Development Cycle Archive

I want to thank our CH Player Correspondent, Vertexon, for gathering all the main CH questions and issues and to all the folks who gave us good, usable feedback. I’ve taken the information to the developers and I have some answers to your questions and concerns as well as a few changes based on your input. I’d also like to send a round of applause from myself to the dev who stayed late into the evening to help get this done.fficeffice" />

First, I’ll address the CH issues from the Correspondent and then a bunch of questions taken randomly from the board:

Top Five Issues with the Proposed Creature Handler Changes

1. Overwhelming support for returning the third active pet (from Management III).

One of the negative impacts of this additional pet is that it makes advancement through the skilltree too fast. The devs agree that it is more fun to have more pets out, and with the creature balance pass it shouldn't be over-powering to keep this +1 Active Pet at Management 3, but then we have to do something about the boost to the rate of progression that it provides (which in general is too fast anyway).

So, we are going to leave this in and instead change the XP-granting function so that you don't get double the XP for having two pets active.

2. The proposal doesn't seem to affect the power of dabblers in the right way. If someone takes just the first two trees from Thunderheart's diagram, they can effectively command a CL 30 pet with access to all the commands they need (follow, kill, special1, special2, rangedattack). The latter three attacks (special1, special2, and rangedattack) should probably be moved to the tops of different disciplines to create a larger barrier to access.

On the one hand, the devs disagree that it's much of an advantage to be able to invoke special attacks on-demand or that someone who has mastered half the profession is a mere 'dabbler' and ought to be limited to less than half as many pets as a Master. Pets are pretty good about using their specials even without being told to. useRanged, on the other hand, is quite a perk. So I can see moving that to the master skillbox.

3. Lots of people would prefer keeping the total pet levels at 70 instead of 60.

After discussing this internally, we've decided it's not a problem to leave the max level at 70 rather than at 60.

Also, the devs agree with the players who pointed out that the proposed skilltree too aggressive in terms of shifting the power-curve from the low-end of the skilltree to the high end. It's not very cool for Novice Creature Handlers to get the exact same pets as non-creature Handlers, and the advancement for someone advancing across the skill tree (rather than up a single tree at a time) isn't very good.

So Novice creature handlers get +2 pet levels. Another +1 pet level is given to each skill tree at both the lowest box and the highest.

4. Concerns about only one 'pet' of any kind out at a time.

Our plan here is to first impost a very strict limitation: One pet, regardless of type. And later (but soon) to introduce exceptions to the rule based on the particular pet type. For example, your faction rank will be used to allow you to control more and better faction-perk pets. And your profession will influence the type and number of droid pets you can call (or the number you can call in addition to a creature pet). For example: Doctors, Medics, and/or Combat Medics might gain the ability to call a surgical droid even if they already have a pet of some other type called, whereas a Droid Engineer might be able to call a number of droids of any type, etc.

5. Players would like more details on what they can expect with regard to increased baby variety and the new baby 'rares.' Will this include previously (but no longer) tamable creatures (arachne webmaster, Domesticated Tusk Cat, Nym's Kusak Guardian, etc)? Never before seen creatures (Ferocious Rodian-Eating Gnort)? Will this involve camping specific locations for extended periods in an Everquestian style

(please say no )? Could you tantalize us by giving a few specific examples of things we might be seeing enter (or re-enter) the baby pool?

Some previously tamable creatures will be made tamable again, some will be rare. Some never-before-tamable creatures will be made tamable, and some of those will be rare. How’s that for vague? (No specific examples..that’s half the fun )

Below level 50, creatures which are never tamable will be the exception rather than the rule. Creatures 60+ will be very, very rare.

It will not involve camping specific locations, although it might be useful to hunt in regions where the particular creature that you're looking for is more common.

Pet Issue: What will happen to 'legacy' pets that are currently CL 10-15? Will they become unusable by the non-CH who has purchased/been given them under the current CL 15 system? Will they be rebalanced to CL 10 either automatically or through some voluntary means? Should people like me, who have been giving CL 12 and 14 female and male kaadu as gifts to non-CH friends be worried about whether they'll be mountable?

Unfortunately, most of these pets will be stuck in your datapad. You won't be able to call them or trade them (unless they know the transfer command), because they are higher level than 10. Your only option will be to destroy the PCD.

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If I an only have 1 stormtrooper at a time, that kinda sucks. That is also very empowering to imperials since their single pet can be an ATST and the only rebel pet is a guerrilla type guy that does not have very good stats to stand by himself. My point is I think the personel (with exception to atst) should still be able to be called in 3's. I mean they are not overpowered since if they die, they are dead.

As per above, we want to base this on faction-rank. And ATST's are such a special-case, they're most likely to be limited to one-per regardless, perhaps even with other restrictions. Not really ready to discuss more on this front yet.

