Suddenly there is an almighty BANG! accompanied by a huge cloud of smoke. As the smoke clears you see Miko emerging from the chaos.
Miko bows deeply.
Miko says 'Good morning and welcome'

Cerretano says 'Good morning'
Mevman says 'Morning :)'
Zeed says 'morning'

Miko says 'let's get straight to it then'
Miko says 'we'll handle questions and answers first'
Miko says 'then talk a little about next weekend'
Miko smiles happily.
Miko says 'please keep actions to a minimum'
Miko says 'less spammy that way'
Miko smiles happily.
Miko says 'I have a list of questions submitted by Gaheris'
Miko says 'so we'll intersperse those with any others that folks might have'

Cerretano beams a smile at Gaheris.
Larnine grins evilly at Gaheris.
Gaheris blinks his eyes innocently.
Piccolo chuckles politely.

Miko says 'so without further ado, I'll start with Gaheris' first question'
Miko says 'Gaheris asked about spellbooks and prayerbooks'
Miko says 'specifically, the situation about finding spellboks and wanting to pass them onto others'
Miko says 'and the fact that in the past this had been done by selling them to the shops'
Miko says 'but now that citizens are buying them, they don't hang around long enough'
Miko says 'was that a good enough summary Gaheris?'

Gaheris nods.

Tarl says 'my thought on that is a public library or reading room'
Miko pokes Tarl in the ribs.
Tarl chuckles politely.
Piccolo says 'perhaps make it so citizen can't buy them?'

Miko says 'first off, when the buying code was introduced I did consider not having the citizens buy books'
Miko says 'however, at that time there were about 500 books for sale'
Miko says 'so I wanted to drastically reduce that number'
Miko says 'now, citizens will only buy tier 1, level 1 books'
Miko says 'since those are the most common'

Gaheris praises Miko for his accomplishment.
Mevman smiles happily.
Cerretano smiles happily.
Zeed smiles happily.
Piccolo shows his approval by clapping his small hands together.
Tjalve smiles happily.

Miko says 'I will tweak this further so that they only buy books when multiple copies exist'
Miko says 'does that sounds like a reasonable solution?'

Tjalve nods.
Gaheris says 'I am completely satisfied with this solution'
Mevman nods.
Piccolo says 'sounds good to me'
Zeed nods.

Miko smiles happily.
Miko says 'ok'
Miko says 'anyone have a question/issue to raise? (please raise your hand if so)'

Mevman says 'on same subject?'
Piccolo raises hand

Miko says 'any suject'
Miko says 'Yes, Piccolo?'

Piccolo says 'is the newbie shopping list bug problem fixed?'

Miko says 'with the extortionate gold prices? :)'

Piccolo nods.

Miko says 'yes it is'

Piccolo smiles happily.
Mevman raises his hand

Miko says 'Mevman?'

Mevman says 'does the money flow code need to be adjusted, the shops are out of money lately, and a related questionn...whats up with Comstill shop and quality?'

Miko says 'I'll answer the second part first'
Miko says 'Comstil is rather picky about the kind of items they purchase'
Miko says 'they don't deal in trash'
Miko says 'and you will find other shops begin to follow the same path'
Miko says 'but you will also begin to find other shops too :)'
Miko says 'Ardenfall, for example, is a large city'
Miko says 'as for the shops being out of money, we are trying to emulate a true economy'
Miko says 'the shops have expenses you know, rent, wages, taxes, etc.'

Gaheris raises his hand for an additional comment on Comstil.
Tarl says 'it seems to be hard to emulate that .. for when a shop has money he is usualy overrun with purchases'

Miko says 'Gaheris?'

Gaheris says 'Does Comstil, Stonkeep, etc. consider the significant protection ring mail to be "trash" ?'

Miko says 'they shouldn't'
Miko says 'but some items still require adjusting in the database'
Miko says 'please BUG any that you feel are being handled incorrectly'
Miko says 'that means reading the item description first'
Miko says 'there are 1108 different items in the database'
Miko says 'it isn't a trivial thing to verify they are all correct'

Gaheris says 'Okay. Sometimes Comstil seems ridiculously pikcy about genuinely good items.'

Mevman raises his hand

Miko says 'related question Mevman?'

Mevman says 'not related'

Miko says 'ok, let me do another pre-submitted question first'
Miko says 'At issue: spell/prayer increases. '
Miko says 'For the sake of argument, assume it takes 10 increaeses to take a spell from '
Miko says 'level 1 to level 2, and then 20 from level 2 to level 3. Suppose you know '
Miko says ''strength' and have gained 9 inc's in it. You then find a spellbook of level '
Miko says '2 strength and read it. Do you carry over the 9 inc's so that you need only '
Miko says '(20 - 9 = ) 11 to reach level 3? Or do you reset to zero so you need 20 '
Miko says 'inc's to reach level 3?'

Miko says 'I am not going to specifically answer that question, but not because I want to hide anything'
Miko says 'simply, the code is somewhat complex, and as such there is no "straight" answer'
Miko says 'however, rest assured, that gained increases are not lost'
Miko says 'they are still important'

Piccolo is confused.
Artagel whispers: Miko doens't know himself.
Cerretano falls down laughing.
Miko chuckles politely.
Piccolo chuckles politely.
Larnine grins evilly at Artagel.
Cerretano beams a smile at Artagel.
Zeed nods.

