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Messages - Dezza

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1
Hello all!It's time again for a bonus event. Extra XP, GP and Fortune for your enjoyment.This will most likely last about three (3) weeks, so enjoy it while it lasts!
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2
General Discussion / Christmas
« on: December 25, 2015, 11:33:03 am »
Merry Christmas to all.
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3
Layonara Server / And the award goes to...
« on: February 26, 2013, 09:57:48 am »
Well, this has taken me longer than expected to put up the winners of the first ever GM awards due to various reasons, but here we go, in case you've forgotten.

*** The Popular One ***
Chosen by the community
Winner: Dezza
Reward: 1 level of XP

*** Sovereign of the Nerds ***
Chosen by the GM Team
Winner: miltonyorkcastle
Reward: 1 level of XP

*** Best in Quest ***
Awarded for most quests during the Bonus XP event
Winner: Dezza, 3 quests
Reward: 15 hours of XP (5h/quest)

*** Most Generous ***
Most uses of RP XP wand during Bonus XP event
Winner: Alatriel, used 14 times on 62 characters
Reward: 14 hours of XP (1h/use)

*** Lingering Rewards ***
Awarded for the most uses of AutoXP during Bonus XP event
Winner: Lance Stargazer, used 16 times
Reward: AutoXP at Level 3 for 23 days (1 RL week + 1RL day/use)
And of course, one level of XP goes to all GMs on top of any rewards that may be given above...With an important exception.One of our GMs, who wishes to remain anonymous, has decided to forfeit the reward earned and instead give it back to the community.  As a result, every recently-active character will be granted AutoXP for a period of two RL weeks.  This will start soon (once I get it set up). Keep a watch!

Thanks to everyone who voted and participated.

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4
Wild Surge Inn / In to thar Deep
« on: February 14, 2013, 05:44:36 am »
*a scruffy dirty note is hung up on the board covered in coal dust *

Oi beh planning ah trip dauwn thar deepest depths of thar deep , te moin thar riches thar can be foind , If ye beh op te thar task and nay sacred ye beh welcom te come along . jost leave ye name below loike .

//Player run event on calander
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5
Rumour Has It / Wedding of the year?
« on: February 08, 2013, 04:01:18 am »
// Because I couldn't resist!


Rumours begin to circulate through Tyr-Song and Westerngate of the impending marriage between a notable figure in the city and his equally ardent betrothed.


[SIZE=18]Sir Maxamilian De'Lourney, Knight Captain of the Wyrm, Servant of Rofirein, Instructor of the Code to wed Rofireinite Protector and Rofireinite Emissary to Taur'en, Samantha Merritt[/SIZE]


It is believed that the Merritt family of Westerngate and the De'Lourney family of Tyr-Song are going to invite many of the poorest families between the two cities to a celebratory feast at the same time they celebrate with their own friends and guests to share the love and joy of the occassion.

Sounds like an expensive affair but a noble one! Best wishes to them both!
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6
Rumour Has It / WANTED: Thieves to be tracked down
« on: February 01, 2013, 05:20:43 am »
*Tralek posts a notice on the bountyhunter and work-for-hire boards around Layonara*

WANTED:

I, Tralek Rivarmar, am hereby seeking an able-bodied group to track down the thieves who stole a shipment of goods from me and Vrebel.  I had a courier in route to the Saddlebag shop in Haven and thieves came upon him and killed my courier and stole the goods.

The group is brazen enough because they tatooed the forehead of my courier with a mark, the mark of a scarab with a tiny beetle.  I have visited the corpse of the courier and investigated the scene.  The courier appears to have been killed by a large insect.  I believe from the tatoo and the types of lacerations, that the group who perpitrated this belongs to a Cult that I experienced a long while ago out near the roughlands.

Seek them out and deal with them and any of my treasure still found upon them is yours as a reward.  Be careful, because they may lay in waiting.  I just want to repair the name of Rivarmar and let others know that I, nor my couriers, will not be messed with.  Come to my home at 207 Lor, Outskirts of Castle Mask, and I will give you more detailed information and directions.

