Test Release Notes - August 20, 2009

[MacIronhawk]

I am speechless. I want to jump up and down and scream my ear drums out... but for some reason, I can't.

There is a pirate lord out there giving us what we want... thank you! Now all we need is the second story quest and the Kraken to make this all worth wile! Thank you Disney! You took a while, but you finally came through, and before summer ended!(for me anyways)

[The Skirata Clan]

I think the compass is just asking too much. All the stuff that is added and the compass is the issue. I for now can't complain. I just can't wait until it hits open. And knowing Disney it will probably be next week. They do have a record of not taking the necessary test time with updates.

[Midhav]

wicked mates. this update is going to rock the Caribbean like a meteor! Well u guys should know this is only the beginning i wonder what 'new content' they have in store for us. by the way whats the casa muerto quest and can someone plz go there and check out what are the new enemies especially the ones in tormenta. Supposedly theres a Thrall captain (lvl 53). Next month would probably be sea serpants and squids or even scyllas. New islands - probably peleogosto, cruces, muertos, shipwreck cove, numerous wild isles and more. Oh and by the way what is the more they refer to for this current update eh? somebody who has test server access plz answer our questions

[Dr. Zeppers]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

Also, what I don't get is... why did they redo the islands, and now the caves, AFTER the game launched?

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

Why didn't they just wait another year before releasing the game to add this all in. I'm sure it would have made the game more interesting to begin with.

They needed the game to go public before or at same time as an industry competitor (POTBS) published their game. PR battle basically. From all the hidden and unused places we would glitch to it appeared that they had suddenly cut off areas, simplified even duplicated rooms to get the concept up and working as fast as possible. I believe now they are putting everything back in play, including any new ideas theyve picked up along the way. I think what they have on test is alot closer to the game they had originally intended on releasing, and believe these updates only help lead into more future content, like a second story quest.

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by Dr. Zeppers

They needed the game to go public before or at same time as an industry competitor (POTBS) published their game. PR battle basically. From all the hidden and unused places we would glitch to it appeared that they had suddenly cut off areas, simplified even duplicated rooms to get the concept up and working as fast as possible. I believe now they are putting everything back in play, including any new ideas theyve picked up along the way. I think what they have on test is alot closer to the game they had originally intended on releasing, and believe these updates only help lead into more future content, like a second story quest.

I do understand releasing before POTBS, and then redoing a lot of things, but I still don't understand one thing. Does anyone know if they have any plans on reusing the old caves? That's so much area and content they could bring back, and I'm sure that at least some of us don't want to see it go to waste.

Don't get me wrong, I like the new caves. They look better/more real than the old caves, but I'd like to see them reuse the caves in the future. Every new cave on test is different than the others, while before they were way too similar. I just don't want to see the old cave area go to waste.

I just can't understand why they took all that time to make the caves and now they're throwing them away. It makes me feel like I wasted a years POTCO subscription on something that wasn't even supposed to be in the game.

[Eliza Creststeel]

And then the pirate awoke... and it was all a dream!

OMG those shots are works of BLOODY ART!! Wow!! I CAN NOT WAIT... period.

[Amelia Heartburn]

GREAT Job Sawyer!!!

Thanks for posting the great screenies, as it seems us Mac users may have to wait a while to check this out on Test.

I'll try in the morning when I get home from work.

Thanks again, Great to hear some positive stuff about the big D!!!

[musicalklutz]

I was *thisclose* to cancelling my membership. Not anymore!

[Stephen O'Malley]

I'm seriously looking forward to the cap raises and my internet being fixed . My mastered pirate has nothing to do (when I can actually come online)!

The only problem I have with these changes is that the cave environments look like they could be extremely confusing. I remember that I was EXTREMELY perplexed at thieves den when I first started, but then again, they didn't have maps either.

[wulfric]

Arg. I lost test server access when my hard drive crashed and I can't figure out how to reload the test server.

[Basil Dreadflint]

Originally Posted by wulfric

Arg. I lost test server access when my hard drive crashed and I can't figure out how to reload the test server.

