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Before you ask, Part 2 won't be out for a while. It's gonna take a lot of research and discussion before that's ready.
Fan Faire April 2006 Tradeskill Discussion Topics
Hot-Button Issues
1. Removing the success caps on high-end items
It’s something to look at, and the devs are aware of player concerns. However, other issues such as drop rate and player accessibility have to be addressed first. Once those are addressed, the success caps can be reviewed.
I also had some interesting discussions with Maddoc about the possibility of a comprehensive change that would fix the issue of success caps, trivial changes, and drop rates, all in one fell swoop. He asked me to do some research on the topic. More on that when I have something meaningful to report. (This will be part 2.)
2. What changes are planned to address the disparity in drop rates for the cultural armors?
This is back on the roster. It turns out there was some miscommunication between Ngreth and his managers, having to do with Ngreth still learning the ropes. Ngreth has re-iterated to his managers how important this topic is to players, and hopefully he will be assigned some time to address it soon.
3. What progress has been made in fixing skill-up path issues in tailoring and fletching?
Fletching has gotten some significant improvements in skillup options with PoR, and the devs feel this is sufficient for the moment – which isn’t to say that there won’t be more improvements in the future, mind you.
Tailoring is scheduled to receive a total, top-to-bottom overhaul with the next expansion, much like Alchemy got with this PoR. Hopefully, that will address and alleviate the many problems in Tailoring. It’s also planned for smithing and poison-making to get overhauls soon. Smithing may make it into this next expansion; poison making probably will not. In the long term, the devs plan to revamp all the tradeskills in a similar manner.
New Topics
1. Fix bazaar ports, PLEASE!
Ngreth said he wasn’t against making changes to the locations of the bazaar ports. Apparently the decision to place the spots you port to where they currently are was made because players were unable to find the way back out. Ngreth said that if there is enough call from the community to change it to a new location, he would do so. So post your feedback, folks. Do you like the ports where they are, or would you like them moved?
2. Improve the UI for the Barter, Buyer, and Seller windows, please.
The programmer on the panel (Nome) said that it was feasible to make the necessary changes, but that he would have to review what information the barter system has at each stage. The default selling UI will likely be changed so that it shows the price without having to adjust window sizes, but this may only affect new characters, not existing ones (who have to resize it themselves).
3. What plans do you have for new and more interesting arrows?
The developers made it clear that more powerful arrows will not be made available until a code patch is made to remove the effect of Endless Quiver on some arrows. Simply put, arrows more powerful than what’s out there today would be too powerful if they weren’t consumed on use. This is the code patch that held up the Bane arrows for DoDH – the arrows would have effectively been 18 damage against the specific bane mobs, and that level of damage is too strong unless the arrows are consumed. Once the code patch to bypass EQ for selected arrows is in place, the developers are not averse to adding in new arrows with more damage or nifty effects.
Follow-ups to past Fan Faires
1. Phylactery Quest: Token of Service and Mana Crystals
There is no change on the status of this topic. Maddoc asked me to remind him to talk to Swords and Sorcery about the change; since it’s a lore-based tie-in to the RPG books, they have to approve any changes to it.. In terms of game balance, there is apparently no problem with restoring the quest to all characters. The change just has to be OK’ed by the folks at Swords and Sorcery, and Maddoc hasn’t’ had much time to deal with it lately (for obvious reasons).
Sadly, there is still no word on the mana crystals.
2. Could you remove the need for Tanaan containers?
Ngreth and Maddoc both seemed OK with this change, but they did want to review which recipes would be makable in ordinary containers. Specifically, any combines for the Aid Grimel quest will most definitely still require Tanaan containers; in Ngreth’s words, “you gotta leave the guild hall” if you’re going to do that quest. =) Other combines will likely be doable in non-Tanaan containers.
3. Could we please revisit the idea of rotating stock on vendors?
I spoke to several developers about the topic, and all agreed this would be an easy enough change to make, though the error-checking logic would have to be reviewed (like what happens if you click on an item that happens to be the oldest, intending to buy it, then someone else sells a different item, causing the one you selected to poof). Apparently the merchant code still uses much of the original programming, which has numerous quirks that need special handling. (The devs mentioned, for example, that merchants with INT below a certain number are not “smart enough” to resell items they buy from players, while those with a swimming skill of nine have particular attributes … really weird anomalies from the very early days of the game.)
Additionally, Maddoc said he would try to get it added to the list of “small stuff a programmer could do quickly while between bigger projects” (henceforth referred to as the Quick List – my name for it, and not a direct quote).
