Recent changes and the direction of the mud

[Lathander]

Dalvyn will correct me if I am wrong, but let me try to answer Cal's question in a VERY few short words followed by an equally short question.

All of the above discussion is regarding a system that does not exist on FK at the present time.

The question of whether the latest changes have made skill improvements gained from training on mobs "too slow" is almost moot because there has only been ONE change: You must now train on mobs of a level closer to your own in order for you to make noticeable progress toward skill improvement.

Cal, is it that you want us to remove that one change and allow PCs of any level to improve skills at the same rate regardless of the level of the mob on which they train?

[Caelnai]

Cal, is it that you want us to remove that one change and allow PCs of any level to improve skills at the same rate regardless of the level of the mob on which they train?

Perhaps Argentia or someone else could also chime in about this, because none of my characters really do much fighting. From my point of view, it makes sense that you should get some improvement from the practice (I'm not sure how much, if any, is currently coded,) but obviously not as much as you would from a higher level mob.

In my case, I also have not seen ANY betters on defensive spells, passive skills and trades in the past few months. Perhaps the mob thing is the only recent change, but my experience indicates usage betters have been dropped on everything, and I've been told as much on question. This is also filtered through the new spell/skill system; some skills no longer work at all, others had the level reset to unknown, and for all new skills and ones that morphed into something else, the usage improvement rates seem to be very slow.

I can appreciate the frustration that people who RP have with "twinks", but I think that needs to be balanced with "RP-ing reality" that a PC spending hundreds of hours using a skill should see an improvement. Not to repeat myself, but the people who want to twink are going to find a way, no matter what system is put in place. I think that Imms will find themselves having to deal directly with those people in any case.

[Lorion]

I think Caelnai doesn't mean exactly the last changes, that is, the changes that happened on time with the new spell system, but the changes before that, months, maybe even half a year before. Due to a variety of reasons I haven't really played much in the last few months, nor do i now. I do however remember that during maybe 6 months or so (that was almost 1 year ago now) I constantly improved one weapon skill to GM. After that, I tried to train another weapon, and in the 1-2 months that followed I didn't get one single rise. The same held true for magic missile, which I couldn't improve very much during that time, although i could improve certain other spells.
I think Caelnai wants to have a little relenting in this. I cannot speak much from own experience, as like i said i haven't played much recently and if i did it was to RP without fighting, but if, as she said, her skills didn't improve even once during several months there should imho something be changed about it.

[Kregor]

the revamp in skill progression did make it to where the level of your opponent affected the speed your skill inreased. As I understand it, you cannot take your level 50 character into the Peaks and expect any improvement at all, training on ogres may get you a modest benefit, and killing the giants (which are all 50+ and have the potential to hurt you, badly) give you the maximum improvement.

The basic principal this sliding scale for skill improvement yields is that training to improve yourself should involve risk. If there is no threat of serious injury or harm to yourself, you're not pushing yourself to the point that there would be an increase in skill. I personally see nothing wrong in this, in light of the fact that there were players who used to camp out their characters in the Peaks long after it was dangerous for them, and build their skills doing it.

Now, as far as the trades, and noncombat skills. I dunno. I personally have advanced in brewing several levels with a PC, and my fletching has improved with Kregor at least once or twice, and I don't just sit and fletch hundreds of arrows at a sitting.

[Kirkus]

I may be too cautious but if it were me, and I was going out to train a weapon I had never used in combat before and had just learned which end was the handle, I think it would be more beneficial to fight those weak creatures. They will still have a chance at hurting you, its now up to how long you think you can stand the humiliation of getting wailed on by kobolds as you wiff away before you drop the new weapon and arm yourself with a weapon you are good with to cut your way out.

So perhaps the skill of the pc with the weapon they are useing should factor into the amount of ex the pc gets when fighting a creature. So if Kirkus were to go into the Howling Peaks with a weapon he has gm'ed he will rightly get no experience, because it is not an experience. But if he were to go in with say thrusting blades for example and is inept at the weapon he would get some experiece.

[Zach]

So perhaps the skill of the pc with the weapon they are useing should factor into the amount of ex the pc gets when fighting a creature.

Amen! I am not going to figh lichs with a dagger when I bearly know how to use one... in a group that all know how to use the weapons... i will never GET a hit... therefor... never being able to use the skill

I never thought about that Kirkus... but still VERY good point... it helps when I play my fighter once in a while but I guess it would go with ANY skill

[Mariela]

You can't see anything, you're sleeping!
You spent 1 silver while resting in an inn.

This is what I saw when I logged in after the weekend. I get the purpose of the new code, but in an out of character perspective I do not neccisarily agree with it. It is very real and all, but it doesn't really lend people to use the inns that much if they are going to log offline.

I use the inns as a convient hold place for my character so I'm not coming to in the middle of someone's conversation. (That's actually happend to me several times! I was out talking to someone and someone logged in right in the middle of the conversation from sleep.) I am actually, "Waking up" when I begin play. I dunno if I like a code that subtracts money for my making it at least believable for the character and give me the ability to sign on and off.

I dunno. Just me probably.

[Zach]

You can't see anything, you're sleeping!
You spent 1 silver while resting in an inn.

And what about those who have went to sleep and log out for lent? or those who go back to school and can not log on... they come back after months and get charged X amount of PLATINUM?

Is there a cap? I see spending a few copper... and have it cap at 1-2 silver

[Taerom]

I'd be more curious to see what would happen if you couldn't foot the bill.

[Zach]

I'd be more curious to see what would happen if you couldn't foot the bill.

I was thinking the same thing... work for him... doing what?! lol

You might get thrown in the dungen?

[Raona]

I quit in the sleeping quarters of inns regularly, and as best I can tell, you are charged 1 silver for the entire time you log out, and nobody gets rough with you if you don't have the coin.

See? I live on the edge and test these things out for the good of my fellows!

(In a wierd mood tonight...)

[Nysan]

An interesting sixes pages to read. I look forward to reading more ideas and specifically set plans for skill and leveling advances as the weeks roll by.

Before I left for a while, it did poke me sorely that my bardling did so much work through hours of preformances, writting, story-telling, ect ect but skill/level-wise is barely outta the temple but my priest is well, skill/level well-off. I always felt I spent more actual WORK with the bard character but he has always been the lesser in actual code related gains. Some of the suggested ideas are a light in the night for those with characters like my bard.

I'm all for killing and bashing mobs now and again. Heck, my priest and fighter do it often enough. But, I always wished that the efforts of the characters who's main focus of RP is not actual combat were close to the same playing field, code-wise as the smash-and-bashers.

In all seriousness, can the smash-and-bash people say they do more 'work' on their character than lets say...the player of a bard who wrote several books in-game or put on a 30 min preformance at Winterfest or in the square? Just one explain of course. But, something to think.