7 months gone by.. any real fixes?

[HandofBane]

I left back in November/December for assorted reasons, but have missed many of the friends I made in here since. I was curious to see how many changes or fixes have gone through in that time, and if it would be worthwhile to consider coming back or not. Housing functionality? Master resource forms (for construction)? Still big empty tracts of land with the odd monster clustering? Housing permissions finally holding correctly? I can see quite a few threads that confectioners still aren't a complete class (missed ya Vandy!), and that plots are going through another auction mess, what else has changed of note? Any of my old Bounty servermates still playing?

Mido Miko (that loudmouthed dryad with the giant crossbow)

[Khoal]

SEVEN DAY TRIAL.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION OR SEARCH FOR THE 5000 RESPONSES OBTAINED BY THE 5000 OTHER PEOPLE TO ASK THE EXACT SAME THING!

What ^^^ said.

[HandofBane]

Stuff it Kumu, I have done searches, and the 7 day trial will do nothing to let me see how the higher end of things have changed (unless it's suddenly possible to get from 1 to 80 in less than 7 days, get a plot and build it up to confirm housing and master forms).

[Entilzah]

Well, I don't think excessive caps is against any forum rules, but try not to shout at your fellow forum visitors, they won't be able to hear any other responses otherwise.[:P]

[LaughingOtter]

Stuff it Kumu, I have done searches, and the 7 day trial will do nothing to let me see how the higher end of things have changed (unless it's suddenly possible to get from 1 to 80 in less than 7 days, get a plot and build it up to confirm housing and master forms).

Spend $12.95 and reactivate your account for a month. Only you can decide if there have been any "real fixes" to whatever issues are important to you.

[HratLi]

::waves hi to Mido::

Unfortunately with the poor documentation of the whole patching it's hard to find out exactly what's changed in the last 7 months. A good number of bug fixes have gone in, though not much 'new' event wise.. I think we're still in Winter Festival for instance.

As everyone says, it's best to just reactivate and try things out yourself, get chatting with folks, try out combat again, etc. You'll get the best feel that way.

And for $13, even if you spend 2-3 hours just running around it's no worse than going out to a bad movie and having popcorn/soda.

-HratLi

[arseovrteakettl]

I agree with LaughingOtter: that's what I did 3 weeks ago and MAN!! the game has changed TONS since I stopped playing a bit after merger.

Try it for a month with your old character, pay out the $12.95 (equivalent of a delivery pizza or a couple of movie theater tickets) and see what you think.

But realize that the game has changed SO MUCH since you last played that you will need to relearn it. Mobs and resources will not be where you remember them. Download Pekka's maps (here in Player Customizations) and try to connect with people because you'll get lost otherwise.

If you're on Chaos, givemea holler (see below; I am usually playing Chuang these days)if you want to join a guild -- in any case join one because that will make the game more fun.

KUMU: be nice and don't scare anyone away. That's a good lad.

[Nosdracir]

Heyas Mido. Still a fair number of the Bounty crowd around. Enough to require a scrollbar on the Bounty channel most nights.

Master construction is the only master level stuff available, but all the materials have to be transmuted from tier 5, so it's an unholy pain. There are a few expert level ships on Chaos (e.g. expert blacksmith on Altair's plot in Ambato).

Mobs spawn is still slow. You can run through it before it appears unless someone else is already there. New aggro intended (seemingly) to limit power levelling causes mobs to go after the lowest AR in the area, regardless of grouping. Don't heal anyone higher level than you on a drive-by unless you're prepared to become the new target. Have to be extra careful not to accidentally KS someone when you only intended to help with a heal. That is supposed to get fixed.

New client code on Blight is supposed to reduce lag. They've asked people to test it. Reported results have varied.

Brand new Lesser Aradoth. Has a nice atmosphere now, kind of like the original did. More trees and more jungle. Better for newbies.

[Kulamata]

Pick up Pekka's map pack for monster locations; lots out there, but Istaria is a very big place.

