Class Changes

MASSIVE ONCE PER VERSION CLASS CHANGE PROJECT IS COMPLETED!

First a note and warning from Vryce:

Medievia is a deep game with many features. The developers listen to player feedback and add/change features constantly. The game is different literally every time it restarts! That being said, I do not allow changes to our four classes often. Changing classes is more complicated than changing any other feature and often triggers more animosity than any other change except CPK changes.

The reason is that warriors, mages, clerics, and thieves must be balanced in power and abilities, and yet somehow they must be UNIQUE and DEPENDENT UPON each other. If you change any one thing in one class, you upset the class balance, and class balance is THE key core dynamic of gameplay.

The other reason I do not allow class changes often is that certain players can be very vocal against changes, especially about class balance. If we add a single mage spell I get emails for weeks about how I am ignoring warriors, making clerics useless, making mages too powerful, and basically "ruining the game." It is the same if we change a warrior skill, tweak a cleric spell, change some class-specific equipment, etc.

Did we add new classes? Most other RPGs just add new classes instead of truly trying to balance their current ones. They end up with dozens of classes and races that are terribly unbalanced. In the end these games have players all playing the best three or four classes anyway, and the other classes are basically there to trip up new players who do not know which classes are the best to play.

So here we are, the BIG MEDIEVIA V CLASS CHANGES project. What is the warning?

WARNING: We do not allow global discussion of class changes unless you are capable of proper and respectful dialogue. We will instantly gag every player who says one word that a god takes to be disrespectful to the game, the gods, or the changes.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Medievia allows you to email the owner and any developer and actually expect a response.
- You can speak to the owner and developers in real time in the game, one-on-one or in groups.
- You can run for Governor and have the players elect you to represent their interests to the developers.

WHAT YOU CANNOT DO:
- Disrespect the game, the gods, the players, or these changes in any way to the public.
- Be overly sarcastic on global channels about these changes.
- Give your opinion in any way unless you can communicate respectfully and honorably.

Thanks and congratulations to Melquiades for managing this project, to Fayla for coding the changes, and to every other god and player who helped implement and test these tricky changes.

---

From Melquiades:

In the past twelve years, Medievia's classes have changed very little. To be sure, some changes have been made, such as the addition of powerful spells like Phantasmal Images, Manashield, and Malediction. The changes we are introducing today are much more comprehensive in scope and touch each of the four classes in a different way.

Our goals when we set out were simple: differentiate the classes by making them more specialized, give our players a new way to interact with each other and the game, and create significant change based on the vision of the players. The last goal is something that Medievia was founded on, and it has always been a valued tenet of this fine game we all love, but I can assure you that when the call went out to our players in October, the response was massive. Eighty percent of these changes were either direct player ideas or inspired by players. This is what we asked for, so thank you!

All the changes made are listed in HELP CLASSCHANGES. This will likely be the easiest way to get a high-level view of the changes. HELP SPELLS has been updated to reflect all the new additions, as have HELP THIEF and HELP WARRIOR. Each individual skill or spell that has changed also has an updated help file.

The class changes brought with them a need to tweak some equipment and also generated some new equipment types. Read HELP EQCHANGES to see a list of those changes.

We are in BETA MODE (read HELP BETA), so the things we absolutely need from players now are bug reporting and GOOD feedback on how to make things better. We understand things may not work just right, but some constructive feedback will go a lot further toward fixing things.

An example of good feedback might be, "I'm not sure rage is strong enough for the trade-off in lag, maybe you could tweak the damage or lag somewhat."

Making general statements of negativity doesn't really help us solve any problems. It is okay to disagree with how something works or think it's silly or dumb, but if you want to be heard you should include a suggestion as to where to go from here or include an actual argument as to why something is no good.

All feedback should be MUDMAILED to Melquiades. He will forward the emails to the appropriate parties. Please do not mail other gods directly, just MUDMAIL to Melquiades! Make sure your character's email address is up to date to ensure we can get back to you.

You can also use the WOM Bulletin Board to discuss things in a more public forum; the board is west from the first room of MedLink. It is YOUR responsibility to keep your posts civil and neat on that board. Remember that this board is a public forum for discussion, not bashing.

We started final debates about these class changes in October of 2007, we began coding in December, and now we can pass them on to you all.

A tremendous THANK YOU needs to go to Vryce, Seraphyr, Fayla, Melquiades, and Zathal. Without those five individuals these changes would absolutely not exist today. We also need to thank Kostia, Taethyst, Zuasha, and Damonius for tackling specific projects with some impressive results, as well as Lunavina, Calrog, and the rest of the god staff for their contributions and patience.

