Posts Thanked By User

1

General Discussion / Thannks to Funnypseudonym

« on: April 26, 2009, 03:37:41 pm »

Funnypseudonum ran a quest today which I would like to thank him for. There were well over a dozen PCs involved, from low to high levels, traps and encounters.

He outlined the problem (the Toranites had built a facility in which they had placed an 'artefact' that would pacify violent offenders, but they had lost contact with the warders inside the prison and needed a party to find out why), and ported us all to the DM area when we were ready to go.

It ran fluidly and without hitch and that was down to his control and handling of such a diverse party. It was fast, furious and challenging.

Thanks Funnypseudonym, and I promise I will stay away from trapped doors in the future.

~ Eleandilethessa Quil'lyn

2

Rumour Has It / Last flash of the duellist

« on: November 16, 2008, 07:20:03 am »

Sad rumors start to spread quickly from Dalanthar to northern parts of Dregar and further, as a pitch black heared man wearing a blue fullplate enters the town carrying lifeless body on his arms. He walks with determined steps through the town as the towns folks around looking at the sad scene, whispering to each other. Strong arms carrying a lifeless body of older, silvery heared man through the city. They can been seen leaving the city, heading north, towards Willows Weep.


//Last Journey of Duellist Pyyran Rahth the Fencer//

3

General Discussion / Happy Birthday!!

« on: November 03, 2008, 02:37:18 pm »

Happy birthday to Aragwen, enjoy the day mate

4

General Discussion / World Announcement! *claps*

« on: October 29, 2008, 03:46:12 pm »

[SIZE=16]May I present to you an announcement that will shake the foundations of countries all over the globe:

"The coolest person ever was born on Friday the 24.th of October! I present to you, my newly born daughter - Tilde!"[/SIZE]


This means that I will not be able to check the forums as often in the upcoming weeks. Nor will I be able to be present in-game a lot. I'll check my inbox as often as time allows it of course, but patience is a virtue.

[SIZE=10](pronounciation of 'Tilde' in English is awkward [/SIZE]

5

Layonara Server / Donations & The Future of NWN

« on: October 01, 2008, 11:36:47 pm »

Hello again,

I've received a couple queries to the status of donations which I wanted to address with the upcoming changes to the servers.

Essentially what we've always hoped for in terms of donations was enough to offset the costs to host NWN.  That was five servers and their bandwidth.  At its peak, Leanthar was paying over $500 a month for these servers.  Over the summer it was closer to $300, but the charges were going to be over $1000 a month with the new billing structure.  An impossible price.

The donations always helped and each of us was always afraid of the potential of Leanthar just really not being able to cut it any more.  I lost sleep when he told me of the new pricing and the inevitability of the downtime.  In the end Leanthar and I both had many reasons for finding every way possible to keep NWN going.  Despite the financial weight which could be better spent, the occasional stress, the time lost better spent on future development, we really want NWN to keep serving our world.

There are a lot of people who help right now, the developers, the gamemasters, the character approvers, the lore team, the writers, the mmo team who have all helped us in the direction we seek and to continue to serve Layonara as a magnificent world realized in the form of a video game.  To not bridge the time from now until the release of the mmo with a video game entity of Layonara would in our minds have been a disservice to everyone who helps out.  Then there's the rest of the community, those who have been here for long times and those of you who have just fallen in love with Layonara.  Despite the very limited amount of rotten apples in the orchard, we really enjoy hearing about the great times you've had.  Your creative outlets both in game and in the forums.  Your community spirit and support.  

It is also no secret, we are hoping each of you will see NWN to the other side, and give us a chance in our future generation. Having even a fairly small starting community will be a boon to attracting more folks.  Especially those very well versed in roleplay and its potential for enjoyment.  And I certainly know the benefits in terms of seeking beta testers with technical aptitude.  I truly hope we can carry this weight that NWN can sometimes be across the bridge.  There are still concerns beyond the financial strain.  The most important being time dealing with the inevitable issues that serving the world brings up.

Finally on a personal note, where would I be without having some Plenarius time?  I'm not ready to just write him off in a story, I want to play it out where it all started.

