The Bug I Love

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HolyKnight
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The Bug I Love

Post by HolyKnight »

Months ago I remember a topic discussed about allowing monster NPCs to roam in order to limit the boring predictability of walking around Gobaith. That way people do not know what to expect when going to the mines or walking to a far away destination. Right now everyone knows where the baddies are and can steer clear when going to place they desire. However, recently there is a bug after the map updates that spawns rouge NPCs, its simply fantastic! I walked in the graveyard and there were FOUR demon skeletons lurking the hallways, on their own I might add. I was invigorated by the unsuspecting conflict that was on my hands. Sure some people fight a lich or a demon skeleton then run and lose it somewhere. But those NPCs evidentially just look at the wall... not very menacing :P .

Then I left the graveyard and was walking back to Trolls Bane and their on the road wandered a batch of annoying flies. Then later an ugly troll stood in a mud bog drinking from the river no doubt. I must say the spontaneity and shock of seeing a big ugly monster impeding my path brings all kinds of possibilities. Do I run? Do I stay and fight? Do I yell for help? Do I run and comeback with a posse and bash the beast? Or pray that the beast walks away?

So my proposal comes to this, perhaps a variable can be added to certain monsters to make them roam instead of randomly walking a designated area. Or perhaps random spawns on certain roads with a designated area to roam. In turn traders "will" have to hire mercenaries or bodyguards to protect their caravans.

So'wadda'think!?!
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Logrin Parr
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Post by Logrin Parr »

I think that your onto something. It seems like the perfect addition, the only thing that would make it any better is if certain mosters were hostile to each other, ie. wolves preying on sheep. But it all has to start somewhere eh? Baby steps and all that, " looks at older client screen shots "
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Julius
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Post by Julius »

When Julius used to walk to Kallahorn, he always ran into some stray Trolls (?). I'm pretty sure NPC monsters move around.
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HolyKnight
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Post by HolyKnight »

Not outside the coordinates they are scripted with unless lured away by a character. However, the current bug somehow negates that fact and the npc can walk ANYWHERE just like a mages summoned creature can.
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Post by LifeWonder »

YES.
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Vern Kron
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Post by Vern Kron »

Some of that has to be taken in reason ofcourse. You don't want dragons wandering through troll's bane, or golems. A pesky wolf or something, fine, but we have to have some sort of reason. Also, with pigs the way they are set up and with this bug they always wander -way- off through town, into the tavern, and other areas.
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Juniper Onyx
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Post by Juniper Onyx »

I love that bug too!

It creates "adventure"!

Yes, that pesky thing that is unpredictable, fun and possibly dangerous. Earlier, Chester was going to Goldburg, and he encountered several wolves and flies, but after a scorpion used his antidote.....he had to turn back when another started coming from the woods! I didn't see that coming, hehe.

Woah! The game suddenly got a little better. :D

As far as wandering Golems and dragons.........so what? It's just as good to have one randomly walk into Trollsbane.....because it's no different than when some *cough*damn*cough* person lures one into town and locks it inside a building to slaughter newbies. There are plenty of occasions where 'players' threaten towns with 'monsters' or YR Maps. Funny thing is...there is always some 'uber'fighter able to take it out. :roll:

I wouldn't worry about it.

Save the Bug! :lol:
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Vern Kron
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Post by Vern Kron »

My first day I was clouded by a golem, twice. And there were only two other people online.
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HolyKnight
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Post by HolyKnight »

Obviously everything within reason. I definitely vote that the golem gets moved anyway, ideally onto a mountain or deeper into the copper mountains. However, the risk of the encounter has to be high enough that a typical crafter cannot vanquish the enemy and in turn needs to hire someone to do it for him. I see going something like this, certain paths or trade routes are more difficult then others. This way there is a gradual scale for noob mercs all the way to the skilled warrior. I will break it down visually.


