[Server News] Engines of Ascension Anniversary Update
Aug 16, 2017 19:49:46 GMT -5
Fuzz, Kitsunenotsume, and 5 more like this
Post by Psionic-Entity on Aug 16, 2017 19:49:46 GMT -5
THE SERVER IS CURRENTLY ONLINE
Today marks the server's one year anniversary and to celebrate that I'm putting out one of the biggest updates so far. It includes a mix of core system updates, rule changes, and new content. It's also the first time since launch that we've changed up the experience system in a meaningful way, so it seems fitting to include it in a major release rather than as a standard update.
Experience and Leveling
The update to experience and leveling is meant to address a few key issues that we've observed over the last year. The main one is that PC builds feel a little short on abilities, particularly when there are individual skills that can require twenty or thirty points to max out. Generally we hoped that experience from quests and bosses would make up the shortfall but the numbers haven't really worked out that way, and rather than tying such a huge portion of progression to content I decided that it would make more sense to increase the XP scale. We've also heard mixed feedback on the bonus system. Some players easily consume any bonus experience they pick up, while others stockpile large amounts of it. The solutions in this update are meant to make life easier for players who prefer to run less static content without being unfair to anyone else. The update includes the following changes:
- Your first and second highest skills give additional character experience when progressed, with bonuses of 100% and 50% respectively.
- Overall XP gain rates have increased, as have area XP caps. Players also earn XP at a faster rate in areas they have not visited in a while.
- Every 20 levels characters get 10 lbs of carry space and increased resists and difficulty ratings for things like AOE, knockdown, and wounding.
- The XP increase adds 5 abilities to maxed out characters, but may show up as anything between 7 and 10 more at various stages of character progression.
- Bonus XP is no longer set at a fixed doubling of XP gain rates. Instead the amount varies from 1.5 to 5.0 times the standard rate.
- Bonus XP consumption still depends only on how much is used, so you aren't getting a better conversion rate when you have a larger pool, it just gets used faster.
- Crafting and mercantilism skills are still locked at 2.0 because otherwise it would be optimal to bank a ton of bonus XP before crafting or selling.
- The reduction to a 1.5 rate is not a material downside because we expect players who are in that range to be emptying their pools with some regularity.
- Characters can now train skills at specialized trainers at a cost of bonus experience and money.
- The training conversion from bonus XP to skill XP is half as good as it would be in a dungeon, so it's generally not a good deal if you frequently exhaust your bonus pool.
- At the outset training is limited to skill levels below 25, but if the system is well received we will add more specialized trainers that go to higher levels.
- Currently training is provided mostly by henchmen and merchants that are already active in the gameworld.
- The RPXP system has been changed a little bit. In aggregate it should give more experience, but ticks are tied to time instead of a fixed amount of lines typed.
- There is now a maximum RPXP earn rate based on the assumption that role play usually has a player typing at less than the average words per minute of an adult person.
- While not directly XP related, the maximum length of a player's chat message has been increased to 999 characters from 255.
Content
The anniversary update includes a few new content features, some general content updates, and a large portion of the newest gameworld expansion, which will be released in full when the content is all in. One of the biggest issues this update is meant to address is general fatigue with some locations. We found that a lot of single player or smaller dungeons have little to offer in encounter variety and also don't end on any sort of special note. We also heard feedback to the effect that the two current adventure hubs, Plencken and Newport, are lacking in key amenities, which makes them a bit of a pain to use for their intended purpose as a rest spot between the city and higher level content. The update includes the following changes:
- Boss bestiaries now have a button that allows players to share their tier information with current party members. This should help groups organize for boss runs.
- Added a mini boss system. Mini bosses are like regular bosses, but their have more tiers, offer lower rewards, and do not spawn at difficulty levels exceeding the dungeon's difficulty.
- A mini boss for a level 5-15 area will start by spawning at level 5, and increase to level 6 only for parties in which every player has beaten level 5 and also reached level 6 on their own.
- After reaching max level a mini boss remains there and offers a small amount of bonus XP rather than character XP.
