(Taken from the Boards on 4/1/03) Your Questions Answered To give a bit of an introduction to this FAQ, it is important to note that there are still quite a few details that have yet to be finalized. The intent of the information release was to get to you what we can as far in advance as possible. As the weeks progress toward the testing phases, more information will be provided to aid you in understanding the changes and what they mean to you. Do you have all the information you need in order to reallocate right now? No. Will it be provided to you in a timely matter? You?re darn right. So, without further ado, the FAQ! Note: Further coding, alpha testing, and beta testing could result in changes. Please stay tuned to the GemStone III Forums for updates. Thank you! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TPs/Levels/Experience Q. Will the Death Recovery (DR) points system be turned off for invasions (some of us die 5 or 6 times in an invasion)? A. No. Players will need to be more prudent in their decisions regarding invasions, and GMs will need to be more prudent in their decisions when creating mass mayhem. Q. Ok, I see no mention whatsoever in the docs for GSIV about attribute growth. Since mana is going to increase only by training in harness power with the profession's initial mana attribute (ex. (influence + aura) bonus/2 for bards) only affecting the amount of level 0 mana, can we then infer that stats will no longer be growing, or is this not the case? A. Stats will still increase with level, though they may not follow the current growth formulas. Base mana will not change regardless of stat growth. Q. Is the relation between experience and training points relative to experience per level? Or is it constant? In other words, are training points in GS4 awarded based on experience, as opposed to level? A. Training points are based on level. Q. What will be the formula for TPs gained from exp? A. Experience Interval/(Training Points per Level) = Experience required to gain 1 Training Point Q. If the TPs remain the same for each level and a character can only train in the same amount of skills per level then what is the reward for trying to absorb many times the exp that was once needed for the same skills? A. The same as before: Gaining levels, increasing skill, gaining spells and abilities, staying on top of the dog pile, and graduating to new hunting grounds. Q. If the new system will make characters go down in levels, then they can potentially forget things like spells. This makes no sense. Why would my character suddenly forget how to cast a spell? A. There is not expected to be an IC justification for these sweeping mechanics changes. They are being made as improvements to the game as a whole, to ensure that the game remains fun and healthy for years to come. Q. Will the hunting learning curve still be at ?10/+10 your level? A. We will probably retain the ?10 level limit. There is no current limitation on gaining experience from creatures higher than your level; you still learn. Q. Will there be a level cap? A. No. Q. Will we still store experience in our MIND for absorption? A. Yes. Q. Will different races provide bonuses other than stat bonuses (i.e. Elves being more resistant to cold for instance)? A. Some races will have bonuses beyond stat bonuses. Elves are not expected to gain cold resistance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skills Q. Is there going to be an increase in the ranks you can get each level in the guilds? As it stands you need something around 90 levels to master 6 skills. In all honesty, very very few people will ever reach that level, just curious if it will still be ((lvl - 4)*4) for ranks? A. Probably, though this is not yet finalized. Q. So what happened to the Artisan's Guild? A. No further development planned for Phase I with Artisan Skills. Not sure for Phase II yet. Q. How will putting our existing Guild skill ranks into other Guild skills work? A. In a fashion similar to reallocation of skills, players will be given the option to reallocate their guild ranks. Q. When will we see the revised and new skill costs by profession? A. When they are ready? ;) I don?t expect to see this for at least a month, possibly longer. Q. Will Dreams gain SOMETHING better than meditation, to make Dreams worth the favor cost? A. The favor cost and benefits for Dreams will be reassessed. Either the benefits will increase or the favor cost will decrease. Q. Will Sorcerers have access to the Elemental Lores? A. All Lores are available to all professions, though the costs will vary. As Spiritual/Elemental hybrid casters, Sorcerers will have moderate costs for the Elemental Lores. Q. Spiritual Lore - Blessings is listed. Will this list be used to improve MnS spells? A. Blessings Lore is intended to aid with some Minor Spirit spells and some Major Spirit spells. More