4. Could we get a message that tells us what item you failed to make?
5. Order of success/fail and skill-up messages
Again, the devs aren’t opposed, and the programmers figure these two topics should be moderately easy to do. They’re also going on the Quick List.
6. Could we please get a brew barrel added in the bazaar?
Ngreth said probably, but not definitely. No timeline for it either.
7. Could we please get some way to make celestial essence in bulk?
In the time-honored tradition of quick fixes everywhere, Ngreth plans to do some copy/paste magic to add some new bulk recipes for stuff people make a lot. He mentioned that most likely, CE will get a way to make it three at a time, probably by having a new vendor component instead of Celestial Solvent, then using three of the same rune/word/research component/whatever. Ngreth implied that since it’s a glorified copy/paste routine, it wouldn’t take too long, but again, no official timeline for it.
Poison-Making Comments
8. Are you aware of the issues rogues have brought up regarding poison making?
9. If so, what changes can we hope for in the future?
The devs know about the problems with poison making, and they’ve been keeping up with player comments about the topic. Poison making is due to get a top-to-bottom revamp, but that’s 2-3 expansions away for now
Other issues
Player made traps for sale are possible. Holly Longdale (Vahlar) said she liked the idea.
Mistletoe cutting sickles are still trivial 335; that hasn’t changed at all.
Someone asked if there are any new recipes that don’t need raids? The devs said that with the next expansion, there will be more.
Alchemy – can shamans get foraging? Ngreth pointed out that alchemy does not need foraging any more. In addition, it was pointed out that evil toons (for RP guilds and servers) who need foraged items for whatever reason can get them from iksar, who get forage as racial ability.
A question was asked about making more AAAA components and subcombines stackable, and Ngreth said he’d look into it. He also reiterated that the devs are happy with the drop rate of the AAAA components, including the rare Clockwork Gnome Bolts.
Someone asked about bugs happening when the maximum number of favorite recipes is reached, and the devs said they’d look into that too, maybe raising the cap on favorite recipes.
A question was asked about making endurance regen potions, and the devs said they would do it if they decide it’s a good idea. However, this comes against a backdrop of significant changes to the game. There is a massive effort underway to reduce players’ downtime. Examples of changes they’re discussing include a “non-combat mode” that would allow players to regen HP, mana, and endurance much faster than the current rates. The current regen rates and caps would only apply in combat situations. Similarly, they’re discussing numerous options for changing how death is handled, including modifying the death penalty, allowing players to respawn with their gear, and so on. In addition, the devs mentioned that the current rez system penalizes lower level players (through lower-exp rezzes) much more severely than higher-level ones, which doesn’t make much sense. Nothing is certain yet, but my impression is that we’ll see whatever changes they decide on at the same time as the next expansion.
There was a question about making Omens spells researchable, and the devs said it was planned to make them researchable at some point in the future. My impression was that this was at least one expansion away, if not more, so don’t hold your breath. =)
Someone asked about using tradeskills to modify the appearance of armors (that is, to give armors the look of another armor model). The devs said this is not likely, as it would require reworking most armor models in the game. This is another issue that is tied up with new character models.
The devs were asked about doing more GM and live events. They said they’d love to do more, but the GM staff is now almost entirely customer-service personnel, with far fewer RP staff, so it’s harder to get large events done.
Someone asked about mass combines for vendor bought items, and the devs said they’d consider it. See also the discussion of Celestial Essence.
Some time back, Maddoc had said there would be rewards for players who took part in the Greater Faydark battles and the retaking of Grobb. However, players apparently never found the rewards. At the Fan Faire, Maddoc said the rewards should be a new title, “of (your city)”. Since apparently no one has these titles in game, Maddoc said he would look into it
Ngreth said that Gnomish Heat Sources can now be found in Relic, and the stack size might be increased a little (but not to 100).
The devs made it clear that potions should never replace having a player in a group, so the mana-regen potions and such intentionally don’t stack with player-cast spells. Few new potions will stack with player spells.
It was pointed out that some players couldn’t use the Return Home button without dying instantly due to faction issues. The devs were a bit surprised this was possible and said it most certainly wasn’t intended. The two mentioned factions were the Order of Three and the faction hits for killing in the Plane of Growth.
Someone asked about a new, far-reaching tradeskill quest like the Shawls or Aid Grimel. Ngreth said it’s feasible and he wants to do it, but he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to. Again, time is a problem.
