Improvements

[*Splork*]

We have made quite a bit of progress addressing player concerns with you guys so far but I would like to ask what are we still lacking or need to improve still?

A small list of what we have done since the game restarted:
I think big groups are easy to get together and keep together. This was a problem in our last version.

Exp gets better as you add more players, which was a problem in the last version too. Two man exp was max exp and dominated our game.

I think the new combat system is working as we want it to(although it may be too hard to two man now).

Ive addressed disruption and havent gotten many complaints since the skill has been put in.

Fargate has been addressed with the quicksilver wands and one more fargate day per month. There are usually atleast 5-10 wands ingame at all times, use them!

Clans are really fleshing out, more to come...

The game is more stable than it ever has been. We have one unsolved crash bug but basically the only time we ever reboot is when I was adding code, which was all the time at first. Ive concentrated on one area this last week and we have been up for 6 days without a problem.

What Im thinking:
1) Gold still needs to be addressed at lower levels. Still waiting on code on this that I am unable to do but I do have a solid game plan which involves two things: adding more gold areas(atleast7-8) and gold will grow on mobs as their exp does. However it will not grow as high as a mobs exp does which is like +60% its original xp value.

2) Hitrolls for players need to be higher. We are trying in this area. I have added hitroll to newbies and their innate login weapon(I think). Much new eq will be centered on this but we need a solution now not in six months.

3) Everyone is anxious for Lyme. There will be an opener quest within the next couple of months.

4) Everyone is also anxiously awaiting avatar levels(especially since most of you were avatars). Code is done to open up first 5 levels at 6x40, second five at 7x40, and rest at 8x40. Krom and I are still debating if we should open them up sooner. However we strongly feel leveling those later levels are really beneficial. Many disagree but you gain skills, spells, hps, mana, hpr, mr, etc with those levels. Avatar class has been redone and isnt quite as powerful as it was in s3, however it still makes a character unbelievably formidable both for soloing and group skills.


What else needs to be addressed and seriously looked at? I realize our pbase is shrinking weekly but we expected that. A lot of older people are back playing and replacing those that quit, however some of these will quit also for the same reasons they did previously. Or maybe new ones.
As long as we still have a solid playerbase of players who enjoy the game, we will still work on it and provide it for you at our expense( time, energy and money).

Overall, I am hoping we remain in the area of 25+ players online a day. And we are easily doing that. Not many muds can say that these days. We are a dying breed so be happy and support your game. The ideas list is there that I check daily and bugs list for things you think arent working right.

SLOTH MUD version 3.115
Code modified on: Tue Jun 2 23:57:42 2009 (UTC)
Sloth compiled on: Tue Jun 2 19:09:25 2009 (local)
Start time was: Thu Jun 4 17:16:02 2009 (local)
Current time is: Wed Jun 10 20:23:30 2009 (local)
Uptime: 6 days, 3 hours, 7 minutes.
Last reboot was: *crash* *crash* *crash*
Chars in character_list: 13372
Objs in object_list: 9653
Total number of distinct mobiles in world: 9272
Total number of distinct objects in world: 8146
Total number of rooms within the world: 25035
Total number of leaked mudl data wrappers: -71311
Average players online: 24
Maximum players online: 39
5 minute average processor load: 25%
Player min/av/max response times (msec): 0/3/73
Mob/Room min/av/max response times (msec): 0/56/1794

Suggestions please on what needs to be worked on,
Splork

[Mosaix]

please consider looking at lost concentration rate. I lose concentration far too much for spells learned at 95%.

Sometimes in battle i am lucky if fireball goes off at 50% 1 in 2.


example today:




>word
You lost your concentration!


<392hp 256ma 195mv>


>word
You lost your concentration!


<392hp 240ma 196mv>


>word
You lost your concentration!


<392hp 224ma 197mv>


>word
Ok.

The South Gate of Newbatia

A rutted dirt roadway leads north between a pair of squat square towers

that mark the southern limit of the thriving community of Newbatia. Heavy

traffic moves between the town and the aerial docks to the south. The

road is lit by regularly spaced lanterns hanging from brass poles. Mountains

are visible on the southwestern horizon.

Exits: North South Up

A large sign with info for newbies has been placed here.

A large note dispenser, with a button on the top, is here against the wall.

A large bulletin board is mounted on a wall here.

A massive guard stands at attention, watching the gates of Newbatia.

Newbatia's town guide stands here offering his many tours.

Newbatia's town guide glows with a bright light!


<392hp 190ma 198mv>



The multiple in a row is a problem, and 1 in 4 does not add up.


Otherwise thanks for the hard work on making sloth fun.

[Mosaix]

Dunno if this is new. But nice feature. Mob hunted from several rooms away, opened a gate, and attacked.


<362hp 163ma 201mv>


The gate is opened from the other side.


<363hp 166ma 201mv>


>gt spider monkey usually steals
You grouptell: 'spider monkey usually steals'


<363hp 168ma 201mv>


>wake
>stand
You wake, and sit up.


<363hp 169ma 201mv>


You stand up.


