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General Discussion / An Unofficial Q&A with XilliX
« on: January 03, 2009, 12:51:09 am »
First off, this has one purpose. To help people who have questions find an answer from the development team. Thanks to XilliX for being patient and answering these questions. And thanks to All whom participated in this IRC Q&A.
NOTE: These are taken as close to word-for-word as can be without posting logs. This has been formatted for easy reading. I cleaned up some grammar, and organized them to make sure everything flowed coherently.
Complaints should be directed to me in a PM. Cluttering the thread with them is pointless.
Format:
question
answer
1. When presented with a decision whether or not to implement something, what is the process?
we have weekly meetings, where ideas are spammed out among the devs, and we narrow toward consensus. When we agree we marshall our resources toward that goal.
2. What are the current GM event ideas? Does the team accept new ideas?
I spoke with dajoji and some other gms just today about some event ideas. I can hint that we are looking into the serpent and eagle gobbles, bribery of public officials, and some more "dark" events. The gm team is always open to ideas, though it is best if you pm them, I will suggest dajoji.
3. Why do different parts of the team give different answers to the same question?
We are different people and although we try to present a unified front, sometimes people catch us before we have formulated a unified idea.
4. what is the next goal of development?
Our biggest goal atm is getting specular, bump, glow, and parallax working. Also, getting shaders in game.
5. What suggestions would you have to RPers whom complain about RP being dead?
I take responsibility for only one aspect of rp seeming to fall short of player's expectation: I hired a bunch of the best rpers and helped empower the gm team to do the same. Inasmuch as I had anything to do with rp falling off it is only that I wanted to hire rpers to build and enforce the game's rules. In terms of advice for people who say rp is dead I say this: It really is up to each of you to keep it alive.
6. Is there ever going to be more with the Black Flame? Like additions to the temple?
Of course.
7. Can we expect enhancement of the crafting rules in the near future?
Not in the NEAR future, unless we get an influx of people interested in crafting to apply.
8. Player guards?
No. I have some personal goals for the possibility of player governance but those are not approved and not fully formed atm. I might be more open to the idea once the players made city is done. Core problem: Players don't seem to like the idea at all (see forums).
9. What is generally frowned upon in settings?
Settings tends to frown on atheists in game, excessive complaints, anyone giving the gm team a hard time, and posts that undermine planeshift's PR made to external forums.
10. Is it bad RP to include things not defined in settings, such as a spell that you think would fit with the way?
It is best to include only spells defined in game at this time as the game is alpha; we will however accept your suggestions for spells. These should be pmed to Kayden or Xordan on the forums.
11. What would you personally, or the team as a whole, like to see in guilds?
I would like organizations with some purpose that is actually rooted in bring aspects of the game to life. Example: The guilds on the faiths I supported wholly. Example: Trade guilds. Example: Merchant guilds that stay stable and actually succeed to cover all timezones.
12. What are the current thoughts on child characters?
Although I have seen some interesting uses of child characters and guilds and appreciate the thought that went into the guilds and roleplays concerned, I do not think planeshift will be spending effort to create child characters any time soon. There are too many pitfalls surrounding the inclusion of children within a game on an mmo platform and these are to be avoided.
13. Will a logic for how to the sentient creature species(derghirs or gobbles) act be implemented?
Yes. Making the settings for 12 unique cultures isn't easy and I will always need more people than I have.
14. Where can books detailing settings information be found?
Hydlaa Jayose, Black Flame Temple, Death Realm. Remember this though, there are consequences for going places that require bad things to enter them.
(Follow up)
If a player happens to have a question that is not answered by these books, to whom should they direct their questions?
We have several threads dedicated to asking this kind of question--players should use those and be patient.
If you have this type of question, look in the following locations:
Newbie Help Board
Complaint Department
Wishlist
Or, perhaps just use the search function.
15. When do you think clothes will be implemented?
Clothes are harder than one might think, we hope to spend more effort on those once we get up to date 3d methodologies working in PS
16. Will we ever be able to customize Armor?
Yes to a degree.
17. Why can't furniture work correctly out side of guild houses?
have you ever seen the ladder to heaven episode of southpark?
18. Any Questions Concerning Pets
We are not currently heavily focused on pets due to more urgent needs.
19. Is quest-based training planned?
Yes, the problem is it is very costly in terms of time spent for settings.
20. Concerning Reworking the Training System
It is high priority but we do have other things that are more important to work on at the moment.
21. When will ranged combat be implemented?
The reason I can't answer is ranged combat will require a lot of animations, and being as we don't even have all the races completed it is hard to say when we will have ranged combat. I can say this though: We are eager to put ranged combat in game.
22. Will there ever be play on the other levels?
Yes.
23. Can we expect to see more domesticated animals?
Yes.
Here's hoping this puts some of the tougher-to-get-a-straight-answer questions to rest.
Below are links to helpful sections, stickies, or threads that answer other common questions.
Game Rules and Policies
Forum Ban Policy
The PS Tech Guide!
Known Fixes to Common Issues
How to Write Bug Reports
Quest Fix Updates
PHP Script to Check Laanx Status
How to Post Images
Sending PM difficulties?