Players pointed out that there were some problems with older, existing drop rates when the changes to Crystallized Sulfur went in. Ngreth said he’d review it again.
Someone asked about making a new Spirit of the Cheetah-like potion. Ngreth said he’d consider it. Similarly, someone asked about an RGC potion, but the devs said probably not. The devs said they would also take a look at the drop rates for items to make high level potions.
Someone asked about Bristlebane’s Challenge. The devs had no comment. =)
Someone asked about tinkering mastery, and the devs said they’re considering several ideas to make it happen. No timeline on when it would, though.
The ability to forage sylvan berries is broken, along with a number of other forage and loot tables. This was a simple “oops” mistake that’s just waiting for a patch to fix. In addition, the devs agreed to consider whether it would be a good idea to add sylvan berry drops to orcs.
Someone mentioned the possibility of favorites list for buying and selling in the bazaar.
There was an interesting discussion about tributing attunable items. Basically, the devs hold that no-drop items in general should not be part of the economy, which means no way to transfer to another player, and no “residual value” so to speak – in other words, when you’re done with a no-drop item, the only option should be to destroy it. (As a side note, the devs will look into why some Omens no-drop items can be turned in for guild tribute; this is not intended.) Ideally, the devs would like non-attuned items to be tributable, while attuned ones would have zero tribute value. However, the game doesn’t currently support this. As a result, all attunable items have zero tribute value.
A player asked about the Halfling grandmaster augments quest. Apparently the needed mobs are either not spawning or far too rare. In either case, the devs will review it. In addition, the devs said that the common part (kill 120, loot 80) and the rare part (kill 20, collect 5) should take roughly the same amount of time to complete, for all the GM augment quests.
Someone asked about continuing the Stanos story line, and the devs said they’d like to do that.
The devs were asked about the possibility of researching melee tomes, much like spells, but that received a flat-out no. It would require the OK of upper management, and they’re not interested in researching tomes right now.
A question was asked about making a lower level version of the AAAA for chronal augs, or for type 12 augs for non-GM armors. The devs didn’t seem too enthusiastic, but they said they’d consider it.
Finally, someone asked about making the Kaladim ground spawns (for Kaladim Constitutionals) match, and the devs said they’d probably do it.
Fan Faire April 2006 Tradeskill Discussion Topics
Hot-Button Issues
1. Removing the success caps on high-end items
It’s something to look at, and the devs are aware of player concerns. However, other issues such as drop rate and player accessibility have to be addressed first. Once those are addressed, the success caps can be reviewed.
I also had some interesting discussions with Maddoc about the possibility of a comprehensive change that would fix the issue of success caps, trivial changes, and drop rates, all in one fell swoop. He asked me to do some research on the topic. More on that when I have something meaningful to report. (This will be part 2.)
2. What changes are planned to address the disparity in drop rates for the cultural armors?
This is back on the roster. It turns out there was some miscommunication between Ngreth and his managers, having to do with Ngreth still learning the ropes. Ngreth has re-iterated to his managers how important this topic is to players, and hopefully he will be assigned some time to address it soon.
3. What progress has been made in fixing skill-up path issues in tailoring and fletching?
Fletching has gotten some significant improvements in skillup options with PoR, and the devs feel this is sufficient for the moment – which isn’t to say that there won’t be more improvements in the future, mind you.
Tailoring is scheduled to receive a total, top-to-bottom overhaul with the next expansion, much like Alchemy got with this PoR. Hopefully, that will address and alleviate the many problems in Tailoring. It’s also planned for smithing and poison-making to get overhauls soon. Smithing may make it into this next expansion; poison making probably will not. In the long term, the devs plan to revamp all the tradeskills in a similar manner.
New Topics
1. Fix bazaar ports, PLEASE!
Ngreth said he wasn’t against making changes to the locations of the bazaar ports. Apparently the decision to place the spots you port to where they currently are was made because players were unable to find the way back out. Ngreth said that if there is enough call from the community to change it to a new location, he would do so. So post your feedback, folks. Do you like the ports where they are, or would you like them moved?
2. Improve the UI for the Barter, Buyer, and Seller windows, please.
The programmer on the panel (Nome) said that it was feasible to make the necessary changes, but that he would have to review what information the barter system has at each stage. The default selling UI will likely be changed so that it shows the price without having to adjust window sizes, but this may only affect new characters, not existing ones (who have to resize it themselves).