- Mini bosses do not have customized loot piles, but are typically found in end rooms which have more loot by default.
- Currently there are 7 mini bosses, and they are being added starting with the lowest level areas and moving up from there.
- Mini bosses spawn as the first enemy in a full encounter, meaning that they are not fixed regardless of party size and that they are appropriate for PCs playing solo, possibly requiring a henchman.
- Newport and Plencken now have several additional shops, including places to buy potions, fuel, grenades, and ammunition.
- Newport now has one henchman, and Plencken has two.
Game System
Over the past few weeks there have been some changes to shield use that are intended to bring it up to par with the effectiveness of the other combat styles. I think it worked, but we're always looking for more feedback on how we're doing on the balance between playstyles. The addition of passive benefits to standard PC leveling means that the general abilities are a little out of place, so the update includes a few changes there as well. Over the next few weeks there will be some more changes to the game engine that didn't quite make it in to the anniversary update, so stay tuned for those. The update includes the following changes:
- All general abilites are taken on 10s instead of 0s. Current builds are exempted from the change, but eventually we expect everyone to catch up and be on track.
- Endurance now grants only 10 lbs of carry. If the additional 10 per 20 levels is sufficient, players can contact me to have retrains refunded if they're used on endurance, with no statute of limitations.
- Agility was changed to provide a fixed reduction to explosion damage instead of an unspecific AOE resist. Future updates will phase out AOE resist entirely.
Gameworld Expansion
The next major game area will be Sedis. Thanks to work by Laurk, a content contributor on Legacy, and Serena, a current player, we've obtained a very nice and thematic area for a district in Sedis. On release it will contain shops in the 70-80 range as well as a new 70-80 dungeon that I think will be very cool. DMs will have access to the new area in advance if they wish to use it, but it will remain closed off until all of the content is in.
Anniversary Event
To celebrate Engines turning 1 year old we'll be running a few events over the next week. I'll let the DMs announce their own plans, but on the static content side there are a few ongoing things. The first is an accelerated XP event where everything gives an extra 50% XP (I'd go with double but I don't want to stack that with the new XP changes), and the second is a secondary bonus loot table that gets activated randomly when you open chests or hidden loot items.
Today marks the server's one year anniversary and to celebrate that I'm putting out one of the biggest updates so far. It includes a mix of core system updates, rule changes, and new content. It's also the first time since launch that we've changed up the experience system in a meaningful way, so it seems fitting to include it in a major release rather than as a standard update.
Experience and Leveling
The update to experience and leveling is meant to address a few key issues that we've observed over the last year. The main one is that PC builds feel a little short on abilities, particularly when there are individual skills that can require twenty or thirty points to max out. Generally we hoped that experience from quests and bosses would make up the shortfall but the numbers haven't really worked out that way, and rather than tying such a huge portion of progression to content I decided that it would make more sense to increase the XP scale. We've also heard mixed feedback on the bonus system. Some players easily consume any bonus experience they pick up, while others stockpile large amounts of it. The solutions in this update are meant to make life easier for players who prefer to run less static content without being unfair to anyone else. The update includes the following changes:
- Your first and second highest skills give additional character experience when progressed, with bonuses of 100% and 50% respectively.
- Overall XP gain rates have increased, as have area XP caps. Players also earn XP at a faster rate in areas they have not visited in a while.
- Every 20 levels characters get 10 lbs of carry space and increased resists and difficulty ratings for things like AOE, knockdown, and wounding.
- The XP increase adds 5 abilities to maxed out characters, but may show up as anything between 7 and 10 more at various stages of character progression.
- Bonus XP is no longer set at a fixed doubling of XP gain rates. Instead the amount varies from 1.5 to 5.0 times the standard rate.
- Bonus XP consumption still depends only on how much is used, so you aren't getting a better conversion rate when you have a larger pool, it just gets used faster.
- Crafting and mercantilism skills are still locked at 2.0 because otherwise it would be optimal to bank a ton of bonus XP before crafting or selling.
- The reduction to a 1.5 rate is not a material downside because we expect players who are in that range to be emptying their pools with some regularity.