Image

black lines: typical paths of travel
white dashes: shortcuts/secondary paths/ resource routes
yellow spray paint: limited danger: (flies, wolves, wasps, scorpions and bandits)
orange spray paint: intermediate danger: (goblins, skeletons [non-magic], and trolls [non magic]
red spray paint: high danger risk: (gnolls, skeletons, trolls, and ogres)
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Tanistian_Kanea
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Post by Tanistian_Kanea »

dude i have never seen only 3 people online. when the hells was this? i have been up to like 3 o clock where i am (canada) and never gets lower then 6. anyway good idea just make it less random. flies and wolves more common to roam the paths then dragons and golems. those should be saved for quests to cause havoc. maybe some slightly stronger stuff but the should have reason for being where the are (like a quest going on). wolves when you are clsoe to forest, flies close to swamps. and actually thinking about it now if you basically just extend these creatures roaming space so it goes over a good patch of road. then it should work pretty well. but no to just random anywhere. noobs would get killed and everyone would have to have someway to fight and one thing i like and said on the homepage is that you can go this entire game without having to fight. i vote no to keeping this bug. (sorry to you enthusiasts but this would be particularly bad for me because i have never had even a decent fighter so where this is pretty anoying for you guys it would make my life miserable cause i would end up getting clouded)

edit: as for HOly's post. again no. to get to green briar most of my characters would die 3 times from that map (yes just the yellow ones anything much pasts a few flies or a single wolf and i would die let alone bandits.) this is fine for current players with SOME fighting skill but for those of us with no skill it's bad. this would also highly discourage new players because they could not even survive getting to a new town. with that many mobs it would turn illarion into a fighting game out of necessity for characters to survive. this would not be a good idea. i am completely against this and would probably stop playing if mobs where put in like that. it would completely kill the game for me. i would not do anything with any of my characters (i had anyway) and i will not to make "fighters". if i am so restricted and unable to do things in illarion then there is no reason to stay. as for first part of post yes i think there should be some dangerous spots but only up to some wolves. half the stuff in even that yellow list would kill almost every character i have ever had. and going from trolls to green briar i would encounter 3 spawns of stuff. so upon further examination of it's effects i have to go with this edited version and say remove the bug and do not put in more spawn points for monsters. the spawn points should stay the same. it allows new players to get a handle on what to do and are not immediately killed because you current players are basically getting bored. i do not think this should be implemented in any way.
Last edited by Tanistian_Kanea on Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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HolyKnight
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Post by HolyKnight »

You miss the point. You can still go the entire game without fighting a single person. This is why you need a merc to help you. Noobs that just go wandering around without asking someone about the terrain deserve to get clouded. It is not like there skills are going to be lost :? . Sure they have some crappy items with them, but bet they will stay clear from that area again and ask someone which is the best way to go. By the way I am not talking about a massive group of skeletons coming out of no where just one or two. Once again stop hording all your coppers, silvers, and golds and use them.


I dont know where you have been since Aug 2006, but there has been
times that I have been the ONLY person ig during american hours. Bad times,
Bad times indeed. it hasnt been for a while thankfully :P . But last summer
Illa was down a whole lot and when I came back to school it was still bad.
Saw the online list 0 quite a few times :P
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Post by LifeWonder »

YES.
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Tanistian_Kanea
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Post by Tanistian_Kanea »

you can't go only place outside of bane without incountering at least one group of something.
bane to briar - 3 yellow one RED
farmers union - 1 yellow
docks 2 yellow even to the grey refuge you run into one yellow
varshikar 2 orange and a yellow
by your map you can't even gather feakin wool from SHEEP!
by your map the ENTIRE village of trollsbane is pracitaclly SURROUNDED by spawns. EVERY. SINGLE. ROAD. OUT. is covered by some mob. WHAT?! safe way? with your additional mobs and the current ones I don't know one FREAKIN SAFE PLACE ON THE HOLE BLOODY MAP!
i repeat again this is a terrible idea. this would kill any new players we could ever hope of getting. you are forcing people either to spend money of which some of us DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF. or learn to fight. I do not horde copper. of all my characters the most i have ever had as one or 2 gold at the highest point. AFTER I had sold something. I cannot support this in the slightest. It is the worst idea I have seen on these boards and I am sorry if you are offended by that, but i cannot let myself stay quite over this. i LIKE playing this game. i do not want to see it ruined because a bunch of people want a game like every other one where monsters are everywhere because SOME PEOPLE ARE BORED!
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Gro'bul
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Post by Gro'bul »

