Data Feeds on the Horizon

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Commentary

If you played EQ1 and are familiar with Magelo, you’ve probably been clamoring for SOE to let us outsource the whole EQ2Players/EverQuest2.com data stream to fan sites who will put in the hours to produce accurate, powerful search engines for the EQ2 data stream. If you have, or are just tired of EQ2Players and want to see something new, this news from Zoltaroth should brighten your day:

The current [data] feeds server can generate XML, YML and JSON for consumption. It isn’t quite ready for prime-time yet but it is getting really close.

   

US Server Merge Schedule

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Updated 3:15pm PST. And um, again today.

Subject to change, yadda yadda, here’s the updated U.S. Server Merge Schedule and a note about European Server Merges. From Rothgar:

Tonight will complete the second merge of U.S. servers leaving us with 4 remaining merges to perform (8 servers).  During the next two merge windows we will be performing two merges at a time.

  • Najena -> Unrest – IN PROGRESS on Dec 14, 2010
  • Mistmoore -> Permafrost – Dec 15, 2010 at 10:00pm PST (Dec. 16 06:00 GMT)
  • Kithicor -> Butcherblock – Dec 15, 2010 at 11:59pm PST (Dec. 16 07:59 GMT)
  • Befallen – Oasis – Dec 19, 2010 at 10:00pm PST (Dec. 20th 06:00 GMT)
  • Nektulos -> Guk – Dec 19, 2010 at 11:59pm PST (Dec. 20th 07:59 GMT)

The schedule for the remaining non-U.S. servers will be announced after Jan 1st. We understand that the extra downtime during this process is an inconvenience and we appreciate your patience as we work through it.  We have some fun promotions coming up in December so keep your ears open for announcements.

Najena -> Unrest Server Merge Update

Written by Dethdlr on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Rothgar has posted the following update on the Najena -> Unrest Server Merge so far to include info on worldwide chat:

Update:

The merge process is moving along and still on schedule.  Nothing interesting to report, so I guess that’s good.

The chat system has been brought down as you’ve probably noticed.  This is because we are moving all universal chat data for Najena characters to the new server, Unrest.  As soon as this process is complete, we’ll bring chat back up for everyone.

So it looks like chat may not be down for the entire time of each merge. This is definately good news.

Another progress report from Rothgar:

Update:

The merge is still progressing very well.  We are hoping to bring chat back online around 1pm PST.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for bringing Unrest up earlier than anticipated.

Server merge titles will be granted after the next hotfix.  We found an issue with the auto-consume code that was causing players to not receive the title.  If you’re reading this and were part of the Butcherblock Blackburrow merge, and already have the title item in your inventory, this item will convert into the title after the next hotfix.

Note: He meant  Blackburrow, not Butcherblock. I mix them up sometimes as well. It happens. 🙂

And yet another progress report from Rothgar:

Update:

The merge process is still going very well.  The chat merge is complete but we are running one more maintenance script while it is down.  This script should recover mail that was orphaned after the Everfrost/Blackburrow merge.  As soon as this is done, we will bring chat back up.

Ice Wolf Mount Video

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News

Last night, a new video of the Ice Wolf Mount reward as part of the Velious Winter Rewards coming in February was posted. For some reason, the video is hosted by Facebook and initially required a Facebook account to view it, but this has been remedied. Remember, the Ice Wolf Mount will be one per account and requires an active subscription for December 14, January 17, and February 8, and that you purchase Destiny of Velious sometime between when it becomes available and December 31, 2011.

Fan Faire Update: Those who went to Fan Faire and get the expansions as a gift for attending will automatically get the February rewards if they meet the other qualifications.

Check www.EQ2Players.com tomorrow to see the unveiling of the December rewards. December rewards will be granted to qualifying accounts on Wednesday, December 15th.

Offense/DPS Racial Abilities Were Removed for Balance… with SC?

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Commentary, Daybreak Cash

So you may remember that Racial Traits/Traditions were nerfed adjusted in Game Update 53 to remove all uniqueness, including all offensive buffs and abilities such as Ratonga bite and Sarnak fire breathing. From Frizznik:

Offensive buffs have been removed. We did this to help balance races better against each other.

It seems this ‘balance’ applies to only free races. Left out of the initial version of the The Freeblood: More Information and Images announcement on EverQuest2.com was this Racial Trait:

Another Racial Trait, “Bloodletting,” grants a minor Lifetap spell to occasionally drain health from targeted enemies.

Do you think those offensive buffs and attacks previously available as Racial Traits should be restored in light of this announced Freeblood ability?

Discussion on the EQ2 Forums

Prepaid Subscription Card Users Not Eligible for Velious Winter Rewards

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News

This breaking news comes from an SOE GM (we are withholding the name):

As part of having an actual subscription through us is the fact that you get to use the bonus items unlike if you use a prepaid card. They get the special perks because they use us direct rather than going through a third type payment option. So yes, there is a benefit to have an account through us rather than a pre paid monthly gaming card. It may not seem fair that a player may have been playing for years with prepaid cards and feels they deserve the items, but the fact is that players who come to us direct made a commitment and thus reap better rewards.

