Five on Friday - April 13, 2007
"Do opposing slayers still cause double damage to the player and halve the damage to the creature you are fighting?"
There seems to be some confusion on this one, and it is kinda complicated, so I got Leurocian to clarify.
A Slayer attuned to an enemy does double damage. (Example: a Repond slayer will do double damage vs. humanoids.)
A creature of the opposing Slayer type hitting the player will deliver 50% more damage to that player. One example of an opposing slayer pair is Repond (humanoid) and Undead. (Example: a lich (undead creature) attacking a player character wielding a Repond slayer will do 50% more damage.)
Also, Slayer weapons have no effect in PvP UNLESS a player is in a different form - for example, Undead slayers will work on a player under the effects of Vampiric Embrace, but Repond slayers have no extra effect on player characters (elves or humans). However, a player in an undead form will NOT do more damage to an opponent using Repond. (That is incorrect. Players in undead form WILL do extra damage to an opponent using an undead slayer weapon.)
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"You said the SSI cap was 60. But the Berzerker's Maul has an SSI of 75 - does this mean it exceeds the cap?"
It actually does not override the cap - so, despite the description, the Berzerker's Maul has an SSI of 60. Getting that display changed is now on my "nag list" of things to fix :)
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"Does the poisoning skill have any effect when using the Elven composite longbow's ability of Serpent Arrow?"
From Leurocian:
"Yes, poisoning skill affects the poison strength of the Serpent's Arrow."
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"Is there a reason that in 2d the Order Shield constantly switches hands depending on which direction your facing?"
From Grimm:
"In order to save animation frames, we only render the animations in 1 range of directions; we then mirror it for the other directions. If we did not mirror the animations, the animation file sizes would effectively double."
So y'all can roleplay either a left- or right-handed character with equal accuracy :)
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"Do halberds and bardiches benefit from the lumberjacking bonus?"
The Knowledge Base article on this is correct - the only weapons that receive the lumberjack bonus are the following:
Hatchet
Executioner's Axe
Battle Axe
Axe
Double Axe
Large Battle Axe
Two Handed Axe
Ornate Axe
and the artifacts based on those items:
Heavy Ornate Axe
Guardian Axe
Singing Axe
Thundering Axe
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"Why hasn't a statement been made in any released information concerning the toggle to classic mode for Chat and backpacks. Everything I have found says "planning", "try" ect."
This is a good question, and one I've gotten a lot of variations on. Here's a list of "classic" UI features that are already in and tested:
"Classic"-style (freeform) inventory
"Black area" around gameplay window
Lots and lots of hotkey slots
"Buff bar" (icons for buffs/debuffs)
Now, we're not done, and things like expandable backpacks (3D-style) and a chat style toggle are still on our lists. On the basis that a picture is worth more words than I'm willing to type, here's this week's KR Beta Pic of the Week:
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"Can you give an estimate of how long the Candle of Love quest will last?"
The Candle of Love needs to be fed with the flames of many lesser candles before it can blaze with its true light... how long it takes to reach that goal is entirely up to you. Which shard will feel the Love first?
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Player-Run Events:
Since the front-page changeover to the Herald, several features that were on the front page have been sort of buried. One of those is the Events Calendar, which is an excellent tool for advertising your in-game event. You can fill out the submission form here, and, once approved, the event will show up in the appropriate spot in the calendar.
In order to make sure these awesome events get the eyeballs they need, I'll be posting a link to the calendar weekly on the Herald, so they all get some front-page love. If you have other suggestions or ideas for making player-run events even more awesome, you know what to do.
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3D Client Update:
The patch that discontinues the 3D client has been rescheduled for Wednesday the 25th. (Incidently, this is why we generally try to avoid giving you dates too far in advance - they really do change, and change often.) That patch contains a lot of other backend changes to the way the 2D client works, and we felt that it required extra testing before we pushed it out worldwide. It just wouldn't do to accidentally make everyone's houses float fifteen feet in the air, or other such wackiness.
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Philadephia Town Hall Reminder!
The Philly Town Hall Meeting is just a week away! We should have all the usual goodies - food, gossip, news, beta invites. UO Radio is planning to be there broadcasting live, for the folks too far away to make it. There's no reason not to RSVP now!
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The Feedback Contest went so well that we're running it again this month! Send in your feedback here for a chance at a KR beta slot!
Forms submitted must be received before midnight, April 30 (CDT) in order to be eligible. Spam will be deleted, and while "I want a beta slot" is feedback, of a sort, it's not what we're looking for. Pick a topic and tell me how you feel about it - balance, crafting, PvP, whatever. Make a suggestion, a complaint, a rant - whatever is on your mind.
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Fansite News:
UOForums Spring Holiday Home Contest Winners Announced!
"Congrats to all the winners and thanks to everyone for entering our contest. We hope you all had fun and look forward to doing more contests in the future.
All entries can be seen in this thread."
The winning entries are gorgeous - check them out!
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Still mad busy over here, but at least we're having fun! KR is coming along nicely, and events are rushing towards their inevitable conclusion. We've got tons of good stuff in store, so stay tuned! Have a good weekend, y'all.
- Jeremy