Board News.old [context]
Sender Astark
Date Wed Jul 16 20:22:20 2014
To all
Subject Astark Blog / Reflection Post - Part 3
Now that I've covered a year's worth of changes, I wanted to touch on some stuff for the future / next year. When it comes to deciding on changes we put bug fixes at the top of the priority list, but a lot of other factors come into play. Weighing the amount of work required, the value the change brings, the necessity of the change, and our personal level of interest on the project. So what kind of stuff is "on our to do list"? Well, a lot. There are plenty of on-going projects that we are always working on, but we've got quite a few other things we'd love to work on when time permits. Below is a partial list of some projects and ideas we've discussed. I say discussed because they're still just ideas at this point. They're not fully fleshed out and just because it's been considered, doesn't mean we've agreed to implement it. On-going projects: 1. Updating help files to be relevant. Self explanatory. 2. Continuous class balance. This happens through adding new skills, modifying existing skills, changing which classes get them (and when), back end mechanic changes (i.e changing how saves work), etc. 3. Building new areas and remorts 4. Adding mini-quests, and special events 5. Interface and QOL improvements Ideas for future projects: 1. Review check_improve rates for skills 2. Add back some form of religion 3. Overhaul The Initiation, again 4. Rework enchant weapon / armor 5. Further differentiate classes (ties in with on-going projects) 6. Optimize MUD code 7. Cleanup old MUD code 8. Populate builder wiki page with all Lua content 9. Update Bastion Library with historical content 10. Add more permanent mini-games/quests, like Battle Bots 11. Add more achievements tied into boss mobs 12. Standardize clan halls 13. Review all builder guidelines, update / write / rewrite as needed 14. Continue adding masteries 15. Finish building old but nearly complete areas where possible 16. Mini-quest tracking system for all mini-quests 17. Convert as many of the 4600+ oldstyle mprogs to Lua mprogs as possible 18. Develop or add additional features for mobile / visually impaired users. 19. Tweak mechanics for warfare to encourage players to join 20. Add a system for managing multiple pets (like a storage system) 21. Add a system for consuming achievement points 22. Replace old duplicate remorts (r2/r4) and r5 23. Add another class, or two? 24. Build remort 10 25. Work out what comes after remort 10 So, where does that leave us? Well, with a seemingly unending list of things to do around here. I really happy with how much we've done in the past year and how well the changes seem to have worked in conjunction with each other. If you haven't looked at some of the mechanics/balance changes, you should. Thief and Illusionist got some nice upgrades very recently, Cleric has the ability to kill mobs finally, and Warriors have the ability to be great tanks. Leveling is less tedious and more engaging than it used to be, barriers to entry for new players have been reduced without nerfing the game, and players have a bit more to do than just level and run EQ. At the end of the day Aarchon is a passion/hobby for all of us but a lot of real work is required to keep things working. I think I speak for all the imms when I say we appreciate the feedback and input from all of you mortals. Not every single note gets acknowledged, but they do get read. I'd also like to give a special thanks to those who contribute on the test port, help rewrite help files, and work on building new areas. I hope some of you found some enjoyment in this note/blog. I'd like to be able to take a look back at it a year from now and see what we've accomplished from the list above. End of Part 3 (final)