Miko says 'Like I said, it's somewhat complex'
Miko says 'what I don't want to do is give an answer one way or the other, because sometimes the answer might change'

Piccolo says 'ah. I see.'
Dream says 'Or maybe it won't'
Dream looks all mysterious and stuff.

Miko says 'I know that probably sounds confusing but the increase system isn't a yes/no system'
Miko says 'there are many factors involved'
Miko says 'ok, next question, Mevman?'

Larnine raises his hand for a non-related question.

Mevman says 'is there any workable system to help newbies out of jail when imps/immos arent there or cant RP?'

Larnine's question is related now.
Cerretano raises his hand.
Piccolo says 'Was stuck in there for two days without anyone on. :)'
Cerretano comforts Piccolo.

Miko says 'that's a good question'
Miko says 'the short answer is no'
Miko says 'the long answer is no, but there are quite a few immortals around now that should be able to handle this kind of situation'
Miko says 'however, there will always be a time when there isn't someone on'
Miko says 'and harsh as though it may sound, if a newbie reads the help files, and uses the "consider" command appopriately, they shouldn't end up in jail in the first place'

Mevman says 'nod, Ive adjusted my initial help speech to include the con command first thing.'

Larnine raises his hand.

Miko says 'as for newbies, a suggestion was made that newbies should not get arrested'
Miko says 'I strongly disagree with that'
Miko says 'again, harsh as it may sound, newbies need to learn right away what is smart and what isn't'

Cerretano raises his hand and waves it about.
Larnine says 'but on that subject.....'
Tjalve raises his hand on the problem with no immoes on.
Tarl says 'i agree... i think it should be up to the vetran players to help out more and keep them out of the clink'

Miko says 'that isn't to say that there aren't things we can do to try and avoid the situation'
Miko says 'I'll take comments now, starting with Larnine'

Cerretano nods.

Larnine says 'The amount of newbies that have gone LD in jail recently is rising though, and recently, the mort numbers have been lower than usual for some reason.'
Larnine says 'Withot help, mostnwebies just go and get on with it, without reading many help files.'

Miko nods.
Gaheris raises his hand for a comment on Larnine's help-file comment.

Larnine says 'And that is a problem'
Larnine says 'I have seen loads LD in jail now.'
Larnine says 'And It's a shame. Could have been a cuople of good players out of those.'

Tarl says 'comment:'
Tarl says 'how active a roll do you all play in trying to keep them out of jail?'

Mevman says 'me very much so'
Larnine peers intently at Tarl.
Cerretano says 'Are you accusing us of not helping newbies?'

Tarl says 'no... just asking'

Miko says 'We have an immortal that is working on some kind of automated introduction system'
Miko says 'this may involve a series of rooms (rather like an, ick, Mud school)'

Larnine says 'cool.'
Larnine grins evilly at Miko.
Piccolo says 'That might be helpfull.'

Miko says 'prior to the newbie entering ardenfall'
Miko says 'just to make sure the most important factors can be gotten across to the new folks'

Larnine says 'I have seen something similar, and it does help you get accustomed to the Mud's ways.'
Larnine nods at Miko.

Miko says 'Tjalve, you had a comment?'

Tjalve says 'There is allwayes the posibility to email the situation to the admin.'

Mevman says 'how often does admin check mail?'

Miko nods at Tjalve.
Miko chuckles politely.
Miko says 'frequently ;)'
Miko says 'admin mail is forwarded to all admin folks'
Miko says 'so the answer in my case is dozens of times a day'
Miko says 'Gaheris, a comment?'

Gaheris says 'I have heard a couple of newbies say that the help files were "too long" to read'
Gaheris says 'Personally I don't have much sympathy for that complaint, but there it is.'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'which is one of the reasons we're doing the introductory stuff'
Miko says 'so the help files can be used as a reference tool'
Miko says 'rather than the only method of learning'

Larnine says 'Compared to some Mud's, our help files are pretty short and direct to the point =)'
Piccolo says 'actually the help files here are smaller than on most muds..'

Miko grins evilly.
Cerretano giggles.
Larnine nods at Piccolo.

Tarl says 'i have noticed that muding is not for everyone and no matter what you do you cant keep them here or out of jail because they either just dont get the concept or dont want to get it. but kindness goes along way'

Miko nods at Tarl.
Miko says 'any other comments on this issue?'
Miko says 'ok, any new issue?'
Miko says 'ok, I'll move to another of Gaheris' pre-submitted questions'
Miko says 'I would like to know how magic resistance / saving throws work. '
Miko says 'Furthermore what is the difference between "resist XXX" and "protection from '
Miko says 'XXX"?'
Miko says 'ok, first part of the question'
Miko says 'resistances work as you would expect'
Miko says 'you have 10% resistance to fire, you only take 90% damage from fire-based attacks'

Gaheris says 'Heh, that is not how I expected it to work :)'

Miko says 'as far as saving-throws go, your resistance is stacked up against the power of the attack'
Miko says 'so a low resistance can still be a very effective saving throw if the power of the attack is also low'
Miko says 'now, protection vs resist'

Gaheris says 'wait'

Miko says 'yes?'