3. What plans do you have for new and more interesting arrows?
The developers made it clear that more powerful arrows will not be made available until a code patch is made to remove the effect of Endless Quiver on some arrows. Simply put, arrows more powerful than what’s out there today would be too powerful if they weren’t consumed on use. This is the code patch that held up the Bane arrows for DoDH – the arrows would have effectively been 18 damage against the specific bane mobs, and that level of damage is too strong unless the arrows are consumed. Once the code patch to bypass EQ for selected arrows is in place, the developers are not averse to adding in new arrows with more damage or nifty effects.
Follow-ups to past Fan Faires
1. Phylactery Quest: Token of Service and Mana Crystals
There is no change on the status of this topic. Maddoc asked me to remind him to talk to Swords and Sorcery about the change; since it’s a lore-based tie-in to the RPG books, they have to approve any changes to it.. In terms of game balance, there is apparently no problem with restoring the quest to all characters. The change just has to be OK’ed by the folks at Swords and Sorcery, and Maddoc hasn’t’ had much time to deal with it lately (for obvious reasons).
Sadly, there is still no word on the mana crystals.
2. Could you remove the need for Tanaan containers?
Ngreth and Maddoc both seemed OK with this change, but they did want to review which recipes would be makable in ordinary containers. Specifically, any combines for the Aid Grimel quest will most definitely still require Tanaan containers; in Ngreth’s words, “you gotta leave the guild hall” if you’re going to do that quest. =) Other combines will likely be doable in non-Tanaan containers.
3. Could we please revisit the idea of rotating stock on vendors?
I spoke to several developers about the topic, and all agreed this would be an easy enough change to make, though the error-checking logic would have to be reviewed (like what happens if you click on an item that happens to be the oldest, intending to buy it, then someone else sells a different item, causing the one you selected to poof). Apparently the merchant code still uses much of the original programming, which has numerous quirks that need special handling. (The devs mentioned, for example, that merchants with INT below a certain number are not “smart enough” to resell items they buy from players, while those with a swimming skill of nine have particular attributes … really weird anomalies from the very early days of the game.)
Additionally, Maddoc said he would try to get it added to the list of “small stuff a programmer could do quickly while between bigger projects” (henceforth referred to as the Quick List – my name for it, and not a direct quote).
4. Could we get a message that tells us what item you failed to make?
5. Order of success/fail and skill-up messages
Again, the devs aren’t opposed, and the programmers figure these two topics should be moderately easy to do. They’re also going on the Quick List.
6. Could we please get a brew barrel added in the bazaar?
Ngreth said probably, but not definitely. No timeline for it either.
7. Could we please get some way to make celestial essence in bulk?
In the time-honored tradition of quick fixes everywhere, Ngreth plans to do some copy/paste magic to add some new bulk recipes for stuff people make a lot. He mentioned that most likely, CE will get a way to make it three at a time, probably by having a new vendor component instead of Celestial Solvent, then using three of the same rune/word/research component/whatever. Ngreth implied that since it’s a glorified copy/paste routine, it wouldn’t take too long, but again, no official timeline for it.
Poison-Making Comments
8. Are you aware of the issues rogues have brought up regarding poison making?
9. If so, what changes can we hope for in the future?
The devs know about the problems with poison making, and they’ve been keeping up with player comments about the topic. Poison making is due to get a top-to-bottom revamp, but that’s 2-3 expansions away for now
Other issues
Player made traps for sale are possible. Holly Longdale (Vahlar) said she liked the idea.
Mistletoe cutting sickles are still trivial 335; that hasn’t changed at all.
Someone asked if there are any new recipes that don’t need raids? The devs said that with the next expansion, there will be more.
Alchemy – can shamans get foraging? Ngreth pointed out that alchemy does not need foraging any more. In addition, it was pointed out that evil toons (for RP guilds and servers) who need foraged items for whatever reason can get them from iksar, who get forage as racial ability.
A question was asked about making more AAAA components and subcombines stackable, and Ngreth said he’d look into it. He also reiterated that the devs are happy with the drop rate of the AAAA components, including the rare Clockwork Gnome Bolts.
Someone asked about bugs happening when the maximum number of favorite recipes is reached, and the devs said they’d look into that too, maybe raising the cap on favorite recipes.
A question was asked about making endurance regen potions, and the devs said they would do it if they decide it’s a good idea. However, this comes against a backdrop of significant changes to the game. There is a massive effort underway to reduce players’ downtime. Examples of changes they’re discussing include a “non-combat mode” that would allow players to regen HP, mana, and endurance much faster than the current rates. The current regen rates and caps would only apply in combat situations. Similarly, they’re discussing numerous options for changing how death is handled, including modifying the death penalty, allowing players to respawn with their gear, and so on. In addition, the devs mentioned that the current rez system penalizes lower level players (through lower-exp rezzes) much more severely than higher-level ones, which doesn’t make much sense. Nothing is certain yet, but my impression is that we’ll see whatever changes they decide on at the same time as the next expansion.
