Amnesty/Tale 3

Pharaoh: Welcome all, one final time in Tale 3!
Pharaoh: My screen is ablaze with fireworks, ribbons, some pretty wild looking beetles...
Zaniac: Waves
kuupid: ty Pharaoh
Telanoc: And one big ass bonfire!
BryceCicada: indeed. thanks to you Tel.
TurkenLukz: who brought the lamb for burgers and chops?
Pharaoh: I would run screaming if I ever saw this beetle IRL.
Tedra: :)
kuupid: looks to see if there is an ass in the bonfire :)
Beah: LOL
Keko: Waves to all
HarvestStar: Maze did
Malard: is it possible to bring me to COTS i just logged this char in for the first time in 18months :P
Pharaoh: Malard!
HarvestStar: those beetles scared the crap out of me my first time on, I thought I was going to die in the game my first day
Malard: thanks!
Malard: yes did you get my tell in t4?
Pharaoh: Been here for a while.
Malard: ah no probs
Tedra: Tell me you chopped all that wood, Pharaoh. Come on, make my day
ArmEagle: nice. .a new angel fireworks?
TheMazeEcho: Bonfire is mostly from hounddog, with contributions from Telanoc, PP, Le Village and others
singh: Pharaoh, can I keep my monkey please :) ?
Zaniac: teppy chop wood never lol
AntonyStylite: I got a lotta wood!
Pharaoh: I'll put this mic in "Area Host" mode so anyone can walk up and say hello to Egypt.
AntonyStylite: How did I catch lung spore here! I'm still a newbie so I've never encountered that.
Zaniac: everyone ready for amnesty Pharaoh: ok guys tale 3 is going for 3 more years 3 cheers :D
kuupid: will our beetles run away in this event?
Pharaoh: Yes, sadly.
AntonyStylite: oh ooops
kuupid: oh well, they can run over to T4 hehe
talos: hey i'am coughing!
Senbi: i want to know how many men at the party know how to bellydance :D can we get a chorus line, please?
Ferns: lol
Pegasus79: hi TEDRA
Tedra: hey, Pegasus
Taemon: Okay, E! isn't coming through. Please please please does someone see Dung Rot now?
Legenda: Hello everyone, I love you all <3
singh: Where is the booze ?
kuupid: :(
Telanoc: Come pet the pony by the mic!
AntonyStylite: Did I just hear someone collecting more wood? C'mon
Kaayru: hehehe
Kaayru: ohhh TpcT!
Lethan: I take the mic to tell Pharaoh and Teppy a huge : THANK YOU! Thank you for this great game, for all the fun that it gave to us and for all the fun it will give us in T4! I will be there, and i know many other will. So lets give all a big cheer to all the ATITD team!
Pharaoh: Much appreciated.
Tedra: aye, ditto that
Babayaga: ooh, pony!
ArmEagle: Though I haven't played T3 much. I have to thank Pluribus for all the hard work he has done and is still doing!
Pharaoh: I'm really fired up about Tale 4 - just feels like we're on the right path.
Lethan: Oooo! A poney! And a weird picture that appears when we pet it...
Telanoc: Pet the pony :)
Pharaoh: Yeah, where is that pony?
Lethan: At the mic
Kaayru: by the mic
Telanoc: By me Teppy
TheSheeple: O.o
Sedjet: *laughs*
Pharaoh: Gah!
Neferneferuaten: DONT PET THE PONY _ IOTS SCARY
ArmEagle: haha
Pharaoh: 18's Kelidascope - that's a great shell.
Pharaoh: Really is intensely colored.
Telanoc: Petting the pony is the best thing ever :P
Zaniac: yeah when i pet the pny i get a australian warning R+18
Pharaoh: Who did the Fractal Tree shell? Anyone know?
Shebi: Looks more like a baby camel to me lol
Lethan: The fireworks are great, keep em coming. :)
Legenda: yeah
ArmEagle: enough of these new fireworks.. show show legacy T2 works! :)
Lethan: Its a camel but his name is pony. Dont argue
Sedjet: Oh I've gota pocket full of ground fireworks....lol
Ariella: so we each get a pretty camelpony for T4? lol
Lethan: Oh, i have a question Pharaoh, will the server be reseted between beta and live?
kuupid: where is the phonY?
Nost: Mighty fine looking beatles
Kalateth: Fabulous - Great Game - Great Friends - Great Fun - Thanks toTeppy - Pharoah and All !!!
Roz: lol
Neferneferuaten: is this thing on? tap tap
Ariella: Thanks Antigonua :)
Pascalito: pony at 4280 -718
Catlyn: Yes
Morrigan: does it actually finish tonight?
Kaayru: Lethan: yes
Roz: wow, there are some awesome beetles here
kuupid: how do we make our beetles race or fight?
Lethan: and where's the drink?
Neferneferuaten: the drunk? she#'s over there
TurkenLukz: i didn't think i could pick the pony up
TurkenLukz: now i can't drop it
TheMazeEcho: up in the Tulip CP
TreekaSu: hope you all enjoyed the fireworks....Think it was pretty tacky to still let people get sick...couldnt have coded it out quick?
TheSheeple: o.O
Pharaoh: Is there still Lung Spore around?
Kyline: yep
Pharaoh: Let me wipe that once & for all...
TheMazeEcho: yes
Pascalito: yes, i'm sick again
Zaniac: Noooo dont whip it lol
Neferneferuaten: how do you know youre sick? i never worked that out
Telanoc: Some one took the pony :(
Pascalito: but np, my Tomb got ready just in time
Neferneferuaten: they cant put it down again the area is too crowded
Pharaoh: Ok, see if that cured it.
ellorin: you mean the Roo?