Gaheris says 'So a saving throw also reduces damage - does not give you a chance to avoid ALL damage?'

Miko says 'that depends on the magic'
Miko says 'sometimes it gives a chance to avoid, sometimes it simply reduces the damage'
Miko says 'other times it gives a chance to avoid and also reduces the damage (assuming you dont avoid)'

Gaheris says 'okay'

Miko says 'ok, protection vs resist'
Miko says 'resist should now be obvious'
Miko says 'protection will protect you from a certain amount of damage, then the spell will "break"'
Miko says '(assuming the spell doesn't expire first)'
Miko says 'hence protection from poison wont stop you from being poisoned, but it will absorb the damage from poison once you are poisoned'

Mevman says 'ahh'
Gaheris says 'So if you have both resist X and protection from X going, that is actually useful?'

Miko nods at Gaheris.

Gaheris says 'will resist poison stop you from being poisoned? (or is there a chance it might)'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'resist poison will act as a saving throw as well as reducing damage'
Miko says 'good example'

Gaheris *thinks* he understands.

Miko says 'a followup type of question from Gaheris:'
Miko says 'On a side note, what is the difference between "resist HEAT" and "resist '
Miko says 'FIRE"? Those seem very similar.'

Cerretano nods.
Tjalve says 'and slow poison?'

Miko says 'and the answer is simple; if it's a fire-based spell, resist fire is appropriate'
Miko says 'if it's a heat-based spell, resist heat is appropriate'

Cerretano chuckles politely.
Cerretano chuckles politely.
Gaheris says 'What is an example of a heat-based spell?'

Miko says 'plasma bolt'

Mevman says 'heat like around thalos?'
Cerretano nods at Gaheris.

Miko nods at Mevman.
Miko says 'that too'
Miko gives Mevman a round of applause.

Gaheris says 'Is there an equivalent distinction between, umm, "cold" and "frost" or something like that?'

Miko says 'cold and water?'
Miko says 'cold and water should be fairly obvious in most cases'
Miko says 'cone of cold is obviously cold'
Miko says 'boiling globe is water'
Miko says 'the issue is the "frost" spells I guess'

Zeed raises his hand
Cerretano raises his hand.
Gaheris also raises his hand for a follow-up question.

Miko says 'the best way is to consider if the spell saps energy (similar, but not the same as, draining)'
Miko says 'such as frost touch'
Miko says 'or if the spell is blasting you with ice-cold solidified water, eg, ice storm'
Miko says 'yes Zeed?'

Zeed says 'thanks'
Zeed says 'it is confusing sometimes as to what damage spells do'

Zeed says 'for instance (another) jet of steam'
Zeed says 'heat and water?'

Miko shakes his head.
Miko giggles.
Miko says 'air'

Cerretano throws back his head and cackles with insane glee!
Mevman grins evilly.
Tarl says 'this is why i was never a spell caster :)'
Sloth raises his hand on subject.

Zeed says 'would it be possible to display the damage type (as ew do the school) when you have a spell?'
Zeed says 'would remove the confusion...thanks'
Gaheris says 'or perhaps include the damage type in the help file at least'

Miko sinks deeply into his own thoughts.
Miko says 'I'll think about it'
Miko says 'I think the answer is probably yes'
Miko says 'Cerretano?'

Cerretano says 'Well, mine was more specific, going back to a particular spell for clarification'
Cerretano says 'Ice Storm is cold, or water? And why?'
Cerretano says 'Seems like cold water'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'yes, but ice storm's power is not from the coldness of the ice'
Miko says 'its from the force of the ice'
Miko says 'and since ice is solidified water, it's a water spell'

Larnine says 'Fireball = heat and fire. Both would do damage, right?'
Larnine says 'heat would melt you, fire would burn.'

Miko says 'Fireball is fire'
Miko says 'remember, it isn't "true fire" it's "magical fire"'

Cerretano says 'Okay, following that, then...'
Cerretano says 'Ice storm makes you cold, but does not get you wet'
Cerretano chuckles politely.

Miko says 'Ice storm doesn't make you cold'
Miko says 'it pelts you with chunks of ice'

Mevman says 'more like striking damage'
Cerretano says 'Have you ever stood in a hailstorm? You get cold, trust me :)'
Cerretano says 'Anyhow, I am but a warrior, with no need for such foolishness'
Cerretano flexes his muscles.

Dream says 'Here's an idea.'
Dream says 'It is well known that we aren't going to reveal all the hidden aspects to you. Furthermore, not all aspects are neccessarily set in stone.'
Dream says 'Instead of asking us for how it works, why don't a group of spell casters get together, in the game, and formualte theories on how magic works?'
Dream says 'Maybe in conjunction with the schola of magic here in the city?'

Gaheris is strongly in favor of specifying the type of damage in the help file.

Miko nods.
Miko says 'Sloth, a comment?'

Sloth says 'Was thinkin' along the same line as Gaheris, ie add it to the help-file: ELEMENT: FIRE-BASED'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'I'll take that under consideration'

Zeed raises his hand on this comment

Miko says 'yes Zeed?'

Zeed says 'i understand that some aspects should remain secret but seems to me that is a mage is able to cast a spell they would also know what type of damage it will do'
Zeed says 'that was all'
Zeed thanks Miko heartily.

