17.8 Preview!!!

Sillanto · Post by **Sillanto** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:38 pm

The 17.8 game update will bring with it a great series of new content and system additions.

New Dust Brigade Team Instance – Inside the Machine!

The Dust Brigade menace continues to expand as their mysterious plans on Rubi-Ka are explored further. News has reached the ICC of unusual activity beneath the crust of the planet itself. What exactly are the Dust Brigade up to and what is behind their continued interest in ancient Xan technology?

This new team instance designed for high level players will bring with it a new and exciting challenge as players can take the latest Dust Brigade commander within a great new environment that will present its own unique challenges.

New PVP Ranking Systems

As mentioned in the recent Letter from the Game Director 17.8 will include the first stage of a total re-write of the PVP title system. With options that will be able to cater for all the PVP tastes as much as possible the new system will offer different ranking systems for different types of PVP.

There will be separate progression ranks for several different areas of PVP

• Solo PVP
• Team PVP
• Dueling

Included will be a totally new system for duels so that players can challenge each other without outside interference.

Each section will have its own ten levels of available ranks that players will be able to work through.

There will be options available as to which of your PVP titles will be displayed with your characters name. (and don’t worry, your old title will still be available to display as a ‘legacy title’ option)

New Social Clothing Mode

17.8 will contain a new social clothing mode for players. A new tab has been added to your equip window that allows you to equip any item purely for the visual effect (i.e. you wont get any stat bonuses from them, but will get to use the visual looks). There will be options that allow you to tell the game client whether to render your equipment tab, your social tab, or a combination of the two (in effect having the social tab ‘overlay’ on top of your existing armor).

The tab also does have special rules regarding combat to ensure it can’t be abused to trick people in PVP, but we will go into more details on that closer to release of the update.

In addition following on from the shoulderpad options in the current update the 17.8 update will also include options for whether or not you wish to display your helmet or your characters head.

New Inspect Functionality

Another great new feature in 17.8 will be the option to inspect other players and see their equipment windows. There will be a link under the character info screen to launch the new inspect window.

You will be able to see all four inventory screens of the targeted player, including the new social tab.

New tooltip views

In addition to the new social clothing and inspect views we have also added a new tooltip options system that gives some item information when the mouse moves over the item without you having to click further to see the item description. The old ways of seeing item details will still be there as well of course, and players will be able to use which they prefer to use.

Post by **Chrisax** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:45 pm

New Inspect Functionality

Another great new feature in 17.8 will be the option to inspect other players and see their equipment windows. There will be a link under the character info screen to launch the new inspect window.

You will be able to see all four inventory screens of the targeted player, including the new social tab.

I guess it's DrHyde who asked for that, based on a WoW feature? Happy, Big Trox?

And... OMG... this means that all those Troxes (not you, Hyde) who wear female underwear won't be able to keep it secret anymore?!

Overall, it sounds like a great patch, depending on the final implementation of all those features.

Hexy · Post by **Hexy** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:47 pm

ROFL on Hyde's female underware...ugh..wait...lolol..nevermind..

Anyway, does this mean i can put on things where my guns are for fun and not unequip my guns? or it is only for the armor?

Post by **Chrisax** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:00 pm

Hexy wrote: Anyway, does this mean i can put on things where my guns are for fun and not unequip my guns? or it is only for the armor?

You'll be able to have a cup of tea in you hand without dropping your guns, yes.

Mud · Post by **Mud** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:21 pm

woot, but still wtb char transfers and name changes!

Hyde · Post by **Hyde** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:47 pm

Chrisax wrote:
I guess it's DrHyde who asked for that, based on a WoW feature? Happy, Big Trox?

I and others asked for it, but I also asked for it to be limited/limitable in scope, which they as yet haven't done, and made a case for something "better" than Inspect which they skipped over.

Oh well. Its something. I personally don't like the fact that they opened it to implants and utils. It should have just been a way to see what the person was hiding via social armors.

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showth ... 889&page=5

Hyde · Post by **Hyde** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:48 pm

Chrisax wrote:
Hexy wrote: Anyway, does this mean i can put on things where my guns are for fun and not unequip my guns? or it is only for the armor?
You'll be able to have a cup of tea in you hand without dropping your guns, yes.

But be careful, I think when you right-click something it will most likely still go to the "real" slot. Be sure to manually equip anything you want to wear socially.

Mud · Post by **Mud** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:15 pm

Hyde wrote:
Chrisax wrote:
Hexy wrote: Anyway, does this mean i can put on things where my guns are for fun and not unequip my guns? or it is only for the armor?
You'll be able to have a cup of tea in you hand without dropping your guns, yes.
But be careful, I think when you right-click something it will most likely still go to the "real" slot. Be sure to manually equip anything you want to wear socially.

Post by **Chrisax** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:30 pm

So sorry for your Shark, Mud.

Adoni · Post by **Adoni** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:45 pm

This new team instance designed for high level players

More stuff for high players

Hyde · Post by **Hyde** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:02 pm

New PvP system details
Edit: or http://www.athenpaladins.org/forums/vie ... php?t=3523

I don't think a PvP system can ever be perfect. Deaths not affecting your score seems ripe for being as messy as the current method.

But.

Adjustments to Orbital Strikes will be appreciated.

No more need (nor -ability-) to /afk in BS will be VERY appreciated.

WARNING: That is accomplished in part by PvP titles not being affect by BS encounters. That -sounds- good, I'll even say YAY for this, but it means there -will- be less people going to BS. However I think it will be compensated by new people going once they see BS is being fought for the right reasons.

Duelling system that doesn't let you die (hence no derez) will be appreciated (even if it is a direct copy from WoW).

I saw no mention of the social stuff and inspect options. This update was only about the PvP system.

I welcome it all. I also think it will be quite easy to farm your titles, but at least it won't be in today's form of title farming, which is plain silly.

Post by **Chrisax** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:17 pm

Thank you DrHyde.

Yes, globally, it looks like changes go in the right direction.

For easy reference and for people who have trouble with AO forums, I posted there the whole text describing PvP (keep the discussion in the current thread though):

http://www.athenpaladins.org/forums/vie ... php?t=3523

Sillanto · Post by **Sillanto** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:42 pm

· Engineers will be getting a new static pet in the form of a jamming tower. When placed in the game world it will pulse a debuff aura every few seconds that prevents the placement of beacons in its radius.

WEll engi's have been crying for a new pet for a long time.... And we get laughed at again, surely a nano that takes up 1 ncu and lasts 2hrs and can be used on normal pets would be far better.

Krsfenris · Post by **Krsfenris** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:48 pm

Cant wait for the new duel system,yay for some focus on the branch of pvp that i consider most genuinely based on skill

core · Post by **core** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:59 am

Interesting changes but imo the only duel encounter thats based on skill is one you are facing the same as yourself and similarly geared prof.

There is no game balance between profs in any game I've ever played and probably there can't be.

However there is pretty good team pvp in wow and FC should just copy and
paste that one as well since they've started doing so.

When I stopped playing AO there was no incentive to even get a team while pvping, especially for people that wanted titles.