123761-3-17-2015-morning-coffee-the-alt-edition

== Content ==
			
I've got double-vision....
 
 
Last night I logged in kind of late (9pm) and just decided to hang out.  I think most of my guild was doing that; Parthenia and Koob were going over AMP, Ability, and Rune builds for our next vet dungeon run.  That was good, since when I want to relax, I level.  So I hopped on my Engineer, Vincent Hawthorne, and got into it.  I hadn't leveled normally since the drop except as little bits at a time, so this was my first time just leveling again since Drop 4.
 
It went great!  Even though I was on relatively late Eastern time, I was never all alone, and there were often multiple people in each quest hub.  A MMP group was going on, players were asking for and getting help in /z (in fact, I got to help with Topple the Colossus).  All in all, Whitevale seems a LOT more full, even outside Thermock, than the last time I went through it on Donne.
 
More to the point, I'm really enjoying DPS Engineer.  I don't know if I'm using an optimized build, though.  I use Bolt Caster over Lightning Gun, I only have my artillerybot as far as bots go, and I didn't know if Target Acquisition was worth the two points, so I haven't taken it yet.  However, it's just a lot of fun to be running around with a massive, high-tech shotgun blasting things in the face.  So it looks like Hawthorne will be the next up to 50.
 
What kind of alts are you working on?  What kind would you like to work on?	
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			I'm going to guess that because you didn't mention it, this alt is exile? 	
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Good Morning Everyone!
 
Here is some breakfast to go with Vic's coffee :)
 
I logged in last night for about an hour, but didn't do anything but stand in Thayd and talk to people. Still had fun, though. Yes, it is easy to amuse me :P
 
On Spousal, I want to get my vet dungeons going. I need to learn them, again. It's been too long since I have done any dungeons, regular or vet. Thinking maybe this weekend we can do some dungeon learning.
 
I really need to get on Yalanna and start leveling her again. Maybe I will concentrate on her this week, if not needed on Spousal.
 
Talk to you all soon, work is calling.
 
Have a good day.	
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I'm going to guess that because you didn't mention it, this alt is exile? 
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Howdy erm morning, I dont come here often but thats because I can't log in.
 
Whats going on? :<
 
Also I love strawberries... Can I have some?	
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Morning!
 
Sophie DuPree is my alt :D
 
I took my time leveling her, leveled Tailor along with it. It took less than 6 days (game time days) to get her to cap and Expert Tailor with 2 pieces of Epochos (spelling?) gear on with great stats!!
 
My other alt  :ph34r: is a fledgling Technologist at 15 and pretty much stuck until I can grind up all the mats.
 
*noms a strawberry with Fran*	
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If I find time to level Domside again, I'm sure that'll be bigger news!   :lol:
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*noms strawberry and a waffle*
 
I'm relapsing back to LoL for a bit until WildStar can fully support PVP. :<
 
Cmon carbine, help me kick the LoL habit.
 
Edit: Seriously why can't I log into WildStar, is the game down? or is my net just broken? I get to the Authentication and "cant connect to NCSoft" Edit again wow my ISP decided to cycle my IP again no wonder I couldn't connect.	
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Howdy erm morning, I dont come here often but thats because I can't log in.
 
Whats going on? :<
 
Also I love strawberries... Can I have some?
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{| class="blockquote"
Howdy erm morning, I dont come here often but thats because I can't log in.
 
Whats going on? :<
 
Also I love strawberries... Can I have some?
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			I'm gonna get some actual coffee, like, feels like today is gonna be one of THOSE days, you know?	
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I also can't log. But I have no strawberries for you, only tears. ;_;
 
Yesterday I realized that my computer was running like garbage, and I was really tired of my bulky, unresponsive wireless keyboard, so I held my breath and reinstalled Windows. Then I went out and bought this Razer Deathstalker keyboard. It's not actually as cool looking as it sounds, but it's 2lbs and the keys are chiclet-sized. Oh, and the letters glow green. That's a neat change from my Logitech, which, well... most of the letters were wearing away from the billion keystrokes per day I output. :P
 
Anyway, that led to a decision: Do I reinstall Wildstar? After seeing the recent PTR offerings I felt pretty let-down and decided to let my sub expire. 90 iterations of skate park building blocks, and a bunch of reskinned stuff we got last drop, plus the two coolest items are gated behind Popular with Starcomm (a move that really bothers me— I absolutely do not want to see the top decor being locked to a reputation grind).
 
SO. Now I have a question for you folks. Am I overreacting? I mean, obviously whether or not we keep playing is our own choice. But am I the only one who feels that the next patch is (currently) a disappointment for builders?
 
I want to continue playing but the PTR aftertaste is just so bad. On the flipside, Thaydfest's housing contest showed off some fantastic plots, and enthusiasm the likes of which I haven't seen on Dominion side much lately. That, and the apparent fix to plot entry lag spikes/falling through ground, have made me want to give the game another chance.
 
Maybe I should make a thread in the Housing forum and poke Lamenth about the possibility of more decor being added to D5 before launch. Hm...
 
 
As to alts, I leveled Uta Gaus to 14th last week to get ready for a new nature-based plot. I like the changes made at low levels and would consider bringing her up higher to get some of the gated decor. But I'd really like to see more alt-friendly QOL changes before trying to get another level 50.
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I'm gonna get some actual coffee, like, feels like today is gonna be one of THOSE days, you know?
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I had trouble sleeping so I was up around 4:30 this morning. Logged on to Wildstar, it patched for maybe 3-4 minutes and all was well. I logger out about 7:15.
 
Just FYI.	
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I don't know, I've never been tempted yet to let my sub relapse, especially with building options.  It took me a month to build the Shadowcaster, and God forbid I ever update Seeger's Skulldance Bayou.  Another housing project would be another probably month lost doing nothing else.
 