So we have taken quite a downsize, we've lost 7 servers, 5 for NWN which will be combined into 2 in Montreal. 1 for DB and fileshare, and 1 to run West and Central. We'll probably have to do without a Quest server unless we can run a third module on the one server, which Dorganath and I doubt.  We also lost 2 of our development servers.   All of our hosting, 5 servers, is now in Montreal. 4 of these are paid by OneST8, one of them is piggy backed with some of our (him and I) other personal pages.  The 5th one we're getting tomorrow/Friday will be paid by me.  The tasks the 2 development servers from San Jose handled are now squeezed into the 3 remaining servers in Montreal. We have assurances from EdTheKet, Dorganath and Thak that they can help the financial strain if necessary.

So here's the deal, if you want to keep helping out to say thanks for fronting the cost of the bandwidth and server for NWN, keep donating.  With that said, the truth is that we will continue to eat the costs ourselves regardless if you donate or not as the servers will be used for our future whether they host NWN or not.  NWN Layonara is in good hands for now, but be willing to accept its inevitable departure, hopefully with fair warning.

If you want to say thanks to Leanthar for all he's paid in the past until now then donate.  (Expenses incurred are over $20,000, that is minus all past donations.)
If you want to help OneST8 and I foot the bill, hey thanks... donate. (Average monthly bill for the two NWN servers will be $200)
If you're excited about our future and wish to help us in that regard, donations are welcome.

To recap, you owe us nothing but continuing to enjoy the world, or if you have the time, continuing to volunteer as you can and hopefully you will give us a chance with the future generation of Layonara.  

If for whatever reason you just can't donate.  It's cool, don't feel bad, we'll do our best to stay alive. Alas, all good things eventually come to an end, but we're pretty confident we'll have a phoenix rising from the ashes.  Hope to see you there to witness it!

-James

6

General Discussion / A Happy farewell

« on: September 15, 2008, 01:35:54 pm »

I am stepping down from the GM team. It has been so much fun being a GM for all of you. Thank you all for the energy that you have brought to my quests. I am doing this now because I feel I dont have the time to commit to quests that it takes and needs to be a good GM. I will still be playing though and maybe more so .

Being a GM is not an easy task on Layo. Not only is there so much you need to know but the player base is very sophisticated and that means you had best be on your toes at all times as a GM. By the end of some of my quests I would just log and pass out from the amount of multi tasking it took. Please keep in mind that most of the time there is only one GM there and he or she is trying to track all text (many times in multi locations), use a plethora of tools to call forth this beast or that NPC, play the NPCs, turn area spawns on and off, balance and re balance encounters, and set the mood and stage. All of this is after a couple of hours of set up. Be nice to them they work really hard.

Thank you all,
Jrizz - Happy

7

Layonara Server / Can't Connect Today/Last Night (or laggy)

« on: August 30, 2008, 10:45:59 am »

There are a few people reporting that they could not connect to the server last night and a few are still reporting that for today. I have also seen reports of the server being laggy.
 
 A few things.
 
 1) The company hosting the servers had problems yesterday with their core router. They sent me an email at 5:59pm stating they would be doing emergency repairs on their core router at 6pm. Sadly I did not check my emails until early this morning so I did not know this was happening and could not give you any updates. Sorry about that.
 2) It seems that their emergency maintenance took quite a long time (at least 30 minutes) but the servers are up now.
 3) I have restarted the world servers so the lag should be cleared. I don't know why they would be laggy due to the down time that the company caused but perhaps they did, I rebooted them just to be safe. This should cure the overly laggy issue (see #4 below though).
 4) I don't know what is going on with the some of you not being able to connect to the servers via gamespy or via direct connect. I am able to direct connect just fine (just did a few minutes ago). Currently there are 17 players online (after the server reboot). I am thinking that perhaps the company did something that is causing DNS to update across the internet (though our server IPs remain the same--so perhaps something on their router). If this is the case it will take a while for the information to propagate to the world (no more than 72 hours and probably less than 24 hours--of which it has been at least 12 now)....if this is the problem. I am not sure how else to help here other than to suggest waiting.
 
 Sorry for the inconvience.

8

Roleplaying / IC Opinions vs Server Descriptions - YAILWAP

« on: July 24, 2008, 11:06:14 pm »

[SIZE=10]

(Yet Another Incredibly Long-Winded Acacea Post)

[/SIZE]

Hi. I'm not sure if this will do any good, but for those it might make a difference to, it bears reminding.