TheMazeEcho: TurkenLutz has the pony
TheSheeple: O.O
Soldparadise: drop it ! :-)
TheMazeEcho: read up
Senbi: don't put it down near the beetles, they might eat the pony :(
Kaayru: O! TheSheeple is a real player? I thought he was an IRC beast only ;)
TurkenLukz: i couldn't drop it
TurkenLukz: i couldn't drop it too many people
TurkenLukz: it said the area is too crowded
ellorin: ty Eigam :)
Soldparadise: oh yeah
Sedjet: And the Immigrant channel keeps lighting up...so many returning players!
Eigam: hehe :)
Eigam: oh ! my favorite chocolate :)
TheMazeEcho: Teppy is getting rid of the Plague, just wait
Zaniac: but i want it to stay (
TurkenLukz: pharoah you should summon the pony and put it back at the mic, you can't drop it when there is so much crowding
ellorin: ty Anigona :)
AnokFero: You et coughing fits that have random stat drains
Antigona: thank you ellorin :-)
TheMazeEcho: TurkenLutz, give me the pony, I'll drop it
Kaayru: server crash is part of amnesty tradition ;)
Tedra: lol, that's funny, Kaayru
Ariella: lol yeah, I had that honorable tradition too ')
Shu: you got lemon on my chocolate ....
Asheara: can you add more wood to the burning bonfire?
Shebi: Stalking
Malard: argh this is painful its late and i have work in the morning, why does the amnesty have to be so late :p
TurkenLukz: So which plague is this?
Alayzia: some of these beetles look amazing
TheMazeEcho: ok, Pony back on ground
TurkenLukz: the beetle plague?
Aquarius: Got to love people sharing diseases ;)
TurkenLukz: haha i won't touch it again
Shebi: That's how you know it's a real party
TurkenLukz: haha shebi
Pharaoh: Thought I just cured it, no?
ellorin: hahaha laughs at the pet
Kaayru: I was about to polish it :(
Alayzia: sheeple you like ponies? lol
TurkenLukz: pharoah are you going to destroy the world in a flood or fire? at the end?
Telanoc: Give me my pony back, this is why we can't have nice things
Kaayru: don't eat Bob, ugly beetles!
Antigona: :-)
Rynth: TurkenLukz: It's a huge party, the answer is clearly a flood of firewater. =)
Tahrqa: I want to take a moment to thank Pharoah for an awesome telling ... I only wish I could have stayed and seen the last half of the telling ... Looking forward to T4
Aquarius: Im betting the wold will come to an end via a server crash
TurkenLukz: haha ya probaly
TurkenLukz: is sorry
Morrigan: wants to see the pony
TurkenLukz: haha
AntonyStylite: Can you eat the chocolate?
Noctilucent: the 'nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure' option? XD
kuupid: brb with more fireworks
Taemon: Nooooo not now!
Lethan: Hehe. Isnt it a tradition?
TurkenLukz: i have to get
Taemon: i WANT TO SEE THE PONY!
Taemon: And I want to get Master of the Human Body first.
kuupid: can I set off my fireworks, or does someone else do it?
kuupid: end of the tale plague?
kuupid: where is it?
kuupid: I want to see the pony Tel
TurkenLukz: and then all was silent, and the server never roze again
ellorin: everyone should bring their monkeys too
TheSheeple: O.O
TurkenLukz: Telanoc don't let your pony trip on the server cord, this things too old to take another fall ;)
Pharaoh: Ok, see if that cured Lung Spore.
Zaniac: NO My Monkey is at home
Lethan: The server better not come down before the amnesty!
Ariella: crash #2
Zaniac: Even teppy cant cure lung spore how did we haev a chance lol
Rynth: I just had a coughing fit IRL...I think you may have made it worse, Teppy.
Lethan: Been waiting for the VoK secret long enough. :)
Shemei: ty ell
Kaayru: lol Zaniac
Aquarius: Hah, im going to stash my ott in my tomb so my grandson can inherit it :)
TurkenLukz: Pharaoh, theres a picture online that says its you, with a DDR theator, is that really you?
TurkenLukz: home mand DDR
TurkenLukz: err home made DDR theatre
Shemei: lol
Lethan: Ooo, airship!
Sedjet: Ok, whose drunk money is that?
TurkenLukz: got a hookah in the picture too
Kaayru: mine :)
Morrigan: where airship?
Sedjet: lol
Beah: Thanks for this Tale Teppy!:) Good Night from Sweden
Kaayru: and Sheeple better not steal it!
AntonyStylite: How do you check?
Malard: what was VoK i missed that in t3 :(
Otter: uh oh.....
Zaniac: wow so much lag up here
Beah: God Natt Otter :)
Beah: LOL Tme
Catlyn: When's Amnesty?
Telanoc: Sorry folks, the pony is gone. Apparently some people think it is funny to take it so others can't use it
Kaayru: that's my wife TME, get your own one!
Pharaoh: 30 minutes from now.
TheMazeEcho: 34 mins
ArmEagle: whut.. you gave me the pony.. let me give it backl :)
Morrigan: Malard we all did.
ArmEagle: sheeple that was
Roz: ok, i just want to take the mic a second...
Roz: to say i love my extended family in Egypt
Sedjet: Kaa, your monkey is misbehaving again....lol
TurkenLukz: sorry telanoc i gave it to themaze
Roz: and Teppy and the ATITD team for bringing it to us and keeping it interesting all the time!