In the end, it may be my attempts to keep a broad perspective.    Architecture got a lot last patch.  Housing can do without a HUGE development patch for one roll through.  PVP and to a lesser extend PVE needs it more.  And, also to be fair, if not getting fifty new decor pieces is the reason we got our new costume changes, new vanity pets, etc, then that's a good trade.  Those costume changes are worth the hatch plug and curved building blocks.
 
EDIT:  Wait, they fixed the redraw bug that made us fall through the floor?  Did that work for chairs, too?
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Well I'm not so much upset that we're not getting a HUGE patch. From my view, we're getting almost nothing at all. :(  As well, I'm not just bothered by the idea of getting light content for my niche, but that the people behind this drop decided to produce 90 variations on one decor. I mean, the skate park thing bothers me because this is an epic sci-fi game and not Tony Hawke's Nexus. That's a subjective thing. But even if I ignored that, I would be upset if any single decor type saw this many iterations in one drop. I just can't process why they wouldn't add like 30 and give us more stuff like stairs. Diversify.
 
At this point, with a weak housing drop in the future, it would be 5 months before anything interesting potentially happens. That's a pretty dragged out wait, and I'm guessing I'm not the only builder who's been running out of unique decor to use. I guess my view is that we should be getting more useful decor in a drop as time goes on, not less!
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I understand the disappointment in having 90 of the same thing in the next drop and agree that there should be some diversity in there. I would love to see other building blocks that were not wood or ugly chua metal. Hopefully, one day they will come. And, hopefully, Architects would be able to make some of the new decor. *crosses fingers*
 
For now though, I am happy having as many different things as we do now for building our homes. I have several ideas that will utilize the new decor we just got in drop 4, as well as older things that can be transformed.	
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Mmm... coffeee. Actually I'm home today.  The HVAC guys are back to install a chimney liner due to updated building code compliance rules.  That means I get to play Wildstar all day!  Actually there are a few responsible adult things I need to attend to. 
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Last night I logged in kind of late (9pm) and just decided to hang out.  I think most of my guild was doing that; Parthenia and Koob were going over AMP, Ability, and Rune builds for our next vet dungeon run.  That was good, since when I want to relax, I level.  So I hopped on my Engineer, Vincent Hawthorne, and got into it.  I hadn't leveled normally since the drop except as little bits at a time, so this was my first time just leveling again since Drop 4.
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Well, a lot of people wanted those skate park decor.  I mean, that's been on the forums since I started in open beta.  Then again, I guess the issue is that, if I go with another plot and just build a second (or third if you count Seeger's as completed in its 300 state), I'd use a completely different aesthetic and decor.  I'd essentially end up using a ton of new stuff.  Hell, even that "90 variations on one decor thing" is something I've been personally asking for.  If I had an option to get things in different colors and materials, I'd be stoked.  I hate having to make everything out of wood 2x4s or only having the worn wooden floor look when I want a redwood or walnut option.
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I'm going to guess that because you didn't mention it, this alt is exile? 
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Getting closer to finishing DA:I... wrapped up Emerald Graves last night, accidentally forgetting my intention to log into WS and work on housing. XD Oops.
 
Alt-wise, the top one on my list to level on my own right now is my exile engineer, but if I'm going to be leveling with the SO, it will be on our Dominion alts. Purely so he can get access to resources (i.e. money) to better fix up his Dominion's house. xD I'm having a lot of fun with the engineer... She's been ridiculously OP since level one; it's just absurd. Soloing stuff I never dreamed of soloing on my warrior alt. Heading into Farside, so it's going to be a pretty quick ride to 50 from here on out.
 
@Esper: For what it's worth, I hear you on the complaint about the "skate park" stuff. I'm not really a fan of all the variations on wood stuff we have. Kind of boggles my mind that they'd put such important pieces in but only in wood material in a science fiction game full of spaceships. >_<	
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Well, a lot of people wanted those skate park decor.
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Maybe but that's a special purpose set when there's a desperate need for some more general purpose sets.
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Honestly, all I really want in general that wouldn't take a whole drop or two to develop are some building block recolors.  If nothing else, that doesn't have to wait for a drop.
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I'm not saying getting decor isn't nice, but those skate park decor are useful for more than just RPers.  Joe Shmoe making his housing plot between his PBG queues might actually make a skate park and use it.  I think we do have to be at least somewhat cognizant of that.
 
Honestly, all I really want in general that wouldn't take a whole drop or two to develop are some building block recolors.  If nothing else, that doesn't have to wait for a drop.
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			For Arachnaas : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em4Xfzz01UU	
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 I have several characters on Dommie side, I just don't play them any more. Like Kitty, my social structure is Exile side now.
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Good morning!
 
Hope you're al well and in good spirits! I'm unfortunately back at work now form long vacation grrr
 
However I had a great time watching Thaydfest and especially fashion show. I've started on working on the prizes for the winners and they're turning out pretty good. I've also begun work on illustrations of Wildstars dungeons beginning with my favourite.
 
 
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I'm gonna get some actual coffee, like, feels like today is gonna be one of THOSE days, you know?
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That leaked soundfile of the uncensored chua is staring to play in my head. You can only have a two faction game if both groups have social structures, and communities so that people get to talk with other players, and group with other players. Once people start leaving one side so they can play with friendly people everything goes to cupcake. 
 
Then new people come in and complain. Or they go to the larger faction and say that things are ok, which makes the other people think that their complaints are not taken seriously, who then go and tell other people about the sad state of the game and of the rose tinted glasses of the players. 
 