Miko nods.
Miko says 'that does seem to make a lot of sense'
Miko says 'any other comments on this subject?'
Miko says 'ok, any other issues?'

Gaheris raises his hand.

Miko says 'yes?'

Gaheris says 'It seems that the game is becoming increasingly difficult, especially with the introduction of nasty new abilities like strangle and stun. Are you perhaps inadvertently making things too hard on new players?'

Miko says 'strangle isn't new (fyi)'

Gaheris says 'Oh? Then what have the duergar been doing to us? :)'

Miko says 'other mobs strangle'
Miko says 'and have for a while'
Miko says 'as anyone who has dealt with the thieving b*stards in Orc Mountain will attest to'

Zeed nods.
Tjalve nods.
Sloth says 'Clan members in the Goldmine of instance.'
Dream says 'Or any thief NPC with no weapon.'
Tarl was choked to death by a miner :)
Diggory says 'You shouldn't be in the mines by yourself, Gaheris. it's not child's play.'

Miko says 'but I'm not sure I understand what you mean about making things more difficult for newbies'

Gaheris says 'I realize that there are dangerous areas, but it seems that some once not-so-bad areas have become ridiculously hard. e.g., the Black Orcs'

Larnine says 'Cannot have everything easy.'
Gaheris nods at Larnine.

Miko says 'err, well one would hope that Newbies don't visit the black orcs'

Tarl says 'black orcs are a threat to experienced players/groups due to sheer numbers'
Diggory says 'That's what grouping is for, people.'
Dream says 'Might I interject?'

Gaheris says 'My only comment is this, then: just make sure not to make the game so hard that is frustrates the players (newbie and veteran alike) instead of challenging them.'

Miko nods at Gaheris.
Miko says 'I tried to be selective in how the warrior mobs used stunn'
Miko assumes that this is all about stun

Dream says 'I seem to recall people..."complaining" a few weeks or months back about how there were not enough hard areas to get good treasure in.'
Dream says 'Are we now saying the reverse?'

Zeed shakes his head.
Gaheris says 'Dream, no, we are just saying not to go overboard in responding to our complaints. :)'

Miko grins evilly.
Miko says 'I'll look at the black orcs'
Tarl says 'black orcs are not for the meek. I particurly like that area'
Larnine says 'There are challenging Area's, but some warriors don't like to go there as it's too 'tough'. *peers @ Gah* Kelt-Wyn anyone?'
Gaheris says 'Larn: that was a while ago, also when armour was getting damaged a bit too much.'

Zeed smiles happily.
Genshu raises his hand

Miko says 'yes Genshu?'

Genshu says 'when will I get to use these new skills? and get my old ones back?'
Miko says 'which skills did you "lose" ?'

Genshu says 'polearms, hammer throwing etc'

Miko says 'ah'
Miko says 'the throwing skills are now directly linked to the true weapon skill'
Miko says 'ie, you can't learn hammer throwing until you have gotten hammers to a certain point'
Miko says 'that point isn't aprticularly high, btw'
Miko says 'polearms requires learning other skills first'

Genshu says 'ahh'
Genshu nods.
Tjalve nods.
Gaheris raises his hand on this topic.

Miko says 'you may find that one weapon skill icnreases triggers the pole arm skill'
Miko says 'as for the new skills, they all require knowledge in other skills to reach a certain level'
Miko says 'some of you are at that level, but woll require a single increase to trigger them'
Miko says 'that is due to how the code works, and is an unfortunate side effect for current folks, but since you didn't have them even available until this week, I wouldn't whine about that TOO loudly ;-)'
Miko grins evilly.

Genshu nods.
Genshu says 'ok thanks'
Genshu grins evilly.

Miko says 'yes Gaheris?'

Gaheris says 'Would it be possible to indicate in the help files which other skills trigger the new skills (hitall, stun, berserk) -or- use the warrior's guild to indicate this thru an automated RP-ish system?'

Miko says 'I think that's a fair comment'
Miko says 'maybe somethign the guild can talk about'

Mevman raises his hand with a new question

Miko says 'ok, moving on'
Miko says 'Mevman?'

Mevman says 'is there any plus con eq in the game, and is there/will there be a summon command for a cleric'

Cerretano raises his hand regarding summon.

Miko says 'yes to the first question'
Miko says '"dont know" to the second'

Mevman nods.
Mevman smiles happily.
Zeed nods.
Dream raises his hand.

Miko says 'let me explain briefly why the "don't know"'
Miko says 'we would like the concept of "trading" to become a way for players to make money'
Miko says 'ie, purchasing things from one city and hen going to another to sell them'
Miko says 'that becomes rather pointless if clerics can summon folks halfway around the world'

Tjalve nods.
Zeed nods.
Zeed thinks this a good idea...realistic
Mevman says 'IC'
Larnine says 'may I comment?'
Tarl raises his hand to comment
Sloth would also like to comment.

Miko says 'Cerretano, a comment?'

Cerretano nods.
Cerretano says 'Thank you'
Cerretano says 'I have heard people complain that the world is too small'
Cerretano says 'Summon only makes it feel smaller'
Cerretano says 'It makes travel a trivial thing'
Cerretano says 'Uprooting yourself and going to a distant city should be a journey'
Cerretano says 'That's all. Thanks'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'true'

Diggory says 'and if you have a complaint that the world is too small, build an area.'