Roz: thank you!
TheMazeEcho: I put it back on the ground, and someone else took it away
Kaayru: my monkey only knows how to faint... he wasn't paying attention at monkey school
Roz: and that was before the wine, too o:)
ArmEagle: uhoh.. tell that to the Pony!
Aquarius: be sure to thank the academy too ;)
Roz: the Academy too :)
Toba: is impressed that the GMs have lost the pony. :)
Squiranha: hi all
InambaGuum: there was a pony? and i missed it! I WANT A PONY! GIMME A PONY!
Zaniac: I love it in real life when you are in a crowd like this and let off a fart
ellorin: < just wants my roo
ellorin: sob sob
Everyl: Yay, an Unknown Error crash to celebrate the end of the tale!
Kaayru: ah Bob got a friend :-D
ellorin: he has all tale
TurkenLukz: haha zaniac
Telanoc: The pony will be over here now :)
Otter: turn names off or downgrade rendering
BryceCicada: so that's what that smell is, Zaniac
Zaniac: i confess yup its me
TheMazeEcho: let's get skunk drunk :)
Alayzia: ty
InambaGuum: already working on it.
Dionysius: ty
Morrigan: good plan
Alayzia: how do you set them off
Shayra: drop it and light
TurkenLukz: wow crowding is at 461 at the mic
JemGirl: AE
Morrigan: where IS the mic?
ArmEagle: jem!
Mosi: Thanks Lindie
Pascalito: mic at 4280 -717
TurkenLukz: crowding as at 926% under the bonfire
Rynth: That's just about black hole level, innit?
TurkenLukz: haha
Morrigan: I am at 4282 a,d -716 I see no mic....
Otter: children play nice
kuupid: cute pony
Senbi: where is "here". tel?
Azizah:
Diania: so does beta servers get wiped before it goes live?
Zatarg: ug so many chat tabs!
TheMazeEcho: lol
Squiranha: and temperature at 2500 degrees
TurkenLukz: haha
Pascalito: yes Diania
TurkenLukz: i'm sure a bonfire that huge would be hot enough to melt stone
Catlyn: Yes, Diania
Shayra: omg wow
Malard: hmm sorry to anyone who applied to my guild, applications have been backlogged for 800 days but are now cleared, all were finally accepted ;)
InambaGuum: thank you, there's smoke coming out of my computer now.
InambaGuum: all kindsa old-school names in Immigrants channel.
Pharaoh: Probably smoke coming out of the servers...
Pharaoh: 126 people standing near me.
Malard: how many online?
ellorin: afk
InambaGuum: lol...uh oh
SpicyXX: i stashed a ton more wine in chests in bar enjoy
Asnath: ty lyndl :)
Noctilucent: purple beetesplosion lol
InambaGuum: i can't even see the damn thing to light it.
Mariamom: ty
Telanoc: Pet the pony!
Hanid: I am so happy you all came! There were some great imes here
Ariella: thanks Lindie :)
InambaGuum: muahahahaha
InambaGuum: now that is hilarious.
InambaGuum: the cigar's a nice touch
Noctilucent: that's what he gets for asking for apony :D
enilorac: roflmao!!!!
Zaniac: so i shouldnt be on beta nad t3 server?
Squiranha: pony here
Morrigan: oh - glass camel? is that the pony?
Squiranha: pet it
Morrigan: o. k.
Kalmkitty: LOL
Morrigan: lolz
Kalmkitty: now how do i get rid of ot?
Kalmkitty: lol
Morrigan: EEEK
ForceUser: hehe
Kalmkitty: oh it goes away
ForceUser: who is that?
Mariamom: ty
Kalmkitty: Tel has the only oony in the world
Sedjet: ForceUser, that's teppy
Kalmkitty: thats Teppy
Kalmkitty: pharaoh
ForceUser: aaaaah
ForceUser: *cough*
Shayra: ty Lindie :)
rdk: txh
Kalmkitty: nice pony
AnokFero: thank you lindi
Morrigan: is the Amnesty thing gonna be logged somewhere?
Asnath: thanks lindie
Otter: so far
Diania: ohh i thought petting the pony was him giving us girls a line... you mean there really is a pony?
Kaayru: oh but it talks too!
Sun-Aj: thanks lindie
Sedjet: Always is, afaik
Pharaoh: Oh, you get to hear a line if you pet it.
shawn: i heard that secrets would be revealed?
Shayra: hi
TreekaSu: thanks
Zaniac: noone would answer is that you talking teppy?
TreekaSu: :)
Kalmkitty: hi Nefertia
Taemon: And we Europeans will be abed at the time?
TheMazeEcho: I didn't hear anything, what sound has toi be enabled?
Pharaoh: Yeah
Pharaoh: Normal sound effects
Pharaoh: We'll start Amnesty in about 10 minutes.
Morrigan: what time does Amnesty start?
Pharaoh: Idea for a location?
Kalmkitty: ty lindie :)
LadyGrim: m
Eulen: 6pm
Kalmkitty: 15 mins or so i think ot an hour and 25
Shayra: 1 hour 13 mins
Pharaoh: (I want to move away from CoTS, just because with 126+ people here already we're probably going to crash the server.
Morrigan: Euro time is?
Morrigan: 1 hour and a bit from now?
Pharaoh: Usually it can deal with about 150 in one place before things fall apart.
Morrigan: midnight then.
SpicyXX: how bout right here so our drunk asses dont have to move? LOL
Kaayru: 18's memorial?