You get what I am saying here? The current structure is strangling the game, and until I hear some sort of feedback from carbine about it, I am going to assume they just don't get it. 
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I'm sure some folks will make use of it. I mean, there are several neat skate courses I've seen already, so the demand exists. It's just so small compared to the demand for more flexible building blocks. :unsure:
 
I made a post on the Housing forums. Hopefully someone will reply with good news or an explanation. I could definitely live with a drop that didn't appeal to me directly, if there wasn't this echoing distrust that makes me think, "Why? Why this? And if this could fly, what next?"
 
Rehabilitate my faith, Carbine! :P
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Good morning!
 
Hope you're al well and in good spirits! I'm unfortunately back at work now form long vacation grrr
 
However I had a great time watching Thaydfest and especially fashion show. I've started on working on the prizes for the winners and they're turning out pretty good. I've also begun work on illustrations of Wildstars dungeons beginning with my favourite.
 
 
On days like that, just best to kick back ,relax and just let the river take ya
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That leaked soundfile of the uncensored chua is staring to play in my head. You can only have a two faction game if both groups have social structures, and communities so that people get to talk with other players, and group with other players. Once people start leaving one side so they can play with friendly people everything goes to cupcake. 
 
Then new people come in and complain. Or they go to the larger faction and say that things are ok, which makes the other people think that their complaints are not taken seriously, who then go and tell other people about the sad state of the game and of the rose tinted glasses of the players. 
 
You get what I am saying here? The current structure is strangling the game, and until I hear some sort of feedback from carbine about it, I am going to assume they just don't get it. 
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While I have five Dominion toons unfortunately my entire social structure is Exile side.
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You get what I am saying here? The current structure is strangling the game, and until I hear some sort of feedback from carbine about it, I am going to assume they just don't get it. 
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Good morning!
 
Hope you're al well and in good spirits! I'm unfortunately back at work now form long vacation grrr
 
However I had a great time watching Thaydfest and especially fashion show. I've started on working on the prizes for the winners and they're turning out pretty good. I've also begun work on illustrations of Wildstars dungeons beginning with my favourite.
 
 
On days like that, just best to kick back ,relax and just let the river take ya
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They may get it, but we're not talking about something they could even include in six months and then directly test.  Maybe if they were just giving us the ability to faction switch, but I don't know if that will solve the problem.  Anything else, that's going to be a nightmare to code.
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So while I imagine that's in the future, that's a very tall order.  That's going to take the devs months of work on that.  You'll get at least one light housing patch waiting for that.
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On days like that, just best to kick back ,relax and just let the river take ya
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I almost wrote a big "disagree" post, then realized you (I think) are using 'flexible' to mean we can manipulate the decor properties. That's totally not what I meant, haha. That would take an absurd amount of time, I'm sure, and I don't even think it's necessary at this point or the near future.
 
By 'flexible' I meant decor that can be easily used for more than its intended purpose. Like, a corner chunk of skate track with wood/caution stripe skin is not flexible at all, it won't suit many builds and it'll be hard to cobble. Whereas, sadly from my point of view, all of the 90 pieces of track would be super useful if they were just plain skins of concrete or metal. 
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That led me to joining the Blazing Saddles, which was a very smart move on my part. The people in Blazing Saddles are fantastic and I would not leave them for any reason. I have finally found a home in WildStar. :wub:
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I think this is why I haven't been exile-side much, just about everyone I know is Dominion-side. I like hanging around with my friend and guild, it's so fun.
 
Good morning everyone!
 
Anyhow, for alts! Lately I made and have been levelling this guy:
 
/snip
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Yeah, but like I said, you might be able to get decor remodels in between.  That might not even require guys like Lamenth, that may just be an art department thing where they need new textures for existing pieces.  In the end, we use a lot of things not for their intended purpose, I think what you're asking for, though, are things with no intended purpose.  Like an actual pipe or something.
 
 
 
Really quickly, just list the steps you think would be required to make just that change possible, and then describe what specific benefits we'd get from that work.  Not being condescending or anything, I'd just like to know what you think.
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*drags self in* Good... afternoon folks. I feel like it's nap time. But first, my lunch (because it's WAY past breakfast):
 
 
I wish my ravioli looked this awesome, but it's definitely tasty for sure. 
 
Last night I didn't get into WildStar as I had planned for two big reasons. The first, WE GOT SECOND MONITORSSSSSS!!! And then we promptly figured out that our graphics card didn't have a VGA hookup, and the monitors didn't come with the DVI cord to hookup to the video card. -_- So I promptly drove back out to the store to buy two stinking DVI cords and hook up and set up our monitors. By the time they were set up and dinner was made, it was getting close to 730PM and I still had to put together the last of the Lifestyles of Nexus videos for the winners. By 1130PM I'd only gotten five of them up on YouTube, and I had to be up close to 5 hours later. So, the rest of them are getting love when I get home from work and will be added to the post. :)
 
Last night Daggers had a "recruiting faire" where we left a good chunk of officers available to answer questions, bring folks on board, and guide folks on using the website, TS, etc. Tonight I'm running a Crimelords of Whitevale normal for achievements for guildies. (And then I'm going to be chatting it up with Avidguru and Dahk for Wildcast Podcast! I'm excited!)
 
Also, thank you for offering your art for ThaydFest, Typrop! I've heard nothing but fangirling (or fanguying) from winners about it. 
 
If y'all haven't yet, we're looking for feedback to make the NEXT ThaydFest even better than this one! So please be constructive and let us know. :)
 
Also also, I know that Pinkachu does a Crib of Nexus thing, but I was wondering if anyone does videos of plots? While it took some work, I had a lot of fun going around and spending time discovering things on people's plots, and I'd be interested in starting up a weekly YouTube video to showcase ONE house and let the owner do a tour (get them in TeamSpeak, let them chat about what went into their build, etc.). Thoughts? And if it's something folks would like to see, how should I go about finding folks who want to share their plots? I know a lot of time, plat, and effort go into these.
 