details will be forthcoming as they are finalized. Q. Spiritual Lore - Summoning is listed. MnS spells again? A. Summoning Lore is intended to aid with some Minor Spirit spells and some Major Spirit spells. More details will be forthcoming as they are finalized. Q. When will we know exactly how these skills interact with our spells? Some of them have already been listed (such as with the new Wizard spells), but many of them are still very vague. Will their cost be appropriate for our level of use? (Say, lower cost than those with MjS and Cleric base since we won't be utilizing those aspects of the skill?) A. This information is not yet finalized; therefore we are not yet ready to provide this information. Q. Alright, I notice you failed to mention the fate of Warcries...please tell me you ain't getting rid of it... A. Warcries are not being done away with. Q. Any chance the level 15 requirement to join guilds will be lowered or dropped entirely? A. Not likely. Q. Which of the CM skills will be "Open Skills"? A. Not quite ready to go there...but they will be useful in combat. Q. Will Character Manager Skills be universal? Meaning, can we train in any skill regardless of profession? A. Yes, other than the closed spell lists, which will remain profession-specific. Q. In relation to the experience change, what happens to people who have their guild skills already to the wall? A. They will be able to reallocate them into new guild skills as the skills are created. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spells & Spell Circles Q. How will sending mana work? With all these different kinds of mana, what will happen if I, a Wizard, send mana to my Empath friends? Will that be different from sending to my Wizard friends? A. The mana spheres will be separated again. If you're a Monk (mentalist) sending to a Cleric (spiritualist), your best bet is to find an Empath (mental/spirit hybrid) to act as a medium unless either the Monk or the Cleric shelled out the points for the opposite sphere mana control training. Same thing for your Wizard to Empath example. Best bet is probably to find a Sorcerer to channel for you. Q. Being the "hybrid" casters that Sorcerers are, should we have access to the minor mental circle? If we do not have access to mental anything how then are our mental spells justified? A. Sorcerers will not have access to the Minor Mental spell list. Spells that have a Mental feel to them on the Sorcerer list will be receiving new names and descriptions to be more sorcerous in nature. Q. Bard sonic gear is dependent upon training in songs to activate the bonus. It takes 79 spellsong trainings to have 10x gear. Will this change in GS4? A. As with all AS/DS enhancing spells, their bonuses will be re-evaluated as part of the combat changes. It is too early to provide a specific response on whether 79 spellsongs will be required to sing 10x gear. Q. Any idea on how CS will be figured in GS4? I didn't hear anything new so I'm assuming it will remain the same. However, with the minimum bonus changing to +2 in the mangler it got me wondering about this. Can you confirm how CS and TD will be figured in the new world, or if any skill training besides spells will be involved in determining CS and TD? A. There are no plans to change the CS/TD system. Q. Will we still see Demon Summoning? Major Summoning? Yes/No? A. Demon Summoning is still slated as a distant project. It is not part of either Phase I or Phase II for the GemStone IV release. Q. Looking at the magic diagram on the GSIV site, Empaths sit right between the spirit and mentalist spheres in much the same way that sorcerers sit between spirit and elemental. Does that mean we are losing the major spirit list and gaining the minor mentalist list? A. For Phase I, Empaths will still be considered pure spiritualists with access to the Minor Spirit and Major Spirit spell circles. In Phase II, Empaths will be moving to a hybrid definition, trading the Major Spirit list for the Minor Mental list. We recognize Empaths rely on spells from the Major Spirit list and those needs will be addressed through the Minor Mental list and the Empath list. Q. With the drastic reduction in character levels coming, I would hope that GMs will have the good sense to not require 45 ranks in the Ranger Circle to get our companions inside. Those 15 ranks will be like 50 in today?s terms. If there must be an extra ranks requirement, it should be 5, certainly not more than 10. A. All rank and level-based requirements will be re-evaluated to take into account the new experience and level system, and expected training baselines. Q. Will a Bard sphere still exist? A. Bards do not have a Bard sphere; they have the Bard spell circle, which will incorporate some Elemental facets and some Mental facets. