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| 1. | Re: The rant.
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/28/2003 3:23:16 PM
Barnas, i guess my main source of disgruntlement with the things you list is the CR issue.
i figger it is up to the designers if they wanna make challenges that turn what are usually low level opponents into superfiends...but they oughtta be consistent about it, and up the CR when they do.
those "i see you" ettins have the same CR as the blind ones, so far as i can tell. same with the perceptive goblin shamans, and all the rest of the "see invis/true ... |
| 2. | Re: The rant.
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/29/2003 2:36:01 AM
aria, i do remember reading the discussion about the invisibility exploit, and figured this might be part of the solution that was arrived at. glad to know some of the details. wow, that was an elegant solution....
but....
i am not so sure the stochastic argument ("on large numbers, it averages out") really holds water on the CR, when there is asymmetric risk. ok, if we get a weak one, it is easy to kill. if we get a strong one, we die. hmmmm. the reward ... |
| 3. | Re: The rant.
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/30/2003 4:57:47 PM
kinda shrugging.
all the matters we have discussed here are minor annoyances only, imho.
yah, slink.....i think there is a noticable downward bias in the random number generator, but i bet the coders are using standard script functions for dice rolls. if so we gotta take that one up with BoiWare (*not* a typo). it is remotely possible that the debugger start/stop calls that Q is using to introduce an interrupt-processing kind of access to outside functions (QNX/QDB) ... |
| 4. | Re: The rant.
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/30/2003 6:25:23 PM
nodding.
that theory...that the server code, when in a very busy state, drops the return of the call to the random function and reuses the last value.....seems to me to be the most likely. caveat, though...i have noticed the behaviour in both busy and unbusy states, so the reseeding of the generator by the code could conceivably be the culprit...can't say.
as to the embedded algorithm itself, no idea. as you say, there really is no standard. i have no idea what compiler ... |
| 5. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/10/2003 11:48:49 PM
glad someone brought this up.
what is the appropriate response when discovering one has been pickpocketed? to what extent can the PC stolen from chastise the thief? is deadly force permitted?
please don't say "call a guard." that takes DM intervention, which is not often available. if the guards were programmed to respond to a call of "stop, thief!" it might be different.
i personally have no problem with the idea of slaying such a ... |
| 6. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 9:16:15 AM
all this argument for player vs player pickpocketing is fine....if you want to have a server where there is contention and suspicion.
i thought the point of vives was to avoid that.
i am even hearing such stuff from admins. can we have clarity on this point please?
aria says....only do it if everyone involved enjoys. meaning, consensual, just like PvP. is she the only one? |
| 7. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 2:34:46 PM
grin...ok, ruldain....but you have to even up the playing field.
in pnp, there are good defenses...a mage can magic mouth his important wand, a cleric can put a holy mark on things, etc. you can hire bodyguards. oh my, you can even have *secure storage* for valuables...what a concept!
in nwn, there is nothing available (thank you, boiware) except a high spot score. if i gotta carry every blessed thing i own around and i can't outright kill a pickpocket...hardly ... |
| 8. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 2:41:43 PM
hear, hear, aria. brava! :D
in terms of formulating a policy...well, that is up to you vives gods (builders/designers/admins) to settle, really. but i strongly agree with your approach. very yes. |
| 9. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 4:32:29 PM
right dens...and how about that now-so-hard-to-obtain gem dust you have been saving to make a potion with, once you can find the right herb?
oh, and that totally insignificant flask that you sweated blood for in the desert, dodging lions and ronin to get the sand....
i can go on and on. for a crafter, the way access to the full component spectrum has been restricted lately, all those "worthless" little pieces represent hours of effort, and sometimes liters of ... |
| 10. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 8:12:40 PM
ahem, ruldain...peace, man. didn't mean to flick anyone on the raw...
"DM nightmare...
The only DM nightmare is a player who shows no respect or consideration to his fellow players and makes it a habit to seek the border with power or meta-gaming. Anyone unable to comply to the simple rule that everyone should be able to enjoy themselves on vives, without having to worry someone else can totally ruin that 24/7, I can heartily assure you such persons shall not play ... |
| 11. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/12/2003 10:19:10 PM
hey, guys.....you want player base?
promote regular, predictable dm'ed episodes that are part of a story line..and not a story line that terminates in three episodes, either..... and watch the server struggle with the load, cuz you will be overwhelmed with players vying to participate.
speaking just for myself, but fairly certain there is vast hunger among the player base, roleplaying outside an evolving plot line or lines is a lot like going steady with Rosy Palm. i ... |
| 12. | Re: Pick Pocketing
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/13/2003 5:49:31 AM
nodding, after reading all the last few posts.
landru and q....yah, you guys are at the "90% complete is only halfway done" part. you are now in the stage of finishing off all the nitpick details, getting them right, looking at the feature list and tweaking for balance, looking at what you have to re-engineer, finishing areas, a tiresome list of etceterae. and yah, i know you dm's are often around. i often feel you breathing over my shoulder. don't think it is ... |
| 13. | Re: Hear Ye All Vives Veterans!
