Name changing. Necessary and not neccessary

[LOVWYRM]

*sigh* indeed Riaken.

[Raptress]

It sounds like the names that really bother people are the pygmy/ogre names, I'm guessing because they all sound so similar. Perhaps making these names sufficiently different from each other might help with that, rather than having them all be one-syllable + "-kuk"?

[Dragonboy]

I dislike the new names for being hard to remember, but I also dislike the old names for being so ridiculously the same. Then I come to the point that any progress is good, even name changing is good if it makes the game a little better then it was before.

I can understand that it might be difficult for the older players (like myself), but people can always do a Wiki search after changes are made. In time it will grow on us… I hope.

[Vahrokh]

The change of the names would be an inexpensive way to add a tiny bit of what I think Amon has in mind: make Istaria slowly become more interesting, less prevedible, less "cookie cutter" in many things.

IE I find it was terrible to call stuff like "flame XX, fire xxx", so much "programmer-with-low-fantasy-autogenerating-names" flavoured. They could as well just have called them "T1 ogre, T2 ogre, T3 ogre" and it'd be as predictable and boring.

Now, Istaria would really need an anti-age treatment and also an anti-boredom (including names) operation.
Next in line imho would be to make craft grinding less of a robot operation.

As of now Istaria consists of 20 levels, boringly cloned for six times.

This is another terrible mechanic. How fun is it to craft 10000 sandstone pestles, then obviously 10000 slate pestles, then obviously 10000 granite pestless, then 10000 <place here yawn name> pestle.
The game gets old fast.

Instead it should be possible to do few stuff at low level, then expand both on number and complexity as you level up. A T6 pestle (when it'll ever exist) should be something epic, made of sub-pieces (ie [Epic uber wood handle] + [God-likeum mortar upper part] + ....).

At the same time, since making that stuff is much more time involving, the raw amount needed to level up would be reduced a lot. IE instead of 10000 pestles it'd become 1000 pestles, as long as the total time sink stays the same it'd work.

IE the T5+ cargo discs are a good starting examples but for T5+ I'd have made them twice as complex to make but less numbers to make.

[Frith-Rae]

All I would ask is to keep the identifiers the same for all the creatures of the same tier.

If "Petrified" is for tier II, then dont call tier IV of another mob "Petrified" whatever. If the first word of a name has anythign to do with tier/level/difficulty then keep it the same so that its not so confusing.

Eh, I see it as...time could be better spent elsewhere, but perhaps other things aren't so easy to fix either.

I'd find it more annoying in game if two types of beetles are labeled two entirely differnent things - but they have the exact same game model. That would be far more boring/frustrating to me than "fire vs flame" beetle...

[Raptress]

I'd find it more annoying in game if two types of beetles are labeled two entirely differnent things - but they have the exact same game model. That would be far more boring/frustrating to me than "fire vs flame" beetle...

Maybe I'm misunderstanding exactly what you meant, but most MMOs reuse models to at least some extent. The number of unique mob models is often a way lower number than the number of unique mobs in the actual game; making a unique model for each mob is probably not within the realms of feasibility.

Istaria does this already, like with the mobs that come in sizes: small, medium, large.. they're all the same model. Then there's reuses like with giant ice beetles, frost beetles, nix beetles, ice beetles.. all the same thing. Though if we're speaking technically, all beetles are the same model. It's just the texture that changes.

[Frith-Rae]

Yea no I dint mean just a texture change. I meant something like.

Ok Kill 5 Ice beetles - I go out and do that. Come back, and now it wants me to kill 5 Frozen Ice Beetles. Ok when I run out I'm not really expecting anything amazing or awesome or different. They're all ice beetles, even if one is level 20 and one is 30 or something like that.

But if I kill 5 Permafrost Beetles, and then am sent to kill 5 Arctic Tundra Beetles - those names are entirely differnt and so setup more of an expectation (IMO) of a different beetle. So at the very least yes it should be a texture difference.

I was trying to explain that it seems like with the lack of mob variety in game its *less* of a dissapointment to go from killing ice to frozen to frosty to snowy beetles and not getting any real differnce in the mobs.

Whereas if you're killing Preumberate, Ilustrious, Magarific beetles you're going out expecting these to NOT be the same.

If that made sense..at all. But maybe its just me.

And yea, I do hate other games where they use the same freakin model for 20 30 or 40 levels. *cough* LOTR *cough*

[Guaran]

I think changing the names is fine, so long as they are vigiliant in updating and correcting the comp descriptions (this component is used in: ) and tech descriptions.

We will always already know the tier of the mob since they almost always match the tier of the technique. (Only exception I can think of off the top of my head is Freeze V uses Frost hound manes (t6). But this is changed in the loot revamp anyway, so a non issue). So if Armor II needs Ish'kuk Ogre kneecaps, you know its going to be an ogre in tier 2 zones, and Ogre's are only in the snowy sections in tier 2. New players who do not know this, wouldn't have known where the old "Snow" ogres are anyway. Again, moot point since they will have to ask. And old players can just match up the tier of the tech and know were to go looking.