Mevman doesnt disagree
Cerretano smiles happily.
Gaheris would like to comment as well.

Miko grins evilly at Diggory.
Miko says 'Larnine?'

Larnine says 'Summon was a great tool for assisting in grouping which is highly encouraged here. It was a great tool for getting assistance and forming bigger groups'
Larnine says 'Also....'
Larnine says 'The gate spell. What would be the difference? Town to town with that also.'

Sloth would not like to comment anymore.

Miko says 'ah yes, gate'
Miko says 'Gate is a tier 8 spell'
Miko says 'in a school that conflicts with Evocation, the primary source of a mage's offensive spells'
Miko says 'any mage willing to sacrifice 90% of his/her offensive spells is welcome to use gate howevfer they see fit'

Mevman grins evilly.
Sloth will.

Miko says 'one assumes the mage will charge heavily for its use'
Miko grins evilly.

Gaheris has multiple comments now.

Larnine says 'So if that's the sacrifice for a mage to get it, why not add summon with the same sacrifices?'
Larnine is cleric biased =P
Cerretano grins evilly.

Miko says 'I think the summon issue falls in two categories'
Miko says 'summoning people back to corpses is one'
Miko says 'I think that can be resolved with a different spell'
Miko says 'and summoning people for grouping'
Miko says 'the latter needs thought'
Miko says 'I have no simple answer, sorry'

Larnine nods at Miko.
Mevman nods.

Miko says 'Tarl?'

Tarl says 'ok...'
Tarl says 'I think summoning HAD its day in the realm.. I think a transport corpse spell is in order for corpse retrival. I also think that a quicker means of travel should be imped a less taxing travel such as horesback or somthing to that effect'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'horses will be introduced once the size of the world merits it'

Dream says 'I am of the opinion that since a party can travel from Ard to DH virtually without stopping, that perhaps travel is too easy already.'

Cerretano nods at Dream.
Zeed smiles happily.
Larnine says 'They cannot, Dream.'
Larnine says 'Stamina gets sucked up badly nowadays =('
Tarl says 'with wind they can'
Larnine says 'Except second wind, yes.'
Tjalve says 'or azures'

Miko says 'Gaheris, you had a comment?'

Gaheris says 'Well, to put it simply, there are some powerful spells in the realm: second wind, summon, gate (eventually)'
Gaheris says 'These spells can and will be used to the maximum extent by clever players - that is what clever players do, find the best way to exploit game conditions'
Gaheris says 'You cannot punish the players for doing this, as long as they are not cheating'
Gaheris says 'If a cleric really wants to use summon to set up a trading empire (by summoning someone with items to sell), why can't he?'

Larnine nods at Gaheris.

Miko says 'because cleric's usually don't run trading empires?'

Larnine giggles.
Cerretano giggles.
Gaheris shrugs helplessly.

Miko says 'they tend to have more important things to do, as their deity dictates'
Miko says 'that's not to say they can't'

Zeed raises his hand
Gaheris says 'My feeling is that spells like second wind, word of recall (and scrolls of recall), and summon are essential clerical spells'

Miko says 'but 99% of the time it would fly in the face of their religion'
Miko says 'I would say yes to summon in the case of repatriating a player with their corpse'
Miko says 'but that can be accomplished without summon'

Zeed puts his hand down

Dream says 'I agree, Gah'
Dream says 'A player should be free to use everything in the game to do whatever they wish, so long as they are not told it is against the rules'
Dream says 'Our goal is to set what IS in the game with that in mind, and thus limit what can be done to what we feel SHOULD be done.'
Dream says 'Not put summon in the game, and then say "Oh, your cleric wouldn't use it to make a trading empire"'

Tarl says 'a transport corpes spell would work.. the player then would be fully equiped to travel back to his/her group and continue on the journey'
Tjalve thinks of the crusaders.

Mevman says 'summon spirit or something..'

Miko says 'this is obviously not a simple issue'
Miko says 'for the reasons laid out'

Gaheris says 'I guess what I -don't- want to see happen is that clever applications of spells and abilities get banned because they don't fit the immo's idea of the MUD'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'and we try not to do that'

Dream says 'EXACTLY'
Dream says 'So we don't put them into the game until we are sure they don't violate our concepts'

Miko says 'if we find people using magic in a way that wasn't intended, we tend to change things like a mob's reaction to that magic ;)'

Dream nods at Miko.
Dream says 'I am glad to see we agree on this, Gah ;)'

Tarl says 'even society has rules. and if you break them you are punished'
Tarl says 'you are capable of driving at 100 mph but you will get arrested'

Miko says 'we have considered limiting summon by distance'
Miko says 'but that isnt' so easy when you consider underground areas'

Gaheris says 'Perhaps the best solution is an RP one, e.g. Comstil and Velani might be quite upset by a cleric using summont to cut into their profits...'

Dream says 'You just contradicted yourself, Gah'
Dream says 'That would be making it so that players are basically being told they shouldn't use something that is in the game.'

