Alzaric's page

my advice?, take ur troll to stroll in "greener pastures", like i did. this one wont get any better.

It's funny, the game has already gotten better in the almost-three months since EE began, but people still like to make a point to come onto these boards to slam the game.

Personally, I think the game has mostly room for improvement, it's definitely far from perfect, but I love the vision for the game and I see where it's going. It will take time for it to get there, of course.

I hope GW/Paizo has planned their finances such that this game can at least survive long enough to get to the point where it has enough content that one could say it's ready for a release that is closer to the amount of content with which other MMOs release. Then we could start to see whether the game continues to grow incrementally enough to be sustainable, or whether it appears that the writing is on the wall, as has happened with many other MMOs.

But to come here and spew a highly subjective opinion that the game "won't get any better" is in poor taste, in my (also highly subjective) opinion. The game is not for you in some way or another, we get it. Please take your money elsewhere and stop coming back, trying to poison this community.

I'm pretty sure I saw one in a Fighter/Wizard settlement, sort of near the Engineer trainer as well as the Fighter trainer. Not sure if all F/W settlements are the same, but you might give it a look.

You bring up for the very first time, to my knowledge, that the lack of persistence is the "number one reason" for the low population. Maybe you're correct, or more possibly will be proven to be correct (I hope so). We will find out when the KS free time wears off between 1 - 4 months after EE begins.

You can add my name to the list of people who are holding off on playing very much until EE begins. Persistence is a huge factor in the motivation to play, especially this close to a wipe and the start of EE.

I am just sick and tired of 3 month stands with beautiful games, I want a lasting relationship like I haven't had in ages. A game that becomes a hobby. I do check out the field every now and then and sometimes a game sorta interests me but PFO is still the horse I'm betting on to supply that.

This. A million times this. I want a game I can call home for a decade or more, not yet another 3 - 6 month rehash of the same themepark I've already tried so many times before.

A quote from the Blog

"The implication to this is that players will be able to kill other characters frequently without blocking their access to most training. Killing a several characters a day will not be catastrophic."

My understanding that killing players was never intended to cause rep loss as it was a core fundamental part of the game.

GRIEFING other players is what was intended to cause rep loss.

So I think what you MEANT to say Ryan is "Griefing several characters a day will not be catastrophic"

I asked you during the Kickstarter if you intended to build a by griefers for griefers game like eve and you said no.

Seems you lied.

I'm sorry, but Jesus F^&* C#$%! They're tweaking the numbers because people have been reluctant to engage in any sort of PvP because it completely wrecks your character at this point.

Get over yourself.

Gaming can wait and will be here when you're feeling better. Do whatever you need to do to kick that cancer's ass! Godspeed on your recovery!

Nearly 3 weeks in, another newbie question:

When should you buy lvl 2 attack feats? Do they work with +1 weapons, +2 weapons or only with tier 2 weapons?

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, a +0 weapon = a level 1 attack feat, a +1 weapon = a level 2 attack feat, so on and so forth. All you're basically doing here is trying to match the keywords of your weapon with the keywords of your attack.

Sad panda made the mistake of taking a week off to play... for the second time haha.

After being burned like this many, many moons ago with a few different MMO launches, I've found it's best to wait until at least a couple of weeks after launch to take time off. Take it as a life lesson learned, my friend. :)

Aaaand... the anticipation tension goes through the roof!

Just launch at this point.

It may not be the popular opinion at this point, but I would tend to agree with this.

If it's so close to being ready to go tomorrow that they haven't come out and said "Sorry, we need to delay" yet, then they should just go ahead and make things persistent. If they're within a day or two of having everything nailed down, they should just launch this boat and patch in the bug fixes as they go.

If, on the other hand, they determine that they need another week or more, I'm fine with that too. I've just been holding off on playing in the alpha too much, because I haven't wanted to burn out. I can wait even longer if that is what is deemed necessary. :)

Does it matter if the majority do not feel the product is viable when game data becomes persistent?

What if people are uncomfortable with what the state of the game was when the product began and how it will impact the future state of the game?

Does it matter when a player chooses to begin their paid playtime if the world itself was created in a state they will forever be uncomfortable contributing to?

Those are all questions that an individual would have to answer for himself or herself. The fact remains that this is how the development process has always been described by Goblinworks. This isn't something that has been kept secret and only recently revealed.

Leithlen wrote:

"threatening" to open the game to paying customers

The threat of opening the game to paying customers doesn't concern me.

