Curing

TectonTecton The Garden of the Gods
edited April 2014 in North of Thera
Big changes today, as we introduce a massive paradigm shift in curing in Achaea, for those who haven't seen the announce yet, here it is:

ANNOUNCE NEWS #4103                                     (04/09/2014 at 19:06)  
From   : Tecton, the Terraformer
To     : Everyone
Subject: Curing
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Achaea's combat system offers an unprecedented level of depth, providing multiple layers of afflictions and ailments. While this makes it enjoyable, it can also make it difficult to get started in.

Most MUD clients provide the functionality to have triggers and logic to help with this, but it's a massive barrier for people who have no familiarity with programming. We want people to enjoy the game without feeling the need to spend exorbitant amounts of time tinkering with a triggers, aliases, and all the behind-the-scenes stuff just to enjoy large parts of Achaea. Massive props go out to people like Larkin, Vadimuses, Carmain, and the many others who've made client-side systems over the years to aide in this, but it's time we levelled the playing field and reduced the reliance on external factors.

As of today, we're pleased to announce that we've introduced a server-side curing system that will provide a fully-functional method of handling curing.

Now, before we go too much further, we have not gone and made afflictions irrelevant! The system is designed to mimic having client-side curing, so it functions with what we deem to be average latency, and is not a perfect curing mechanism, but it should work for most people who just want the basics. For those seeking to compete in the upper echelons, there is some customisation available, or you're still free to use your own client-side systems. There's no mechanical advantage to using server-side curing vs. client-side curing (with the exception of illusions, see below).

So without further ado, we present HELP CURINGSYSTEM!

We hope you enjoy this change, allowing greater choice in how and where you play Achaea.


Regarding Illusions
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One of the most limiting factors in making combat more accessible to everyone is illusions, as any efforts to help show people what's going on would make illusions detectible every time (with today's modern systems, we gauge the efficacy of affiction combat illusions to be very low (10-15% success rate). At the end of the day, we decided that for the good of the game, the reliance on them as a mechanic had to go.

In short, the server-side curing cannot be "fooled" by affliction illusions. You can still successfully illusion defensive manoeuvres such as shielding, etc. to misdirect your opponent.

To compensate, we've sped up serpent's BITE speed, and over the coming weeks with classleads and upcoming changes with tradeskills and multiclass, there's a lot more in store.

Penned by My hand on the 12th of Mayan, in the year 651 AF.

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Comments

  • Did not see this coming. Very exciting! Looking forward to testing this out when I get the chance. Will be interesting to see if his affects client side curing in the future, or maybe have client-side systems built around it in order to make use of the very literal anti-illusion.
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  • Yeah, I'm having a really hard time coming up with a way that removing illusions is better for the game. 
    I've spent 2 hours just today coming up with AI stuff and still use plenty for hocuspocus/puppet illusion and those strategies are just gone now?
  • edited April 2014
    Big change to Serpent combat, fairly small change for those with client side curing. Phenomenal change for new players, and will help with retention considering newbie deaths can and will most likely be mitigated to some extent. With the change to illusions you're making it so that people almost have to use the server curing to reap those benefits. I like what you did there.

    +10 @Tecton and team.




    Penwize has cowardly forfeited the challenge to mortal combat issued by Atalkez.
  • KelloniusKellonius Cape Girardeau, Missouri
    Strata said:
    The 10-15% illusion success rate does not sound correct. I don't know where you're getting that number from - please explain that. A way to bypass lifevision/clarity/etc would have been a better option. We gonna get refunds for those talismans of obfuscation that never really worked to begin with? Maybe someone should do some "guageing" on the efficacy of that first.
    Should have just removed lifevision as a class skill and made it only available as a artefact. At least they would make a bunch of money that way. By the way, they aren't refunding for artefacts, I already asked! 
    image
  • StrataStrata United States of Derp
    CURING ON
    CURING AFFLICTIONS OFF
    CURING DEFENCES OFF
    CURING SIPHEALTH 0
    CURING SIPMANA 0
    CURING FOCUS OFF
    CURING TREE OFF

    Oh hey look. I just enabled TRUE anti-illusion for my Svo. Might as well delete serpent class now.
  • TectonTecton The Garden of the Gods
    Strata said:
    CURING ON
    CURING AFFLICTIONS OFF
    CURING DEFENCES OFF
    CURING SIPHEALTH 0
    CURING SIPMANA 0
    CURING FOCUS OFF
    CURING TREE OFF

    Oh hey look. I just enabled TRUE anti-illusion for my Svo. Might as well delete serpent class now.
    That'd have exactly the same result as CURING OFF.
  • @RIP Serpent class. You were loved and will forever be missed. :((