Zatarg: Wepawet! :P
Azizah: uhg, my ferry boat is stuck
Otter: nooo
TreekaSu: thanks Lindie :)
rdk: 10 minutes from now
Zaniac: yes
Zaniac: 18s memorial isle
Morrigan: is it going to be logged somewhere please?
InambaGuum: i'm kinda impressed it hasn't crashed already
Kaayru: yes, on atitd.net logs
Toba: Teppy, Oracle island?
Kyline: will it matter where we stand? if its conducted in ENN?
Kaayru: I'll post it on the forums too
Morrigan: thanks
Pharaoh: Doesn't matter, though I find that people tend to find me :)
Zatarg: Oz? :P
Coors: HI EVERYBODY I EVER KNEW!!!!!
Kaayru: haha
Kalmkitty: COORS!!!
Kaayru: you're hat is noticeable, too...
Kyline: well pick a secret spot :) and then prizes for the first 10 to find you
Nefertia: Hi Pharaoh!
Eulen: how many is the max for the server?
kuupid: I demand a bigger but and bigger boobs on my T4 avatair :)
Toba: We got GPS trackers on you Pharaoh :)
kuupid: hi Coors
Tahrqa: Hi Coors
Pharaoh: Hmm, ok, A pony for anyone that finds my secret broadcast spot?
neb: is there a beetle whisperer?
Kaayru: might be funny!
Shemei: lol
Zaniac: a Pony on t4?
InambaGuum: bah...out of tonic. i'm going to have to start mixing this gin into juice or something. ick.
Zaniac: :P
Shemei: I know a frong whisperer
Shemei: frog*
Lethan: Thanks landie! :D
Pharaoh: Ok, I'm gonna go find a spot and put down a pony. He's sooo beautiful, with the softest mane, and big chestnut eyes.
Pharaoh: Ok, here i am.
Malard: how is it secret when you walk around with a giant name tag
Coors: what good are prizes now lol
Otter: cough
Tedra: so the questions are going through the ENN channel?
Pharaoh: Yep
Hanid: Anyone want to play golf, suumo wrestle betles or cart race?
Rynth: I found Pharaoh, he's on ENN.
Rynth: Did I win?
Malard: i havent played golf before
Yerbouti: i'm good
kuupid: I'll wrestle beetles
Coors: ow ow ow the ash from the foreworks singed off all my hair and Im BALD
Borian: aging has that effect too:)
Pharaoh: Bah! Someone found me already!
TheMazeEcho: although Teppy did hide in BFE ;)
Pharaoh: That pony is for you.
Soldparadise: What makes you sure that the Pony is a he and not a she ??? rofl
TheMazeEcho: it's a she, if you listen to Teppy's line
Tokiryu: who, me? :)
Coors: click it you will see
TheMazeEcho: the pony is female
Pharaoh: Yes
Zatarg: WHen you can make ponies you can decide what sex they are :P
Hanid: Kuupid where are you?
Telanoc: My little pony now has friend? Awwww :)
Tokiryu: hehe, thank you :)
Aquarius: Im willing to bet that cigar is cuban, teppy. ;)
kuupid: whre should I be?
Taemon: I still say cows are more fun. Ponies. Pffft.
Coors: wonders how Tel knows of My Little Pony
Soldparadise: he said he !!
kuupid: next to Roz :)
Ouijdani: g'day, mates!
Malard: i see no fire on the bonfire :S
Lethan: get nearer Malard
Sedjet: Ouij!
neb: zoom in
Lethan: Get near it malard. :)
Pharaoh: Ok, welcome to Amnesty!
Pharaoh: So first off, thanks for a wonderful Tale...
Pharaoh: Looks like people are still filtering in.
Pharaoh: From a games business perspective this was our best Tale by far...
Pharaoh: Though the player count slid a lot at the end when things were seriously dragging, for the bulk of the tale, our numbers were great...
Pharaoh: And as I've said before (and failed to do this time) "If we can get to shorter tellings, ATITD's population will climb from Tale to Tale.
Letsnow: Dont forget there has been a 3/4 month period where nothing happened ... and was realy realy boring
Pharaoh: And though I may be a decent game designer, I'm a very poor psychic, so while I won't predict a telling length for Tale 4, I'll say "I hope I can make it bust shorter."
Pharaoh: *much
Pharaoh: (How did I make that typo?)
Pandemonis: 3/4 month ? You meant 23/24 month, right ?
Tedra: this going to be a raise hand sort of deal? And what happens if you can't answer the question?
Sabertooth: Hello
Ariella: Freudian
Yerbouti: stump the pharaoh win a pony
Lethan: Pharaoh : Easy typo. There was a U in it...
Wadjet: lol hi all
Eulen: Know what's on your mind ;)
Otter: we know where his mind is
Orchid: well, maybe he is thing
Zatarg: This is where you get busted, you just had that on the mind?
Aperio: I've seen worse typoce... should have seen my camel incest one the other day
SpicyXX: shush you guys let teppy type lol
Dionysius: please tell us what happened to VoK, pharaoh
Pharaoh: Yeah, let's start on "secrets"
Pharaoh: So VoK was one screwup, as you probably guessed...
Pharaoh: The original idea was that there would be these meteor fragments that would get combined, and reveal pieces of instructions...
Pharaoh: And And those instructions would form blueprints to build the airship.
Pharaoh: And then it was supposed to be that while you couldn't *run* into VoK without angering the gods, you could *fly* in.