Another thing with having a subscription is that we do give discounts when you purchase a 3 month or even a 1 year when you use a credit card. I hope that this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please let us know and we will be happy to help.

From the EQ2 Forums.

Updated Server Merge Timetable

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Things are moving fast in the Server Merge process, and even we are having trouble keeping up. From Rothgar:

We plan to have all U.S merges done by Monday night, the 20th. International merges will come after the first of the year due to database maintenance that must be performed before we can start the merges.

Wednesday night at midnight we will perform two more mergers. Then Sunday night at midnight we will perform the final two U.S. mergers.

I’ll post the server names sometime tomorrow with the corresponding day that we are planning to do the merge.

AA Resetting Fixed

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Rothgar has given us the all clear on those AA Reset issues:

It looks like we’ve found the issue related to the AA reset and coming up with a plan to fix it as soon as possible. Even though we’ve seen a few posts of people mentioning this happening prior to the merge and on other servers, we are currently only aware of a merge-related issue. There may be something more obscure happening to cause this problem elsewhere, and if it comes up we will look into it as well.

Guild Hall Amenity Research Assistant Just Won’t Leave

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

So it looks like Research Assistants weren’t so ready and willing to depart Guild Halls, despite yesterday’s hotfix. It looks like guilds did receive a refund, but the NPC is still on he list of Amenities and now counts against the number of amenities any guild can have. Fortunately, Rothgar has fixed the fix and we should expect it in the next scheduled hotfix.

Najena -> Unrest Servers Merge Tuesday

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Rothgar checked in with this announcement on the EQ2 Forums:

Monday morning will be a short maintenance in order to prepare for more upcoming mergers. The offical announcement should follow soon, but this should be a typical 7am downtime with 30-60 minute ETA.

Monday night at midnight we will begin our next merger with Unrest and Najena. Estimated downtime as with the last merger will be 24 hours but we hope to have servers up earlier. Several minor issues with the last merger have been fixed so we expect this one to go smoothly. We will do our best to keep you updated with the merger progress as it is happening.

Covic: Serious About Velious Armor Choices

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Art, Appearance, Housing, Expansion News, Grouping

After the launch of Sentinel’s Fate, players quickly noticed that a huge percentage of the level 81-90 gear had armor appearances from either the newbie islands, or level 40-49 armor sets, just recolored.

It turned out that new armor appearances had been built, but very few had been wired up, so most of the armor had placeholder appearances. It took at least a couple of months for another art build, and much work behind the scenes to get the situation resolved. Even still, there are considerable swaths of armor appearance choices which have remained limited.

Covic does not want a repeat of this and wants players to be genuinely impressed with the wide array of Velious armor options, with not simply re-textures and re-colors, but reworkings and new geometry (bolted-on pieces) to create truly unique appearances.

After the jump, his complete quote.

Cronyn Sinks Teeth into Vampire Lore

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News, Game Updates & Maintenance

Ok, that was bad even by our standards… 😉

Anywho, Cronyn has put his two cents in on the Vampire Lore, to try to reaffirm that this isn’t just an afterthought to leverage other popular vampire franchises:

Heya folks! I thought I’d pop in here to help a bit.

So, I wanted to assure you that the lore for the vampires is indeed tied to bigger events and characters. The piece that was posted was mostly intended to be more of an overview, and was intentially more vague. I was hoping to get you all talking, and they start releasing more pieces fo the puzzle to have you work into your discussions. Unfortunately, it clearly did not work how I intended it to, and I apologize for that. What you see (and have surmised) is not the entirety of their origin, and there is more still to be told – I didn’t mean to give the impression that this was all you would be seeing.

Again, my apologies, everyone. I’ll try to fill in the blanks here sooner rather than later.

Thanks again, guys. You all are awesome.

AA (Alternate Advancement) Resetting on Login / Spending Point

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Since the most recent hotfix (and believed to be unrelated to the Server Merges), some players are reporting complete resets of their AA (Alternate Advancement) points each time they Log Out or Spend an AA point.

AA Mirrors to the Rescue

A workaround that some players have discovered is to use your AA mirror once and that apparently stabilizes the resets. If you don’t have an AA Mirror, you’ll need:

  • a reflective smoldering shard — drops off trash mobs in Sebilis; since few people rae farming Sebilis, these shards have skyrocketed from 1p each to 5-7p each on some servers
  • any tradeskiller of any class with 40k faction with either the Coalition of Tradesfolke or the Ironforge Exchange
  • a common location for you to meet, since it must be done via commission crafting (it’s NO TRADE not HEIRLOOM)
  • a house to place the item in

By the way, if you would like a website to help testing out AA setups, there is no finer website than Beetny’s EQ2 AA Calculator. It allows you to test out different ways of spending your points, and no cost to reset. 🙂

Also, if the “Are you sure you want to spend a point in XX ability?” prompts are about to get on your last nerve, go to your Options, make sure it’s set to Advanced and not Basic. Now navigate to User Interface -> Game Features and find the setting labeled “Confirm Alternate Achievements“.