There is a big difference between something that is emoted, announced, or mandated to us, and what is spoken by an NPC. Obvious, right? Not always.

You see, there is very little time and manpower available to work on the module. There are many things that are great, many things that could use vast improvement, things that would have benefited from more personality or scripting. That is why write-ups, tidbits, summaries, and server messages exist. They give you a bit more to work with in order to roleplay a place or person properly. All of these show something as it is, as you are expected to perceive them. If a GM's server crashed and he has to resort to emoting that there is a huge, cascading waterfall, it is a bit mean-spirited to say IC, "Didn't someone say there was some kind of falls here? Must have meant to the ants!" or something. We make cracks about it OOC maybe, but IC, you see a waterfall.

NPCs, however, are biased. They have flaws, faults, opinions, and shortcomings. An NPC may say "There is a waterfall two miles ahead," may be quite mistaken, or a liar. He can insist until he is blue in the face, but the DM emotes that there is no waterfall. You don't see one. That's a difference between a server description of what exists, and an opinion given by a biased source.

Another example: In various writings and third person summaries of Mistone, Queen Allurial is written as being much loved by her people. She was by all accounts, benevolent, wise, and graceful. She was one of the Seven Sisters, Lucinda's Chosen, and yet even those with no love for magic came to greatly respect and love her. So she is presented to us.

If a DM, therefore, possesses her and emotes that she speaks with grace and kindness, but the DM his or herself is honestly not that great a typist, you may poke fun OOC. But don't start verses about the Queen's speech impediment - he does the best he can, and can only set the stage for you. Part of the game is being handed a cane and being told OOC "this is a hat, sorry." We ruin the game when we are unable to pretend that it is something other than what is shown. We could use more and better showing in many cases, yes! But in the end, it is our job as players to take what we are given and roleplay it, not tear it apart IC and "refuse to see a hat," simply because it wasn't a perfect representation. We are all guilty of this at some point, but it really takes the better player to bite your tongue and try not to ruin everyone else's immersion for it. We can take it OOC and remind the GM that there are really better ways to call a horse an ox, but leave it OOC.

Your character need not have loved the queen! You may indeed play someone who is not part of the norm. But there should be good reasons for it. If it is stated, under Allurial Mistone flourished, and kept safe, then should we be using the inability to have her involved in everything as a sign of her apathy, poor leadership, etc? Our characters may find fault with her. They may even believe things that are total lies, or have a twisted perception of events. They can spread it! But we, as players, should not be trying to convince other players of it. Our character's different interpretations should be delivered in a way that still represents what we were given as a server description and summary - that this one character has a really weird and messed up view of what was in reality a good and much loved queen.

I try to roleplay my character's general flaunting of authority and cynicism regarding its effectiveness. She still loved Queen Allurial, and might have gone MA Scout, had Milo not quit. It's not because I really had all that much interaction with her - that is how she was presented to me. I could latch onto all the OOC problems that existed in Mistone and go on tirades about how they were all her fault and what a terrible leader she must have been to allow it, but instead a surprising amount of us (surprising considering the amount of chaotic characters we have) still RP a general affection and respect for her, even if our characters are not exactly bending the knee in subservience.

By contrast, Port Hempstead is a mess. As a starting city on our server, it should be one of the best known and represented cities on Layonara. It's not. There are honest reasons for why it never quite made it up to par, but it doesn't change that it's still totally messed up, perception wise. An example of one reason, V3, as most remember, was not intended as a finale or anything, but a start. Its release was very rocky and with a lot of bugs and adjustments, but it was never meant to be the end. It wasn't supposed to stay a certain way. There were big plans, huge ones, remember the first announcement for V3? There was this grand plan about how it would continue on and things would change and all this stuff would happen. V3's initial release was built, not as a perfect representation of everything, but as something that set foundations for more to come. New haks, building tools, environments, these were major. A huge amount of rebuilding was done not for looks, but because of changes to tileset files that required areas that weren't even changing to be rebuilt from scratch or be screwed up.