Yerbouti: oooh
Dionysius: nice
AnokFero: Would the valley ever be able to support buildings if it was unlocked?
Pharaoh: Yes
singh: how did the blueprints end up incomplete ?
Pharaoh: I honestly don't know.
Pharaoh: And we had done testing - it's hard to test things exactly the way that you play them , especially if it's something involving large groups of people over a very extended timeframe.
Pharaoh: So in testing, you try to do each piece, make sure the variables end up the way to expect, etc.
singh: after how much time did you realize it was broken ?
Aperio: ambitious and cool :)
BryceCicada: was it because some players that got meteor fragments quit or put them away in chests and never shared them?
Pharaoh: No, there was an actual bug, IIRC. And we fixed it, but at that point I think that too many of the fragments had been found by players who either had quit, or just were not concentrating on VoK...
Payna: Like most puzzles...when you know the answer it's easy.
Ariella: the VOKhuggers locked the code...
Payna: and you wonder why people can't solve it.
Malard: could'nt you have just had another meteor shower to reseed missing bits?
Spicy: How many of the tablet types were we supposed to get together 7 players round a meteor for, to complete the event as intended? And were there ever enough players that it would have been possible?
InambaGuum: so, out of curiosity, how would the way in which you entered VoK affect your ability to build there? would the gods have just been like, "oh yeah, he's cool, let him plop down a raeli"?
Pharaoh: And so some things didn't really make sense story-wise...
Pharaoh: And so rather than try to restart the event after people were completely burned out on it, I just said "let's leave that as an unsolved "mystery" and I'll talk about it at Amnesty."
talos: How once the system allow us to build inside VoK without anger from gods?
Pharaoh: I'm not sure if this part actually got coded, but it was supposed to be a flag that looked at your walking/flying status the first time the system noticed that you wer ein Vok.
Taemon: I don't want to be a spoilsport here, but the VoK-event totally sucked. We put a LOT of effort in it, without any reward. We tried everything. We never got a word. It was awful.
Pharaoh: I know, totally screwed up event.
Balthazarr: will VOK be "locked" again in T4 and will we have to unlock it again?
Pharaoh: No, we're not going to do that again.
Emmanuel: I wonder if that, next time a large event like this were coded... there could be various 'lower-level' benefits until the final and complete unlock.
Pharaoh: Yeah.
Pharaoh: I also want to talk about the even bigger event screwup of the Tale...
Taemon: We asked for a hint, since we didn't get anywhere. Please be more upfront next time.
Pharaoh: Well, events that have little stages to tham would largely prevent a VoK type screwup.
Robare: PLAGUE!!!!!!!!
Sabertooth: the plague LOL
InambaGuum: just a suggestion...if ever an event gets so screwed up that the decision is made to let the mystery remain unsolveable, could there be a message from the gods saying, "just give up, kiddos!"
reeree: ty
Letsnow: How will you avoid to screw up like this again? Players suggest for long it was broken or asked for hints but nothing, we got nothing
Pharaoh: Well there's no magic bullet to making sure code works, which is what this all comes down to...
Pharaoh: Software engineers have been trying to crack that nut for 40 years; it all amounts to practices that *tend* to work.
Pharaoh: So for instance, I'm fairly good at not crashing the server when I code live...
Pharaoh: And it's a collection of little practices that I've picked up over the years.
Spooner: No, it comes down to, once a fubar is identified please dont make us run circles in a known dead end.
LadyGrim: yes but why not say phase 1 is complete phase 2 of vok will start in 30 day please keep x items
Pharaoh: Right - a multiple phase event is something that would tend to alert us earlier that something was wrong.
Pharaoh: Ok, *Lung Spore*
TheMazeEcho: just listen a bit more to your GM team and the egyptian folk, when they tell you: we think something is going wrong ;)
Spicy: But when Apophis finally looked at the code he unbugged it, why didn't you listen to the players saying its bugged at the start and look at it then instead of assuming the devs know best and we were just too stupid to solve it?
Pharaoh: I do try to - there are a few things that conspire against always "listening"...
Pharaoh: First off, from the moment I release content, I get reports of it being bugged, whether it is or not.
Pharaoh: Chats, emails, phone calls (though people are pretty good about not not abusing the cell phone), IRC, etc.
Ouijdani: has been in IT for 33 years and understands that well...
Pharaoh: It's an avalanche of information, and it all amounts to how to have "filters" that work.
Pharaoh: Some players have a good record of knowing what is and isn't a bug...
Zintwana: Lets hear about lung spore
Pharaoh: And so that's a filter that sort of works, or tends to.
Malard: something like 'trac' ?
Pharaoh: Oyster Catcher was even better - nice puzzle component...
Pharaoh: t's different for live.
Spooner: onions plant and harvest with spouuse
Malard: even so, 50x50 in the grand scheme of things is pretty small, its like a needle in a haystack :)
Pharaoh: True. I figured that it would happen by chance a few times...
Pharaoh: And also, in a radius of 100 coords from today's spot, watermelon yeild is quartered, and in a 200 coor area it's halved - those were both hints that something wasodd about watermelons.
Tahrqa: Pharoah = Evil ... you didn't think he'd let you find all the secrets in Beta did you?
Borian: that more than likel would have been possible only if there was a higher demand for watermelon and more people actually having access to them
Riazzia: Any truth to the rumor that raeli colors will vary according to where you stand when you start the oven ?
Pharaoh: No truth to that.
AnokFero: Will we get the ability to test out the second Compound features in T4?
Pharaoh: Oops, T4 question, but yeah, it's on my (now) short list of things I have to finish.
