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We will be uploading the lastest version of the world over Friday night. This latest update will include:
- An exciting new adventure for high epics, designed for DM involvement. Very challenging and includes a lot of new features we are throwing into adventures to make the various skills more useful. Secret doors, for one.
- Various fixes and changes from player feedback - thanks to those who reported.
- Our new store cleaning system - this system should remove duplicate items from merchants whenever they open. Players should see a small improvement in server performance from this.
- Enhancements to the Tharbad Greyflood Inn Underground Arena following feedback from the first event there. Additions include; Bar selling all custom drinks and various missiles spectators can throw at the contestants!
- Various tweaks and changes here and there - see for yourself!
Galdor_Niphredil
17-06-2004, 19:27
Ingenious lol:eek:
We have now uploaded and updated the server!
Here is a more detailed list of the updates:
- Many portions of new high epic adventures available. Uses loose plot and DM supervision, allowing for multi purpose use.
An exciting roleplayed dungeon crawl with many challenges, tricks and puzzles.
- All 106 merchants now use a cleanup script which removes duplicate items.
- Almaren island boat now accepts players from level 21+ (was level 30+).
- Epic healing potions fixed at three locations
- A number of merchants inventories re-arranged in keeping with balancing issues.
- Way out of Smaugs lair fixed.
- Greyflood arena developed further; Side Bar selling drinks, missiles and musical instruments. Arena stands made more attractive, features added for better organisation of events.
Very much a DM event features focussed update this week. We hope you enjoy it. :)
Here are the latest updates:
- Isengard has been completely redone; NPC's, merchants, areas.
- Minas Tirith Blacksmith now sells armour and shields
- The Witch King has been completely rebuilt
- A number of fixes following feedback (thanks to those reports)
The following will be in effect as of Saturday, after tonights upload.
- All of the Grey Mountains and Withered Heath updated. All NPC's redesigned, Orcs changed to the Fire Orc variety, Cold Drakes offering better rewards. Encounters better positioned to cut down on CPU usage.
- The bugged Isengard transition to Orthanc has been fixed.
- Entrance directionals in Minas Tirith sorted so characters are facing into the city as they enter each area.
- Emnet has been updated. It is now an empty travel area. Great for DM quests where we may want to pitch a battle without interference from triggered spawns.
- Magic bags have been added to one of the fashion stores. Weight reduction of up to 80% is available. 100% holding bags have been made DM awardable.
- To improve response time on the gatemaster conversation, i've taken out the character identifier tags, so he will no longer address you by your character name. Things should now run faster now that the NPC doesnt have to search for your character name.
- Fornost has been rebuilt to be more in tune with the timezone of the gameworld. In this case, Fornost was actually in ruin!
- Annuminas has been changed round due to the changes at Fornost.
- The range of helmets has been adjusted and in some cases improved. Those with the old 30 resists have now been dropped to the current max of 25. Just about all helmets now offer a concentration bonus.
- A few belts have also been adjusted. Again, with old 30 resists being dropped to 25.
*With regards to adjusted items - DMs will only change items as they encounter them, as any adjustments made are very minor. However, in arena events, player inventories are always checked and will be updated of any old items with new ones, in the interests of fair competition*
These have been two updates in the last 72 hours. All of the follwing is now online/in effect in the gameworld.
- The Edoras Golden Hall has been completely rebuilt to look more 'golden' and extravagant, as many of the illustrations and descriptions depict. All the Riddermark NPC's have been removed and remade in tune with the desired style and balance of the world.
- Helms deep has been removed for the time being. The area was barely being used and I have never been happy with its layout. We struggled to find a place for it in any DM events, so we think it best be sidelined for now till we decide what to do with it.
- Also taken aside for now is the whole of Barad Dur. The number of evil players in the community could be counted on one hand, so these areas get minimal useage. We will place these areas back into the world once the server hardware has been upgraded in about a months time or so. This has temporarily taken 30 or so areas off the server- so there will be a noticable improvement in server processing until we upgrade, where the improvement will be many times greater still.
- The Icebays of Forochel have been remade in the Ice Wastes tileset. This tileset serves these regions much better. I always felt that the Rural Winter tileset never looked 'cold' enough. The Ice bays are supposed to be wastelands also with the people of forochel camped about the place randomly. So this update makes the region more true to what Tolkien was telling us.
- A great number of books are starting to be added to the world; as reference for players to learn more about the world and the work of Tolkien, to gain information which may aid you on a DM quest, and of course to simply add that extra depth and life to the world and community. I'd like to thank (I will use your alias in case you dont want your real name mentioned) Diasho for sending me an erf of over 20 different titled books, from information on individual areas, to songs sung by characters in the books. Your input was most appreciated. I'm also in the progress of typing up tomes on some of the characters from the books, and books on individial areas as I work on updates for each one. Many of the books may end up in a library, or as items transfered by DMs on DM quests. Some of the material from these books will be placed on monuments and statues about the world too, so players can observe information about where they are and its history as they go along.
- Two bugged quests have been fixed - The Quest giver in Esgaroth will now reward more then one arrow! The Druid In Mirkwood will now award five epic healing potions and not a potion of bless! (Don't know what went wrong there!)
- The 'Bracer of Knowing' has been heavily nerfed as it was allowing characters with no lore whatsoever to identify just about anything - meaning that those characters investing heavily in the skills to become loremasters were seeing one of their important roles destroyed. DM's will be swapping this item around with the new one as they encounter it in player inventories.
- New NPC; Hama, captain of the guard in Rohan. He will guard the entrance to the Golden Hall.
Hope you all enjoy this new content
Coldbayne
29-06-2004, 17:30
As a new player here on this mod I'd like to say i'm astounded at the commitment of the dms here as well as the frequent substantial regular updates.
On the whole numerous positive changes. Although what follows is a negative comment don't take that to mean I am disgruntled - merely trying to provide constructive feedback on aspects no one else seem to bring up. I guess that's because I am currently playing exclusively evil...and there are so few other regular players who likewise do so to provide feedback.
With the recent revamping of isengard and the removal of barad dur (good idea in principle to reduce server stress due to unused areas) high level evil players now have a significantly reduced access to high level stocks in stores (admittedly some of it was overpowered). Snaga and his companion shopkeeper used to have some interesting and varied high(ish) items now these are replaced with some somewhat lower key shopkeepers, whilst the unbalancing shopkeeper within orthanc itself has been removed altogether (rightly so). Also with barad dur gone - all access to these high level items via shops has gone.
Lastly the high level quests that evil players could get from isengard to obtain the high level evil items in an alternative fashion to simply buying them has also gone... :(
As a suggestion, sprinkle in a few more varied items that used to be sold to the forge master shopkeeper at mount doom and also at the shops at minas mirgul. my own personal plug here to see Anebrils (sp?) longsword added back in!
Thanks for reading - still having a blast since spotting the NW Vault article which lead me to this mod...
Thanks for your comment.
And do not fear, a number of the items that were available in Barad Dur are being transfered to various other evil aligned stores; The Minas Morgul armouries and the Isengard stores. I know which sword you are referring to and that too will once again be available.
Although evil players do not have access at all to some of their high level items, these items can still be gained as rewards in things like DM run events. Hopefully we will start to see some items being issued out soon.
I'm currently working on this now and it will all be uploaded overnight along with a number of other improvements and updates.
They're coming thick and fast at the moment...
Now in effect in the world:
- All of Mirkwood is now updated with brand new NPC's, much more true to the books. The general appearence of Mirkwood is better, which a much more evil presence to it, as was the case at this period of time. Expect to stumble across spiders, fire orcs, undead, wolves and other monstrous creatures. Dol Guldur has some interesting encounters and various areas of Mirkwood have some documentation attatched allowing players to discover more about Mirkwood and what exactly happend there. The Sindar Elf kingdom in the Mountains Of Mirkwood is currently under construction - a long awaited and anticipated addition I know as i've had a lot of requests for this area. It won't be massive, but more 'short but sweet'.
- Due to popular demand, Aramil's blade is once again for sale in a merchant somewhere. A very nice epic item from the default sets, not too crazy, so i've happily added it back in.
- Blank scrolls have been added to a neutral store somewhere.
- Arrows are no longer rewarded by the quest giver in Esgaroth; instead he gives 5x more gold and some extra xp.