Yes, there have been a lot of cumulative improvements; whether they are important to you....?

Afterthought. The plot reclamation system, reselling the plots of long-cancelled accounts is actually not a mess. Going very smoothly.

[Aamer Khan]

Howdy Mido!

There are lots of changes, and plenty of new things to do.

Lesser Aradoth has been totally revamped as has been stated, and well worth the creation of a new character to enjoy. There are new quests, like the tinker boots of speed, that provide +25 speed for 6 minutes. There is the one for the saris stone, and to get an emblem.

In ref. to the aggro changes that negativly affected everyone, those seem to have been fixed and now seem very reasonable. The Plots now default to deny all if changing hands, and so far all ours have retained their settings through patch and update alike. Auctions have gone VERY smoothly and there are still plots available to be had.

All in all better than 7 mo. ago. However, since I can't remember all the reasons you left, Like the others, login and see what you think. You still have plenty of the old crowd around, and even a few from long ago have returned.

Look forward to seeing ya soon ;)

[C`gan]

I left back in November/December for assorted reasons, but have missed many of the friends I made in here since. I was curious to see how many changes or fixes have gone through in that time, and if it would be worthwhile to consider coming back or not. Housing functionality?

Houses are now storage, much like silos. Double click on them and it opens an inventory window. Different house/hall structures have different caps and itemquantities they hold, but you should be able to find one that suits. They are working on furniture and decor to add. Several of the little patches they've done have been incorporating some of the game resources for this, so by no means are the houses and halls going to be sitting entirely empty.

Master resource forms (for construction)?

These are coming in. Currently, builders are hoarding up the expert construction forms and quite often, there are many other expert forms available on different pawnbrokers across the empire. The actual master forms have not been often seen mainly because they are much treasured by those who find them.

Still big empty tracts of land with the odd monster clustering?

BIG revamp. Unscheduled attacks. Though the beasties themselves are more in progression with the tiering of Aradoth (tier 3 resources near Mahagra, so expect tier 3 beasties). Plus the fact that they have added lots and LOTS of different beasties across the board.

Housing permissions finally holding correctly?

Plot permissions and building permissions are separate and holding from what I can tell. You even have the opportunity to determine a specific friends list to giveaccess to your plot.

I can see quite a few threads that confectioners still aren't a complete class (missed ya Vandy!), and that plots are going through another auction mess, what else has changed of note? Any of my old Bounty servermates still playing?

Mido Miko (that loudmouthed dryad with the giant crossbow)

Above and beyond that, some of these you may or may not have known about: new islands (guildplot islands, Genevia for tier 1 unguarded, Scorpion Island for tier 2 unguarded, Trandalar for tier 3, Abandoned Island, Fabric Island, Isle of Wisp), new structures to build (plot decorations, tiered crafthalls, tiered guildhalls, tiered houses, tiered silos, vaults, sharding HUGE trees), revamped requirements for curb appeal (walls, trees, boulders, walkways), the revamp of Lesser Aradoth, more stability from the client, lag reduction, fewer CTDs, stand-alone launcher, subscriptions not requiring buying new boxes for CD keys, different cargo disks (specific ones for miners/gatherers, ones to teleport with while loaded).

Any of that "of note" in your book?

[IndyMan]

[img]/Web/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]HandofBane wrote: Still big empty tracts of land with the odd monster clustering?

BIG revamp. Unscheduled attacks. Though the beasties themselves are more in progression with the tiering of Aradoth (tier 3 resources near Mahagra, so expect tier 3 beasties). Plus the fact that they have added lots and LOTS of different beasties across the board.

Still big empty tracks, however many games have areas without mobs to kill

[Guinness]

*waves at Mido*

Most of the changes have been pointed out alreadyI think - but there have even been simple changes like reducing the bulk of construction materials, allowing teleporting with a tarbash cargo disk, and letting higher level formulas make all lower leveled products. These things help to make life easier.

