End of the Week with Produktion Malphunktion- Spring cleaning edition

[RedOrm]

Yes, the double log in bug is still very much there

Not sure if it's the SAME bug, but if I try to log in without preloader the game regularly crashes before I manage to enter the world. Sometimes trying again helps, often it crashes again and again.
With preloader, it's all smooth sailing.
Possibly helpfull detail: even with preloader, if during start-up I try to alt-tab to a different window to browse while the game loads, I often see a previous loading screen, for instance character selection despite already having selected a character; if this is when switching characters, the depicted character is often the one I just signed out.

Greetz,
Red Orm

[Urjak]

The problem with favor being the EE carrot is that you will have to run the quest once on EE and that's it. No other reason to step in on EE other than the first time.

Favor is not the answer to the EE's carrot. Loot is. Either it being unique loot like Draconic Soul gem or Tomes (with reasonable Drop rates) or tiered loot like GH, Wheloon and Stormhorns' loot.

The EE increased Sagas' Rewards is nice thou. That is IF they put 3BC into a Saga. If not, then it's going to be useless anyway.

IMO two ideas:

• As you already mention EE Sagas ... I think it would be cool to have EE Sagas offering some really cool things ... like +4 to +5 skill upgrade tomes (except UMD), +2 to +3 UMD upgrade tomes, very small chances of +4 to +5 tomes and tiny chance of +5 to +6 tomes ... or alternatively a big stack of CoVs ... maybe even throw in chances at commendations of heroism ...
• Make upgradable tiered loot: Whereby the only way to upgrade a lower tier item is by getting higher tier loot ... depending on the number of possible different drops of the quest either:
  
  • EH base item + 2 EE random items of the same quest = EE version of the base item (lots of different drops like eTor - for example: EH +3 Con Black Dragon Helmet + EE Rune Arm + EE Insightful Goggles = EE +3 Con Black Dragon Helmet)
  • EH base item + 1 EE random item of the same quest = EE version of the base item (a few different drops like eThe Tracker's Track - for example: EH Evocation Nether Orb + EE Necromancy Nether Orb = EE Evocation Nether Orb)
  • EH base item + 2 EE random items of the same quest series = EE version of the base item (for quests that only drop 1-2 different items - for example: eOvergrowth: EH Forester's Brush Hook + EE Corruption by Nature + EE Livewood Core = EE Forester's Brush Hook)
  
  What is the idea behind this? Well, I for one was strongly against the tiered loot without upgrade option - for the simple reason that it removed any reason whatsoever to run EN or EH, as possible loot drops on those difficulties are mostly vendor trash anyways - so why bother? On the other hand if there is really no incentive to run EE - well - no one runs it except maybe once for favor - and EN and EH are really so easy ... I kinda wonder that I see people even bother putting up lfms for them instead of just zerging those difficulties on their own, thereby skipping the boring waiting part until the group fills lol. Kinda miss the old days where epic was actually epic . - So with this upgrade system one could actually first go for an EH item if one doesn't feel ready for EE yet ... and later on the effort for grinding down the EH item isn't completely wasted as it helps reducing the EE grind a bit ... just an idea though.

[susiedupfer]

If the double log thing is still happening plz share. I'm under the impression it is fixed.

Every time I log on after my computer has been turned off for any reason. Every time. Even if I log out of DDO for anything over 2 hours and do NOT turn off the computer, it happens. Even though I bought a brand new computer that runs MUCH faster, it still happens. I have taken the brand new computer to an expert, and paid for help, it still happens. If you can think of anything else I can do on my end to fix this, please tell me, because Geek Squad and I are convinced it is on your end.

[LeoLionxxx]

Not sure if it's the SAME bug, but if I try to log in without preloader the game regularly crashes before I manage to enter the world. Sometimes trying again helps, often it crashes again and again.
With preloader, it's all smooth sailing.
Possibly helpfull detail: even with preloader, if during start-up I try to alt-tab to a different window to browse while the game loads, I often see a previous loading screen, for instance character selection despite already having selected a character; if this is when switching characters, the depicted character is often the one I just signed out.

Greetz,
Red Orm

I've been having it even WITH the Pre-loader.

hmm. Maybe I should try it without and see how that goes.


So yes, is still an issue, and very annoying, since that extra 2-5 min could be the diffrence between getting into my sister's raid group or not.

[dwilly71]

I had a brief stint where I'd log in and get the red disconnection symbol and immediately have to re-login. I just purchased a spanking new computer and had a fresh install so the variables were cut to a minimum.

I copy-pasted the clean install to a thumb drive, booted from the stick, and have never had to double login again. It's a not a great fix, but it worked for me (and might for you). The downside is that I occasionally hang noticeably for a half-second or so in some weird places. The one I remember sticking out in gameplay is when a cinderspawn does his jumping ground pound maneuver.

