Official Answers by week

[Xsyon]

Questions prior to 12/3 2010

Deacon asks:

Am I correct in assuming that spear throwing will come in about same time as archery

Possibly. Bows are arrows are ready, spears are not made. This would not be difficult to add at the same time though.

Will we be able to remove rocks from tribal areas, so we can terraform?

Yes, this will be implemented before the launch.

Aliksteel asks:

I have seen where othere MMO's was going to try and make it where the Druids (Or who ever) would be able to create storms for fighting. But it has never been done as far as I know. The main reason I have heard was that the weather has always been on it's own server. Making it next to impossible to do.

Though it will be a while before we add this kind of magic, the short answer is yes. Weather magic will be possible and is planned for.

Any way, One of the big "Oh shit!" moments (and not in the good way) I had in DF was when I ran across the first person with a racist name. Well Xsyon allow any one to have any name, No matter what? I am hoping for a filter for Character name and Tribe name as well.

There will be a filter eventually. I'm not sure when we'll implement this, but yes, there will be some limits on this.

From the Xsyon Gallery we see old broken down automobiles, Is this something that will be added before prelude? or will this be put in after prelude?

These will be added as we expand the world. Originally these were just decorative objects. We haven't placed them within the starting zones because I want them to be serve more of a purpose when we add them to the game.

Will tribes be able to train their members in pvp fighting without losing good or neutral alignment in training fights?

Yes, within tribe territory. I am also thinking of allowing mutual 'friends' to fight without alignment gain or loss. This will, however, give less skill gain than fighting creatures or actual enemies.

Have you thought about if you will have world events later on? (natural or get togethers)

Yes. We will definitely have both natural events and world events. We do have a lot of surprises in store once we can get the basics wrapped up!

Will there be a time when we will be able to swim under water?

If so, What about drowning?

Also as a side question, Will there ever be water/under water content added?

Yes, we will implement underwater swimming, drowning and underwater creatures and plants during the Prelude.

Tredo asks:

What about blowguns with poison darts?

No plans for blow darts. Other ranged weapons will include thrown daggers and axes. I'd like to set things up so that players can throw all kinds of objects (like rocks). We'll see.

Will these objects be able to be picked back up without loosing them?

Yes. Construction sites work like containers. You can load them with the required materials or remove materials if the final construction is not finished. Once a building is complete, I plan on allowing players to dismantle the building with some material loss. (Dismantling is not yet implemented).

Will tents, huts, and other buildings have their own storage capacity or will we have to drop bags and bins inside of them for storage? i.e. will we be able to click on the tent or building and open up a storage window that would simulate putting stuff in there?

For now, you will use containers inside buildings. Some building parts might later have built in storage. With buildings I will change the permission system somewhat so that your building permissions apply to all objects inside.

Will every item (tent, shack, fence, wall, teepee, or whatever else is in the architect recipes) have to be placed / dropped on tribal land?

For now, yes. I originally planned to allow building outside tribe lands, but it would cause too many problems (imagine waking up to a wall built around your city for example). If I allow buildings to be destroyed if built on non tribal land, someone will destroy them right away. I have some future ideas for all of this, including small homesteads for solo players, but this will evolve with the game.

If we do have to use / place storage bins inside of the buildings, will be able to enter into the building or just basically stand just outside and click on the bags or bins?

You can enter buildings.

So, will buildings with storage be coming in game any time soon? Using baskets to store things works for now, but is there plans to make functional shops?

You will be able to store containers within buildings soon. The original plan was to have some buildings with built in storage, but I am thinking of adding more furntiure and containers instead (as part of the woodcrafting and masonry skills).
We will add worktables that aid in crafting during the Prelude.

VeryWiiTee asks:

When magic is implemented will it then fall under the Religion and Faith attributes listed as Intelligence and Spirit or will magic fall under the other combat attributes such as Strength, Dexterity and Agility?

Magic will fall under religion, faith, charm, intelligence and spirit.

Furthermore will magic be considered as combat or a sort of craft to help the village or will it be both kinds?

Both. I plan to make it similar to cleric / druid magic in D&D with both general helpful spells and combat spells.

KeithStone asks:

Would it be possible to activate all skills so we can actually test out the features?

No. We already implemented too many temporary systems like the permissions and easy levelling that are still being reverted and balanced. Our goal now is to push forward with how things will actually be at launch. Soon we'll have training and the quest system implemented. These should make things much easier for starting players.

What are some of the construction skills that come with this new feature?

Masonry, building walls, building tents and most likely building houses from some simple components. Buildings from components was originally planned as an evolution but I'm getting it done right now and we have enough parts for players to build log huts. We should have multiple story buildings at launch or shortly after.

Are buildings part of the construction skills, or is that something different?

One and the same. Though construction includes some building parts such as creating bricks or building components.

After prelude- will tribes be able to conquer other tribe lands by destroying their totem?