Should you decide to give things a try again (I sure hope you do[:)]), feel free to drop me a line if you need anything. Many of us from the old bounty days still play, so there will be some faces you will recognize.

[imported_Twelvebagger]

Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while!

Hi Mido!

I think people have summed it up already. I think it would be worth $13.00 to take a peek at Istaria again, as Mido. If you don't like it, well, you're out $13.00.

Tell you what, maybe we can get Hratli to solo a level 120 mob in his underwear and holding a bucket. That'd be worth $13.00 in entertainment wouldn't it?

:)

[Seranthor]

Nice to see you around again Mido, much has changed, I'm not allowed to share my current viewpoints publicly, if you want to send me a PM I'll tell you what I do know.Or I'dsay you'll have to dig around on the boards to see if your departure issues have been addressed or not.

[Thorongil]

I just resubscribed myself recently after leaving last November. Much has changed but sadly, not enough to keep me interested. I could find no indication that housing is anything other than a storage closet. I could find no information about furniture, possessions (like paintings, statues, etc.) that might decorate a house, about doors. Nothing about the "props" that made role playing so rich in Ultima Online. Nothing about new stories/events that would really matter.

Also the game seems to be settling into a rut very different from the first few months. The first few months, while plagued with technical problems, were an amazing time in terms of game stories, each server developing in its own way, etc. I can find little information about Istaria showing that sort of dynamic content and instead I see the typical myopic calls for more levels and more repeatable static quests. /sigh

I'll almost certainly be cancelling again near the end of the month. Horizons has changed a great deal but not enough for me and not enough in the direction I had hoped they would go. I guess it's back to watching future game releases and hoping someone really does create the game world where players really do make a difference. If I want static content, I can play WOW, which has more static content than you can shake a stick at. But what I really want is a growing, evolving game world where my character's actions can matter. Horizons no longer appears to even desire to be that game.

Could I change my mind before the end of July? Maybe but not likely the way things look now.

[arseovrteakettl]

But what I really want is a growing, evolving game world where my character's actions can matter. Horizons no longer appears to even desire to be that game.

Could I change my mind before the end of July? Maybe but not likely the way things look now.

Horizons does desire to be that game. Problem is that sort of dynamic interaction between players and game requires more developer time and attention than is available at the moment.

Amon was very active a couple weeks ago in live events -- including one for lowbies on New Brommel and others elsewhere in Istaria, and I believe the plan is for him to do a lot more of that. But he is on vacation now.

Housing will eventually include furniture and eye candy. Again, limited developer time prevents it.

Players are already able to influence the game world in a big way because of the strong and constant interaction with the developers, here and in irc. We ARE shaping the world of Istaria.

I really hope that anyone who cares about this little world of ours will be patient and stay around to help it grow. We, the players, really MATTER in this game.

[Syiara]

Heya!! im looking for that reason to resub and ressurect sy on chaos...anything happened to improved / revamp / fix the mem loss issues and overall lagginess?

if something significant has changed in this respec then i will be back come the 1st of august..

[kengar]

Syiara, there's been some improvement, and the current blight client seems better in both respects. It may well be a good idea to ask again after that client has gone live, or just resub for one month to see if the changes are noticable for you. I know that for most things, I have fewer memory/lag issues than I did pre-merge, though lately I've had problems in Feledan. Hoping that the blight client fixes that for me.

[HandofBane]

Well it's good to see some familiar faces out there! Talked to a couple people and dug deeply for information on the things that would keep me busy were I to resubscribe, and I hate to say it but looks like I will not be coming back at this time. Racial housing is still not finished, master resource forms still not in (even with the "this summer" comment), and to a lesser degree no furniture are the biggest things that would keep me busy in between harassing everyone in the chat channels and running out to the T5/6 mobs and collecting DPs. Sorry to let people down, but I will come back in a couple months to see if any of that has been addressed in a more solid manner than just "soon" or "after we finish X".

Take care til then folks. [:'(]