Asherons Call: Even More Q&A

Aratak asks: Srand/Ibn: Could one of you elaborate a bit on this topic [@allegiance info commands]? I posted on the official AC boards, and I have a couple problems with the response. [Aratak then goes on to list a number of problems with said command]
srand, as channelled by Ibn_Turbine:

Because of the way we store our allegiance data, the @allegiance info command has the potential to be fairly processor intensive on the master server. This can cause server-side lag for all other servers in the farm. For that reason, we want to be very careful about how the @allegiance info command is used.

We decided upon the initial period of 30 seconds between uses via educated guesses about server performance and the expected usage during peak hours. This 30 second period seems to be working out pretty well, so unless there's a damned good reason we're pretty satisfied to leave it alone.

The easiest way for us to implement a timer of this sort is to use the already-extant 'spam' system -- the same system that is in use for public chat and to regulate the number of corpses generated upon repeated deaths. Using this system significantly cut down on the time it took to implement the @allegiance info command. It also meant, however, that the command has the not-entirely-intuitive spam behavior of incrementing the wait timer each time you attempt to use it prematurely.

If we have time in the future, we would like to improve and expand upon the @allegiance info command -- and indeed upon all the allegiance functionality. Unfortunately, that requires some resources we do not have available right now.

Chef_Wubbie asks: I'm trying to figure out why the ultimate expression of my cooking skill is Elaborate Rations. Something someone with 100 or 200 cooking can make themselves, not like Kimchi, Pizza, Green Tea Ice Cream that required some running around and skill to produce.
Ibn_Turbine: We have some ideas on improving cooking, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to get to them. This is not very much help, but it shows we agree with you I think. 8)

hmtd03 asks: Whats the chance of you guys doin a dev chat we havent had once since Jan i dont know about the other people who play ac but i liked the ability to pick the brain of a dev to see what makes em tick
Ibn_Turbine: I can answer that for you here: No, you can't. See, now we don't need a Dev Chat! Seriously tho, yes, there will be another Dev Chat, but finding time for it is really difficult.

T_Herman_Zweibel asks: How about a special wand for melees w/ magic that doesn't lower melee D. We all know that if a melee takes out his wand in combat (and let's face it, many melees DO have life magic, which they use offensively), they'll get pounded, as melee defense is severely lowered by being in magic mode. What do you think of the idea of having a casting implement with a melee bonus, unstead of a penalty.
This could be a quest item, and it could have a 350 base melee wield requirement, or some requirement to prevent anyone without melee defense from using it. Perhaps, in order to be balancing, it could be a really sucky wand in other aspects, such as perhaps a negative mana C bonus.
Ibn_Turbine: When srand and Orion were going through the code to find the info that resulted in Orion's latest Dev Diary, this was something that was looked into. srand confirms that there is NO penalty for being in casting mode or carrying a wand when in melee combat. There's no check for it anywhere. What you're seeing is most likely the lack of the targeting bonus. As was said earlier, if you are in melee or missile and are targeting the creature that is attacking you, you get a bonus to your defense. Go into casting mode and you lose that bonus. So being in casting mode is just like being in melee mode and getting attacked by something that you're not targeting.

Erklaerbaer asks: Ibn: Do you have any info why the STFU - Go Red T-Shirt is no longer available at cafeshop? It is nowhere to be found anymore tho http://acdm.turbinegames.com/ has still a link showing it.
Ibn_Turbine: I have no idea, working on getting an answer.

F0N asks: Cage - trap any critter you want, 1 cage per account. Wouldnt that be neet, trap any critter you want then add the cage to a house item hook.
Ibn_Turbine: This is a pretty neat idea... from what I know of the code it is doable but the team couldn't do it for ALL creatures at once. They could maybe create a group of trappable/hookable creatures the first month, then add more, etc etc. I'll definately suggest this to them.
Ibn_Turbine: Oh also -- I should note that letting them OUT of the cage would probably be impossible. What you'd have is a hookable house object that looks like a creature in a cage.

timtheswordsman asks: Why not turn the gems that master mages sell into recall gems instead of summon gems. I waste so many of them trying to open in various spots that don't allow it: Sanc, Market, House etc.
Ibn_Turbine: Adding recall gems is probably more likely than changing the summons to recalls. I've used those summon gems on the landscape to get a low-level party out of danger. But I'll pass along the suggestion.

pimpinsins asks: so when are more devs going to play npcs in ac? was fun when martine owned at blood mansion mabe start talking over towns ect with some npc.
Ibn_Turbine: This is something we'd like to do more often, but I can't give you an exact ETA.

Theran_Bakagin asks: Would it be possible to have a flag in the Character information panel to show "Spouse of XXXXXX" after the Marriage quest... possibly another item in the lines of the Titles area??
Ibn_Turbine: srand and I just talked about this a few hours ago, not sure whether she saw this thread before I did or what. But yes it's something that's come up but the coding part of it is pretty tricky.

dugfromthearth asks: No golems in Qal on MT - are they gone on your server? Apparently we can now permanently get rid of the golem spawns in towns. Turbine won't say how, but presumably by killing Gaerlan.
Ibn_Turbine: They're gone. They were supposed to be gone in the July event, but they stuck around... we thought they would go away on their own during the month, but they didn't. But they're definately gone now.
On the one hand, I will miss fighting them. On the other hand, now my L25 xbower can get into GW. I think this is the trade-off that most players will experience, or something like it.