- Yet more books added. Generally being added whenever work is done on a particular area/thing.
Coldbayne
01-07-2004, 13:39
Sheesh, I turn my attention away from the mod for a few moments and yet another update is up and running - great!
Out of interest, is Shelob still accessible, I found her once whilst exploring Mordor but wasn't sure where exactly. Now that some parts of Mordor have been removed I wasnt sure whether my inability to find her again was due to her not being around or my getting hopelessly lost! (As an aside I did find an area transition I couldnt traverse, but it was extremely laggy so i'll try again tonight)
If her area's been removed any chance of linking just that one back in, only 1 mob in the small area shouldnt be too taxing and besides i've got her on my list of big beasties who deserves some payback...
*cue sinister laugh*
Shelob's lair is linked into the Cirith Ungol area, so her lair should be unaffected by any of the recent changes.
The beast herself is actually due an update. If were lucky i'll get that done today since she seems to be highly sought after at present :)
An upload has now taken place. Here are all the additions and changes made; mostly detail improvements and corrections, but there are a number of new features too which im sure you will enjoy.
Also listed are some other recent updates which were added a few days ago, which I never got round to mentioning.
- Final adjustments made to the Witch King, he should be just right now. Watch out though, his smiting capability has been greatly increased, along with his ability to 'harm' himself back to full health. (the undead equivalent to healing)
- The other 8 ringwraiths have also been completed and placed into the same location as the Witch King. Built in a similar, but lesser way as the Witch King has been. All are Blackguards and use undead properties, making them extremely hard to kill.
- A number of NPC's defending the lands of Mordor have been dropping older versions of items. Many of these have been tracked down and updated accordingly. There are a number still to be done though. So far, Ephel Duath and Minas Morgul have been sorted out.
- Some Mordor NPC's (Battle Trolls, Black Numenoreans, Black Numenorean Mages) have been redesigned and the defenses altered to improve the quality of an invasion or visit to te area, and also to improve server performance with less cpu intensive encounters whilst keeping them as challenging as ever.
- 30 New custom books have been added to the 30 added just a few days previously, giving us around 60 custom books. 20 of these books are included in the random loot system in the worlds containers. this means that the Forgotten Realms default books are no more! This is yet another step to a more detailed and immersive Middle Earth gameworld. More books are planned covering all manner of things; places, races, people and things. As a small estimate, im rekoning there wil eventually be over 300 books in the worlds libraries.
- The Sindar Elf kingdom has been added to Mirkwood. Legolas and his father King Thranduril can be found here, along with a fine arrows merchant and a small general store. A stunning cave kingdom is planned for these Elves once the server hardware upgrade has taken place.
- Osgiliath has been completely redone. It is very much a war torn outpost and checkpoint held by Gondor, not a full-blown city with merchants, etc. A way round has been added for evil characters, so combat with the defenders isnt the only option to pass by.
- A pair of items found on the floor in the Erebor magical lair have been fully removed from the gameworld, due some issues with them on the worlds item palletes. Said items are a dagger and magic staff.
- A sign has been added to the start area warning all players of our new stance with regards to 'mistakes' in character development.
- The Balrog range of NPC's is now immune to mind affecting spells. Very embarassing to see these mighty creatures being stunned and then easily hacked down!
- A number of items with illegal properties have been removed from Minas Tirith Merchants; one of which being the Scarab Of Protection (unnumbered).
- Some areas are still due to be updated with the new encounter system; Ogre Town in the White mountains was the latest addition to this, and now uses this new system.
- The worlds first library for our entire range of custom books has been added to Rivendell, named 'Elronds Library of Lore'. Once this library is in a near complete state, the bookcases will be copied over into two other libraries - one in Orthanc and another in the Tharbad Library. These are great places for any player to learn more about Middle Earth, or to perhaps gain information for a quest.
- Some of the placeables in Rivendell have been reorganised to cut down on the server load in that area.
- And of course, all the fixes made in response to your bug reports and e-mails.
Thankyou to all those who reported bugs and problems lately or made suggestions. I hope you enjoy all the latest new content and changes.
Kail Cadarn
07-07-2004, 09:23
and perhaps not the best place for it, but thnak you t you kev, and all the other DMs. i've been on many servers, especially LOTR ones, and its rare to see such dedication commitment, and attention to detail! congrats mate, on a brilliant server.
Feel free to always make your thoughts known, it helps us to know that we are doing the right things.
We want to run a top MERP community and Development group, so I see providing technical information and being active with the players as a very important part of this. To many elusive DM's and Admins out there :)
Another upload is now in progress! A strong focus on player-run features this time, one of the things we are bursting to promote in the community. Here is the new content and changes:
- A new player run feature; The Cracked Anvil Inn, in Esgaroth. The Dwarves Dungrim Ironfist and Dargo Trollfallen have taken over the running of this Inn. It will be open whenever one of these Dwarves is online. Drop by for an ale, book a room, take part in their private events, or maybe even access their private merchant.
- Some old, small, single shot style areas have been removed which should have been gone some time ago.
- Some further enhancements to Tharbad for the weekly Bazaar event. Includes new theatre for Villiam Shakeswords Theatre Troupe; another player run feature.
- Bug fixes in response to all your reports we have recieved.
- Several new pieces of content in response to player submissions.
Thanks for your input everyone.
I give the new tavern about a week. I don't understand how they hope to stay in business, surely those two dwarves will just drink their entire stock :) :)
OneRedEye
08-07-2004, 19:28
There's only one thing more precious to a dwarf than a good bottle of ale, GOLD!!
We will prosper and make good profit, you just watch us.
Kail Cadarn
08-07-2004, 19:34
indeed, i met in rivendell this very day a young dwarf seeking Esgaroth and lake town.
i must needs have more dealings with dwarves it would seem. i had hithertoe considered them roudy and most uncouth fellows, but i deemed this one to most courteous in asking me for directions. could it be i have been mistaken in all my years?
Kail Cadarn, Halfelven Dunadain of Rivendell
This is the final collection of updates before I go away for my weeks holiday on Saturday. There will be no further updates untill I return on the following Saturday.
Some great news too, both now and for when I return;
I have purchased a new computer, which is going to be almost dedicated as the MERP UK development machine. Very powerful and perfect for imaging and resource intensive games development. This computer will be setup once im back from my holiday and will allow us to increase our work rate and the overall quality of content and community resources, such as images.
Wireplay have kindly promoted me to NWN CL, which places me in charge of all things NWN within Wireplay. MERP UK is now very much at home here, giving us the potential to gain a lot more resources in future. This also rules out the chance of MERP UK dying due to lack of support etc, like so many MERP communities have in the past. We are here to stay!
So here we are, all the latest updates i've worked through today. Pretty much all bug fixes and corrections in response to a few player comments and bug reports. A good number also from the DMs Bug hunts. I felt it urgent to sqush as many problems as possible, considering i won't be about next week:
- The range of custom clothing has been expanded. Lesser Ithilien and Ithilien robes now available.
- Minas Tirith Fletcher now has a more complete and consistent range of arrows.
- To eliminate confusion, both the Tolfalas crystal keys have a different graphic.
- Osgiliath Guards have had their properties corrected in terms of server balance issues.
- Further rearrangement and reorganisation of the Mordor posted NPC's. Again, to produce a more efficient defense and to make the areas less cpu intensive.
- Mouth Of Sauron item drops have been adjusted to bring dropped items in line with server item guidelines.
- Some enhancements to the new Cracked Anvil Inn; Additional seating and improved functionality for the PC innkeepers.
- Three new custom items created and added to various NPCs as item drops.
- Esgaroth supply store now no longer sells Legendary Heal Potions. Now sells epic heals instead.
- Tolfalas Minotaurs are now immune to mind affecting spells; this is to prevent the minogons from stunning the whole spawn group with their stunning gaze!
- Ithilien rangers now drop a +5 small shield as opposed to the +7 which was against server item guidelines (max shield bonus ac permitted is +5)
- The Forochel supply quest bear NPC now spawns again. Some sort of bug had occured where the bear stopped spawning altogether.
- Armoured Kilts have been added after pressure and assorted death threats from Dwarves..(!). Nothing incredible about the item, but a good fun item to wear.