Miko says 'very true'
Miko says 'but then some players will get might upset when we take those steps'

Mevman thinks he stirred up a bit of an ants nest *G*

Miko giggles.
Miko says 'it isn't a simple solution'
Miko says 'hence why summon isn't currently in the game'

Mevman nods.
Dream nods at Miko.

Gaheris says 'Dream: no, what I am against is a hard-coded ban on summon.'

Tarl says 'they will only be upset if dream is the one to RP the senario :)'

Dream says 'But there is no summon'
Dream says 'And thus, no hard-coded ban to summon'

Gaheris rolls his eyes.
Gaheris says 'second wind then'

Larnine says 'They're completely different in class.'
Dream says 'Same concept though'

Miko says 'second wind is acceptable'
Miko says 'it gives a second wind, not a full restore of stamina'

Dream says 'Second wind has the same effect on a smaller scale.'

Gaheris says 'Do you accept the fact that it is in the players' interest to travel from place to place as quickly and efficiently as possible?'

Tjalve says 'you can do the exact same thing as second wind with a lot of azure potions.'

Dream says 'nope'

Gaheris throws back his head and cackles with insane glee!

Dream says 'I think half the fun of a journey is in getting there.'

Miko says 'I think it depends on the situation'
Miko says 'if travelling "from place to place as quickly and efficiently as possible" means running to Thalos to make some cash, then no I don't'

Gaheris raises his hand with a comment on making cash.

Larnine says 'Second wind is already in and works well. imho'

Tarl says 'maybe summon/wind should have a costly effect to make it not cost efective to use for trading purpose. if the ROI is not there then it wont be abused'

Miko says 'Tarl raises an excellent point'
Miko says 'the question becomes what cost is high enough, but not too high'
Miko says 'I know this is contentious but lets move on'
Miko says 'Gaheris, a comment on cash?'

Tarl nods at Miko.
Zeed thinks that is a question that would require an armchair and a few bottles of wine

Gaheris says 'Unless you eliminate money, players will always figure out a way to make cash.'
Gaheris says 'It is, after all, part of the game.'
Gaheris says 'Killing Lamias is not easy per se.'

Tjalve nods at Gaheris.

Miko says 'making cash is a way of life'
Miko says 'but we don't want to make it too easy'
Miko says 'because that introduces rampant inflation in the game'

Dream nods.
Dream says 'I think it is more base than that though, Miko'
Dream says 'I cannot speak for the whole staff, but when you hear me saying something like "We don't want to make it too easy."'
Dream says 'It is not because I am out to make the player's lives hell ;)'
Dream says 'Well, not TOO much'

Zeed grins evilly at Dream.
Tjalve chuckles politely.

Dream says 'But rather it has been my long experience that people become quickly bored when things come too easily.'
Dream says 'They also become frustrated when things come too hard'
Dream says 'Which is a fine line to walk.'

Zeed nods.
Zeed says 'or progress slow'
Gaheris would like to comment on Dream's issue.

Tarl says 'miko, has the barter system been kicked around at all? trading quanity of less expensive items for a more expensive items eliminating some of the use of cash?'

Dream says 'Our constant tinkering with cash is part of that larger issue.'
Dream says 'If cash, and thus magic, weapons and armour (all purchasable) are too plentiful'
Dream says 'The game becomes too easy'
Dream says 'If cash is too hard to get, it becomes too hard'

Zeed nods.
Zeed says 'and ppl would lose interest'

Mevman says 'a economy is is hellishly complex'
Tjalve smiles happily.
Zeed says 'economies have good and bad times ...maybe thats a solution'

Dream says 'Our whole main goal is not to create a true and actual economy'
Dream says 'But rather to simulate one somewhat. Enough so that we can have a balanced flow of moneys and thus magic, eq and fun'
Dream says 'Now, what complicates it is the fact that you all have a source of income a good deal different than most economies'
Dream says 'That is, sanctioned murder and pillaging.'
Dream says 'On a scale never seen in a real world economy'

Cerretano nods.
Tarl says 'dream, its a living :)'

Dream says 'And one that is hard to estimate.'
Dream nods at Tarl.
Dream says 'Which is why we are still tinkering'
Dream says 'If you didn't have that, it would be much easier'
Dream says 'We'd give you all jobs, with fixed incomes, and that would be that ;)'

Gaheris says 'Dream: actually privateers were eseentially sanctioned pirates and pillagers.'

Dream says 'Yes, but not every person was a privateer in, say, Britain.'
Dream says 'Everyone here is.'

Gaheris says 'True.'
Zeed nods.
Genshu has an idea

Dream says 'And booty is FAR more available in this world than it was for privateers'
Dream says 'Not only is is available'
Dream says 'But it constantly replenishes and is mystically in the same places.'
Dream says 'It complicates matters ;)'

Genshu says 'well I've played another mud which you could deliver packages for money, could you consider that?'
Genshu says 'at least for newbies?'

Larnine says 'I've seen that also.'
Larnine says 'helps people explore the world also.'
Zeed nods.
Zeed says 'help them learn the world'

Dream says 'CPS?'
Dream says 'Comstil Parcel Service?'

Genshu nods.
Genshu says 'I learned a lot out of that'
Genshu says 'and it could only be open at certin hours so it still isn't so easy to make money'

Dream says 'It is an idea'

Gaheris has a very basic comment when there is a lull.

