Dear Devs - Any chance you'll disclose the original plan?

[Pellegro]

I read somewhere f that you guys switched your plans for the event, maybe at the end? Not sure.

Anyway, I was wondering: Could we entice you to disclose the original plan?

Just curious ...

[Keeper]

I read somewhere f that you guys switched your plans for the event, maybe at the end? Not sure.

Anyway, I was wondering: Could we entice you to disclose the original plan?

Just curious ...

Plans weren’t “switched”, because once the event was up and running, we couldn’t have changed plans if we wanted to. But because early in the week players reported that the automatically-spawned monsters were too easy, we worked in teams to spawn in additional tougher monsters and loot by hand, instance by instance.

Last night was intense. So many people were involved in the event that we couldn’t all fit in one room.

[Pellegro]

Awesome! Thanks for the over-time!

If I could bother you with a follow-up .... The lag that was experienced by many in the public instance: Is that server side, client side, or a combo, or do we know?

I had a great time. I just wonder if there was some way to get over that lag issue, then I think you'd have a recipe for a grandslam here. People loved the super hard mobs in the public instances .....

Thanks again and hope you're feeling well heading into the last trimester!

[Rallie]

Plans weren’t “switched”, because once the event was up and running, we couldn’t have changed plans if we wanted to. But because early in the week players reported that the automatically-spawned monsters were too easy, we worked in teams to spawn in additional tougher monsters and loot by hand, instance by instance.

Last night was intense. So many people were involved in the event that we couldn’t all fit in one room.

Can you tell us more about this? I'm surprised that it's so involved from your end. A previous announcement said that the same mobs are spawning in all instances at the same time, so that would seem to indicate one person could control such spawns. I'm assuming the animation of destroying the tent was all automated, so you hit a button and it beams it up? I don't mean to complain about the event at all, or to make it seem like y'all didn't put a lot of work into it. I'm just curious as to what is involved in putting such an event on, and why so many people are needed during the event itself to actually make things happen.

Re-reading your post, I see that you say you were spawning mobs in addition to the auto spawned mobs. Are the numbers involved on your end then just a matter of needing 10 people to work 3 instances each, spawning mobs? Or is there more to it?

[Lorien_the_First_One]

Plans weren’t “switched”, because once the event was up and running, we couldn’t have changed plans if we wanted to. But because early in the week players reported that the automatically-spawned monsters were too easy, we worked in teams to spawn in additional tougher monsters and loot by hand, instance by instance.

Last night was intense. So many people were involved in the event that we couldn’t all fit in one room.

Well thanks for the extra efforts, and for letting us in on them. That does explain why they didn't spawn all at once as we were told they would, and why they didn't spawn were you said they would. Hopefully next time your experience will let you script things a bit better in the beginning, but its nice to hear you adapted as best as you could base don feedback

[Dark_Helmet]

Plans weren’t “switched”, because once the event was up and running, we couldn’t have changed plans if we wanted to. But because early in the week players reported that the automatically-spawned monsters were too easy, we worked in teams to spawn in additional tougher monsters and loot by hand, instance by instance.

Last night was intense. So many people were involved in the event that we couldn’t all fit in one room.

How about this: Any chance you will put out the STORY for the event? I for one would like to have it fleshed out to read how they attacked the "heart of the city" and all of the rumors that are flying around and how they tie together.

[Keeper]

I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to get into, so I better stay on the general side. The event system lets us cause things to appear at specific times, such as the tent in a particular state of jiggling animation, or a group of monsters. The monsters that were added by hand could have been done through the event system, if we had realized before-hand that they were necessary. But doing them by hand had some advantages; namely that we could randomize locations, and we could also toss in more (or fewer) spawns depending on player reaction and server performance.

We did some pretty mean things to the servers in the process. *sheepish grin* I can’t speak for technically what caused the lag, because I am not knowledgeable of such technical things; but I can say the most striking example I saw was when I spawned a single monster, watched as every player in the instance immediately zoomed in to hit it, and then boom, we were all stuck there motionless for ten minutes.

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

[GeneralDiomedes]

I can say the most striking example I saw was when I spawned a single monster, watched as every player in the instance immediately zoomed in to hit it, and then boom, we were all stuck there motionless for ten minutes.

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

Has this experience changed your view of humanity for the better or for the worse?

[Riggs]

Plans weren’t “switched”, because once the event was up and running, we couldn’t have changed plans if we wanted to. But because early in the week players reported that the automatically-spawned monsters were too easy, we worked in teams to spawn in additional tougher monsters and loot by hand, instance by instance.

Last night was intense. So many people were involved in the event that we couldn’t all fit in one room.

Well props for the work. The lag made things less than ideal, but the concepts were great. And watching the tent get sucked away was pretty cool.

The named guys were pretty tough...heh but tough is a lot more fun than weak monsters.

[Pellegro]

Has this experience changed your view of humanity for the better or for the worse?

LMAO !!!