- The construct dimension, accessible via fangorn has been removed. I really do not like the areas myself and any plans i have to improve it all involve deleting the npcs there and starting again. Not many players visit it either. At some point in the future, Fangorn will get a lot of work done to it; more quests, and a good new side-adventure for the region.
The following is a list of gameworld developments planned for completion during the months of July and August. There will be updates here detailing when certain plans have been implemented.
These are the main developments planned - it is likely that others will be added over time and smaller developments have not been listed here:
1. Completion of the starting area system. Areas still to be addressed include; Mordor, Minas Tirith, Sindar Elf Kingdom, Esgaroth and Dale. Areas to be worked on and improved include; The Shire, Rivendell, Lorien, Isengard, Edoras, Dunharrow, Tharbad, Erebor and Harad.
- Mordor -
Make 'all levels friendly'
Merchants suitable for all
Redevelopment of some NPCs
Middle Earth lore relating to Mordor
Introduction of new NPCs in tune with the texts
Reintroduction of Barad Dur following server hardware upgrades
- Minas Tirith -
New quests by Barking Mad
Fog Clip adjustments to reduce CPU intensity in some areas
Reviewing of all merchants
Reviewing of all NPCs to check for obsolete item drops
Completion of the citadels towers and main Gondor NPC's
- Sindar Elf Kingdom -
Area to be changed to large cave kingdom once server hardware is upgraded.
Some lower level quests to be added
- Esgaroth and Dale -
The rebuilt Dale will be added.
Middle Earth Lore will be added, detailing the history of the region.
Region will be made more accessible for all levels of character.
- The Shire -
Redevelopment of existing beginner adventures. They will be come a little easier and less demanding, yet a fun and exciting introduction to the gameworld.
Region will be simplified, with existing redundant areas sidelined for the time being.
Shire will expand westwards, with the whole west coast eventually being added.
Introduction of some of the famous hobbit NPCs, such as Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.
A large input of Middle Earth lore relating to the Shire, its people and its history.
Areas for more player to player interaction to take place within the Shire.
- Rivendell -
More beginner based quests to be added
Nearby Great East road to be made more beginner friendly, so inexperienced characters can access other lower level regions without too much trouble.
- Lorien -
More beginner based quests
- Isengard -
Many new quests and activities for beginners
Region to be made more accessible and friendly towards new characters chosing to start there.
A complete library of Middle Earth lore in the Tower of Orthanc
- Edoras -
More activities for beginners, new quests to be added.
More interactive content in the area
Documentation to be provided on the history of Rohan
- Dunharrow -
A few more activities for beginners to prepare them better for the hazardous White Mountains
Paths of the Dead to be added
- Tharbad -
A total revamping of Himling Isle adventure - island to be more in tune with the texts and offering a large scale adventure for characters in the pre-haste levels.
- Erebor -
Some more quests and activities fr pure beginners to prepare them for the larger adventures in the region.
History and documentation of the Dwarven race
Some adjustments of the Dwarven NPC range, due to a strength miscalculation.
- Harad -
Adjustments to some of the hostile NPCs, as they are a littleo ver powering in some cases.
Documentation on the history of Harad and the Haradrim.
2. Level caps will be introduced on some quests to prevent much higher level characters from repeatedly completing them. (In cases where there character is clearly not the target audience of the quest)
3. Additions to many of the quest dialouges to give more options and to facilitate skills such as persuade, lore, intimidate, etc.
4. To add greater detail to the worlds custom itemset by changing many item names to actual names from the texts, or to a more suitable Middle Earth theme. Some new items will be created, inspired from the books themselves. It is intedned that every custom item will eventually have its own custom description. No existing item properties will be changed because of this - this development is all about item names and their descriptions.
5. The roles and functions of guilds will be reviewed and worked on to make them more beneficial to the gameworld.
6. New content and activities for the higher-end epic level characters will be added.
7. Enhancements to a number of existing activity areas to bring them more in line with the texts in terms of historical accuracy.
8. Massive additions to our off-server roleplay and character development support; sub-races, Dieties, Roleplay tips and conventions, character appearance, character mannarisms, tips on characters who hail from particular regions/racial groups.
Theres a lot to be excited about over the coming weeks!
Kail Cadarn
17-07-2004, 20:31
all sounds great, just a couple of questions,
you mention paths of the dead, will they actually go somewhere, will we see erech and the actual realm of gondor, anfalas, lebinen and the fortress of Dol Amroth??? not all in one update of course...
these level caps... they work to limit the number of quests available, especially to mid level characters... obviously shire quests at level 17 is a bit much... but other ones, to certain races... the trollshaws quest from bree is locked already, but i found that one harder than the other trollshaws quest, which isn't locked...
perhaps improving the encounters, mkaing them even more level orientated is better for some areas, whilst capping pllaces like the shire and bree.
on a similar note, Mount Gundabad, for rivendell is worth 1500XP, and massive GP in terms of items and actual cash, Elrond's Moria quest is only about 600XP i think. but gundabd is significantly easier. especially as you also have to do the sons of elrond quest before you can do Elrond's
in some cases XP and GP seem wildly disproportionate to borth each other, and the quest. the mid level quests can earn as much GP as low level ones, and in some cases can be actually completely by people less than level 10 anyway (angmar, carn dum) which makes it very very tedius as you do have to repeat quests to move on.
now i realise that this is an RPing server, with a concentration on the Rp as opposed to leveling up. but if not many people are on, and oyu consistantly miss DM events for some reason (excluding the arena, i've seen only 1) its very hard to move up in the world without repeating quests endlessly, and by capping off you make this even harder.
added to which, the best role play comes when you character can follow a higher level patron anywhere, or isn't restricted to certain areas through skill, which makes getting to somewhere around level 25 quite important in terms of general survivability.
after all, you can't really easily take part in team assaults on famous places if you can be killed in one or two hits...
Level caps are going to be placed on the pre haste quests (those intended for levels 1-10). The other quests I will be leaving as they are. The problems here have only arisen through DM and player reports of epic levels rushing through these pre haste quests to get effortless xp rewards.
Some quests have been around for a very long time and do offer some very high amounts of xp and gold compared to newer quests we have made. These will all be set to more balanced levels very soon as I get round to them.
Give it a few weeks and this will gradually even out. New content is being added too, so where there maybe less gains to be made from certain quests or areas, new content will make up for this.
Kail Cadarn
18-07-2004, 18:59
high epics actually do those really early quests? i can't actually be bothered with them, and i'm nowhere near high epic...
Yeah, for some strange reason they do. The reason I find it strange is that one can gain experience at a faster rate if they attempted more challenging areas than those designed for beginners.
The main reason we are taking action is not because players are gaining levels through this action (they are not gaining much anyway). The problem is that the beginners to the gameworld are wandering into these areas and finding god-like characters breezing through their adventures.
The encounters are also level based on what they spawn in. So pre-haste level characters (1-10) will spawn something just right for their levels. If we have a level 20 wandering through these areas trying to do the quests, they will spawn in lots of the hardest enemies in that 1-10 category, so a complete beginner will be walking into a death trap - as the high levels doing these effortless quests are ignoring the npcs and just going after the boss/placeable item they need.
Hello everyone :)
First, my compliments on a great module. I've only been here a short while, but I've had a lot of fun and it's clear that much work and attention has gone into your game world.
Regarding the quests, I am probably one of the "guilty" ones about going into low level areas. Here's why:
I've been on the server for about 2 1/2 weeks now and while I've been making an effort to explore new areas, this place is huge and there is much I've not seen. As a result, even though my character is now Level 29, I still don't know the module very well. So, when I talk to NPCs and they give me a quest, many times I have no idea if it's for a lowbie, middie, or an epic level character. By the time I find the quest area and start going through it, it's easy to see that it's not for my level. I either breeze through or get insta-killed. There is just no way of knowing what is and isn't appropriate for my level beforehand.
I admit that occassionally if I get to an area and start going through and find out it's a lowbie quest, well, I'm already there and I'm curious to see what the quest looks like. It's not about completing the quest, but looking at the area and how it is built. So, my apologies if someone complained about my being in a lowbie area. Trust me, it isn't for the loot or the experience.