    It'd have been cool if they buffed illusions to let them add fake afflictions to fool the new system, but alas.
  • For the moment, this is terrible for us serpents, and no amount of fiddling with bite speed will fix it.
    I am, however, excited about what you may suggest to correct this loss of a potentially useful skill.
    Hoping we keep illusions, the RP potential remains too awesome to pass.

    image
  • AerekAerek East Tennessee, USA
    As I understand it, only the server-side curing is illusion-immune, and it's stated that it's not optimized. Unless I'm completely misunderstanding, illusions will still work on client-side systems, which I expect most combatants to continue using. It sounds like a trade-off between sub-par, server-side curing with illusion immunity, or optimal, client-side curing susceptible to illusions.
    -- Grounded in but one perspective, what we perceive is an exaggeration of the truth.
  • I'm more excited to see serpent classleads now. Will have to force myself not to try out after the changes.
  • edited April 2014
    I'm more concerned on the implications regarding Hocus Pocus. Illusions are already being made an irrelevant part of Serpent combat - this is just a step in that direction - and with the tradeskill removal offering potential for a new dynamic to the Serpent class I don't see what is so bad about this.

    eta: This is not "terrible" for Serpent's either. Serpent's will most likely be in a phenomenal spot after classleads considering the changes being put on the table. Even sans illusions.
  • TectonTecton The Garden of the Gods
    Siduri said:
    For the moment, this is terrible for us serpents, and no amount of fiddling with bite speed will fix it.
    I am, however, excited about what you may suggest to correct this loss of a potentially useful skill.
    Hoping we keep illusions, the RP potential remains too awesome to pass.
    Yes, you'll still retain the ability to illusion.
  • StrataStrata United States of Derp
    Antonius said:
    People - and Serpents in particular - have been saying illusions aren't effective enough for literally the last eight years, if not even longer than that. It's more than overdue for them to be scrapped and the classes to be balanced properly.
    It looks like affliction illusions still pass through to the client. So ignoring the lines only affects those _only_ using the server side curing. I can see how making it possible for the server side curing to be able to recognize the illusions and
    "trick itself" would be a pretty big task coding-wise. Aside from that - it's my opinion that the loudest voices saying illusions aren't effective enough are of those over the years who have not bothered to put any effort into learning the
    intricacies of curing systems and how illusions affect them.

    Leave illusions alone. Keep serpent class serpent. Make a new class called "Archer" for all those whiners who don't use illusions anyway (and stop listening to them - they're ill-informed). Would make the world a much better place.
  • Jovolo said:
    I'm more concerned on the implications regarding Hocus Pocus. Illusions are already being made an irrelevant part of Serpent combat - this is just a step in that direction - and with the tradeskill removal offering potential for a new dynamic to the Serpent class I don't see what is so bad about this.

    eta: This is not "terrible" for Serpent's either. Serpent's will most likely be in a phenomenal spot after classleads considering the changes being put on the table. Even sans illusions.
    Though saying this, the new server-side curing really seems to be aimed at newbies that can't afford a system yet and people playing via mobile. Are people really going to use this at higher than midbie level? Probably not.
  • Strata said:
    . I can see how making it possible for the server side curing to be able to recognize the illusions and "trick itself" would be a pretty big task coding-wise....
     no, good on them for not even bothering with this no one will ever be happy no matter how it's set up




  • RIP dragon combat. Will there be any changes to Dragoncraft to compensate for the inability to pull off more than two bites now?

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  • edited April 2014

    To compensate, we've sped up serpent's BITE speed, and over the coming weeks with classleads and upcoming changes with tradeskills and multiclass, there's a lot more in store.


    Removing illusions is good because it removes 95% of the coding necessary for a client side system. You can lock without illusions. The addition of a tertiary skill will only bring better things.


  • TectonTecton The Garden of the Gods
    Sorry to burst your bubble, but classleads are coming weeks, multiclass isn't.
  • DaslinDaslin The place with the oxygen
    @Dunn Problem with that, bro. I feel like them saying "weeks" and "Multiclass" in the same post is like saying "ships are a month away."
  • @Tecton You can kiss that holographic Charizard goodbye at Cedar Point, mister.


  • RIP dragon combat. Will there be any changes to Dragoncraft to compensate for the inability to pull off more than two bites now?
    You already got surefire sensitive bites, what more do you want?!

    Also to reiterate, this will only work on people who stop using Svo/Omnipave and use the server-side, suboptimal curing.
  • The dragoncurse additions should facilitate ways to kill the more tanky opponents in dragonform.
  • TectonTecton The Garden of the Gods
    Dunn said:
    @Tecton You can kiss that holographic Charizard goodbye at Cedar Point, mister.
    Call me an uncultured philistine, but I have no clue what that is.
  • edited April 2014
    Dunn said:
    @Tecton You can kiss that holographic Charizard goodbye at Cedar Point, mister.
    Are you coming to Cedar Point too? @Dunn
This discussion has been closed.