I'm still a little apprehensive about playing a game that has skipped beta altogether.
The concepts of 'early access' and 'minimal viable product' with persistent online gameplay are new to me. The concept may be new and novel but that doesn't make it appropriate or wanted.

If everyone who purchased early enrollment were given a chance to play the game in its state prior to game data being persistent and were asked if the game was 'ready' then does it matter to you if the majority said no?

It's also worth noting that their "threatening" to open the game up to paying customers is predicated upon the fact that those paying customers get to choose when their playtime starts. I believe Ryan has stated that they don't have to "start the clock" on day 1 of Early Enrollment. If they feel the game is not up to their standards, they can wait to activate the gametime they've already paid for in whichever package they've purchased.

nobody's trying to hear that. At least, I'm not. I did expect it, and you're the second one who has said it.

Bugs do not equal being unable to log into the game or being unable to interact with anything then getting teleported into the clouds. So, as I said, I can't take the "BUT ITS ALPHA" comments very seriously.

You sound like you are unfamiliar with what the Alpha testing phase of software development is. Alpha is even less of a finished product than Beta. These things happen, they have happened with many, many MMOs in the past, and will happen with many in the future. If you are unable or unwilling to deal with these kinds of issues, then perhaps any testing phase of a MMO just isn't for you?

I agree. It's pretty important to people to know on what they are about to spend their resources and time to make. It's very similar to wanting to know what a skill does before one spends the XP on it. I know the GW team is working hard to make all of this happen and I'm incredibly appreciative of their efforts. It's just that this kind of thing is what makes a Minimum Viable Product to those who aren't as excited about PFO as most of us forumites are. :)

I just wanted to say thank you to Ryan and anyone else who was working on this issue. I was finally able to get back in and play last night, after having PM'ed my IP address to Ryan on Tuesday evening. Seeing this kind of response is very encouraging and holds lots of promise for the future.

Thanks again!

I keep getting "Could not connect to: alpha.goblinworks.com"

Also, I can't load the goblinworks website to check alpha forums.

Thanks in advance.

Ryan Dancey wrote:

I would say that one of the dead-ends that has been thoroughly explored and found wanting is the idea of open world sandbox play with lots of PvP that requires player skill and fast-twitch responses. Sounds great (to some folks), but in practice its not commercially viable.

First, if you want those kinds of games, the FPS market is waiting for you. They do it better than Goblinworks would ever be able to.

Second, while it is not obvious, in most MMOs there's a multi-second latency between actions. Most MMOs hide this in the animations (you feel like you're in total control but actually the client is showing you pretty pictures while it waits for the next cycle in the command queue). This latency makes aiming, and fast-twitch responses work much more poorly than you intuitively think they should which generates complaints about "lag" and "unresponsive controls". The larger the number of participants in a given game space, the more commands need to be received by the server, processed, and the results transmitted to the clients. Combined with inherent latencies in the internet, these multi-second intervals are effectively a requirement (and they're the reason that you don't see games like Battlefield or Call of Duty scale above a couple of dozen fighters).

(EVE has apparently solved one of their longstanding problems with lag in huge fleet battles (more than 1,000 active participants on the same battlespace) by actually expanding the length of the command queue. They call this "time dilation", and it effectively slows down the action to allow the server and clients to process more commands between each "tick" of the queue. Everyone moves more slowly, and it takes longer for cooldowns to expire, but you can actually play with some meaningful level of interactivity as opposed to either watching a slide-show, or being disconnected due to timeouts. When we scale up to anything approaching that size,

...

To those who are still lobbying for twitch-style combat or even hybrid twitch-style combat: please reread Ryan's comments above and let it go. Pathfinder Online is not going to be that type of game. There are several games out there already which have that gameplay if you want it.

That is truly excellent work. Well done!

Now, to attempt to absorb all of the information... :)

Thanks for that, Kitsune! It's nice to see how everything fits together.

I don't even care to respond to the OP. What I want to say is directed at anyone and everyone even remotely involved with the development of Pathfinder Online, even though they probably already know this:

There are many gamers out here in the real world who care more about the gameplay than the graphics; gamers who will gladly open their wallets to support your efforts as soon as the game gets to a stage of development they find acceptable. Do not worry about the graphics until much, much later.

If you build it, they will come.

In my opinion, "action combat" isn't better just because it's a newer paradigm in the genre. It can feel just as spammy and unresponsive as any tab-targeting system. What I want is tactical combat, where you have to consciously manage your resources and make good choices to win the fight. It would be nice to be punished for just hitting buttons like a buffoon.