A few additional comments:
- There seems to be few areas suitable for my character's level (29). Granted, I don't know the module well, but there appears to be a huge gap between areas suitable for lower level characters (with a huge emphasis on lvls 1-20 or so) and areas for uber epics (35+ or so).
Note 1: I found one area that I can handle (barely and I die a lot), but since it's a faction city people shout that I'm attacking, then others log out of their low level "work in progress" characters and then log back in with their uber level 40's to commence the hunt for little ol' me. Not very RP on most modules, but within server rules here from what I've been told. Anyone remember Monty Python? Run away!! Run away!! I do that well... :) BTW, is the server here primarily PvP focus?
Note 2: I'm sure people will say that grouping together is the preferred method and I'll be all right in the uber epic areas, but unfortunately the only person I've been able to group with so far tried to kill me when I rested (kinda funny actually). Some I've talked to already have level 40 characters on the server and are on as a character far below my level, so I'm unable to group with them. Also, maybe I'm not looking in the right areas but the module is so large that meeting people happens rarely, and the ones I've met so far have mostly been of the opposite (evil) faction or not interested in grouping together.
- I know few spells are nerfed and that's good. But one nerf that has a problem is the GS nerf. Often, and I'm not sure why, if I cast it once I cannot cast it again until the module is reset. I get the message "not enough time has elapsed", even though the last time I cast it was hours earlier.
- Maybe it's just my bad luck, but the number of critical hits creatures make is amazing. Earlier an NPC got 73% criticals against me during a battle (yep, I actually counted afterwards) and often I've seen over 50% criticals, even from dragons and such. Probably just my bad luck.
- Some weapons have an enhancement bonus and also a damage bonus of the same type that the weapon normally does. For example, one of my longswords has an enhancement of +8, then has additional damage of slashing 2d6. Similar damage types on a weapon will not stack.
I anxiously look forward to seeing more of the module. Thanks for all of the hard work! :)
EDIT: PS, my apologies if I posted these comments under the wrong topic.
- Some weapons have an enhancement bonus and also a damage bonus of the same type that the weapon normally does. For example, one of my longswords has an enhancement of +8, then has additional damage of slashing 2d6. Similar damage types on a weapon will not stack.
I have mentioned this before as the same happens with my legendary druid. This means that the cost and level requirement are higher (as far as I know. Could be wrong) than they should be as the property is completely useless
Barking_Mad
19-07-2004, 01:27
I give the new tavern about a week. I don't understand how they hope to stay in business, surely those two dwarves will just drink their entire stock
lol so true
Also, maybe I'm not looking in the right areas but the module is so large that meeting people happens rarely, and the ones I've met so far have mostly been of the opposite (evil) faction or not interested in grouping together.
Yeah meeting players can be a problem at first, the best places as kev mentioned are the Inns, if everyone who needs a party or companions frequents the inns youll find it alot better.
I know few spells are nerfed and that's good. But one nerf that has a problem is the GS nerf. Often, and I'm not sure why, if I cast it once I cannot cast it again until the module is reset. I get the message "not enough time has elapsed", even though the last time I cast it was hours earlier.
Ill take a look over the script tomorrow as i also have to make some changes to the raise & res scripts, the idea behind the adjustment is to prevent players from bypassing areas and reaching boss NPCs with out a fight or group.
Maybe it's just my bad luck, but the number of critical hits creatures make is amazing. Earlier an NPC got 73% criticals against me during a battle (yep, I actually counted afterwards) and often I've seen over 50% criticals, even from dragons and such. Probably just my bad luck.
some people say that NWNs dice are fudged, check this screenie for bad luck
CLICKY (http://www.aovc12.dsl.pipex.com/problem.jpg)
[If you want to discuss this topic further, please use the feedback and comments thread. Best if we keep this thread for update summary announcements]
There seems to be few areas suitable for my character's level (29). Granted, I don't know the module well, but there appears to be a huge gap between areas suitable for lower level characters (with a huge emphasis on lvls 1-20 or so) and areas for uber epics (35+ or so).
We have some big plans in store for epics. Bear with us over the next few weeks as things are added. Some very exciting projects and offering a whole new expeirience for everyone who attempts them. There should be something for your character to do somewhere though, lots of others have managed. It maybe worth asking round.
BTW, is the server here primarily PvP focus?
Not at all, and this is one of the finer points seperating us from other MERP/LOTR servers where you are pretty much forced or dragged into creating a pvp character. Of course, pvp does take place here, but every event and encounter does not revolve around it. So feel free to focus on an all-round developed character.
As for the issues with enhancement bonuses and base physical damage bonuses, this is what im going to be doing later today for the next round of updates (after the next list im posting):
Any weapon offering just an enhancement bonus and a single physical damage bonus: The enhancement will be swapped for an attack bonus of equal value (e.g. enc +3 and 2d6 slashing becomes ab +3 and 2d6 slashing)
Any weapon offering an enhancement bonus, a physical damage bonus and an elemental damage bonus will have the physical damage bonus removed. In some cases the elemental damage bonus will be increased if the loss is great. (e.g. enc +3, 2d6 slashing and 2d6 fire becomes enc +3 and 2d6 fire)
All weapons in the modules palletes will be updated later today.
The following are the latest updates since returning from my holiday:
Holy water is now available in some stores
Dark Devotee robes fixed
Evocator helm has been adjusted to remove obsolete properties
Beruthiel's grabbing rod has been adjusted to remove abusive potential and to take it out of the hands of non-magic users.
Eyes of Thorondor arrows have been updated in the Minas Tirith fletcher
Papa Neurik's quest now offers a sensible amount of xp
Old Wild orcs removed from Celeduin Banks and updated with new Mirkwood NPC spawn group
Cirith Ungol defenses reorganised; new npc's and less cpu intensive
Barking Mad's modified area creature despawning script has been added to all the modules areas - this will see a significant improvement in NPC response times (we hope). When a player exits an area, all spawnable creatures will despawn after a variable 3-8 mins.
Thanks to all those who mailed and posted reports.
These are the latest updates. Quite a range of things worked on this time round, so there will probably be a few things you will notice to be quite significant. So read carefully :)
All take effect after the next reset.
Arcane class level restrictions have been placed on most of the custom staffs (bard, sorc, wiz). You will not be able to use these staffs unless you have the items level requirement in an arcane spell casting class. e.g. Level 15 staff = must be level 15 in Bard/Wiz/Sorc. This means characters will not be able to 'blag' the use of high level staffs by only being a few levels of a spell casting class. A similar system is also being looked at for UMD in future.
Staff of command removed from Minas Tirith magic shop
A number of elven custom items have had weight reductions added to them to represent the high quality of the materials they are crafted from.
All weapons have been adjusted where an enchancement bonus was being offered with a physical damage bonus. Enc bonus has been swapped for an attack bonus.
Adjustments to our custom resurrection and raise dead system; Feedback is now provided in the game interface to show how you performed. Tests are now done on a D20 rather than a D100. Raise dead has a DC of 5 if your not in combat and 10 if you are in combat. Resurrection has a DC of 10 if you are not in combat and 15 if you are in combat. Clerics recieve a +1 bonus to their roll for every level of cleric they have. There is a +1 bonus for a focus in Necromancy. A roll of 20 always succeeds, a roll of 1 always fails. On the whoile, raise dead has slightly more chance of suceeding then it did before.
The visibility of some of the signs at the start has been improved.
The Mouth Of Sauron NPC has been updated
The Black Gates of Mordor have been updated with new NPCs and made less CPU intensive.
Minas Morgul stores have been updated to remove obsolete items.
All encounters in Mordor are now single shot - they will not respawn.
Door way leading to nowhere in the west Gladden Fields is now gone.
Tharbad Library now allows Bards into the study area.
The server reset script has been updated - it is now fully automated by the server, announcing a 15 mins, 10 mins, 5 mins and imminent reset warning on its own. It will boot players still logged in after the imminent warning then reset the server.
Books added; Sauron and the Witch King
Developments in our dialogue writing skills; Barliman Butterbur is using an advanced conversation file as a trial. If successful, this conversation sytle will become much more common, especially on quests.
A trash facility has been added in the start. The 'refuse pool' can be used to off load non-value items.
Minas Morgul and Isengard magic stores now sell blank scrolls.
