AskADev - Answers

AskADev is a tool we created for players to ask questions about game mechanics from within the game. To use this feature, type /u (then space or enter) in the chat interface. This will move you into the Universal chat channel. once in Universal, type in askadev, a space and your question.

Like this: askadev If I ask a question using this example will I get in trouble?

NOTE: Be sure that the universal chat channel enabled in the active chat tab. [This can be set by clicking the blue gear on the active chat tab - see the player guide for more info on setting up custom chat tabs]

The Dev Team will answer AskADev questions during our official streams on Twitch. We will now also post answers here for some of the questions we couldn't on stream.

Please note that we will not answer questions that apply to one of other three categories below. (asking the same thing multiple times really isn't helpful, and may lower the chances of getting an answer). Please do not post wishlist items, or bugs via AskADev.


What is a wish vs Feedback vs Bug vs AskADev?

Feedback: Opinions on existing mechanics, features or other aspects of the game. An Example: "It seems there has recently been a change in the spawn rate of Razorback Destroyers. While earlier about 1 in 3 pigs that spawn there were RB's, now it's only about 1 in 10." [These types of posts go here.]

Bug: Something already in game that is not working as intended. Example: "Ornate Brass Darklamp - causes black spots on the screen". [These types of posts go here.]

Wishlist: Things that are not in the game that players feel should be in the game. Example: "can we get undead cow pets", or "Is it possible to get another guild rank, that a guild can add and edit?" [These types of posts go here.]

AskADev: Use the AskADev command in Universal Chat (in-game) to pose technical questions regarding gameplay to the Devs that do not fit these other categories. A good example: "Is the Sawblade Sweep combo (Whirling Blades + Rend) intended to only hit 3 targets when Whirling Blades hits 4?"

It bears repeating ... Please do not post wishlist items, or bugs via AskADev.

Why do we require Feedback, Bugs and Askadev questions to be posted in public?
Fellow players may have an answer for you, assist in figuring out how to do something in game, or test and verify a potential bug.

The Dev Team will interact with the players publicly. We do not play favourites or allow lobbying by players via a direct communication.

 

• Hyperlight Drifter: How come RTX cards have awful performance?

This is an issue at the Unity/Nvidia level. We are currently on Unity 2018 and are hopeful that the claims the issue has been resolved in Unity 2021 are true. We are currently working towards moving to Unity 2021. Updates should follow soon on the Livestreams and/or in our Release notes.

 

• Owsley: What is the unit of measure for weight in the game. If something weighs 1, 1 what?

AU (Ambiguous Units)... Speaking to the residents of Grusk will reveal more backstory to this with regards to a "lost disambiguator"

 

• Janie Murphy: Is there a Grusk quest in the works for finding out why there are so many dead kobalds lying around Grusk?

No, we have no plans for such a quest at this time.

(For those who aren't familiar with Grusk, there are 8 randomly placed kobold dead bodies outside the city, spread out far from one another and often near dangerous enemies.)

 

• Herbert Taraxacum: Why is it in random encounters so often that below an ashdeposit is a garlic plant? Are resource nodes placed in the same place accidentally? Or is ash a good fertilizer for Garlic?

Short answer: It's a bug. Good catch! Task #71605 has been created to fix this issue.

Long answer: Originally, only garlic nodes existed in those locations. When we added dragons, the garlic nodes were duplicated and the duplicates became ash. The fact that they were in the same location didn't matter because ash appeared without garlic in dragon encounters, and garlic without ash in all other encounters. Time passed and an error began appearing related to resource nodes that weren't active, such as garlic in an ash-filled dragon encounter. To stop the error, both garlic and ash were allowed to be active at the same time. Both resource nodes shouldn't be on top of each other, so we'll adjust them.

 

• Zealot: Can we have a chicken spawning dungeon room?

Barawwwk!

 

• Baratan Faenthand: Why can't we gift a sub to someone else?

Because subscriptions auto-renew and the only way for a subscription to be canceled (apart from going to the financial institution) is on the subscribing player's account.

 

• Xee: could we get the ability to add inky scripts to placeable pets?