Planeshift Acronyms and Slang
Gameplay FAQ
Tips for Players Regarding Events
Roleplay Mission
Guild Directory
Rules for Guild Posts
Hope this helps to clear a lot of things up!
NOTE: These are taken as close to word-for-word as can be without posting logs. This has been formatted for easy reading. I cleaned up some grammar, and organized them to make sure everything flowed coherently.
Complaints should be directed to me in a PM. Cluttering the thread with them is pointless.
Format:
question
answer
1. When presented with a decision whether or not to implement something, what is the process?
we have weekly meetings, where ideas are spammed out among the devs, and we narrow toward consensus. When we agree we marshall our resources toward that goal.
2. What are the current GM event ideas? Does the team accept new ideas?
I spoke with dajoji and some other gms just today about some event ideas. I can hint that we are looking into the serpent and eagle gobbles, bribery of public officials, and some more "dark" events. The gm team is always open to ideas, though it is best if you pm them, I will suggest dajoji.
3. Why do different parts of the team give different answers to the same question?
We are different people and although we try to present a unified front, sometimes people catch us before we have formulated a unified idea.
4. what is the next goal of development?
Our biggest goal atm is getting specular, bump, glow, and parallax working. Also, getting shaders in game.
5. What suggestions would you have to RPers whom complain about RP being dead?
I take responsibility for only one aspect of rp seeming to fall short of player's expectation: I hired a bunch of the best rpers and helped empower the gm team to do the same. Inasmuch as I had anything to do with rp falling off it is only that I wanted to hire rpers to build and enforce the game's rules. In terms of advice for people who say rp is dead I say this: It really is up to each of you to keep it alive.
6. Is there ever going to be more with the Black Flame? Like additions to the temple?
Of course.
7. Can we expect enhancement of the crafting rules in the near future?
Not in the NEAR future, unless we get an influx of people interested in crafting to apply.
8. Player guards?
No. I have some personal goals for the possibility of player governance but those are not approved and not fully formed atm. I might be more open to the idea once the players made city is done. Core problem: Players don't seem to like the idea at all (see forums).
9. What is generally frowned upon in settings?
Settings tends to frown on atheists in game, excessive complaints, anyone giving the gm team a hard time, and posts that undermine planeshift's PR made to external forums.
10. Is it bad RP to include things not defined in settings, such as a spell that you think would fit with the way?
It is best to include only spells defined in game at this time as the game is alpha; we will however accept your suggestions for spells. These should be pmed to Kayden or Xordan on the forums.
11. What would you personally, or the team as a whole, like to see in guilds?
I would like organizations with some purpose that is actually rooted in bring aspects of the game to life. Example: The guilds on the faiths I supported wholly. Example: Trade guilds. Example: Merchant guilds that stay stable and actually succeed to cover all timezones.
12. What are the current thoughts on child characters?
Although I have seen some interesting uses of child characters and guilds and appreciate the thought that went into the guilds and roleplays concerned, I do not think planeshift will be spending effort to create child characters any time soon. There are too many pitfalls surrounding the inclusion of children within a game on an mmo platform and these are to be avoided.
13. Will a logic for how to the sentient creature species(derghirs or gobbles) act be implemented?
Yes. Making the settings for 12 unique cultures isn't easy and I will always need more people than I have.
14. Where can books detailing settings information be found?
Hydlaa Jayose, Black Flame Temple, Death Realm. Remember this though, there are consequences for going places that require bad things to enter them.
(Follow up)
If a player happens to have a question that is not answered by these books, to whom should they direct their questions?
We have several threads dedicated to asking this kind of question--players should use those and be patient.
If you have this type of question, look in the following locations:
Newbie Help Board
Complaint Department
Wishlist
Or, perhaps just use the search function.
15. When do you think clothes will be implemented?
Clothes are harder than one might think, we hope to spend more effort on those once we get up to date 3d methodologies working in PS
16. Will we ever be able to customize Armor?
Yes to a degree.
17. Why can't furniture work correctly out side of guild houses?
have you ever seen the ladder to heaven episode of southpark?
18. Any Questions Concerning Pets
We are not currently heavily focused on pets due to more urgent needs.
19. Is quest-based training planned?
Yes, the problem is it is very costly in terms of time spent for settings.
20. Concerning Reworking the Training System
It is high priority but we do have other things that are more important to work on at the moment.
21. When will ranged combat be implemented?
The reason I can't answer is ranged combat will require a lot of animations, and being as we don't even have all the races completed it is hard to say when we will have ranged combat. I can say this though: We are eager to put ranged combat in game.
22. Will there ever be play on the other levels?
Yes.
23. Can we expect to see more domesticated animals?
Yes.
Here's hoping this puts some of the tougher-to-get-a-straight-answer questions to rest.
Below are links to helpful sections, stickies, or threads that answer other common questions.
Game Rules and Policies
Forum Ban Policy
The PS Tech Guide!
Known Fixes to Common Issues
How to Write Bug Reports
Quest Fix Updates
PHP Script to Check Laanx Status
How to Post Images
Sending PM difficulties?
Planeshift Acronyms and Slang
Gameplay FAQ
Tips for Players Regarding Events
Roleplay Mission
Guild Directory
Rules for Guild Posts
Hope this helps to clear a lot of things up!
I took them while in fullscreen.
)