Monthly Development Update - 28th February 2014

[Leetlover]

would be pwn if we can choose what nanoeffects/lines the ncu-window will show.

lol @ this

He is actually fairly right. Take off your veteran-glasses

nanos are also a pain 2 get since the content is not played anymore. the rk-nanos.

I just don't see how PvM players are having such an issue getting gear that they need to buy LR. All you need to do is play the game. A lot of the issue is motivation/coordination but this will only get better if more people play the game (at least the coordination piece).

but...game is for relax! work is for paying the sub

[Anna]

That really wasn't the point of the question. Taken out of the context of the conversation that Grandpa and I were having.. the question may seemssilly and maybe your response seems appropriate. However the context in which I posed that question was a discussion regarding leveling and non-endgame toons not being able to get a team due to open inspect.

QL 300 AI armor is not necessarily the best solution for every class and CC certainly isn't the optimal solution for many PvM setups. That being said, for those classes where QL 300 AI armor might be best in slot, there's always some non-AI armor alternative that would still allow them to perform well. My soldier, for instance, is a toon I don't care much for and she's not wearing any AI armor. Is her DD top? No, it isn't. But her DD is still darned good and definitely nothing to be dismissed. I've yet to be denied a team (with open inspect) because she's not wearing QL 300 CC or CSS. All of my toons have open inspect.. some of them have ai armor.. some don't. I've never been denied a team due to lack of AI armor.. not on toons that people don't know.. not on toons people do.

I think the 'omg people won't invite newbies to team because they aren't wearing ql 300 ai armor' is a bunch of nonsense.

I understood what your point was, and presumably still is. You think open inspect is a good thing. But there do exist equipment snobs who seriously think certain armor should be reserved only for those engaging in pvp. Secondly, your's was not the quote I had in mind, but I looking back I do see a comment was in yours as well. The point was it doesn't matter what people say in the forums. FC seems to have a small clique that determines the game direction and they listen not to anyone else. The open inspect of equipment is a nothing, combined with the free pass on outside programs and the inspection, symbs, etc. is going to allow those using third parts programs even more opportunity to automate their attacks to maximize the effect. You know it will be used for that. Just as you know that some equipment snobs will not allow or will kick players that they feel are not well equipped. They did it for years before the social tab made it impossible to determine in advance what people were wearing, and they could never see more then the wear tab. This will return us to the bad old days in my opinion, except more so as they can see more. I somehow doubt that human nature has changed much in a few years or that that game population has changed much either.

[Mastablasta]

FC seems to have a small clique that determines the game direction and they listen not to anyone else.

Yeah, they're called "the development team" ^^

[Gunforhire]

I understood what your point was, and presumably still is. You think open inspect is a good thing. But there do exist equipment snobs who seriously think certain armor should be reserved only for those engaging in pvp. Secondly, your's was not the quote I had in mind, but I looking back I do see a comment was in yours as well. The point was it doesn't matter what people say in the forums. FC seems to have a small clique that determines the game direction and they listen not to anyone else. The open inspect of equipment is a nothing, combined with the free pass on outside programs and the inspection, symbs, etc. is going to allow those using third parts programs even more opportunity to automate their attacks to maximize the effect. You know it will be used for that. Just as you know that some equipment snobs will not allow or will kick players that they feel are not well equipped. They did it for years before the social tab made it impossible to determine in advance what people were wearing, and they could never see more then the wear tab. This will return us to the bad old days in my opinion, except more so as they can see more. I somehow doubt that human nature has changed much in a few years or that that game population has changed much either.

I've got news for you folks I've been in teams where someone was equipped better than some other members of the team, however they couldn't do the job 2 of us almost got killed due to them. It had nothing to do with equipment and everything to do with performance. Even if they had been inspected they would have probably passed the inspection. In the end its not what you have equipped but how well you perform with what you have. That's why inspection ultimately is a non issue. What is ultimately going to get you on teams is your in game rep be it good or bad.

[Grandpa]

I just don't see how PvM players are having such an issue getting gear that they need to buy LR. All you need to do is play the game.

The ONLY thing you need in AO is to find the right org.

An org that is active and has members in your time zone.
An org that is willing and able to help you.
An org that can level you, gets you loot, and gives you good advice all the way through your first 220.
Someone called it a babysitter org and that pretty much nails it.

