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Author Topic: Central and East Server  (Read 549 times)

  • Guest
Central and East Server
« on: November 08, 2005, 10:28:00 am »
Dorganath brought up an interesting point in the thread on Boating System.
What is the lure to get players with their characters to go there?
For many players, there are more people on the west server as there is a better chance to rp. It is also where the new players begin their journey. Which in some cases, myself included, want my character to be part of and share in their development and experiences. Having a character with a strong sense of community, whether it be mine or some one elses. There is nothing there and having been to dregar already, to live there is much to costly.
170k for a residence is not a very good lure, not when some houses can be bought for 65k on mistone. Then again no matter where you go, others seek not fulfillment by deed, but by the fortune that they can amass for their character.
There is more emphasis on wealth than there is on your characters life.
So what is the lure to get players with their characters to move to the central and east server?

My character for one, would move to another place and take as many other characters as she could, if it be affordable. (Or at least get enough people together to start their own community away from what is happening in mistone at the moment)[sounds like a CDQ, gm willing]
 

Stephen_Zuckerman

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2005, 12:41:00 pm »
More like an ECDQ. Maybe DgCDQ (Demi-god. Er... 30th level, guys.) 'Course, we don't have any PCs on the server that high; highest is 24, right?

Still, sounds like a plan. Why have Layonara built like a single player game world? In terms of difficulty in proportion to distance from the starting point, that is. Seems to me like it should be more difficult, the farther from the beaten path one travels... And, of course, in certain areas. But a whole continent, teeming with things that would kill the average Commoner, or even a mid-level Expert or Adept? And that's just Rilara. @.@
 

jrizz

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2005, 12:50:00 pm »
so true, at 9th level I could not even walk outside the gates of Arabel without getting killed by three arrows, and those were the weak guys :). But then again that is a cursed land and who would want to live there anyway.
 

Niles09

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2005, 01:08:00 pm »
well one of the things I try to make as invisible as possible in a pnp campaign is that monsters gets stronger if the PC gets stronger. Its about letting them know that not every fight can be won and get them to seek other solutions against a big monster, when they aer low-lvl's.
But there is no constant DM in Layonara, so turning an acnient dragons minions on it would not work.
Anyway I think that its too unrealistic that somehow Mistone is a nice little isle while the outer isnt. Its also strange that it costs more to live on the crazy places than the calm and secure. That Rilara is a dangaruos place isnt strange. My eperiences is that it is much more untamed land. Lesser people, less order more monsters. Now I've never been at the surface on the other servers, but I would say that making them less dangarous would make them more popular and realistic. After all there is a lot of different continents at that only Mistone is suitable for common people would be wierd.
 

D Blaze

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2005, 01:12:00 pm »
Actually Stephen, the highest level held by a character is 29, not 24.

There is a three-way split between Ozymandias Llewellyn, Reventage D'vinn and Remiel Delmir.
 

  • Guest
RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2005, 01:28:00 pm »
When it came to terrain, one only needs to take a look at where in history settlements were placed. Usually along the shoreline up a mani tributary. This was to facilitat access to a path of retreat in case the natives, be they barbarian or monster became a little restless. It was not until better weapons and a means to protect oneself had developed to the point that individuals or parties felt comfortable moving further inland.
My character would love to move to Dregar and take along with her many more people. But the path from Lorindar to pranzis or vice versa is wrought with giants and she would get smooshed as well as every one else. Established developments are a bit pricey, if you want the general populace to spread themselves out.
It is understood, that resources should dictate the cost of living, not the greed of other characters seeking their fortunes at the risk of other characters.
According to the map, there are places not easily accessible, but they are there. Speaking of the smaller islands. Dragon Isles are to risky, as every one knows, Blood has already been there. Then again, trying to get off the west server anyways.
What of those areas for settlement and on which server would they be placed?
 

Gulnyr

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2005, 01:34:00 pm »
Quote
Niles09 - 11/8/2005  4:08 PM

Now I've never been at the surface on the other servers, but I would say that making them less dangarous would make them more popular and realistic.

Dregar is not that bad.  There are a lot of tough creatures there, but there should be.  If everything were only as tough as the Red Light Goblins, this wouldn't be a very fun place to play.  Almost everything can be avoided as far as traveling from one place to another, but the CNR is guarded just like it is on Mistone, only with tougher creatures because it's a tougher place.