Spooner: WInes what were wine trcks?
Pharaoh: Such as?
Aperio: This is T3 stuff,, right? Can you address the changed to mutagens at the end of T3?
Pharaoh: I didn't make any such change - explain?
sumtet: cucumber seed secret too, please?
Pandemonis: Congrats on wines, probably the best new thing in T3
Pharaoh: Thanks. Wines and cooking have been the things that people have said were their favorites.
Shebi: wants wines fortified with spirits now though :D
Saccia: I enjoyed the wine process... my buddy and I had our own little winery :-)
Spooner: WInes are great even if there is nno use to filling books
MarcusRider: wants wines involved in cooking
Zildjan: Sorry if I expand outside currently discussed items, my question was baout cuttable gems/bijou. It has been a bit static for past tales, any change caming in T4?
Pharaoh: Let me see how crazy I get at the end of the week or start of the Tale.
Kyline: I enjoyed the fact that with only 25 vineyards, i could produce a moderately large variety of wines
Sprocket: It would be great if you had to pick the right wine to go with a dish of food.. based on flavors etc. :)
Pharaoh: Ooh!
Pharaoh: Damn, I like that idea.
Pharaoh: No promised, schedule and all, but ... ?
Tahrqa: Oh boy .... (btw ... I loved wines ...)
alphaviper: oh dear, we made him think now. lol.
Kirean: I think many would like to know, what plans do you have for reactory running times? I found 8 hours very hard to schedule with doping times included. Will this still be the same?
Pharaoh: T4
AnokFero: Will you allow players to use World Building Tools in T3 before its deleted?
Pharaoh: Ok, I'm going to wrap this up, but before I do, I want to advertise something in T4 which I haven't mentioned until now...
Pharaoh: Many of you know Otter, who does World Building for ATITD...
Pharaoh: Yes, I can talk about personal achievements after, but I want to get this in.)
Kalateth: Yea for Otter - 3 cheers for Otter !!
Pharaoh: And she could really use a gude dog for help getting around. These dogs cost around $15,000...
Pharaoh: And so I had an idea of how to help her with that:
Pharaoh: Monkeys have been really popular pets. But Tale 4 will have pet otters that you can buy...
Pharaoh: They'll be $50 and will last throughtout the tale.
Jodpar: buy a otter for Otter!!!!!
Spooner: How do we give to otter?
SueVN: great idea to help Otter :D
Kalateth: grand idea ... everyone should get several !
Kalmkitty: OOO
Pharaoh: Expensive, probably not something everyone is able to do, but it would be so cool if we could do a big part of buying the dog.
Serentie: When can we get them?
ellorin: that's a truly great idea
Everyl: Will we be able to purchase them as gifts for other players?
Mariamom: Great idea :)
Hekatef: Otter is super nice, so let's do this! :-D
Zerda: Does 100% of the price go towards helping get a guide dog?
Pharaoh: 100%.
Pharaoh: IOW, for each otter, Otter gets $50.
Pharaoh: (I'm covering the credit card fees, etc.)
MarcusRider: We would only have to buy 300 otters, 50x300=15000
Pandemonis: Can we send donations if we want to donate but 50 bucks is too much ?
Pharaoh: Absolutely.
SarahOasis: Pharaoh can we have a run down on population per region?
MarcusRider: 300 otters is very doable, sign me up for 1 only 299 left to go!
murtha: there is a link in the forums.
TurkenLukz: yes population on regions would be great
Pharaoh: Ok, let me see if I have some code for that...
Zapster: oooh, most hours played
Pharaoh: Population density is all out of whack right now due to the party in CoTS
Tahrqa: CotS was the best region anyway :p
SueVN: like have a place on billing for donations and one for guild X buying otter where members can say take 1 dollar up to 50 dollars for guild otter
TurkenLukz: 900% crowding in the bonfire center earlier
Everyl: What about home locations or expo sites as a basis for population distribution?
Pharaoh: I can do that - few minutes to code.
MarcusRider: Do you think that we can get more dedication this time arround with the monthly newsletters? It personally seemed to be really slacking
Kaayru: can't find out with the "home location" thing?
Kalateth: we had auctions once - T2 I think - what happened to that ..how could we do it again .. ?
Balthazarr: do T3 monkeys care forward into T4 ;)
enilorac: i know you don't want to talk about t4, but i have asked in t4 and not been posted. is it true we cannot use our t3 avatars in t4?? this is a real shame for people who have had the same avatar sonce t1, and the women in t4 have no waist or breasts!!!!!!!
MarcusRider: I always enjoyed newsletters when i dident play the game often, it kept me up to date on the new events and i could come in for the stuff that was cool. With out the newsletters i thought the game had died.
InambaGuum: use home locations...my expedition site was in another region
Toba: Pharaoh, any comment on why Karnak is usually able to power through techs in the early tale?
SueVN: just wondering how many players in tale total?
InambaGuum: lol...if you think the t4 women have no breasts, you obviously haven't seen them when the clothing textures are still loading. ;)
Soldparadise: What about Grasspicking Monkeys or Boardmaking Monkeys ? lol
Everyl: I also was unsubscribed for a time... I was waiting for a newsletter announcing something interesting to come back and join in. I finally had to come back and ask around to find out what was going on.
fryoj: What was the most people ever online at one time?
TurkenLukz: teppy, there is going to be a wipe for T4, but the terrain is going to get changed as well?
