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Topics - gonger

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Unreal Engine / Some thoughts on the Dryken Plane - please discuss

« on: January 07, 2023, 09:12:59 am »

Greetings to all!

The Dryken Plane is probably the most discussed and disputed addition that will come with the move to Unreal Engine.
It is without doubt a totally new idea for PlaneShift, and you may like this idea, or not. Personally, I liked the Dryken Plane from the start because of its newness, I just thought that the first versions were close to unplayable.
But more important than personal taste: The Dryken Plane is the first thing newbies experience, and nobody gets a second chance for a good first impression. This is where newbies decide whether they stay or leave.

Talad has taken previous criticism and bug reports (e.g. not enough light, too little time to reach the barrier) very seriously, and the current version is certainly a big improvement.
Still I wonder whether we should not do even more, and I would like to hear your opinion. It is important to try and see this from a newbie's perspective.
We know and love the game, and most of us have tried the Dryken Plane more than once, which makes it relatively easy for us to get through.
Things will be different for confused newbies who are still struggling with the keys and mouse settings, and all the rest. They may quickly lose their patience.
Therefore it would also be extremely interesting to hear what a true newbie has to say about it.
As a basis for discussion, I can think of these further improvements:

Add the gems to the character save. In case a newbie quits or gets disconnected in the middle of the Dryken Plane, they may have to go back again, which will only add to confusion and frustration.
Use different colours for all three gem / barrier combinations. This will make orientation much easier.
Instead of removing the barriers, make them flicker. Thus they will still be visible. With those interweaving paths I personally tend to lose my orientation on where to run while going through those long turns. If the next barrier is still visible this will be less complicated.
The spiral elevators are not easy to use. You can easily take two or three attempts to get on or off them properly, which will reduce the time to reach the next barrier.
Give some rewards to the newbies. At the end of the Legacy tutorial newbies have some good items to get started, here they have nothing. For example after the first barrier there could be some leather armour, after the second a good knife, and finally a glyph.

Please comment on this, and feel free to add your own ideas.
Of course we should not make it too easy for newbies, there should still be a good challenge! Let's try to find the right balance!

I also found this link a few days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1012kax/what_do_you_think_make_a_great_mmo_starting_zone/
Some of the points discussed there are interesting.

Thank you for reading and discussing.
Travel safely.

Gonger

Single Author Stories / Spread Your Wings

« on: December 28, 2022, 11:41:51 am »

"She will never fly", the doctor said. "Her wings are too weak. The skin too thin, the bones too frail."
A long silence in the hospital's examination room.
"Certainly something can be done... anything... whatever it takes, we will do it", Twilla's father finally said, helplessly.
"Dear", his wife said, and gently touched his arm. "We knew it before, and the good doctor just confirmed it. We will love her even more, and let her soul fly free."

{|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|}

Years later, the doctor's assessment held true. Twilla spent much of her spare time on the platform of Amdeneir's highest tower. She enjoyed the height, for in the strong winds, part of her could believe that she was flying.
She used to play with the children there, holding them into the winds, so they could flap their wings safely.
She loved the children, and the children loved her back, the smallest ones most, mayhap because they also did not fly... yet.

{|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|}

One bright morning Nlle was with her on the platform, his arms around her.
"You will never fly", Nlle said, not for the first time. "So what? I love you anyway. And there is no reason our children will not fly."
He kissed her, gently.
"Our children...", she murmured, mind and eyes wandering through the skies. A thought came and went, returned, and became a resolution.
Quickly she pushed his arms off her, and started to run, her wings flapping.
"Twilla, what...", he called after her. Then he screamed, "Twilla, no!"

She threw herself into the winds. And, incredibly, she gained some height. "I am flying", she thought, elated. "I am free."
For a short moment only. Then pain tore through the delicate fabric of her wings, and elation turned to horror. "I am falling. I am..."
Desperately now she flapped her wings, but to no avail. Wind was in her ears as she went down, wind and something else.

{|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|} {|}

Later they sat together in silence for a long time.
Finally she said, "I had to do it, that is all I can tell you. I simply had to."
"But the risk!", he exclaimed. "You could have died. We caught you at the very last moment. Was it really worth it?"
She looked at him with a determination that was new to him. "Absolutely", she said, and kissed him. "Now, what concerns our children... methinks we should retire early tonight."