Unfortunately, because of other projects, the module changed owners again in the middle of new stuff. It's not so much unfortunate because of the person, but rather because whenever that happens, often older things are dropped and new people have new goals. That's fine. More big plans! More grand schemes! Which also fall through, as new module op also leaves. Later, another new dev! Even better areas! Cool new challenges! Changes that start building again on what many of the v3 goals were about, such as lifting the magic level! ...But they're all new, epic based stuff for the most part, with few changes to core things. Fantastic new things, but the fact is, it is seriously unlikely that some place like Hempstead is ever going to have any serious new things to make it cooler or better represented. It's just a question of time and effort and information. Someone working at this stage has to really be pretty passionate about their project in order to keep it going, and that's not so easy with leftovers of other people's stuff.

So, what we have instead are 'server descriptions' and OOC summaries of these places. There are no NPCs claiming glory or justice. No GMs are using guards and leaders to boast about what the places are about, while emoting OOC the truth behind the lie. We are given OOC, unbiased pieces of information to aid us in our roleplay. The city's general ruling is NG. The Silverguard train with blunt weapons to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Deliar is a primary temple, who is CG and about freedom, trade, and luck. There are more guards than just those at the gate. Trent made captain at an young age because of his good heart in a time of darkness.

The port is not the only place with half blood issues, just the only one anyone ever uses for them, making it look far more contrasting and isolated than it is. Fort Vehl is not a haven of freedom and justice, its a pit of squalor. A half-orc is highly unlikely to be murdered in an alley in Hempstead. He might in Vehl. Part of the reason for the temple is fighting back against the nastiness that is all over the place in Vehl, not because it is a shining example of anything. They're there to fight what it is, not celebrate it. Their long struggle with it has jaded some of the clergy into believing criminals deserve "whatever they get," as well...

The port is led by a trade council, headed by the Vaerans, who are also good and in general supposed to be wise with a good head for the economy as well. Not necessarily a part of the description, but something the attentive might note - the Vaerans are not new to Hempstead, nor written for them. Anyone reading the Prunilla writeup can see the Vaeran sisters in the Dragon's Whisper... Harmony, the oldest is the one that was a driving force behind fighting the tyranny and darkness in Port Hempstead; her daughter leads the trade council now. Meadow, the middle one, is rumored to be the chosen of Prunilla, even though she never claims a title. Peace, the youngest, is the head priestess at Castle Mask on Dregar, having got the wanderlust early on. Anyone familiar with the halfling tribes in Mistone can easily recognize that the Vaerans are an entire clan, as well...

There are a lot of interconnecting things floating around. Is everyone expected to know these things? Of course not. That's silly, it's floating everywhere and half the GMs don't notice them, either. None of us is likely to see even a corner of a whole writeup of it until a few fabled handbook releases. But there is a difference in sincerely not knowing, and ignoring the GM telling you that there is a waterfall. If we have read OOC how a place is supposed to be, then we should be trying to RP ways that it meets that, not how it doesn't. Our characters may not like them, may disagree with them, but it should be presented in a way that goes with the props we were given. That's part of the game. Our characters are not living in the 21st century.

Kingdoms are not perfect IG, by any means. But just like we need to break laws and sneak into places with GM help, we don't decide that they have a completely different face than what is given us as a server description. The guards may very well slip up and let something else in perhaps... but we don't decide it happens for us. We don't stand in the middle of Prantz casting spells  because we can. Havoc is encouraged! Rebellion is encouraged! But you have to do it within the realms of the game. You can't say, "I strike him with this spiked cane!" if you have been told it is a feathered hat... nor emote that fat exploiting Froigrin cheated you out of thousands of gold in order to feed her growing hoards of millions. Anyone who has any understanding of what Deliar is about knows better. We have to roleplay the standard in order for the failings to stand out.

Likewise, please, the GMs are severely limited in communication and tools to represent every place perfectly. We have tools of our own that we can use, there is no need to be take everything harshly IC because of OOC circumstances. It is part of our role to help show how the environment is, according to the server, not create huge rifts in perception because of how we decide it is. There are things that completely do not fit, and times when GMs make mistakes - a Silverguard bullying with blades, perhaps, or referring to a queen of Brelin - but a simple tell may determine if it is just an honest mistake, or something intending to be a biased interpretation. Indeed, even the churches are pretty poorly treated in this way - character opinions and arguments are great, but too often tirades are made based on OOC information and opinion, and exist to attack a given OOC statement of the ideal. If they aren't meeting it, take it up out of character and see how the whole fares.

