Dark Age Of Camelot: Friday Night Grab Bag of Legend

Article can be found here!

Here we go!

Q. Hey, I just bought Trials of Atlantis and I was wondering... do I have to download and install New Frontiers again? I already had it installed for Shrouded Isles. It's such a big download. I'd hate to have to do it again if I don't really need to. Also, will I have to download it a third time when I buy Catacombs?

A. From your friends in customer service: "As to your first question, that depends. Do you want to use the Trials of Atlantis client while RvRing? If so, you're going to have to download and install New Frontiers again. This time, when you go to http://www.camelotherald.com/newfrontiers/download.php, click on one of the links for Trials of Atlantis users. If you'd rather not download it though, you can always click on the link near the bottom to have us send it to you on CD (it's still free, you just have to pay for shipping and handling).

"As for your second question, Catacombs will be using the TOA version of New Frontiers, so at least you won't need to go through it a third time. And if you don't get around to downloading NF before you get Catacombs, the Catacombs box will include a CD with New Frontiers for your convenience."

Q: The last grab bag had: Q: There's a side quest associated with the quest called Origins of Harpies, where an NPC sends you to forage for four items. While you're foraging, three other items can come up as well as the four you're looking for. When I was doing this quest, I didn't get all three of the "extra" items. Is this a bug?

A: No... The "extra" items (which can be taken to another NPC and made into nifty little trinkets) are just that - extra. Once the fourth "real" item is found, you can't get any more of the extra items (though you can always trade with other players and acquire the whole set). Thus, the number and type of extra items uncovered as you forage is entirely random, and up to luck. It's not a bug, it's a spin on the wheel of fortune.

I thought I would point out that if you are grouped then every person in the group gets the "real item" each time anyone in the group finds it. Thus in an 8 man group all 8 usually get all 4 "real" items with only one set of "extra" items to split among the group.

You really have to do this quest ungrouped if you want a shot at getting the extra items. It would be nice if all group members get the extra items just like they get the real items.

A: Ay yi yi, thanks for pointing that out. You're right - our quest loot code is written so people will each get their own copy of the quest item. Normally, this is a good thing, but our extra items are not tagged as quest. I will pass on your feedback, and meanwhile, here's your letter to remind everyone to ungroup for this step if they want to get the extra items.

Q How exactly does Vanish work? I keep getting hit from spells after I vanish, and I'm not talking about bolts or arrows that are in existence and on target before hand. If a spell is in process of being cast on a target and target vanishes, should target still be hit?

A: From the Oracle: "If a spell/arrow/whatever is in flight or in progress before Vanish is used, it'll still hit the vanished player.

"The more technical answer would be: The server places an effect on the player. Since the player's state was "visible" when the effect was cast, that effect is placed on the "visible" player, at which point it counts down until the effect hits (or misses, in the case of a bolt or arrow) the player. However, if the player is already vanished when the enemy is trying to cast the spell/arrow, the spell/arrow will fail to cast because there is no target. Put simply, the state of the player *when the spell/arrow is cast* is what determines if the spell/arrow will fail or not."

Q: Insert question here about player horses.

A: Not in Catacombs, y'all. I'm sorry. We love the idea so much that it's always our top thing to include whenever we sit down to do the expansion. THAT means it's always something people mention when they talk about our upcoming plans. It also has not been something we've been able to get working right thus far, and so it gets put off. I would rather not give you this answer, since it's been mentioned for so long now (it's been years, for the three of you not keeping track), but I'd be less than honest if I said there was any chance of the ponies getting into Catacombs.

Q: I have noticed the consignment merchants in Foundations change clothes. Is there any function/purpose to this?

A: From the 1.70 patch notes:

FOUNDATIONS NOTES

- All housing merchants have had the equipment they wear randomized to give the merchants a variety of outfits. Picking up the merchants (both consignment and internal house merchants) and placing them back down on their hookpoints (or porch) will cause the NPC to randomly choose an outfit from the equipment it has been given. Please note: Hasteners, Intoners, Pipers, and Vault Keepers have not had their equipment modified.

Q: I have a few questions about Poisonspike. The documentation says there is a cast time, but in the game they are instants. Which is correct? Also: What resist is applied to calculate Poisonspike damage? Does the Envenom skill have anything to do with it? Is there any chance to resist it?

A: Whoops - during one of the first drafts, Poisonspike was meant to have a cast time, but by the time we went live, we wanted it to be an instant. Thanks for letting us know, we'll fix the Herald.

I went to the Oracle for your other questions. "There is no resist available to players for essence damage, which is what Poisonspike does. And no, the envenom skill has nothing to do with it. And yes, there is a chance to resist it like any other spell/poison/dot."

Q: I just received the email below that looks to be coming from your servers. I haven't made an appeal, so I am sending this in thoughts that your appeal system is having troubles. It isn't asking for passwords or anything, just appears to have gone to the wrong person. I pasted it below with headers for your information. Thanks.

Dark Age of Camelot Support Update
=====

Thank you for submitting your appeal to Dark Age of Camelot support. Your appeal has been received, and is currently waiting for a CSR to address your issue. Please use /Appeal with no text after it, to get a status update on this appeal.