TurkenLukz: and will herb forage methods be changed from beta and live
Pharaoh: Cradle of the Sun,all]: 1575
Pharaoh: Desert of Shades,all]: 1119
Pharaoh: Fool's Paradise,all]: 16634
Pharaoh: Hinterlands,all]: 10
Pharaoh: Karnak,all]: 3964
Pharaoh: Khartoum,all]: 847
Pharaoh: Kush,all]: 2572
Pharaoh: Lower Egypt,all]: 2465
Pharaoh: Qatara,all]: 733
Pharaoh: Seven Lakes,all]: 4152
Pharaoh: Sinai,all]: 1201
Pharaoh: Tanis,all]: 382
Pharaoh: Upper Egypt,all]: 1888
Pharaoh: Welcoming Island,all]: 16764
Pharaoh: Doesn't look right, does it?
Morrigan: that doesn't sound right
Senbi: not at all
Kaayru: weird
Pharaoh: Ah, 0,0 is probably in FP, for people that didn't set their location. Fixing.
Selune: It looks right if you count the people who quit immediately, while still on the island..... perhaps more end up in FP fresh off the island?
Pharaoh: sstatus
Kyline: interesting though, i wonder if you add those up if you get the total number of created accounts for the telling...
Pharaoh: Well, I don't know, it's still coming out this way...
Kalmkitty: no way there were 16k ppl in FP
Pharaoh: No. I need to look at a dozen or so random accounts and see what's up. But that's probably too boring to make everyone sit thru.
Squiranha: the 16k must be people who quit before even setting a home location
Tawret: Any other secrets in T3? who played kitsibios for example?
Pharaoh: Apophis
AnokFero: So getting back on topic; what where the small monolith type things for? Where they simply decoration?
Pharaoh: I don't think we built those - players must have.
Aperio: And the Stranger? Wasn't he to be revealed?
Pharaoh: Me. And I will say that I spent most of yesterday writing a pretty copol storyline for T4.
Pharaoh: Ahh, speak of the devil!
Rym: did we ever find out who took the spring from kitsibios?
Pharaoh: Go ahead, Apophis - some questions about Kitsibios
Apophis: Greetings. I apologize for being late to the party. :)
Apophis: Indeed - I'll accept questions abyt Ktisibios.
Tedra: You want to answer my Bard Song question, Apophis?
Apophis: What was that question again?
Tedra: what was the secret that made it so evil.? An undiscovered mutagen? Or just a weird sequence in the genome?
Apophis: Bard's Song was, in fact, a modified version of Golden Age - I went through and retailored the genome, however, to give a bit more yield, and cause less pollution. It was actually meant to be a present from Mithrandu to the people of Egypt, but you guys were totally sure it was the Most Evil Thing Evar.
Ariella: Was it even true what the bard said about it being so polluting?
Apophis: It was, in fact, somewhat polluting - about 2-3 times more polluting than Nile Green.
Aperio: And Teppy denies changing the mutagens in the last few months... did you or did we, somehow?
Apophis: Nope. No one changed the mutagens, at least, on purpose.
Emmanuel: For the strangest reason, I imagine that you were gleeful about players thinking it to be EBIL OMG.
Apophis: Well, yeah, of course. :)
sumtet: what was the end game on the ktisibios event line? he just .... disappeared, we got airships and that was it; some of us really like chemistry and were looking forward to your evilness in transmutation
Apophis: What happened with this - I intended on completing the storyline, but I got really busy, and then I got sick. I've had a lot of sickness for the last 2 months, including a stretch where I had a fever. However, let me tell you about how the storyline would have completed, had I been able to finish it...
Apophis: Transmutation was meant to be the crowning achievement. It would have allowed players to create Octec's Alloy, but at a price - it would have introduced the concept of radiation into the game. And by the players using it, they would have corrupted themselves in making it.
Apophis: Of course, it wouldn't have been *called* radiation, but that was the general idea. After that... well, the storm would have come. The specific method that the storm would have come was still being discussed, but we discussed meteors flying out of the earth, a great flood... many things.
alphaviper: and what would radiation have done?
Apophis: It would have started making the player that used it have negative stats, and eventually killed them. It was meant as a method to accelerate the end game.
Apophis: We didn't get that far, though. But, you have to remember - Ktisibios was an Agent of the Stranger.
Emmanuel: Would there have been a method to reverse the pollution/radiation with a suitable negative result?
Apophis: Oh, well, yes. This was the crowning part of the storyline. So, he introduces this final tech, and people start getting sick. Mithrandu then follows it up, helping people out, giving them balm to help them out. This is when Ktisibios goes finally, totally around the bend.
Apophis: You see, Ktisibios has been getting letters from this person called 'The Stranger' for months - telling him these technologies. And he feels that Mithrandu is getting in his way. And as the climax of the story, he kills Mithrandu in a fit of rage.
Apophis: He falls to his knees, and admits what he has done has not been for the good of Egypt, but to free him of this 'prison' - this prison of Egypt. He wants to go home, and he's been baited by the Stranger in order to get that secret on how to return.
Apophis: And that's when he sets off the final endgame, which was the flood/meteors/etc.
Sedjet: So, in a way, Ktisibios is a wayward Dorothy, in a sense?
Apophis: In a lot of ways, yes. So, I apologize - didn't get to finish that up, but we'll have more story in T4.
Rym: *applauds*
Ariella: Neat story
Calina: when you talk of death does that mean when the player dies, they loseeverything including skills etc
Apophis: Yes, they are dead. Player death in ATITD is permanent.
Apophis: Keep in mind, you wouldnt' be able to irradiate yourself accidentally.