If you can find such an org, you will enjoy the game. If you don't, you might as well quit!

Chances are, you cannot find such an org through OOC "looking for org".
Likely, you'll get the WRONG org that way - either one that is just desperate to find people because they are down to a couple of players, or one that is a fine org but not during your online times and/or not in your level range (i.e. they are doing DB3, you are doing Ely Hecks).

Believe it or not, there are lots of players who DO NOT have a babysitter org.
Many don't even know about the raid bots, or have no idea how to get invited to one.

So, they are condemned to do everything though LFT.
Just try with an unknown toon to get the DB quest done via LFT and you might understand what many players are up against.

I've played all 3 servers and all factions. But most of my old orgs have died with the mergers.
When I came back last year, I tried to find new orgs through OOC.
I got invited to one org with 2 members. Another org told me that I could only join if I convert all my 220 Omni toons to clan (which would have been a huge real-money expense for me). Another org never got back to me after I filled out their website application.

I also posted on this forum (you can look up my post, if you like).
I got 3 responses over the course of a month. One guy was never online when I was, another guy didn't even bother reading my message.
Finally, someone sent me a PM and we hooked up. In the end, things worked out for me personally.

But I'm an experienced player, I've been here for over a decade, I have sufficient credits, I have decent gear and I have many, many TL7s that I can multi-log.

Now put yourself in the shoes of a new player and imagine what he/she is up against!

ANYTHING that makes it harder to find teams is a BAD thing, and that includes inspect.

[Dysfunction]

I've got news for you folks I've been in teams where someone was equipped better than some other members of the team, however they couldn't do the job 2 of us almost got killed due to them. It had nothing to do with equipment and everything to do with performance. Even if they had been inspected they would have probably passed the inspection. In the end its not what you have equipped but how well you perform with what you have. That's why inspection ultimately is a non issue. What is ultimately going to get you on teams is your in game rep be it good or bad.

This, rep is a HUGE part of this community especially because of how small we are. Whether good or bad, your name and rep preceed any inspect window, whether good or bad. If I know 'johnsmith123' is a pro on his shade or whatever prof you choose and he rolls a new char that I'm aware of, I'll be damn sure to invite him based on his game knowledge due to whether he's top tier on his new alt or not. Game knowledge goes much further than a few pieces of ai armor or awesome symbs.

[Traderjill]

He is actually fairly right. Take off your veteran-glasses

I've spent a lot of time playing with new players (pretty much ran an org full of them at one point). I've always been extremely social in game and I look for reasons to chat it up with people. The result is that I've spoken to a lot of new players over the years and asked them directly about their experience. I am very much aware of the troubles that new players have but I'm also aware of the fact that they can be overcome. I've seen plenty of new people get past the issues in this game, get teams, gear up, etc. Those new people coming to AO expecting to be handed gear through leveling or questing are going to be disappointed and I guess they think that the only way to gear up is by purchasing lootrights. People that are a little more game savy, however, should be able to obtain their gear with no problem.

I have lost count of the number of times I've seen individuals spamming neutnet, OOC, etc, to form teams. Names I do not know and people that I've found out, are newer players trying to get gear. Through determination and spirit they formed teams, mastered raid areas and became endgame geared players. In fact, if I put my veteran glasses on (your words), I can say that I didn't rely on an org or other people to gear up. I played the game solo quite a bit though I did have the advantage (use that loosely) of the old point bot systems (doesn't such a thing still exist?.. can't think of the name.. but its multi-faction and does raids).

I just feel like all of this boohooing is making a mountain out of a molehill.

I've spoken to a lot of people ingame over the years and you know me, if I want something I'm quick to make a team. So when I see people complaining in OOC about not getting teams I will actually send a tell and talk to them. I ask them why they won't form a team on their own.. they say they don't know the encounter. I tell them that there's plenty of people that would join if they spam bots and such.. they come up with another excuse. At the end of the day, Rubi-ka is a tough world.. and no amount of anything is going to motivate someone that wants a free ride. Trust me, I've tried. Again, can't count the number of times I've started a team for someone like I just described, shown them the encounter and how it works and then 2 or 3 days later they're back complaining again.

but...game is for relax! work is for paying the sub

The game is for relaxing? If you want to literally log in to something and do nothing let me recommend The Walking Dead single player game. It is very relaxing to play has an amazing storyline and immersion factor. If, however, you are expecting to log in to a game and 'do stuff' then I don't see how people can complain about having to 'do stuff' to get gear. No one logs in to a MMO to simply stare at their screen.