Yes. How this will work is not fully decided yet. Since we first started working on Xsyon, many games have come out with some good ideas for this type of warfare. We're going to spend some time checking these out before we implement what we think is the best solution.

As it is right now tents, buildings etc don't have any purpose- you can't use them for storage- you can't drop bins when standing inside them. Are they going to be given a purpose before the game launches?

Yes, this will be fixed and finished. Logging off from your house will give you a rested state so you gain more experience and you will be able to store containers within homes. We will add more features to housing in the future.

Mrcalhou asks:

I'm curious as to an ETA for Bows/guns and magic.

Bows: shortly after launch. Magic will take a while. Guns, I don't have any real plans for this. I know some players saw the guns in our sketches, but those are there only because the artist felt like drawing them in the armor concept sketch.

Will there be skills related to being a medic?

Yes, either within the next month or shortly after launch. We'll see. This is partially set up already.

Would the way the game is programmed allow for player created turrets, like the ones in Team Fortress 2?

I'd have to check out Team Fortress to see what you mean, but we do plan to have defensive turrets in the future. I've added this to the suggestions list.

How in-depth does the game engine allow crafting? Does the way the game is program allow for variability within items. Like, with different quality materials affecting the outcome for the same weapon and so on?

Yes, the system allows for materials, tools and skill to affect the final product.

Airbornenik asks:

I notice the fires do not give off any sort of useful light, making it hard to find objects on the ground and continue working on terraform. Will functional lighting be implemented?

Yes. Fires should give off useful light now. There was a bug where fires loaded when we restarted the server were not loading lights properly but this should be fixed. This will be reviewed again soon and light from fires will be adjusted.
During the Prelude we will add torches.

Gegezerg asks:

I was wondering will there be Small or Large carts in the game to carry loads of items from gather areas back to the Tribal area?

There are no plans for carts. This will be added to our Suggestion List and I will consider this.

Treyu asks:

Can we have an estimate on when the prelude release date will be?

My best estimate is mid January. I plan to assess the situation and set a fixed date after the Tribe and Quest updates.

Chade asks:

What happens if two borders touch each other?

Tribes can't be built close enough for borders to overlap. There is a maximum tribe radius and other tribes can't place a totem within this radius.

I'm curious what you guys have one the agenda and in mind to tweak, implement still, revise before you go into prelude.

The main goals are to finish the Tribe, Quest and Construction systems. We've been testing our World Update that breeds creatures and decays objects among other things. The World Update will be turned on for the main server in about 2 weeks. This will cover almost all of the features. After these we will review and revise crafting schemes and combat variables. We should also be able to turn on animal taming and pets. This was implemented a long time ago but as we've made many changes that can affect this so we'll see after the next few updates.

Trenixdecease asks:

What will tires be for? what skill and for what?

Tire armor and furniture will be added.

Kinslayer asks:

Will it be possible to still raise multiple skills up to mastery, be it with much slower skill gains?
Will there be an option to reduce skills, hence allowing us to manage our skills, or change our minds on the path we chose skill-wise?

Will there be Primary and secondary skills, where support skills that have little ability to make things on their own become a secondary skill that doesnt count toward your hard cap?

You will be able to master several skills. I haven't thought about an option to reduce skills, but it's possible to add.

Some skills such as masonry and woodcraft are currently considered 'supporting' skills and they will not count as much towards the skill cap. There is no hard cap on skils, just a soft cap so that skills become harder to gain.

Xx1327 asks:

Is it possible for a creature to become mutated then become legendary or vice versa? and while I'm at it can epic and/or mutated creatures be tamed? Are they going to be given a purpose before the game launches?

Yes, creatures can both mutate and become legendary. Mutated / legendary creatures can also be tamed.

"Town quartermaster can collect resources and goods" can this be explained in more detail perhaps? also when it comes to tribe taxes, will we be able to set taxes for each individual/groups of people or will it be a system where its a tax for everyone or no tax at all?

The system has been changed since this was first asked. Tribes will be able to create their own custom rank with the ability to set a tax rate based if the tribe has a chosen currency. Collected currency will be controlled by the tribe leader or assigned ranked members. Tax will currently apply to all members. I will think about different rates for different members.

What are your current thoughts on Traps when is the earliest we would see things like this implemented?

I think your suggestions are great and this is something in our game documents that is already designed for the future. When we can expand I want to spend a lot of time implenting a cool trap system like what you've described. Realistically, this won't start to happen until a few months into next year.

Traps for catching birds and small critters will come sooner as we already have these objects made and they won't require too much code.

What are your plans for player customization?

In game, skills for changing and dying hair will be implemented.

During character customization, I have a face system designed but it was too difficult for my old programmers to implement. The plan it to revisit this system and also see what else is out there in other games once we can expand the team.

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 12/3 through 12/10 2010

Trenixdecease Asks:

Will there be some sort of "Looking For Tribe" feature? Sort of like how players look for guilds or groups in MMORPGs? I really don't think relying on the forums is the best way to bring people together to join or create tribes.

