible. We do appreciate the patience, participation and understanding you have all provided us with during this difficult period...we will do our best to make sure this is worth the discomfort it is causing.

[Means]

Ok...I've covered these issues as best as I can at the moment...now I can open this thread up again for further discussion.

I will be reading...but I likely won't be able to find more time for answers this week.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this Q&A session. It is always great to hear directly what the concerns are to confirm we are moving in the right direction