You know it will be used for that. Just as you know that some equipment snobs will not allow or will kick players that they feel are not well equipped. They did it for years before the social tab made it impossible to determine in advance what people were wearing, and they could never see more then the wear tab. This will return us to the bad old days in my opinion, except more so as they can see more. I somehow doubt that human nature has changed much in a few years or that that game population has changed much either.

And this, I guess, I do not understand. Do you think that snobs do not exist now or that it'll get worse? What people have done is gone from the 'bad old days' of kicking people that they visually see have on bad gear to simply not inviting any unknown factor because they don't know what they're going to get. Not sure if I should be sorry to say or not but a lot of the snobs in game are people I know rather well and people that I've played with. I've listened to their complaints, the reasons they don't team people they don't know and the reasons

No one's looking for full CC, all endgame utils/huds, and alphas or betas for an inferno mission. What they're looking for are people who are going to try to keep up and do their part. Inspect lets you know if the person is at least someone that's keeping up with their toon or they're the type of player that is content with being carried. And as Dys said in his post, really what people want to know most, regardless of your toon is "Do you know this encounter?". "Do you know how to play your profession?" Open inspect is helpful but people geared/knowledgeable enough to be snobs will know better than to equate someone not having 100% endgame gear as being incompetent

ANYTHING that makes it harder to find teams is a BAD thing, and that includes inspect.

Inspect will tell people, like me, that spend time making teams that you're at least semi-geared. How does that reduce teams? The same will apply to new players. If they're level 205+ and still wearing ql 200 implants and carb then honestly, leveling up is the last thing they should be doing and anyone dragging them on for the ride is not being helpful.. they're setting them up for failure. A player like that really needs to read a guide or two and get some gear. That's not being mean or unrealistic.. that's just honesty.

[Rahela]

The inspect change is totally unnecessary and unpopular and it will result in the loss of subs. Can the game really afford to lose more players due to something so silly (and preventable)?

[lunarsolace]

550 posts (28 pages so far) and 30k+ views. I would believe this game is doing fine as it can be considering what's happened in the past year or two. Fortunately the folks at Funcom aren't as vociferous and vile as the players can be.

[Difs]

No one logs in to a MMO to simply stare at their screen.

I paid a month (27 days passed) just to chat with ingame friends and troll a bit in borealis/duel room.
The first 4 days I leveled a bit and got some items but nothing since then.
Call me weird but I had fun these days
Better than go /lft and being angry noone wants to do anything.

[Esqi]

The inspect change is totally unnecessary and unpopular and it will result in the loss of subs. Can the game really afford to lose more players due to something so silly (and preventable)?

Maybe you will rage quit, but i personally dont see how it is a game breaker.

Every other game out there lets you inspect other players equip..whats so special about AO?

[Esssch]

In the end its not what you have equipped but how well you perform with what you have.

That's what my ex-gf said too.

No one logs in to a MMO to simply stare at their screen.

Excuse me, speak for yourself. I have watched the grass grow at both Tir grid and Storm hangout for several days /played in each location.

[Wakizaka]

Every other game out there lets you inspect other players equip..whats so special about AO?

We have more exploits that were never corrected.

[Geriatric]

I think it's much more likely that prices for AI armor, symbs, etc. will double or triple with inspect.
People gotta ungimp, so there's gonna be a BIG rush on everything valuable.

So the gold spammers, the guys who sell to them, and everyone who has benefitted from the gmi glitch will make mad profits.

Instead of catching cheaters, FC is gonna reward them, big time!

But like they said in the press release, they are totally cool with losing subs <shrug>

Yup prices will go up up up, I'm counting on it. But so what?
You failed if you don't know how to make creds since 2007. L2P or play something else!

Honestly I can't wait for inspect, all this carebear talks make me sick!
Whine, whine, whine! I can't get a team on lft! I can't find an org, whaaaa!
If you wouldn't be a baddie, some org would take you.
Then you wouldn't have to be on sucky lft with all the other scrubs.