When you see something bad happen in a city announced to you OOC as largely good and fair, if it did indeed happen as the GM intended, then shouldn't it be treated as out of the norm. Shock! Dismay! Rumors of a Rael supporter amidst a city like Port Hempstead should be a huge deal... if you use the props we are given. If you decide your hamster is a dragon regardless of what GMs ask of you though, it's just a lot of confusion and only adds to the problem.

Why don't we help places become what they should be, instead of causing a rift in perception in order to deny what they are? There's no need to be silent about things that don't fit. Make suggestions. Point them out. How many rants have I gone on about how poorly the city is represented according to how it is supposed to be? That doesn't mean I take it IC. My character has met the Vaeran sisters... One of them is even the chosen of Prunilla... She helped destroy the Shadow Thieves... I'm not ruining all of the history and personality just because someone stuck a sign on the lawn. The day someone tells me, "The Vaerans have been forcibly removed from office and the city begins sliding into corruption again," or something, is when I will RP that interpretation, and I will certainly want to know more than that, since such a huge amount of stuff will be wiped out for the sake of it. I'm not going to force it because of accidents, though - I'd rather think of ways to make the inconsistent fit back in.

Otherwise it is like losing Ozlo to a faction mess-up. Or failing to stab Bloodstone in the spine, because when you rolled attack, the server lagged and spewed out 6 rolls - your first was a 20 and your last a 1, and GM decided to take the 1... Your PC uses a custom head and shows up headless, but try as you might to RP that he does in fact have a head, there's always a few people that refuse to acknowledge it IC, even after GM acknowledgment of head... This isn't about one city. Port Hempstead is just one huge part of a larger, core issue - sometimes we are told how a place is, but they just don't support it and come to bat. We can say, OOC, how hard would it have been for you to do X and support this better? Sometimes the answer is, "Very difficult," and sometimes "not very," but it doesn't happen, but either way, we play along. We can bring down empires with our characters, but not as players decide one doesn't exist. If they sometimes don't seem to do a perfect job in representing one because of mechanical limitations and time, we can still pretend - what is added to the module and GMing at this point is largely based on pure personal motivation and stubbornness at this stage in the game, so not everything is ever going to make it. It would be nice, but we can do a lot on our own with what we've got.

[/soapbox] Long. *Hides.*

9

Wild Surge Inn / Raven Trade Compagny Friendship Trip #3

« on: July 11, 2008, 05:55:10 pm »

* A post is tacked up on the message boards across various Inns Taverns and otherwise visited places by adventures *
 
The Raven Trade Compagny have decided to begin to host a series of gatherings, meant to illuminate and educate the infrequent adventurer in the dangers of the world. These gatherings will show and demonstrate the tenacity and sheer determination that all adventures are born with to survive. This is the third of such gatherings.
 
 We hope that these trips will serve as a breeding ground for new friendships across the races and beliefs. Everyone is welcome to meet and talk with us near Stormcrest Crossroads.
 
 A such gathering is held here: Raven Trade Compagny Friendship Trip
 
 There are no rules for any person wanting to join this trip. Where we go will be dependant on the youngest adventure being with us. Maybee we will just talk, maybee we will seek dark dungeons. Its up to you to come here and tell us what you want.
 
Resources and items of value will be determined by need before greed. No items gained from these trips, are allowed to be sold/traded for profital use, and no resources will be given to people without a need for it.

 If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, feel free to send a bird to me.
 
Lin'da Sul'kolindo on behalf of the Raven Trade Compagny.

10

General Discussion / Update coming soon! Download now...

« on: June 05, 2008, 03:51:31 pm »

There's an update coming soon, probably within a few hours.  For this update, there's been a HAK and TLK change, so you can go download them now to beat the rush:

layo_controV3r4.rar

layonara_v21.rar

Or just go to the Dowloads page.

11

General Discussion / All Call for Rangers

« on: May 11, 2008, 06:09:39 pm »

*A small notice is left at the best ranger camps around Layonara*
 
 It is that time again. I would like to get all the rangers/trackers together so we can greet each other and to give us all a chance to learn from each other.
 
 Feel free to bring your animal friends around. This is an event for them as well. And unlike the local towns, the camp welcomes such companions.
 
 I am also willing to take on two apprentices.
 
 We will meet at the Wolfswood Ranger Corps Camp on Jenra 9.
 