Dream says 'We could use a mob like the paymaster here.'
Dream pats the narrow, beady-eyed man on his head.
Dream says 'So that more or less explains things like why we don't just drop summon back in, or give all mobs 40 gold.'

Miko says 'ok, a comment Gaheris?'

Gaheris says 'There are a variety of reasons people play a MUD. Sometimes it is to be challenged, and frankly sometimes it is just to hack'n'slash Lamias for a while. I don't think you should take away that second aspect of playing.'
Gaheris says 'People like to blow off steam by slaughtering mobs.'

Larnine nods.
Zeed grins evilly.
Cerretano says 'Hrmmmm'

Miko says 'I agree; but if that's all someone is interested in, this might not be the place for them to play'

Cerretano nods.
Larnine is glad Gaheris discovered the internet and MUD's or there could have been a rampant sword attack killer in his town.
Cerretano grins evilly at Larnine.
Dream giggles.

Gaheris says 'In the past, Alex has always had a good blend between RP and hack'n'slash.'

Miko says 'on the other hand, we certainly try and provide a playable atmosphere'
Miko says 'we dont enforce roleplay; we reward it'
Miko says 'let me ask you this'
Miko says 'would you rather us implement everything, then act like powermad immos when we see things we dont like, or be more selective in what we implement?'

Gaheris says 'Miko: obviously the latter.'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'you will also notice that I do respond to, and implement, good ideas and suggestions'

Gaheris says 'Yes, this is the most responsive MUD I have ever seen. *praise*'
Larnine nods at Miko.
Zeed raises his hand

Miko says 'I wont implement something that I know can have repercussions until I've solved those problems'
Miko says 'yes Zeed?'

Zeed beams a smile at Miko.
Zeed says 'in the view of more realism'
Zeed says 'would it be possible to have places ....like safes to store eq or money ...or both'
Zeed says 'or is this against game play?'

Miko says 'I'm not sure safes are necessarily realistic in this environment'

Tjalve says 'What about private houses where highlevel chars could rent at a high price and store a limitid number of extra item?'
Cerretano nods at Tjalve.
Larnine says 'problem is Thieves.'
Cerretano says 'It's a risk you take :)'
Larnine says 'You lock yuo stuff up. A clever theif comes along and steals it all'
Larnine says 'And then you get pissy and annoyed'

Miko says 'houses/apartments have been considered, and yes, Larnine is exactly right'

Zeed nods.
Dream says 'And not just NPC thieves ;0)'
Larnine grins evilly at Dream.
Dream says 'PC thieves should also be able to steal from there.'
Tarl says 'but that is a risk in RL as well'

Miko says 'what happens when that last fireball you took destroys your key?'

Larnine nods at Miko.

Miko says 'ok, I want to move on'

Tjalve nods at Tarl.
Cerretano thanks Miko heartily.
Zeed nods.

Miko says 'Gaheris had 3 other submitted questions; I will not raise 2 of them here since they're more ideas rather than issues'
Miko says 'he did ask about how important "significant protection wristguards" were'
Miko says 'every attack lands in a place on the body (you just dont see messages to that effect)'
Miko says '(the reason you dont see meessages is because purple worms really dont have feet)'
Miko says 'if the blow lands in a place you have armour, the damage from the blow is reduced by that armour'
Miko says 'so yes, wristguards are important'
Miko says 'rings obviously aren't (in this example)'

Miko says 'we don't differentiate between fingers and hands'

Miko says 'as to real ac (ie, a chain mail shirt) and magical ac (like the ornate bronze ring)'
Miko says 'the former protects a single location'
Miko says 'the latter protects everything'
Miko says 'hence why the latter is (a) rare, and (b) expensive'

Zeed nods.

Gaheris says 'Can we assume that blows are more likely to land in certain areas, e.g. torso, than others, e.g. wrists ?'

Miko says 'yes you can'
Miko says 'the chance per location is based upon size of the locaton'
Miko says 'so the biggest chance is on the body of course'
Miko says 'oh, there is also a chance it lands "nowhere in particular"'
Miko says 'that handles things like cracks in the armour polating,e tc.'
Miko says 'the gaps between your leg plates and boots, etc.'
Miko says 'ok'
Miko says 'any other issues?'

Tarl says 'is anyone area of the body more life threataning than another?'

Miko says 'not at the moment'
Miko grins evilly.

Tarl nods at Miko.

Dream says 'That's a great idea, Tarl!'
Dream says 'Thanks!'

Tarl chuckles politely.
Tarl says '2 in one day... I am at an all time personal best :)'

Miko says 'ok'
Miko says 'let's talk about next weekend'
Miko says 'As you know, Alex is 10 next week'
Miko gives a round of applause.

Cerretano cheers wildly.
Mevman smiles happily.
Tarl shows his approval by clapping his small hands together.
Larnine nods.
Tjalve smiles happily.
Zeed smiles happily.

Miko says 'we've had a good number of folks log on because of this'
Miko says 'and a number of oldies say they'll be around next weekend'
Miko says 'of course if they actually show is another matter'
Miko says 'anyway, we will be planning some fun things for the weekend'
Miko says 'there will no doubt be scavenger hunts'
Miko says 'and free t-shirts :)'

Artagel bounces around.
Mevman drools down his front.
Zeed chuckles politely.
Cerretano smiles happily.
Zeed smiles happily.
Tarl chuckles politely.