Other people made excuses here, helping noobs lol, but they think the same thing.
I don't make excuses. Inspect is there to weed out all the baddies and that's a big plus!

So what if I call someone gimp or kick them from team? If they suck its the truth, live with it.
If they are undergeared in pvp, I'll gank them. That's what you do in MMOs, lol.
Only thing i disagree with is that Funcom wants us to find exploiters, that's bull.
But who cares as long as we finally get inspect!

And I don't care if the scrubs have to buy creds, its good that all these losers in bad gear can't hide anymore!

Gotta show some tough love here, jeez!

[ByLogic]

Yup prices will go up up up, I'm counting on it. But so what?
You failed if you don't know how to make creds since 2007. L2P or play something else!

Honestly I can't wait for inspect, all this carebear talks make me sick!
Whine, whine, whine! I can't get a team on lft! I can't find an org, whaaaa!
If you wouldn't be a baddie, some org would take you.
Then you wouldn't have to be on sucky lft with all the other scrubs.

Other people made excuses here, helping noobs lol, but they think the same thing.
I don't make excuses. Inspect is there to weed out all the baddies and that's a big plus!

So what if I call someone gimp or kick them from team? If they suck its the truth, live with it.
If they are undergeared in pvp, I'll gank them. That's what you do in MMOs, lol.
Only thing i disagree with is that Funcom wants us to find exploiters, that's bull.
But who cares as long as we finally get inspect!

And I don't care if the scrubs have to buy creds, its good that all these losers in bad gear can't hide anymore!

Gotta show some tough love here, jeez!

You have allot of valid points here Geriatric. I dont see any problem with the inspection feature
when it comest to pvp, in other mmorpg you simply see the gear they have, in AO you have the ability to hide this, i dont think there be much time to inspect peoples gear in a massive Notum tower fight. If all your perks land, then you understand your opponents gear. (not every thing is gear either, example NT doesn't really need gear .. (lets be honest)

When it comes to find exploits, i agree that its bs, but the fact is that AO is not a very
advanced game when it comes to database storage of player data. Maybe its a blobb performance issue i dont know, but it seems like that there is no storage of what items players have, just some bool flags that you have it, and then its stores a xml data in your local folder just to cache it. If Funcom added tables of player ID and items ID, then it would be easy query to find exploiters, you can then make server scripts to avoid exploits and have more controler over the game content. (almost all mmorpg have this) .

[Anonemuss]

Open Up Inspect and seein' friendly Nanos in Target NCU is in my opinion NOT the best way to improve the game.... One of the best parts of the game is to select special equip-setups....
and if u can see buffs and inspect equip it ll lead to big disadvantages in pvp.....
sure its easier to find exploiter or cheater... but there's another way to prevent that....
Just protect game with a Client & Server based "Hackin Protection"..... So it shouldn't be possible to manipulate Memory addresses or inject fake dlls...... (e.g. look at cheat protections from other mmos.....)
another disadvantage would be that sneakin profs can inspect ppl without bein inspected.....

greetings
Anonemuss

[Timetraveler2001]

Who cares about inspect anyways?
www.aoitems.com or www.auno.org and you can inspect any item in game!
Who wears the item is non relevant. But who drops it/or how can i get it is all i need to know.
I dont play this game to see what other players have in their different slots, i could not care less.
All the items that this game can give you are open for anyone to go and fetch.
How you get them or if you get them all depends on the player who wants it.
This will never change no matter what game you are referring to.

[Ekarona]

Who cares about inspect anyways?
www.aoitems.com or www.auno.org and you can inspect any item in game!
Who wears the item is non relevant. But who drops it/or how can i get it is all i need to know.
I dont play this game to see what other players have in their different slots, i could not care less.
All the items that this game can give you are open for anyone to go and fetch.
How you get them or if you get them all depends on the player who wants it.
This will never change no matter what game you are referring to.

Some players still have items they shouldn't not have. The most openly talked recently is likely not correct QL Doctor Ofab Special Edition Helmets.

[Literary]

With privacy disabled, AO should offer a reward for finding cheaters-- ten million credits should be sufficient to actually get a result.

[3246251196]

FC,

can you not respond to this:

Why wont you accept a referendum on the Inspection Change? I do not understand why.