Map is too small for a proper distribution in my opinion. I could not even go pick some fruit without being armored like that. Who hires mercenaries to pick fruit? Srsly
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Julius
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Post by Julius »

Golems are actually one of the weakest offensive NPCs ig. They just have a huge amount of HP and decent parry. A crafter could even out run them.
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Juliana D'cheyne
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Post by Juliana D'cheyne »

Having run into a golem near the arena yesterday, trying to hit it a few times before running with it chasing my char past the Grey, finally loosing it in some trees, I would say at least some of them are a little faster now. :wink:

(agility is NOT low)


Back on topic, I would really like to see this variation however would also hope the actual towns are relatively safe. There can even be a notice to new chars of this. The towns being fairly safe at least from NPC's and they can either take the teleporter or "chance" the walk. This MAY encourage more exploring also from some new players waiting for an adventure.
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Estralis Seborian
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Post by Estralis Seborian »

Roaming, random monsters are also what I'd welcome. A minor problem about this is that there is no simple way of adding spawns, in special, not a simple way to edit or remove spawns. But when somebody feels motivated, I am sure a developer can supply details like a list of current monsters, their spawns and what the parameters mean.

In addition to the shown map, for me, random monsters could also mean that e.g. one dragon gets spawned once a month somewhere in the mountains, its "realm" spreading over 200x200 tiles. Or a bunch of bandits gets spawned once a week somewhere, all across the desert. Or a demon boss gets spawned once a day in the graveyard (I know somebody who'd love that!).

Bad spawn design can be reviewed north of the goblin spawns, north of the temple. A dozend animals, all crowded at one place...
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nmaguire
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Post by nmaguire »

I agree with Esty! I guess it's not possible to script the idea that monsters can wander independently across the whole map, but still spawn in the same place?
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Post by Achae Eanstray »

nmaguire wrote:I agree with Esty! I guess it's not possible to script the idea that monsters can wander independently across the whole map, but still spawn in the same place?
If like other spawners, there would be a limit to the spawn. It may be possible however to set some out with delays to make them spawn rarely and only 1 or 2... (sort of like the treasure maps?), some so delayed it would be hard to judge their recurring time? Is it possible to overlap some spawners, to make the area less noticeable as far as where the spawn is?
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Post by Nitram »

To spawn monsters that roam absolutly freely is very easy. But the problem is that they really roam freely in that case. So its possible with some bad luck that the high danger monsters from path east of TB walk over to Trollsbane and hang around their. They just need some time and luck.

Furthermore I'm against any sorts of monsters in the south-west / west of Trollsbane. That was always the free of all dangers area. And I can't see a good reason to change this.

Nitram
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Juliana D'cheyne
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Post by Juliana D'cheyne »

The southwest is a pretty large part of the game. Maybe not major ones, but some? I remember at one time skeletons in greenbriar... twice, one of my new chars killed two skeletons near the harbor. Maybe not on a regular basis, but occasionally? *shrugs*
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HolyKnight
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Post by HolyKnight »

Guys... the map I showed is not meant to have random monsters spawned at
all those locations at all times... Once a day one of those destinations or two
can be randomly selected to have a spawn. I am not sure how difficult that
would be to script though. :? Tanistian please calm down like I said in my
second post everything within reason. I dont want a game where monsters
are everywhere and everyone has to learn to fight. However, I see nothing
wrong with crafters being wary of walking to certain places alone and
unarmed. The places I highlighted are just POTENTIAL hot spots not constant
OMGZ I freaking cant go anywhere without being attacked :wink:
circulation of currency is a good thing no? FYI NPCs and quests are the ONLY
way to make coin and right now that coin goes from NPC merchants to
crafters and from NPC monsters to fighters then to crafters. What is wrong
with some of that coin coming back to fighters and mercs? BTW wolves like sheep ;)
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Mr. Cromwell
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Post by Mr. Cromwell »

Nitram wrote: Furthermore I'm against any sorts of monsters in the south-west / west of Trollsbane. That was always the free of all dangers area. And I can't see a good reason to change this.

