WP

In a recent thread, Exodus said:

Exodus wrote:...I do think Ghost and the other admins should have tasty items available for donations to reward how much they put into the shard.

And I agree with that so much that I took some time to think of and look around for things that aren't currently available on WP that players might be eager to donate for, with an eye on game balance. This isn't a personal wishlist, just an attempt at creating discussion and generating helpful ideas (and shard support!).

1) Item Renaming - It doesn't affect gameplay in the least but it can enhance players experiences greatly. Whether it's someone role-playing Bilbo Baggins who'd like to name his sword 'Sting' or someone who'd like to rename a simple stack of iron ingots for deco effect, I think people would enjoy this.

2) Increase bank box limit/backpack item or weight limit - I know there's a bag of holding but at 25 million gold, it's not accessible to everyone. The bag of holding (or this convenience) is very handy but not a gamebreaker as far as I can tell. It would create more hoarding but players do that anyway, which is why I think people would donate for it. We all know that less items = less lag but we love those pixels too much to let them go.

3) Custom Sailing Vessels - It's 2015 and fishermen are still rocking the same beige wooden plank boats from the 1997 launch.... after seventeen and a half years of this, I'd pay for something new.

4) Personal NPC other than a banker - Maybe you want an Animal Trainer at home so you can collect a BOD without getting up off the barstool or maybe you'd like to put a Rancher out in your customized animal pen. Either way I think players would go for this.

5) Currently Unavailable Ethereal Mounts - Anything that staff doesn't think is absolutely ridiculous is fair game because whether it's an ethy panther or an ethy Terathan Avenger, someone out there will want to own one.

6) +Stat Static Items - The Armor of Crafting is cool and I'd like to get some myself at some point. But how cool would it be to also have house addons that provided bonuses? Like say, a Mythic Forge that gives a +5 (or greater) bonus to the blacksmith using it? A Dark Summoning Pentagram for Necromancers? An Alchemist's Laboratory? Would probably need to be account bound so they weren't made public.

7) Cool Deco - I think this would be more for the gold or token donation stone, and I know there's already a ton of stuff to buy - but there's also a world more still out there. Server birth rares for example, like the 2-story statues, plough, ore cart, or something unavailable like phoenix armor.

Great Ideas, keep 'em coming! I will touch on some of these

Ingwe wrote:1) Item Renaming

Craft an Engraver and see what it will let you rename. Don't know if it will do weapons so we might have to look into expanding that.

Ingwe wrote:I know there's a bag of holding but at 25 million gold, it's not accessible to everyone.

We think that it is accessible to everyone. Its' just a longer term goal. When crafting the Pines, we wanted to have things that would take a while to achieve, because if you can do everything the first week, whats the point? LOL

Ingwe wrote:3) Custom Sailing Vessels

Unfortunately, we are limited to the artwork that the client provides. Falkor has done some amazing work by incorporating artwork from the later clients into our version, but I don't think that custom boats are a possibility. Falkor, correct me if I am mistaken.

Ingwe wrote:4) Personal NPC other than a banker

We could add to the list of NPCs, but honestly I think we have placed all of 3 bankers in 6 years. Doesn't seem to be a high demand for these?

Ingwe wrote:5) Currently Unavailable Ethereal Mounts

Have you checked out the ethereal crafting system?


Keep the ideas coming!

Thanks Ghost

Regarding your reply, Falkor just confirmed that Engravers only allow players to rename containers. It would be wonderful if you expanded it to include other items (or offered it as a donation service)! Regarding the new ship idea, I have no idea what is or isn't possible but in my head I'd just envisioned some new deck paint or different sails, not a complete overhaul of the vessel (though that would be awesome).

About the bankers, I have an idea about why they might not be selling. There's a Conch Shell available for the same price that you can take on-the-go which is a lot more convenient as a buyer or adventurer. The only use for them would be for sellers to offer buyers a convenient way to break checks but 1) There isn't a really strong market here so it'd take a long time just to recover your investment and 2) It's not that hard to quickly mark a rune, hit your bank recall, break a check, and recall back. From a practical perspective, maybe only the BOD producing NPCs are any more useful than the banker is, but I think that they're more interesting. A banker with no bank and no other reason to be around is pretty meh, but an Alchemist in a magic-themed room or a Shepherd out in the pen with the sheep could be pretty cool. Maybe.

I read about the ethy crafting system in an old MOTD post but I haven't been able to find anything more about it on the forum and haven't stumbled onto the right tool in-game to craft them with. I'll keep looking

Hehe, we haven't given out many conch shells either

We can't add boats or even modify their colors without a client patch.; they are special cases in both the client and the server. Boat movement was one of the hardest parts to make for the RunUO developers.

I'm hesitant to rename items because it's one of the few ways we have to introduce new deco items. If anyone's sword could become "The Sword of Omens", it removes the uniqueness of other items. Then we'd get names like AzzKikr or OutaBubblegum.

Ethereal mounts are crafted with the whittling knife (which you can make with the carpentry tool). You'll need driftwood, ethereal dust, and white pearls to make items with the knife. Only mounts are craftable.

The "barkeep contract" lets you purchase a barkeep, which can then be customized into any of a couple dozen professions. It must be within your home but can still make for a more realistic atmosphere.

+ stat items that work via proximity would take quite a bit of coding to implement. It's something that we can look at long-term but really, there is still so much being worked on already that it'll just have to get in line

GhostRiderGrey wrote:Hehe, we haven't given out many conch shells either

Lol... shows what I know Recent discussion in public chat makes me think that maybe it's the checkbook that makes NPC bankers (and maybe conch shells) less desirable though? Sounds like it does it all....

Thanks very much for the in-depth reply, Falkor! I'll try out the barkeep ASAP and it might have taken me years to figure out the whittling knife. I do like figuring things out for myself but eventually you get to the point where you just want the answer + you don't care how you get it. I completely agree with what you said about item renaming if it were left in the hands of players to manage. If it were a staff-provided service though, like placing any house past the first, all names would have to be approved. I think that would be the only way to do it, if you wanted to do it at all. Looking forward to seeing what you already have in store for WP!

I had an idea of a great donation award, Fel harvesting tools, like a Fel-Axe that gives double wood when lumberjacking. These would have limited uses and account bound.

Just a thought

Donation suggests:
1. Pet level increase deeds.
Perhaps +1 through +5, accordingly as donations, to allow pets to achieve the maximum level of 30, and the final, "Pet Armor" skill availability. Or, just a +5 deed, with cap still at level 30. I would donate to go from 29 to 30, if I had some skill points to allocate.

2. Pet Skills Reset deeds, to allow for the extra 75 skill points needed, when pets get their final ability, or to amend skills for certain fights.

Respectfully, Sting.

I'd definitely like to be able to re-skill pets. I don't see how it could make pets overpowered or suddenly useful in areas they aren't useful in now. But it would make pet powerscrolls a whole lot more useful to the people who like to use pets.

I was thinking to myself at work today - and this is a dream, not a suggestion - that it would be immensely cool to be able to tame paragons. I never understood what the point in paragon ostards, paragon horses, and such are since they don't drop good (or any) loot and are untameable. There isn't a point in doing anything except running right past them and that's kind of a shame.

After reading all those wonderful ideas, maybe a carpet that is other than the colors currently have. I know I would pay to have a green carpet. Also, on the pet skills re-set... maybe something on the line of the new str, intel and dex potions? I seldom use my Steel because I do not want to "wear him Out" . I could replace him but 1. Steels are hard to come by now-a-days, and he is one of two level 30's currently on this shard. Just my thoughts.....