Hope everyone has a fab day, and maybe I'll be able to sneak on after my stupid meeting (which interferes with Zero to Fifty!! WHY?!). 
 
/waves and hugs	
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Give a similar way for players to communicate with each other much like how devs do. If they have to use an outside system to talk to each other in game then I'm not really sure what to say. 
 
Benefits include. Simple lfg as you can rolodex players that you already know even if they are currently on the other faction. This will help with dungeons, adventures, world bosses and events. Help to coordinate community events. new player help, ect. All the things that social circles already do, just without limiting the people by what faction they are in.  
 
This may be a 2 faction game, but the players are all wildstar players and should be able to communicate. 
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Also also, I know that Pinkachu does a Crib of Nexus thing, but I was wondering if anyone does videos of plots? While it took some work, I had a lot of fun going around and spending time discovering things on people's plots, and I'd be interested in starting up a weekly YouTube video to showcase ONE house and let the owner do a tour (get them in TeamSpeak, let them chat about what went into their build, etc.). Thoughts? And if it's something folks would like to see, how should I go about finding folks who want to share their plots? I know a lot of time, plat, and effort go into these.
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I'm assuming that in-company communication isn't done via a game client element.  There is one way we talk to each other across factions, and that's account chat.  That's not the issue, and that may be the cause of the underestimation.  The problem is that we are faction-split from circles.  The root cause of this is deep in the client, it's not a matter of typing a few lines that say, "This works across factions now".  The code that defines a circle now has to be above the faction code line, determined before that's taken into account.  One you hit that faction divide, everything stops as far as unity goes.  That's why I said this only works if there's a faction swap mechanic, that allows you to change the root source.  Anything else, like allowing members of circles across factions, you are either trying to directly code a bypass (which goes through every single layer where faction is taken into account and is told it still matters so that you can tell it the one instance it doesn't matter) or you're trying to code a brand new circle system that exists on the account level or above the faction level, which doesn't work for any other group communication system.
 
Let's say you do this at the account level using the pre-existing architecture and you essentially allow people to add their whole accounts to circles.  That uses as much pre-existing stuff as possible and touches the least elements of code.  You'd need to build an entirely new chat system into the game that comes from the account level, since account whispers and a chat server are entirely different in terms of how chat is passed and distributed.  You'd have to make sure that the new circle system lists accounts, not players, necessitating an entirely new UI function coded to receive and send to a chat server presently serving the account, and not character, level.  This requires you to add another server of some kind if no server above that level is capable of also hosting the central chat daemon for the circle.
 
Even something this simple is going to take someone a very long time, as long as that's all they were exclusively working on.
 
The problem is that the benefits of this specifically aren't as useful.  This is only useful for the player that regularly plays both factions, but doesn't have their friends on both factions account-added (since obviously your account is determined above your faction, as you can play both).  This might also help people organize PVP somewhat better.  However, right now, there is already a personal function that can tie players together across faction, so we're talking about adding a group function that serves essentially the same purpose.  The benefits of this are a bit less clear, since unless you go through the rest of the trouble of going around the faction block, players on those separate factions still can't join a party or raid together, trade with each other, duel with each other, join the same BG, or speak to each other in the world without Killroy.  Circles now can connect people to do all of that, so they aren't added to the best of their strengths there.
 
So Carbine will most likely not take that singular step simply because you can add accounts to your friends list and see/whisper people in the other faction.  At least if cross-faction communication is all they're doing.  We may yet see the faction barrier become permeable or less visible in order to allow more cross-faction communication if more cross-faction activities come with it.  I just don't see this happening specifically for communication purposes; it's not easy enough to be viable for what good it will probably end up doing.
 
To be honest, I'm also not sure how much it would actually help faction imbalance if it does work, and a lot of Dominion players are suddenly connected by chat to Exiles who are constantly telling them what they're doing, but not able to actually join them on it on their own faction.  It's hard to say, but my gut feeling is that you'd get more people permanently rerolling Exile if the disparity exists on the scale that I've sometimes heard mentioned.
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I don't think anyone is doing this on Dominion side. I'd definitely be interested in showing off my places— and it wouldn't be totally old hat for you, as you missed the headmaster's quarters at the Academy! I knew making the access point a glass square was a bad idea... (in truth, I just forgot you were coming to make the video, haha)
 
I could also help generate a list of Dominion spots.
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*Stumbles in, panting*
Phew! Not had much breakfast today, so am pretty hung- *sees ravioli* GIMMIE GIMMIE!
 
Regarding Vic's first post, not much of an alt person. There is only ONE of me!
 
No looking at me funny! Okay okay...have an exile alt. Will be using him to spy on houses soon. Happy now?!	
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Sometimes, Vic, you write an awful lot of stuff about things I assume you have no access to. :P  Are you a Carbine insider or what?
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Oh and on the topic of cross-faction circles, I think a cross-faction housing circle would be both popular and useful. It's probably the first thing I would do if they implemented the functionality for it.I don't necessarily need to have my faction equal the Exiles in numbers, I just don't want to feel lonely, and if I could chat with people on both sides of the pond while I build, that would make me feel better for sure. And it works on a functional level to some degree, since auctions are shared. If an Exile wrote, "Damn, I need a Dominion Cage for this concept", I could reply with "OK, I'll post one on the AH for 50g".
 
Account-friending wouldn't work well for this either, given the numbers involved and the casual nature of the chat. And then, you know, just because someone shares my interest in housing doesn't mean I want them tracking my every movement. :P	
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I have lore to work on though.
 