Tribes will be able to set if they want to be in the public spawn point list and set a brief tribe description. Players will be able to choose spawn points from this list in addition to the basic starting spawn points.

Will there be a "invite a friend" feature which will give us something in return for getting someone to register?

After launch I will consider this and other promotions, yes.

Keithstone asks:

Can architecture structures be damaged by other players at any time?

As the game evolves yes. This won't be in for a while as towns are planned as safe zones in the Prelude, though I am considered tribes to allow to choose if they want to be warring tribes during the Prelude. Warring tribes will be able to attack each other.

Will architects get towers that can be placed without having to build or terraform dirt towers.

Yes, we will add towers in the future.

Can you explain how the market system will work, as in how will we be doing trades?

Players will be able to post items with prices at a trade totem.

I know you said you don't plan to implement carts, however is there some other way you plan for us to do large quantity trading over large distances?

I don't plan to add carts soon. Many things will be added as soon as we can expand the team and evolve the game. I plan to allow pack animals to carry additonal loads before we add things like carts though.

Will global chat be in at the game at prelude/launch? It doesn't bother me, however I know there are a niche of people that will feel like it's game breaking.

No. It will be removed for launch. Later we will probably add a system of linking tribe chats or having communication dishes as some players have suggested.

Venciera asks:

Will there be any form of tribal upkeep? Either paid through currency, or items?

Tribes will be able to choose to collect tax (currency). In addition, buildings will decay so there will be a need for players to keep up their town.

Will player run trading markets be implemented before, or after the beta? Or at all?

The will be player trade totems (or player will trade using the main totem). I'm not sure if we can get this done before or shortly after the final wipe and launch.

Will we be able to place sign posts with short messages on them? Like in Minecraft?

I have this on my suggestion list and yes, I'd like to add this in the future.

Jadzia asks:

Will we be able to gain stat points and assign them ? If yes, will there be any restriction about assigning them?

Stats will increase through actions (very soon). I may add some stat points to the levelling up as well.

Mrcalhou asks:

What are your plans for how you will set up the in-game economy?

This will start off with simple player bartering / trade. We will add trade totems to allow players to set up offline trades. Tribes will be able to set currencies based on common items. Object decay and loss of quality as well as resources limited to certain areas should help to drive trade and the economy.

What are the current plans with regards to handling skill points for characters as new skills are introduced into the game? Will we be allowed to respec our skill points so that we can become a different role if we get bored of something? Say, I start off by leveling up bladed weapons and sink all my skill points into that, then I get bored with it, could I switch my points over to "archery?"

You won't be able to switch points between skills. I will consider a system where you can choose what skills degrade to allow you to build up new skills at the cost of old skills, but I don't know when we'll be able to implement something like this.

Are there plans to have seperate skill point pools? Like, you can get so many skill points to be allocated to combat skills, some for crafting, some for harvesting?

Yes. This is already implemented. There is a soft cap for each skill group.

Are there any plans to add sub-skills and sub-sub-skills to current skills?

No.

Deacon asks:

Will we be able to actually place bin and stuff in our houses/tents?

Yes. Before launch.

And what system for making terraformed area level, if you plan to remove coordinates?

I will leave in coordinates until I can implement a levelling system as you and others suggested.

Aliksteel asks:

I know that you said that we was going to be able to sit, And that you already have a lot of dance moves ready to go. As far as this type of stuff goes, What more will we be able to do? Like different sitting positions, Laying down, Back flips, Drunk walking/running

Additional moves that we have almost ready are sitting, sitting on objects, sleeping and dance moves. Dance moves will be implemented as a feature well into the actual Prelude. If you have suggestions for emotes or other moves you'd like to see, feel free to post them.

Kitsume asks:

Are there plans to update the character creator, where we can customize faces beyond the template faces we have now? If so, will existing characters be able to use this or will players have to reroll the character?

When we can expand our team, yes. We have a character facial system designed but it will take a lot of work to implement it. Changes we make will be available to all players.

Gamefreak asks:

The primary question is what will entice people to perform quests, and how will they be ensured that they are actually going to receive what is enticing them?
What system will be in place to ensure that the required items reach the player when he has completed his/her task?

Players will be able to create quests at a totem. They will be required to add a reward to the quest. When a player accepts a quest, he must come back to the totem to submit objects collected or claim quest completion. There will be timers sets on quests so that if a player that accepts the quest does not complete it with the alloted time, another player can accept the quest. The quest creator will be allowed to cancel a quest and retrieve reward items if the quest is not currently taken by another player.
Both the creator and the questor will receive experience for a completed quest. This will entice players to both create and complete quests. You will get more experience by completing quests created by other tribes.

Foreseer asks:

Will we be able to create preservation area's where resources and land are protected from chopping, forming, and gathering within our lands?

You will be able to set tribe permissions for individual ranked members to prevent tribe mates from chopping or terraforming if you wish to do so.

I've heard we'll be allotted Three character slots. Will each character be able to join separate Tribes, or are all character's to be restricted to one tribe?

