By Arkenor, 1 year and 4 months ago

Warhammer Online 1.0.5 patch notes. The Class rebalance is upon us.

The winds of chaos have swirled and swooshed through the Old World, and none of us will be left untouched.
These update notes are fairly huge, and every class has been altered. Without numbers, it will be hard to judge exactly what the effect will be, so I encourage everybody to get onto the public test servers, once they materialise, in order to provide Mythic with quality feedback.

Let’s see what has become of us:

Keep reading →

By Arkenor, 1 year and 8 months ago

Age of Conan Patch Notes for the 26th of June

This latest update has caused the servers to become a bit unstable. The new Alchemist’s Cache item appears to have been responsible, and has been deactivated, but the server instability is persisting. The issue is being worked on.

The Update notes for the 26th of June continue below:

Keep reading →

By Arkenor, 2 years and 11 months ago

Spammers suck!

I haven’t touched this blog for a while. Got a bit sidetracked by Livejournal, and life. I came back to find 1250 comments waiting, every single one of them spam!

Comments only appear if I approve them, spammers, so don’t waste your time and mine! Of course, it’s probably all automated, but seriously, who the hell ever bought viagra from a spam comment on a blog?

By Arkenor, 3 years and 8 months ago

Live Transcript of the DDO Dev Chat


Brannoc: We'll begin with a brief introduction from our guests and then proceed with the chat. Now would be a good time to send those questions to [QT]Sprite!
Sporkfire: Hi, all. I'm Victor Wachter, Community Relations Manager for DDO. Glad to see you all here!
Samera_DDO: Hi there. Samera here. Community Relations Specialist.
Nereid_DDO: Hello, I am Nereid, Producer on DDO
Solas_DDO: Greetings. I'm Solas, DDO Gamesystems.
Gubtug_DDO: Hi, I'm Gubtug, Art Director on DDO.
Graal_DDO: Howdy, I am a game mechanics designer
GelatinousCube_DDO: *jiggle*
Codog_DDO: Howdy. I'm Codog, a Senior Game Systems Engineer. Happy to be here.
Tuttle_DDO: Hola, Captain Tuttle here. Design Manager on DDO.
Denour_DDO: Evening, I'm Andy "Denour" Gillis, I am one of the Game Systems Engineer on DDO. *Wave*

Brannoc: *Guest23* What's the time frame for when module 2 will come out?
Nereid_DDO: Hello - Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" will be coming out in July. We are accepting applications for our preview of Module 2 content in the DDO.com Forums.

Brannoc: *Zaran* could you explain the solo option on the difficulty selection on the Quest Window.
Solas_DDO: The solo option has two main goals: To improve the new player experience, and for something to do while waiting for a party.
Solas_DDO: Only a single player can enter an adventure on solo. The monsters are scaled down, HP, AC, spells, etc. Most classes should be able to tackle a solo adventure appropriate for their level, although some classes are more powerful solo than others.
Solas_DDO: Currently, solo mode is only available in the Harbor

Brannoc: *Targonis* The level cap is expected to be raised in September/October. Can we expect that the level cap will be raised every 6 months or so?
Nereid_DDO: We are committed to raising the level cap on an on-going basis and will be releasing them when we are able to support with new monsters, adventures, spells, feats, etc.

Brannoc: *Ustiveh* What one thing would the moderators like to see in DDO that is not currently implemented (including things that never will be)?
GelatinousCube_DDO: Gelatinous Cubes

Brannoc: *Anon220* I read on the DDO forums that the ranged system isn't working quite as well as folks would like, so it's getting an overhaul. What's the latest on the ranged system overhaul?

Mysterious 5 minutes silence.

Codog_DDO: After module 2, players will see a number of improvements to both ranged and melee combat. Some of these improvements include increase of ranged attack speed as players level up, improvements to activatable melee feats, and a number of new action point benefits.

Brannoc: *Zaran* Why are you requiring players to do quests on Hard and Elite to get maximum favor from the Houses?
Solas_DDO: Hard and elite difficulty modes offer drastically increased challenges for a party. Defeating an adventure on elite is a truly heroic accomplishment. The House Patrons give us a unique opportunity to offer an interesting reward scheme to players who challenge not only the breadth of adventures in the game, but also the breadth of difficulty levels. As the game grows, expect to see the patron system expand with new ranks, new patrons, and new rewards as adventures are added to the game.

Brannoc:*Anon220* Are there any new animated emotes being worked on?
Gubtug_DDO: Emotes have been something that a lot of the dev team has wanted to see more of. There'll be new emotes coming to Stormreach soon. Done.

Brannoc: *Anon220* Do you think that DDO will eventually cross the level 20 threshold and go into epic levels?
Nereid_DDO: Yes, we are planning on adding more levels over time, and are looking into what the gameplay will be after level 20.