I can tell you from extensive experience that the right combination of characters at level 10ish can get a lot done on Dregar.  And it doesn't have to be a huge party; two of us (at levels 10 and 11) were able to mine silver.  You just have to use your characters' advantages and not get greedy.  Think realistically and avoid combat when you can.  Real people don't try to kill everything that moves, and mid-level characters will last a lot longer on Dregar if they behave the same way.

EDIT:  
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Komoda said: "But the path from Lorindar to pranzis or vice versa is wrought with giants and she would get smooshed as well as every one else."

Which Lorindar and Pranzis did you go to?  You can travel from Lorindar to Pranzis and never see a single thing to attack, and there are no giants there.  Straying off the main routes on Dregar can get pretty dangerous, but traveling from one place to another, like I said before, isn't bad at all.  You just have to watch where you're going.
 

  • Guest
RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2005, 01:45:00 pm »
Guess the best course is not to have a leader of the group that is more interested bloodying themselves up and their blade for glory and fortune.
Be more interested in the quality of rp for character development, than I am for hack&slash. Though it seems hack&slash is the only way to get xp the quick way.
Still, i would like my character to be able to get off the west server as the lag is getting a bit annoying with so many other characters active.
 

EdTheKet

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2005, 01:48:00 pm »
Quote
Anyway I think that its too unrealistic that somehow Mistone is a nice little isle while the outer isnt.
[/FONT]
  Really? Then read these tiny bits on the continents and you'll know why the others are dangerous...
  Mistone Mistone is a continent in the western part of the hemisphere. It seems to be one of the few places which have not yet felt the crushing impact of Bloodstone’s most recent wave of invasions, though most believe this dread will come in time.
 
Rilara Layonara’s southernmost continent, known as Rilara, has always been a battleground for conflicts over territory, political power and wealth. This was already the case in the time when it was still called Alindor, and before Milara outlawed the use of the name Alindor in 925, but it is even more so now that Milara has carved his wicked throne into the Iriand Mountains.  Dregar The continent is in turmoil because of the rebuilding process and the lack of protection from qualified soldiers. Some upstarts are attempting to claim their own territories and bandits have their rein on the countryside. On top of all of this, Blood still has a very sizeable army and attacks outlying areas quite frequently.  Xantril Whatever the truth, ever since his arrival, Belinara is now called Xantril, and belongs to the Prince of Demons. All who lived on this continent prior to his arrival either quickly bent to Xandrial’s will, were tortured and died in dances of demonic desire, or now live an inescapable nightmare to further pleasure the demons.
     
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Its also strange that it costs more to live on the crazy places than the calm and secure.
[/FONT]
  No it's not. Housing on Dregar for example, is in those areas that are still under the King's control. These areas need to be protected in order to stay safe, so the houses are more expensive.
 
Quote
That Rilara is a dangaruos place isnt strange. My eperiences is that it is much more untamed land. Lesser people, less order more monsters.
[/FONT]
  That's because Rilara is Milara's land and Milara is a bad guy (to put it mildly).
   
Quote
Now I've never been at the surface on the other servers, but I would say that making them less dangarous would make them more popular and realistic. 
 The way the servers are set up is (roughly) that up to level 10-ish you're on West, 10-20-ish is Central and 20+ is East. After all, you still want to have a challenge when you reach level 20 or higher right? If we make them all as easy as Mistone, you'd have seen the 800+ areas we have in no time and where would be the fun in that?[/FONT]
     So.
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What is the lure to get players with their characters to go there?
 [/FONT]
  Encounter new areas to explore when you're just that little bit stronger, that new dungeon you couldn't tackle earlier but now you can, fighting monsters you never knew existed or that feeling of arriving somewhere you've never been before and the best of all, later be able to tell it to other people who haven't been there yet and spread your tales of wild adventure!
  After all, you are an adventurer, not a home-owner.
     