8 different races, their evolution, and what not...
 
ugh
 
I definitely bit off more than I can chew :/
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Oh and on the topic of cross-faction circles, I think a cross-faction housing circle would be both popular and useful. It's probably the first thing I would do if they implemented the functionality for it.
 
I don't necessarily need to have my faction equal the Exiles in numbers, I just don't want to feel lonely, and if I could chat with people on both sides of the pond while I build, that would make me feel better for sure. And it works on a functional level to some degree, since auctions are shared. If an Exile wrote, "Damn, I need a Dominion Cage for this concept", I could reply with "OK, I'll post one on the AH for 50g".
 
Account-friending wouldn't work well for this either, given the numbers involved and the casual nature of the chat. And then, you know, just because someone shares my interest in housing doesn't mean I want them tracking my every movement. :P
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I'm assuming that in-company communication isn't done via a game client element.  There is one way we talk to each other across factions, and that's account chat.  That's not the issue, and that may be the cause of the underestimation.  The problem is that we are faction-split from circles.  The root cause of this is deep in the client, it's not a matter of typing a few lines that say, "This works across factions now".  The code that defines a circle now has to be above the faction code line, determined before that's taken into account.  One you hit that faction divide, everything stops as far as unity goes.  That's why I said this only works if there's a faction swap mechanic, that allows you to change the root source.  Anything else, like allowing members of circles across factions, you are either trying to directly code a bypass (which goes through every single layer where faction is taken into account and is told it still matters so that you can tell it the one instance it doesn't matter) or you're trying to code a brand new circle system that exists on the account level or above the faction level, which doesn't work for any other group communication system.
 
Let's say you do this at the account level using the pre-existing architecture and you essentially allow people to add their whole accounts to circles.  That uses as much pre-existing stuff as possible and touches the least elements of code.  You'd need to build an entirely new chat system into the game that comes from the account level, since account whispers and a chat server are entirely different in terms of how chat is passed and distributed.  You'd have to make sure that the new circle system lists accounts, not players, necessitating an entirely new UI function coded to receive and send to a chat server presently serving the account, and not character, level.  This requires you to add another server of some kind if no server above that level is capable of also hosting the central chat daemon for the circle.
 
Even something this simple is going to take someone a very long time, as long as that's all they were exclusively working on.
 
The problem is that the benefits of this specifically aren't as useful.  This is only useful for the player that regularly plays both factions, but doesn't have their friends on both factions account-added (since obviously your account is determined above your faction, as you can play both).  This might also help people organize PVP somewhat better.  However, right now, there is already a personal function that can tie players together across faction, so we're talking about adding a group function that serves essentially the same purpose.  The benefits of this are a bit less clear, since unless you go through the rest of the trouble of going around the faction block, players on those separate factions still can't join a party or raid together, trade with each other, duel with each other, join the same BG, or speak to each other in the world without Killroy.  Circles now can connect people to do all of that, so they aren't added to the best of their strengths there.
 
So Carbine will most likely not take that singular step simply because you can add accounts to your friends list and see/whisper people in the other faction.  At least if cross-faction communication is all they're doing.  We may yet see the faction barrier become permeable or less visible in order to allow more cross-faction communication if more cross-faction activities come with it.  I just don't see this happening specifically for communication purposes; it's not easy enough to be viable for what good it will probably end up doing.
 
To be honest, I'm also not sure how much it would actually help faction imbalance if it does work, and a lot of Dominion players are suddenly connected by chat to Exiles who are constantly telling them what they're doing, but not able to actually join them on it on their own faction.  It's hard to say, but my gut feeling is that you'd get more people permanently rerolling Exile if the disparity exists on the scale that I've sometimes heard mentioned.
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Oli hand me that bomb. 
 
See "To be honest, I'm also not sure how much it would actually help faction imbalance if it does work" would have sufficed. Instead you buried it under a lot of stuff that you only think might be true. 
 
I think being able to ask your friends to help with something is of great use, the fact you disagree makes little sense to me. 
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*Stumbles in, panting*
Phew! Not had much breakfast today, so am pretty hung- *sees ravioli* GIMMIE GIMMIE!
 
Regarding Vic's first post, not much of an alt person. There is only ONE of me!
 
No looking at me funny! Okay okay...have an exile alt. Will be using him to spy on houses soon. Happy now?!
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Why would you think that anything I stated would be otherwise?  How would they code it so that the architecture didn't behave that way?
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			Oh hey, Carbine just added some more story lore! Get ready for your tissues, though. It's about Arboria. T_T	
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As a note Esper, judging from any of the other new/daily zones, you'll hit esteemed with the area just by doing the first round of quests >_>, that's hardly grinding. I got access to the popular Defile decor by spending like an hour and not even repeating any quests.
 
Anywho, work has stalled on the Cutts Co plot, primarily because I kindof want to change the design from what its turning out to be. The shape doesn't seem chua-y enough and I'm rethinking exterior designs for a bit. I'll talk it over with Nikson and maybe do an overhaul of the ship. We'll see.
 
Otherwise got Django Cutts to level 44! I have now equipped him with the latest in chua power armor! To go with his mini-mecha-space-marine-tryhard-cowboy vibe.
 
