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| 1/30/2002 | Injury Assessment Update |
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A core update has been implemented to the code that assesses a player and
creature's injury level. This update moved the core injury assessment code
from a C code routine into a GSL routine, allowing us to make changes and
additions in real time. The update also included several bug fixes in the
routine that have plagued us for many years. This update isn't seamless
however, as it affects most verbs and items that require a physical action.
After the initial core change, many of you noted inconsistencies in the ability to perform certain actions. Once such example is the SEARCH verb. After the core change a player with one eye with a rank 2 wound (swollen eye) and one perfect eye wouldn't be able to search. However, after we adjusted the verb a player with these same wounds would be able to search. The update requires that we reevaluate all code that requires a physical action, to ensure that it is functioning within the parameters established by the update. This process has been ongoing since the update was implemented, and will continue until all code has been reviewed and updated appropriately. The staff has been diligently working to correct problems that have arisen from the update. We encourage you to BUG areas and actions that you feel may need attention, and we appreciate your patience while we work through this much-needed update. Visit the Game Balance topic of the message boards to join in the discussion and find further details about the update. |
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| 1/30/2002 | New Releases List |
| In an effort to keep the GemStone community informed about new game releases, we have created a new release list. This list is accessible from the front page of the website at www.play.net. Or you can find it directly at http://www.play.net/gs3/events/year-releases.asp?id=1040 | |
| 1/28/2002 | Guide to Forging |
| So you want to make armor and weapons? Having trouble figuring out how to hold your hammer or which way to tie your apron? If you've got the patience and the muscle, then we have a guide for all your forging needs! http://www.play.net/gs3/info/artisan_skills/forgingoverview.asp | |
| 1/19/2002 | Enhancement to Singing |
| Have you ever wondered which spellsongs you had running, or how close you were to renewing them? Wonder no more! Now it is possible to find out by using SING STATUS. May Cholen smile upon your melodic enterprises! | |
| 1/11/2002 | The History of River's Rest |
| What role did this little settlement play in the history of Elanthia? Find out at http://www.play.net/gs3/info/tomes/riverrest_1.asp. | |
| 1/9/2002 | 2001 In Review |
| Go to http://www.play.net/gs3/news/2001review.asp and check out the list of the most notable accomplishments of GemStone III staff in 2001! | |
| 1/6/2002 | Breakage Forum |
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The forum will be an open discussion on the recent, and upcoming, changes to armor conversions.
We'll attempt to clarify some of the misunderstandings currently floating around the lands about the
conversion process and touch upon why the conversion process is a crucial step in the implementation process.
Large striped tents will be setup in all major towns. The forum will be on Monday, January 7 at 9 PM EST. Forum details can be found by typing FORUM. |
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| 1/4/2002 | Breakage Revisited! |
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After further review we've decided to make more changes in the conversion process.
Throughout the past day we've been busy not only adjusting values, but solicting feedback and reviewing data.
This feedback in conjunction with further design discussions has convinced us that items falling below
the baseline + material modifier standard need further consideration.
We will be making a global change to the conversion routine that will reset all DU/ST that
fall below this baseline to the current baseline. Items that have values greater then the current
baseline will not be reset, and the bonus will be retained by the item.
The breakage calculator on the website will be a suitable guide to the baseline + material modifier standard
that we'll employ for this global change.
This change will not take place for several days, and we ask that you continue to assist if your items material isn't being properly recognized. We'd also like to continue fixing items that don't have their proper material as part of the items base name, and hope that you'll continue to assist so we can add the proper material back into the name. Thanks for you patience, feedback and suggestions throughout this process. |
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| 1/3/2002 | Breakage: What To Do |
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The first thing every player should do is check to see if their armor, shield and armor accessories
(greaves, helms, etc.) are in danger of being broken.