Tralek

//I have left a Treasure Map at my house at 207 Castle Mask.  The door is unlocked and I left the map in the foyer chest labled "Orders 3".  This will require an experienced group probably in a level 20+ range.  Good luck!
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7
Rumour Has It / Treasure to be found!
« on: January 29, 2013, 04:41:01 am »
Somewhere deep in the Swamp of Sorrows on Alindor, a small Tower is rumoured to be found. Within this tower, guarded by fiersome constructs and likely some form of addled evil wizard, is a treasure trove of some kind.

If adventurer's were able to find the tower, hidden deep in the swamps, and fight their way past its guardians... who knows what ancient relics of chests of gold they might find.



( Hidden treasure for any low level group to find )
( Please no +20 lvl chars going to solo it. Aimed at low level groups )
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8
Hello!

Firstly, Layonara's servers will be renewed again for a year. Yay! So you can rest easy that as long as there are volunteers to keep the cogs greased the world will continue to run.

Secondly, there are about to be some significant changes to the sites. Every Layonara site and feature has been rolled into one all new site. That includes LORE, the forums, the gallery, the calendar, the character pages, the personal messages, the downloads, the devlog etc.

Let me say the new site is awesome. I can't begin to describe how many features exist. I think players will love the ability to tag anything with your character and then your character's page aggregates all this information. Whether it's a forum topic, a gallery image, maybe quest participation each "node" can be associated with as many characters as you wish.

Here's a current screenshot of the front page to give you an idea of the look and feel of the site.



Anyway, it's getting pretty darn close to being ready so I hope you share in my excitement for its new launch. I'm sure some of you will be a bit concerned with transitioning to a new system but we've tried to keep every single feature that exists already into the new site.

I'll be happy to answer any questions about the new site and we'll go through a period of adjustment I'm sure but moving forward to have the entire codebase in one place is a real benefit to everyone's end.

Also as you may already know, the servers are being paid for their annual renewal again and every dollar you can help to donate will ease my expenses. I've included the links to donate once again for your convenience.

Donate to Layonara in AUD

Donate to Layonara in CAD

Donate to Layonara in EUR

Donate to Layonara in USD

Thank you,
James
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9
Rumour Has It / Rumours of movements
« on: January 20, 2013, 11:23:48 am »
Rumour has it, that due to the famine on Alindor, various attempts by hopelessly naive idealists are taken to solve the situation in Mariner's Hold. While the exact cyinicism in these rumours vary among the people, the more nature oriented folks hear of something else. They say that even letters were sent to various people in lieu of a naive young pup of the Wolfswood Rangers.

[SIZE=10]//Details [/SIZE], [SIZE=10]Event[/SIZE]
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10
Layonara Server / Layonara Central Lagging Heavily
« on: January 17, 2013, 04:26:31 am »
At the time of posting which was confirmed also by mixafix and rit rugged.
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11
Rumour Has It / The Harbormaster in Katherian...
« on: December 21, 2012, 09:47:07 am »
... notes the absence of a ship due to arrive in port that day. Three days later, and the ship is assumed lost. It was a merchant vessel, supposed to deliver a variety of goods to Katherian, namely to one of the great houses that rules the city. Needless to say, representatives of this house were on hand at the Harbormaster's office to inquire about the ship. All he could say is that he had heard or seen nothing of it since the last time it was in the Katherian port some weeks before.

No word of storms have made their way back to port, and in fact the sea has been nothing but calm for weeks. Neither is the Sea of Harj known for piracy, what with the navies of the island nations so close at hand. Some wonder if it was a sea monster that ate the ship, and others blame a more natural accident, such as a lamp oil fire.
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12
Layonara Server / Bonus XP Week....ish
« on: December 17, 2012, 11:34:38 pm »
Do I have your attention?  *grins*

It's time again for one of our famous bonus XP events.  Here's the details:
  • Begins on Saturday, December 22, 2012 *
  • 50% more XP from combat
  • 100% more XP from GM-led quests/events, RP rewards and Auto XP
  • Ends on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 *
[SIZE=10]* Start and end times will depend on when I get to it[/SIZE]


Bear in mind it is the holidays, and GM availability will be subject to other obligations first, but I've gotten assurances from at least some of our GMs for scheduled and impromptu events and the like.  