This is incorrect. There will be only one character slot.

How will quest materials be handled?

See the above answer.

Will said items disappear into an interface window or will an object or tent house them input/retrieval?

There will be an interface similar to construction 'ghosts'. The interface will be accessed through a totem. I like the idea of a quest house though, so maybe in the future quest items will require more physical storage. I'll consider it.

Will said Quest system be automated or will the Tribe leader be required to preform the tedious duty of finding items, counting items, and rewarding after players complete them?

It will be automated as described above, but the rewards will have to be gathered before placing them into a quest. Any tribe members given quest creation permissions will be able to create quests.
　
　
　

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 12/10 through 12/17 2010


Aliksteel asks:

I understand the concept of a automated quest reward system, But have to wonder about what happen when the quest giver has asked for 10 long logs. After clicking the quest totem to pick up your quested items. Do they stack beside you right there? or Will we be able to move them in a stacked ghost form to our stockpile yard?

Logs and similar items will be stored at the totem and you will be able to take them out one by one (or in bundles) similar to how construction ghosts work.

I'm pretty sure that good and neutral factions can trade, I'm also pretty sure that neutral and evil factions can trade, But will good and evil factions be able to trade?

There are currently no restrictions on this, but I plan to add them. You should not be able to trade with opposing factions or foes.

Jadzia asks:

Will there be any indicator of a tribe's or a player's alignment?

Yes. Names will show in different colors to indicate friends / foes and known evil players.

Treyu asks:

Will you change the way we see player floating names (and NPC animals too, but my concern is mainly with players) so that you only see the name above the player's head WHEN you are aiming at them? What about the colors, will we get different name colors (the grey one we have now makes it very difficult to see it at times) or different colors depending on alligment (Pk, neutral, tribes at war, friends, etc)?

Yes. With the most recent update, names show only when you are aiming or selecting a creature or another player. Colors indicating status and alignment will be in soon.

Trenixdecease asks:

Will stealing ever be implemented in the game or is it already planned?

The original design included a stealing system similar to UO, but limited to small items that could be pickpocketed. Right now there are no immediate plans to add stealing, but it's something I will reconsider in the future.

Will there be drugs? If so, will it give us any effects, benefits, or consequences?

Not for a while, but yes, with effects, benefits and consequences.

Will we be able to create our own religions or will we have to select from a variety of pre-assigned religions?

Existing religions will be introduced first. I haven't thought about creating your own religions but it's an interesting idea.

Will there be alcohol? If so, will it give us any effects, benefits, or consequences?

Not for a while, but yes, with effects, benefits and consequences.

Will animals and livestock have meters like we do that we must help adjust? Will they be visible?

Yes, they will have the same hunger, thirst and energy meters and you will have to feed them or let them rest.

Will tracking ever be implemented in the game or is it already planned?

It's part of the original design, but won't be in game for a while.

Will paving ever be restricted for masons only?

There are no plans for this, but I've added this to the suggestions list.

Will buildings affect comfort?

Yes, and will increase your regeneration rates.

Will animals undergo a growing process?

Yes. They already do when the daily World Update is turned on. We've been running this on the test server. It will be made live on the main server soon.

Will fires affect comfort?

Yes, and will increase your regeneration rates.

Will livestock require us to nurture them?

Yes. See answer above.

Will the quality of an object be a number like in Wurm Online, or will it be ranked by color like in a MMORPG?

It's currently a number.

Foreseer asks:

I've noticed the /g (Guild) chat. What are your plans for Guilds?

Guilds are planned for the future (next summer or later). Guilds will be sub groups within a tribe of players with similar professions.

Mrcalhou asks:

Can we have the option to turn off floating names, the circles underneath npcs and objects, and the targetting glow?

I added this to our suggestion list. I can add this, however, not being able to see what you are targetting or selecting will make things difficult.


MrDDT asks:

What are your plans for combat? Are we going to get skills or power like moves?

My plan is to take some time after the launch to review the combat system of Mount and Blade and other combat oriented games that players have suggested to me and redesign the system after I have seen what's out there.

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 12/17 through 12/24 2010


aliksteel asks

What type of mythical creatures are we talking about for the game?

Based on local mythology (BigFoot for example).

Will we have chat tabs?

Eventually, yes.

Will we get slider bars for UI windows?

Also, yes. It's on our list.

When added, Are puppies going to be as fun and cute in game as they are in real life?

I hope so!

mrcalhou asks:

Will we get the option to change our options before the first login or, alternatively, have the game auto-detect our resolution?

This isn't planned. I've added it to our suggestion list.

Xx1237 asks:

Will there be celestial events, like a lunar eclipse, which can maybe boost certain things or cause certain enemies to rise?

This is part of our design, but not planned to be implemented for a while. Events such as this are planned for the full Xsyon launch (after the Prelude).

Pandamin asks:

Are there plans to allow tents etc, to be set up by single players outside of tribes territory?