Overall, I like the changes. I am confused on one issue, though, and that is the "+1 pet" as Master and the lack of "+1 pet" in the Management line.

Per above, we're leaving it in, but with an adjustment to the xp-granting function so that 2 pets doesn't double your rate of xp gain.

Given that the tree has been completely reconfigured, are you going to allow untraining of CH skills w/o loosing the XP (temporarily, of course)? Please don't make us have to obtain the xp earned *again*

No, sorry.

You said:

On the upside, Creature Handlers can train Mounts. players with pets can take their pets to a Creature Handler (with the correct skill) to be trained as a mount. Bio Engineers can create mountable pets but can't automatically train them unless they have Creature Handler skills.2a) Where will the ability to make a mount off a pet will be on the CH tree?

See above.

2b) Will bio-engineers be able to lower the CL of our creations? With the limit of CL 10, non-CH can only ride Kaadu & Carrion Spat. Very limited choices.

Yes.

What happens when melee characters, like me (Teras Kasi/Creature Handler) send their pets in with the new *smarter* mobs? It is already difficult, sometimes impossible for me to keep the mobs on the pets and not on me (which, I think, needs to be addressed since ranged fighters don't have to worry about aggro at all while their pet is still up - when fighting one mob of course). Will mobs now attack me

more often when I come into melee range to fight after sending in my pets?

The same thing that happens now when you're grouped with your pet, but even if you aren't grouped with your pet.

Does this mean that even if I were a Colonel in my faction, I could only have one trooper with me? And I wouldn't even be able to have my trusty probot out at the same time? handler levels restrictions, determining the max challenge level of faction pet the faction member can control. Let rank also determine how many of those pets may be used at one time, with arbitrary breakpoints set for controlling a second and third faction pet. Make faction rank the operational equivalent of the creature

We want very much to do this, even if we can't do it right now.Also, we're making your probot tougher.

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(Ill post the tree as soon as I can...the boards dont seem to like my formatting...)

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Thunderheart:

I do appreciate your posting of this.

I am still very concerned about the mindset of the devs that advancement is "too fast". Why? Is this an admission that the only content there is in this game is grinding out skill boxes, and we need to prolong this process to keep the majority of players engaged?

I am happy that, for once, the devs are acknowledging the real crime of CH: It's too much fun. The issue now is to make the other professions as much fun, in their own way, as CH is.

I'm also glad that leaving the pet call level at 70 isn't that much of a problem for the developers. Now, about thtat third called pet. It may turn out that when you said it wouldn't hurt MCH much, in the end, it won't. But if the devs gave you this impression, and you passed it on, then they hit you with this, you need to take them to task for making you look bad. Because that is what happened.

I think that moving the specials up the trees, or to master, is the way to go to get the on demand ability of the specials (particularly ones like poison) as a true distinction for dedicating yourself to the profession.

Excellent ideas about the one pet at a time issue for droids and faction perks. I definitely believe that the higher your rank in the faction, the more faction perk pets you should be able to call. Also, tieing in SL to this should be a developer priority. The SLs need love. I very much like the idea that specialized droids related to professions (such as surgical droids) should be one of the features of going down one of those paths.

On the rare babies, I'm all for rare babies. I'm all for new babies. I'm all for unextincting lost babies. There's nothing bad about more babies in this game. And I agree that leting us discover them is half the fun. So keep this under wraps, OK? No hints, no knowing asides, nothing.

On your final point, I don't see any way around this...the pets on the datapad that can no longer be called are stuck there forever. In light of the ongoing database issues, perhaps you should just globally take care of this instead of allowing these unusable pets to linger as data objects.

I hope you're taking notes on this entire process, because this has been, I'm sure, a trial by fire for you, and that unlike some people at SOE, you're learning from this experience and that new knowledge won't be forgotten.

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Thunderheart wrote:

Also, we're making your probot tougher.

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Yipee!

And, are DEs about to have a similar discussion about our issues with the new "plan"?

Hmmm...I like the proposal regarding faction rank and classes for special exceptions.

Very nice so far.

These changes are looking better, but still will actually cause more MCHs not less creatures.

When you can solve this puzzle you have the answer:

I am a 1 0 2 1 rifleman. I need to be able to solo without a pet.

Solve that. You've done it. Anything less.... you still have pet wars. Just more higher level CH.

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DreadWind wrote:
I can't wait to tam lv 60 creatures!

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Did you even read his post? Thunderheart said: After discussing this internally, we've decided it's not a problem to leave the max level at 70 rather than at 60.

Thunderheart,

I think you may have inadvertently posted what, I think, would have been the second part of your Part 3 update (the info that includes the 'Mount' command level, etc.) in the Part 1/2 thread.

(and the board keeps posting this reply to the same thread :smileymad

-Tiamahlg