 *marked*
 Rodlin Serim
 Captain, Wolfswood Ranger Corps
 
 //Bring all your questions, comments, ideas, recommendations for future events, etc.
 
 //RP heavy with allowance for OOC discussion for mechanical issues. However, if we can talk mechanics IC, that will be the preference.
 
 //Please sign up on the calendar event so I can plan accordingly.
 
 Calendar Event
 
 Time Conversion

12

Wild Surge Inn / ** Voon Loom, Cleric of Beryl have passed away **

« on: April 11, 2008, 05:36:53 pm »

* The title draws you neared to the parchment that have been sat up on the most common places of worship in the lands and major inns. *

Cleric of Beryl Voon Loom have passed away this Sunra, Junar 1, 1431. He was carried by Kobal Bluntaxe on his shield, and followed suit by the very people He to the end protected with his death.

His deeds will be remembered, and his sacrifice to his beliefs and the city of Stone. Stone a city that were rebuild from being under the occupation of Bloodstones forces, with pure determination because of Voon's unselfish donations and tireless efforts. This city will be he resting place in his death. He leaves his only family, his brother Boon.

I urge everyone that have known him, to write here to celebrate a new chapter in his life, a place where he can do as much good, as he did here on Layonara with us, his friends.

Rest in Piece old friend.

*signed by A Friend *

13

General Discussion / Wanted to Thank You all

« on: April 03, 2008, 10:35:23 pm »

Well when I started here, I knew nothing of the rp world.  I read everything slow and I typed even slower.  As time grew on, I like to belive I grew as an person and a player.  

I was like this is to cool.  I can not belive this world and these people.  The GM's were great.  Heck I even remeber my first 3 day banned and only (I was a bad boy that did not read the rules and leveled in something I should not of) by L himself.  I could go on forevery about the Quest's.  The time it takes for the gm's, mind blowing.  The RP great, but I do like a bit of bashing.  Heck after all I am a fighter/cleric/undead slayer.  

I can tell you this, I have learned to read faster and type faster with fewer mistakes.  My spelling has gotten a lot better, now I need to work on my grammer *belly laugh*.

I want to thank everyone here for everything it.  I can not wait to see the next verison.  I am sure it will be just as great.  I guess I just wanted to get this off my chest.  

*waves*

14

General Discussion / Thank you!

« on: March 12, 2008, 08:57:32 am »

I want to take a moment to thank all of the people involved in the last three updates over the past two weeks. There has been many long hours (I would be willing to bet at least a thousand) put in to these updates and it is clear their love for the world and community is what keeps them working on updates. The past six months have been extremlly packed with RL happenings, holidays, family issues, and the list goes on and yet these individuals continue to produce updates for the community.
 
 There can not be enough thanks for them but I just want to make sure everybody understands that their selflessness is what continues to make the world a great gaming place that is enjoyed by many around the world.
 
 In no special order:
Gulnyr, muaddib, Chongo, Eorendil, Darkstorme, Weeblie, Script Wrecked, and Dorganth.
 
 Thank you and good job!!
 
I also want to thank everybody on the GM Team, now and in the past. I firmly believe that a major part of what makes Layonara so special is the GM Team and all of the events they run and all of the difficult work they do behind the scenes (online and off) in order to ensure that Layonara remains a RP server at heart. Your efforts do not go unnoticed and it is your attention to the spirit of the server which is what continues to make Layonara loved by many.
 
 Thanks folks, to each and every one of you!
 
And of course, thank you to the community! What a great RP community.
 
 You rock!

15

General Discussion / Update

« on: February 27, 2008, 04:09:01 pm »

Soon the canyons of isles once only seen on the horizon will close in around you, the steady breeze from a channeled and ancient wind pressing against your face.



And soon, you'll find why no ships sailed there before...



As the chittering of cunning foes echoes in the high cliffed forests around you...



And only passing moments of peace are found to admire what you've naught seen before.



Soon old enemies will take new forms.



And perhaps a few new tricks they'll have learned just like you...



You'll seek out their new domains with much wonder..



And perhaps... you will learn again to run...



And then run faster...



And yet faster....



Until you can no longer run.



I'll see you all in there soon enough.  Look for Dorg's big announcement!  Look for the new spells bursting in the air around you, the new monsters thundering towards you, the flicker of an unseen relic on the ground, and ever the expanding horizon of new lands.

:)Be careful out there folks.