No, but players can create single player tibes. I may allow building outside of tribe territories later, but they won't be protected as in tribe zones.

Are flowing streams (current taking logs down the river) on the table?

Not for a long time. This would be a major undertaking, but I would like to do this.

Deacon asks:

will built defenses ever protect agains NPC's ? Will creatures alway climb straight up cliff faces, and run thru barricades etc like they're not even there? Will HIDE ever work against creatures as well?

NPC collision against slopes and buildings will be fixed before launch and hiding will work against creatures as well.

treyu asks:

what happens if for some reason there is a low population in the server that is not enough to generate a big number of quests?

We are creating a starter island where guides and developers will create quests if there are not enough.

Is taming going to be included soon? How many creatures can we control at a time? What grade of control will we have with our tamed creatures? How will this affect the PvP and alligment system (being attacked or attack another player's creature, etc)?

It will most likely come soon after the Prelude starts, if we can't get them fully implemented right before. You will be able to control one creature at a time. Creature attacks will affect alignment the same as your attacks.

afterclap asks:

I was wondering about the ping times, i haven't read up on server location but i get serious ping spikes up to 900ms and usually keep a steady average of 300ms here in sweden, 200ms on good days. Is this ping to be expected on release from my location or is this gonna be adressed somehow? (i mean is there anything you can do about it? or plan to do? im not well versed in network technology so please excuse me if dumb question)

The ping rates measure server activity in your zone in addition to actual ping. They are an approximation and actual ping should be faster than what you see. There is not much we can do about actual ping right now, but we are constantly working on optimizing calculations on the server. Currently terraforming can cause ping spikes and this will be greatly reduced when we 'bake' terrain on a daily basis.

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 12/24 through 12/31 2010

trenixdecease asks:

Will there be the typical farm animals? For example, chickens, cows, horses, pigs, and sheep? In addition, will there be mutated livestock?

Chickens will be in soon. Others will come later, yes. We haven't planned for mutated livestock (only wild animal mutants), but it's a good suggestion.

Since there is going to be drugs (which includes alcohol), will there be withdrawal symptoms? In addition, will there be addictions so we would have to abuse a drug to reduce the withdrawal symptoms?

This hasn't been planned in this amount of depth yet. I like all this detail, but we can only do so much. We'll see how things go when we can expand the team.

Will weather affect livestock? For example, will we have to store hay for the winter and keep the livestock inside of a ranch so they wouldn't freeze?

The plan is yes. These are things planned for us to develop during the Prelude phase. Buildings will protect animals and humans from weather and so on.

Are crops going to be altered and be affected by season?

Yes, definitely.

Is there a chance that livestock could get sick?

Yes.

Will the overall mood of a livestock determine the quality of the dairy products produced?

Yes.

Are there going to be ways to enhance crop production? For example, adding manure, water, and picking out weeds?

Over time yes. Most likely agriculture will be simple at first and we will add to the system as we can.

I've heard that instruments are going to be implemented, will they benefit us in some sort of way or will they be purely for entertainment?

They will provide 'buffs'.

Like our characters, will animals have a visual weight loss/gain depending on how they're fed?

Animals will definitely grow in size and change from children to adults. We do not have multiple versions of animals to simulate weight gain though. Maybe in the future.

I've seen people purposely put walls on steep hills in order to barricade themselves. What are your plans to keep this balanced? Will we be allowed to climb these hills or would we have to use ladders?

We will have steps and ladders in the future, but players should also be able to barricade themselves as well.

Since we have a comfort meter and weather affects our stats, can our characters get sick?

This is planned for the future, but not soon. Weather effects will first affect players in terms of being wet, hot or cold, which will affect actions.

Is there going to be an injury system? For example, burns, cuts, bruises, poisons, infections, broken bones, and so on?

No set plans for this right now.

Will food spoil overtime? If so, will there be ways to slow the process?

It will decay / spoil, yes. There are no plans right now for ways to slow this.

Will there be achievements and titles?

Yes. Some titles will be in soon. We will add achievements over time.

aliksteel asks:

Discarded objects can be found by later scavengers or picked up and used by creatures. Does this mean when we drop items from our bags?

Yes, but the current system has changed so that discarded items count towards the 'respawning' of scrap piles.

Town mail boxes where players can send items and private messages. Will the ingame mail be for local(your tribe) only, Or will it be linked to every one, As long as you have there name?

It will be local and will require delivery between tribes.

Player honor lists will keep records of player achievements. Will player honor lists for achievements be anything more than just a list? Or is it going just be so we can see who did what and when?

The first lists will be things like top hunters, top questers, top crafters etc.

treyu asks:

What kind of NPCs will there be at launch? Will there be (if they are not in yet which I don't know) NPCs different than animals and wildlife, like human NPCs? I remember reading somewhere that there will be mutant humans, is that true? What kind of loot will they give after being killed?

At launch there will be only animals. Others will arrive during the prelude...

