The World of Layonara
The NWN Persistent World => Layonara Server => Topic started by: Dorganath on October 27, 2010, 08:02:36 pm
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[SIZE=32]Version 3.30 is online![/SIZE]
This version is a pretty significant update in some ways, and it also requires new HAK files. Please note that I've restructured the “control” HAK file into two files: a “ctrl” HAK and a “res” HAK for size and management reasons. You will need to download both of these files as well as the latest TLK file in order to enter the game.
[SIZE=-1]http://nwn.layonara.com/downloads/files/layo_resv3r1.rar (HAK)
http://nwn.layonara.com/downloads/files/layo_ctrlv3r10.rar (HAK)
http://nwn.layonara.com/downloads/files/layonara_v24.rar (TLK)
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(NOTE: the All-in-One HAK has not yet been updated)
This update contains some initiatives that we've been working on in one sense or the other for several months, and in some cases nearly a year,, and in particular one far reaching initiative that we hope will improve several long-running ills. I'll mention more on this later, but this one in particular is the result of a collaboration between the GM Team as a whole based on feedback and comments from the community.
For expediency, I want to quickly thank the entire GM Team, the Plot Team, the Project Team and the community for their various contributions, and specifically, I want to thank (in no particular order) Script Wrecked, Alatriel, Rowana, Eorendil, Pankoki, Carillon Guardian-452 and mixafix for their more direct contributions and for saving me a load of time.
And now, onto the meat:
Announcing: Center, Brelin Kingdom, Mistone[INDENT][SIZE=16]Once a town of its own right prior to the Dark Ages, the region of land once known as Center has seen a resurgence in recent years. The resettling began with refugees fleeing the destruction and uncertainty brought by the tsunamis that struck the west coast of Mistone. While initially little more than a tent city, Center started to become a crossroads in its own right. Its location along the strategic road between Fort Wayfare and points south helped it to become more than just a transient safe shelter for the displaced. Enterprising merchants set up their tents and wagons, finding the trade and commerce worthwhile. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=16]As has often been the story of other towns, an inn was built to serve not only those who ended up staying for a long term but also those traveling along the road. The merchant presence likewise became a fixture, drawing not only a banking presence but also facilities for skilled tradesmen. Merchants migrated away from Fort Wayfare, though this wasn't long lamented by residents, who on the whole felt some relief at having less traffic (and fewer “undesirables” lingering around their town. In keeping with this sentiment, Fort Wayfare petitioned Spellgard to “do something about that portal” in the middle of town. Spellgard agreed, and a team led by Connor Garvill shifted the portal's exit to Center. With the added traffic through every means, Center began to truly thrive and become a hub of activity of all sorts. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=16]While still essentially a transient settlement, as it doesn't qualify as a town yet, Center has grown beyond the simpleness of its rebirth into a place worthy of note.[/SIZE]
[/INDENT] To address one of the biggest problems with v3, Layonara once more has a single starting area: Center. Located south of Fort Wayfare and north of Port Hempstead fields, Center and its surrounding areas represent a complete low-level experience for all new characters. Its status as an unincorporated settlement (at best) makes it open to all races, even those banned from cities and towns throughout the civilized world. That is not to say that they're welcomed by all, but there is either tolerance or numbness in those who might be considered residents.
Besides the land mass that is Center, the surrounding areas have been remapped somewhat. Existing areas have been changed and new areas have been added.
And of course, there are benches.
Along with this, there is a new entry area, which should help introduce new players to the Dragon Storm campaign.
As with many things, it is better seen than described, so please, stop by and have a look. We're eager to hear your feedback. As well, why not submit a new character and experience it through new eyes.
And since it is such a big thing, it's worthy of special note that Carillon and Pankoki worked quite hard and diligently to bring the Team's vision and plans for Center to life. It is no small feat they accomplished.
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With all that said, let's get onto the list...