Brannoc: *Gill* Question: Are their any plans or ideas for GM-run events?
Sporkfire: We are currently developing some live events to hold in Stormreach, similar to the events that were very popular in Beta. We've got a lot of creative people here who are really excited to start holding them, and we're going to start holding them again in the future.

Brannoc: *Gill* Question: Has the issue of inability to find parties come up, and if so, how do you plan on addressing this?
Solas_DDO: We’ve done a revamp of the social panel which should make the “looking for group” tools a lot easier to use. DDO at its heart is a party-based game, and we’ll continue to improve our tools to help players adventure with one another. The solo mode should also help give players something to do while they’re waiting to find a party.

Brannoc: *locke* any change comming for holdong items such as scroll holders or bags of holding
Graal_DDO: We have no plans for specialized holding items, but there will be an increase in overall inventory and bank space coming with Module 2

Brannoc: *Namelessone* how and what is being looked at to work on Ranged Combat, and what is being looked at to improve the Ranger Class
Codog_DDO: Post Module 2, as a character's base attack bonus goes up, player's speed of bow, crossbow, and thrown weapons will increase. This inherently will improve ranger's combat or any class that is investing in ranged combat feats. A number of rangers abilities scale with level such as Ranger Bow Strength and Many Shot.

Brannoc: *ssprink* Will existing loot tables be reworked to match dungeon difficulty?
Tuttle_DDO: The content team is consistently evaluating the exp and loot balance for our existing dungeons. This is an ongoing process and we’ll continue to respond as the need arises.

Brannoc: *Maghantah* Question: any focus on creating more randomization in content?
Solas_DDO: We’ve had tremendously positive feedback on our random monster optional objectives. We are experimenting with randomizing traps in some of our upcoming content. We recognize that this is a very popular issue among our fans.

Brannoc: *ZeroTakenaka* How much will Module 2 cost?
Nereid_DDO: Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" is a free module for subscribers.

Brannoc: *ZeroTakenaka* When will patron system come out?
Solas_DDO: Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" will contain the patron system.

Brannoc: *Locke* hello, is there a plan to add new feats? or a mechanism for players to swap feats to update their character?
Nereid_DDO: We are looking into allowing players to swap out feats they have chosen, and will be adding new feats with the level cap increase.

Solas_DDO: Going back to an earlier question on LFG - I wanted to mention that a lot of specific improvements were taken directly from suggestions off the forums. For example, you will be able to see which area a player is in, and whether or not that player is already in a group.

Brannoc: *Targonis* Following up on the question about ranged weapons, will a distance limit be placed on items such as bows, thrown weapons, etc.?
Codog_DDO: Thanks for the question Targnonis. Limiting the range of bows, thrown weapons, and crossbows is certainly a topic that we are currently investigating.

Brannoc: *Khalathas* Will there be high-end non-static quest rewards in the future, as opposed to just the static reward system that's been implemented as of late?
Solas_DDO: Yes, we have specific plans to create new magical effects for high level loot. These will be available both in treasure chests and randomized quest rewards.

Brannoc: That's it for this one folks! Thanks for joining us here on Stratics IRC, the logs will be up on http://ddo.stratics.com shortly. Be sure to come by again next time!

Sporkfire: Thanks for coming out, everyone and for all the questions!
Samera_DDO: Goodbye everyone. Thanks for coming to chat with us!
Codog_DDO: Bye folks!
Tuttle_DDO: Goodnight everybody, thanks for chatting!
Solas_DDO: Goodnight all.
Denour_DDO: G'nite folks!
GelatinousCube_DDO: \engulf
Nereid_DDO: It was great talking to you - thanks for having us! Goodnight.

Hmm. I hope you found that more illuminating than I did. The prospect of live events coming out way is pretty neat though.

By Arkenor, 3 years and 9 months ago

Don’t Give Up.

A long time since I heard this song. An audio-hug to everyone out there who’s going through a tough time right now. Which, lets face it, is most of us these days.

By Arkenor, 4 years ago

All New Fabuloso Wordpress Thing!

My dear host, horrified that I was using Blogger, has kindly set this up for me. Not sure exactly what I’ll do with it yet, but having a good old fiddle with it.

I’ve just about finished importing both my blogspot blogs. It’s all ended up looking a bit of a mess, but I’m sure it’ll work out!

I’ve cleaned out my forum, and hopefully it’ll see some use again! Stop by and say hello!

By Arkenor, 4 years ago

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

By Arkenor, 4 years ago

The Colbert Report covers DDO

Stephen Colbert has long talked about his love of Dungeons and Dragons. In this segment he hails the release of DDO. Remember, he’s playing a rightwing nutcase, so don’t be upset if he’s mean. Which he is.