[Ebondevil]

If you play at level, on Epic Hard they drop as they are supposed to. this has been discussed numerous times.

Did you factor in things like Tome of Epic Learning First time completion to your calcs, cause the grind totally put me off Epic levels entirely, I refuse to touch them with the current state of affairs.

[Krelar]

the developers are fine with the comm drop rate. Epic hard At level. Looking at raw data, most people run EH over level. It makes a difference.
Im not going to write a book on some of this. Varaguille has discussed the comm thing...all the way down to the math. Yes, the biggest xp/m quest is not optimal for comms.

My first character to go from 20-28 with commendations available ran:

38 Quest under level 19 quests at level and 16 quests over level. I earned 1597 commendations. If running 21% of quests over level is enough to drop comms earned to 38% of what is required there is something wrong.

Most of the "over level quests" were only 1 level over.

4 quests were EE instead of EH.

I only ran VON 3 four times, once at level, the rest because friends really wanted me to come along. Otherwise I intentionally avoided high xp quests.

I did do explorers enough to clear the map to make quest finding easier.

Sources of XP: VIP, Voice, Greater tome, 5% Ship buff, Daily Dice

[Produktion_Malphunktion]

Meh ... like always the really interesting questions get ignored -.- ...

Would really like to know whether Halfling Master Thrower is fixed internally and that fix is just waiting to get released *somewhen*, or the devs once again think they fixed it because the tooltip claims it works, even though it actually does not. This is such a long standing bug that I had already given up hope that it might get fixed eventually. Now you, Produktion Malphunktion, throw us a bone that might be interpreted as it actually got fixed, but neither confirm that it will actually go live soonish(TM) nor confirm my suspicions that it actually did not get fixed ...

Additionally other players as well as me were asking about other throwing related issues, which also got ignored:

• Will Ninja Poison get fixed anytime soon?
• Does that mean that the Ninja Spy capstone is fixed as well (reference to the crit range increase it should grant to shuriken)
• Does that mean the Kensai enhancement Keen Edge will now work with throwing weapons, especially shurikens as well?
• (Actually never tested that one myself, but: )Does that mean that Ravager enhancement Critical Rage works with throwing weapons now too? - Might become interesting with Swashbuckler in the works.
• From the Swashbuckler thread: Does that mean that the threat range increase of Swashbuckling will actually work with throwing weapons too?
• Does that mean that the Divine Crusader ability Celestial Champion will now grant its +1 threat range increase to throwing weapons as well?
• Are there any plans to fix force and force burst rituals for throwing weapons?
• And when I'm already at it: Any chance Cannith Crafting may get expanded/updated? ... its current usage is kinda limited ...

Would really appreciate some information/status update on these topics!

I will get you a definitive answer on the halfling thing. I'm not going to speak on it without a real answer. That has got producers in the past in trouble
Most of the enhancement bugs are on the priority fix list. I can't 'promise' the when.Hopefully 22, or 22 patch, maybe later. But like I said, core game features is the priority for the rest of the year.

[Produktion_Malphunktion]

Since when? This was not fixed in u21, nor was it fixed in any hotfixes since.

Have you personally tested this on live?

This was confirmed fixed by the QA team just 2 days ago.

Yes I just threw QA under the bus..only took me a month!

Hi Kookie!

[slarden]

the developers are fine with the comm drop rate. Epic hard At level. Looking at raw data, most people run EH over level. It makes a difference.
Im not going to write a book on some of this. Varaguille has discussed the comm thing...all the way down to the math. Yes, the biggest xp/m quest is not optimal for comms.

Ill check my pm's
e3bc um...for fun? Check it on lamma next week.
Tomes...look at history. Tomes seem to always show up eventually.
targeting.ill investigate.
crystal cove loot will be adjusted the next time out. So this time is exactly as last year.

ah the promise word appears. There needs to be a discussion about this, when I'm on a real keyboard. I understand the community reaction. I'm not a fan of continuing the sins of the past because someone said something and it became law.
The rest of the year is about fixing the core game. Enhancements. Combat. Loot. There is new stuff too, but it all aligned with those 3 things.



If the double log thing is still happening plz share. I'm under the impression it is fixed.

Thank you for spending so much time answering questions - even into the early morning hours...

We need more updates like U21. The raids and Haunted Halls are very fun.

People that think they are elite need something to strive for so please consider adding some things to EE raids only that aren't the most powerful items in the game, but highly useful so they can flash it in party chat and make everyone jealous.

Something like an everlasting potion of dimension door or teleport that you can get only on raida EE and nowhere else.