[SIZE=16]Center:[/SIZE]
The Center project involves 15 new areas created in or around Center, creating a new hub for the server and completely changing the experience of a first level character entering the game world. Some examples of changes relating to the hub that will help the new character: - New starting point; characters no longer appear in Port Hempstead or Fort Vehl
- West housing portal destination changed from Fort Wayfare to Center
- Smaller “Hlint-like” area with benches, facilitating players meeting up
- Safe rest campsite for hanging out
- Temple and healer available in the area
- New basic craft hall in the area, with merchants available
- Conveniently located barn and ox merchant
- Low level quests located in the city areas
- Message board in craft hall, directing new players to other low level quests
- Low level CNR and spawns placed in areas around Center, allowing new characters to adventure more easily and safely
- Convenient and central bindstone, so older players hanging out can keep an eye out for newer players and help them reach their graves
- New inn with full crafting kitchen, meeting room, and large stage for player functions and quests
- New CNR locations, fishing spots, spawns and creatures in new areas surrounding Center
- 10 new scripted quests added. (Most are low level and integrated into Center, but a few are suitable for more experienced characters)
- New Prunillan temple added to West server, in Center
- Some merchants and quest NPCs moved from other urban areas to Center, to facilitate player gathering and usefulness of area
- Barn moved to Center from Port Hempstead Fields
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[SIZE=16]Other New stuff:[/SIZE]- New low-level undead area tucked away south of Center (go looking for it)
- New module entry area on West, replacing The Eye of the Storm area with something that introduces the plot better. (Note: Characters do not walk this path in an IC sense. It is more to introduce the player to the plot and the world's setting. The information is IC, but the path is not.)
- New CNR and adventuring areas added off of Lake Splendor (you have to look for them though)
- Krandor Hospital guild hall has been added to Krandor [SIZE=10](1)[/SIZE]
- Dwarven Army guild has been added to Bloody Gate [SIZE=10](1)[/SIZE]
- The Coalition guild hall has been added to the Dapplegreen Tower [SIZE=10](1)[/SIZE]
- Meeting Room added to Bydell Castle as a place to learn about and discuss the Dragon Storm Plot [SIZE=10](2)[/SIZE]
- “Magic Mouth” system added. There are two instances in the Bydell Castle Meeting Room, and others elsewhere (with more planned). You'll know it when you see it.
- WLDQ Reward for Daniella Stormhaven [SIZE=10](3)[/SIZE]
- WLDQ Reward for Jaelle Thornwood [SIZE=10](3,4)[/SIZE]
- WLDQ Reward for Lance Stargazer [SIZE=10](3,4)[/SIZE]
- WLDQ Reward for Alandric Vensk [SIZE=10](3)[/SIZE]
- New poison type available for crafting: Hallow Wraith Spider poison (causes chance of spell failure) [SIZE=10](5)[/SIZE]
- Knight PrC now available (formerly Purple Dragon Knight) [SIZE=10](5)[/SIZE]
- System to add a subrace bias to merchants. This is an initial implementation and may well change over time. Right now, it's only in effect in Trelania, and if your character is one of those against whom the merchants are biased, you'll know what I mean. (Note: This was requested and done due to semi-recent in-game events and player actions, so you only have yourselves to blame...and if you think I'm talking about you, you're probably right. *winks*)
- Added area between Lor and Castle Mask to illustrate the distance between them and the benevolent presence of Raelian forces.