If you are a relatively new player and your armor, shields and accessories do not include any special materials (for instance, if you are using the items that your character was "born" with, or that you purchased from town shops) then you are probably okay and you do not need to assist. If a friend of yours gave you special armor, or if you are particularly enterprising and could afford to buy armor with special materials or buy an alteration for your armor, it is probably wise to take a careful look at your armor as follows. More advanced players with special or unique equipment should check the name of their armor, shields and accessories. In order to be sure that you are seeing the correct name (rather than a long name) you should APPRAISE your item. Appraise will now list the true name of your item. For example:
>You pick up a black shield.
>appraise my shield
>Careful examination indicates that "a glaes shield" has a strength
of 69 and a durability of 220. You determine the current state of the
glaes shield to be at 100% integrity.
In this instance, the true name of the shield is "a glaes shield" even though it looks like "a black shield."
If your armor includes more than one material, does not include any reference to a material, or references ruby as a superficial decoration, please assist. IMPORTANT: We will NOT fix armor, shields or accessories simply because the breakage statistics do not perfectly match your EXPECTATION based on the armor type and material type. The only repairs we will be doing are to those armors that were converted incorrectly due to the system errors listed in the previous news item, 2 16, titled, 'BREAKAGE: CONVERSION.' All armor, shields and accessories repaired will also be adjusted so that the name of the armor, shield and accessory is correct. We will add the base material for all armor, shields and accessories to the name. Additionally, we are legally required to remove any references to Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) materials and other I.C.E. terms. (I.C.E. materials are lysaughton, kregora, keron, shaalk, laen, star iron, eog, ithloss, xenium, galvorn, rularon, catoetine, vaanum, iorake, lore, xeno, ithilnaur, dwarven steel, mcgrail, neurolite, boernerine, elrodnite, fabrinine, and inniculmoid. Other I.C.E. terms may be found in game by typing SHIFT.) |
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| 1/3/2002 | Breakage: Conversion |
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The conversion process first began by addressing all items en masse.
In an attempt to retain some of advantages that items had, they were modified in relation to the baseline for
that type of item. For each type of item a modifier was selected based on the degree of deviation from the baseline.
For all items that have outlying values, they were modified to bring them closer in line to the average,
yet still retain a degree of their unique value.
When making these corrections we encountered several problems. All armor is created out of a base armor and a base material. The breakage statistics of both of these are combined to create the final breakage statistic for each piece of armor. The base material is always steel (even for leather armors) unless specified. Over the years items have been altered to include additional "superficial" materials, to remove the true base material from the name of the item, or additional words have been added which sound like one of our existent materials. For example:
It is important to understand that long names, shows and descriptions had absolutely no affect on the converter. Only the TRUE name of the armor affected the converter. The most likely armors to have converted correctly include only one material (the base material for the armor) and are very simple. For example:
A detailed list of the problems created by the converter follows:
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| 1/2/2002 | Breakage Assists -- Important |
| We made an error in our announcement about the method of correction for DU/ST breakage statistics for armor. Until we have compiled a new announcement, we ask that you please do not assist regarding changes to your armor. Those players currently in queue for an assist regarding their armor may remain in queue. You will be referred in case you still qualify for a modification to your armor. However, your referral may not be answered until we have corrected our announcement, which may take more than a few hours. We apologize for our error and thank you for your patience. | |
| 1/2/2002 | Breakage |
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The time to take the next step has come! As you may know, a period of item adjustment is called for
before we progress any further. GameMasters will be making manual adjustments to armor and shields,
where it is deemed necessary. Please note that we're not working on weapons yet, just armor and shields.
We encourage you at this time to take a LOOK at the STrength and DUrability of your armor, weapons and shields.
You can then compare your items' STrength/DUrability with that of what an item of that type/metal "should" have.