Everyl: Dead players can still have grandchildren, right?
Toba: Dead for the tale you mean?
Apophis: Yes.
Apophis: After all, Sedelyan is returning. :)
Riazzia: any plans on killing us in 4 ? : )
Pharaoh: I need to head over to Tale 4 for a bit...
Apophis: We are always looking at ideas for T4.
Pharaoh: But *thank you* everyone for a great Tale...
Pharaoh: And I just want to say how charged up I am about Tale 4.
Pharaoh: The server will be up through Thursday Noon.
Pharaoh: Both servers, that is...
Pharaoh: Then down for 2 days (accounts will be credited), and than, launch!
Pharaoh: Pharaoh out!
Ariella: So we can't play for two days, Apophis? And great tale :) Looking forward to 4.
Apophis: Beta is open and ongoing.
Sprocket: does T4 beta close down thursday as well?
Apophis: No, T4 beta goes through till Saturday.
fryoj: When Saturday comes will we log into beta server or will there be a tale iv non beta option?
Apophis: The options will change - there will only be one choice, and that's T4 live, after the reset.
Apophis: We *are* going to be doing a reset, though. All accounts will be reset at the end of T4 beta.
Kyline: Whats the best way of getting ideas to you?
Apophis: I think I'll set up a gmail account specifically for this.
Riazzia: Apophis , was orhid's mistake honest , or did the two of you plan that so the greek could play with explosives ?
Apophis: Oh, jeez. Yeah, that.
Apophis: Okay, this is what happened - it was Orchid's honest mistake. The two plates look similar when you look at them, and she chose the wrong one. See, when she made the press, she named it Spring, because that's what it was for.
Apophis: So, when she returned the plate, she returned the Certificate Plate. Ktisibios grew angry, because it seemed like a scam.
Apophis: It wasn't planned out at all, but that's how he would have reacted. I stand by what happened, except I would have removed a zero from the numbers for repairs.
TurkenLukz: how long before live will beta run?
Apophis: Thursday.
Ariella: reset? wiping all that we did or something else?
Apophis: All that you've done in beta will be wiped, and everyone starts over on Saturday.
CatharsisQueen: when will we have a definite date for the meet?
Apophis: All I know is that the best rated choice was Feb 28 weekend in Pittsburgh.
Pandemonis: Apophis, Will you recharge your evil for more, early, Stranger's tech ?
Apophis: You betcha.
alphaviper: is our friend list gonna be wiped aswell?
Apophis: Everything is wiped.
Wadjet: Will the terrain for T4 be new? The beta terrain seems exacly like T3
Apophis: A lot of the terrain will be exactly the same - it's a lot of work to change it. But look for small differences here and there.
AnokFero: Take care Pharaoh; thank you Dev Team; Events and GM teams. And most importantly thanks to the players!!
Spooner: TY Pharaoh and a Special TY to Hanid and Mebala for starting this garden and the countless contributors who made this party a great place
Apophis: Also, I wanted to tell everyone from Asheara... The people who ordered packages in T3 didn't translate over to the T4 server, and they will be mailed tomorrow. Please place your orders in T4 from now on so that this won't be repeated.
enilorac: will some work be done on the avatars??
Apophis: All avatars have new models. Go check em out!
Apophis: I even lost my Elvis outfit! (sadly)
Yerbouti: can we pick T3 avatars in live?
Apophis: No. You must select one of the new avatars.
Apophis: We're still working on the avatars - one of the really awesome things about them is that they're modular, and we're working on some possible stuff for a player created clothing system. That's the sort of thing that's enabled with the new avatar system we have, but there will be some growing pains.
SunnyOne: Will we be able to have our T1-3 avatars in T4?
Apophis: No, like I said - you have to choose one of the new avatars.
Toba: Will the t1-3 avatars be reworked into the new system?
Apophis: I don't know if there are plans for that.
Everyl: Access to the old avatars was a nice perk of being a returning veteran in T2 and T3. Will there be any little perks like that in T4, besides the legacy title?
Apophis: I'm not sure. This is something I told Pharaoh would come up - we'll see what will happen.
Apophis: As always, we are very interested in trying to allow the players to make themselves unique, and enable more player generated content.
Spooner: APOP do you know how Pharaohs cellar wines were made?
Apophis: I don't, sorry.
Yendor: A copupls of quick questions -- (1) who played Mithranduy the first time (2) what was the effect of dumping acid from a chemical bath
Apophis: Mithrandu was played by Deeva, a member of our Events team. Dumping acid on the ground increases heavy metal and... acidity. :)
TurkenLukz: apohis do you know if the herbs foraging method will be reset? i was under the imprresion they already were changed, will there be another change for live?
Apophis: Yep, they will be different again for live. They're based on the master seed, and they'll change.
fryoj: Is ecology going to dominate the story line of t4 as it has so far in beta?
Apophis: Yes. Ecology will be a much bigger deal in T4 than it was in T3.
Spooner: what is a master seed?
Apophis: Sorry, that's the key that we use when we make the new server. So everything is referenced off of it. That allows us to change a lot without having to rewrite too much.
Aperio: new players are going to quit in droves if it continues to be as harsh as it is - just warning
Apophis: We'll continue to tune it.
Tedra: why were auto machines released so late in the tale that they weren't very useful for the general populus?
Apophis: Because I didn't get involved in releasing them as fast as I would have liked.
Apophis: Alright, I'm closing this for now. Thanks, everyone, for making T3 so great, and I hope to see you all in Tale 4!