When I have played during this beta period I haven't seen a big quantity of NPCs, just some single bear or fox, is this going to be like that when the game goes live? Will there be pack of animals or "spawns" so that when many players are playing there is enough resources and pve content for everyone?

There will be packs. There will be more animals as they will breed and spawn children with our daily update. There will be many more types of animals. About 20 more animal types are ready.

Will there be any changes to the UI so that we can actually bind keys to actions, like equipping different weapons, using skills, etc? At the moment almost everything needs the mouse and click (equipping weapons, armor, using terraforming, etc), will that change?

You should be able to drag skill actions to the action bar and use assigned keys. I am thinking about quick equipping of weapons as well. This is on my list of things to do.

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 12/31 through 1/7 2011

Deacon asks:

can we get it so the posts can actually touch on the verticle flats sides? A they touch...B they wont. the gap in between them just looks tacky, as well as you can fall thru if walking across top, and possibly get stuck. The yakitil corner post(A) allows it........but yakid stone post(B) does not ... (image in link)

Please report this as a bug and we will fix this.

Caduryn asks:

Will we be able to continue Buildings that other Tribe-Member started? Feels stupid that i can´t access them as the Tribe-Leader. ^^

This will be done in 2 or 3 weeks when construction is revised.


Deacon ads:

shouldnt tribe leader be able to allow "anyone" he want to add to projects or even build or start them.

This will also be done in 2 or 3 weeks when construction is revised

Treyu's question:
Was answered here

Gandhi asks:

I read, that there will be no hard skill cap. So, how much skill i can max out? I hope Xsyon will be no grind-game, like Darkfall is. In Darkfall the developers also promised a soft skill cap, but in reality you could max oiut almost all skills, when you spent enough time for grinding. I hope this will be different here.

I am not done balancing the skill cap, but you should not be able to grind all skills. There is a general soft cap and soft caps within each skill group (crafts, combat etc.). I am currently finishing the effects of tools and materials and revising crafting so that proper selection at crafting will be as important as skill level.

afterclaps's question
Was answered here (last question)

otomotopia asks:

When will we be able to raid other tribes? And what systems are you planning for that?

Not for a while. This was planned for after the Prelude, which will last at least 6 months. When a raiding system is implemented I will first look at what other games do and what systems have had success.

February will be wipe time, but I'm assuming its also major content patch day. What should we be looking forward to testing in the coming weeks?

Most content will be in before the wipe. The only content that will be added at wipe are a much larger variety of creatures. Over the coming weeks the main things to be added and tested are the quest system, and changes to crafting, construction and combat.

*edit* Also, will we be able to participate in wars soon? What are the conquest victory conditions? Can we take more then one territory now?

As with raiding tribes, this won't happen for a while. The first implementation will allow for players to claim and fight over additional territories, but not their main tribal zone.

[Xsyon]

Questions for the week of 1/7 through 1/14 2011


Caduryn asks:

Are Tools lootable in PVP?

Yes

Will Tribe Alliances work inside the Game-code?

Yes, eventually we will add coded alliances which will allow tribes to share housing and permissions with allies.

A single player could destroy a single tribe by removing any near by trees, what preventions will be put in place to avoid this? (this question was summarized)

You can no longer cut trees in other tribe zones.

mrcalhou asks:

What will happen if there are more tribes than there is space to allow them to
have land access?

We will continue to expand the world. This hasn't become an issue yet.

trenixdecease asks:

Will you be able to teach pets how to do tricks?

We don't have plans for this. It's been added to our suggestions list.

Will there be a process that you have to undergo in order to teach a pet his or her name?

No. You will simply be able to name tamed pets.

Would you have to command the pet to attack by text, would it be an action, or would it be automatic?

There will be a pet command bar with icons to select attack, follow and other pet actions.

Are insects ever going to make their way into the game? Whether for bait, food, or even possibly honey?

There are no immediate plans for this, but anything is possible for the future.

Will animals die from overage?

Yes.

Are we ever going to have the ability to customize our own structures? For example, choosing the size of the house, choosing type of house (wooden, stone), making two story houses, and even making rooms inside of a house?

Yes. As the architecture system expands, it will be more based on components such as walls, floors and stairs. Multiple story buildlings will be possible to build.

chaotix999 asks:

Will there be a menu to at least allow you to see which tribe members are online or at least within the zone? I know its not exactly a realistic menu but ideally if this were real you would know who is around the tribelands at least at any given moment without having to wander around the camp to see if they are still there

This has been added to our suggestions list and will be done eventually.

Demiwar asks:

From my understanding of previous answers, tribes will be able to adapt certain
items as currency, such as bottle caps or pennies. While I love the idea, my
concern is inflation. Will there be any way to authenticate common items such
as bottlecaps by stamping them to show that they are authentic currency of a
certain tribe allowing the tribal leaders to control the flow of money into
their economy? If yes, would we be able to customize the name of our newly
stamped currency?

Tribes will be able to select a specific currency, but there are no plans for customizing or marking currency.

naneweer asks:

Will there be improvements made to the GUI, such as slider bars, customization
(as far as size, i.e drag your pack window to a certain shape)?