I'm not against twitch combat, it just needs to be done well. If ever a MMO could successfully implement the kind of combat seen in Mount & Blade: Warband or Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, that would make me a very happy camper. In those games, skill isn't just about whoever can hit the buttons the fastest. It's about timing, choosing the right attack for the situation, using feint attacks, etc. Sometimes holding a swing and not attacking for a second or two is the wiser course of action, if you can lull your enemy into thinking he has an opportunity to strike, lowering his defenses.

Any game can have crappy combat no matter what system is chosen. I'm perfectly fine with PFO having gone the tab-targeting route. Now they just need to force players into making meaningful choices within that framework. The people who are "skilled" combatants will be the ones consistently making the right choices.

My only concern with voice chat is being able to silence those who would poison the environment by continuing to broadcast, non-stop, something like this:
Please never let this happen.

I'll add my thank you to the list as well. I know this kind of thing can be frustrating for everyone involved, not just for the customers. Your time and energy spent is truly appreciated, Ryan. Thank you, and pass along the thanks to the other goblins and the "Back Office Ninjas" too. :)

I have contacted customer.support@goblinworks.com and now I'm just waiting for a response.

I do sincerely appreciate any assistance that anyone from GW may provide.

Many thanks for the replies, Taylor! I'll contact customer service first then. Thanks again!

Thank you for the responses, Taylor. My last question is: should I go ahead and create a goblinworks.com account first, then contact customer support to have the two merged, or should I contact customer support before I do anything? Thanks!

This is what the body of the email states:
"Our records indicate that you made purchases in the Goblin Squad Store. A Goblinworks account has been created for you to redeem these items.

Click the link below to set up your account.

If you already have a Goblinworks account, please notify customer support to get it merged."

I was under the impression that clicking the link would take me to a page where my information from my paizo account would already be loaded and I'd have to set a password or something.

I have not, as of yet, created a goblinworks.com account, as we (people who purchased EE via the paizo store) were instructed not to.

If I'm missing something, I apologize. Otherwise, I will happily create a goblinworks.com account and contact customer support to have them merged.

I received an email from gwauto@goblinworks.com. I've finally gotten around to going through this process.

When I click the link in the email and the goblinworks site opens up, there is a message with a reddish/pinkish background that says "The link you clicked is no longer valid."

How should I proceed from here?

Thanks in advance.

will be a strong signal to any other mega-Guilds that it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple entries in the Land Rush, or at least that it's something they need to do in order to avoid being at a disadvantage.

Do you honestly believe in your heart of hearts that this will discourage mega-guilds from not doing this? Call me a skeptic, but I highly doubt that. If anything, if any of those ginormous guilds have been paying attention to this at all, they'll just create "shadow guilds" that, to all outward appearances, are not affiliated with them. Then they'll march merrily on their way to multiple settlements and none will be the wiser.

Clear, concise rules need to be posted in advance of such things and swift justice dealt to offenders. Period. I realize that that's an easy thing to say and that it's difficult for a small company to turn away money from any potential customers, but that's a harsh reality.

HA! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG! I was gonna scare y'all off the thread while I looked for Nihimon's secret Pokemon collection.

And to think that you would've gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!

Thanks for the confirmation, guys. Much appreciated.

I received an email from gwauto@goblinworks.com and I would like confirmation that it's a legit GW address before I click the link to set up my account. I can't imagine that it's not legit, but stranger things have happened and I'm too much of a skeptic to just blindly click the link. Thanks.

Andius wrote:

To me Mass Effect style aiming with Original Guild Wars style abilities and ability selection would be the Holy Grail of combat systems.

Having now played ESO I feel vindicated in this statement. It feels like breathing. It's just that fluid and natural. 10/10

I only played ESO in beta, so maybe it's changed a bit since then. However, if the combat is basically the same as it was in beta, I hope PFO does not go that route.

I want to have to seriously consider whether I should use that special attack on key 5. Heck, I want to have to seriously consider whether to use key 2 or 3, because of the impact it could have on the entire fight, not just the current round.

I know I'm probably just setting unrealistic expectations and that PFO will be more of a standard MMO combat system, but hey, I can hope, right? :)

Alpha ETA: May 2014
Early Enrollment (Month 2) ETA: July 2014

Source:
https://goblinworks.com/store/

Please, please, please be on schedule. :D

I was under the impression that character skills/abilities/feats will be tied to the character's settlement in some way. Thus the idea that characters who engage in mindless ganking/griefing will soon find that they are weak and unable to train new skills.

