FAQs

[awdz]

Thought I’d do as Frith-Rae suggested and start a post with commonly suggested things and developer responses… I don't suppose it could be stickied? And devs please feel free to edit/add to what is here!!

1. Can we please have Furniture/Decorations/Paintings/etc. added to houses?

Originally Posted by AmonGwareth

Thanks for posting your suggestions. We, both developers and players, would surely love to have furniture and decorations for housing. Unfortunately the technology required in the client isn't there. And probably won't be given the amount of work (and re-work) that would be required to implement it.

Originally Posted by AmonGwareth

But, we do very much appreciate your suggestions. Glad you are enjoying Istaria!.

2. Can dragons carry bipeds/Can bipeds ride dragons?

Originally Posted by AmonGwareth

The ability for bipeds to ride dragons is something that many players have asked for, but at this time the game does not support it.

3. Dryads have wings; can they fly too, like dragons? Can bipeds get techniques for / learn to fly?

Originally Posted by AmonGwareth

True, dryads do have wings. But they hover, not fly. And while it might logically seem that they should be able to fly for gameplay purposes it is better than flight remain a thing for Dragons. It makes them more of a draw and more special, than if another race could fly as well.

4. Can we have an in-game mail system?
From June 9th, 2008, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by Amarie Ancalimon

An in game email system is not something that is on our list of new features coming any time in the near future. We are not the sort of company that "just gets it done" and "throws together" a system without carefully considering the best way to implement it. In game email is something that we have considered, researched how it works in other games, and thought about for Istaria, but we have come to the conclusion that for the foreseeable future, there are many other projects which the team should focus on that take priority. The length of time required to implement an in game email system correctly does not provide enough of a boost in the player's gaming experience that we can justify tabling the many other items on our project list at this time.

Your suggestions are always appreciated and heard, but sometimes "no" really is "no", and this is one of those times.

- Amarie

5. Can we custom name our silos and other plot/lair structures with what we put inside them?
I did not find a definitive developer response but thought this player response was useful:

Originally Posted by Smaug

Theres a way to do this already sorta, by editing a file. Its time consuming cause you have to find the locale and structure ID# for each first but it can be done. I had 40 silos all labeled with what was stored in them. Works very well, only you can see the labels though.

Originally Posted by Smaug

Biggest problem is file will occasionally get overwrote, my was recently (might of been when was required to do a worldcache empty, not sure) and then you'd have to do it all over again.

I think the particulars on what need to do is in the player mod section somewhere.

Would be so much nicer if Devs could somehow make it structures had the "customize" selection on right click like armor and weapons and most everything else does.

Smaug

[Shian]

(was working on a version of this myself. I'll contribute some other popular ones I found if you don't mind)

6. Dragons should have genders! Why don't they have genders? Can they be put in the game?

Originally Posted by Solitaire

Sslik do not have a gender and that has never been at question.

Originally dragons were the same but nobody would accept it so gender crept in and it is now generally accepted that they do. Physically changing the models to reflect that will cause a tremendous argument. While you think that females should be slender and male bulkier there are others out there with the exact opposite view. And that is backed up biologically with some species in the world. Should we limit females to drab colors as it is generally done in the bird world? I sure ain't gonna try it. I value my skin too much.

It is far too late to be making changes of that nature.

7. Upgrade the graphics! They're too old!

Originally Posted by Solitaire

I don't like popping bubbles. Especially when I would love to see the visuals in Istaria brought to a new level as much as anyone. But overhauling the engine would not be the only thing that would need to be done. Nor upgrading servers/bandwidth. Pretty much the entire graphical asset set would need to be replaced as well. New models. New textures to go on those models. All new effects to go with the new engine. New shaders for textures that gleam/reflect or animate in some way (think portal shimmer). What you are talking about is basically building an entire new game minus game play mechanics and existing content. We are doing a few things behind the scenes to update and improve but it is a more gradual improvement over time that is less noticeable instead of making a big splash all at once. With the amount of time and effort needed to put forth such an overhaul it would be more feasible to create Istaria 2. (Anyone got a few spare million for development money they would like to invest?)

But regardless, besides a few quirks here and there, Istaria still is a pretty darn good looking game for it's age. I've seen newer games that don't look as good as this one. Istaria has a more realistic color palette than others which have a more vivid "cartoonish" look to them. And I prefer it that way, actually. Istaria is easier on the eyes though that same appearance that I like may make it look less exciting to those who judge by a quick impression. It is the same old judging a book by it's cover thing, I suppose.

8. Can we make dragon armor visible like how the bipeds have visible armor?

Originally Posted by Solitaire

The UV maps on the dragon model will need an overhaul before we can start making visible items. To give you an idea, look at the neck on a dragon that has the "snake belly" scales. The lines of the scales are straight on the texture but they make a sharp V down the front of the neck because of the irregularities in the UV map. And that is one of the easy to fix issues. I'm going to have to create a grid texture and try to get some sanity into the UVs to make it easier to make the attaching textures. But since this will make visible changes to all dragons it has to be carefully done.