Referring to Rigwyn's description of the Keepers of the Veil (and thanks for the effort to do so) one thing seems to be in conflict with settings. That is the notion that Xiosia and Dakkru would be enemies. As there is a cycle to life and death, light and dark, so too do Xiosia and Dakkru bond.

I believe that by the settings only Talad and Laanx have some "issues" and then it is really mostly Laanx that holds the "grudge".

Certainly it is to be expected that there will occur minor differences amongst the gods, but in the end it seems they would all be intent on preventing the Whisperer from destroying everything. Tensions would indeed be stirred between various factions by the Blackflame, but then that seems to be a big part of the game.

Perhaps Rigwyn is starting already to sow the seeds of conflict between those allied against the Blackflame. hehe!

As to the goodies, I believe this will provide an interesting challenge, a challenge as to maintaining a game that has no predetermined outcome. Along with that thought is also a concern that it not take a lifetime, or good portion of it, to build one's character. Granted one might always be changing, but please keep skills and experience within reason of a game. I especially like the concept of selecting a path at the loss of not advancing on others.

Most all know that lag is a BIG problem. This is not about that. This is about ping delay and fairness. And I will add, this is not about my system because it far exceeds even the suggested requirements.

Problem:

Dlayos are harder to fight (yes intentionally, maybe so as to be fought with a group), but I have noted that some players can take them down themselves without damage to themselves and apparently as had been done before. I cannot though. The lag is so great when I try to fight a Dlayo (and any other tough npc and players) that I cannot get a hit in and they strike me before I can attempt a dodge. Two hits and the Dlayo kills me (I have level 150 axe and level 100 heavy armor with the best equipment). I am stuck there not really doing much because of the lag and delay. And just forget about PvP at this time (but not to worry as I can still take care of myself with magic even though lots of lag there too.) I can even kill the Dlayo with magic, just can't run around as well while doing so.

I believe there to be three parts to this problem.

1) lag - there is still some serious lag. But this is not about that and I feel the devs will get that fixed at some point. (Please especially check out the Outpost and Camp Banishment. I cannot even approach those places without lagging to a standstill.) But this is not about that.

2) ping - It is a known fact that the further one is from the server the more ping delay they will have. This can't be helped and is just part of the baseline to work with.

3) design (for lack of a better name) - example: Dlayos are given certain programing to make them do their thing.

The result here is that depending on the ping delay that one may have, they are limited in fighting both npc and PvP. (Please keep in mind we are not talking lag which is assumed will be fixed.) The more advanced design does make npc and PvP fighting more challenging and more fun. However the one with the smallest ping delay will always have the advantage, an advantage in looting and in PvP dueling. I believe this to be unfair and not in agreement with the nature of PlaneShift.

A suggestion for a solution:

A common delay could be added to all, making the various ping delays insignificant. This would "slow" the gaming a bit and is not the approach other games take. However this could provide an even playing field for all independent of their physical location (distance from the server). With such a common delay the tougher npc, especially the Dlayos, can be re-designed to work well, acceptable with this common delay. I believe the fairness created by this, especially with PvP, would be far more valuable than having the latest high-teck movements. Further I believe more players would value this equality, bringing more into the game as well as providing an even playing field for RP. (I am still one who greatly enjoys RP with PvP action.)

thanks

I guess what I am looking for (or expecting) in repairs is something that makes sense and is fair.

It is fair that both quality number go down over USE of the weapon or armor, the first more than the second. But the first number should never go down because of a repair. The first number should always show some repair, of course limited by the second number. The second number really determines the life of the weapon or armor, and yes should be reasonable with all other elements of the game. However what has now been done is extremely unfair, much more so than it was before.

Why all this interest toward favoring crafting? Be fair to all aspects or trades. Do you know how long was spent practicing repairs to get to some decent levels? Have you done this in-game or just at the drawing board? Do you know how long it takes to repair a magical weapon? Do you know how discouraging it is to spend all that time, while believing your developing a cool skill, to find out it is just more effective to sell the old stuff and buy new?

And, what seems to be some whimsical attitude to how things should work, is there any understanding about fine weaponry? Example: One who has a valuable sword (like a samurai) demonstrates their knowledge and respect for the arts by keeping it in prime condition. If it becomes 299/300 or 49/50, they spend time to repair it best they can. (and that means it goes back to 300/300 or 50/50) At some point it may wear to 298/299 the repair being only to 299. At some point it may get to 280/298, well maybe then it only gets repaired to 290/298 or maybe 294/294. These are just examples, you should grasp the idea here.

I would guess few did repairs due to the cost, mainly in time. I learned it to repair magical items. I would guess that now likely no one will do repairs as it is just not worth the effort, just buy new.

I like my weapons to be in top condition. When after much use and several repairs they get to 250/250, I enjoy giving them to a noob and buying new ones. Some only get to 280/280.

And if fairness seems a goal, why not have the special weapons last as long as crafted or else have the ability to craft special weapons. In any case though, all should be able to be decently repaired. Otherwise just remove repairs from the game (same for armor repair).

ok, get this. [on a Mac OS X 10.6.2]

The line:

ThreadManager.AlwaysRunNow = true

is in my psclient.cfg file in the library/application Support/planeshift folder. I was still having a lot of crashes when logging on and some during play.

However, I have added the code to the psclient.cfg file in the application folder and the program does now start better and seem to run better too.

Why should this make a difference???  Maybe something to think about.

Ok, I got working again. I deleted file , reload PS, ran updater (which had errors during integrity check, but downloaded a new PSupdater file) I seems to be working, but is very laggy.  I will try to put something in the bugtracker, but I have not been able to write in there yet.

Yep, repairs destroy armor as well. I am just not going to do any more repairs until this gets fixed. Too bad as I had some interesting RP ideas using repairs.

I have lowered the value of a pair of axes and a pair of sabers by repairing them. It seems there may be some bug involved. The axes were 299/300 and repaired to 296/296. The sabers were 290/291 repaired to 284/284.  I am level 50 in weapon repair.

This from Qata:
"hmmm "worship" does not seem the correct word for me. I follow The Way of Peace, or at least do my best as any mortal to do so. I am pledged to Xiosia, throughout all life and death, to help where I may in her protection of Yliakum and its people. I should add that I only follow the rules of nature. I will help any of the other gods and their followers as well as non-followers, non-believers or agnostics, except for those associated with Blackflame. As lightening, flood, wildfire, and cyclone can cleanse the land so shall I help protect Yliakum from the Blackflame."

This from Zytor:
"Kra follow Talad. Kra loyal to Qata and also follow Xiosia. Kra follow Way of Peace."