General Discussion / Re-run of Reddit poll about RP

« on: January 03, 2022, 04:26:09 am »

Hello,

I am running this poll on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/ruhtc9/what_does_rp_mean_to_you_do_you_care_about_ic_ooc/

The results are interesting, so I thought I'd try the same poll here.
I will wait a day or two before casting my own vote.

Happy New Year,

Gonger

(Edited to fix a copy / paste error in the link)

General Discussion / PlaneShift website - Recent code changes

« on: January 28, 2021, 04:47:24 pm »

Greetings,

Would it be possible to update the "Recent code changes" part of the PS website? To the casual reader this looks like there was no coding whatsoever right now. We know nothing could be further from the truth, but others do not.

Thank you,

Gonger

In-Game Roleplay Events / Five Cycles

« on: January 09, 2021, 02:45:35 pm »

General Discussion / Tips and Tricks

« on: January 06, 2021, 04:13:52 pm »

Dear friends,

This thread is meant to share valuable information that might be useful but unknown.
For example, I recently witnessed that some very experienced players did not know about the /study feature in crafting books.

So here are a few a few useful tips and tricks from me:

There is free storage space available. In Hydlaa, Harnquist will store things for you. In every city or major settlement is at least one storage spot. The tria shown are not storage fee, but give an indication of the value of the item in question.
Fast fill the forge (and other crafting space): Instead of moving things one-by-one from your inventory to the forge, Ctrl-Click a whole stack and drop it into an empty spot in the forge. Then use Shift-Click to fill other fields with single items from the stack.
/study: Right-click a crafting book, then type /study in the Main chat screen. A small window will appear that allows you to enter a search string. Very useful when your crafting book has many pages. There are several that have 60+ pages.

Please add your tips and tricks. You have a great macro that helps to save time while crafting? You know something about armour that is unknown to many others? You know some trivial but funny facts?
Share. Strengthen the community. Contribute to PlaneShift.

Happy New Year, everybody.

Gonger

Technical Help: IN GAME bugs (after loading world) / Clean log file

« on: September 17, 2019, 06:10:55 am »

Greetings,

Since I changed the log file options (in-game: Options / Interface / Chat - Logs) only after playing for a couple of years, I have huge amounts of combat messages in my log. The file size is about 56 MB by now, and Notepad++ is having a hard time with it.
I am probably not the only one with this problem, so my question is: Does anybody have a small script that would remove combat messages from my main chat log?

Thanks in advance,

Gonger

General Discussion / And so, my fellow PlaneShifters:

« on: September 16, 2018, 02:33:42 pm »

Dear PlaneShifters,

Ask not what PlaneShift can do for you; ask what you can do for PlaneShift.

We have the Dev Team, doing a great job porting the game to Unreal Engine.
We have the Game Masters, doing a great job running events and helping players.
We have some players who are doing a lot to make the game better known and to keep newbies in the game.

It is clear that not everybody is able or willing to spend a similar amount of time to support the game.

However, there are a few things anybody can easily do, without spending too much time:

Give some support on social media: A Like on Facebook or YouTube is quickly done, for example. Links to the social media sites can be found on the very top of the main page, http://www.planeshift.it/
Join the advisors while in game: Go to Options - Interface-Advanced - Autoexec, and add /advisor on. You can also add /advisor list to see how many advisors are in the game.
Talk to newbies, make them welcome, offer them some help, explain features and rules. This does not mean to pamper them with lots of goodies. Information and support are more important, since they will enable newbies to play the game properly on their own.
...

I am sure you can think of other kinds of support that take neither much time nor much effort. Please feel free to share your ideas!

Enjoy the game, and drag your friends over!

Gonger

The Hydlaa Plaza / That special song

« on: April 28, 2018, 05:44:23 am »

Greetings!

Very recently we had a really great event, and Uadjet told us that inspiration had come from a song.
Now, we all have these songs that are special us, that hit us like a hammer, and make us go Wow!
But do others know them? Let us use this thread to present one of your special songs to the rest of the community. Just a link to the song, so people know nothing in advance. Click the link, don't watch, just listen.