Over time yes, starting with sliders for scrolling through text lists.

Tool tips / Item information? Will there be item information, be it in pop up
tool tip form, so that you can see the weight, condition, crafting and combat
stat related?

Yes, this is functioning now.

As far as content currently in the game, available for construction/crafting,
are there plans to put in alot more? So far the game comes off as Native Indian
Survivor Man.. ish. Different type/sizes of housing, stuff that doesnt seem to
be only native american themed.(Nothing against it, just curious)

Yes, there are 8 sets of architectural components almost ready to be added to the game.

I know that it is planned to have variations in item quality and effectiveness,
but, will the type of material used affect the color as well? Most notable is
cloth gathering, seems to be a large array of cloth types and colors.. would
the color of the cloth chosen for each component affect the color of the
finished item? (I.E if an item needs fabric sheets and cloth straps, the color
of the fabric would decide the color of the main body of the item, and the
color of the straps would dictate the "secondary" color of the item?

Yes, this works now, but only the primary color of the crafted object is affected.

Will other forms of food be available? Hunting all those animals for crafting
parts and no meat seems rather odd. Fishing seems to take care of all food
needs starting out..mmm raw fish.

You will be able to gather meat from creatures and with agriculture players will be able to plant and harvest various crops.

More craftable props/items decorations, now or in the future?

Yes, starting with furniture such as tables and benches.

syriocop asks:

What UDP and TCP port xsyon uses, because some of us (me) would like to play
through a proxy

Port 2013 for the game. Port 10111 for the downloader.

Proxy support will be included?

Yes, should not be a problem.

Jikiki asks:

Will there be the possibility to salvage materials from crafted items or skill reverse-engineer crafted items to set the recipie.

Yes, crafted items will soon be able to be broken apart into components. Reverse engineering to obtain recipes has been added to our suggestions list.

[Xsyon]

Questions of Week 08/13 through 08/31

Deacon Asks:

Can you add the cargo shorts and beater shirt to crafting while doing the crafting update? be nice to have some solid color clothes that are made by players.

Yes, this will be part of the update.

would also be nice if carts could go up ramps O.O

We are implementing improved collision to fix this and other collision issues. It's a major task but it's currently in progress.

will higher danger areas, yield better scavenging results and more rare items?

Yes, more rare items will be found in the high danger regions.

Are you ever going to implement a totem placement system where we dont have to guess if where we're actually putting it, fits the spot we want, or is centered in our area, after we had to move it to work around it?

At some point we may allow moving a totem after it's placed. Currently totems are placed right in from of the player and the tribe is always centered on the totem. This is a change that seems minor but can cause issues with off centered tribes so it's not a priority right now.

MrDDT Asks:

Whats your plans for high level and high skilled crafters to do for trade and economy?

High level crafters will create the most powerful and high quality objects. In the future we'll add specializations. I'm aware that tools have made the creation of high quality top level objects too easy and this is being revised with the crafting changes.

What are some of your "end game" goals for players? Meaning not really end game forever end, but what do you expect high skilled and high geared players to be doing?

The goal is for players to create their own societies and adventures.

This could include:
Leading a tribe and managing the society.
Developing trade.
Conflicts with other tribes.
Designing and building extensive constructions.
Creating adventures and events for other players.
Hunting mutants and high danger creatures.
Experience in game daily life.

As we continue to add features and systems, there will be more possibilities.

Really it's up to you. What a player does for their 'end game' should be up that the individual player and not my expectations.

KMan Asks:

Question about luck. In this thread one of the players complained about not learning any new architecture blueprints from building things and one of the guides responded with info about hidden stat called Luck. I would like to know if it really exists and how it works. Is it something that gets generated during the character creation and never changes so if you are "unlucky" you are screwed or is it stat that changes (daily for example). Is there a way to modify it by keeping certain items in your packs (lucky horseshoes ;-).... I myself had a problem with wainwright blueprints. I got my Wainwright skill up to 90 and could not build a simplest cart which was very disappointing. Does it mean that my "hidden stat" Luck is low and I need to find a way to fix it? Thanks.

Luck is a hidden stat that does affect many actions. All players start with neutral luck. Luck increases when you pass a 'luck check'. It decreases when you fail. It reflects your real luck at these 'luck check' rolls. It does balance out and some players are lucky while others are not.

Luck is affected slightly by Charm and we will have items in the future that will increase luck.

Another question about armor defensive bonuses. I heard this question asked by many new players: which armor is better grass or cloth? There seems to be a consensus amongst older players that bone is the best then leather but opinions differ whether cloth or grass is next.

So is it:

bone > leather > cloth > grass or
bone > leather > grass > cloth ?

bone > leather > cloth > grass
This depends on the quality and wear of the armor.

Also since the quality affects defensive bonus that armor provides is the low quality bone still better than high quality leather?