Quote
After all there is a lot of different continents at that only Mistone is suitable for common people would be wierd.
[/FONT]
  See above, the other continents are dangerous for a reason.
     And as for going to Dregar, find 4 other people, take a ship from Leilon to Hurm, and go explore. You're on Dregar in no time and don't have to hike across Rilara. :)
 

Leanthar

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #9 on: November 08, 2005, 01:59:00 pm »
I want to add one thing on this discussion.  One of the teams (and mine) main goals is to allow players to find people in order to RP and have fun--we are here to have fun and RP after all.  Sadly we are in a catch 22 on this....
  1)  There is no ability to communicate to friends when they are not on the same server.  That very thing keeps people from finding each other and being able to speak with their friends.
  2)  When mid/high level players are not mixed in with the lower level players (many of them new to the world) the new players are cheated out on so many things on so many levels it is just not right.  The mid/high level players take the new players by the hand and teach them about the community and the world as well as how to RP in a fair amount of cases. And then on top of that it seems that some people then start screaming about favortism and elitism etc.
  3)  NWN says they support 64 players on a server--well that is true they do--but it is very laggy.  In this case we are also limited by our module size, each module is 75 meg--about 6x larger than they are supposed to be according to Bioware.
  4)  But if I made the world according to the 12 meg specs that Bioware recommends (and I do understand why they ask that and such) then we would need about 15 servers. We already have 5 servers.  Now.... with 15 servers we then go back to #1 and #2 above....
  We are in a catch 22 and with NWN there is no way around it that I know of and trust me, the team has tried many things to try and allievate some of these concerns/issues/problems.
  With all of that said... We will be making changes to central to get people over there and have a reason to be over there, but that will change some things on west.  But then.... we go back to #1 and #2 above--and that is my biggest fear (especially #2).  The community must support and take new players under their wings--otherwise it is a dying community and not a prospering community.
  As to monster levels and challenges... Yeah, it sure is a bit unrealistic to have CR 12+ over on central living "among the populace".... but think of it this way.  Take a look at the maps and you will see that in reality there are litterally hundreds of miles between most of those on transition areas....  Perhaps it is just a wild place that is built and not near the population areas... There are many other things that come in to play--but again, we are at a limitation here and only so much we can do.
  I remember 3 years ago my goal was to have a dozen servers and overly 80% of the world mapped out.... it got ridiculous though and after 2 servers (4 counting non-game world servers) and mistone only built (and it was 1.5 years later) I stepped back and said this is not going to happen and what we have now is the outcome.  It was (and I firmly believe it) the best that we can do for a large world like Layonara and using NWN.
  Now.... kudos to Bioware--huge kudos.... This is the first real attempt at providing RPG's a real tool to host and build worlds as well as DM etc.  And they did a great job, one that I don't think many (if any) other company could have pulled off as well as them.  Hopefully they have learned a few things and will just make things better on their next releases, and I am sure they have and will.
    *chuckles* And yeah, what Ed stated above--he posted while I was typing. :)
 

Gulnyr

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #10 on: November 08, 2005, 02:05:00 pm »
Quote
Komoda - 11/8/2005  4:45 PM

Guess the best course is not to have a leader of the group that is more interested bloodying themselves up and their blade for glory and fortune.

Bingo.

Quote
Though it seems hack&slash is the only way to get xp the quick way.

It is a faster way, but what do you have when your character is pushing level 20 after two or three months?  A high-level character that hasn't been around long enough to do many important things and meet boatloads of characters isn't important to the world, so doesn't matter.  Skip the fast xp and develop a character instead of a pile of stats.  Everyone likes having a more powerful (and more useful) character, but if you rush to mid and high levels, you're missing a lot.

Quote
Still, i would like my character to be able to get off the west server as the lag is getting a bit annoying with so many other characters active.

I guarantee that if you get a reasonably balanced party together and form a goal other than "let's kill everything," you have a good chance of getting things done on Dregar.
 

Rhizome

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RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #11 on: November 08, 2005, 02:26:00 pm »
...and please join the Dregar series quests. :)
  Rhizome
 

Leanthar

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #12 on: November 08, 2005, 02:29:00 pm »
*points to Rhizome's post*  YES! what he said.  You guys/gals are missing some cool things if you are not involved in his Dregar quests.
 

Boxcar

RE: Central and East Server
« Reply #13 on: November 08, 2005, 02:39:00 pm »
Quote
...and please join the Dregar series quests.