There was a question about making Omens spells researchable, and the devs said it was planned to make them researchable at some point in the future. My impression was that this was at least one expansion away, if not more, so don’t hold your breath. =)
Someone asked about using tradeskills to modify the appearance of armors (that is, to give armors the look of another armor model). The devs said this is not likely, as it would require reworking most armor models in the game. This is another issue that is tied up with new character models.
The devs were asked about doing more GM and live events. They said they’d love to do more, but the GM staff is now almost entirely customer-service personnel, with far fewer RP staff, so it’s harder to get large events done.
Someone asked about mass combines for vendor bought items, and the devs said they’d consider it. See also the discussion of Celestial Essence.
Some time back, Maddoc had said there would be rewards for players who took part in the Greater Faydark battles and the retaking of Grobb. However, players apparently never found the rewards. At the Fan Faire, Maddoc said the rewards should be a new title, “of (your city)”. Since apparently no one has these titles in game, Maddoc said he would look into it
Ngreth said that Gnomish Heat Sources can now be found in Relic, and the stack size might be increased a little (but not to 100).
The devs made it clear that potions should never replace having a player in a group, so the mana-regen potions and such intentionally don’t stack with player-cast spells. Few new potions will stack with player spells.
It was pointed out that some players couldn’t use the Return Home button without dying instantly due to faction issues. The devs were a bit surprised this was possible and said it most certainly wasn’t intended. The two mentioned factions were the Order of Three and the faction hits for killing in the Plane of Growth.
Someone asked about a new, far-reaching tradeskill quest like the Shawls or Aid Grimel. Ngreth said it’s feasible and he wants to do it, but he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to. Again, time is a problem.
Players pointed out that there were some problems with older, existing drop rates when the changes to Crystallized Sulfur went in. Ngreth said he’d review it again.
Someone asked about making a new Spirit of the Cheetah-like potion. Ngreth said he’d consider it. Similarly, someone asked about an RGC potion, but the devs said probably not. The devs said they would also take a look at the drop rates for items to make high level potions.
Someone asked about Bristlebane’s Challenge. The devs had no comment. =)
Someone asked about tinkering mastery, and the devs said they’re considering several ideas to make it happen. No timeline on when it would, though.
The ability to forage sylvan berries is broken, along with a number of other forage and loot tables. This was a simple “oops” mistake that’s just waiting for a patch to fix. In addition, the devs agreed to consider whether it would be a good idea to add sylvan berry drops to orcs.
Someone mentioned the possibility of favorites list for buying and selling in the bazaar.
There was an interesting discussion about tributing attunable items. Basically, the devs hold that no-drop items in general should not be part of the economy, which means no way to transfer to another player, and no “residual value” so to speak – in other words, when you’re done with a no-drop item, the only option should be to destroy it. (As a side note, the devs will look into why some Omens no-drop items can be turned in for guild tribute; this is not intended.) Ideally, the devs would like non-attuned items to be tributable, while attuned ones would have zero tribute value. However, the game doesn’t currently support this. As a result, all attunable items have zero tribute value.
A player asked about the Halfling grandmaster augments quest. Apparently the needed mobs are either not spawning or far too rare. In either case, the devs will review it. In addition, the devs said that the common part (kill 120, loot 80) and the rare part (kill 20, collect 5) should take roughly the same amount of time to complete, for all the GM augment quests.
Someone asked about continuing the Stanos story line, and the devs said they’d like to do that.
The devs were asked about the possibility of researching melee tomes, much like spells, but that received a flat-out no. It would require the OK of upper management, and they’re not interested in researching tomes right now.
A question was asked about making a lower level version of the AAAA for chronal augs, or for type 12 augs for non-GM armors. The devs didn’t seem too enthusiastic, but they said they’d consider it.
Finally, someone asked about making the Kaladim ground spawns (for Kaladim Constitutionals) match, and the devs said they’d probably do it.
Ngreth Thergn
Seasons.
. 
) skip 2 zones entirely. Related, this is why the need for some recipes requiring Tanaan containers was being addressed, because there are a limited amount available in PoK, being able to do these combines anywhere would also help lag-heavy systems.
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