--

Thanks for the feedback and insight Keeper! Here, have a virtual guacamole tostada: __oooo__

[EspyLacopa]

I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to get into, so I better stay on the general side. The event system lets us cause things to appear at specific times, such as the tent in a particular state of jiggling animation, or a group of monsters. The monsters that were added by hand could have been done through the event system, if we had realized before-hand that they were necessary. But doing them by hand had some advantages; namely that we could randomize locations, and we could also toss in more (or fewer) spawns depending on player reaction and server performance.

We did some pretty mean things to the servers in the process. *sheepish grin* I can’t speak for technically what caused the lag, because I am not knowledgeable of such technical things; but I can say the most striking example I saw was when I spawned a single monster, watched as every player in the instance immediately zoomed in to hit it, and then boom, we were all stuck there motionless for ten minutes.

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

That was YOU that spawned that poor Kobold?

[TheBearNZ]

I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to get into, so I better stay on the general side. The event system lets us cause things to appear at specific times, such as the tent in a particular state of jiggling animation, or a group of monsters. The monsters that were added by hand could have been done through the event system, if we had realized before-hand that they were necessary. But doing them by hand had some advantages; namely that we could randomize locations, and we could also toss in more (or fewer) spawns depending on player reaction and server performance.

We did some pretty mean things to the servers in the process. *sheepish grin* I can’t speak for technically what caused the lag, because I am not knowledgeable of such technical things; but I can say the most striking example I saw was when I spawned a single monster, watched as every player in the instance immediately zoomed in to hit it, and then boom, we were all stuck there motionless for ten minutes.

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

Out of curiosity - how exactly do you guys get to "watch" what is happening? - Matrix style? :P or some sort of birds eye view. Do you see all instances at once or do yah have to switch between them like us

Would love it if you guys could do a "making of DDO" session or vid someday

[Eldorudo]

That was YOU that spawned that poor Kobold?

Given an option of which Shroud Lieutenant to spawn, I challenge anyone to convince me that Kasquik the Mighty isn't the obvious choice.

[CrazySamaritan]

Given an option of which Shroud Lieutenant to spawn, I challenge anyone to convince me that Kasquik the Mighty isn't the obvious choice.

:bow: :bow: :bow:

Now all we need is to get Meepo added to the game...
(And a friggin' bow smiley to the forums)

[Missing_Minds]

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

so that is what happened. It seems as if the GMs in Ghallanda were rather very stingy this time around. I didn't hear or see any drops at all, and only one of my guildies reported hearing/seeing anything loot wise.

It saddens me a bit, but over all I had a blast. And now I also know that I can duo the named orc with the help of a bard. just takes forever, but it is possible.

[Cowdenicus]

I was not supposed to release this information and as such I may lose a source of information but what the heck.

The original plan was supposed to include Keeper running around the market turning you all into guacamole ponies and sucking out your souls.

Sorry I had to leak out the info but you all should have been warned, I was sworn to secrecy, which is why I got no loot.

[Rallie]

I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to get into, so I better stay on the general side. The event system lets us cause things to appear at specific times, such as the tent in a particular state of jiggling animation, or a group of monsters.

One of the other things I keep forgetting is that you were doing this on all the servers at once. Being from Xoriat, (And now Thelanis), I tend to forget that when there are 30 market instances here, there are probably another 90 between the other servers. Since this event was taking place across all the servers at once, it suddenly makes more sense when putting it in that perspective.

I'd also 2nd the question about how things look to you. I guess I picture it rather like the DM client of NWN, where you are in the game like a player, but with the option of being invisible? Just a couple of extra UI boxes from which you can grab mobs or loot or whatever to drop in?

[Keeper]

I'd also 2nd the question about how things look to you. I guess I picture it rather like the DM client of NWN, where you are in the game like a player, but with the option of being invisible?

That's pretty much it. Only add to that that the character I used was wearing only her painted-on skivvies, so that I wouldn't drop any equipment that I wasn't supposed to.

[Rallie]

Thanks keeper. It's really great you and the other devs (especially those we don't hear from normally) have been posting so much lately. Personally, I'm more than happy to see all of this in the dev tracker. I'd much rather all of your posts be in the tracker than to post meaningful comments and have it not show up.

[Lifespawn]

I’m not sure how much detail I’m allowed to get into, so I better stay on the general side. The event system lets us cause things to appear at specific times, such as the tent in a particular state of jiggling animation, or a group of monsters. The monsters that were added by hand could have been done through the event system, if we had realized before-hand that they were necessary. But doing them by hand had some advantages; namely that we could randomize locations, and we could also toss in more (or fewer) spawns depending on player reaction and server performance.

We did some pretty mean things to the servers in the process. *sheepish grin* I can’t speak for technically what caused the lag, because I am not knowledgeable of such technical things; but I can say the most striking example I saw was when I spawned a single monster, watched as every player in the instance immediately zoomed in to hit it, and then boom, we were all stuck there motionless for ten minutes.

(By way of apology I spawned in a ton of loot afterward, for those who managed to ride it out.)

bah we got the big shaft on sarlona then no loot dropped whatsoever last night