16

General Discussion / Thanks and good wishes to Aragon

« on: February 25, 2008, 04:53:07 pm »

I'm not sure if Aragon made it a point of leaving in relative peace, but last night he came online to IRC to bid adieu to some of the team members until September as he ships out to serve his country.

If it were his intentions to simply fade away without any fanfare then I apologize to him, but I felt a showing of community support was deserved and could not let it pass.

Thank you very much for your efforts and hard work for the community and the future of Layonara Aragon and get back safely, we're going to be needing you again.

If you wish to share your well wishes of a safe and speedy return and thoughts for him, please do so without turning this into any sort of political debate.

Get home safe Chuck!

-orth

17

General Discussion / Reminder About Player Etiquette

« on: February 17, 2008, 01:17:07 pm »

[SIZE=16]I have recently run across a couple of examples that warrants reminder about player etiquette. [/SIZE]
 
 [SIZE=16]If you are involved in an impromptu quest, please do not send tells to all your friends having them to report to a location. If the GM wants other people or the rest of the server informed, you will probably see a shout like *anyone that is outside sees a bright light reflecting off the clouds in the direction of Hlint*.[/SIZE]
 
 [SIZE=16]Another example, please do not run past people in a CNR area to gather the CNR before the first party gets to it. The best way to handle it is through RP. Stop and ask the original party if they are on their way out or in. You may be able to join, or just come back later. RP is the key. If you are confronted IC'ly about running in front of people, using a Wizard's Tome of Teleportation usually will send the matter to OOC tells; especially if there is no RP to justify your actions.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16] [/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]Examples listed below are not acceptable:[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- I saw a really huge level gap and cause one can't party with more than seven levels of distance I figured you were just RP-ing.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- I can't play with a good friend cause they're more than seven above me.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- The room I went into needs a thief to open. I thought you were a cleric?[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- I don't talk often.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- People start spamming listen checks as I'm usually disguised so it isn't much fun.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]- Everyone mostly knows I'm (insert evil deity here) from the forum, so if I speak to them then I get frustrated.[/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16] [/SIZE]
 [SIZE=16]There are real life players playing these PCs, please have consideration for everyone.[/SIZE]

18

Layonara Server / Server configuration change -- EVERYONE PLEASE READ

« on: January 09, 2008, 08:26:05 pm »

Hello all,

I sadly must take some time to inform you all about a change we have to make to the configuration of our game servers.  This change may result in people being unable to log into any Layonara server when Bioware's Master Server is down.

Last night, between the hours of 22:00 GMT Jan. 8th and 00:00 GMT Jan 9th, there were 6 Bioware accounts and characters accessed by someone to whom they do not belong.  This person was able to do this because our server was set to permit logins when the Master Server was down, so that everyone could continue to enjoy Layonara during periods of outage, planned or otherwise, in Bioware's server.  It's a calculated risk, but one which has not caused us any problems in all the years I've been here.  Unfortunately, due to another case of a few (or in this case, one) spoiling things for everyone else, we have made this change to protect the community.

During this period of time, this individual targeted six people and logged on with their characters.  This individual used this access to remove gold from bank accounts and character inventories among other actions.  Two characters were killed while controlled by this individual, one of which died 5 times in 9 minutes and lost 2 soul strands in the process. I am still gathering reports from those players who were affected, but there is also at least one report of item(s) missing from character inventory.

This is disappointing to say the least, and while only six characters were directly affected, this is in fact an assault on everyone in the community.  

After pouring through our database, server logs and forum logs, I am confident in the identity of the person who did this.  I am in the process of banning this individual and once that is done, I will post a follow up for everyone to see.

To close on a positive note, I'd like to thank those players who have been affected by this with their understanding and cooperation.

19

General Discussion / Rumors -- Please read

« on: October 27, 2007, 07:00:18 pm »

The following is addressed to the entire Layonara community.  It is not directed at one person or any specific group of people. Please read it and understand it.

As a recent post has highlighted, there have been some ugly and hurtful rumors flying around recently. This kind of thing, though different people and different circumstances, seem to happen on a regular basis. Sometimes the target is one person, other times it's a group of people.  There are back-channel whispers, finger-pointing, and accusations flying around.  The GM Team gets reports of this-and-that but rarely does anyone have the evidence or guts to back up the claims. Some rumors fade, but there are always some waiting to take their place.  It's a continuous cycle, and it is getting really, really old.

