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Ummm... Dainan, in this case you found a bug.

You can't think that you're the first person to have tried this, nor that it would have been spread around if it was an intended and consistent result.

Almati Wood has never before been a "free transfer station" and it isn't intended to be one. The devs fixed a bug -- they did not take away a feature.

-- Bittty

Bittty, YOU knew about this. I recall very clearly you saying on Uni "Don't be giving away my secrets now, Dainan" when I first mentioned the concept. Nothing changed then, as evidenced by the fact that I didn't write the post until four days after first discussing it on the Uni channel.

Plus there's the traffic to consider coming into the blog itself. I'm sorry, but taking all of that into consideration?

Something stinks to high heaven and frankly, I'm not risking my credibiity as a writer to find out. If Winch Gate wants someone to promote their game for free, I strongly suggest they start laying down some guidelines about what's proper to publish and what isn't - or, at the VERY least, start giving out a lot more information about why changes are made and when.

Moot point as far as I'm concerned, however.  Now my readers know what's going on, and Winch Gate can respond at their leisure (though frankly, I don't expect a response).

Now, if you'll excuse me, the good folks at TFE have been wondering where I've been all this time and are very much interested in Dainan's tale being told in THEIR setting. Since they're remarkably more transparent and responsive, I feel I owe it to them to at least discuss the matter. -bp

I don't remember saying that, but that's likely because it was a frivolous side-comment. Certainly I have NOT BEEN to Altmati Wood since the merger so I couldn't have known about it.

The fact remains that it was a bug, not a feature, and it has been removed. That the admins/CSR's were able to fix it so rapidly suggests that it was a data setting, not a programing matter.

Yes, I suspect that it was fixed due to your posting of it as a "feature". Your site has good publicity. No, I don't think they're dissing their customer base. It is part of the design of Atys that getting from one land to another in the early stages of the game is difficult unless you have help from advanced players. Haven't you noticed that Ryzom's game play options are *strongly* aimed towards team play? (That's a rhetorical question, not a serious one. I don't doubt for a moment that you were unaware of that.)

And even without a bug, I have known more than one low level toon (<=50 melee/magic) that has circumnavigated the new lands. Solo. All it takes is patience, a basic understanding of the game mechanics and a tolerance for dp (which is easy to work off).

It is a maxim of mine (not original to me): "Do not ascribe to malice and actions that can reasonably be explained in other ways ." (Such other ways might be lack of communication skills, sheer incompetence, user error, etc.)

Bittty - (Not a dev nor a CSR)

Well, I managed to get ahold of a guy named Vianney Lecroart on the Plus concerning this, so maybe I can get it resolved. 

And you're not the only person that knew of the trick. We both know that. Lots of players likely do. But it is what it is, the record's been set straight and I'm just waiting on an explanation.

While I do that, I think some Street Fighter is in order. Haven't played it in a while. Great game. :-) -bp

Actually I tried that a while ago, not long after merge. I thought I might be able to get to Zora that way but it didn't work for me then either. I don't think they suddenly fixed it, I think you may have had an unexpected outcome when you tried it.

When I read your walktrhough, I thought to myself "I'm pretty sure that doesn't work". Tried it last night and, sure enough, it didn't.

P.S. anyone running a trek to Fairhaven? :-p

If no one is, Winch Gate SHOULD be.

I was just having this conversation with some local gamer pals of mine (they saw the book announcement and came out of the woodwork - gonna go play some M:tG with some of 'em today, looking forward to it!) and we're all in agreement on the trekking issue. If Winch Gate (or ANY game developer, really) insists on having a certain game mechanic and apparently insists that players follow this mechanic, then it stands to reason that the developer of the game should be running their own basic means of making use of said system.

In other words, it would certainly behoove Winch Gate to put up a few "bus stop" signs and run a regularly-scheduled basic global trek given the fact that these events are so haphazardly and inconsistently scheduled and promoted by regular players (who, it should be pointed out, did not shell out perfectly good cash in many instances to do Winch Gate's work for them). 

Or, barring that, have a way for new players to get from capital to capital with relative safety, so they can at least get a taste of the basic areas and want the hell out of some more like many Silan residents tend to do.

Which they did.

And then shut down.

Without telling anyone.

And making the writer of the walkthrough for that particular feature (I'm sorry, but with as many old-school players that already knew about it then it can't be considered any more a "bug" than using the Water Breakers to help you kill the 5 clopper necessary to advance in the Fyros sage quest - which you can, by the way, and I was told specifically that this IS a feature because I tried to report it) look like a liar in the process for no valid reason that I've seen so far.

But hey, I don't own the place. ;-) -bp

I always go through a walkthough myself step-by-step as I'm writing it to ensure the most current information, and more often than not have performed a certain trick multiple instances over multiple days. (You should see my research notes on the New Horizons stuff.) This is one of those things.

However, I should stress again that my issue isn't with the repair of the trick/bug/whatever itself, but the fact that it was done so without even so much as a headsup to anyone else, which puts newer players in a fair amount of danger should there be a lack of clear communication.

YOU knew, of course, to go back from whence you came. A newer player might not know that, wander about, get eaten and then blame me for bad information. I'd rather not have to deal with that. Especially if I'm producing 12 articles in 2 weeks for free. It's a respect thing. -bp