[HatsuharuZ]

I will get you a definitive answer on the halfling thing. I'm not going to speak on it without a real answer. That has got producers in the past in trouble
Most of the enhancement bugs are on the priority fix list. I can't 'promise' the when.Hopefully 22, or 22 patch, maybe later. But like I said, core game features is the priority for the rest of the year.

ProMal, I think you're going to set a record for most dev/producer posts made in the space of a week! :P

*Looks mournfully at Spellsinger and Warchanter*

[Ivan_Milic]

If the double log thing is still happening plz share. I'm under the impression it is fixed.

Why are you under impression it is fixed?
It is still happening.
How can you be so uninformed about your game?
Maybe because you dont play it.

[Ebondevil]

If the double log thing is still happening plz share. I'm under the impression it is fixed.

I normally log on a low level Melee toon first, level 4 or lower Fighter or Barbarian and I don't experience it, however, if I log in a higher level character, or most characters with spell casting abilities it tends to Red X and I need to log in again.

I was running some test cases a while ago to try and narrow down the cause since it seemed intermittent, Didn't complete them, it's very time consuming, but I have a few results which may be of interest:

Early Test Cases:
Level 20 Male Warforged Artificer in a Guild: Fails to login
Level 8 Female Halfling Rogue in a Guild: Fails to login
Level 1 Female Elf Wizard in a Guild: Fails to login
Level 8 Female Warforged Wizard in a Guild: Fails to login

Detailed Test Cases:
Level 1 Male Human Barbarian, Harbour, Carrying 3 Inventory tabs of loot, Not in a guild: Logs in!
Level 1 Female Elf Wizard, Shipwreck Shore, No Loot, Not in a guild: Fails to login
Level 1 Male Human Fighter, Vet Airship, No Loot, Not in a guild: Logs in
Level 1 Male Human Paladin, Vet Airship, No Loot, Not in a guild: Logs in
Level 4 Male Human Fighter, House Jorasco, Bank Full, Carrying 3 Inventory tabs of loot, In a Guild: Logs in<--- tends to be my first login of the day as a result, but it takes longer than subsequent log-ins

[Sebastrd]

No doubt E3BC will be fun, the Dev diary looked promising but I asked you about EE. Why should I, an elite player (as in a player that runs EE mostly), go into an EE quest if there are no better rewards, no better XP/Min, no unique loots? The answer is: none.

I've never understood comments like this. If your only motivation for running a quest is loot or xp/min, then elite is not for you. Elite difficulty is for those of us that appreciate the challenge and are capable of handling it. We don't need any other special snowflake rewards. It's a mindset. Plenty of people have the capacity for greatness; not all of them have the motivation.

[Ivan_Milic]

You will get more covs on ee.

[Urjak]

I will get you a definitive answer on the halfling thing. I'm not going to speak on it without a real answer. That has got producers in the past in trouble
Most of the enhancement bugs are on the priority fix list. I can't 'promise' the when.Hopefully 22, or 22 patch, maybe later. But like I said, core game features is the priority for the rest of the year.

Cool

[jakeelala]

This was confirmed fixed by the QA team just 2 days ago.

Yes I just threw QA under the bus..only took me a month!

Hi Kookie!

Please allow me to throw you both under the bus:



Tested 15 minutes ago on live with a fresh lvl 7 halfling Monk.

WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR YOU GUYS TO IDENTIFY AND FIX?

[HatsuharuZ]

Please allow me to throw you both under the bus:



Tested 15 minutes ago on live with a fresh lvl 7 halfling Monk.

WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR YOU GUYS TO IDENTIFY AND FIX?

It resisted the first critical hit you made in that combat log... Doesn't the dummy have fortification?

[Qhualor]

I've never understood comments like this. If your only motivation for running a quest is loot or xp/min, then elite is not for you. Elite difficulty is for those of us that appreciate the challenge and are capable of handling it. We don't need any other special snowflake rewards. It's a mindset. Plenty of people have the capacity for greatness; not all of them have the motivation.

Incentives is what drives this game. Special snowflakes are needed to get players to run higher difficulties. Running higher difficulties when there is no real reward other than a slight increase in drop rates isn't going to get a lot of players to care to run them. Hard has been the default difficulty most times for slight challenge, but easy enough to complete even in pug groups because a small increase in drops or a small increase in tiered loot isn't enough incentive. Frustrating when you do want to challenge yourself but can't get others or get a decent group together to run elite. To some, its not worth their time and resources.

[jakeelala]

It resisted the first critical hit you made in that combat log... Doesn't the dummy have fortification?

Do you see a critical hit resist roll for 19? I don't.

I see one for 20. Which is the true crit threat range without Halfling Enhancements: 20x2.

It's my understanding that first you roll a crit. Then you roll to confirm. Then it gets resisted or not based on Fort.