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/13/2003 7:42:23 PM
*grins and wipes drool off chin*
if you got openings for newbs like me, count me in.
due to my current service in the reserve army of the unemployed, anytime, anyplace is fine and dandy. |
| 14. | Re: Gem crafting
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/13/2003 7:20:19 PM
aria's post is raises a point i would love to see discussed....
========================================
The original intention in switching from ATS to CNR, amongst other reasons, is that CNR is a very much interdependent skill-system. We'd like to see that each character can only contribute towards a particular process of the final 'product'.
Another more personal feeling towards tradeskill is... ... |
| 15. | a complaint, sworn before the Clerk of the High Court of Midor City
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 10/11/2003 8:16:52 AM
I, known in these lands as PALFREY, styled "the Timid", proclaimed by the High Priest of Holy Midoran as Friend of Midor, and holder of a certificate of gratitude issued by the High Justice of Midor,
do state, swear, declaim, attest and aver that:
one HANS WILHELM, a rogue and murderer formerly and sometimes of Port Royale, sometimes identifying himself as "GOETHE, PALADIN OF SIF," did on this day and in this city commit attempted theft upon my person. ... |
| 16. | Re: If One Finds an Absurdly Powerful Item...
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/28/2003 3:30:11 PM
um, define "absurdly powerful" please.
last i heard, it was only the +5 items what were verboten. not that i ever have found anything even approaching in power the item described above...but...according to earlier discussions on this board, that one would not fall under the previously defined standard.
it would be nice to know what is not allowed, and should be turned in. |
| 17. | Re: If One Finds an Absurdly Powerful Item...
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/28/2003 11:49:14 PM
The guideline is +3 to any ability or stat, Merlin. That should be the top end.
um, says who, landru?
i know you are an admin, but other admins *and* the published docs say otherwise.
i want to abide by the rules...but let's be clear on what the rules *are*, yes? aria has told me directly, IG, that +4 fortitude save rings are ok. that was a while back, true...
let me be really clear about my intentions. i am *not* ... |
| 18. | Re: If One Finds an Absurdly Powerful Item...
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/29/2003 2:02:04 AM
kewl beans, folks.
thanks very much. now we all know where we stand, and where the line is drawn.
very excellent. thank you again, to both. :) |
| 19. | Re: Cast-Player Characters, An Introduction.
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/27/2003 12:56:40 PM
i second ruldain's view.
i don't want to know about all the secrets of vives that you have to know to be a full DM...as yet, anyway. PC's run by DM's don't have nearly the fun, cuz they know everything already. (at least, that is my own experience of it). CPC's, on the other hand, get a carefully chosen subset of DM abilities, without the godlike knowledge of a full DM. i really like the idea.
i would be much much more likely to do a CPC than be a DM, at least until ... |
| 20. | Re: Identifying Items
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/28/2003 3:06:46 PM
this is the reason Palfrey ID's for free, pretty much for anyone. (it takes a lot of work to make an enemy of him, but some have managed it) until there are a lot more players in the game who can reliably ident (and it looks like that situation is changing..yay), i didn't feel right about charging for the service, or refusing anyone. |
| 21. | Re: Scheduled DM events
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/17/2003 9:05:45 PM
does it appeal?? heck, yah. yee-hah, in fact (as they used to say where i grew up)
i suspect any such posted events will be oversubscribed. at first, dm's should expect a milling mob, hungry for story/adventure. |
| 22. | Re: Expectations
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/13/2003 1:08:35 PM
quoting:
==================
Actually, one of the older DM tools we had (before v1.31) allowed us t work with player's inventory. Perhaps we can utilize this code that already exists to allow you to muck with the dead guy's stuff? Hmm.. I'm sure that's gonna open a whole can of worms..
-Q
==================
you can automate that to a slight degree, in that the code can check for party members (in the same faction) in close proximity (say 100 ... |
| 23. | Re: It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 8/31/2003 12:57:54 PM
*blinks* Football? Like, the game where stacks of human-barrels line up and roll against one another? 
grin...at least it means they will exercise their strange fetish elsewhere and not pollute the *game* with it.
or so one hopes.
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| 24. | Re: Crafting
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/9/2003 8:39:23 PM
"Does he really say purchase? I could have sworn it was rental... my bad. "
well, i think there are two conficting texts....i have seen "rental" also, but in the dialogue with the merchant, he says he is selling them.
personally, i love the oxen......but agree they need some tweeks. i know all the devs are swamped, and i am sure it is on the list, whenever you folks get around to it. bughunts take priority over new features....and there are plenty ... |
| 25. | Re: Tailoring Clothes?
Posted by MerlinAmbrose on 9/9/2003 8:31:50 PM
"In the meantime, I might explore alchemy as a craft as well - assuming I can advance in more than one. At least then I would be less likely to need the hide of bambi's mother."
alchemy would be a natural for a druid (pun unintentional): you mostly gather herbs and flowers and nuts, although for some recipes, gem dust is also needed. and you can advance in *all* crafting skills, independently....or at least, that is how it works now. |
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