Rewards for RP are rated higher than combat, so remember to make time for it.  There have been several new characters lately from new and old players alike, so hopefully there will be some good opportunities for all.  Old faces are always good as well, of course. Make something happen!
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13
Layonara Server / On difficulty, randomness and changes
« on: December 08, 2012, 11:21:46 am »
All,

This post is born of a recent bug report thread which began to stray into a debate. The topics raised are something I seem to have to address on a regular basis, so here I go again.

For context, the debate that tried to start was over "random" spawns and apparently disproportionate, unexpected challenges.

There's really no such thing as a "random" spawn from a design  standpoint.  The closest thing we could have is where there are more  candidate creatures that could spawn than the maximum number of  creatures that could spawn (i.e. 10 choices but only 5 slots), but even  then the spawns follow a set of rules according to the parameters set in  the spawn trigger itself.  Those rules are set by NWN. We presently have no meaningful control over how they appear; we can only make suggestions.

Besides this fact, the world changes from time to time and there  won't always be warning or notice.  Deal with it.  The development and  GM teams will do their best to make sure that the new challenge is not  disproportionately overwhelming beyond the intended challenge, but we  are under no obligation to give anyone a detailed list of what changed.   We've never done that and we're not going to start now.  Unless an area  goes from relatively easy to ridiculously impossible, in which case we  probably would provide some sort of advisory, there may be no  warning when something changes, and there will almost never be any sort of detailed list of what changes.

Remember though, this is not a  casino; we don't have a vested interest in our players losing. People have mentioned how it's not "fair" when things change without telling people. It's  always assumed that the GMs/admins/developers here have it in for our players...that we're trying to kill them off or just make life difficult for them.  We are making things reasonably difficult for players, but only in the extent that we'd rather people not just walk right up to level 40 without breaking a sweat.  Otherwise, the notion that there's some plot to kill people's characters to the point of perming them is beyond ludicrous.

The intent for most things is that there is a reasonable chance of success provided that one falls within the intended level range of the challenge presented, and I would even suggest that PCs (as a group) have the advantage almost everywhere. Even when GMs make changes, this is the metric we recommend and strive to achieve.  Yes, mistakes are made, but they're exactly that: mistakes.  Despite how many times we try to communicate this to people, we still from time to time hear about "fairness" and things...or worse, it's the things we don't hear about from people making assumptions and gossiping. This is really unproductive and it doesn't help anyone.

As far as the bug report that started this, the poster did exactly the right thing.  He saw a possible issue or cause for concern and reported it.  Maybe it's as-intended, in which case, we'll say so.  Maybe it's not, in which case we'll review it and potentially make changes and other reasonable accommodations. Regardless, bringing it forward is the best way to find out the intent and get something adjusted.  

Hopefully, this puts some minds at rest and/or addresses some concerns that people began to voice in the bug report thread.  If not, there's space in this thread for questions.
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14
General Discussion / The time has come...
« on: November 11, 2012, 10:06:39 pm »
Greetings Layonara Community,
 
 It is with mixed feelings that I announce my retirement from the develoment of NWN-based Layonara after doing this for seven years and some change.  This is a move I have planned for some time (and almost did several times), and which has been needed for some time, but I am only just now making it a reality.  My development focus is now shifting completely to the MMO effort and Layonara's long-term future.
 
To keep NWN Layonara going in a development sense, I now officially pass the torch to the capable hands of Script Wrecked, who will now be responsible for all future fixes and updates.
 
 I know you've all heard this plenty of times, but...this is not a “good-bye” letter. I am still very committed to and invested in Layonara and its long-term future. I still like to play here even (when the stars align properly), GM here and participate in this community. I do not see these things changing.  My presence will remain, but my fingerprints will no longer be on the updates.
 