Long Term Solution

SOE, specifically Rothgar, is aware of the issue, and some of the underlying causes and fixing this bug is a top priority for Monday or possibly Tuesday. In the meantime, use the workaround described above.

   

Guild Names, Mail, and Server Merges

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

While there were some interesting changes to how disputes over Character Names were handled in the first of these new Server Merges, Guild Names stuck with the original rules established long ago. During a Merge, if both servers have a guild of the same name, the one created first keeps its name, while the other receives an unceremonious “x” suffix.

While it has been a relatively smooth Server Merge between Blackburrow and Everfrost, it has been marred by some Guild and Player Name issues, other scheduled server downtime and maintenance, and some niggling issues with Mail.

More after the jump…

Unveiled: Revised Images & Info of Freeblood Race

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News

From EverQuest2.com:

We’ve got more info today about the new Freeblood playable vampire race that’s coming to EverQuest II! Read the initial lore story we shared yesterday at this link, then be sure to check back next week when we’ll have additional details and a new lore story that explains even more about this new race and its place in Norrath.

We also have some new screenshots to share, showing a variety of looks, and some of the special features available with the Freeblood. Because the nature of an MMO is ever-changing, we’re not necessarily done with the appearance of the vampires yet. There may be more adjustments and it’s still a work-in-progress, but we wanted to share a sample of the current state of the race’s female appearances.

One of the special features of the Freeblood is a Racial Trait, “Reveal Inner Self,” which lets the character change from attractive to demonic in appearance. Another Racial Trait, “Bloodletting,” grants a minor Lifetap spell to occasionally drain health from targeted enemies.

Editor’s Note: The highlighted section was added after publication.

Everfrost Players Not Receiving BG Tokens

Written by Feldon on . Posted in PvP/BG/Proving Grounds

Everfrost players have reported that they are not receiving Battlegrounds tokens for either winning or losing Battlegrounds events, and also not receiving any updates on Battlegrounds Daily Quests. Rothgar has been made aware of the issue and it’s being looked into.

From the EQ2 Forums.

From Rothgar:

Ok, thank you for the info. It’s almost 11pm here tonight and there’s nothing we could do to fix it this late but I promise we will be on it first thing in the morning to determine the problem. Unfortunately its too early to tell if a fix will require a new build and downtime or something as simple as a configuration change.

I’ll keep you posted as I find out more information.

Covic: Building the Freebloods — New Screenshots Soon

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News, Game Updates & Maintenance

Covic (Dave) on the EQ2 Forums, designer of the new Freebloods vampire race gives some insight into the design and issues:

I agree that most of our players want to have some freedom in customizing there characters. With the vampires I want there to be enough color options with eyes, hair and skin that players can get the unique look they want. When I make the color wheels for the custom colors I will have most of the color combos pointing to more of a dead look with greens and blues. But I dont want to take options from players that they might want.

New screens should be up soon. Still dialing in some polish and hair combos.

These are the first models that use normal maps instead of bump maps, the models are higher poly count then other character models but still within reason. The most time consuming task is getting outfits to fit on the new geo and the facial custom bone skinnning. But its all be worth the extra effort.

I will give more info about the models when the new screens are up. They are near completion but still doing some tweaks.

EverQuest2.com pulls Vampire screen shots

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Expansion News, Game Updates & Maintenance

It looks like those EverQuest2.com Freeblood vampire screen shots we saw weren’t ready for prime time. SmokeJumper on the EQ2 Forums:

The screenshots that were released were not intended to be public-facing. Those have been taken down from the EQ2Players site and will be replaced with real shots soon.

Those screenshots were not approved. Real ones are coming later today that will hopefully reassure you that they’re cool.

He even went this far when asked why such awful screen shots saw the light of day:

I cannot disagree. Those shots should never have been published.

Character Name Cleanup Script Still Running

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

Some characters still have x or xx after their name, despite meeting the qualifications necessary to NOT have those extra characters. Namely having the character with that name, with the longest playtime.

From Rothgar on the EQ2 Forums:

Our rename script was interrupted by the server maintenance last night, so every name conflict has not been resolved yet. We’ve restarted the script and the remaining name conflicts should be resolved in a couple of hours.

UPDATE:  the Character/Guild Name Cleanup Script has completed running. If you still have an issue or wish to dispute the name that was chosen for your guild or character, please open a /petition.

2 Days of Chat Channel and Login Snafus Caused by “Perfect Storm”

Written by Feldon on . Posted in Game Updates & Maintenance

SmokeJumper and Rothgar have been weathering the storm of the Blackburrow -> Everfrost server merge, which knocked out in-game chat channels such as 1-9, 70-79, and cross-server chats on ALL servers for 24 hours, followed by 12 hours of an even deeper chat blackout on ALL servers, with guild chat, group chat, public channels, cross-server chat, login to SOE games, and even access to the SOE forums all intermittently interrupted.


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