Do I have this wrong in my head? Wouldn't allowing players to train each other undermine this system of punishing the griefers?

I don't expect it in PFO, but I would really love to see a game obviate meta-game spying by requiring access to in-game objects in order for your Character to act on certain types of knowledge.

I wouldn't mind it if this could be accomplished. It's just that any in-game system I can think of for doing such a thing would be susceptible to being circumvented by the players. For example, how would you begin to create in-game objects which represent things like the knowledge of troop or resource movements that only someone with a spy skill/ability can steal to sell to an interested party?

It seems that implementing something like that would have to be a fundamental part of the game or a framework which everyone would be forced to use first, in order to move troops, resources, etc. Then, the "information" could be stolen and sold in-game. It might work for resource movement, but when troops are other players, how can you create an in-game object which corresponds to their unpredictable movement? Unless, of course, you tie those objects in with a GPS-type system that lets the purchaser of said information see exactly where certain players are for a certain window of time.

Again, if it were possible to restrict the flow of information about nearly every object/aspect of the game to in-game interactions only, I wouldn't have a problem with that. But I believe a game would probably have to be designed from the ground up with that in mind, or a considerable amount of effort/time/money would have to be applied to the development to realize such a vision.

I would prefer that there are no in-game systems or game mechanics for "spying" implemented. The reason being is that it would just be sort of a mini-game when compared to the actual process of someone creating an alt (or a full time spy character who plays all sides to get paid for information) and infiltrating a CC/Settlement/Kingdom.

I imagine spying in Pathfinder Online will occur much like it does in EVE or any other MMO where territory control is a major part of the game. It's up to the CC/Settlement/Kingdom to restrict the flow of information to only trusted individuals. Or to release information and misinformation in such a way as to definitively reveal who the spy is. :)

A professor was explaining double-negatives to his class and remarked that in some languages, such as English, a double-negative actually conveyed the meaning of a positive. In other languages, such as Russian, a double-negative still conveyed the meaning of a negative. But there were no languages in which a double-positive conveyed the meaning of a negative.

A student in the back replied "yeah, right".

I chuckled. :)

Thank you so much for the response, Stephen! It's wonderful to get a little insight into how we're going to have to go about building our characters when we're finally allowed to start running around in-game.

I haven't yet decided exactly what type of character I want to create, but it's nice to know that I will realistically be able to do both combat and crafting on one character, given enough XP and time. :) I actually agree with the idea that you can't just immediately jump from crafting to combat while trying to craft quality items (not without suffering some kind of penalty).

But I'm wondering, is there a time delay for switching between slotted abilities? Or is it just a matter of switching out the weapon/tool? I would hate to think that someone couldn't fairly quickly come to his or her settlement's aid if it comes under attack, simply because he or she was in the middle of crafting, even if that means that the current work order/batch is damaged or destroyed in the process.

Thanks again for the reply!

Thanks for all of the responses, everyone! I guess we'll just have to wait until we get closer to EE for some actual skill/ability information to come out.

I've read that a subscription lets you train one character (not counting DT for KS backers) for a whole month, or multiple characters for shorter amounts of time (e.g. 2 characters for 2 weeks each). I also understand that you won't "waste" any skills trained, as the dedication bonus applies as long as you slot only abilities from one archetype.

But I'm wondering how viable, if at all, it will be to make a character who has highly-developed combat skills as well as highly-developed crafting skills? It doesn't seem that there is anything preventing a single character from doing both, only that it would take that much more XP and time to do so.

Has there been any official word on the XP and time involved in having a dual-role combat and crafting character?

Fired up the nail gun to make sure the bling sticks. You might feel a slight sting...

Thank you! :)

It took a little doing, but I finally got it to work after trying a couple different browsers. Obviously some kinks need to be worked out, but it appears as though my card has been charged, so I'm happy for now. :)

Fingers crossed we'll have something for you this week.

Thank you so much for the response! I'll keep checking in regularly. Some of my guildma--err, Chartered Company members and I are looking forward to signing up for Early Enrollment, if there's still room available. :)

Thank you very much! I see a lot of interesting discussion going on around here. It's going to take a while to digest much of it, but this game already looks like it has a solid community that will foster lots of sandboxey goodness in the future. :)

In the Goblinworks blog, Mr. Dancey announced that the new Goblin Squad Store will see a "soft launch," and that there will be a notice on the community forum at paizo.com so that watchful fans can access the store immediately. I just want to verify that I'm watching the right place. Thanks in advance! :)