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reallocation & Testing Q. With the change to both profession prime requisites and racial attributes, at this time, are there any plans to allow current profession/race switches? A. There are no plans to allow racial changes. We expect to allow a limited amount of professional switching. This is currently expected to be limited to Warriors and Clerics being given the option of switching to the Paladin profession when it is released. Allowing characters with more than a certain amount of Brawling training to convert to Monks is a possibility, but it is currently not planned. No other professions will be allowed to change to a different profession. Q. Will we be allowed to convert our equipment? A. Converting equipment from say, brigandine to double leather, will not be allowed. Q. Will we have access to technical information/statistics/formulas before they are forced to reallocate? A. As in the past, some formulas will be provided, and some will not. There will be an extended trial period with multiple reallocations allowed to give players ample time to get a feel for the changes. Q. Will our items transfer? A. Yes. Q. Is everyone getting a crack at the test server? A. Yes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Races & Professions Q. I distinctly remember reading somewhere...I think in the documentation regarding Jaston...that after Imaera created Jaston, she decided his wings made him too beautiful and stirred too much envy from other races, so she vowed never again to make a race of winged people. Something like that. So...uh...yeah. Contradiction? A. Regardless of whether or not that myth is correct (or even official), Imaera did not create the Aelotoi. Q. With the addition of new professions/skills/spells, will new ones be finished? A. We are constantly working to improve professions. No profession is ever ?finished?. We expect to continue our efforts for all professions. Q. Will there be cows? A. Cattle already exist in Elanthia, as do horses, sheep, goats, etc. In general, common mundane creatures from the real world exist in Elanthia too. With regards to a cow race? moo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Combat Q. Will redux be figured differently with the new Level Designation System? If so, how? A. The details of changes to the combat system, including DF Redux, are not yet finalized. Q. Will the creatures be adjusted accordingly? A. Yes. Q. Will I have to re-hunt critters I?ve passed by? A. You may find that some creatures that you have previously hunted are now again in your level range. All players should have many hunting options, however, and if you choose to not hunt a creature that you do not find fun, you can try other creatures. Q. Will we have an Engagement System like that of Dragon Realms? A. No. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roleplaying Q. I'm sure standard or mundane items will exist in GS4 but what about high-end items? A. Of course! Q. Hey, I didn't notice anything about Quests under the new list, but any idea how that's gonna work? Are they gonna be semi-difficult quests that reward a huge chunk of experience or what? A. Detailed information on quests will be provided in the coming months. Q. How will the new titles be laid out? A. We will be re-evaluating the titles to consider the new level system. Q. Any changes that are not listed to stop MAing and people from creating teams to powerlevel characters? A. No. Q. Any changes that are not listed to curb RL sales? A. No. Q. Any details on the new town? A. None are available at this time. Q. Any thoughts on allowing players to change their names? A. No. Q. Will the cartographers have to redraw existing maps? A. There may be some modifications to existing maps. Q. Has Yuriqen (Sylvan City) been put aside permanently? A. No. Q. Will there be changes to how fame is acquired? A. None are currently slated. Q. Now when you commit a crime inside town, you are automatically arrested by a mob. Will this change to where a NPC similar to the constable or guard captain will be the ones capable of doing the arresting? A. Details on the Justice system will be released within the coming months. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Front End Q. What OSes will the new FE run on? A. Windows related platforms Q. Is the Wizard FE being discontinued? A. No Q. Will eScape be discontinued? A. There are no plans to discontinue eScape at this time. Q. Does the new front-end support OSX for Macs? A. No. Q. Will we still have the option to use the Wizard FE? A. Yes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Promotions Related Q. Are there any plans to increase advertising to gain new players? A. There are plans to continue advertising to gain new players, and we may explore new advertising options. Q. Will there be a price increase? A. There is no price increased that is planned in conjunction with these changes.