IF you are a member of the Helm, here on POF, you can follow these links to the test server download. Zep has the links posted for both PC and Mac users.

http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...04&postcount=1


Also, I did get to spend a little time on test last night. I only went to Murky Hollow, but I can tell you the following things that I noted.

The graphics are GREAT!
The caves are confusing. Real caves, tunnels, rocks, roots, twists and turns, AND DEAD ENDS!!! I love them.
Disney has definitely changed the way you earn rep. You can earn a lot more rep per enemy now.
Example:
Lars is a level 19, almost 20. He still has double rep from the Father's Day quest. The first enemy I saw was a GREY level 6 Skeleton, Pirate I think, and I took him out using about 4 swings of the cutlass. This would normally earn me about 3 rep points. Yesterday, I got 6, and then it doubled.
Later, I found General Bloodless?, (The one who hangs out in Murky Hollow.) and he was level 13. He showed as a RED enemy. I treated him as if he were Timothy Dartan on the back beach, using each of my 4 weapons, and not using combo strokes. I took about 1/4 of his health with each weapon, Cutlass, Pistol, Doll and Dagger. I waited for him to respawn, and did this a total of 4 times. I was getting rep in the range of 650 to 760 from each kill. (Now remember, I was getting double rep.) But, I think I was getting quite a bit more rep than I would have from before the update.

Another item I noticed, and tried a few times, was the aggression level. It seems to have changed again.
As I ran through the cave, if I ran past a Grey enemy, I could go stand right next to it, and it would not attack me unless I attacked first. BUT, if the enemy was Green, Yellow or Red, my nearness would set them off and they would attack me without me attacking first. (Almost got beat a couple times testing this theory.) Then, I tried to figure out how far I needed to run to get them to disengage. They seem to disengage at a reasonable distance. In other words, an enemy wouldn't latch on and chase me through the entir ecave, but would give up after a short, but hardy, chase.

OVERALL, I can't wait to get this on open! I can see me letting my two younger pirates go into stasis, and bringing out the big guys again! I just hope Disney doesn't try to rush this too fast and not give the testers time to debug it first. And, I hope the testers actually TEST it, and not just try to be the first one to reach level 50.

[Sven Niscadae]

Originally Posted by Basil Dreadflint

Another item I noticed, and tried a few times, was the aggression level. It seems to have changed again.
As I ran through the cave, if I ran past a Grey enemy, I could go stand right next to it, and it would not attack me unless I attacked first. BUT, if the enemy was Green, Yellow or Red, my nearness would set them off and they would attack me without me attacking first. (Almost got beat a couple times testing this theory.) Then, I tried to figure out how far I needed to run to get them to disengage. They seem to disengage at a reasonable distance. In other words, an enemy wouldn't latch on and chase me through the entir ecave, but would give up after a short, but hardy, chase.

I noticed that as well. Also if you're notoriety level is EXTREMELY lower than the enemies, they won't attack you unless you attack them. Lil Test Sven (Noto 14) was tromping about almost all of the caves, even Tormenta, without getting attacked. But if I got near something that was within my capacity to fight (and win) such as in Thieves Den, they would attack me if I got too close. I suppose that way, lost lower levels won't become fodder if they wander off into the wrong area.

Originally Posted by Kelly

Other things.. I actually like the compass. (just opinion)

We're the only ones probably.

[Maximvs]

Originally Posted by wulfric

Arg. I lost test server access when my hard drive crashed and I can't figure out how to reload the test server.

As Basil mentions - you'll need to get Helm Access which you can do by using the instructions http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...ad.php?t=10086


Once you have Helm Access - Batleth has double checked the links and made update to them as of this morning - And That Thread Can Be Found Here (Once You Join The Helm)

[ninety3rd]

Originally Posted by Maximvs

As Basil mentions - you'll need to get Helm Access which you can do by using the instructions http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...ad.php?t=10086

Once you have Helm Access - Batleth has double checked the links and made update to them as of this morning - And That Thread Can Be Found Here (Once You Join The Helm)

Thanks guys. I am re-downloading and installing Test once again.
We shall see what be forecometh anon and hey nonny no.

[Jack Sunskull]

You guys have to let us know about the quest that is happening this weekend. Maybe its for that new sword they showed us and they are making a 1 time only quest, so if you snooze you lose.