This is a terrific opportunity to see Dregar and be involved in a quest series that has a bit of everything, and may potentially be world-changing. I have thoroughly enjoyed each episode that I have been able to make.

 

Bryantiza

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    RE: Central and East Server
    « Reply #14 on: November 08, 2005, 02:51:00 pm »
    I would but I have still yet to work out the forums clock. I have worked it out to be 8am GMT time..i'm takin a stab in the dark here. Oh how much i would love to join but college beckons me on thursdays and I just would never have the time to complete the whole event, seeing as i would need to be at college by 10am. if they had the Dregar event on a more suitable time i would come but as it is i cannot....
     :(

    EDIT: actually it could even be 6am, but Thursday pretty much one of the only days i get some sort of a lay in...so little too early for the likes of me.
     

    Tedulas

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      RE: Central and East Server
      « Reply #15 on: November 08, 2005, 03:09:00 pm »
      Ohhhh, I've always wandered where I could go, and I'm level 9. Getting a bit bored of some certain areas due to they don't give alot of XP. (Apart from Ogres are just plain fun to kill! And satyrs!)
      I think I will make further parties and go to Dregar, sounds like fun and hopefully develop further tatics. (Leolaka is good at tatics if people listen. :))
       

      Etinfall

      RE: Central and East Server
      « Reply #16 on: November 08, 2005, 03:40:00 pm »
      Quote
      Komoda - 11/8/2005  3:45 PM

      Guess the best course is not to have a leader of the group that is more interested bloodying themselves up and their blade for glory and fortune.
      Be more interested in the quality of rp for character development, than I am for hack&slash. Though it seems hack&slash is the only way to get xp the quick way.
      Still, i would like my character to be able to get off the west server as the lag is getting a bit annoying with so many other characters active.


      Is that your goal here? To gain exp the quick way?

      Etin
       

      • Guest
      RE: Central and East Server
      « Reply #17 on: November 08, 2005, 04:09:00 pm »
      Hell No!
      I am here to rp with the other characters.
      As for the Dregar quests, like mt characters first venture into Dire Wood and got killed by a bone golem, she has not been back since. Unless she is with an army, her first trip to dregar got her killed, it will be some time before she goes back. Remember I stated the army.
      The other thing about the dregar quests, I wish I could, but I do not share the same time schedule as most of the quests are either happening while I am at work or while I am sleeping.
      Try scheduling running the family company and coming online to roleplay.
      I would bet the only time a GM gets to rp is when they are portraying an avatar or one of blood's generals or popping in to have a face-to-face conversation with a player. Other than they have work and maintaining the game.
       

      Dorganath

      RE: Central and East Server
      « Reply #18 on: November 08, 2005, 04:30:00 pm »
      Quote
      Komoda - 11/8/2005 6:09 PM
        I would bet the only time a GM gets to rp is when they are portraying an avatar or one of blood's generals or popping in to have a face-to-face conversation with a player. Other than they have work and maintaining the game.

        I'll take that bet.
        There's really only one GM who portrays one of Blood's generals on a regular basis, all the GMs have regular characters that they play regularly.
        Also, many of us have full time jobs and/or classes, families and all the extracurricular activities that go with said responsibilities....and yes, we still find time to RP like everyone else.
       

      Talan Va'lash

      RE: Central and East Server
      « Reply #19 on: November 08, 2005, 04:59:00 pm »
      Quote
      Komoda - 11/8/2005  5:09 PM

      I would bet the only time a GM gets to rp is when they are portraying an avatar or one of blood's generals or popping in to have a face-to-face conversation with a player. Other than they have work and maintaining the game.


      Also...  In my numerous encounters with blood's generals and/or blood himself its... well, I guess you could call it RP... it often goes something like this:

      Blood: *shows up*
      Me: oh crap!
      Everyone else: *echo's sentiments*
      Blood: *RPs slaugtering me*
      Me: *RPs dead*

      So... yeah, don't expect the big baddies to spend quality time with your character.  They're not the "big baddies" for nothing.

      There are lots of quests that are all about rping with npc's though.  The quests that are really heavy on this are often long(ish) quest series' with recurring npcs.  

      -TV