(snip)

A: Thank you very much for including the header information with your question - it enabled us to pull up your account and fully investigate. Here's the answer I got back from our customer service team: "He got it because the email address on this account is the same one he emailed from, and the appeal was placed on this acct...so either his email is being used on an acct that he doesn't know about, or someone placed the appeal on his acct."

I would recommend that you change your password, in case there is someone using your account without your knowledge. If you do that, and this happens again, I wouldn't worry too much - there are a few customers out there that use my email address instead of their own.

Side note: Pity, that. If they had only used their own address, they'd have gotten their own beta invitation. Instead, *I* have a beta invitation, but it's their account that's got a beta flag on it. Please use a real email address, and update your account information regularly!

Q: Does bow speed effect the range of the bow?

A: Nope.

Q: How do you guys come up with the names for places like housing zones and neighborhoods, or the all the region names in the Frontiers?

Do you have a couple people who research good Norse/Celtic/Welsh names?

A: Bardic Goddess, aka Patch Queen, was in charge of coming up with names this time. The short answer was that we use really old maps of Europe. The long answer with samples of our research material follows the announcement section.

***

I had a lot of fun today, as did the Moderately Evil Overlord and the rest of the Herald team, as we played tour guide to a good size player gathering from the Kay server. They're off to the Maryland Renaissance Festival tomorrow morning, so if you're there and you see about twenty Hibbies, twenty Middies, and one lonely Alb storming the place, give a big salute to the noble armies of Kay. Thanks to Nicole/Lyli for all her planning efforts.

Funny side note - I had a roll of posters (from a Korean marketing push two years ago) that I put down on the loot table. The players swarmed over them, and then started laughing. Whoever made the poster was apparently a Kay player, and all the screenshots prominently featured Kay guilds and players. Congratulations, Kay people, you're famous in Korea.

For those of you writing to me about your beta accounts, and how you should have gotten them and didn't, etc - we are researching each one of you, and most of you are going on a list to be activated next week. You are not forgotten!

The web technical support form is still not working properly. Please look at the form, and include the requested information in an email addressed to support AT darkageofcamelot.com - and remember, this address is ONLY for technical or billing issues. It's a completely separate team from in-game support, and they cannot help you with in game issues.

That's it for me - see you all next week! Now, for those of you who like to see what we base our town names on, back to our Patch Queen.

***

I asked the content team this same question when I was saddled with the task of naming these three new zones! :) The quest and world team that chose some of the names (in order to help me name these) would often try to find historic places that may have existed in the time period of Arthur/Dark Ages... or earlier.

So, I attempted to go with their same route:

History on Wendover: "Wendover was first mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086 where it was referred to as "Wendovre". Before then, it was also mentioned in 970 in the will of the Aeldorman of Wiltshire and Hampshire. Wendover was initially a very small market village which was mainly a base for agricultural industry. The market has been held since 1199 during the reign of King John, and is still held every Thursday. Other forms of work in Wendover would include lace making and straw plaiting."

http://www.aylesburyvale.net/wendover/history.asp

From the historical excerpts I found on Wendover, the town existed in records/books since the 1086. The name change for the housing zone now refers to the Chiltern Hills, the hills in which the town resides. There are a number of hilltop areas in the housing zone, which have been named for the hills in this region (Coombe Hill, Haddington Hill, Aston Hill, Boddington Hill)

History on Holmestrand: "Holmestrand is often called "The town by- and on the mountain". Once a 9 kilometre long and narrow place at the coast, the town has expanded up the mountain and on the plateau. The Holmestrand area has lots of rare types of rock. Scientists come from all over the world to make new findings here. Some of the oldest stone-age findings in Vestfold have been found in Holmestrand."

http://gonorway.no/frameset.me?township.php?frameset=http://gonorway.no/township_bottom.php?ID=6

Web documentation on Holmestrand dates the town in the pre 1500 (a little late, but still probably prior to a Renaissance period for the area...details of the stone age findings indicate there may have been peoples living here prior to that). The village is in the province of Vestfold, which is one of the oldest regions in Norway. The first king of Norway originated from Vestfold. Kaupang, in Vestfold (another housing zone!) is one of the first city-settlements of Norway.

History on Tullamore: "TULLAMORE, or KILBRIDE, a market, assize and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of BALLYCOWAN, KING's county, and province of Leinster, 20 miles (S.E. by E.) from Athlone, and 49½ (W. by S.) from Dublin, on the road to Parsonstown, and on the line of the Grand canal from Dublin to Shannon harbour; containing 7626 inhabitants, of which number 6342 are in the town. About the year 1790 this place was an insignificant village, consisting almost wholly of thatched cabins; but having been nearly destroyed by accidental fire, occasioned by the mismanagement of a fire balloon, it was rebuilt by the Earl of Charleville, the proprietor, in an improved manner."

http://www.irishmidlandsancestry.com/content/offaly/a-z/offaly_p-w.htm#tullamore

Although the documentation states a date of 1790, there were people in the area prior to this date (this place was an insignificant village) - there are records of a castle that was built in 1192 and population records dating back to the 1600s. The original name of Tullamore was "Tulach Mhor", which means "Big Hill".

Nifty! Thanks, Jen :)