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| 5/29/2000 | Latest location for the Giantman Village |
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Runefar reports that the Giantman Village is now located by the entrance to Cavernhold,
in the secluded Valley.
[Secluded Valley] Outcroppings of bare rock jut from the heavily brush covered slope that rises to the north of you. Rugged Hetoth Mountain looms above the entire scene, its snow covered peak barely visible beneath a blanket of thick gray clouds. You also see a newly-cut path. Obvious paths: south, northwest, southeast, southwest. | |
| 5/27/2000 | Strange Happenings in the Bog |
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Jara reports: There have been reports about fog showing up in the new bog. It works like a modified version of spirit fog. It adds defense to critters and lowers your attack. It might also raise your swing time a second or two. Voln fu seems the least affected by this fog. Also whirlwinds show up too. They sweep by and take EVERYTHING on the ground including weapons and treasure. Please be wary. (I lost a few good gems. | |
| 5/27/2000 | Yet More Invasions! |
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There have been numerous invasions over the last two or three days.
According to Jara, Krag Dwellers and Illioke Shamans invaded the Thrak Inn inside the
Landing, and Shamans and Mastiffs invaded Stone Valley, preceded by numerous
earthquakes. They also were seen creating a afair amount of havoc in Upper Trollfang.
Meanwhile, on Teras, Galliphile reports they were invaded yesterday by Pluton dwellers, earth elementals, fire shamans, and fire elementals. | |
| 5/27/2000 | Giantman Village Moves Again. and Again.... |
| According to Jara, the Giantman Village has at least two more times. The first time was to somewhere near Solhaven, and the most recent was in the vicinity of Icemule. | |
| 5/25/2000 | Invasions in the Landing |
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Bobo reports:
In the last week the landing has been rocked by many quakes, bring up specualtion that the illioke are returning. Some kooky adventurers have been seen with smoke coming from their ears and mouths. Wednesday evening shamans and other illiokes appeared. Erindril also reports: On Thursday evening, there was at least one invasion, with several unusual creatures: giant glacier trolls, frost imps, savage coyotes, and muscular orc beastmasters. | |
| 5/23/2000 | Important warning from Simutronics regarding the Wizard Front End. |
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Some players have been relying on the Health display in the Wizard Front End while
engaging in certain risky activities, including the use of certain special abilities
while low on spirit points. Please be aware that these displays in the wizard front
end are general estimates only. They are not intended to be more than a visible
reference and can be off.
The game is the final word on your spirit, health and mana points and we recommend that you always use the HEALTH and MANA commands to confirm your current levels. Since the Wizard Front End displays are not always accurate and the GameMasters cannot see your screen, in any dispute, the actual game system readouts as available by use of the commands HEALTH and MANA will be used as the final arbiter. (They're not joking, folks. I know one person who just lost the character he'd been playing for the last several years. He died a spirit death, with no deeds, and went demonic because he was relying on the display in the wizard, which happened to be wrong at just the wrong time. It doesn't happen often, but a lost packet on the 'net can cause the display to read incorrectly. I'm pretty sure the same thing happened to another friend of mine several years ago.) |
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| 5/18/2000 | On the road again. (The Giantman Village, that is.) |
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Jara reports (again):
The Village has walked away from the gash. It is now located near the Hob village. |
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| 5/7/2000 | The village that won't stay put! |
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Jara reports:
Was jes informed a minute ago that the giantman village is near the gash now. Not sure how accurate that is. Can't get out and verify at this time. |
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| 5/5/2000 | Change to experience absorption rate |
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To our Players:
As GemStone III ages, it acquires all of the trappings that go with that passage of time, both positive and otherwise. Players and Staff grow used to the way the game works, its ambience, and the people behind the characters. Lots of changes and improvements create many interwoven and inter-reliant systems. Making changes to this established system can be minor, where very few notice, but the game improves (such as tweaks in the underlying code to prevent the dreaded crash). Changes can also be very major where it affects everyone (such as the recent switch to the new hardware). Many times, things happen which we never could have possibly imagined, like the massive growth in the number of players when GemStone III moved from Genie only to AOL, then Prodigy, then CompuServe, then direct access through the Web. GemStone III's Design Team has been hard at work analyzing ways to improve the gaming experience throughout the level spectrum in Elanthia, looking at such things as creature design, statistics, experience, alternatives to hunting, old code, new code, and