Suggestions from Wilds

Okay, first off lets not just Flame this post please. These were suggestions and observations and I'd like to address them as a group.

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Hi Wendy:

I hope everything's fine with you. Sorry I have not sent this email sooner. It has been stuck as my draft file for 3 weeks because I was trying to collect info from buddies and to explore the places that I used to know before your server went down.

Here are some observations and comments that I collected from gaming a couple of times in the Edge. I was there today with Wardar (left early) and dogfaceman Friday night 2/26/10. They are both my friends from V9. I don't know if they will still comeback since I didnt ask them much of what they think on the server. I had a little chat with dogfaceman about losing XP and GP. He experienced a lot of dying and lost lots of the XP that he has been working for 8 hours to get, and couldn't level up more than level 5. lol, he's a LOTR vet gamer. I talked to your DM Rashanka today dated 2/27/10 US zone. I told her some of my comments and also from my buddies who tried your server. Today I had Meatimus Wadimus from V20 and I hoped he would like it here, but it seems its not for him. I'm telling my buddies that you are still updating a lot of stuff in your world and making some changes. Wardar promised yesterday that he would come back today but he didnt. Instead he went to LOTR V8 and Veelox LOTR.

First off, I'm not sure Wilds realizes this, but veteran LOTR gamers in NWNs all came from the original module game made before HOTU. This module is the basis for almost every LOTR out there including the 10 or so version 8s out there and Veelox. All of these servers are in a sense Action servers residing in the Roleplay section of module area. And most of these players would probably love nothing but solo playing. And I have NOTHING against that. But I would appreciate it if from now on, that we don't try comparing the Edge with every version 8 and 20 out there, because eventually nothing from those modules will be recognizable in the Edge. I've kept what I have from them to give the players a common sense of where to START... not to let them fall into the same rut every other LOTR server has. After all why in the world would you want to replay a new server if you KNOW what everything does and where it all is?

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XP and GP Loss and Gain

Losing 200 XP per level seems a lot since the XP per kill is not as high as it used to be. Since its hard to level up with the current XP rewards, item level restrictions and the limits on the forge, I haven't been very successful in encouraging new comers or LOTR vet to play on the server. Losing GP is also pain- you lose half of what you have (which isn't what your forum says (some lol) ). Not every gamer will spend time to run to Tharbad to buy potions such barkskin, bull strength, critical wound etc at level 4 because they want to survive the monsters around Bree. BUT losing GP is not that a big issue as losing 200 XP per level every time you die - not good for the players who can't get haste until level 10. The XP for low level toons/characters is not good for party, but better for soloer.

Suggestion: No XP loss below level 12, since they get haste is at level 10, or change the haste level restriction from level 10 down to level 4 like the other big servers. Give the new comers a chance to discover your world, and make them feel its a home for them to stay. You might also want to adjust the loss of XP, since the other option (getting resurrected by others or being carried to the healer will not work- you don't have community for that and players don't party all the time).

I personally have tested the exp and death loss system with at least 3 or 4 players now. If we continue to have problems with random deaths, I'll go back to the standard death where you just port to the halls. But the exp loss on death is really NOT that severe. Yes compared to the v8 and Veelox's server where you lose a few and then gain 5 levels in an hour ... it must seem severe. I understand that you want to just jump into a game and relax for a few hours. If you played a single player game, even THIS single player game, the exp lost is closer to almost half your current level AND you can lose a level. You don't do that here. NOR is the drop in how much you can gain for exp. In the single player game you only gain 5 to 10 exp for a goblin, folks. Even less than that for a rat! As a lower level you still gain exp rapidly. It didn't take me long enough to get to level 5. And before level 5 you lose NO exp at all. So if you die over and over again in the Bree caves, you end up taking a trip to the timeless halls where you can port back to Bree. Which is just outside the Bree caves. Hahaha. Not only that, but there ARE other ways to gain exp besides killing things. Bree alone has at least 3 ways to gain exp (1. you can cook, farm, brew and collect honey or mushrooms to gain exp. 2. the baker has a collecting quest to gain exp. and 3. you can train at the training yard.) granted very slow and boring, but then if i make it easy to gain levels I might as well just start folks at level 40 or make everyone invulnerable. What is the challenge or fun in that? By the way, there are now even MORE ways to gain exp in the server besides farming caves or areas. Certain places grant you experience based on just stepping into them. AND i added a roleplaying tool to have your buddy grant YOU exp for just the hell of it. (it only works once per reset and it increases depending on what level the giver is.) I am interested in any suggestions though where I could import new ideas for gaining experience without having to kill a hundred creatures. Something that would make sense to roleplay. I have even considered a timed xp dump of like 50 xp every 30 minutes for everyone in the server.

