Ryzom Forge meeting report – April 12th, 2021
1 - Feedback on the OOC events of the Refugee Days
Tamarea (RT) – 19:32 UTC
The Refugees' Day events have just ended, so we would like to get your feedback on them.
What did you like about these events? What do you think could be improved?
Nine comments:
• The image to be reconstructed could have been a bit larger, but the whole thing was great.
• A good point for the radar not displaying the positions of the small eggs, but this seems to have had an effect on the range of said radar. Ullukyn confirms: even if they do not appear on the radar, the small eggs are among the entities visible to the player and thus reduce the overall visibility.
• A pity the refugee eggs didn't reward me with any interesting item (only dappers, which are of no use to me), but I liked the whole thing.
• Nothing to say about the events (like the rendor hunt), except that I would have liked them to be more numerous and collective since the pop of eggs everywhere on Atys, that I have seen far too often in the past and it causes bugs and lags.
• Unlike last year, the rendors had no social behavior. I wonder if this is a good thing, since it doesn't compel players to form teams and allows everyone to farm at their own pace (including solo).
• I found the distribution of eggs well thought out (they were not really "everywhere"), but I think it would be better to make them even scarcer, to increase the pleasure of the search.
• As for the rendors, I found their "strength" to be disproportionate for Silan, and to see your level 250 character killed by a level 22 mob was, at the very least, strange. It seems to me that it would have been better to position them in Almati Wood. Tamarea clarifies: the rendors were positioned on Silan so that new players could enjoy the "diversion" from their apprenticeship that the presence of the beasts (and that of their hunters) would bring. One attendee confirms that he has had at least one positive feedback from a new player.
• Overall, the party offered few activities that were accessible to low-level characters, except for O'Dunny's egg hunt. The latter was a good idea, by the way: the counter provided motivation for the search by setting a goal.
• As for the picture to be reconstructed, I would have rather been able to visit all the tribes of Atys at my own pace than having to wait 30 minutes before knowing the next one to visit: playing more than 15 hours in a row is impossible for me.
A:Thank you for your comments, which will all be passed on to the creators of these events.
2 - The future launcher/installer Ryztart
Ulukyn (RT) – 20:02 UTC
Fearing that a later addition would be problematic, we have wanted to take the time to add functionality to Ryztart before its release.
To wit: Ryztart now allows you to log in with your account name and password without having to enter them when launching the game and it will automatically retrieve the list of your characters and that of the servers (Atys, Yubo and/or Gingo) your account is granted access.
The objective of this addition being to make the launcher more secure, most of the work was to design a system that avoids having to store account name and password on the computer. Thus, Ryztart now only stores a token, which allows, and allows only, the connection to the game. Ryztart can also create shortcuts on your desktop for your characters that, too, do not contain either the account name or the password. Last, these shortcuts or Ryztart itself can launch the connection of a character without going through the "Character selection" step. (NB: this is already possible for those who know what parameters to provide to the current launcher).
Q: Since some people use more than one (to connect under different accounts), will the profiles be saved?
A: Yes: Ryztart allows to import them from the current launcher and it manages both profiles (folders 0 1 2 3 ...) and shortcuts.
Q: Will there be a version for Linux?
A: Yes: the Linux and Windows versions are already used by the first testers. Only the macOs version needs a little more time.
Q: Will the old launcher still work, just in case?
A: Yes, as well as the ability to launch the client directly. However, as soon as Ryztart is officially released, we will no longer provide user support for the old version.
Q: Will the shortcuts (Windows) allow two characters from the same account to log in simultaneously?
A: No: multiple characters from the same account will still not be able to log in.
Q: What about Windows 7?
A: First tests have been conducted, but the latest version of Ryztart is still to be tested under Windows 7... with your help, if you wish. In any case, we will keep you informed.
Q: What are the feedbacks for the tests on macOS 11 ?
A: As Ryztart for macOS is not yet 100% operational, tests are still to be done there too.
3 - Refugee Days (Easter OOC events)
Tamarea (RT) – 21:38 UTC
The OOC events for the Refugee Days (Easter events) will take place from Friday, March 26th to Monday, April 12th.
Details will, as usual, be posted on the forum beforehand.
4 - Outpost fights refactoring
Ulukyn (RT) – 20:27 UTC
We've strated the work on the outpost battles refactoring project.
