Last new Aetheria maps?

[Terl]

Sorry you don't like this thread Chase, but if nothing else it shows some new players that there are other places to go if they are tired of being continually pk'd. It also reminds players of the other places so it doesn't get stale, like anything can get after playing it over and over.
I think it gives a gauge of what the "people" want as well, if that matters, and I hope it does. I haven't seen any nays yet(except the planar one).

[Blystos Re]

No offense, but according to "the people" we have a 9-4 vote so far that it's not that important.
Even the majority of those who would be ok with new areas would prefer that jobs were finished first.

Personally? I'm with Chase. lmao.. this whole thread.
The 1.69 patch should really make life interesting, be patient and then see if you really need new areas after you have...

[LinuxPup]

I don't think anyone is more eager about 1.69 than me... almost all the work I've been doing lately has been on stuff I can't put on the server yet because its not yet compatible... definitely the most complicated update to move to because we need to figure out what to do with horses.

-OnPlayerChat allows a lot of cool functionality that we're planning on taking advantage of.
-The new tilesets look awesome (rural, castle is my favorite).
-The new music is great.
-The new creature appearances are really cool!
-New visual appearances of armor, shields, clothing, and helmets.

[Blystos Re]

Forgive my ignorance, but is OnPlayerChat a function that works as it sounds?
As in; a player speaks in an area and something occurs? Or am I totally off-base?

[LinuxPup]

It allows NWN scripters to capture spoken messages, analyze, and alter (if we want) them. So you can write scripts that respond to certain spoken words... very powerful.

[Fezz]

Look i 100% understand this new area thing but linux is on it so ill leave that alone, as far as jobs go wtf is with that every faction has jobs - only thing left to do there is redo AO jobs thats it.

Pure bonus well seems they are into melee 1st so ranger should be next then prolly rogue. Bard should be dead LAST cleric 2nd last monk 3rd last.

For me i would rather more new items and im not talking high end gear, ive said it elsewhere before medium armor is completely inferior on this server the whole category needs some love 30+ for certain. Druids need better staff or a helmet or something for epic lvls as well - thats what i would vote for anyways.

[Valhor]

I don't think anyone is more eager about 1.69 than me... almost all the work I've been doing lately has been on stuff I can't put on the server yet because its not yet compatible... definitely the most complicated update to move to because we need to figure out what to do with horses.

PURE RANGERS! PURE RANGERS!

[frogofpeace]

but not for MA

[Bargeld]

As a relatively new face round here, I'd like to give a fresh view of the areas and leveling.

The devs should (continue to?) keep in mind that you not only have factional veterans to please, but also inexperienced and new players as well. What makes me say this is the casual way in which these areas were listed in this thread. To a dev and to other veteran players, it may seem common knowledge that there are all these different places to go level, but not for someone new to the server. The only way I was able to learn about places to level was through shouting or through being in parties. If these parties and friendly shouts only tell you about the convenient places (the mtn north of avendell, then frostdale, both 2 zones from where the xp begins) then how are you to explore such a huge world with a sub lvl 20 toon?

There is already a lot of documentation and content (especially in the wiki). But most of the info is geared towards game mechanics. It seems that everyone is focused on the changelogs and one class getting nerfed more than they care about the links on the web site to newbie information being functional or whether the basics like factional jobs are documented (or even functioning). It just seems that perhaps the playerbase puts so much pressure on the Devs to keep changing things for them, that they never had a chance to get back and finish the things they always wanted to finish... to me the SL jobs vs the development and implementation of DWP is a good example, as tons of hours had to go into that dev, while it probably would only take a couple days (if that) to finish off the jobs.

So, in the mindset of being constructive, it would be nice to see some better maps of the realm (something more RP than a handwritten scan with eraser marks, yet more detailed than the overview map.) This could foster a lot more exploration if people had a goal to get to, and the travel there was part of the challenge. List some of these areas on a map and perhaps the level ranges of those areas.

Unfortunately, it appears to the lowbie/newbie that a lot of lowbie information is incomplete or unfinished, which can have a negative impact on the retention of new players. We all know that it's much less enjoyable to write documentation than it is to tweak or create in-game content, but don't forget about the basics!