A table of the basic ST/DU of items will be available both on the website and on the message boards under Weapons & Armor/BREAKAGE: Specific Item Value Issues. If you have any questions about ST/DU or how to calculate them, or Breakage related questions, we encourage you to post those questions on the message boards under Weapons & Armor/Breakage. In addition, the ST/DU adjustments intrinsic to certain metals will be available in the same areas. Take the basic item values for the item in question and adjust as directed by what metal you believe it to be made out of. If the numbers you see when you LOOK at your item do not match what they "should" be, it's something that you should ASSIST about and ask a GM to adjust the values of the item. Some things to keep in mind as you evaluate your belongings by the new stardards are as follows: 1) If a metal isn't mentioned in an item, it is assumed to be made of steel. Steel items have the basic item values as listed. 2) If an item mentions that a metal embosses, etches, gilds, alloys, hilts, pommels, chases, engraves, encrusts, edges, or studs your item, that does not necessarily mean that the metal value will modify the item, as the metal mentioned is used for decorative purposes, not ST/DU purposes. For example, if I have a rolaren hafted waraxe - it should have the base ST/DU of a waraxe made of steel, as the rolaren is only the haft, not the blade. 3) Alterations that removed mention of what metal the item was made out of are where we expect to see the most irregularities. We will do what we can to help you in this situation - please ASSIST and ask for your item to be reviewed if you believe that it is not receiving a metal bonus that it should. We expect to be reviewing numerous items, and thank you for your patience with any delays in answering your assists and referals. This period of adjustment will last until the demand for single item adjustment dies down appreciably - only then will we move on to the next step of implementation. The following was posted on the boards: Item.............................STrength.......DUrability -Armor- AsG20 some full plate............69.............665 AsG19 some half plate............65.............575 AsG18 an aug. breastplate........65.............505 AsG17 a metal breastplate........60.............475 AsG16 a chain hauberk............59.............495 AsG15 some aug. chain............55.............480 AsG14 some double chain..........55.............450 AsG13 some chain mail............55.............350 AsG12 some brig. armor...........49.............325 AsG11 some studded armor.........45.............285 AsG10 some cuir. leather.........45.............270 AsG9 a leather breastplate.......35.............300 AsG8 some double leather.........35.............290 AsG7 some reinforced leather.....35.............270 AsG6 some full leather...........20.............285 AsG5 some light leather..........10.............250 AsG2 some flowing robes..........10.............230 AsG1 some normal clothing........10.............230 -Armor Accessories- leather helm.....................30.............200 visored helm.....................40.............290 metal aventail...................45.............300 arm greaves......................25.............185 leg greaves......................25.............200 -Shields- wooden shield....................45.............155 reinforced shield................45.............165Once you've found your item's base ST/DU above, if you believe it should have a metal adjuster (i.e. your item is made of a specific metal), adjust the numbers by the modifiers listed here that correspond to the metal type: 1. alexandrite -40/-100 2. bronze -15/-50 3. iron -10/-10 4. leather -10/-50 5. obsidian -15/-50 6. ruby -30/-110 7. modwir -10/-80 8. vultite +15/+40 9. ora +15/+30 10. imflass +20/+40 11. glaes +24/+65 12. mithril +20/+40 13. wood -20/-90 14. steel +0/+0 15. faenor +35/+65 16. black ora +15/+30 17. invar +10/+10 18. rolaren +20/+65 19. golvern +25/+99 20. urnon +80/+200 21. mithglin +20/+50 22. kelyn +15/+55 23. krodera +5/+60 24. urglaes +15/+30 25. drakar +0/+0 26. veil iron +24/+75 27. rhimar +0/+0 28. zorchar +0/+0 29. eahnor +30/+75 30. gornar +0/+0 31. vaalor +10/+30 32. razern +5/+15 33. eonake +20/+55 34. mein +24/+65 35. ironwood +5/+10 36. witchwood -15/-80 37. white ora +15/+30 38. black alloy +0/+0 39. low steel +0/+0 40. gold +0/+0 41. high steel +0/+0 42. coraesine +20/+40 43. veniom +0/+0 44. laje +0/+0 45. white alloy +0/+0 |
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