For those that do not yet know the server was wiped clean about 2 weeks ago, this includes all levels, scripts and player attributes (with the exception of kills/deaths/online time).
People may have different perceptions on what good progress is but i'd say there's been reasonable progress since then and things are still on course.
Systems
As I said previously,
we are attempting to make Custom Systems,
this idea may be offputting to some, but I don't really think there is a definate correct answer to the conundrum, both Default and Custom have their pros and cons, and in this case I believe the decision to go with Custom is down to greater flexability & control providing greater potential, however our attempt to putting them together will be a little different.
The goal is to create Custom Systems that emulate Default,
this would mean that the HD would still work by detecting the sword gani from nearby players.
In the mean time, the systems are currently completely Default, and we're not going to make them Custom for the sake of it,
we're looking to gradually remove parts of the Default Systems and implement scripted modules one by one, interface stuff like nicks + ratings should be done first whereas movement + hd would be done last, and again only if we feel it does properly emulate Default.
Over the last couple of weeks,
alot of progress has been made with albeit misc stuff like a new Staff System,
Player Controls, etc.
The Staff System while it doesn't affect gameplay is much cleaner, automatic and easier to use than before.
One thing all players should notice though is that by clicking a button in the bottom right side of the screen is that Options are now a display,
this covers simple "go" commands like reconnecting or checking lag, choosing from an array of options (yes/no, on/off etc), or options that require text input.
While server-specific commands/options can be toggled by a display however,
commands like changing appearance can still be done by chat,
as most players are used to this anyway.
PermaClothes has been remade (there is now a specific + abstracted appearance handling player-class this needed to be changed to work with),
but it's still undecided on how it should be implemented.
<edit>
Actually gone and made this a popup button within Options.
Albeit without outfit saver for the time being,
I really think that there should be obtainable outfit "slots", haven't really discussed the idea yet so not sure what others would think.
</edit>
Quests
Again the primary focus on gameplay is with (while not limited to) Questing,
and again the plot would ultimately involve the player finding the 4 Graals.
Our approach will be a bit different to previously however,
while we'd have a full storyline basis planned out to begin with,
the Dev Team would be looking to implement content gradually,
there'd be 2 different categories of Quest Content.
As most would expect there'd be the mainstream storyline Quests,
these would consist of large Zelda Style dungeons,
they'd all be designed to a pattern, with common themes being used within them all, but obviously with something unique about each one aswell.
On the other hand, there'd be alot of mini-quests,
or more specifically.... "help-tasks",
these could really be anywhere, in any Graal City inside for instance, if not all.
They could range from something simple which doesn't take a great deal of time and effort, to something more like a Quest but without being the size of a Dungeon, but all towards a common theme of helping out random characters,
the point would be that there are alot of them, and that the player explores and chooses to do them, however you'd be unlikely to get a prize for each one of them, but more likely to get valuable information from the character, or some type of hint, though you could get a prize for "clearing" an area.
Both of these types of Quests would be integral to obtaining the Graals.
Each Graal would be stored at a location within a natural surrounding,
and the player would be required to use an item obtained within the nearby Dungeon, aswell as have an event or 2 triggered by the completion of help tasks within a nearby Town in order to obtain the Graal.
Overworld
As I said before in a previous thread,
we'd be looking to keep up a high amount of content-density,
plus the Dev Team will be looking to expand the overworld gradually,
while expanding the Overworld to something more similar in size to GTA is an aim, it's not something that's going to happen for the sake of having a bigger overworld.
We'd be looking to fill up the current Overworld with as much content as possible before expanding,
on both the main storyline and help task side of things.
And then when it does come to expanding, each new area would be designed strategically towards the plot.
The Graals will be spread around North, East, South and West,
all with atleast 1 Dungeon and Town grouped together around them and necessary to be completed in order to be obtained,
obtaining them would represent having cleared the area, and there would then be a cutscene intended to direct the player to the next location of importance, again will be kept as a common theme without being too specific.
Insides
As I said above,
we'll be looking to implement random help-tasks within as many inside buildings as possible,
currently we have restored the Bank, Burger Refuge, Jesus Freaks, Zols Pub, Angel Clan, the Restaurant, Taylor Richards and Azraels to a reasonable state, as these buildings are pretty much integral to the servers identity whereas other buildings being so is down to a bit of extra debate, although fully GS2 and with all NPCs clientside where should be this time, which would hopefully set a good precedant.
For whatever other levels are restored, we'll want to bring a point to them by creating a help-task for them, even for stuff like playerhouses.
Old vs New
Having said all of this,
this does not mean we will be ignoring all Old Quests and Areas,
some old Quests would be perfectly fine to remake,
while some Old Areas are again kinda part of the servers identity,
however it's important that we keep to the same guidelines and approach when bringing them back for the sake of fun gameplay wherever you go and coherancy, and not just bring them back for the sake of them being old.
Economy
This is something that would likely come at a later point in time,
so we haven't planned it that far in depth,
however it's still something we'll be taking a different approach to,
and completely think out our steps as opposed to prematurely applying stuff that could impede it in future.
We'll want to keep gelats very limited,
and completely avoid having them come from nowhere infinitely,
obviously you need to create some gelats out of nowhere otherwise they wouldn't exist, and what might be a good set amount early on might not be a good amount to have in circulation at a later point in time.
One method for obtaining Gelats initially would be the simple Gelat chest,
this wouldn't really cause a problem in devalueing the currency as they would be obtained one time only per player, so for every player that plays the server you potentially get more gelat in circulation.
We'd want most gelat transactions to be direct purchases between players,
with there being extractable + manufacturable resources that can be turned into useful items, which can be used, sold or traded,
and also job opportunities + rentable stalls (again hasn't been decided, suggestions are welcome) which would enable players to sell their commodities around the clock as opposed to conducting business while online.
Not really much I can say right now on Events and Guild Competitions atm,
I suppose there's the possibility of having a local guilds setup,
but it's unlikely we'd disable Global Guilds altogether.
Events again i've said we'll be creating a new system to handle events collectively, I look forward to the possibility of CTF being played again on the server but it's not something that's going to be rushed out with a couple of hacked-up systems.
08-11-2009, 05:14 PM
Just remember the old days! 
Linear Mode