 
 
 
Also my guildies found these on Imgur... http://imgur.com/a/jDQhp   http://imgur.com/a/4u2VL	
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Also my guildies found these on Imgur... http://imgur.com/a/jDQhp   http://imgur.com/a/4u2VL
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How do you think being you makes you more likely to know what carbine is up to than I do. You seem to be arguing from the position that you know what is possible and I am asking for rainbows. Tell me about their systems architecture Vic! and show some sources. 
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As a note Esper, judging from any of the other new/daily zones, you'll hit esteemed with the area just by doing the first round of quests >_>, that's hardly grinding. I got access to the popular Defile decor by spending like an hour and not even repeating any quests.
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At the very least, if you think I'm overstating the problem, I'd like to know how you think the architecture would be setup differently and why you'd think that so that I can learn.  I didn't think I made any drastic leaps in logic.
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Well, literally, look at the system.  The account system is handled from NCSoft's side (you can see that the game and account login servers are independent, with the login going down with NCSoft's servers when they update).  Account obviously exists above the faction distinction because you can whisper across it (and you can make characters from two factions on the same account).  Once in the game, however, the character connection is cut.  So I can see when my account friend is on his Dominion character, I can whisper him through his account, but I cannot directly whisper his character.  If I spoke near him, my text comes out gibberish because of my faction.  Instances switch entire characters, lines of dialogue, etc. because of faction, but your base reaction is always tied to faction, even if the system bugs.  The two lists do not cross-reference (and are certainly two separate lists, as you can plainly see when you're trying to perform a client-side system operation on someone of the opposite faction.  
 
Using this evidence, it's pretty clear that accounts exist above the game client level, but once you log into a character, almost everything you do is filtered by faction first.  There's no way this game works backwards that I can see, referencing faction after the fact.  If I hit someone with a sword swing, the server isn't judging that person to be an Exile and negating the damage after the fact, it's checking hostile reactions first. That's why I'm asking how it could workin reverse, knowing what we know about faction.  That's not something as up-in-the-air as how those actual chat sessions are logged on the back end, but we can assume that chat daemons work the way chat daemons always work.  They receive input from one person, they send it to all the rest of the active recipients, and the client has to do this with the server to make it work.  Therefore the only way the chat server can connect across faction is to do it the only way it is currently being done that we can see, from account to account.
 
I'm perfectly fine with you thinking I'm wrong for whatever reason, but I would like to know why you think that way.  You did say...
 
 
 
 
I'm totally fine with you believing I don't know what I'm talking about.  I can live with that.  But I do think my observations were a bit more fair than just assuming they don't understand the issues, irrespective of how difficult I'm certain the process is and what potential gains they may get from it.  At the very least, if you think I'm overstating the problem, I'd like to know how you think the architecture would be setup differently and why you'd think that so that I can learn.  I didn't think I made any drastic leaps in logic.
 
And I will say again, this all may well be worth it if more cross-faction activities (such as cross-faction housing plots) are also included.  However, I just don't see that being the case without that content.  Going around the faction barrier's already proven exceptionally difficult on one side, much less the other.  Exile on Exile BGs took, what, a whole Drop of development time that we know of and that didn't even cross the faction line, just made sure the queue would recognize a full team and be able to flag them?  It's fairly obviously not a trivial system element they can code around very easily.
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I'd like to lightly step in, if I may. :P
 
There's basically no way to prove or disprove what you're writing in a case like this, yet you go into great detail and technical language to present your beliefs. It's something I would applaud in most scenarios but on a gaming forum it can be frustrating, as it's almost impossible to respond in any productive way to something like this. At least keeping things short and simple makes it fast and improves clarity, though that's also not always possible. ^_^
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I wish it was possible.  I really would try.  But the statement, "Yeah, it's a more trouble than it's worth," doesn't seem to respect Ara's opinion on the matter.  I really don't mean to be flippant, so if I'm going to say something like this, I like to bring my context and evidence with me.  That way people know why I'm saying what I'm saying and what I mean by it.  Sometimes, I can work around it, but it's really hard for me to say that it's more trouble than it's worth without going into the trouble I see and what I think it would be worth in the end.  Otherwise, Ara'd get the opinion that I was dismissing, rather than examining, the possibility.
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I think over the last few weeks I've come to understand and accept you, Vic. You're just a big Mechari in a Mordesh body.
 
It's OK, some day you'll realize that your highly structured, analytical approach would best be utilized by the commanders of the Dominion. :P
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I think over the last few weeks I've come to understand and accept you, Vic. You're just a big Mechari in a Mordesh body.
 
It's OK, some day you'll realize that your highly structured, analytical approach would best be utilized by the commanders of the Dominion. :P
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Despite the fact that mechari do't have ears, I stand by my statement from the dominion thread. I want to hear ideas.
I care deeply for this game and the people playing it. 
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That in itself wouldn't be a horrible thing for me, as I have no prob with the Biodomes being gated behind top rep. But those are really nice, large-sized FABs, and only one among other rewards from the rep group in most cases. In the case of D5, we've got one lame-sounding reward from T1 rep, and then nothing until the final tier. Me no likey.
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I have no problem at all dealing with mordesh that are secretly mechari. 
Today is just one of those days that I feel like
 
And so I would prefer raw data on the best course to fix something that I perceive as an issue. Compounding my frustration is because of my lack of data, all of my rebuttals are also only opinion based. 
 
Despite the fact that mechari do't have ears, I stand by my statement from the dominion thread. I want to hear ideas.
I care deeply for this game and the people playing it. 
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Lost the quotes.  Grr... this forum software is -wretched-.  Considering how awful phpbb and some of its competitors are that takes talent.  Whatevs.
 
@Vic, Account Friending is super intrusive.  There's value in keeping your alts anonymous and you lose that with AF's.  At least we have account whispers but that's a very poor substitute for being in the same chat channels.  Heck there'd be a huge value in arranging PvP matches and events and the RP'er's would be over the moon.
 
With the old guild we'd get around that with our VOIP server but not everybody joined and it was -hugely- distracting when doing story missions (on SW:TOR where they were actually interesting).  These days I avoid it because I RP often.
 