You can’t get better publicity than that. But what would be even better is if they could sign Colbert up to do the DM voice for one of the updates! He’s a talented voice artist, voicing several characters for Adult Swim. Draft Colbert!

In other news, now that DDO has been released in Europe, I’m playing on the Boldrei server with my good friend, Flinch. It’s very early days, but I feel a great future lies ahead for The Green Lodge : Stormreach Chapter!

By Arkenor, 4 years and 3 months ago

Monet

Jardrose
I’m doing an art course. And I need a way to get my essay to class, and posting it here seems to be the easiest way. It’s not very good, I’m afraid. Not being able to be flippant or bizarre seriously stunts my writing ability. Anyway, here it is.

People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love. – Claude Monet

Claude Monet was one of the primary initiators of the Impressionist movement. It is true that he was more concerned with colour than with form, but those colours were plucked from what lay before him with skill. He was a great lover of nature, spending many hours in the gardens of Giverny, and Argenteuil. His paintings make us feel like we know those places, and we share in the calmness of a pleasant afternoon spent in the continental sunshine. By sharing not only the view, but also the feeling, Monet gets closer to the ideals of naturalism than a painter who religiously copies each and every line and blemish.

He developed a style of brushwork in which he would apply jabs of paint to the canvas, giving his work a wonderful textural quality. By using the texture of the paint itself to add detail, he did not need to copy every line of a leaf in order for our minds to be able to reconstruct the plant. This caused him to use rather more paint than most of his contempories, and indeed his paintings are said to be noticeably heavier than usual. Up close, his work looks far from naturalistic, almost abstractly wild gobs of paint, but should you take a few steps back, those jabs and sworls merge, and, almost magically, the picture forms before you.

Monet mostly painted landscapes, but not the wide, sweeping, landscapes of a Turner or Constable, humbling the viewer with the majesty of nature. Monet’s were more intimate, and usually looked like far more pleasant places to be. Raging storm would have impeded the opportunities for using the rich colours he was so fond of. In fact, it is said that on a rainy day, he would be so upset that he would refuse to get out of bed! Calm waters are a particularly common motif in his work, especially in his later works, paired with water-lillies. (Ironically, he once attempted suicide by throwing himself off a bridge into in a river, but changed his mind on the way down.).

His painting of the Giverny water-lillies are almost the ultimate in naturalism. Placed in a specially constructed building, they provided a 360 degree view of the garden, so the viewer could truly feel as if they were there. An Impressionist virtual reality, perhaps.

Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. To such an extent indeed that one day, finding myself at the deathbed of a woman who had been and still was very dear to me, I caught myself in the act of focusing on her temples and automatically analysing the succession of appropriately graded colours which death was imposing on her motionless face. – Claude Monet

It was about 1905 when Monet began to suffer a loss of intensity in his perception of colour. A cataract has the effect of desaturating colour, and shifting things towards the yellow. Violets, blues and greens are particularly transformed, but every hue is affected to some degree. That different hues are affected to different levels only adds to the strangeness of the view.

While Monet was aware of this gradual change, he was still shocked as to how extent it had become when, upon having surgery on one eye in 1923, he was able to once again percieve colours correctly. He destroyed several of his own works, embarrassed as to how bizarre they appeared to normal vision. He kept his other eye unfixed, and was never again able to use them together terribly well. But one supposes that it did allow him to be able to take two different views of the same subject, which he might have considered useful.

It raises an interesting point. If naturalism is the act of painting what you see, rather than what is actually there, then would someone suffering from wild visual hallucinations be considered naturalistic if he were to paint them?

Jardrose“La maison vue du jardin aux roses” Claude Monet (1922) – is one of the last paintings Monet painted before his eye surgery. The muddying of the greens of the plantlife is particularly noticeable. Compared with his earlier work, there is also a pronounced lack of detail. Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful picture, with masterful brushwork , and strong use of colour, however shifted, and whatever the cause.

I would advise young artists . . . to paint as they can, as long as they can, without being afraid of painting badly . . . . If their painting doesn’t improve by itself, it means that nothing can be done – and I wouldn’t do anything! - Claude Monet

By Arkenor, 4 years and 10 months ago

Greetings from Azeroth! Wish you were here.

Well, I said I’d quit if they didn’t stop all this silly exchange nonsense. Apparently my single account didn’t scare them too much. Particularly sad, as I was rather enjoying Norrath, and I wish the best to the guild I leave behind. I shall continue to keep an eye on whats going on in EQ2.

Never fear though, for there are always other adventures! I picked up WoW, and am enjoying it. Something like a dumbed down version of DaoC, but my friends who have been playing a while tell me it has hidden depths. There’s also Guild Wars out on the 28th, which I’ve had on pre-order for a while.

Oh, and I hear the plague has been cured, at least on some servers. Good.

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