The Misty Mountains Adult Ice Drake no longer rewards ultra high xp to everyone. (Is now level based)
The great east road has been made a little easier to allow beginners to travel from Bree-Rivendell with less trouble.
The damages on arrows have been reduced in some cases; as a trade off, arrows are considerably cheaper now.
All the main arrow selling stores have been updated with the new arrows.
Thanks for all the reports sent.
OneRedEye
23-07-2004, 18:39
**** IMPORTANT ****
Please could players refrain from trying to join the server while it is reloading after a reset. This causes a problem and slows down the server's loading process.
It is clear when the module is loaded as the ping will have dropped below 100. Just because you can see it in your list does not mean it is ready to be joined.
Log's are kept of players joining and leaving and if we continue having problems some action is bound to occur.
Thanks :)
Tharizdun
23-07-2004, 19:21
btw the ping never drops that low if you are in USA so to the other yanks on the server and non-UK players....use some common sense eh?
Galdor_Niphredil
24-07-2004, 08:13
I'm a UK player and the server ping never, ever drops below 100. The average I get is between 300-400 .
I am a humble 56Ker btw. but have a v good spec pc.
I think he meant when ping is bellow zero.. at -1ms .. at least it is how I see it when server is reseting.. then it goes to 3000ms, 2000ms, 1000ms. When it is back to the normal 200ms to me, usually means it is good to go.
I always look if there are other players online now, if there aren't then i give it another 10 mins and if the ping still seems reasonable i try to join.
Lets just say then that we all know what our individual 'normal' pings are.
Do not join the server until the ping you play with is reached - the reload will only take longer for every login made.
An official announcement on the specifics of new content shall be made later as the updates are uploaded.
However, the prize project we have been working on for the last 4-5 days; the all new Himling, has been finally completed. It has been the cause of some very late nights and over 50 hours of solid work, repeated tests and bashing broken scripts! But, its all done and we are proud of it - it brings in a whole new depth to the world; a taster of things to come in the style of our building and the playing experience.
In essence, this region is what adventuring in Untold Tales is all about, and what its going to become more like. As I said, the specifics I will announce later, but here are (I hope!)- 4 of the people who tested this region to tell you what all the fuss is about wuth this project :)
PureLojik
27-07-2004, 00:23
The main thing that stands out with the new areas is the attention to some of the skills that previously have not been so useful. Conversations and quests are well structured which lends well to the adventures available, an interesting twist on the quest rewards based around observation skills.
NPC encounters are challenging with some that can prove to be a surprise, certainly best tackled as a party. The challenges should offer a party a good amount of game time to work their way through.
The new Himling areas are a nice indication of a new level of detail being worked into Untold Tales.
Barking_Mad
27-07-2004, 00:26
The new himling is great, we tested it out a few times and the depth of play has improved alot. There is alot more to it than simply bashing your way through the quests and the conversations have been expanded to include the use of the skills that are often under used, like persuade, bluff and intimidate.
The whole quest has a much better story orientated progression, and is well built for a group adventure.
Wouldnt want to say more or ill spoil the suprises :) but it will be great fun no doubt :D
Yup, the new Himling is a great addition to the module. A very different style of play and many new challenges to be faced, nice to see more features and skills being useful.
I won't say more as the others have said, its a nice suprise, have a look and have fun :)
Wreck
Weee, finally ill get some use from my skills of intimidate :D
My apologies with the timing this updates summary. As many of you know, we have been very busy of late with getting some restructuring done to the community rules system.
Here we go:
The entire Himling Isle region and attached quest has been comeplely redone. This change is VERY significant, as it it an example of things to come in the gameworld, with regards to building quality, facilitation of skills, quality of plots and quests, and advanced npc dialogue. Himling encourages the use of persuade, search, intimidate and lore skills to give you an edge. There are many extra activities too, aswell as the main plot itself. I wont say much more- you can always go see for yourselves! Himling is an adventure region designed for pre-haste level parties.
Our grasp of variables has been greatly improved and their use is now being extended all over the world. Many plots are being re-written to make them non-linear and more specialised, with many options and possible courses of action and conclusions.
The PC Scrying device has been added. We will put up some technical support on its use soon.
A trash pool has been added to the start area - place unwanted items in it - on closing the object, all the inventory will be deleted.
Some adjustments have been made to the area despawning script; further adjustments could be made pending on the outcome of this update.
Barliman Butterbur in the Bree Pony now has a conversation attached to him. He provides assistance and also allows you to browse his private store, selling a very small selection of random items of particularly high quality for the region for those with the coin.
A number of common scripts have been cached to improve server performance and conversation loading speeds.
The server conduct rules have been updated and added as player journal entries.
A number of adjustments and fixes in repsonse to your reports.
Thankyou to all those who sent reports.
A few updates here, one of which is VERY significant indeed:
The first version of our 100% in-house summoning system by Barking_Mad is now in effect!
System Details: (http://forums.wireplay.co.uk/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=301818)
A few issues with the creation of the PCscry device on entering the game have been resolved.
Some seating added outside the Prancing Pony
Some trash systems added to the busy stores in some of the areas intended for beginners to deter players dropping worthless items on the floor.
The timetravel/Beleriand adventure has been withdrawn for a very short period of time. Our current large project is a total redo of the whole adventure, bringing its content more in line with the books, and turning the adventure in to a really exciting, gripping and challenging plot.
At this time of writing, the world is not running with these updates, but following the next reset it will be.
Enjoy :)
Balac willl be chuffed. He finally gets his bench...
Balac willl be chuffed. He finally gets his bench...
Make that two benches! We sure deliver round here! :P
Ok, here's some of the things coming with the lastest round of updates. A little thin, but thats all because we have been busy hammering problems and working very hard on the new time travel quest and the summoning system!:
Trials of the new summoning system have been very successful. The system has been disabled for now whilst changes are made from player feedback, and for extentions to the system to be added in.
The PC Scrying device has been identified as the cause of mid-session game problems from player reports. The device has been permanently removed. Please place any Scry devices on your characters into the trash pool.
The Tharbad library study area will now accept Wizards and Bards of any level.
The Tharbad dock workers no longer use the Himling dock worker dialouge!
The complete range of dyes is now available! 65 colours of each category; leather, cloth and metal. Dyes are curently on the modules item pallete. They still need to be added to stores - but DM's will attempt to promote the new dyes where possible for the time being.
A number of fixes and changes following player reports and feedback.
We shall be setting up a thread just for this discussion very soon, but im delighted to see that NWN2 is in development NOW and will be hitting the shelves in 2006.
It's not going to be reincarnated in Dragon Age, like some people were thinking, but instead a huge enhancement of the existing game system with new content consisting of what was missed the first time, and, the biggie - more persistent world friendly content (thats us!).
You can get a much better insight rather than my excited blatheringhere (http://www.obsidianent.com/press_releases/nwn2_announcement.html)
The development team has been pretty quiet the last few days, I know. Do not worry though! We have been hard at work on a lot of new content and plans.
To give you some idea of whats going to be coming very soon, here are a few work in progress screenshots.
These are all part of an enormous epic quest - To prevent giving away major spoilers, we are not giving any info with these screenshots!
This quest promises to be the best content we have ever created. We hope to have it available in the world by the end of next week.
Pic 1 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/angorcs.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/angprisoners.jpg)
Pic 3 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/isenbalrog.jpg)
Pic 4 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/iseniron.jpg)
Pic 5 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/noldorcamp.jpg)
Pic 6 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/angbehold.jpg)
Pic 7 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/angmythran.jpg)
Pic 8 (http://merpuk.wireplay.co.uk/angnoldor.jpg)
Coldbayne
08-08-2004, 08:04
Since this quest delves into the past, any chance at seeing some of the following, I list them to provide inspiration:
Ungoliant the Great
Carcharoth the Red Maw
Glaurung the Old
Scatha the Wurm
Ancalagon the Black
Barking_Mad
08-08-2004, 10:07
My bets on Ancalagon the Black ;)
Coldbayne
08-08-2004, 12:04
Will the new huge epic quest arc incorporate the in house summoning system, extended with the other bits that are being worked on?
It would be nice to come across some enemy spellcasters summoning up an ad-hoc army if you dont stop them.... ps enemy spellcaster should cast prot from evil themselves if they want to use gate imho.
