This is an opinion based on what I've experienced after a 5-6 year absence. It's meant to cause a re-evaluation, it's not a condemnation. Planeshift has evolved quite nicely and I would hope that what is written below would be taken on board for future evolutions.

I've been gone for some time and, as such, have been able to see some of the great changes that have been made to the quest system as well as other things. Overall, the game has come a very long way in the last 5-6 years while my character was dormant.

Because the character has been dormant, I've had to redo quests as if I were almost, if not completely, new. This, I think, has been a good thing because I've had to redo things as someone who is new. And there's really two aspects that are annoying for new players, though I have been recently reminded that the weight of plate mail is also prohibitive to those who wish to use it when they first start.

The NPCs wandering around, as they do, has been apparently widely accepted by players experienced with the game. It is, however, a problem when a new player comes in and cannot find an NPC related to a quest - because they don't know if they're in the right spot, they don't know if they have the background bug that they need to contend with, and because there's little want for spoilers in game, other players aren't likely to help. It's annoying, especially when you factor in that despite the ingame clock being shorter than the real world clock, people from different timezones who may play 2 hours a day will almost never encounter an NPC that they want/need to encounter.

Trainers make it even more interesting.

Now it's not a bad idea, this wandering around - but as I made mention to Venalan with respect to Todas, it's uncertain when something is bug to be reported or not. Maybe the NPC is supposed to be gone, maybe not. Should I file a bug report when they are absent? No, that's by design. Will I fill out a bug report when they are there when they aren't supposed to be (at the top of the stairs in the case of Todas)? Unlikely; the potential 'bug' is more useful to the player than the feature.

I've yet to see a NPC camping issue, and maybe it's because the NPCs are wandering around, perhaps flushing toilets or making little characters. But for approximately 40% of the quests, I've encountered this issue because it combines with the travel issue.

Yes, travel. By the time you get a mount, you've already run to Bronze Doors at least twice - and for a new player, it's not that interesting to stay on a path and keep running (back in 2007-2008, there were more NPCs that made the run much more interesting. The whole Ulbernaut invasion).

Some quests take the running thing too far.

The Pterosaurs are awesome, the rides make a fine addition. Why isn't there one to Bronze Doors?

In all, great additions.

The disappearing NPC issue is charming if you don't need to see the character. I've sat in game for an hour waiting for an NPC to pop into the game. It's a good thing I know where they are supposed to be. A new player wouldn't.

That's my 2 pence. I don't enjoy forums. It's an opinion of someone who plays the game and, while it may not be popular amongst the veteran players... it's not the veteran players that need be worried with this. If we expect new players, perhaps we should make things more workable for them.

I understand that the present system(s) of production are probably in place to assure that there is a community that works together and, at times, competes. That's part of the game. However, when no one is around, this can stall people from pursuing whatever it is that they want to pursue - be it a quest, for example, to learn how to make sharp & pointy things. The sharp & pointy things require raw materials, and unless someone is standing right there with the materials on hand it simply doesn't work.

So a quest or an aspiration may be shelved.

I also realize that this might be something that is already planned and is simply not implemented yet. But I'll ask anyway.

NPCs who carry raw materials can (and should) charge exorbitant prices and have a limited supply - perhaps per day, or ideally by what they've been sold by other players. In that way, flow for a character isn't necessarily stalled. It's just changed until a cheaper supply has been found - something which is economically feasible to the player. After all, when mining ore (as an example), if no buyer is around one can still sell to an NPC. Why not buy as well?

Just a thought.

I'm referencing this thread ( http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=19688.0  -- since I cannot seem to post a response; perhaps it is locked)

A lot of good points were made in the thread, and I'd like to add my 2 cents.

I'm new to PlaneShift, and I picked melee/Kran because of the monk option on character creation. A stone monk is a pretty cool idea. And I never expected a walk in the park; no monk character is ever easy to play. Fun, yes. Easy? No.

So here's the thing: While weapon based combat is, obviously, advantageous, the truth of the matter is that melee ranking requires a character to... do comparable training and have comparable experience to that of those who use weapons. In much the same way, light armor versus heavy armor means the same. If a character runs around beating on NPCs who have crusty shells, or who are using weapons (such as rogues, mercenaries, gladiators... whatever else I have not found yet...), then the character should be expected to hold it's own against a character of comparable level which uses weapons.

It's a matter of relativity.

Melee isn't quite there yet. A melee character should progress to levels where maybe there aren't 'death blows', but there could be critical strikes. A 'flurry of blows' is to be expected; melee doesn't have the speed penalty that weapon users get. And no, they shouldn't hit all the time. But trying to hit makes sense.

Melee isn't an easy thing to deal with in game because of the many perspectives on it. Weapon using characters will always find a reason to say melee is a waste. Melee users will always say that melee should do more. The truth is somewhere in between.

Personally, I think melee should have at least 2 times as many levels as weapon based. And the upper levels should be increasingly difficult to attain - unique quests (once done, no one else can do them), that sort of thing.

But then, I have no idea how melee was originally seen to be implemented. I came with my own ideas ingame, and they don't work the same - no surprise. Even so, melee does seem to need some love - but that love has to be balanced. As someone who almost always plays melee or sword in different games, I know melee shouldn't be uberpowerful unless at very high levels. But in the same token, if you're going to let people advance in melee by doing the same things that others do... shouldn't they expect that melee be more comparable to weaponry?

There is reality, there are expectations. But I'm in it for the fun. I want melee to be more fun. I think it could be done, akin to magic.