To get started, this is Uadjet's song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHomCiPFknY&start_radio=1&list=RDlHomCiPFknY

And this is my proposal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcNMzieJkdk&start_radio=1&list=RDQcNMzieJkdk

Have fun!
Gonger

General Discussion / Advertising text for PlaneShift

« on: February 18, 2016, 03:52:03 pm »

Dear all,

Finally I took the time to finish a list of propositions of what should be in an advertising text for PlaneShift. I was also waiting because I was hoping for more feedback from the community before going public. Thanks for input go to Durante, and to the rest of the active Bounty Hunters (Arane, Carahaij and Gaheris).
Please leave your comments on what should be added / removed / changed. I will then try to formulate it out properly, and present a draft here.
The goal is not to have a text that everybody will agree with 100% (hardly realistic!), but if we can come up with something that most people mostly agree with, that would be something. I also believe that the text we will write together should not be considered "writ in stone", because for some places of advertising it might be important to emphasize certain points more than others.

Finally, if you know places where the text should be published, please mention them, and also mention whether you would be willing to undertake this task.

Looking forward to reading your ideas...

Gonger Xaraha

PlaneShift is and probably always will be under constant development.
PlaneShift has a strong (RP) community.
Elaborated background. Study the Wiki, or read the numerous books from the in-game libraries.
Lots of newbie help: Helpful players, Tutorial, Help channel, Forum.

PS offers a huge variety - succeed as warrior, mage, bard, cook, crafter,... Or be a failure, and RP it properly!
Lots of RP
Many events, hundreds of quests
Pacifist play is possible
PVP only in specific areas, or when both participants agree
Accessible, open-minded Dev team, GMs. Regular meetings with them.
The Dev team is hiring - help building this world!
Runs on all major platforms - Windows, Mac, Linux

PlaneShift is totally free, not just partly free as so many other games. Nobody can spend "real" money to gain in-game advantages.

In general, when talking about PS to the outside world, please consider the following points (also open to discussion):

Be honest. Do not claim knowledge you do not have, but invite people to come and see for themselves.
Talk about the strengths of PlaneShift, without denying its weaknesses. Accept justified criticism, and react to it in a polite way.
Show some sense of humour.

Guilds Forum / Do NOT join the Bounty Hunters!

« on: April 06, 2015, 08:56:53 am »

Do not join the Bounty Hunters!

You read correctly, we are being serious - do not join the Bounty Hunters!

Why so, you may ask.

The answer is simple: The life of a Bounty Hunter is not an easy one, and therefore not everybody is able to live it.

Ask yourself the following questions:
* Could you patrol the streets day and night in order to prevent muggings and attacks?
* Could you hunt down a criminal for weeks, out in the wilderness, alone and cold and hungry?
* Could you spend much time with small, painful, boring, non-dramatic research work?
* Could you share success and failure only with your Guild Members, since most people will never see what you are doing?
* Could you face the True Death, the price a Bounty Hunter must be ready to pay, the price many Bounty Hunters did pay in the past?

Our latest recruits all found out too late that their answer was "no" to most of these questions. They left us, and apparently also left all of Yliakum. So if you are also likely to answer "no" - do not join the Bounty Hunters, but find some other guild that suits you better! We want you to stay and to enjoy your time in Yliakum.

But if your answer is "yes" to most of these questions, then do consider joining the Bounty Hunters! Our recruits will get:

* Full access to our Guild House in Ojaveda, right next to the Pterosaur!
* Constant support from the other Guild members. We may be few who are active, but we know our bearings.
* A voice that will be heard inside the Guild. Few active members also means that everyone is important!

If you are unsure whether to join us or not, contact us, and we will talk. No matter what your final decision will be, the Bounty Hunters will help you in your troubles.

Travel safely.

Gonger Xaraha, for the Bounty Hunters

General Discussion / Re: Banned. Really PS?

« on: February 23, 2015, 03:41:29 pm »

Greetings,

Since the original thread is locked now, I must create a new one.
The subject was discussed in yesterday's Dev Meeting. Below please find the log.