I urge everyone to hear what I'm saying here and take it to heart.  Rumors are almost without fail caustic and poisonous to the community.  You may interact with electronic representations, seeing only words and artificial avatars, but there are people behind those things.  Real people.  Not all rumors are false, but most rumors are not nearly as true as some would believe them to be. Whatever the case, they're bad...bad for those who spread them, bad for those who are the targets of them, and bad for this community.

Without going into specifics, the most recent batch of rumors ranges from annoying to very serious with implications that stretch beyond this little community of ours.  And so I ask you all...

If you are involved in spreading such rumors, stop. If you have proof, then present it to a Gm.  If not, then stop. You're hurting people and you're hurting this community.

If you are engaged in activities in the game world/forums/IRC channel(s) that are the center of one or more of these rumors and those activities are contrary to what we have established here, stop.

If you are involved in or complicit in sewing the seeds of discord among all or part of the community, stop.

At this point, I am not overly concerned with what the "facts" may be in the case of the most recent events. There will forever be three sides to every story: "Yours, mine and the truth."  Since the last is often difficult to obtain, we're left with the word of one against the word of another.  As I said, it just needs to stop.

I want everyone to realize that these things are harmful, and they affect more people than just those at the muddy end of the stick.

In the thread about Layonara's future, there's a comment in there about the NWN servers and how long they'll stay up.  To quote Leanthar:

The NwN servers will stay up and running until it either a) gets to expensive for me to keep it running, so keep donating as this is important for NwN or b) the world or community becomes to much of a hassle in terms of time, effort, or headaches for the servers to stay online or c) we make it to beta testing of the new product which is still a ways away. Layonara is not going away, nor is it fading away; but much rests on the communities shoulders for how long the NwN servers remain online.

It is petty and dramatic things like rumors that are most likely to bring down the Layonara NWN community.  This kind of thing really drains the GM Team and Leanthar himself. It is frustrating, mentally exhausting and time-consuming. In some cases, it has taken hours of research and checking in on people, logs, actions, reports and so forth just to prove or disprove the allegations...time wasted and time not spent interacting with the community.

I don't want this to sound like a threat, but the fact of the matter is, there have been times, more than most of you realize, where the fate of the NWN servers has been close to a complete shut-down because of petty bickering, factional rumors and divisive words and actions.

It all needs to stop, people. I can't stress that enough.

Now, please...understand what I have written here.  Read it over, again if you need to, and really see what I am saying.  And then just think about it and remember it.

And also, please understand that when we take action as a result of things that go on here, be it a banning, a reprimand or some other kind of administrative action, that we do not do so lightly or on a whim. We are not targeting individuals because we don't like them or because we just feel like it.  The GM Team has, among its many duties, an obligation to protect this community.  It comes along with the job, and whatever people may believe, it is not a particularly enjoyable part of the job to ban someone who is acting contrary to the spirit of this community.

I do not really wish for this to become a discussion.  I don't want current or past rumors brought up here and presented with explanations, accusations or justifications.  I don't want people to post their opinions on the situation, be it the one most immediately at hand or any number of such things that have occurred.  Do not use this thread to confess or confirm.  I do not seek a string of "I agree" posts, nor do I particularly want any "Thanks" either.

I want people to read this and understand it.

I know a lot of people love this community and have developed very real and lasting real-life friendships as a result.  Keep that in mind please in all your future actions. Friendships are not formed of bickering and rumormongering. They're formed of a commonality of purpose and philosophy.  If you find, however, that you cannot continue to be a supportive and positive influence in this community, then consider stepping away from it before you contribute to events that may end up hurting those you call friends.

I generally have a lot of faith and respect for this community as a whole.  I sincerely hope that is not misplaced.

Regards,
Dorganath

20

General Discussion / Artwork of Plenarius

« on: September 04, 2007, 02:18:19 pm »

I had a commission done for Plen, I just thought I'd share the result with the community.

I'm glad I'll always have this piece to remember where it all started, a big thank you to everyone who has shaped him along the way...

The artist is Carol Phillips, I discovered her work while I was doing research for the t-shirt web site and we have been working slowly over the last year to come up with something for Plen. I'm very happy with it

-orth

P.S. No he is not done yet