Too many people contributed to list them all, including you, the players. This was an amazing team effort, so enjoy!

-Medievia WOM Staff

Halloween Festivities Begin!

As most of our players are all too aware, Halloween is one of Medievia's biggest holidays, and it signals the start of the holiday season! Even though those of us who live in the US are already seeing Christmas decorations in the stores, we have to get through Halloween first. So let's get going!

The Thirteen Days of Halloween holosection quest HAS STARTED.

This twist on the Twelve Days of Christmas rewards players who fly around the wilderness and locate the Crypt of Halloween. Each day, a new door will open and the game will award a prize to each player who enters. Players who pass through all thirteen doors, one each day, are awarded a special prize soon after Halloween night.

The crypt moves, and it can be found in any wilderness area. It will move after each time a room is entered, or if it goes a long time (a few hours) undisturbed. So pick up the pace, as you only have from midnight to midnight each day before the last door closes and the next one opens!

The quest will run for 13 days, meaning through the 31st, Halloween itself.

The night before Halloween, we will post another announcement with more celebratory news: costumes, a Halloween-themed quest, and other fun.

-Kostia

P.S. Do not ask a god for a costume before their availability is announced the night before Halloween. You will not get one, and if you are a pest you can be punished. Read HELP COSTUME so you're ready, but don't bother asking early.

Medievia in BETA Mode

Medievia is temporarily in BETA mode. This means that we are in a phase of development where we understand that the game will not be complete, have balance issues with classes - gold - etc, and generally should not be judged 'as is'.

When developing a game as massive and as deep as Medievia there are many challenges. When doing this with a game that is also open with many players playing is even more challenging. For the most part we make very slow gradual changes and plan with great detail how to make changes without upsetting gameplay. We are now in a phase of the plan where that will no longer be possible.

This announcement exists to simply tell you to accept the fact that you are playing a game that is currently in BETA mode and to treat the game as a new game that has yet to open to the public. You are a BETA tester if you wish to play Medievia right now.

Medievia has been open 17 years. We cannot just close for upgrades, as Vryce would probably be assassinated. We will stay open. We will do our best not to totally ruin the price of gold, class balance, and the hundreds of features of the game world we all love. We are in BETA mode because we know from experience that when making this many changes 'our best' will not be good enough when it comes to keeping everything as balanced as our players have grown accustomed to.

Before you complain or get upset, please remember that you are playing a game in BETA mode that is not truly 'open' for the public. We are not marketing for new players and we have not for some time now. When all of the features of Medievia version V are in we will market and quickly grow the playerbase up to record levels.

Thanks for your continued support and for your ideas and vision. We all share the same vision for the future of Medievia, for it to be the best - most deep - most fun - most immersive multiplayer game world ever made. We hope all players ride through the changes and continue to play but we simply ask you not to complain too much or get upset as changes are made.

Why do we know 'our best' will not be good enough? There are simply many chicken and egg problems when making such massive changes. This means many features must depend on others, all of which are only partially done and awaiting another change on another feature. It will be messy, some weeks more so than others.

Player data will always be retained and remain stable and reliable, but that is it. One day you may find all deckhands to be new because we had to purge their data and upgrade it. One day you may find that you cannot buy any wagons or trade in the wilderness because the feature is temporarily turned off. The value of gold may swing back and forth and be a real problem as we add one feature that makes a lot of gold, then another that causes players to spend vast amounts, and back and forth. We may have to purge all clan businesses after you spent time setting them up, we may have to do this many times. Your bloodline may design an awesome abode, maybe a fort or a castle, just to have it purged and have to remake it. The pet you have been training for weeks may be suddenly gone as we had to rethink the plan or change the data. Nothing is guarenteed except that we ask you to understand that we are in BETA mode.
There will be many issues great and small. Just remember that you are a BETA TESTER until further notice.

We cannot make all players always happy with all changes. We do promise and guarantee that every player will like the changes overall. The world coming will be a vastly superior and much more fun game world to play in than the one you played before we entered BETA mode. The plans are amazing and all players will be blown away by it, that is also a promise.

BETA mode may last 6-12 months. The plan is basically to RUSH the changes in as fast as possible, much faster than players are used to by far. The reason for this is to get it done and also the fact that it is really the only way to go. The changes from here on out all rely on each other for full affect, so there is no real choice.

Kingdoms relies on the justice system which relies on workers which relies on clan businesses and it all relies on townland which relies on islands which needs new deckhands which need worker houses, etc. I could go on like that for many paragraphs. Just know that we have no choice to force all players to be BETA testers, complete with their understanding that the game will be a bit of a mess and not polished for a while.