Regards,

Gonger

(22:13:04) Gonger says: Greetings to all! In the forums there were some discussions about banned players. Someone argued that players can get into trouble when they are disconnected, because to the game system it still seems they are crafting / fighting / whatever all the time. At the same time, they cannot react to whispers, for example, just because they got disconnected.
(22:13:13) Gonger says: Is it true that something along these lines can happen? I do hate cheaters, and it is important to do something against them, but I fell very uncomfortable about the possibility that players got banned without real reason.
(22:13:43) Talad says: Iridia ?
(22:14:55) Iridia says: Most commands can not be executed on players that are in what we GM's call 'ghost' state
(22:15:34) Talad says: players stay in that state shortly
(22:15:55) Talad says: so I think it's unlikely to be confused with botting
(22:16:11) Talad says: also GMs are collecting multiple events before banning
(22:16:31) Talad says: the sequence we use is warn->kick->ban
(22:16:38) Talad says: so you have to do it 3 times
(22:16:42) Gonger says: Is the exact procedure for a ban somewhere on the website?
(22:16:51) Gonger says: Ah, I see.
(22:16:52) Iridia says: Yes
(22:16:55) Gova says: Was it a case of him being disconnected or just the game freezing on him for extended periods of time?
(22:17:05) Iridia says: under game rules and policies on the forum
(22:17:34) Gonger says: Gova, that was unclear. I asked that question, but the player has left the discussion. Talcon is the name.
(22:18:22) Gonger says: Would it make a difference when his game freezes, say, for 10 minutes?
(22:18:22) Talad says: also players can contact us on forums or chat if they think its a mistake
(22:18:35) Yukibo says: Does that mean that Talcon was under suspicion 3 times before he got his ban?
(22:18:49) Talad says: the server will disconnect you before
(22:18:51) Bodier says: actuallly more in this instance
(22:18:54) Eonwindd says: Talcon was contacted by the GM and already had a talk with them
(22:19:01) Talad says: can't stay 10 minutes
(22:19:05) Iridia says: Multiple times
(22:19:44) Yukibo nods in understanding
(22:19:57) Gonger says: Ok, thank you for these detailed answers. It is very important that nobody gets banned by mistake or accident.
(22:20:37) Eonwindd says: we agree, but it didn't seem to be the case

(22:20:46) Iridia says: We take these matters very serious
(22:21:51) Gonger says: Aye, these ARE serious matters.

The Hydlaa Plaza / Je suis Charlie

« on: January 08, 2015, 01:17:18 pm »

JE SUIS
CHARLIE

In-Game Roleplay Events / Now you see me, now you don't

« on: October 12, 2014, 04:20:53 pm »

Hi,

I just wanted to thank everybody involved for the nice event yesterday evening.
The Game Masters did a good job and were well organized.
The players were not too many, and nobody was over-eager in pushing the event forward.

Looking forward to more events,

Gonger

In-Game Roleplay Events / On events

« on: August 26, 2014, 04:08:52 am »

Dear all,

During a recent Dev Meeting we talked about an information text on events, which could be included on the Events webpage, and the in-game help.
Below please find a first draft. Comments / corrections / additions etc. are strongly encouraged.

Best regards, Gonger.

Events are announced on the PlaneShift website: http://www.planeshift.it/calendar/
If you want to join an event, check the start time, and make sure that you have enough time. Normally events take between two and four hours.
Events are open to all players, so even newbies are encouraged to join. Events are also a good occasion for newbies to meet people, and to see who role-plays how. Newbies in general have no mounts, and therefore will move slower than experienced players. At crucial event points, Game Masters will ask all participants to wait for everybody to catch up. Please do not complain about this.
Please note that these are role-playing events, so act accordingly, and try your best to play along. Most of the time many players will join events, so things will often be a bit chaotic. New information might change a situation quickly. Be flexible about this.
There will be moments when many players present also means many spells cast. This might influence the way PlaneShift is running on your computer. Therefore it might be a good idea to lower your graphics settings in the PlaneShift Launcher.
During the event most players will join a common Group for easier communication. Please use this Group for event purposes only. For example, do not spam the Group with comments that have nothing to do with the event.
In the beginning of an event, the Game Masters will register players. Normally no action is needed from your side, but make sure that you are registered properly. Click your Quests icon, select Events, and check that the current event appears there. If not, please "/tell" one of the Game Masters.
At the end of an event, you should receive a reward. If not, please "/tell" one of the Game Masters.
After the even, please vote on the event, and give your feedback. Once the event is complete, click on it to do so.
Most importantly, have fun, and make it fun for everybody else. Thank the Game Masters if you enjoyed the event.

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