- Characters can now train skills at specialized trainers at a cost of bonus experience and money.
- The training conversion from bonus XP to skill XP is half as good as it would be in a dungeon, so it's generally not a good deal if you frequently exhaust your bonus pool.
- At the outset training is limited to skill levels below 25, but if the system is well received we will add more specialized trainers that go to higher levels.
- Currently training is provided mostly by henchmen and merchants that are already active in the gameworld.
- The RPXP system has been changed a little bit. In aggregate it should give more experience, but ticks are tied to time instead of a fixed amount of lines typed.
- There is now a maximum RPXP earn rate based on the assumption that role play usually has a player typing at less than the average words per minute of an adult person.
- While not directly XP related, the maximum length of a player's chat message has been increased to 999 characters from 255.
Content
The anniversary update includes a few new content features, some general content updates, and a large portion of the newest gameworld expansion, which will be released in full when the content is all in. One of the biggest issues this update is meant to address is general fatigue with some locations. We found that a lot of single player or smaller dungeons have little to offer in encounter variety and also don't end on any sort of special note. We also heard feedback to the effect that the two current adventure hubs, Plencken and Newport, are lacking in key amenities, which makes them a bit of a pain to use for their intended purpose as a rest spot between the city and higher level content. The update includes the following changes:
- Boss bestiaries now have a button that allows players to share their tier information with current party members. This should help groups organize for boss runs.
- Added a mini boss system. Mini bosses are like regular bosses, but their have more tiers, offer lower rewards, and do not spawn at difficulty levels exceeding the dungeon's difficulty.
- A mini boss for a level 5-15 area will start by spawning at level 5, and increase to level 6 only for parties in which every player has beaten level 5 and also reached level 6 on their own.
- After reaching max level a mini boss remains there and offers a small amount of bonus XP rather than character XP.
- Mini bosses do not have customized loot piles, but are typically found in end rooms which have more loot by default.
- Currently there are 7 mini bosses, and they are being added starting with the lowest level areas and moving up from there.
- Mini bosses spawn as the first enemy in a full encounter, meaning that they are not fixed regardless of party size and that they are appropriate for PCs playing solo, possibly requiring a henchman.
- Newport and Plencken now have several additional shops, including places to buy potions, fuel, grenades, and ammunition.
- Newport now has one henchman, and Plencken has two.
Game System
Over the past few weeks there have been some changes to shield use that are intended to bring it up to par with the effectiveness of the other combat styles. I think it worked, but we're always looking for more feedback on how we're doing on the balance between playstyles. The addition of passive benefits to standard PC leveling means that the general abilities are a little out of place, so the update includes a few changes there as well. Over the next few weeks there will be some more changes to the game engine that didn't quite make it in to the anniversary update, so stay tuned for those. The update includes the following changes:
- All general abilites are taken on 10s instead of 0s. Current builds are exempted from the change, but eventually we expect everyone to catch up and be on track.
- Endurance now grants only 10 lbs of carry. If the additional 10 per 20 levels is sufficient, players can contact me to have retrains refunded if they're used on endurance, with no statute of limitations.
- Agility was changed to provide a fixed reduction to explosion damage instead of an unspecific AOE resist. Future updates will phase out AOE resist entirely.
Gameworld Expansion
The next major game area will be Sedis. Thanks to work by Laurk, a content contributor on Legacy, and Serena, a current player, we've obtained a very nice and thematic area for a district in Sedis. On release it will contain shops in the 70-80 range as well as a new 70-80 dungeon that I think will be very cool. DMs will have access to the new area in advance if they wish to use it, but it will remain closed off until all of the content is in.
Anniversary Event
To celebrate Engines turning 1 year old we'll be running a few events over the next week. I'll let the DMs announce their own plans, but on the static content side there are a few ongoing things. The first is an accelerated XP event where everything gives an extra 50% XP (I'd go with double but I don't want to stack that with the new XP changes), and the second is a secondary bonus loot table that gets activated randomly when you open chests or hidden loot items.