I can tell you that three of those characters will be present in the quest. Wait and see which ones :)
But two others you didnt list there :P we will leave them as a surprise also.
We are trying to avoid conflicts with all the characters in the timezone, as it is probably very unlikely that you'd even face one of them. So we have gone the exta mile in letting you face 5 of them!
EDIT: Yep, we will be making a number of encounters with NPCs using summons. (we are assuming the system will be back when the quest opens)
Coldbayne
08-08-2004, 12:09
Out of interest do you ever draw any inspiration for bosses from the game Angband - a fun dungeon crawl if ever there was one...fear the grey capital "P"
Coldbayne
08-08-2004, 12:11
Ok here's a suggestion, if its not too late, perhaps we can meet in this ancient time zone some of the other 3 wizards (we've seen Gandalf and Sauraman) perhaps we can see what fate they met, or perhaps meet one of them who has gone crazy...
Too late now, the plots been written.
Galdor_Niphredil
08-08-2004, 13:03
Hearing about this quest brings the thought of many possible encounters to mind :
Morgoth ,Sauron(In Werewolf form), Drauglin, Glaurung(Father of Dragons), Gothmog....etc etc etc.
The pre-cursors to LoTR offer such a wide variety of characters/creatures I'll bet Kev and the development team had a hard time deciding which ones to put in the mod and which ones to leave out. I'd be happy just bumping into one or two of the ones that have so far been mentioned. As for the other Istari, the Blue Wizards where said to have travelled to regions to the far east and south and I presume the mod is set in Beleriand (northwest Middle Earth).
Btw, what kind of character level has the quest been designed for?:)
As its replacing the original quest back to Beleriand, its designed for any party of epic characters.
We have ensured that this time it will provide a rewarding challenge for all levels of character as the npc challenge ratings very greatly - some will be cannon fodder, some will require a more tactful approach.
The main npcs are proving great fun to work on though as we are customising their AI and the encounter with them a great deal.
Galdor_Niphredil
08-08-2004, 13:49
Sounds great.
Only wish I could get one of my characters up to Epic level to play it. At current rate it will be several months before I'll be Lvl 21+
Oh well, bang goes my social life ! hehe
There has been almost flat out work on the new epic quest which is due for completion by the end of this week we hope.
However, we have put together this list of fixes, changes and additions. All will be available at the next reset:
The Bree and Tharbad taillors both now sell the complete dye range. Due to the huge range of dyes, they are in seperate stores! (The npc has two 'open store' commands attached to them; one for dyes, another for clothing.
The campfire facility has been updated - hopefully it now works faster and has an added option to pitch a tent!
The levelup bug has been fixed where characters were saying 'i feel stronger!' 36 times!
The PCScry device is back in with some modifications; Areas are now listed by area name, as opposed to tag name. Classes from the HOTU and SOU expansions will now list too.
A number of new books have been added.
(We hope) the mid session bug has been removed.
A number of fixes following your reports.
Introduction of a new rule in the 'Spirit of the Gameword' section - added to journals and rules listings.
Thanks to those who gave reports.
A warning about faction area invasions
This announcement is being made in response to an incident which took place in the last hour.
A pair of characters who invaded Lorien and later announced their "victory" bypassed the ENTIRE defenses using invisibility and killed all three main character NPCs. We actually checked the whole Lorien region - not ONE guard was taken on. Even the guards in Celeborn and Galadriels area were still standing uninjured.
This type of play is COMPLETELY against the spirit of the gameworld and community. There is no other objective in this than to aquire high end magic items without any effort or involvement with others. There is no excuse or justification for it whatsoever.
The disbelief from players was even plain to see. Players were frowning at the victory announcement just because of the fact two characters 'successfully' invaded a faction area. Everyone knows that at least 4 characters are needed to mount a proper successful attack at least (to be successful).
Anyway - the point here is - if you are going to be in a party attacking a faction area - do it properly. Characters abusing the game to reach main NPCS just to easily aquire their items will have all the items confiscated - this is what happened to the two characters in this case.
Don't like it? Then I suggest you look for an action server.
Sorry to rant, but we dont want this sort of behaviour catching on and bringing the server down.
Thanks guys :)
Galdor_Niphredil
11-08-2004, 22:00
Invisibility being used before an attack ?
I seem to be having some kind of deja vu..
Might it be some evil characters getting carried away with their revenge tactics after the assault on Minas Morgul?
Minas Morgul... Yes... That did go rather well DIDN'T it. Oh and last night we gave Saruman a sound drubbing... The free peoples are united and fighting back!
*Veld buffs the Wichkings helm to a lustrous glossy black finish, places it proudly over the fireplace... and gives it the finger*
In relation to last night's attack on Isengard, I wish to point out that our characters apparently didn't get saved past the rest we took in Saruman's room... this means that all items we collected there have been deleted too :( The server reset soon after due to a "phantom" bug... (I never heard about it before)
I will arrange something to replace the significant losses here. :)
Here are all the latest updates :)
- The complete range of dyes has been added to the Minas Tirith Dye merchant
- An additional small door has been placed outside Shelobs lair, between the cave exit and the tower of Cirith Ungol to prevent the exploit where she is lead out of her cave towards the tower guards who immediately kill her with ease :P. Neither Shelob or the guards can breach this door.
- 5 incidents in one week, involving the ogre caves and its loot means that we have reduced the profitability of the ogre caves. loot here was disproportionate from the rest of the world anyway and required adjusting.
- The lord of ice in the withered heath has had his resistances reduced.
- The overlord dragon on Almaren island now has crit immunity
- Some of the rules have been made more specific since different interpretations were being made by players. Particularly on issues of what warrants pvp and disliking. Also added rule to stop people bypassing whole dungeons using invisibility. See rules and journals for details.
Thanks for the reports. :)
Coldbayne
14-08-2004, 15:35
Well I can't say I'm not listened to on this PW...
Looks like i'm responsible for half these changes *hangs head in shame* :)
Why shame? If you hand't of posted, there would still be problems :P
Give that man a bannana phone.
My thanks to those who reported the disturbances on the server earlier being caused by some persistent trouble makers we have been experiencing. We were able to act very quickly and make sure that everyone could continue to play in peace.
Unfortunatley the players concerned decided to be very abusive and were temporarily booted to cool down. But then proceeded to attempt to login to the server and disrupt things as much as possible, aswell as stalking me on IRC and showering me with abuse. So we decided that a full account deletion was the solution.
I'm not asking to be looked up to, or treated differently to the next person, but when I spend over a year of my time and in excess of 2000 hours on building a communuity and gameworld from scratch, I do not expect to have abuse hurled at me, some of it very, very hateful stuff. Its not why I started all this at all.
But it applies to us all - nobody wants to have to be in such an abusive environment, and that is why we have zero tolerance to such players. The same goes for player to player abuse, not just to DMs.
Thanks once again to those players who helped :)
Enjoy the game
I've said it before and I'll continue to say it. We are basically all guests here. Kev and others have done the graft so we can reap the benefits. Lets show our gratitude and play nice guys, at the end of the day we don't have a god-given right to be here, its like a bar, or any other social setting, the management reserve the right to eject an bar troublesome patrons if they persist in annoying people (and DMs are people too).
Its not about selfish player individualism, its about group interaction and effort. In a group, is when this server works best anyway, any one whos been a part of the excellent party events in recent weeks (sorry to harp on bout Minas Morgul and Isengard but it WAS great) will know exactly what i mean.
Its a shame that someone had to get slung out but it would seem that their playing style conflicted with the accepted modes of play on the server. Perhaps in the long run its better for THEM if they get themselves on an action server, it may prove more to their liking, and the best of luck to em, i say. *Veld nods and puts his axe away*
On a more cheerful note, lookin forwars to the new quests and updates, hopefully Kev's got more time to deal with the good-stuff now instead of the petty disputations... *Veld grins and gets his axe back out*
*Ibun cups a hand to his ear - eh, whats that, speak up... er aye, politeness thats the ticket, if ye cant keep a civil tongue in yer head young fella me lad, you can jolly well push off... Aye, thats the way, off you go... Hobbles off chuckling toothlessly*
I dont know if I should be posting this here so forgive me if i am in the wrong place. I just recently found all the new dyes and began palying around with them.But when i tried to dye my robes back I found that the Bleach dye was no longer available.If its not to much could you put the Bleach dye back in.I dont care to much for the whites that i saw.Ohh and by the way great server.Im loving the world.
