IRC interview.
I would like to thank Loftar a lot for taking the time to alleviate some of our concerns about the upcoming gluttony patch that was hinted at in another thread (about the Gluttony King program).
We've all been waiting for this and I'm sure a lot of us would love to know a little more about the philosophy and ideas behind the future direction of purity, gluttony and game balance overall.
Alright. Loftar, since you're here. Would you mind maybe posting something more on the forums or say something here about the upcoming gluttony system?
Loftar: I dunno if there's anymore that I should be saying.
Loftar: Giving away concrete details at this point will just make you guys extrapolate them.
Loftar: But if you have worries, I can at least try to alleviate them in the abstract.
These patches can be pretty game changing and have a lot of consequences for players.
Loftar: Certainly, that's the idea.
I asked a question on the forums, Im not sure if you noticed it.
Loftar: Probably not.
I wrote: How does the new gluttony system compare balance wise to the current one? Will it be more difficult to train our biles after the patch?
Loftar: Ah, that question about if it will be more or less difficult?
Loftar: Indeed
Loftar: I don't think you can measure the difficulty in a way that allows for a linear comparison.
Loftar: I can say that it will most definitely be easier to level up for a nub, though.
Loftar: The system is also designed to become more "complex" the further you level up, but that does not necessarily translate into difficulty.
Alright, well that's actually very positive. We do need noobs to transition better into Salem.
But what's really worrying is the political situation and how some players have become extremely strong. What's been on my mind for a long time is a way to challenge them or at least defend myself against their supreme power.
Loftar: Certainly. We're still discussing just how to transfer into the new systems.
Loftar: Jorb is still playing through the game trying to figure out just how the new system works.
Loftar: If it turns out that the returns are much more harshly diminishing than currently, I wouldn't exclude us doing some retconning to existing characters to decrease their humours.
Loftar: Like I said, though, we're still discussing those things, so I don't know yet.
Loftar: And still trying out the quantitative aspects of the systems, for that matter.
Ronnie: is purity getting revamped at all at the same time?
Loftar: We don't have any current plans to revamp alchemy.
Loftar: That's not to say that we won't, however.
Jcwilk: hi loftar, will the changes to gluttony affect recipes as well? will there be legacy items resultant?
Loftar: "Affect recipes" just how?
Loftar: If we don't change it, yes.
Loftar: We haven't discussed it yet, but that doesn't mean we won't.
Loftar: It's different, at least.
Okay. Well, thank you Loftar. I think it's very calming to know that you're on our side and that you and Jorb are trying to take steps into a more fair direction competition wise. Really, it's what us average players need. It sucks so bad to live under the supreme power of a few guys across the servers and having months of complicated and tedious gluttony to even try to get to the same level. It's a lot of work for a character that could die to a client crash under brazier fire or a misunderstanding of a game mechanic that the enemy will punish you for.
Loftar: I generally think that the game balance is probably a bit "unhinged", so to speak, as it currently is.
Loftar: I'm not sure about the exact causes and therefore not what to do about it, however.
Loftar: I do get the feeling that the "power coefficient", so to speak, between the (abstractly linear) level of a character is either too steep or not sublinear enough.
Loftar: "between the (abstractly linear) level of a character and the output of his actions", I meant to say.
JCWilk: it's frustrating that the only way to get high purity is to build off of legacy items, might you adjust the purity system so it's more feasible to get past 10% naturally, without legacy items?
Loftar: In that case, I'd much rather nuke these legacy items.
Ronnie: so you don't really want a world with higher than 10% purity ever?
Loftar: Yes, but I want >10% purity to be the result of work rather than happening on it in nature.
JCwilk: i agree, it can still be raised above 10%, it's just very, very hard, which is ok if there aren't legacy goods floating around
Ronnie: sure - so if nail purity, and purity nails existed that would be true and if alchemy tools are in final shape etc
Loftar: Are you referring to the composts?
Ronnie: yes the composts and and then purity wells for pots
Loftar: I'm not sure whether nails should be given elements, or rather if composts shouldn't be caring about the nails. That's why I haven't fixed it.
Loftar: For the record, I loathe the form "purity X".
Loftar: Purely linguistically speaking.
Ronnie: well nails giving elements would give a bonus to finding purity mines. how do you like referring to it?
Loftar: "Pure mines" seems more appealing, don't you think?
Ronnie: sure so pure mines and pure wells. the mere existence of pure wells would go a long way
Loftar: Well, pure wells have the same problem, though; I don't really think the proper way of getting pure water should be a matter of happening upon it in nature.
Well, I can tell you the concrete problem on Jamestown and what's been on our mind quite a lot. And that is that we don't have access to purity boards above 10-12%, however those that used legacy humus to plant trees have very powerful boards of 18% hidden in their base and so the humus that they produce is always a little better.
Loftar: "to purity boards above 10-12%" -> "to boards more than 10-12% pure" ^^,
I thought you were a programmer and not a linguist.
Loftar: I am both. Just ask Tonky.
Loftar: I don't necessarily disagree that there is a problem with legacy items, however. I'll keep it in mind when we discuss transferring to the new systems.
Loftar: Since we aren't ruling out the option of retconning powerful characters, I wouldn't either rule out the option of retconning powerful items.
Ronnie: so you want purity to be merely a result of alchemy tools?
Loftar: I wouldn't necessarily say that the alchemy tools should be the only mechanic by which the elements can be affected.
That's not saying we'll do one thing or another, however. I want to do my own analysis of the problem along with Jorb and see what conclusions we can draw from it.
Actually, someone sold 18% boards for lead a few weeks ago for 12K silver. That's just for 6 boards. That's incredibly high prices, but we can't do anything and we have to buy the stuff when it's available because its just so rare and the opportunity might not come again. So the game is really screwed up in a way and players are unable to produce the same % humus purity that someone with better boards (from legacy humus) can. The worst is feeling helpless and unable to achieve the same that those with legacy humus did.
Loftar: Yes, I've seen your point.
Should I post what you've said here in IRC onto the forums?
Loftar: If you feel like it.
Ronnie: so how are you changing gluttony without tweaking alchemy when pure item and well the element event are very related?
Loftar: There are no events anymore.
Loftar: Or well, there are events, but they are of a completely different nature.
Ronnie: so should i stop spending time on alchemy for food?
Loftar: No, it's still used, just not in the same way.
OK. Thank you. And thank you for answering some questions and taking the time to listen. I hope it has given you a bit of an insight into the mind of a player like me. Developers sometimes get "lost" in the code... but some of us play the game for 12 hours a day. We feel the elements of it well.
Loftar: Certainly.