so on. One of the things that is constantly run across, and has been posted in the boards by both Players and GameMasters alike, is the rate at which characters can learn at upper levels vs. and lower levels. As I'm sure most people know, as a character gets older, the amount of experience that they can gain per pulse increases. The formula for experience is a rather venerable one that, for the most part, most players have enjoyed, including those who knew it at a very vague level (hunt, fill mind, gain exp) and those who knew it in depth (frequently referred to as the min/maxers or power hunters). When the experience formula was first created, I would imagine that the designers had no idea about the tremendous heights in level to which some of our players have achieved, much less the very concept of having a spread of levels that covers over 200 trainings. Recently, the Design Team has discovered that there is a flaw in the experience gain formula. Without going into the nitty gritty details of it, there is what mathematicians and computer programmers call a divide by zero error. The results of that error are that someone will, at level 300, drop to a gain of 0 to 1 exp per pulse *maximum* and continue to do so at any level above that. Due to the inter-connected systems, there would also be no return on mana, no spirit regeneration, and no hit point regeneration for potentially everyone in the game. Being the highly trained and insightful individuals that we are in Customer Experience, after being informed by Design of this tiny insignificant glitch, we determined that, speaking in technical terms, "this is a very bad thing." After a series of discussions and consultations on this error, the GemStone III Team has come up with a solution for this (and apologies for the technical terms here) "very bad thing." The formula will be slightly adjusted to prevent the divide by zero error. While I cannot go into details of exactly what will be done, one of the necessary things is to remove the effects of level on experience gain. How will this affect me, the Player (and I'm glad you asked!)? 1. The biggest change is flattening the increase in experience that can be learned as a character grows older. So, if you gain 25 exp per pulse at level 10, you'd gain pretty much the same thing at level 20 (not taking into account the automatic statistic increases of course). After running the numbers, the mathematical wizards have determined that the younger players might see a slight increase in their capabilities to learn experience, while the elder player will see a slight drop. The difference for most people will be negligible. For those who enjoy placing statistics to maximize their speed in gaining experience and are on the older end, our estimates indicate that the total difference in time that it takes to gain a level increases by 5 hours. While this is not a terrific thing if you're in the higher level category, we think the tradeoff (not being able to gain anything) at level 300 vs. being able to continue to advance normally is well worth it and the impact is not a large one. 2. Changes in hunting style or what to do when your mind is "fried" will not be affected at all. 3. The need to rest to clear your mind will not change at all. 4. The ability to gain levels above 300 will now be possible without the "very bad things" (probably the best part if you ask me). 5. The difference in experience gained due to nodes will be smaller at higher levels vs. lower ones (due to the removal of age as a factor). 6. The total amount of experienced gained from something will not change (such as X amount of exp from popping a box, or killing a critter your own age, or solving a puzzle, etc.), only the rate will. The change will take place close to May 29 and we will be discussing this change in the interim on the boards, in the NEWS, and in an upcoming forum (which will be scheduled shortly). Understanding that we won't be revealing the exact formula, please feel free to ask questions on the boards or show up at the forum and toss in your query. The Design Team will continue to look at these issues and will monitor the change when it happens and we as a team will continue to strive to create the best gaming environment possible for all of us. Sincerely, Kennesaw Senior CE GameMaster GemStone III |
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| 5/5/2000 | New area of the Bog in Wehnimer's Graveyard discovered! |
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Jara reports:
At around 9PM EDT, EST a gravedigger appeared in the underburrow in the landing. A lot of people followed this gravedigger and eventually he went to the bog, middle room. He dug a new path, leading west. I ventured west, and I discovered there were much more new rooms. Also, greater spiders, greater ghouls, death dirges, and hobgoblins are showing up in mass swarms there. |
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| 5/4/2000 | Mbatta reclaims his wagon! |
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The merchant Mbatta, recovering from his month long binge, finally got sober enough to
recall where he had left his merchant wagon out in the hunting areas of River's Rest.
When he went to retreive it, much cussing
and screaming was heard, but he was soon mollified when he discovered how much his
assistants had earned for him in his absence.
When he did finally drive off with his wagon, many folks remarked that someone in his condition aught not to in control of such a large moving object, since it appeared to be moving in every direction except straight.... |
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