Only Dragons possess the intellect required to carry on a conversation with Outlanders and Residents of New Britannia, as such they are a special case.

 

• Segalleon Ashgard: How many people do you need at castle atos for max blessing?

More than it takes to get to Powerful ;-)

 

• Michael Romes: Is it a typo that in the Taming School "Train Summoned Pet Resistance" costs 1000 gold to learn instead of the usual 100?

There are other skills that cost a thousand and there may be others in the future. When adding skills we take into consideration what is appropriate for the impact they will have on the game. Skill unlock costs are part of the bigger balance project.

 

• Tiger Blue: Can you make it so that the author of a book can edit it after publishing please

Once a book is published it is locked in. Just like IRL, if adjustments need to be made, an additional edition will be published. (2nd Edition, or 2nd Printing etc...)

Mechanically speaking, the book text is loaded from the server when the book is opened to be read. So, if the book is edited by the author it would update and change the content in any of the published copies in the hands of players. This can be an issue for multiple reasons, including mistakes or unsavory purposes.

I recommend using the NBBN (New Britannian Book Number) system when publishing books.
Here: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...number-nbbn-for-your-player-made-books.58249/

Details on how to "properly" indicate "Edition" versions here: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...shroud-of-the-avatar.67785/page-2#post-927376

 

• Belladonna Rose: Is there anyway that the zone maps can be turned so that N, S,E and W are more oriented? (It gets confusing at times when looking at some maps and South is at a logical west direction.)

All the maps should have north pointing up. (irregardless of the actual scene's offset). If there are any not working that way, I need to look at them. As I am getting ready to wrap up the mapping project (phase1 - get maps for all scenes), I have created an audit map that shows all the rotations and offsets.

A good example of this is Owlsnest. the image was showing south as north (up) because the scene is flipped. the map image only needed to be rotated 180 degrees and the player's experience is now as expected. As a result of my audit I have identified 31 maps that I plan to revisit that may require the same correction.

 

• vulcanjedi: Does sheet music sold to NPC's drop into the loot table?

Yes, they do.

 

• Al Thayr: can we have bulletin board(s) in Castle Atos open for all to post something like recruitment flyers, etc.?

There is currently no tech in game to allow for placing bulletins on the board without already being added to the town or lot's access permission list. This may be something we can look at in future.

At this time a way to accomplish this would be to put the notices on the public vendor in Castle Atos or any other NPC City where a public vendor is present.

 

• Valdimus: why can't we just stack artifacts with the same name?

Artifacts have individual stats (like durability). This prevents them from being stacked.

 

Just a reminder to all...

Please read the Original Post in this thread for details on the Ask A Dev feature.

and remember:

What is a wish vs Feedback vs Bug vs AskADev?

Feedback: Opinions on existing mechanics, features or other aspects of the game. An Example: "It seems there has recently been a change in the spawn rate of Razorback Destroyers. While earlier about 1 in 3 pigs that spawn there were RB's, now it's only about 1 in 10." [These types of posts go here.]

Bug: Something already in game that is not working as intended. Example: "Ornate Brass Darklamp - causes black spots on the screen". [These types of posts go here.]

Wishlist: Things that are not in the game that players feel should be in the game. Example: "can we get undead cow pets", or "Is it possible to get another guild rank, that a guild can add and edit?" [These types of posts go here.]

AskADev: Use the AskADev command in Universal Chat (in-game) to pose technical questions regarding gameplay to the Devs that do not fit these other categories. A good example: "Is the Sawblade Sweep combo (Whirling Blades + Rend) intended to only hit 3 targets when Whirling Blades hits 4?"

It bears repeating ... Please do not post wishlist items, or bugs via the AskADev feature in game.

We will not answer questions posted that fit into the above non-AskADev categories.

 

• GenieUK: maybe a bug Maybe a wishlist item But why can't we teleport to town in siege status with zone scrolls ? as in teleport to the sieging version of the town?

Zone scrolls bypass sieges intentionally. There is an issue with applying sieges to the zone teleport the tech.