Nitram
This. Even if it means that one third of the isle is monsterfree, then so be it. There should be enough land for those who don't want to fight NPCs, ever. Besides, look at it the other way around: Two thirds of the isle are free for roaming. :wink:

It's not too much to ask that, to get your thrills, you walk out of the safe zone. However, I think it *is* too much to ask to remove the safe zone in order to give you thrills when you ocassionally stroll around there.

If you would spawn monsters to the currently peaceful areas even every now and then, then people who go there would have to wear armor and weapons just in case. I'd gladly have some areas where I just have to worry about the players, and not NPCs as well.
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Juniper Onyx
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Post by Juniper Onyx »

Nitram wrote:To spawn monsters that roam absolutly freely is very easy. But the problem is that they really roam freely in that case. So its possible with some bad luck that the high danger monsters from path east of TB walk over to Trollsbane and hang around their. They just need some time and luck.

Furthermore I'm against any sorts of monsters in the south-west / west of Trollsbane. That was always the free of all dangers area. And I can't see a good reason to change this.

Nitram
I agree. I like the idea of a known 'safe' area. This can be easily solved with a creative use of Hedges, rocks and Grape vines making walls/barriers that mark off this area. Then along the 'roads' into and out of the 'safe area', simply place a 'cross'. NPC's cannot approach a cross, and if that cross is next to a road, it's protective powers will cover those 'entrances'.

I would even put a 'signpost' at those entrances with a 'warning' for newbies.

We could even move the one out of trollsbane if need be, to the edge of the 'safe' zone. It is kinda hard to find for newbs anyway.

Outside this area...let the monsters roam!

SAVE THE BUG! :D
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Post by LifeWonder »

I wanna be like Chester when I grow up.


This additional comment has been placed here for the sole purpose of not getting this reply deleted due to its spam nature: Oh yes, I agree, great suggestion. Monster should be able to roam freely!
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Jupiter
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Post by Jupiter »

I don't like the idea and we don't need at any place on Gobaith monsters. I like the safty part from the farmers union, over the whole westerwood, including the harbor over to the druidhouse and down to Greenbriar.

But if you do that watch ou where you put which kind of monsters. For example trolls: the are protecting the forest so you coulnd't find them in the mounatins or in the desert.
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Toran
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Post by Toran »

I am against freely roaming monsters in any form.

Monsterfree areas (as known) are very important for newbies, weaker persons, traders and those who only want to travel and talk or something like that.

Another point, I find it very weird to see the flies of the swampland in the middle of a desert or a golem deep in the forest. Very strange and disturbing every form of impression and atmosphere.
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bdgdkay
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Post by bdgdkay »

To spawn monsters that roam absolutly freely is very easy. But the problem is that they really roam freely in that case. So its possible with some bad luck that the high danger monsters from path east of TB walk over to Trollsbane and hang around their. They just need some time and luck.
Well... this would give more jobs to the guard, and make it more reasonable to have gates into trollsbane... i mean really... the gates are kinda pointless right now... if there is any war or something of the sort, the attackers can just open the gates, but with the roaming monsters, the gates would be used as actual protection for the town.
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Tanistian_Kanea
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Post by Tanistian_Kanea »

HolyKnight wrote:Guys... the map I showed is not meant to have random monsters spawned at
all those locations at all times... Once a day one of those destinations or two
can be randomly selected to have a spawn.
ok it was the way it was coming off. that i could do with. it sounded different though when i read it.
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Post by LifeWonder »

I'm gonna lure monsters around TB until this proposal is put in!
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