Seems like alot of fuss over a minor thing.

What would be nice is adding to the doom comp descriptions the names of the dyes they are used in.

[Kesqui]

So if Armor II needs Ish'kuk Ogre kneecaps, you know its going to be an ogre in tier 2 zones, and Ogre's are only in the snowy sections in tier 2. New players who do not know this, wouldn't have known where the old "Snow" ogres are anyway.

Though at least the name "snow ogre" implies that they're in "a snowy area that's T2" rather than "These Ish'kuk guys could be anywhere!"

I'd like to see creatures named according to their location more - for example, "Dali'kuk" ogres might show up on Dalimond Ridge; "Mahag'kuk" ogres would be found at the Ice Palace (or would they be "Kira'kuk"?).

Mahagra Tundra Wolves.
Heather Mountain Wolves.
Frontier Dire Wolves.

Of course, the problem there is that you get the same type of mob in two or more different places - you'd need Dalimond White Wolves and Island White Wolves (for Scorpion/AI) ....

[AguaRush]

my 2c worth. i was just talking bout this yesterday with some people online...
i dont mind the name changes it does make it confusing...but hey old dogs gotta learn new tricks..

but i just get frustrated with the changes they make that they believe improves the game quality.. and this is going to be a major flame rant soo my appologies because i truely love the game.. but .. why not fix other problems first.. problems that certainly would turn off new players.. like.. hmm LAG!. i have crashed more this week then i ever have.. in my honest opinion istaria's folders need a good clean up.. and need to be compressed or made smaller.. idk if that would help lag but there are so many files..

maybe this is just a grumpy old ancient speaking and i know that games have to have some lag.. just how it is.. and i am not asking for tips on how to fix it from other players.. im calling out to the devs.. i know they wont fix it completely..
but come on..
new content vs. making game play better (on a lag standpoint and what we already have)

i vote option 2. because i know the first time i try a game. if its laggy. im gone.

[AmonGwareth]

my 2c worth. i was just talking bout this yesterday with some people online...
i dont mind the name changes it does make it confusing...but hey old dogs gotta learn new tricks..

but i just get frustrated with the changes they make that they believe improves the game quality.. and this is going to be a major flame rant soo my appologies because i truely love the game.. but .. why not fix other problems first.. problems that certainly would turn off new players.. like.. hmm LAG!. i have crashed more this week then i ever have.. in my honest opinion istaria's folders need a good clean up.. and need to be compressed or made smaller.. idk if that would help lag but there are so many files..

maybe this is just a grumpy old ancient speaking and i know that games have to have some lag.. just how it is.. and i am not asking for tips on how to fix it from other players.. im calling out to the devs.. i know they wont fix it completely..
but come on..
new content vs. making game play better (on a lag standpoint and what we already have)

i vote option 2. because i know the first time i try a game. if its laggy. im gone.

To address this, each of us has different areas we work on. I am not a programmer for Virtrium, I do not work on the client or the server. I am not an artist, I do not work on models or animations or textures. I am a designer, I create content. Asking me to fix the lag would be like asking a Welder to paint the Mona Lisa. It isn't going to happen.

In addition, changes to code are FAR slower than changes to content, in Istaria and in every game you will ever play or have ever played. It is easier to update the names of things or change a spawn than to make changes to code, recompile, test, test, and test again, fix bugs, recompile, test, test and so on.

I understand that people would like to see fixes to long-standing issues like lag. And believe me, so do we and in fact there are people for Virtrium working on it. But, stopping work on content while waiting on fixes for other things would be backwards and inefficient.

So, we will continue to create new content and fix old content while the programmers who work on the client and server continue to do what they do best and in time there will be fixes for things.

Aqua, there is a version of the client in testing I believe, an Alpha version. I don't have the link around right now, but it is on these forums. Feel free to test things with that if you wish to see improvements that the client team has been working on.

Thank you all for your feedback on this issue and for taking the time to post your feelings about the name changes.

[LOVWYRM]

though we should know what you`ve said, Amon- I simply forget- or was not aware while ranting.
So- important input. Thanks for that!

and hey- last day of this year
(6h left):

Happy New Year to all of you
See you all next year

[Shian]

Aqua, I've rarely had problems with lag. Chances are, it's your ISP. I'm having problems now but it's because I'm at my mother's house with a crippling 0.8 upload/ 0.5 download.

At home, we get 30/25 and are paying for 20/20.
What numbers do you have with the closest location to you?
speedtest.net

[Dragonboy]

Got 6.32 Mb/s Download and 0.77 Mb/s Upload myself. Little to no real lag while playing single client on max graphics except when porting to Last Stand.

[AguaRush]

thank you for the responses. my appologies if i sounded to harsh.. but it does get frustrating. i know my internet is/has been slow over the holidays..

and @ amon i wasnt asking you to fix it just pointing out my concerns ... hope lag does get adjusted.

i also wanted to clear up that i dont mind new content its great.. just dont want it to add more lag. for example.. dalimond is terrible now. for me anyways.