@Ara, I'm only intimately familiar with Bioware's NWN code from a reverse engineering perspective.  Soooooooo much hard coding.  Utter novice mistakes left and right.  Personally I think Carbine's engineering talent is much better than Bio's but if you're looking for it you can see similar constructs here.  Too many things here have the faction duality baked in.  I'd hazard a guess that the job to make the code base faction neutral would be large enough that they'd need to get clearance from NCSoft to fund that project.  In other words, WildStar 2.
 
That said, cross faction, cross realm chat -should- be relatively simple.
 
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I really don't understand why Carbine doesn't utilize the rep vendors for decor more. It would actually motivate people... Granted, it would also be frustrating for alts, so maybe I should just be quiet. xD
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Otherwise, all we can do is wait and see what Carbine has time to do or has up their sleeves.  If there's anything I can do without hurting my guild's people, though, just let me know.  They're always my first priority because, of course, they're the people who threw in their lot with us.  It's the major reason I don't spend time on Dominion these days; I'd feel bad kind of leaving the Exile-only players to their own devices as GM of their guild.  They deserve better than me already, the best I can do is what I've got.
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I think most of the things Carbine can do will take a long time, but I think they should get started.  I think that's the problem is that there aren't any easy fixes or temporary solutions they can really implement.  The complexity of the faction barrier really hampers their ability to get stuff out to us quickly, and nothing would take longer than straight up removing the faction barrier.  About the quickest solution I can see would be a faction transfer option for players and guilds because that requires only one system above the faction level, one that just flips the switch.  I mean, that would still be a complete PITA to get everything to transfer with you and change faction of necessary, as well as making sure everything functions right when you get there.  It does seem easier than rebuilding an entirely new system above the faction line, though.  That can be done largely with pieces in place and an account-level tool that just kicks you to character creation and copies over your inventory (wow, I just made that sound easy... it's just easier, I think)
 
However, I'm not sure how good of a solution that is, since I can see that exacerbating the problem when pragmatic Dominion simply switch faction.  A more nuanced one would be a seesaw faction transfer option, which allows, at a certain threshold, one way transfers but at more median ranges a two-way transfer.  For instance, let's assume that one faction has a 2/5 deficit.  They wouldn't be allowed to transfer off, but Exile players and guilds WOULD be allowed to transfer on.  And once we get closer to, say, 4/5, two-way transfers become available.
 
At the very least, it would help with what we can do as a community.  Basically, all we can do as a community is try to pull together with what we have.  You can see Nephele doing just that with Thaydfest, trying to include Dominion in the housing contest.  Maybe, next year, we can have a universal festival with a Dominion contingent on the other side, or we can try to have a completely different festival in a more neutral location that includes things we can do together.  That rally race, for instance, would work both ways if we could get instructions and rules to both sides simultaneously.  More world PVP coordinated activities might also help.  On the Dominion side, I'm not sure.  I'm not often there anymore, so I'm not as familiar with the current scene leaders.
 
About the only other thing we could do, if inclined, is to switch factions and try to provide a face for the Dominion.  I'd actually be inclined to do that if I weren't GM of the Blazing Saddles already.  I'd hate to leave my guild in the cold, since they're one of the best groups out there, and I'm not sure how interested most of them would be in leaving all their characters behind in the interest of community support (and my love of manicured gardens).  Or maybe even switching characters back and forth, since that might stretch us too thin, leaving half of us on Exile side and half on Domside.  I don't think there's much else I could do but tell people that they should definitely stick with their Dominion characters if they like the faction better and try to direct them to guilds on that faction.
 
Otherwise, all we can do is wait and see what Carbine has time to do or has up their sleeves.  If there's anything I can do without hurting my guild's people, though, just let me know.  They're always my first priority because, of course, they're the people who threw in their lot with us.  It's the major reason I don't spend time on Dominion these days; I'd feel bad kind of leaving the Exile-only players to their own devices as GM of their guild.  They deserve better than me already, the best I can do is what I've got.
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@Vic, Account Friending is super intrusive.  There's value in keeping your alts anonymous and you lose that with AF's.  At least we have account whispers but that's a very poor substitute for being in the same chat channels.  Heck there'd be a huge value in arranging PvP matches and events and the RP'er's would be over the moon.
 
With the old guild we'd get around that with our VOIP server but not everybody joined and it was -hugely- distracting when doing story missions (on SW:TOR where they were actually interesting).  These days I avoid it because I RP often.
 
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I don't think up and leaving Exiles is the way to go. Having the entire guild switch brings the same issues of people not wanting to play specific races ect. I don't know that it would make people very happy, and part of the point is to bring helpful Visible people to dominion. 
 
The short term fix might be something as simple as "Dominion alt Thursday" or something to that end.
Thaydfest was a great showcase for exile players as to the vibrancy of the game, and it's players. It was also conveniently during this 10 day free cycle. Now for those players that didn't roll exile, they didn't get to see any of that, and hearing about it from the forums makes them regret their choice a little. So the choices are for a Dominion guild to come up and shoulder that kind of community work, or for the pool of community minded players to be able to foster things on both factions.
 
I can't ask the Saddles or the Blackdaggers to switch sides, just to help foster the same kind of community when they have time.  
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I agree that only Carbine can really address the issue. But I doubt they will. Call me skeptical, call me pessimistic, but when it comes to large-scale problems... they have not instilled a lot of confidence in me.
 
And it's not just a Carbine thing, either. Most MMOs I've played have had pretty poor response to big issues like this one.
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I don't think up and leaving Exiles is the way to go. Having the entire guild switch brings the same issues of people not wanting to play specific races ect. I don't know that it would make people very happy, and part of the point is to bring helpful Visible people to dominion. 
 
