DevChat Log - March 14th, 2009

[Max]

Tyndaleon asks, "Is it your intention to release Emu 1.0, aside from the toggleable 'debatable' issues like the Jedi path, in a truly 'pure' emulator of Pre-cu conditions, or do you intended to fix/balance issues with combat professions in a more natural way, say the way the devs originally had planned and even stated to fans and correspondants at the original Fan Fest & before the 1st Corr. Summit?"
<kyle> We certainly intend to release 1.0 as close to exact to publish 14.1 as possible. As for fixing some of the issues long plaguing pre-cu, that will be up to the servers. SWGEmu will maintain the vanilla release, however, the team will consider those issues with regard to Suncrusher.
<kyle> As well as future expansions of the game.

kasea asks, "Will, specifically Suncrusher, be having any non-original pre-CU features.. For example, New content and or new vehicles and the like?"
<kyle> Of course, it will start out from vanilla and then go from there. There is no intention to stop at 1.0, there is so much more that can be done.
<kyle> We plan on developing a more immersive storyline to go along with the sandbox play.

Gut asks, "How many people can you get on a server while keeping the server playable? I've participated a several events where roughly 300 people involved " + everyone else doing other things was enough to crash the server."
<kyle> Server crashes are not limitations of the server software, but bug in the features. The server will be able to handle well beyond the maximum capacity.

DangleJangles asks, "Is there any priority to systems being implemented. Crafting first, mobs and dungeons second or is all being done at once."
<kyle> http://www.assembla.com/spaces/swgemu/milestones
<Ramsey> All major systems have a task created on the milestones page
<kyle> You can always view what is going on here.

`Josh asks, "With new stuff being added every week, is there anything in particular that you the devs, would like to see us focus on more? For example, a specific profession or aspect of the game? In regards to testing."
<Ramsey> Every monday, we will do a major update of the tasks list (which is also in the TC MOTD). Throughout the week, we will add/remove tasks based on the feedback we've recieved from it.
<cRush> Currently, we are seeking testers for the beginning game. This will test progression through the game and we ask that fresh characters be made to test the starting professions without utilizing the gungan traders in any way.

Dedaskalion asks, "will the comp "mini" suit be a viable option again versus having to wear the complete set of comp armor??"
<cRush> We are implementing a configuration for server administrators to address these types of controversial issues.

wes asks, "I have noticed a lot of areas are unpopulated with wildlife. Why is that?"
<kyle> There currently isn't a random location creature spawner.
<kyle> Creatures are manually entered via scripts at the present

Z asks, "Will Suncrusher have a Vet Reward program?"
<cRush> We aren't prepared to disclose details about SunCrusher at this time

Mirage asks, "How is development coming on implementing lairs, etc so that the mission system can move ahead and give more PvE content?"
<cRush> We have been discussing methods of improving the implementation of lairs so that we can roll this feature out soon. As Ramsey continues his great work on missions, we will all be working together to integrate these features.

Ellayn asks, " Do you have any guidelines you'd like us to follow while helping to work on bug reports - especially for making notes on other people's reports?"
<Ramsey> Community commentary on bug reports are extremely useful. Aside from providing missing info from the original report, testing weather it can be reproduced reduces the load on the Q/A team
<Ramsey> There are no guidelines as to how commentary could be structured, but if a piece of information is witheld from the report - make sure we know
<kyle> I find it extremely helpful to see a community member who has answered or commented on someone else report
<Ramsey> ^ I feel more inclined to take the issue if there is some validity to it. Not that issues are less important w/o commentary

Austen asks, "When will NPC/Creatures attack at a normal (2 second) speed rather then the current 1 sec attack speed that limits new players from being able to grind any marksmen or brawler (providing the tools to grind those professions needs to be added too)"
<kyle> Please, take time to look at other peoples reports, and either confirm that you have the same issue, or add useful information, or even answer it if it's something that you know.
<Ramsey> The best way to get our attention for fixes like attack speed would be to file a ticket. We don't automatically catch small things like attack speed
<Ramsey> Attack speed, specifically, should be a quick fix.

madman158 asks, "Are you going to put in specie trats like zabraks equilibrium?"
<cRush> Yes, innate abilities are in the works, but are not a super high priority at this time.

Stettin|work asks, "Will the loot drop % be relatively similar to Live-Pre-CU, or will it be adjusted? In my opinion, the loot drops for exceptional components highly imbalanced PvP and PvE play. If they have to be included, I sugged highly limiting exceptional and legendary drops so that the high end weapons will be created by players, not by NPC loot drops."
<kyle> If it's pre-cu, then yes (Generic Answer for all questions like this)
<cRush> This type of change will be left up to individual servers.

jat asks, "So what does "maintain the vanilla release" mean?"
<Ramsey> http://www.swgemu.com/forums/showthr...sion+statement
<Ramsey> ** Vanilla refers to an exact replica of SWG live servers at a given moment in time.
<Ramsey> In our case, patch 14.1 precu.