Not sure if this will help, but here is some insight as to my timeline on the server over the past 3 months that I have been here:
1st toon was a human barbarian - got to lvl 23 then was unable to solo any longer as AC was too low, but acheived mission of learning some areas and listened to a lot of in-game chatter
2nd toon was a human Pally/Sorc - did real well with this one, got to about 23 again, made some friends cuz I could buff. Then I learned about sub-races here, which in turn made me realize that my toons (both the above) would be wimpy in the grand scheme of things, and that I now had 2 mules... on to toon #3!
3rd toon was a Figh/Pal/CoT - I screwed up the build and realized it at lvl 11 and was left with mule #3.
4th and 5th - never got past lvl 1. This is when I started trying to really learn, plan, and create a thought-out toon using the info I could find. Still had no idea about factions and relic wars, so faction was picked based on class/race requirements as 1st criteria, then based on the factional job bonuses... info about which is unfortunately limited and sometimes incomplete, even when interacting with the jobmaster NPC.
6th, 7th, & 8th toon - 2 are 30+ and one is almost there. These are now my main toons. I've made enough friends that I can usually get into a party at any time except the morning/midday. I can explore on my own (it was just yesterday that I attempted a solo raid on LA just to see how hard the mob defenders are and then to see how players react to defend... Ghaele is much easier than I had expected. )

After 3 months I have 3 toons at about lvl 30, have refused to get into the whole LA vs the server thing, have had a few really good and really bad DM experiences, found and reported a couple bugs, and have learned how to get to the earth plane, dorfs, and fire plane. I have no idea where anything else is at, as no one has taken me there. I can no longer solo for xp at any of these areas, so I am now at the mercy of the levels (and players) that are on in order to party for xp. The only other option I have is to create yet another new toon then get then to lvl 20 and be in the same situation.

Documentation of areas and the completion of jobs would help me (and others) out a lot!

[DM_Kim]

The only way I was able to learn about places to level was through shouting or through being in parties.

ALL of us.. every last one was "new" at one time or another. Some grew up with Aetheria. As the lands expanded so did their exploration of it. In my beginning days I did learn some from party play. (This was before Wiki or maps were around). It was a matter of exploring. Wandering into an area and see what's there.

I had to respawn many a time. Mainly from pk, thank goodness, but many a time it was from going into an area that was just to tough for either my builds level or type. In time one learns as to what area is great for a particular build.

Even in this day, I get pk'd in one spot because a party has come wondering in I know at least 4 more areas I can head of to to get bigger, badder, better and stronger to go and beat that party a few days later.

Explore... It's fun... So what if you lose gold and xp doing that. At low levels it's easy enough to get back even if your pc has Ecl 3.

[Blystos Re]

It allows NWN scripters to capture spoken messages, analyze, and alter (if we want) them. So you can write scripts that respond to certain spoken words... very powerful.

[Amoenotep]

its been a long standing tradition of dm/dev's to not coddle or tell how/where chars should lvl. exploration of the world on ones own yields greater rewards than just saying "go here, kill that, go there, kill this, go over there, do this".

the most fun about ns4 is that there are so many overlapping areas with new and different things its hard to see it all in a short time. i know it took me as a player about 3 months of running to see and explore every area on the mod. its the travel that makes it most fun.

as for the maps, the general map is actually one of the best tools you'll find for getting around. the big stuff is on there, but it lets you head in a general direction in order to find what is where. seeing the sights as you go. don't use it for accuracy...use it to know what direction your in.

i'm only aware of one set of jobs that are incomplete as of now...and another set of jobs that could use some fixing to go with what we have. not sure why you think sl jobs are incomplete.

[Flailer]

And, just for the record, the jobs are probably the most difficult thing to lay out correctly - there's a surprising about of code/database/NPC coordination that needs to take place to support it and there's a ton of testing that needs to be done in order to make sure they're functional.

[Terl]

We get the no coddle thing, but that doesn't mean the players should be left to wander around aimlessly. On 3.5 they have a quest set-up that gets you familiar with the mod(if you are inclined to quest). Mind you one of these quests is maddening if you are new to the server because of the out of order reset(and no real way to get a legal clue). But it gives you a location and direction to start your hunt.
The jobs fill this partially for the areas surrounding ones own faction. But what about things like having to go to an enemy faction/outpost and kill such and such or steal some other thing? Gives players a reason to explore and to level in enemy cities.
Quests are the one thing I see missing from NS4 (and more maps).

[DM_Kim]

3.5 have quests.. we have factions and there is nothing stopping anyone from making a character in any faction they choose. Some players even have pc's in every faction just to learn the "lay of the land" even though they may not develop these pc's beyond level 10 or 15.