Darkstarr's Release 8 Impressions + R9 Update

He healed himself but still has holes in his wings!

 

well i just dont like having to keep up with having reagents at all but thats just me playing traditional rpgs, if i could kill people and take their regs then i wouldnt have to worry about running out mid instance. like.. say you take x amount but you fizzle a lot more than expected, run out, and then get to a boss and realize you cant kill him with gimped spells. i guess rule of thumb is to take double what you think you need and then double that. but what about encumberance?

i dont think i'll bother if at all possible if the spells arent signifigantly more powerful than melee, i see melee being death by a thousand pinpricks and the two handers less so but spells should be the top dps even against a rogue wearing light armor that is as close as melee can get (being max offense), imo it still should be under a offensive caster. currently i dont like the way you are kindof forced into being a caster on one level or another, this is an example of why bandages and such should be ingame so that those that dont wish to rely on spells and reagents dont have to.

even if i am a caster i'd still be lazy enough to go around without reagents having harder fights just because i'd rather spend the time fighting than finding vendors.

maybe you should consider travelling merchants.

 

Potions will also require reagents. I think we need to expect reagents from a Spiritual Successor to Ultima. It just wouldn't be right without it. Also a playing a mage should be difficult. Magic is complex and requires thoughtful preparation.

If you don't want all the fuss, become an Archer instead. That way you still have the range, and some great skills, but don't need to bother with all that mage stuff.

 

I'm not going to Lawyer you Bro...
Just have a couple things, as we are coming closer to R9 and the anxiety is raising and curiosoty bounding.
When R8 started and we all knew it was the PvP release, a lot of us didn't know really what to expect.
Me for one I really wanted to know more about it so I could be involved to keep up with the game.
So I get on the game Load up my spells and go out to do some PvP not have a clue of the Deck system.
So as you can imagine I got slaughtered, it took me more than a day to get a hold of the concept.
My point is there was no inclination of what kind of combat game was going to be played and used how to use it.
So now as we close in on R9 I see in the forums big changes,rules/mechanics dot dot
I really would like to see some instructions to how these would work, a clue anything...

You and the Dev Team are doing a Awesome Awesome job however for some folks that have to work a full time and family kids and stuff and still try to invest in the highlights as much as possible I just didn't see anything until the R8 was open and Lum had his example come out I worked all weekend on how to setup the ideal setup and I still don't think I really had what was a good setup. So anything would be appreciated

 

Pots arent the lifeblood of a class oops spec as spells r for casters and if regs should make it in so it can be a robust ultima spiritual successor then so too should boats baloons and horses really besides tedium i dont see what reagents add to gameplay nor do i think they are required to be a spiritual successor when so many other things are left out from other games. So far. I would think boats and mounts would add more fun than reagents. Theres a reason only a handful of IPs use a reagent system

 

I'm all for regeants especailly if they find a way to allow people to cultivate them as a crafting ability. The difference between adding boats and regeants is huge...not even in the same ball park.

 

You think about mats and all the recipes and its a big undertaking. , anyway its not amatuer hour nor are they amatuer so difficulty in coding is a moot points since mmos have had them for nearly a decade if not longer. Boats are just mounts on land and doubtfully would be much harder than mounts

If difficulty were a factor on features then i would stay away from whatever team made that game. Nothing worth having is easy

 

Not sure if anyone else has suggested this yet, but does anyone remember the Newspaper Emote in City of Heroes?

What if when you double-clicked your Map inventory object... your character pulled out a tattered map and began looking over it? Imagine how much that could add to the scenes.

 

Elder Scrolls Online already has this Crazy Phil - animations for "looking at map" and "looking in inventory". I'll try and get some pictures...

Edit: I do like this though. Gives you a hint what a person is doing, adding to immersion. Could have PVP implications though (you know the guy is distracted)

 

Will there be an early release for dev+ this time round?

 

Reagents for casting at full strength will be a topic of discussion for quite some time. I expect this game mechanic to go through several iterations before it finds any semblance of balance. My only real concern is the time sink to acquire casting mats once this system and mechanic gets fully fleshed out. I would hope that at some point, players will be able to "harvest" baseline mats from our property via some type of farm, garden, animal pen system to be implemented at a later time.

For all its shortcomings, Darkfall Online had a very simple reagents system that used 6 (if I remember correctly) base reagents for all spells. What they did was use different combinations of the base 6 and the number of each required to even cast a spell. This made the reagent system a bit labor and time intensive and with an open PvP with a full loot sandbox world made harvesting a sport for both parties.

I suppose the counter to the reagents system would be the effect a wand/staff/rod has on base spell effects. For discussions sake, meaning a Wand of Fire with a +3 to spell effectiveness when used without any reagents for fire spells would have a spell power equivalent to casting the spell with all reagents while using a neutral wand/staff/rod.

Oh the options for min/max that would open. The other game mechanic to come into play is weapon/item durability and if casting without reagents consumes a higher ratio of durability per cast.

Long road ahead, none the less. Hopefully its an enjoyable journey.

 

I know I am going to regret suggesting this. For some more powerful nasty spells the reagents could be body parts from your fallen victims. It would give a whole new meaning to "Eye of Newt".

 

would be cool if you buy a blank paper and click it you could choose to draw map and it would fill it up as you walk around in the area.. then you can sell it or keep it

 

Probably not the best place to post this...but...is there a global chat channel available in-game yet? Is one planned? It would be nice to see what everyone is thinking. Well maybe not everyone...

 

There will never be a global chat channel in the game. I can see how it might be useful for testing purposes, but so far this hasn't been a problem as people can just use whispers or Party chat.

From this post:

 

yes there will. especially if you have that Orb thingy from the Lord tier and above that gives you access to the nobility chat channel.

 

Well then. Thanks for the info.

On another topic, would it be possible to see instantaneous damage notifications in some other format than the chat box? Red for damage taken, green for damage given? Its been done plenty of times before, and its nice for people who dont want to open chat to view damage. Any thoughts on this?

 

Yeah, but that's a specific channel, not a global chat channel where anyone can spam you. Instead, only Lords and above can

 

I liked seeing if I did good damage or bad damage or no damage at all in the chat screen.

 

Yes some people will go for that option...its also nice to know if its a crit hit or not. Still, showing it as a brief number flash should be an option for those who want to fight without the chat box open. Just sayin.