Baird asks, "seeing as quests weren't a big part of the game, from what i experienced in pre-cu, are you planning to implement questchains in the future?"
<Ramsey> SWGEmu will maintain a vanilla release, but SunCrusher does have room to expand from that
<kyle> As part of the more immersive optional storyline, I wouldn't be surprised to see more quests. Think back to the Cries of Alderran

Zeak asks, "What is the current status of player structures/cities?"
<cRush> I have been working hard to fix the bugs and unfinished feature remaining with structures, player housing, installations, and even the framework for player cities
<cRush> The work is nearing completion so we should see some testing coming to TC soon.

Isostran asks, "What can we contribute to the overall developement and financing of the project in regards to time and hard work on behalf of the dev team?"
<kyle> We always can use donations, as you can read in the latest biweekly, we have upgraded to a new larger server for the test center. Most of all, just testing the @tasks and being on the server helps tremendously.
<Ramsey> (the biweekly that is coming out tomorrow)
<cRush> We can always use more pre-cu information gathering as well.
<kyle> And of course reporting detailed bugs

frc asks, "About RubberBanding, I've notice a increase in it, and its becoming worse. Is that a code issue, or it will eventually disappear when running a live server with more capacity?"
<kyle> Rubberbanding in acceptable latency conditions, is usually because we are either; 1) Running the debugger/valgrind or 2) Doing intensive logging on activity. In order to catch memory corruptions and other problems that can't be easily identified on our local development servers, we must run the Test Center in debugger mode.
<Ramsey> Debugging and logging slightly less noticable when the TC makes the switch to our new server
<Ramsey> It's definately a pain to test while they are running, but it's the best way to make sense of some bugs

Austen asks, "When you say we need more pre-cu information, what kind of information? Is it possible to list on the forums so the players & lurkers can find them for you...?"
<cRush> Anything relevant to Pre-CU. There is an infinite need for guides relating to any Pre-CU aspect. This can either corroborate old information, asserting its validity, or it can bring to light new features that may have been overlooked.
<Ramsey> The best place to post information you find is either in the General SWG discussion or in the appropraite profession forums

wavingstrider asks, "Will suncrusher recieve a complete wipe before 1.0, or will the testers get to keep thier characters?"
<cRush> SunCrusher will act as a production/beta server for it's first few months of existence while we hammer out any exploits and bugs left in the system. When we feel that this has been accomplished, a full wipe will occur for the last time and the game will launch in its final release form.

frc asks, "I've never played Pre-CU, but played in CU, and I'm unsure if I should report bugs or not about the differences I remember from the time I played SWG"
<cRush> If you are unfamiliar with Pre-CU and feel that you have experienced a bug, it may be wise to ask fellow players their perspective before submitting the issue as a bug report. After confirming the status of a suspected bug, go ahead and report it.


That concludes tonights Developer Open Chat. We thank you all for joining us and asking some very good questions. Logs of the chat will be posted to the forums in the Developer Chat Logs forum.

Thank you all for your continued support!

[Trisomy21]

Why can't we milk rancors?

[Dame]

Why is graphic text always 10x cooler than regular text?

[lunatec]

Why do I find things I have never owned under my couch?

[Shoryuu]

I know what questions I'm going to ask, and they will not have ETA in them!

[HoboWithABlaster]

What is the meaning of life?

That sounds good right?

[Ashur]

Originally Posted by HoboWithABlaster

What is the meaning of life?

That sounds good right?

to live it!

[Davickk]

I have the golden glove trials on Sunday, but I have to work on Saturday night =/

[KrytenAVFC]

Max, what text is that? Its fantastic..

[Max]

Originally Posted by KrytenAVFC

Max, what text is that? Its fantastic..

Check your profile.

[Chayn]

I know the Devs can do anything so... would you guys make a miniature version of the clapper that I can put into my golf balls??

[cRush]

Dev chat tonight! Dont miss it!

[Vlock]

why do I always miss the dev chats

[MrBlonde]

Good info as always. Lots of repeat questions from past DevChats though.

[kuaneos]

First, I'd like to say: You guys are doing a great job! Thanks a lot!

kasea asks, "Will, specifically Suncrusher, be having any non-original pre-CU features.. For example, New content and or new vehicles and the like?"
<kyle> Of course, it will start out from vanilla and then go from there. There is no intention to stop at 1.0, there is so much more that can be done.
<kyle> We plan on developing a more immersive storyline to go along with the sandbox play.

I really hope I can find at least one completely unmodified Pre-CU server. I was hoping it would be yours, but I'm sure you'll be able to add quality new content and features.