TSM is up...report probs here for the next few days

[indio]

The good news for the testers is that during next week, the module will be hosted in the US by AL, not in Australia by me. Pings for Europeans and Americans will be significantly improved.

[Rotku]

And Rot, I was hoping we could do this on the main forum for a week or so, to advertise that beta testing is back, if that's ok with everyone.

Guess I should have read the first post a bit more carefully

[indio]

The server is down for 2 hours while I upload Cold Lands again...my slow upload speed means any server traffic will potentially corrupt the files.

I've done a round of bug squashing and Rick has sent me quite a few areas. I'll try to have the new module up by the end of the day.

[Rick7475]

and more areas will be coming

[indio]

Areas added and PWC is being updated...it looks like it was to re-upload the entire PWC, so it's going to be a few hours at least before being ready.

Rick's excellent new highways are in, as well as Silverwood.

Sorry for the delays, but the first week back in beta usually means some teething problems.

[oldgrayrogue]

Another testing report.

Walked north road from HH to Quaervarr ... uhm .. awesome

Very nicely done.

A few things to report. The transition from Rivermoot to HH no longer works.

The quest givers in HH no longer give endless XP

The merchants in Rivermoot hand out fetch em quests but the targets of those quests don't respond.

In Quaervaar the weapon and armor merchant inventories have all items set to 1GP.

As a general matter i have noticed that when a PC takes enough damage to "die" and then stabalizes it takes an awfully long time RL to either continue to bleed out or recover. In fact I have 3 LVL 1 test PCs now all bleeding out and although all have stabalized none even began to recover despite my just leaving them lying there for 10 minutes or so RL. Is this how the system works or is it a bug?

[Runestaff]

As a general matter i have noticed that when a PC takes enough damage to "die" and then stabalizes it takes an awfully long time RL to either continue to bleed out or recover.

I've noticed this as well. I hope this is a bug; otherwise this seems like a rather dramatic change since ALFA 1. Retaining a bleeding system is nice, but having it take forever to either kill you or allow you to get back on your feet is simply annoying. I understand wanting to give companions a chance to aid you, but if you stabilize on your own, some sort of resolution is to be expected.

Monsters that land incapacitating blows also seem to just stand there and do nothing. Perhaps some behavioral adjustments should be made to have them either finish you off or leave the scene, depending on the circumstances (e.g., a city guard might haul you off to jail or dump you in an alley, while a lion would try to kill you if not engaged with others).

[Rick7475]

Another testing report.
Walked north road from HH to Quaervarr ... uhm .. awesome
Very nicely done.
A few things to report. The transition from Rivermoot to HH no longer works.

Thank ye Lots to come from those areas north of HH, hiiden caves, nasty creatures, etc.

Rivermoot to HH will consist of more highways and a nice little walk, as well as from HH to SM. I am just reducing a lot of trees and grass in those areas to reduce lag and make them more workable. Indio has some and will be updating soon. Glad that the areas North of HH worked out. I was worried about them.

I think I have only one or two more exteriors to rework and then we are done with all the exteriors (save the travel area).

Then we will be concentrating on getting all the interiors in and done and then touching up Silverymoon and the NPC's and quests. Many interiors are finsished or at a stage where they can be added.

[ç i p h é r]

Regarding dying/bleeding, we essentially adopted 3.5E rules and you can learn how it works here:

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org ... Death.html

I thought about adding an explanation of how things worked in a "healing manual" or perhaps in the descriptor or the healing kit. Seems like that would be pretty useful.

Also, we tweaked the AI to stop a monster from "finishing" a player so that they would have a chance to be rescued. It's admittedly a patch job since a monster would undoubtedly finish off a solo player. What we were trying to address is the party situation where the monster would find a new active target before finishing a fallen target. The AI needs fixing ultimately.

Right now though you folks are just testing with PCs and as such probably find the stabilization duration and tweaks unhelpful. Would you feel the same way with LIVE PCs?

[Runestaff]

Right now though you folks are just testing with PCs and as such probably find the stabilization duration and tweaks unhelpful. Would you feel the same way with LIVE PCs?

If the tweaks are sufficiently frustrating that rolling up a new PC is less troublesome than waiting to heal, I'd argue that points to a potentially flawed system. Being forced to make a choice between a 10+ minute period of doing absolutely nothing or rolling up a new PC is not a pleasant prospect for anyone. I'm well aware of how the PnP system works; however, some mechanics that work well with a DM present are rather less inviting without one.

Perhaps a better compromise would be to reduce the chance of self stabilization, while significantly increasing the rate of recovery. Partied PCs will still have time to get tended, while solo PCs can actually get back in the game (one way or the other) before qualifying for social security.

[psycho_leo]

Perhaps a better compromise would be to reduce the chance of self stabilization, while significantly increasing the rate of recovery. Partied PCs will still have time to get tended, while solo PCs can actually get back in the game (one way or the other) before qualifying for social security.

Or you can simply roll a new PC if this is too much of a hassle. I don't feel strongly about this at this point anyway. But when a PC goes down, it's not unusual that party members are too busy fending for their own lives that any actual help might take a wee bit longer than desired.

[oldgrayrogue]

Regarding dying/bleeding, we essentially adopted 3.5E rules and you can learn how it works here:

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org ... Death.html

I thought about adding an explanation of how things worked in a "healing manual" or perhaps in the descriptor or the healing kit. Seems like that would be pretty useful.

Also, we tweaked the AI to stop a monster from "finishing" a player so that they would have a chance to be rescued. It's admittedly a patch job since a monster would undoubtedly finish off a solo player. What we were trying to address is the party situation where the monster would find a new active target before finishing a fallen target. The AI needs fixing ultimately.

Right now though you folks are just testing with PCs and as such probably find the stabilization duration and tweaks unhelpful. Would you feel the same way with LIVE PCs?

In a LIVE party I don't think the duration is an issue at all. But solo (which is mostly what i am testing) I find myself just logging and starting another PC the duration is so long. If the monsters just finished the PC off it would solve the problem -- but I see how that is undesirable, and somewhat unrealistic in battle involving a party.

[indio]

Please update your PWC files via Worldgate.

The server is back up.

[Runestaff]

Here are a few more observations:

1. Holy symbols sold in the starting area appear to have no effect. I attempted using one with a cleric PC. Also, consider making the starting area restable. Some classes (e.g., wizards) have spells selected automatically that they may wish to change. Others (e.g., clerics) start with no memorized spells at all.

2. Gharosin in High Hold interior sells masterwork armors for 1 gp, which is cheaper than his regular armor of the same type.

3. Leilon in the same area stands inside the counter of his shop (walkmesh issue, presumably).

4. Interface issue: shopkeepers present the first occupied inventory tab to the PC, then immediately switch to the (usually empty) armor tab. This might be an NWN 2 problem.

5. Lanterns sold by Tianix don't cast any light. The animation shows the PC with an empty hand, too.

6. The travel map is a bit confusing with having multiple ATs named identically (e.g., Rivermoot). Perhaps consider something like "Highway to Rivermoot", "Rivermoot West", etc.

[indio]

Thanks. This sort of feedback is very welcome.

The travel map represents maybe 2 hours work in total, and needs maybe 20 to get it where it needs to be. Any ideas for its best implementation are most appreciated.