[SIZE=16]Changed stuff:[/SIZE]- A few changes made to the Red Light caverns due to CDQ outcome
- Rearrangement of some low-end CNR resourced due to Center and Red Lights
- Re-tie and remodel of 250 Prantz to Hurm
- Re-tie of 260 Prantz to Nith
- Add mastiff to 117 Fort Llast
- Remodel of Leringard Arms (121 Leringard)
- Remodel of 125 Leringard
- Adjusted/Rebalanced Ice Marches areas, in part due to quest outcomes
- Mistone Alliance Scout PrC changed to Agent of the Realm PrC [SIZE=10](5,6)[/SIZE]
- Show a few signs of life in the Hallowlight Forest
- Add Master Weapon Crafter's Anvil in Mariner's Hold advanced crafting hall
- Add Lesser Jewelers Benches to Creedo and Fort Vehl craft halls
- Adjust location of trash barrel in Port Hempstead Hall of Reconstruction
- Remove Systrian from Hlint
- Adjust Hlint to follow server PvP settings rather than being a no-PvP area
- Add/extend some server logging
- Add reflections of scabbard/neck armor customizing options
- Update/add areas in Kuhl kingdom to reflect state of campaign plot [SIZE=10](7)[/SIZE]
- Rename Storan to Shade of Storan to reflect WLDQ outcome
- Remove non-functional “metalic” enchanting bowls from the Lookout Tower
- Remove (illegal!) scribing and infusing stations from Prantz craft hall
- Rename Grannoch temple NPC for lore reasons
- Move Temple of Shidaleria from Lan's Port to Fort of Kings for lore reasons
- Remove/replace all non-human NPCs from the Lan's Port Fisherman's Tankard for lore reasons
- Improve emergency portal in West and Central entry areas
- Merchant Interiors of Fort Vehl, Leringard and Fort Llast have been updated and made more efficient and user-friendly
- Inn in Fort Wayfare downsized and made cozier and more efficient
- New roads to Dapplegreen, Port Hempstead, and surrounding areas created, following Layonara maps more closely
- Dark Peaks of the Watcher area outside Fort Wayfare updated and connected to new cave system
- GM Area NPCs set to the Neutral To All faction by default
- Some quest areas have been updated and refreshed
- Lengthen the amount of time that passes before a permed character is whisked away by the cut-scene
[SIZE=16]Fixed stuff:[/SIZE]- Fix area tagging in Silkwood Spider Cave
- Adjust terrain in The Grand Mountains to attempt to work around tileset weirdness
- Adjust terrain in the Thunder Peaks to attempt to work around tileset weirdness
- Place correct Mithril Golem in the Great Rift: Asunder
- Fixed (hopefully!) furniture loading problems for a certain range of houses on Dregar
- Fix Citadel of Toran Enchanting Holy Pool
- Add missing Enchanting Holy Pool to Temple of Grannoch on Mistone
- Close potentially confusing race condition related to striking a rock of ore right after a nugget has been broken off
- Fix Implosion
- Fix “Point of Influence” markers related to Arkolio's WLDQ reward
- Fix activation and other problems related to Arkolio's WLDQ reward
- Fix Stort Pawn Shop
- Rename Charles Dawson so that he is from the correct town name
- Remove buggy vulnerabilities from certain Plot-specific creatures
- Remove a status flag reporting in the combat window when casting Power Word, Kill
- Marent's quest now returns bandages
- Horses recovered by the horse merchant should now have their names restored as well
- Fix spelling of name for Cailomel guild hall area
- Add missing safe rest areas
- Journal entries updated, removing any lasting V3 name change problems and updating outdated entries (e.g. Haven Mine ogre problem)
- Fixed descriptions on statues in Lor due to incorrect references
- Tweaked portal code for hopefully better resilience.
[SIZE=16]Notes:[/SIZE][LIST=1]
- [SIZE=10]New guild halls are for purchase by their respective guild leaders only. Anyone else who purchases any of these buildings may forfeit the purchase price of the hall[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]The Bydell Castle Meeting Room is deity-neutral, so paladins of certain deities need not worry about violating their oaths[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]Please work with the GM who ran your WLDQ to obtain any material/item rewards that may accompany this reward[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]These reward include a custom “skin”, which will be applied on login. For best results, wait until resting is possible, rest, log out and log back in the first time you log in after the update.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]Details will be up on LORE shortly[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]Any current characters with Mistone Alliance Scout levels should contact the GM team about the options for a partial rebuild.[/SIZE]
- [SIZE=10]Representations of the state of Kuhl Kingdom disrupt the route typically taken to Hilm Castle and The Great Forest (and points beyond). Taking the “usual” route will become significantly more dangerous. As well, there are multiple warnings to this effect in-game, both IC and OOC. Understand that characters caught adventuring in these areas are subject to the full consequence that the GM Team can bring to bear, as would be fitting for the current state of the Kuhl kingdom. In addition, the spawns in the Kuhl areas may be overwhelming and completely unfair. This is by design, and no Soul Strand losses will be reimbursed due to the “unbalanced spawn” clause for any losses in these areas. However, since the GM Team does not wish to hinder the fun of players by restricting travel to points that could previously only be reached through the Kuhl kingdom (in a mechanical sense), an alternate route has been provided.[/SIZE]
So there it is! As I said above, we're looking forward to everyone's feedback on Center. It represents many hours of work and collaboration, but it may not yet be as good as it can be. Let us hear your thoughts if there is anything that you feel is needed, missing or should be changed.