Miko says 'I am also considering opening the Ardenfall Arena next weekend'

Larnine says 'ahh'
Zeed says 'ooooo'
Diggory chuckles politely.
Cerretano smiles happily.
Mevman says 'a new area?'
Genshu grins evilly.

Miko says 'a place where PCs can hold tournaments'
Miko says 'those who have played other MUds know what I'm referring to'

Larnine says 'Where we get to PK eachother?'
Dream says 'DEATHMATCH!'
Genshu licks his lips and smiles.
Larnine throws back his head and cackles with insane glee!
Larnine nods.
Mevman smiles happily.

Dream says 'The winner fights me and my trusty hammer'
Tarl says 'thats what i'm talking about'
Diggory says 'ooh goodie!'

Zeed says 'with or without con loss chace?'
Larnine giggles at Zeed's silly antics.
Zeed says 'plz'
Larnine says 'Wuss'
Zeed pouts.

Miko says 'there will be no death'

Zeed smiles happily.
Cerretano smiles happily.
Tarl says 'score?'

Miko says 'the usual "getting whisked away" once you "die" situation'

Zeed smiles happily.
Zeed says 'sounds fun 8*)'
Tjalve smiles happily.
Larnine says 'Should put everyone in there adn fight it out all at the same time. Little like that wrestling thing.'
Cerretano grins evilly at Larnine.
Gaheris says 'we could have tag-team events :)'

Tarl says 'will ghosts be able to walk about for the celebration?'

Miko says 'I'm not sure'
Miko says 'the ghost code would need some adjusting'

Cerretano raises his hand.

Miko says 'yes Cerretano?'

Cerretano says 'I think they should make mortals, so that they're encouraged to stick around'

Larnine nods.
Larnine says 'Agreed.'
Miko grins evilly.

Cerretano says 'And so they don't think it's more than just a one-time deal :)'

Tjalve nods at Cerretano.
Tarl says 'this was more directed to old timers'

Cerretano says 'so?'

Larnine says 'Is directed at everyone, just trying to encourage some of the oldies back.'
Larnine says 'and encourage newbies.'

Cerretano says 'However, I will say that having old timers make new players makes it difficult for everyone to know who's who'
Cerretano says 'But I think they'll work it out.'

Miko says 'ghosts can be turned into mortals rather easily'

Gaheris says 'If the old timers use the same name as before, what's the problem?'

Cerretano says 'Well, they can't do that without having their ghosts deleted. Right?'
Cerretano says 'Most wouldn't want that :)'

Mevman nods at Cerretano.
Mevman says 'Mevos wouldnt like to be a mort again, he's comfortable in his old age.'

Tarl says 'that would be nice for the old timers to get to interact and see old friends again'

Miko nods at Tarl.
Larnine says 'or you could make all ghosts Mortals. =)'

Cerretano says 'I was envisioning it as .. well, part of the time they are just socialising as ghosts, in the ghost world'
Cerretano says 'And the other part of the time, they're playing or questing or participating, etc'

Larnine says 'if you make them all morts again, then it may encourage them to mort and play again, whilst they still retain the same char name etc,'

Miko says 'we'll see'

Cerretano says 'But if you logged him on, and told all your old friends 'Hey, look for Mevman'...'
Cerretano says 'At least they'd know who you were (it's pretty apparenty, anyway, in your case) :)'

Mevman nods at Cerretano.

Tarl says 'i am sure the ALEX Allumni would want to be able to have a nice revisit but not all will want to play again'

Cerretano nods.
Cerretano says 'not even for a weekend?'

Mevman says 'exactly'
Mevman says 'no use forcing it down someones throat.'

Larnine says 'No one's making them play, half morts sit around the fountain half the time anyway'

Miko says 'true'
Miko says 'ghosts can be temporarily made mortal again'
Miko smiles happily.

Larnine says 'That would be good.'

Mevman smiles happily.
Mevman says 'put a glow on them or something..'

Miko says 'ok, anything else?'

Larnine says 'not I.'
Zeed shakes his head.
Mevman shakes his head.
Tjalve shakes his head.
Gaheris shakes his head.
Cerretano shakes his head.
Genshu shakes his head.

Miko says 'ok, a quick word about areas'
Miko says 'obviously we added a farily significant set of areas this past weekend'
Miko says 'good to see you all enjoying them (and dying frequently)'
Miko has a weird grin on his face.

Cerretano grins evilly.
Genshu grins evilly.
Zeed chuckles politely.
Tjalve hums innocently.
Mevman mutters something under his breath.
Diggory licks his lips and smile.

Miko says 'we will reboot shortly to add another set'
Miko says 'and during the course of next week, we'll see some more'

Tjalve smiles happily.
Mevman shows his approval by clapping his small hands together.
Zeed smiles happily.

Genshu says 'you'll still accept ideas on areas correct?'

Miko nods.
Miko says 'of course'

Tjalve smiles happily.
Tarl says 'always :)'
Genshu says 'I'll come up with something'
Genshu sinks deeply into his own thoughts.
Artagel looks at Genshu.
Zeed smiles happily.

Miko says 'ok, with that, this meeting is adjourned'