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Merchants and items:
I have also noticed that you have taken a lot of items out (as you already mentioned in the forum). Invisibility scrolls for low or high level toons who wants to use scrolls are not available at basic store but only on epic quest like Elrond vault. The greater stoneskin, invisibility once per reset, greater restoration and restoration, imp. invisibility are gone from the merchants.

Suggestion: If you don't want a level 5 character (which has UMD) to use an improved invisibility scroll, put unlimited invisibility scrolls for sale at the stores (instead of only once per reset).

One of the hardest problems in making a server is trying to find a balance so that everyone wants to play ANY class/race instead of a whole server of clerics or wizards or monks ect. Unfortunately, when this game was made there was some inherent unbalanced classes. Playing a Rogue, Bard or a Ranger seemed pointless versus all the heavy magic armored classes. So there in a nutshell is one of the reasons why a lot of the skills and rewards are more visible for those two classes in the edge. They are not the only class that should benefit though. I want to make EVERY class a necessity. Why make a Wizard versus a Sorc if Scrolls are found at every cornor store? You could just store up on scrolls and breeze thru anywhere. Why have a cleric if you can BUY any healing or resurrect at any local temple? Then of course there is that pesky roleplay issue again. How do you roleplay a simple thief who can summon fireballs from the sky? Raise the dead? What would be the point of being a cleric then? or a wizard? Of course the other problem is in the story itself. Yes yes.. every other LOTR server out there has uber weapons and every possible magic item found under a farmer's haystack, but Tolkien didn't. As a matter of fact, magic swords were darn scarce and the only thing that made you invisible was the One Ring. Hahaha.. now wouldn't that just be too bad if you had to gain THAT to be your only source of power. Seriously, I am trying to step away from a FULL action only server and instill more LOTR into OUR LOTR version. Taking out the more powerful magical items and armorments seemed less severe then stripping the server to low magic and hardcore rules. Not to mention it makes playing more challenging without taking away fun.
As for Rivendel and Isengards vault, It has the highest level equipment in game IN it.

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Stone of recall or Return item to the Well:
That item we used to have even when I started playing when your server went back up. Without it in the players inventory, how can we expect the new comers to know they're way around your world when they cant comeback to the well and explore another city. We cant force players to use the horses and stables to travel around. Horses are fun for the kids, but not for the LOTR veteran gamers. Stables are sufficient to use, but most of them are not working. Players (especialy low level) must be able to port to the well when they explore places that are far from Maggie or the city where they can deliver quests, sell items, and when they are encumbered. I don't see the logic of not having the return item in the game. Having it is another thing that will cause the community to stay, as not all the gamers want to stay in the outside world running around, RP, or figuring out what is what like the mushrooms and etc. Players play online because they want to have fun for couple of hours and then come back again another day. The most important part to make the community stick around, is to have a DM stay on whether there are players or not. In my experience with different big servers, players come on when they see a DM online all the time. Players expect to have somebody to be able to answer their questions.