 There's not a lot more to say here, so join with me in congratulating Script Wrecked on his new position.
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15
Layonara Server / Version 3.31 is online!
« on: November 03, 2012, 10:38:22 pm »
[SIZE=24]Version 3.31 is online![/SIZE]

 I'm going to start this one out by thanking all the people who contributed first, because without them, this update would be a lot smaller...and a lot less cool.  So in no particular order, I'd like to give my personal thanks so Alatriel, Guardian 452, Script Wrecked, Honora, Xaltotun and mixafix for their specific contributions and/or initiatives. Specific contributions will be detailed below.  Similar thanks go to the members of the Project Team and GM Team who contributed to various efforts with input and perspective.  Lastly, a fair amount of this content comes from the community as a whole.  While some things may not seem like direct requests and suggestions, the original motivations for some come from the community at-large, so thanks go to you all for bringing forth your ideas, even if we've managed to twist them from their original forms.
 
As I mentioned within the last few days, there is an updated HAK and TLK file required for this update. If you haven't downloaded them yet, please do so now.

 [SIZE=16]Fixes:[/SIZE]
  • Fix Find Traps skill bonus     calculation
  • Fix heal kit static drop in Swamp     of Sorrows cave to be the correct version
  • Fix spelling and grammar issues on     discarded papers in Tomb of the Emerald Skull
[SIZE=16]Area updates:[/SIZE]
  • Updated –     Hallowlight Forest (A path! A path!) {1}
  • Updated –     Fieroz City, formerly Fort of Last Hope (now matches the description     in established lore) {2}
  • New – Siphe     Castle (interior) {2}
  • Updated –     Partial Great Forest facelift (adjusted spawns, new layouts and a     new cave...somewhere)
  • Updated –     Silkwood Spider Cave (adjusted spawns for density)
  • Updated –     Leringard, main city and docks (now more closely matches approved     description) {2}
  • New –     Leringard undercity (Yep! New mid-level adventuring areas with a     progressive difficulty) {2}
  • Edge tile fix     in a quest area {3}
  • Some extra     CNR scattered around in a few places
  • Added trash     barrel to Center
  • Vale and     Clover reflect recent attacks and destruction
  • Magic     returned to the Great Rift following several CDQs by Storold and     crew
  • Change start     point in Center to be away from the portal
  • More grouped     under another heading (below)
[SIZE=16]Armor Crafting updates:[/SIZE]
 There are some pretty significant changes to Armor Crafting, specifically for the metal armors, helmets and shields. This project was spearheaded by Guardian 452 and ultimately most of the heavy lifting was done by him, but it was definitely a group effort with significant input coming from members of the Project and GM Teams. In terms of specifics...
  • Metal helmets     reduced to one type per metal. Since each helmet variant differed     only in appearance, they were wasting valuable palette space.      Helmets can be customized to any of the other appearances. Recipes     are likewise reduced to one helmet type per metal.
  • Metal shields     reduced to one type per metal and size factor (small, large and     tower) for the same reasons as the helmets.  Recipes are likewise     reduced as above.
  • Redundant     Platinum Chain Shirt removed from palette
  • Added a     craftable breastplate for each metal type as a step between     chainmail and splint mail
  • Added     Platinum and Cobalt shields
  • Completely     reworked the properties of all armors across all metals.  Armors,     helmets and shields are designed to complement each other and work     as a set.  There is a more consistent progression between armor     types within each metal and upward through the metal types. If     anyone wishes to take advantage of the new properties, old metal     armors can be “oxed”. Anyone wishing to keep the old properties     may do so.
  • Tower shield     recipe ingot requirements reduced by 1
Specifications on the new armors, shields and helmets will be posted elsewhere.  They would make this post far too long.
 