We will also use this time to blow up and rebuild all spells and skills. There will be tons of new spells and skills. Class balance will be out the door for a time. We will not expect classes to be balanced for 3-6 months. Please be patient. Seraphyr will soon be making an announcement about class changes and what that means, what we need from players, and what to expect. We will change it all, get every good spell and skill idea implemented as fast as possible, and then go through the long process of feedback-tweak-feedback-tweak until the 4 classes are somewhat balanced again.

Please, again, just understand that you are a BETA tester. BETA testers know not to complain about a game partially complete. You cannot judge a thing until the thing is ready to be judged, it is just not fair. We will not allow it on public channels.

Thanks for understanding, for supporting the game, and for reading this long explanation of BETA mode!

-Vryce

Election and Clanrank

Clanrank has been split into two, Chaos and Order:
SHOWCLAN R O shows order
SHOWCLAN R C shows chaos

The price to switch parties is just 10 million gold for a few weeks, and then it goes back to 100 million.

The next Medievia election process starts TODAY, August first.

This will be the first month where elected leaders will be able to set the clanranking equation. I expect a few worthy players to declare themselves for the election and I would hope the players will elect someone that they trust.

Should trading be more important than eggs? Should exp even be a part of chaos clanrank? All I can say is elect players that you trust to do what is best for your clan's style of play, goals, and strengths. They will be in direct control.

We will be drastically lowering the charge for clans to switch parties for a few weeks once the change is implemented.

-Vryce

Team CPK!

Team CPK Duel is now open! This is an area where players can team up, and teams can challenge each other to a fight in a CPK arena. The arena is a copy of a real zone chosen by the DM based on the number of players in the duel, except that there are no mobs and it is entirely CPK. Read HELP TEAMCPK for more details.

You can find the entrance to Team CPK Duel in Medlink, across from the normal CPK Duel challenge room. We do not want newbies to wander into Team CPK Duel. To get in, you must be at least level 88 and know what you are doing. In particular, you need to obtain a special item, which is available for 60k in the Trellor pawn shop and at a discounted rate in several other shops around the world.

When challenging another team, it is possible to set several options, including restrictions on the use of elementals, potions, wands, and scrolls. The DM chooses a loot limit of 3-5 and a zone for the duel after both sides have accepted the challenge. Beware that once you have accepted a challenge, you must fight. You will not be able to back down or leave the arena until the 40-minute timer has expired, or until someone is killed. When a player is killed, their death creates a limited opportunity for escape as described in HELP TEAMCPK.

You can ask anyone to fight you, but do not lure players in by telling them that you won't kill them or that the rules do not apply. Do not harass players who do not want to duel, or demean anyone over Team CPK Duel or you will be banned from it. Make sure you have read HELP RESPECT.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Can we have more than two teams fight each other?

A: No, that is not allowed (except possibly by special arrangement). We do not want two teams to be able to collude against a third team, and the two-team limitation is the only way to enforce that.

Q: Are there any restrictions on the size of a team?

A: No. You can have one-on-one duels, or duels that are arbitrarily large. You are not required to have the same number of people on each side. Keep in mind that the DM tends to place larger duels in larger zones.

Q: Can I loot locked clanitems in Team CPK Duel?

A: No. The code prevents it.

Q: Can I CPK players in my own town in Team CPK Duel?

A: Yes, you can attack anyone on the opposite team, but do NOT conspire to get your own team killed.

Q: Why can't we set the loot limit?

A: We want players to actually fight in Team CPK Duel, rather than argue all day about the loot limit. A loot limit of 3-5 is intended to encourage activity and make it relatively easy for the losers to recover and come back to fight again.

Q: Why is the zone random? Why can't we duel in zone X?

A: Most zones cannot be used for duels because they have one-way exits, special rooms that players normally can't get to, or too many rooms. Assigning the zone randomly makes duels less predictable and more chaotic, since nobody can plan for a particular zone in advance. It also prevents situations where players never duel because they can't agree on a zone. We may allow limited options in the future.

Q: Who should I tell if I have some suggestions or if I find a bug?

A: Please send feedback to seraphyr@medievia.com. The plan is to give the current design a chance for at least several months without any significant changes. If there are bugs, we will of course fix them, but there will be NO REIMBURSEMENTS. Keep rule 7d in mind; finding a serious bug and failing to report it can get you in big trouble.

Q: How does the duel arena differ from the real zone it is a copy of?

A: All the rooms are CPK. There are no safe rooms, altars, no-flee rooms, or class/alignment/level restrictions. All the mobs, objects, barriers, and special procs are gone, and all the doors are open. Other features, such as NO_MAGIC rooms and fire rooms, continue to work as they did in the original zone.