As some may have noticed, four outposts have popped in the Nexus, of four different "levels" (100, 150, 200 and 250).
Their names suggest that they are not "like the others" and will not function in the same way at all. In fact, their ways of working will evolve following the avancement of the refactoring project.
At first, their conquest will be the object of GvE battles (a single guild fighting the NPCs defending the outpost), none of them will be owned by a guild (nor will they host any drill). That in order to test the impact of the projected shortening of the battle duration (from two hours to one) in the best conditions.
Q: During this test period, will the battles still include two phases?
A: No, because these are test outposts. If conquered after one hour of battle, an outpost will be returned immediately to its owners: the defending NPCs (out-of-faction marauders). But, if any battle can be a rewarding challenge, it costs equipment, ammunition, and time for those who fight it. So, the guilds that test will be rewarded for their commitment (to a degree yet to be determined).
We're planning for a guild to launch one attack per week, so hopefully four tests per week (one for each of the outposts) will allow everyone to participate.
Q: Will fighters be tagged and PvP allowed during these test battles?
A: These are outpost battles, so attackers will be OP tagged, yes. But they are also GvE battles in which, in order to not skew the tests, only the attacking guild's PCs will participate, with no allied or enemy PCs, so no PvP fight will be available.
Q: Will the level of NPC defenders be the same for all four outposts?
A: No. As with outposts in other regions, the level of the outpost is determined by the quality of the materials it can produce. The "level" 100 outpost in the Nexus will, as elsewhere, be easier to "conquer" than the level 250 outpost, so a guild will be able to judge its progress in the fight exercise by the level of the outpost it manages to conquer or the threshold it manages to make it reach.
Q: Will the level of each outpost be unchanging?
A: Yes, and once the project is finalized, i.e. once the redesign of the outposts is effective throughout Atys (the tests at the Nexus are indeed just the first ones of a long series), only the nature of the materials produced by any outpost will change between battles, not their quality.
Q: Are there any plans to establish new outposts, for example in the Prime Roots?
A: No. For now, our priority is the completion of the current project: we don't want to slow it down by spreading our efforts.
Q: Given the "PvP area" status of the Nexus, what will prevent anyone from attacking the guild busy testing an outpost battle?
A: Outpost PvP prevents guild PvP by construction, plain and simple.
Q: Does this mean you can quietly drill or hunt for an hour in the Nexus as long as your guild is engaged in an outpost test attack?
A: Basically yes. Relevant comment.
Q (off-topic): When will range weapons be finalized, like 1H weapons were?
A: Since our goal is to finish as many of the current projects as possible in order to have a constant rhythm and an increasingly efficient team, we had to postpone the launch of some others. Thus, the final development of the shooting weapons is not abandoned, far from it. It is just put on hold.
However, if you wish to participate in the working group that is nonetheless reflecting on the subject, you can contact Tamarea privately.
Q (off-topic): Are there any plans to do anything to boost non-outpost PvP to make it more attractive? If not, wouldn't it be possible to have a meeting to discuss this?
A: We'd like to be able to address all the topics, issues and difficulties that players may encounter. But we can't answer all the requests right now, it would be counterproductive.
5 - AIS improvement
Ulukyn (RT) – 21:12 UTC
This enigmatic wording actually refers to the additions made to the server to improve the artificial intelligence (AIS) that is managing the actions and abilities of the creatures and NPCs evolving within it.
These additions, I'm sorry to have to tell you, have given ideas to our dear Teanwen which will make you sweat a lot.. For they result notably in the extension to the NPCs involved in punctual events of certain abilities until now specific to outpost NPCs: launchers, bombs, healing, etc. Thus, as she was in the past, Teanwen will again be in charge of designing and driving animations and events where players will have to fight "mini-bosses" able, this time, to use a launcher, to heal themselves, to throw bombs or gas...
These mini-boss events will be announced in advance by in-game broadcast. Note that the AIS modifications have greatly increased the technical possibilities: be prepared, therefore, for many surprises during these little events!
Q: Will these additions improve the NPC patrols (which I find a bit dull) in the various areas?
A: No. They only impact animations and events. They do not constitute an overhaul of all the NPCs and creatures in the game, but only allow for new possibilities for animators and ARKitects.
The meeting is closed at 21:32 UTC.
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