This shouldn't even have been an issue. I actually took the stone of recall out of the first version all together. I put it back in before I put in the stables. I pulled its full use when I got the stables working, but the stable system has been modifed to be used WITHOUT horses. Now I'm aware that there is an issue with the areas of the caravan, and I will remove those and remake them as of this week. Mostly likely into one big area. So it will serve as both a caravan route for easy travel AND a map of the world. NOONE should presently have a return chain. It should not actually work? But i might not have taken the scripting out. This is and the removal of haste items is not something i'm changing, sorry. The return chain always was too easily abused. As for Haste, it is a one of the few underated spells/abilities of most servers. And the most overabused. Haste makes you not only run faster to get somewhere quicker, but it provides extra attacks, making it harder to calculate accurate CRs of creatures. It also has the extra advantage of making YOU more defensable. By taking out haste, i was able to lower the rediculous CRs of half the creatures... and I still am. Mind you I didn't take Haste out completely, I just stopped it from being standard equipment. I put it on two items in game ONLY... and I made it the ONLY thing on those items. You of course could still forge things on those boots or cloak, but the most you could forge would be +2 AC or some skills.
As for the DM being in game. At this time there are only three of us. Rash is on as often as she can be. But i'll try to find more time.

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Forge and modifiers.

Forge can only give 2 modifiers each item with possibility of +2, +3, and 5/, 10/. It makes more sense if you can let the forge modify each item up to +5 since the items/weapons are not higher than +6. Its not going to hurt to balance the game because theres always a limit on how much bonus we can put in our items in total. Abilities are limited to +12 from players gear. Saves are limited to 20-24 (all) and you have Skill Bonus but the bonus list is limited or only for rogue, bard, ranger, druid and monk. Why is that? What about Concentration, discipline, taunt and more?

What seems like it "makes sense" doesn't actually. Why bother to hunt for treasure at all if you can just find a gem and ask your local blacksmith to put + AC on any thing you give him? And it isn't just modifying it to that AC that would bother me. Its the fact that you could ADD that AC to ANYTHING... like perhaps those boots of speed. ANYTHING in game can be modified at the forge people. Anything. twice. So that meant we had unlimited changes that could exist to already powerful items. I added things to the forges to give you variety, not to make you unstoppable. As for the limits in Skills, not all forges have the same modifications on them. Some had more skills, more spell resist, different damages and resistance. The only things i removed from the forges was the higher ac, haste and the physical resistances above +5. Again... i did this to make the killing part of the server more challenging, but not impossible. And keep in mind, I am still adjusting almost 300 areas.

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RP with haks and slash.
Its fun to have an RP server with a little hack and slash. LOTR vets like that. Most of them don't party and explore the fun together, some of them do but not all the time. Players must be able to be alone when they feel like it.

From my observations, that is the kind of servers that are popular today for the gamers. Gamers likes to share their builds with other players. They get together in the Well or Bree and chat- that's what I've noticed about most players that stay on one server. The key to have players come and explore your world is give them a chance that its possible to do it alone.

Frankly, I'm not sure what this means? I have quite a few areas and quests in game that are most definately aimed at solo players. Rp is nice, but almost 350 areas to explore for me is nicer.

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Laggy Areas:

Old Forest (where the old Man Willow is) crashed on me every time I open the garbage for loot. Beorning Valley merchant the last board of his inventory also causes crashes. Entering Greenway where the loot lies and where the orcs and black worg are or where the giant spider show up all cause crashes. Northeast and Southeast Arda stables around cause crashes.

Dogfaceman (log in name) wonders if its possible he can get the XP from his fighter character that stuck in Tharbad trans so he can make a new one. If you do that then just erase the one thats stuck in Tharbad.

Now this ... this i needed to know about Asap. I can't fix things I don't know are happening. I am aware of the stable areas problem and as I said, i'm simply going to remove them and redo them. As for the Old Forest and the merchant, when I was scouring the NWN vault looking for CEP issues that were causing the server to crash three weeks ago, I discovered that there was an overlap in resrefs of items who had their 2dA files changed in CEP. It stated that people who had the old resrefs in their inventory experienced repeated crashes or visual problems ie not being able to open their inventory until that item was lost or removed. This same error could occur with AnYTHING that has an inventory... so i'm assuming something in the Garbage is causing that issue with the old forest and I'll update the treasure to remove it. Same with the merchant.
Please Please please report any problems like this to me asap. I do read the forum daily.. and I do read my email daily.