The short term fix might be something as simple as "Dominion alt Thursday" or something to that end.
Thaydfest was a great showcase for exile players as to the vibrancy of the game, and it's players. It was also conveniently during this 10 day free cycle. Now for those players that didn't roll exile, they didn't get to see any of that, and hearing about it from the forums makes them regret their choice a little. So the choices are for a Dominion guild to come up and shoulder that kind of community work, or for the pool of community minded players to be able to foster things on both factions.
 
I can't ask the Saddles or the Blackdaggers to switch sides, just to help foster the same kind of community when they have time.  
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I'd love to help foster the community in any way I can--but the amount of time and work that goes into ThaydFest before it even happens (3+ months worth) is not something that could be tackled by the same people for both factions without burning out a good chunk of the community.
 
In the interim, I suggest Dominion host and advertise smaller events--costume contests, a race, a lore trivia contest in Illium, etc. I'd be willing to attend/help out for smaller one-shot events on my Dominion toon.
 
I do agree that we can help with community building, but at the same time, Dominion need to have some sort of drive to continue such things after folks help out. ;)
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@Vic, at this point I'm advocating open factions of some type, but I don't expect it any time soon. I also wouldn't throw any blame at Carbine for not taking this particular path. But doing nothing, and more importantly, saying nothing, leaves no reasonable option in my mind but to think of Carbine's effort in this sphere as... nothing. :P  And nothing gets no respect or thanks.
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At issue is that Carbine's got very little they can do that would be quick or easy.  One thing they've probably learned is not to open their mouths if something's going to take a long time (we still haven't forgotten that they want all classes for all races after this long).  They've certainly learned that they catch a lot of heat when they say they can't do something or, worse, that the time they'd put into it wouldn't probably be weighed as efficiently as something else in the game's long term health.  Players don't like hearing that, understandably.  I mean, at this point, there are members of the community that might take that news well.
 
However, I don't think we need to go too far into the past to see how ugly it gets when Carbine tries to be candid with us on that level, especially about sensitive topics like the faction issue.  It's not everyone, but enough people on the forums and Reddit have gotten their pitchforks and torches before that Carbine is very wary when they tell us things we don't want to hear.  Some people still haven't forgiven that honesty when displayed in the past.
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I'll simply say that as I've told people that have PMed me and sent me tells since I got back that I am always more than willing to help with anything Dominion or Exile. What frustrated me before and even frustrates me now to a small degree is a bit of what Esper mentions with lack of interest/attendance, low population, etc...I probably could have and should have done more or made better choices, but I couldn't think of them and it gets to you after awhile. 
 
probably wording this insanely wrong and will get ripped a new one, but iono...
			
				
	Edited March 17, 2015 by Typrop	
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People on the forums and Reddit get their pitchforks and torches out any time they feel like it. Frequently for no intelligent reason at all!
 
I don't think any game dev should put away palliative communication just because they're afraid of a reaction. If that reaction is justified, then they're due for the criticism. If it's not, then they can safely ignore it. Either way it goes, I can't see any way that this game's reputation can float further down the crapper than it is right now, haha.
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I'd normally agree, but since a lot of the pitchfork stuff is still what's told to me by people when I talk about the game that they took as the gospel, I am not sure I'd want to risk another flamewar either.  Either way, they've been a LOT more quiet lately, I think specifically because of that.  It sucks; I'd love if the devs could be completely honest and give us daily complaints about their jobs as easily as I can, but then I'd still be doing the Nexus Report TL;DR if we could.  Instead, I get to do the Zero to Fifty TL;DR, because the general public can't be trusted to be mature about things if a dev comes on and talks frankly about development issues and concerns.
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			Oh hey, finally got to watch 0-50 after the fact, and they visited the Shadowcaster!  They seemed impressed, and they didn't even get to see the garden area or the computer lab!  And the state rooms and crew quarters.  And the shooting range.	
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			I've said multiple times that i would love to start a guild on dominion side to be my main home, but I unfortunately don't have the time to do it myself or i would have already.  If anybody be interested, i'm still game for this.  But so far, i haven't heard any interest from anybody, though i do not know many people Dom side, and most people already have homes.	
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			eh I don't think guild forming would be much help. Perhaps a circle used to help with organizing events would be a better route as I think most people are pretty much settled i where they are now with their own interests. Working in tandem with dominion wsrp and the general populace and tossing about ideas may be more beneficial and yield more productivity. That's just my opinion though.	
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eh I don't think guild forming would be much help. Perhaps a circle used to help with organizing events would be a better route as I think most people are pretty much settled i where they are now with their own interests. Working in tandem with dominion wsrp and the general populace and tossing about ideas may be more beneficial and yield more productivity. That's just my opinion though.
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Well, as kind as it is for you guys to offer to drop in Dom side, I really don't think its necessary. 
 
I agree that Dom side rp is certainly quieter than Exile side, and that we have less obvious community leaders (and a lot of very prominent RPers that do not put forth a very good image of the Dom rp scene imo). However, I think the best way for the Dom rp community to evolve is to just let it be. Having new people come in and trying to kick or jump start entrenched groups rarely ends well, and I simply don't see that turning into anything but frustration for all parties. 
 
People will step up or be pushed up by the Dom community eventually, it doesn't need to be forced to happen. 	
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Well, as kind as it is for you guys to offer to drop in Dom side, I really don't think its necessary. 
 
I agree that Dom side rp is certainly quieter than Exile side, and that we have less obvious community leaders (and a lot of very prominent RPers that do not put forth a very good image of the Dom rp scene imo). However, I think the best way for the Dom rp community to evolve is to just let it be. Having new people come in and trying to kick or jump start entrenched groups rarely ends well, and I simply don't see that turning into anything but frustration for all parties. 
 
People will step up or be pushed up by the Dom community eventually, it doesn't need to be forced to happen. 
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			I got morning coffee.	
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