<363hp 169ma 201mv>


>loo
Corn Field

Healthy corn stalks stand breast high in asymmetrical rows planted in

the heavy clay soil. Animal tracks are baked into the dry and cracked

upper crust. To the west the corn thins out into a field of tombstones.

The beautiful grounds of the FOC compound lie to the east.

Exits: East West

a square iron key has been carelessly dropped here.

A book which is tightly wrapped with a leash is here.

A white-robed maiden with tiny white swan-like wings lounges here.


<363hp 170ma 201mv>


>stand
Dollface arrives from the east.


<364hp 170ma 201mv>


>scan
You are already standing.


<364hp 170ma 201mv>


You peer intently all around, and see:

Fee the peri : right here

Jex : nearby to the east

Hugo the clown : nearby to the east

a little boy : immediately to the west

the ghost of a forgotten juggler : immediately to the west

the ghost of a forgotten juggler : nearby to the west

the clown lord marshall : nearby to the west

the ghost of a forgotten juggler : nearby to the west

a little boy : nearby to the west


<364hp 170ma 201mv>


>e
Dollface remembers you, and ATTACKS!

No way! You are fighting for your life!

[Medios]

mighty Mosaix
already crying boohoo
oh sorry wrong thread

[Bennett]

This seems like as good a thread as any to post a few questions.

First off, I'm open to the suggestion that I'm not a very good player. I make an honest effort though. I've logged 5 days on S4, mostly solo. I've spent time popping ac (-3.4 atm) and hit eq. I've tried running a bunch of different areas and died many times in the process.

I'm playing a level 30 monk, 20 mage, 12 cleric with good stats and getting nowhere fast A few minutes ago, I tried Perseverance on SS for the first time. Whiffed my grip on my first mob, a castle pilgrim, and then used up most of my hps and mana as I blasted him down with fireball. After all that, I got 35K off the mob. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual run for me. About the best I can do is kill 5-10 50K mobs in one run before a long regen. I've found a few 100K mobs that I can take down, but doing so pretty much drains me. Since I need 10 mil to level prime, I'm going to need to kill 200 50K mobs to level? This is hours and hours for me. Surely, I'm doing something wrong?

If I have to group to advance in this game, then I think it is time for me to hang up my hat. I don't like the big xp groups, because frankly I think it is quite lame to sit back and soak up xp without having to be particularly engaged or even knowledgeable. I don't do many smaller groups either, because I typically have to work around a bunch of rt interruptions. I like to solo.

Is one supposed to be able to advance at a reasonable pace through solo alone? I do see a few players who seem to do ok at solo, but I guess I just don't have their skills. I would be happy to work at improving my skills, but I don't know what to do beyond what I'm already doing, which isn't working. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Lastly, my thanks to Splork and rest of the admins for giving me a fine game to complain about

Bennett

PS: 'consider' sucks big time

[12345]

I think you'll find most of it comes down to area knowledge. Much of the key to the game is knowing what areas and which mobs are best to hit at what ability levels to advance in the game. Those that have been through the game a few times have a pretty good idea of this and simply move around to get the best benefit they can manage.

There are three main types of mobs in the game. I'll try to cover them in order.

Choppish. These are mobs that hit poorly against AC and usually have a high number of hitpoints. Warriors and Clerics tend to like them. The basic idea is utilize a low AC and spells that compliment this, such as curse, blindness and web to avoid being hit while you wade through the long battle. One of the biggest advantages to chop mobs is Work XP. If you put xp into your prompt, you'll be able to see how much xp you get for each hit you make. So, even a mob that has relatively poor Kill xp can yield great Work xp.

Stab/Blast. In your case, grip/blast. The idea is to wear as many +damage items and +mana items as possible to hit really, really pissed off mobs with low hitpoints. Its a lot like standing in front of a train and hoping it will stop in time. Ideally, the mob will die before the first round (stab) or during the first round (grip). If not, you blast it into oblivion as quickly as possible. For monks, low level ether mobs tend to be good targets. I've never played a monk though, so you might want to ask one of the more knowledgable players where to find good targets your level.

Old School. These are generally useless for leveling. They were built ages ago and never revised. Consequently, they have poor xp and tend to be avoided. Castle of Perserverence falls into this category. These areas generally run because they pop useful equipment of some sort, a spellbook or an item for a forge or quest.

The only advice I might have for you is the Shadowkeep. If I remember correctly, Nab used to run that area continuously at low levels as a Monk prime. However, he was also in possession of some pretty hardcore equipment for his level and usually ran 2 man style. The Sakura s a good low level area as well once you learn how it works. Its best with an AC of -7 or -8 though. The starlings are a good ether mob for grips if you can survive them. Just be prepared to remove disease. A lot.

[Thraxas]

[quote="*Splork*":eoifw0d7]Code is done to open up first 5 levels at 6x40, second five at 7x40, and rest at 8x40. Krom and I are still debating if we should open them up sooner.

...

Suggestions please on what needs to be worked on,
Splork[/quote:eoifw0d7]

with this AV 7 only opens up after 7x40, with this being the case could I ask that the level assigned to Call Followers is reviewed?
This is a fairly standard utility spell useful to most classes but fairly core to necro.
If it could be reduced to AV5 this would be very welcome.

Thraxas