[SIZE=16]Thrown Weapons:[/SIZE]
  • Weight     and cost significantly     reduced on throwing     axes
  • Crafting     yield increased on throwing axes
  • Stack size     for throwing axes increased to 100
  • Elemental     rods can now be applied to throwing axes, darts and shuriken
[SIZE=16]Loot!!![/SIZE]
  • Loot drops     updated with over 100 fresh items lovingly designed and created by     the Layonara Project Team.  These items replace a similar set of     100+ unique items you've all come to know and love over the last few     years. Special thanks to Guardian 452 for taking the time to create     the final items.
[SIZE=16]Shifter PrC forms:[/SIZE]
 A while back, we disallowed two Epic Shifter feats from being used due to some serious lore violations with the forms. Particularly, these were the Construct Shape and the Undead Shape feats.  It doesn't take much imagination to understand why constructs and undead are somewhat the antithesis of Layonara's Druids as we have represented them in lore.  Anyway, at the motivation of Xaltotun and mixafix, we started an effort to replace these forms with something more compliant with lore.  While the end result differs quite a bit from their initial proposal, proper credit is due to them for getting the ball rolling.  
 
The Undead Shape feat is now Nature Entity Shape, and the Construct Shape feat is now Manifestation Shape.
  • Nature Entity     Shape – The Shifter can take the form of one of three nature     entities: Nature's Warrior, Nature's Vengeance and Nature's Wrath.      These forms have new properties associated with them that are around     the same power level as the undead forms but more appropriate for     the forms that are represented.
  • Manifestation     Shape – The Shifter can take the form of one of three     manifestations: Obsidian Manifestion, Hematite Manifestation and     Diamond Manifestation.  These forms are basically re-skinned and     renamed, but mechanically the same as the Construct Shape forms.
For any who are curious, a “manifestation” is a concept from our MMO work that is formed around an entity out of whatever natural materials that are available, thereby giving the formless entity a form.
 
Full details for these feats will be available on LORE shortly.
 [SIZE=16]
General Game Features:[/SIZE]  
  • Ship captain     conversations updated to be a little more descriptive about their     destinations {4}
  • New     customization system.  This is actually a system GMs have had for a     while but which was never adapted for player use. It's easier to     use, better organized, allows cloning of appearances (subject to     racial/gender/type limitations), has easier-to-use coloring and is     always successful. That's right, there's no more DCs for modifying     equipment and no more wasting potentially hundreds or thousands in     True for all those failed checks.  A small fee still applies, but     it's far more reasonable. Thanks to Script Wrecked for adapting the     system for player use.
  • Updated math     for the Save vs. Soul Mother. *listens for the sound of jaws hitting     the floor* The new progression goes like this:
    • Levels 1-3:         Automatic success – no chance of Soul Strand loss
    • Levels 4-20:         DC = level / 2
    • Levels 21+:         DC = 10 + ((level – 20) / 4)
    [/LIST]In other words, below level 20 (and above level 3), the chance of losing a soul strand from dying increases by 1% for every two (2) levels.  Above level 20, the chance of losing a soul strand from dying increases by 1% for every four (4) levels. At level 40, that chance sits at 15%. {5}
    •     New system – AutoXP.  This system allows a new mechanism for GMs     to reward good RP. Rather than a single hit with a fixed amount,     this system will grant a small amount of XP, based on the     character's level, at regular intervals over a period of time as     long as the character is logged in, not idle and not in combat. {6}
    Low-level/New player experience:
    •     Adjustments to Center crypts and undercity spawns to be more     friendly to a solo, low-level adventurer
    •     Dirty Claw Kobold spawns tweaked
    •     Adjusted combat XP curves to give a boost to characters through     level 12. Formerly, this curve flattened out at level 3.
    •     Moved a Point of Interest to make it easier for the new player as an     introduction to the system
    •     New characters get more True to spend
    • Adjusted     combat XP calculation for parties to reduce or eliminate the XP     reduction when a character is below the average party level,     especially by larger margins. This actually affects everyone, not     just low-level characters, but the effect will be more profound for     this group.
    As an important comment, any items removed from the palette have been converted to dynamic items, so if they are put onto an ox, they will not be destroyed.
     
     I'll be making a few more posts related to this update soon, but until then feel free to ask questions that come to mind.
     