Go forth and enjoy!
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Very good work there!
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Thank you to everyone involved. Very grateful.
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the new bay area: fantastic. loved, nice mapping, nice touches.
Thank you for keeping the pond outside Hemp too.
Center is perfect.
Messenger falcon service: awesome.
also, enjoyed the new look of the bindstone.
Andrew likes the new crafting hall caretaker!
much more but I'm late for work.
overall, the passion behind the work is evident and for that I say: Thank you.
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Wow! That's a big update :D just glimpsed few things but the Center concept and all the other adds seem awesome! Look forward to find it IC.
Congrats and thanks to all who were involved!
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AARGGHH!!! I need at least a few days where I can just play and explore, and I won't get that for weeks! Oh well. At least we'll ahve some fun at the newly remodeled Arms Saturday (Thank you Alatriel and Dorg)!
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Thank you Team :)
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A point to the community.
I've picked up on rumblings that "players can't change things" and "everything is set, we're not making a difference in the world". Not from all, but certainly from some. And while the amount of time a really spectacular update like this one takes might make it feel that way...please, everyone, read the changes again. Read how many changes are from WLDQs, CDQs and other player actions. Center was from the community voice, mine included - and here it is, with an excellent and plausible backstory and wonderful new quests. Things can change, and have changed.
You can make a difference. It won't happen overnight, but it WILL happen, if you work with the GMs and other players with an idea. Personally I find the smaller changes just as exciting as the large ones (such as the Red Lights) and I hope some of you will undertake actions to add these little new things that keep Layonara dynamic.
I'm going to get my old lady in to take a look around soon - I'll be looking for you all ;) .
And let's all ask the poor GMs and team members who have been chained to their computers to come and play! We miss you!
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It's all very nice, but I can't get into Tod's house. I try going into the cave entrance across from the Caring Hope Inn but it only takes me into the Caring Hope Inn again. Once I leave, it puts me in front of the door of the inn once more.
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Thank you, thank you. I love the new updates and all the convenience it brings. The rise and fall of the tide in one of the new cave is a nice touch!
For the next update, is it possible to add in more houses to purchase? I've been searching and haven't found one yet. The only one seems to be left is located in Whitehorn. Maybe it's already bought by now since I didn't have any trues at that time to buy the house. It would be nice to see more tree houses/stumps/beach huts outside of the city. :)
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Big thanks to everyone involved, the new areas look great and I'm looking forward to many fun times ahead :) Makes me want to start a new character so I can enjoy them all the more properly.
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A kudos on the new area's to the Builder. I've only had time to quickly run through a few areas... but I'm still impressed.
The new Centre and starting area with the low level quests is just what was needed.
The re-mapping of Kuhl and the Great Forest is excellent. I'll likely never get to see into Kuhl, but the stretch from Mirtrix to the Great Forest is nice, linking together area's hardly used previously.
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Ive only managed to view a couple of the new areas but they have been very very well built. Great attention to detail and great attention to Lore detail too! Fantastic!
I loved the fact that there seems to be a high tide and low tide in the Mistone Coastal cave! Amazing!
Well done folks! I tip my hat to you all!
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I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the update. The new areas are rich in detail, some neat little quests and the sense of distance between some towns/cities seems more realistic now :), great work!
Cheers! *raises cup in salute*
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Thank you to team for the countless number of hours taken to complete this update.
I am glad that there is a place people can come to mingle and how it is not just a town of sorts(like Hempstead) but like a 'camp'.
And the tons of other small updates is very good.
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Loving the new version! The new low level areas are really well done!
Thanks you all for your time and effort.
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Good stuff, I might have to stop by soon and check it out.
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OMG new stuff! D:
*contemplates abandoning physics for this*