Ok cheers :)
Best thread for ths is Bugs/Errors or feeback and suggestions.
Kail Cadarn
17-08-2004, 22:43
in terms of metal at least
the old bleach is now silver
the old bright gold is now yellow
same goes for cloth in terms of the gold..
i too have been experimenting, the dye i can't find is a light blue anymore...
Im pleased to announce the all new epic quest which is now open! I won't give too much away here -I'll leave it to the epic parties who try it out :)
What you experience is the style and quality that we are aiming for in all our future projects :)
For anyone who wants the bleach dye i saw in in esgaroth. I might be wrong but i think its been renamed as 'lightest beige' elsewhere, well it looks similar.
Our project of enhancements and adjustments over the next few weeks has begun and much has been added already. The following are now in effect:
A number of adjustments to the new epic quest following player feedback.
Script added to the welcome area to remove the Ringil quest item should any player enter with it in their inventory. (Sword is not intended for use outside of quest)
Further improvements to dialouges; We now have intelligence based speech in effect for the first time! This has been setup in Bree to begin with, but will soon become 'standard' dialouge setup everywhere.
The Bree quest for Podo Grubb's familliar has been re-written.
The Pony Guard dialouge has been re-written to include skill checks to persuade/bluff/intiimidate for gold.
The Longbottom Lorestore has been updated for appraise skill
The Bree quest for Mr. Underwill's medicine has been re-written.
Alegards Smithy has been updated for the appraise skill and the Smith NPC also helps to provide information and tips for new players.
A theft system has been written for inns with guest rooms! Doors are now locked and cannot be re-locked. Doors have a pick lock DC of 15. If someone gains entry to a guest room, you gain 1 chaotic point!
The prancing pony bar has been updated to include the appraise skill.
All doors in Bree can no longer be relocked (due to 'pranksters' locking pcs in areas)
Gandalf now has a dialouge attached to him which will be constantly updated and new features added. At present, Gandalf will destroy Balrog weapons given to him or convert their properties into 'non-evil' ones. He will pay gold for destroying weapons and give good points.
Kail Cadarn
21-08-2004, 19:30
all very good and all, much appreciated...
is it just me, or do these intelligent convos take longer to load?i was just on before tulkas announced a server reset, and read a fair a few pages of Pyramids by Terry Pratchett while i waited for barliman to decide what to say next...
No, they just take longer to load when more players are on, or when the server has been online for a long period of time.
A faster CPU and more memory will fix that one.
These are all the latest changes and additions:
A bugged secret door in Angband has been fixed
The Slum Squalor quest has been rewritten!
Some NPCs on the Angband quest have been adjusted
More scripts have been cached to improve response times
The start area entry system has been changed a bit to speed things up till the server is upgraded.
The layout of Esgaroth has been changed with more to be added over time. Keep watching this area.
A number of new books have been written, especially for Esgaroth region
New Esgaroth NPCs
New supply store in Esgaroth
New Blacksmith in Esgaroth
The 'South Downs Goblins' quest from Harry has been rewritten!
A number of fixes from player reports.
Here are the latest updates to the module, all currently online now. Some very high quality content here:
- The Esgaroth merchants guild is now open! Buy from a range of merchants, get information or show off your bartering skills!
- Nob's quest in Bree for the stolen harp has been re-written.
- Fixed errors in the clothes quest to Tharbad and the Shining Hauberk Blacksmith.
- The cracked Anvil Inn has been updated.
- A Dunedain camp has been added to the Tharbad road. This will act as the areas 'authority' and will be a base for future quests we have planned.
- Gandalf has had another 9 items added to his list of items he can destroy or convert, bringing the total to 11.
- Bree/Esgaroth commoners and guards have had their factions adjusted - Guards will now react against those attacking commoners.
- 4 new books have been added on the Dunedain and the Bree Lands.
Here are the lastest additions and changes:
Massive improvements to NPC response times and adjustments made to reduce chances of crashes. (Reduction in posted NPCs = less scripts firing at once! Hence the reduction in posted guards throoughout faction areas, though gates remain highly defended)
Due to the fact fully posting a faction area with guards is impractical, we have introduced a rule whereby all faction area invasions will now be DM SCHEDULED or DM run. This has a number of benefits; More players can be involved, DM involvement means greater interaction with characters and a less predicatable event. The main reason is also 'realism' - constant war/action can detract from the value of the world as a roleplaying gameworld. Overall, all-out war such as invading am ajor area should be a rare occurence, and one of great scale and size. Naturally, we will be unleasing more events on you all in future :)
The Bree Prancing Pony Cooks quest has been re-written.
A few fixes on Gandalf.
Some bugs on Merchant appraise checks (hopefully) fixed.
Bree Graverobbing quest has been re-written
2 'activities' can now be reported to the Dunedain Rangers of the North camp on the greenway south tharbad road.
A new journal entry has been added giving information about the world and providing FAQ - this is intended for new players to read and quickly determine if this world is the one they are looking for. This will hopefully deter 'bad' players from going much further when they discover that we don't offer what they are looking for.
The shire has been withdrawn - the west of the world is being worked on and the whole of the Shire should be open soon after the hardware upgrade.
All copies of the community rules have been updated.
Note that the start area update date has not been updated because I forgot :P *hides*
Something new and cool to Untold Tales is in this update. I've spent 2 days writing it all up and it offers something for all those players who use melee weapons :D No longer can anyone claim that there are no 'good' version of any weapon. Anyway, here it all is :)
The legendary merchant in the Anorien road has been relocated to Tharbad, where he now has his own shop building.
The legendary merchant is now the most advanced merchant in the word in terms of services offered; Two stores and a weapons upgrading system!
A new quest has been written, which is available from the legendary merchant and is required to gain a pass token to access his best store!
Our weapons upgrade system has been placed into the legendary merchant! This system will allow you to add 2d6 cold, electric or fire damage to any +5 close combat weapon. This comes at a fair price of 75,000 gold pieces. This now means that there are at least 3 'good' weapons of all types.
Illegal scarab of protection removed from Rivendell magic shop
Obsolete version of Chainmail Of Morgoth removed from Minas Morgul armoury (30 resist version replaced with 25 resist version)
8 New books added.
Start portal to Minas Morgul fixed.
Here are all the latest updates, now online:
Lagnar the smith in Tharbad now has a second quest attached to him, for those who want more after his first errand! This time he wants you to venture deep into Moria, but unknown to you, there is a surprise for you when you get there!
The challenge masters quest to the Trollshaws has been rewritten and relocated to the Tharbad Greyflood Inn.
The first quest for the Dunedain has been created. See the Dunedain camp for details.
New book on Moria added.
All customised weapons from Lagnar the Smith are now identified.
The cracked Anvil's etherreal bar has been fixed!
A small worldwide reduction in placeables to improve performance in some places and to reduce NPC 'snagging' on placeables.
A regrettable, but necessary adjustment to Issacs Greater Missile Storm Spell due to overuse/misuse by the large majority of its users. Spell is now capped at 10 missiles of 3d6 damage per missile. (If you wish to discuss this change, please do so in the appropriate thread)
Enjoy the game
Wondering what we can expect to see with your next round of Updates/fixes Kev?
A lot of goodies ready for you all which im trying to get uploaded tonight.
I'll be posting quite a list of them shortly.
Hmm a little something for the weekend then eh
The following is currently online:
A mixture of updates this time, quite a few quest re-writes and a little tinkering with a few of our systems:
A twist in the quest requiring you to kill the Cold Drake Lord - Theres now a means of getting his essence without killing him, if your prepared to do him a service in return...
The Quest to remove the threat of Mirkwood Driders has been re-written. Completion of the quest gives you access to a new quest...
Our Issacs Greater Missile Storm script has been updated (v2). Spell has been returned to normal settings, but with a 30 sec timelock. (timelock length subject to change depending on performance on server). After casting spell, caster must wait 30 seconds untill being able to cast the spell again. Attempting to cast IGM during the lock consumes a spell use. We hope that this change truly makes the spell "Issacs Greater Missile Storm" and not "Issacs Greater Missile Spam". Thanks to Mav, aka DM Manwe for his work on this improved system.