Summer Holiday Festivities!

In celebration of Canada Day, the Fourth of July, Bastille Day, and the general awesomeness of summer, the holiday staff have arranged for various fun hot-weather activities. The festivities all run through Thursday, July 5th at approximately 11 AM game time, except as otherwise noted.

~ TOKEN QUEST ~

Join the celebration by taking part in the holiday token quest, which started today! The corpses of the mobs you kill will contain tokens of various colors. Different-colored tokens are worth different amounts of points. The five players who earn the most token points will receive prizes and medals.

The prize for the top three token collectors will be the couleurs de la reine. Fourth and fifth place will receive prizes of monetary value. All top-five finishers will get medals.

~ JOUSTING ~

The festival tournament grounds have been set up two rooms east of recall, then north, in the City of Medievia. You can joust here! Read HELP JOUST for more details. You need to find 10 points' worth of holiday tokens in order to pay for each joust. Challenge your friends. Challenge the gods! No one has an advantage in jousting based on their level or equipment. There are no prizes for jousting, but it's super fun.

~ HOLOSECTIONS ~

The Summer Festival Picnic Grounds holosection and the Traveling Minstrel holosection have been placed in the wilderness. See HELP HOLOSECTION for details. Finding the Minstrel or the Elm Dryad will get you prizes and medals.

~ HOLIDAY AUTOQUESTS ~

Starting Tuesday, July 3rd at 10 PM game time, two special holiday AutoQuests will be available. One AutoQuest, designed for players levels 10-30 only, will be located two rooms west of the Portal to the Hall of the Gods, south of recall in the City of Medievia. If you get stuck, make sure you read both AQ and AQ REVIEW. There will be no scroll reimbursements, so please carefully read all the information given to you, including room descriptions and mobchatter.

A second AutoQuest -- the real Hero's Challenge -- will be available in the level 31 treehouse in Ashton Park, located in the warrior quarter of the City of Medievia. There will be a special prize for (at least) the first player to complete this AutoQuest, as well as the player with the fastest completion time. More details are forthcoming. A medal will be awarded to each player who completes the AutoQuest.

~ OTHER SUMMER FUN ~

As always, the card shop in the marketplace in the City of Medievia has Fourth of July and Canada Day cards for sale. As if all this weren't enough, the fountains in the cities and towns across the land are already filled with cool, delicious lemonade in true summer spirit. Enjoy!

-The Medievia staff

New Zone! Rasking's Valley

-=ZONE OPENING=-

Raskin's Valley

Builder: Raschdar

In the southwestern portion of Medievia, much of the forested wilderness remains untamed. Periodically, settlers will split from the main villages and attempt to form their own colonies; sadly, many of these settlers are never heard from again.

It was through this unclaimed wilderness that Jaekin found himself running, with what had to be the devil on his tail. He had always considered himself an excellent woodsman, and though only seventeen he was fast becoming the greatest hunter of his village. Yet he had never encountered a creature likethe one chasing him through the maze of branches and vines.

He looked over his shoulder to see if he was gaining any ground, stumbled over a root that seemed to grab at him with malicious intent, and tumbled to the ground. When he regained himself he found himself in a clearing that lined the edge of a precipice. The view from the precipice was staggering.

A low snarl snapped Jaekin back into reality. With full knowledge of the horror he would see, Jaekin turned to face the creature that would bring him to his end. This was Jaekin's first chance to view the creature closely. It came closest to the shape and size of a large dog, but the resemblance ended there. Black- and green-striped scales covered its body, giving it a thick outer armor almost like plate mail. A red pug-nosed snout and bulging eyes made the face appear squashed and deformed. A lizard-like tail trailed behind the thing, and its scales clinked together softly as it moved.

The creature shifted its weight backward, and Jaekin prepared himself for the pounce. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain and looked down to see a four-inch stinger jutting out from just beneath the ribs on his right side. His fixation with the first creature had blinded him to the approach of a second from the forest edge!

Jaekin fell to his knees, and as consciousness began to escape him he heard a raspy voice from behind him say, "Oh, yes. He will do quite nicely."

---

Suggested Levels:

Solo: 26-31
Small Group: 24-28
Large Group: 18-24
Number of Rooms: 166
PK Types: NPK / CPK

Congratulations to Raschdar on opening his first totally new zone and doing a remarkable job! Raskin's Valley is designed as a mid- to high-level experience zone with some cool equipment as well. Thanks to Evelina and Kostia for editing the rooms, mobs, and objects, and thanks to Seraphyr for writing the procs. Once again, congratulations to Raschdar on doing a remarkable job!

--The WOMs