Weekly Development Activities
July 31, 2006
Check out the latest updates to the "Weekly Development Activities."
The goal for this feature is to give solid expectations on what you can
expect to see in future updates.
<!--
if (!document.phpAds_used) document.phpAds_used = ',';
phpAds_random = new String (Math.random()); phpAds_random = phpAds_random.substring(2,11);
document.write ("<" + "script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript' src='");
document.write ("http://ads.tentonhammer.com/adjs.php?n=" + phpAds_random);
document.write ("&what=zone:81");
document.write ("&exclude=" + document.phpAds_used);
if (document.referrer)
document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer));
document.write ("'><" + "/script>");
//-->
In QA
These items are in QA and should be a part of the next scheduled update.
Performance
We are making some changes to the Twilight Forge to improve
performance.
General
NEW - The House Kundarak banking system
will be opening a new branch in the harbor inside the Harbormaster's
House.
NEW - Tell messages will be displayed in
all chat windows by default (for new characters and new chat tabs).
NEW - Fixing a problem with the Mail UI
that causes attached items to not display.
Loot messages from other players will be tagged as loot messages
and can be filtered out.
Players will no longer get stuck while dismounting from ladders.
Monsters
NEW - Wildmen will apply the feeblemind
effect less often, generally on critical hits and/or their special leap
attack.
NEW
- The effects caused by the warforged quori humanoids in the WFT area
will no longer produce FX. Previously this on-damage effect could slow
down performance due to the spam of visualized effects.
Improved
the dragon's spellcasting AI and line of sight recognition. For more
information on possible changes to the dragon, please read
href="http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51101" target="_blank">this
thread.
Melee
oriented Troglodytes will move closer to their targets - they should no
longer attempt to make melee attacks from out of range.
Combat
The critical threat range will no longer be doubled on the 4th
swing in a combo.
The feeblemind bestowed by wildmen will be curable by
restoration.
Items
Vorpal weapons will behead monsters as per the
Players Handbook - you must roll a natural 20 and confirm a crit to
vorpal your target.
Niac's Cold Ray and Knock scrolls will be available at Lorna
Wyrmtouched, Arcane Scroll Vendor in the marketplace tent.
Items
that cast Featherfall are getting an upgrade in usability. These items
will be fast-casting and use a self-only version of Featherfall.
The
"of Destruction" weapon effect is a much weaker effect than intended.
To make the effect worthy of its cost, "of Destruction" will reduce the
target's AC by 4 the first time it hits. There is no saving throw for
this effect.
We are changing the names for Seeker +1, Seeker
+2, Seeker +3 etc. items. These effects are being renamed to be
consistent with other effect naming conventions - they will be named to
match the bonus they give (Seeker +2, Seeker+4, Seeker +6 etc.)
Laina the Excoriated will close her shop window properly.
The
Freedom of Movement effect on the Kundarak Delving Boots will ward the
movement effects of Storm Giant weather control. It will no longer ward
the Beholder's petrify eye beam or the Mummy's Despair ability.
Spells
NEW - Hazadill is having
such fun with Otto's Sphere of Dancing that he doesn't realize that he
is breaking the rules of the universe and casting area-of-effect Otto's
IRRESISTIBLE dance rather than area-of-effect Otto's RESISTIBLE dance.
This will be fixed.
We are fixing a long-standing issue with
dispel effects that causes dispels from the Dispel Magic spell to be
much harder than they should normally be.
Quests
NEW - Caverns of Korromar
We are removing the intelligence requirement from the Daanvi
Codex so any party member can use it to progress the quest.
Gnarl's Tomb
Old
Gnarl's ghost will open his door after a fight if he dispatches any
would-be thieves. This will allow parties to attempt him again without
resetting the dungeon.
Restless Isles
The Runetusk Commander will no longer speak to you after he
dies.
Several encounters are displaying their DM text repeatedly.
This will be fixed.
Under Development
These items are currently in development and are scheduled for some
time after the next update.
Performance
Overall bandwidth of the game will be reduced
another 1-3%, and certain problematic dungeons and laggy areas will be
significantly improved by 20-50% (when your client gets flooded with
information about objects in your local area).
General
We are pleased to announce the addition of the /showhelmet
|="" off=""> command which can be used to hide your helmet graphic.
We
are improving the combat/damage feedback mechanism. This will not only
eliminate "false" hits where the target would flinch but no attack roll
would take place, but also give better feedback as to the strength of
the hit.
Monsters
Widow type spiders will once again shoot functional webs.
Elemental Empathy will work properly on Earth Elementals that
have used their Earthgrab ability.
We
are fixing an issue with the death animations of Arcane Skeletons. They
will no longer "eat collectables" they should be creating.
Items
We are also working on exempting Kundarak Delving Boots from the
movement restrictions of Sleetstorm and IceStorm.
Spells
Please disregard the previous entry regarding the
Fragment of the Silver Flame. Protection from Evil is being worked on
to bring it in line with D&D rules.
To discuss the weekly development activities visit the official
href="http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54210">DDO Forums.
href="http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47816">