A Land Far Away

Hey all,

I have had a chance to play around with the new Enhanced Edition a bit and so far it's looking really good in my opinion. It isn't perfect, some issues with selection of char voices for example, but monsters and loot still spawn.

Most importantly for Waterdeep is that the size limitations of the module seems to have been fixed. Lately I have had to do a lot of cleanup to get new material in the module and I am rapidly running out of things to clean up.

As such I would like to start looking into migration to EE but would like your input and certainly don't want to alienate our current players.

Does anyone have pressing issues or reasons why we should not start working on moving to EE?

Bully for you, I say go on.

You do what works for you and WD. If it results in a better end product then I think that is the way to go.

Moving to EE is ok by me, ayergo. Bring it!

I just got EE ($24) and over the next few days will be testing it with DF.

I hope the Tues night crowd enjoyed the House of Stone dungeon and all the math riddles, chessboard, and things that go zap!

Since DF is half the size of WD, and with EE even more room, you never know what old TSR modules can fit! (My favs: Palace of the Silver Princess, Under Ilefarn).

Already have EE, so I'm good to go.

ayergo wrote: I would like to start looking into migration to EE but would like your input and certainly don't want to alienate our current players.

Does anyone have pressing issues or reasons why we should not start working on moving to EE?

Moving to EE for players is going to be almost simple as buying EE and downloading any new haks and logging on, right? I say "almost" since things like p-chests may not transfer, but won't everything else be seamless from the player's point of view? The burden is almost 100% on the builders and DMs ... who seem really eager, lol!

What I am getting at is that I look at things from the standpoint of how much it costs to buy a decent beer at a sporting event. Here in the DC area, unless you drink swill like Budweiser, a beer is going to cost you $12. So, for the cost of two beers, I can get EE. Count me in!

Go for it, Ayergo and Rick!

DO IIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Seriously, even if it means a wipe and a total redo I'm in.

What I’m excited about is more players. As I understand it, PWs show up on the server list, you click to join, haks download automatically, and game on! More players making the world more alive, factions develop, richer storytelling, etc.

A good description of our game style and setting with a link to forums and Discord. And I would respectfully suggest opening our doors to the community with no password to play. Perhaps a 30-day trial to see how it goes. I think it’s very rare for there to be a problem. The gaming culture is different than it was 15-20 years ago and there’s an abundance of other games out there that attract the troublesome hordes.

joshmad75 wrote:What I’m excited about is more players. As I understand it, PWs show up on the server list, you click to join, haks download automatically, and game on! More players making the world more alive, factions develop, richer storytelling, etc.

A good description of our game style and setting with a link to forums and Discord. And I would respectfully suggest opening our doors to the community with no password to play. Perhaps a 30-day trial to see how it goes. I think it’s very rare for there to be a problem. The gaming culture is different than it was 15-20 years ago and there’s an abundance of other games out there that attract the troublesome hordes.

Getting players on the server was never the problem. The problem was keeping them there after they realized how hardcore the rules were.

I think it's a good idea to go without an application. Give new players the info they need on the setting and rules via the journal and let the chips fall where they may.

I'm onboard with the switch. Is there anything I can do to help?

Akivaria wrote:

joshmad75 wrote:What I’m excited about is more players. As I understand it, PWs show up on the server list, you click to join, haks download automatically, and game on! More players making the world more alive, factions develop, richer storytelling, etc.

A good description of our game style and setting with a link to forums and Discord. And I would respectfully suggest opening our doors to the community with no password to play. Perhaps a 30-day trial to see how it goes. I think it’s very rare for there to be a problem. The gaming culture is different than it was 15-20 years ago and there’s an abundance of other games out there that attract the troublesome hordes.

Getting players on the server was never the problem. The problem was keeping them there after they realized how hardcore the rules were.

I think it's a good idea to go without an application. Give new players the info they need on the setting and rules via the journal and let the chips fall where they may.

The other side of it is I don't want to spend all my time policing mechanics for people who exploit them. I'll have to think about a good balance for this issue.

ayergo wrote:

Akivaria wrote:

joshmad75 wrote:What I’m excited about is more players. As I understand it, PWs show up on the server list, you click to join, haks download automatically, and game on! More players making the world more alive, factions develop, richer storytelling, etc.

A good description of our game style and setting with a link to forums and Discord. And I would respectfully suggest opening our doors to the community with no password to play. Perhaps a 30-day trial to see how it goes. I think it’s very rare for there to be a problem. The gaming culture is different than it was 15-20 years ago and there’s an abundance of other games out there that attract the troublesome hordes.

Getting players on the server was never the problem. The problem was keeping them there after they realized how hardcore the rules were.

I think it's a good idea to go without an application. Give new players the info they need on the setting and rules via the journal and let the chips fall where they may.

The other side of it is I don't want to spend all my time policing mechanics for people who exploit them. I'll have to think about a good balance for this issue.

Exploits like what, running? I don't think that people who are looking to play that way will last here.

I actually like the password but I think the application process is a drag that makes us look elitist. It would be nice if we could write a short conversation script for a start area NPC that replaces the application process. Like "Hello, I am the ALFA Gatekeeper and I am here to help determine if ALFA is right for you and you are right for ALFA. This is a Roleplay Server . . . . " And then it goes on to explain our rules and what we are about. Then there are a series of questions and answers. Based on your answers you can log in, or you get a "Thanks but we don't think you would enjoy the ALFA experience" message and are booted.

So Ayergo and I are not official ALFA DM's, and neither is NWN1 official ALFA, so we can sort of do what we want, like change the death script. However, we do try our best to follow the ALFA pillars and rules. Last night we had 15 (+ 1 DM) players on WD and 1 on DF. We have 2 DM sesssion times, WD Friday nights, and DF Tuesday nights. I would DM more, but building, fixing bugs, and ramping up for EE takes a lot of time as well.

So I figure we have 20+ regular players. As DM's that works for creating custom items for players and integrating backstories into plots. We can also focus on players to ensure that their goals for playing are met. So far, we only have 2 regular DM's. Hopefully we can get a couple more sometime in the future, but again, they won't be ALFA DM's and have no privileges beyond the NWN1 DM board. That means we are responsible for ensuring we have the right candidates and provide their training (unless they are previous ALFA DMs!).

I would be happy to bring in more players when we move to EE, but with 2 DM's, doubling our current player pool would be at our limit, if that even happens, because there is a lot of competition with NWN1 servers going to EE. If you remember ALFA years ago, when I was an HDM and ADM with hundreds of players, we had to deal with a lot of stuff, like griefing, CVC, major rule breaking, etc. I still have PM's in my box from those days. Back then we had a PA to help us out. Since NWN1 is "unofficial" and we are not ALFA DM's, I doubt we will have the help of the PA, so we will have to do policing ourselves. But I want to add that we haven't had any of that so far, because our player pool right now is made up of awesome dedicated players who are very fun to play with. But I also believe that most people that want to play on ALFA will be attracted due to the role playing aspect, and NWN1 EE is sort of a stepping stone for ALFA 3.

For new players, that have never been part of ALFA, I certainly am in favor of a shorter easier process. Even a recommendation from a current player.