A new supreme quality set of leather can provide more bonus than a worn lowest quality set of bone armor, but in general bone > leather > cloth > grass does apply.

Would it be hard for you to implement a display for each armor piece of the exact defensive bonus that it provides (kind of like you display stat bonus on the armor when hovering mouse over the piece)? That would help people figure out which armor they want to wear and also give us an idea of what defensive bonus we get from it. The total bonus from all armor displayed on the character screen would also be nice. People like seeing these numbers. Keeping them in the dark and constantly guessing is not a good idea. Thank you.

I am considering this, but not as a current priority. I realize that many players like to see the numbers. I personally don't and it's something I wanted to avoid. Howerver, the game does evolve and adjust based on what players want.

Case study: I have basketry at 92.3, Agility 94.3, Spirit 24.0 and Foraging 84.4. I can gather VHQ grass but I am unable to produce VHQ grass twine from them. Where is the problem? I assumed that having very high basketry level should be good enough but it is not. Is it my "hidden stat" Luck affecting me or my low Spirit?

This is a problem with objects created without tools and is being revised in our current round of development.

[Xsyon]

Questions For the Developers 09/01 Through 11/16

Drevar Asks:

I noticed a lot of the new armor/tool templates were dumped on Test in incomplete form (the web update interrupted development there.) Will basketry armor also be updated as part of the new revisions? Also, will the crafted grass fabric vs scavenged grass fabric (in multiple colors, with camo bonus and only useable in tailoring patterns) issue be resolved?

Basketry armor, and all armor sets will have artisan and master versions. There will be new female armor sets (cloth and leather).

The confusion between crafted and found grass fabric will be resolved.

I don't know how many times I have already asked this in the past 2 years but I'll ask again: Will wood types be getting individual bonuses with this update?

Most likely not. This is planned primarily for when we can implement furniture.

Geozen Asks:
[QUOTE]I would really like to know when grass will start growing again, or if we will be getting the ability to plant grass seed with the Foresting skill soon. It's making me really paranoid that I'm going to destroy the landscape.[/QUOTE]
We don't have a set time for this right now. It was implemented but caused server problems so it's currently turned off until we can optimize the system.

Morphinehit Asks:

Was just wondering if there has been any progress on the HP regeneration in the game. The downtime after fights is probably the only thing that actually annoys me at the moment. Even if faster health regen means having to eat a particular type of rare herb which must be gathered, I still reckon it would be a major plus to the gameplay.

Health regeneration was recently increased. This will be addressed further when cooking is patched out.

Willowhawk Asks:

Will we be seeing a use for Basalt bricks any time in the near future? I have a project in mind that I would like to build with these darker bricks =)

We'll see. If we can increase the size of our team we will be adding more architecture parts in 2013.

Azzym Asks:

I have read somewhere that you plan to implement PhysX for better collision handling. I can't spot it on the "In Development" list. Is that change so small that it warrants no spot on the list or is it included with something else in that list, like archery?

This is a big change and is in progress. It will first affect collision and later be used for improved effects. The first implementation (in progress) won't be noticed until we fully revise the collision system to use Phys-X and that will happen after the current round of development listed.

With the coming armor makeover. Will stats like Damage Bonus and camoflage actually work?

Yes. All stat bonuses are being revised.

It seems like the current round grows (from what I remember) and that we never get to the attractive cooking/archery skills. Do you have an estimate on when you will be able to work on the next/coming round of features?

Cooking will be part of this round or shortly after. I can't give any time estimates as a lot depends on raising funds to expand our team over the next month and a half.

zoria Asks:

How is Kickstarter going, any clue about when it is going to take place? Is there any reason for current members to invest into Xsyon for that matter?

It's ready but was held off for tax reasons. There are many rewards that should interest current players from small Xsyon memorabilia to assisting with new object design.

As for the coming patches, is there an ETA for it?

I can't give any ETA at the moment.

fatboy21007 Asks:

when will decorations, Porchs be ingame? Also any chance of a function to pick our totem up? (ie instead of disbanding we can pick it up, move to a new home, stick it back down, ill assume it will have a 6 hours or heck mb even 30day timer on it)

As above, I can't give an ETA. These things are not in our current development schedule.

Koll Asks:

1 Question: Farming and subsquently Brewing Booze, when ?

As above, I can't give an ETA. Farming is planned for after the current crafting and materials revisions.

Thorbrand Asks:

I need to know what is the current active population in the game? I want to come back and bring a few friends with but if there is no one playing no one will want to pay no matter how fun the game is.

Slightly over 300 active players. The active population has been slowly rising since mid September.

Thanks for the questions! Sorry for the delay on this round. These past two months have been hectic for me personally and with preparing for the future of Xsyon.

[Xsyon]

Questions For the Developers 11/17 Through 11/30

Koll Asks:

Hello Xsyon ! Will we be able to attach carts to Mounts ?

This will depend on if we meet our current fund raising goals through Kickstarter and other sources. If we do, yes. If not, mounts will first be released without the ability to pull carts.