Book on Smaug added.
The Smaug NPC has been redesigned!
The Entire Smaug based quest has been re-written! Its bigger and better than before!
The random loot drops on NPCS has now (hopefully) been fixed.
Blank scrolls are now available at 2 new locations.
The present day Mythran NPC is back at his house in Esgaroth and he's been up to no good.
The Bearded Bellows Smithy in Esgaroth is now working with fine quality metals, if they can be produced.
The Esgaroth scrolls store now only sells those of arcane casting level 1-5. This will become standard worldwide.
The Iron Hills quest to deal with lizard folk has been re-written, with ties to the cracked anvil inn!
The Silversword Guild is now accessible again. Any Good/Neut character can travel there. Door is now locked and members will be issued keys.
Unique treasure system has been setup! For those very rare, special chests at the end of some of the largest adventures, containing some much rarer items.
For the start of a huge drive to push out more FR specific content and to bring in more Middle Earth focused content, the Lesser Ring Of Power and the Ring of Power have been renamed to "Yavanna's Ring of Protection". Lesser version will offer the three resists at /5, whilst the Ring of power equivalent will offer 3x /15 resists and regen +1. Freedom was stripped from the ring - We are looking to see movement slowing/restricting spells become more useful, particularly amongst epic levels.
There will be a fair grace period before we eventually start swapping these rings out of inventories for new ones. Stores have yet to be setup with new rings.
Barliman should hopefully now be 1x persuade only.
New Book on Erebor
New Book on The Iron Hills.
A number of other small fixes!
Have fun out there :)
In the last 5 days, a stack of new content has been added, including the first batch of great work by the new Player Content Team. I hope through seeing some of the great new stuff here, many more of you will be encouraged to get involved with the PCT thread and help produce extra content for the gameworld.
A lot of written content and documentation in this update, and a focus on items and the availability of those in the epic range. Some considerable changes to Minas Tirith too, including the first of a number of quests planned. Obviously the quests take place within the city walls - so don't expect to be at the forefront of some great war or something :)
The entire Bigbies spell range has had the spell duration reduced by 50% - Similar plans are afoot for other offensive 'holding' spells with what are, excessive durations.
Descriptions by the Player Content Team added for 48 items!
Nymph Cloaks are now Vanyar cloaks, offering from +1 to +10 charisma. All instances in the world will gradually be updated.
Minas Tirith Items reviewed and adjusted.
Minas Tirith merchants all redone. Epic equipment has been withdrawn and will be placed into special stores in the next update - requirements will have to be met to gain access to such equipment.
Minas Tirith NPCs reviewed and adjusted.
8 New books added!
The first Minas Tirith quest has been written. Designed for new characters - quest gives newcomers a good tour of the first tier, and allows them to get involved in the local affairs by helping a man who has been wrongly accused of a murder. (experienced chars should avoid the curiosity factor of checking this one out - you know MT well enough and there are new players/chars who will be wanting to try this)
The Range of strength belts has been replaced with our own 'Tolkienised' 'Girdle Of Tulkas' range. Many variants, offering strength bonuses of +2, +4, +6, +8, +10 and +12. World instances of strength belts will slowly be updated as time goes by.
"Boots of the shifting sands" tolkienised! Now known as "Mumakil Boots" with great description by the PCT.
Boots Of Striding range now known as "Rangers' Greaves", offering the same range of bonuses. World instances will update over time.
Boots of Hardiness now known as Boots Of The Naugrim - offering the same bonuses as before, although the range now goes as high as +5. World instances will update over time.
Gates to Silversword castle are well and truly fixed!
Evil characters now have a dedicated ranged weapon ammo merchant.
Some new arrows and bolts have been produced. These are 'greater' versions of the standard 'fire arrows', 'bolts of fire', etc. They offer 2d6 of their area of damage. Legendary bolts range has also been extended to other elements.
A DM tool has been added, allowing DMs to track parties - device when used by the dm will tell him/her; who is in a party, where each member is, how much gold each member carries, their class, level, etc. Device has been introduced in response to an increase in scattered party members farming xp by doing different quests alone at once. Hopefully there will be a reduction in this activity now that DMs can immediatley identify offenders at the touch of a button.
A number of bug fixes from your reports.
I'm delighted with the amount of new content in this update from just 5 days work. A lot of this is thanks to the PCT. Just shows how vaulable creative input from the players is, so I encourage more of you to get involved in the PCT thread :)
Im sure everyone involved is looking forward as much as i am to seeing their thoughts and ideas in the mod.
Personally, I cant wait to find those 8 new tomes. Would they be in Elronds Library of Lore or will I need to search further afield.
*Ibun rummages through his pack* - "Blast, I can never find my reading glasses..."
It's finally here: The 'Tolkienisation' of the standard itemset! Just about every single Forgotten Realms based item has been renamed and a Middle Earth themed description added. All the written content is the work of the PCT, so thanks to them.
Also, there have been revisions to all merchants in the world. A lot of tedious and long hours have gone into this, so I hope the effects are positive :)
Epic items are now not for sale in basic merchants! They must be earned/found, etc. Obviously that means a lot of epic items are now totally unobtainable - do not fear! I will be setting up the 'special' stores in each region immediately - these stores will have requirements you must meet to access the stores, such as quest completion, possession of an item, certain skills, levels, etc, etc.
So a quick summary:
Osgiliath NPCS updated
Over 120 standard items 'tolkienised', many also modified in appearance and name.
All merchants revised!
The Harad Manticore spikes bug is finally fixed.
Setups of a number of Titled Npcs has been changed.
Saruman now has accurate properties for being 'the white' - He is 100% immune to physical attack!
Thanks to everyone who was involved in the great new content here :)
Thorsson
21-09-2004, 20:46
It's good to see that someone realises just how powerfuk the "Bigbys" are. However the biggest single problem with Bigby's is that the Crusing hand Grapple save is broken. Apparently it is not possible to make a successful save due to a bugged script. The only chance of avoiding it from a high level mage is to have an insanely high AC.
It would be nice if that was fixed.
Hello all. Apologies for the sudden dissapearance as I had to be rushed to hospital where I stayed for a few days.
Good to see everything ran smoothly whilst I was gone, so thanks to everyone for that.
I'll get back on with what I was doing on Monday now :)
Galdor_Niphredil
23-09-2004, 19:12
Sorry didn't know that.. hope you are feeling well/better :)
This was due monday but obviously a few things changed that :P
The following is currently being uploaded and will hopefully be available after the next reset:
17 New Books
The MERP UK treasure system has now been finished and setup. Containers in the world have been revised accordingly. Details of this new system is in gameworld developments. This system is unique to Untold Tales.
Modifications to our creature/loot cleaning system - less cpu intensive
A few fixes to some conversations not starting up.
Not a huge list, but the new treasure system is a BIG addition. Wait and see :)
Treasure system should now be fixed.
A little error in the area despawning script which also contains a system to refill chests on a despawn too. Old script was despawning chests!
It should now *hopefully* be working properly :)
Will be functional following the next reset.
Galdor_Niphredil
07-10-2004, 20:14
Looks like the new patch is here for Neverwinter Nights.
Got the 'A newer version is available..etc' message.
Any more news on this Kev or should we still not d/l it yet ?
Dont DL till the server does. I'll announce when this is done.
We need to wait for a linux patch to become availible.
SERVER STATUS:
The server is currently down until it has been patched.
This will be a bit longer than planned as im having the server vault backed up prior to patching.
Server will be back up soon.
Oh joy!
Bioware have listed the 1.64 Linux patch as available, but once we followed the link to download...there was nothing there!
So now we have to wait for Bioware to actually make 1.64 linux available - this usually takes a day. (they seem to enjoy releasing linux patches a day or so after the windows version).
Patience is a virtue...
It's finally available. The server will be patched up later today.
I've now got a lot of reports of 1.64 overwriting a lot of the CEP resources.
Because of this, im cancelling the patch until the cep team release a patch. This should be pretty soon.
In the meantime, the server will be back up at 1.62. If you really can't wait, you can always patch down to 1.62 and login.
Follow news on the next cep patch here:
click me (http://nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=385331&forum=83)
Its been through beta testing, so the release is imminent. Watch this space.
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