     Notes:
     [SIZE=10]{1} Primary credit to Guardian 452[/SIZE]
     [SIZE=10]{2} Primary credit to Alatriel[/SIZE]
     [SIZE=10]{3} Primary credit to Script Wrecked[/SIZE]
     [SIZE=10]{4} Primary credit to Honora[/SIZE]
     [SIZE=10]{5} Please note, this reduction in the Save vs. Soul Mother DC is a purely OOC change. Please do not RP or acknowledge any sort of change in this mechanic in any in-character way. There is not IC reason for it.  There's no greater purpose or mysterious shift in the Cosmos, nor have your characters become “stronger” somehow or the Soul Mother gotten “weaker” or “less hungry”.  This is simply me adjusting the curve, as we have done in the past.[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=10][SIZE=10]{6} This system is completely at t[SIZE=10]he discretion of the GMs, and they may[SIZE=10] enable or disable it for any character at any time for any reason. It is not an entitlement, it is a reward. Please treat it as such[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE].
    [/SIZE]


     Enjoy!
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    16
    Rumour Has It / The End of the Curse
    « on: October 13, 2012, 08:39:29 pm »
    A huge crater now sits in the foothills to the south of Mount Norand.  Those that were still alive in the area said that the explosion rocked the ground below them sending out aftershocks for some time.  And yet, as the shocks subsided, those that had been suffering and dying from the Destroyer's Curse finally felt relief.

    As weeks pass without any new incidents, Boyer's borders finally begin to reopen, at first tentatively, and then almost desperately as they try to regain trade in spite of the horrible famines still going on around the world.

    As people return to their respective faiths, they are offered commendations and acknowledgments for their exceptional bravery and steadfastness in their victory over the Destroyer's Curse.

    Many towns, including Stone, Bydell Castle, Spellgard, and Bloody Gate have commissioned stone plaques to be carved with the names of those who served on this quest.  And many songs are now being sung through the halls of the Breath of the Muse.
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    17
    NWN Ideas, Suggestions, Requests / Having a goal
    « on: August 14, 2012, 01:25:52 am »
    Ok, another idea here.  Well, I admit this idea was formed from some of the other posts from the Community Building thread, especially the one about being able to build our own town (sorry can't remember who said that).

    Here goes.  I don't have the specifics yet, just the general concept.  What makes me want to log in is when I have a purpose/goal.  I like to be able to work on that goal each time I get on and add it to my on going investment.  That may be leveling my character, crafting, RP'g and furthering relationships, etc.  I kinda wish there was something else I could invest in.  I'm not sure what it would be, but the idea of making our own town was already given.  I really have no idea what else it would be, but their are more creative minds here than mine.  I think it would have to be mostly mechanical, but it would also have RP attributes for sure.  For example, I'd like to be able to go harvest some Mahogany, make it into planks, and add it to the list of "things to get".  It would be nice to be able to pull up a list like the "active crafters" list and see that I made a contribution and/or that the goal had been furthered.  Others would be working on this too and their efforts would show as well.  It could even be a situation where groups would compete...though it wouldn't have to.  Maybe their could be rewards involved or something could be errected in game to show the end project (statute, house, tree, etc).

    Maybe we already have this in the form of CDQ's or GCDQ's, but it would be nice if it could be open to all and less GM involved.  Something where you could pop on at 4am and be the only one on the server and still put some work into it.

    *steps away*
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    18
    Just for Fun / PSA about leveling up
    « on: July 26, 2012, 05:35:38 pm »


    [SIZE=32]Just because you leveled up doesn't mean you can kill the monster now.
    [/SIZE]



    Thank you for viewing, the poster will resume his lurking, awaiting for a solid return to Layo. :U



    ...
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    19
    Just for Fun / A PSA from Self-Confidence Otter
    « on: July 07, 2012, 07:19:00 pm »
    Be Excellent to one another!

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    20
    Rumour Has It / Sudden Signs of Charity
    « on: June 24, 2012, 08:32:18 am »
    A fair elf clad in sailor's garbs is seen at the docks of Leringard giving food to the impoverished living on that side of the city. He has a small crate full of meat freshly cooked. After giving alms, he simply walks away and disappears into the city.

    The impoverished return to their languid squalor with full stomachs and smiles on their weary faces. Who is this sudden benefactor? During such dark times, good souls are in short supply.
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