Sundren's Roadmap

[Saulus]

After a suggestion in a previous thread about knowing a bit more about "our" plans I thought I would try to build a roadmap here to show where we are headed in the next little bit, I'll try to update this as things change.

- Finalizing death system changes
Essentially Sundren's final death changes will be challenging, but not punishing. The challenging aspects will come at later levels when resurrection is more readily available as opposed to newbies.

- High level areas
Mossdale is the first in our new set of high level areas, geared towards higher level parties.

- Quests & XP
Because we are going to have a lot more resources geared to higher level players, people will need a way to progress beyond level 15, this will come from DM events, and especially quests. We actually have a number of factions ready for quest implementation so this will really open up a lot of opportunities

- Drug system
Yes I talked about it a lot, yes it's mostly done, but not done bug testing. Things piled up on me lately and I haven't had time to finish ironing out the kinks, but you can be sure it is coming.

- More DMs!
Yes we don't have a lot of DMs right now, the good news of it is I do have a lot of applications that look very promising, expect to see more DMs soon.

[Leevoth]

- High level areas
Mossdale is the first in our new set of high level areas, geared towards higher level parties.

Ah, ok. Sorry Saulus, I could talk about the good things but I'll have to say something negative first.

The way that Sundren seems to be set up with the max level cap and its slow-'ish' progession, it would take people a couple months of playing, (casual or not) to get high enough to even get to Schild let alone this new Forest.

I think there should be a focus on lower level areas, for all the new lowbies that will be created by new players and those that wish to have chars. with some signuses. As it stands there are (in my opinion of course) an unsatisfying amount of low level areas for beginners. And because of this it takes a lot of repeatition through these areas before a player can move onto the next.

Ok, anyway seriously I really like Sundren and want to help in any way I can. (that was positive right? )

[Saulus]

We're going to have a lot more high level players than you think, sooner than you think. And don't forget there's other projects I haven't talked about yet... and you can be sure that it won't be all high level content...

Think Mossdale's first little tiny preview screeny showed you even a fraction of some of the amazing stuff we're working on? Hell no ...

Honestly I'd like things to be a lot more positive on this forum but there's a lot of negativity coming from a few users which I won't name. I can't vouch for everyone else on Sundren's staff but all my time I put into this project in the end isn't for self, it has to do with vision and a desire to accomplish something... but nowadays I barely get a chance to even play with people and my active time is in short bursts.

[Kaldaris]

A suggestion to

- Finalizing death system changes
Essentially Sundren's final death changes will be challenging, but not punishing. The challenging aspects will come at later levels when resurrection is more readily available as opposed to newbies.

Signus' or diamonds or whatever, really should be added into the drops sooner rather than later, with little chance to receive them, there's more risk than any sort of reward to going out adventuring, especially since all the other loot tables aren't in yet.

[Leevoth]

I understand. It's easy to forget we're all human, especially when we all communicate through computers like this.

I greatly appreciate all the hard work you and the others have put into this PW, and that's why I get so worried about Sundren's future; because I DO care.

But I just gotta state my concerns once more.
-I think new lowbie areas are crucial at this point, a big reason why people end up grinding the same area is because it's the only logical thing to do for exp and gold. The Hills are much easier than the Sewers, and those are the only real places to go for newcomers.

-Maybe Perma-death should be considered in Sundren, now THATS a cause for fear of dying.

-Honestly, I'd like to hear your (Saulus) reasons for starting people at level 3. It's a big issue to start people out that high. In real DND terms thats pretty huge.

Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear but I gotta say it.

[Saulus]

If you want to know why people start at level 3, search the forums. This has been brought up multiple times.

And in regards to adding the signuses to the loot tables, I don't have the ability to do that myself personally or else I would have, GBX would have to be the one to do that and I can't put a gun to his head and get him to do something, he's been busy lately too and taking a much needed break much like I have.

[Leevoth]

[quote=Saulus;40477]If you want to know why people start at level 3, search the forums. This has been brought up multiple times.
[quote]

Can't find it. I guess I'll never know.

[FunkGuru]

Nice. This is a confidence boost.

Any positive feedback from you developers especially of this type is greatly appreciated.

Load yourself a Longsword +1

[Saulus]

[quote=Leevoth;40478][quote=Saulus;40477]If you want to know why people start at level 3, search the forums. This has been brought up multiple times.

Can't find it. I guess I'll never know.

I typed in "starting level" in the forum search and here's one of the top 10 results.

http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthr...starting+level

[Leevoth]

Ok, thank you for the clarification, but I'm still not sure as to the reason why.

If it has to do with that bit about 'Finesse Weapon', I don't get it.

I understand that it would take resources and time to cater to those levels, but I'm suggesting that you guys do just that. It could be done with 3 easily made areas. Insects and vermin for lev 1, wild animals for lev 2, easy bandits or other humanoids (ooh evil dwarf clan?) for lev 3. Plus, by then the Hills would be an option for pcs.

I realize that you guys strive to make each area spectacularly beautiful, and it is all very breath taking. But not every area has to be that way. A simple, large warehouse or small, overrun outpost or farmhouse, perhaps.

More people will get use from some fun, little lowbie areas than a couple high level areas that will require a party of lev 18's to explore.

[wangxiuming]

I don't think there's anything wrong with starting at level 3 - frankly, it's a huge relief for any spellcasting class who has 4-6 HP at Level 1, and honestly, the difference in power between a level 1 and level 3 character, in my opinion, is negligible.

Also, I think we should try to keep this topic ... on topic. Thanks for the post Saulus, it's nice to see what is in store and what's still undergoing adjustments.

[rustediron]

Woot! High lev area! *goes and forcibly drags Zurgoth, Etria, Takhla and Lida with him*

[sparkeh]

Ok, thank you for the clarification, but I'm still not sure as to the reason why.

If it has to do with that bit about 'Finesse Weapon', I don't get it.

Well I know this has been debated many times but..

The way I see it it that why should dex based chars be at a disadvantage at lvs 1 and 2? Having the BAB requirement is stupid and makes no sense. If you want to play either a str based or dex based melee char you should be able to play that style from the start, and starting at lv 3 does this.

[Venture]

Good points and how bout the fact that playing levels 1 and 2 can be goddamn tedious. Server is a beta and the people that run it do a good job.

[Leevoth]

Dex-based fighters could take that feat at level 2, I would hope they could survive and party up until then. (i.e use a bow instead)