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Major Update on Test Servers!
by Ulysses Stormrunner Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:12 am
PotCO rolled out the latest update last night on the Test Servers, and it is going to make a lot of people happy. Although there isn't a new storyline, there is quite a bit of new content. So, consider this a Preview of Coming Attractions --
Weapons Upgrades for sword, pistol, dagger, doll, and staff. We will receive the weapon upgrades through new quests. (Note: These are temporarily disabled as PotCO modifies how exactly we are to obtain the quests.)
Ammo pouches and cannonball barrels: Available to purchase in small, medium and large sizes (depending on your weapon level), these allow you to carry more ammo than the base amount. No more constantly running to the gunsmith or blacksmith to restock!
Better rep bonuses for crewing: starting at 20% for 2 crew, up to 100% for 8 or more.
A dozen new quests to receive jewelry and tattoos not available in the shops. (I've started 3 of them so far and they also contain several of the "go and talk to so-and-so" tasks for 100 Notoriety each. And the tasks include sinking Barracudas and Marauders, so they're not all fluff either.)
Enemies will now switch their attacks between the person doing the most damage and others nearby that are doing damage -- not just the first person who attacked them. (PotCO expects to modify this some more and is asking for our feedback.)
No more stowaways! Only friends and crewmates of the ship's captain should now be able to board.
Groggy penalty has been removed for pirates under Level 10, and has been shortened for the rest of us.
Tonics recharge faster.
Improved functionality to Whisper chat and Crewing Options.
And one or two other things (like new animations when receiving a new weapon).
I'm glad to see so many updates at one time. Shows that PotCO is seriously trying to make the game better. Well done, mates!
Weapons Upgrades for sword, pistol, dagger, doll, and staff. We will receive the weapon upgrades through new quests. (Note: These are temporarily disabled as PotCO modifies how exactly we are to obtain the quests.)
Ammo pouches and cannonball barrels: Available to purchase in small, medium and large sizes (depending on your weapon level), these allow you to carry more ammo than the base amount. No more constantly running to the gunsmith or blacksmith to restock!
Better rep bonuses for crewing: starting at 20% for 2 crew, up to 100% for 8 or more.
A dozen new quests to receive jewelry and tattoos not available in the shops. (I've started 3 of them so far and they also contain several of the "go and talk to so-and-so" tasks for 100 Notoriety each. And the tasks include sinking Barracudas and Marauders, so they're not all fluff either.)
Enemies will now switch their attacks between the person doing the most damage and others nearby that are doing damage -- not just the first person who attacked them. (PotCO expects to modify this some more and is asking for our feedback.)
No more stowaways! Only friends and crewmates of the ship's captain should now be able to board.
Groggy penalty has been removed for pirates under Level 10, and has been shortened for the rest of us.
Tonics recharge faster.
Improved functionality to Whisper chat and Crewing Options.
And one or two other things (like new animations when receiving a new weapon).
I'm glad to see so many updates at one time. Shows that PotCO is seriously trying to make the game better. Well done, mates!
Ulysses Stormrunner- Number of posts : 16
Age : 57
Location : Los Angeles
Current Notoriety : L37
Registration date : 2007-12-21
Re: Major Update on Test Servers!
by Erik the Awful Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:46 pm
Well shiver me timbers! And to the unflagging geeks from the Land of Disney: well met mateys!! I take back half of the things I've said about ya! 
Erik the Awful- Number of posts : 57
Age : 66
Location : Kalispell, Montana
Current Notoriety :
Registration date : 2008-01-22 -
Re: Major Update on Test Servers!
by Ulysses Stormrunner Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:29 pm
Ahoy mateys! I’ve been playing on Test most of the day, and here are a few thoughts about the updates.
Ammo pouches and cannonball barrels: This is an AWESOME additon! The medium-size cannon barrel (cost 2000 gold) holds 125 each of Firebrand and Thunderbolt! No need to use either sparingly now. And the medium grenade sack (cost 4000 gold) holds 125 Explosive and 70 Fire Bomb.
Better rep bonuses for crewing: A good idea in theory, but I think they've taken it a bit too far in practice. I was on a crew with 3 others and was getting something like 40% bonus rep. For example, I was killing Big Gators for 20 rep each and got an extra 7-8 as a crew bonus. (They actually show you the Crew Rep separately.) And the numbers we were getting from sinking ships were ridiculous! Sweet when you're leveling, but makes it almost too easy. (FYI, I added almost 10,000 in rep today.)
A dozen new quests to receive jewelry and tattoos: Certainly a step up from the quests we’re used to. I’ve finished the first 3 I accepted (from the jewelers in PR and on Tort). Though not too difficult for experienced pirates, lower levels might have trouble sinking the 1-2 Barracudas and Marauders required. My rewards so far have been a large onyx loop earring, a turquoise eyebrow stud, and a double turquoise nose piercing. (You can sell back the jewelry if you want.)
I’ve now started on a couple quests from Mercedes in the Padres tattoo parlor. One of the quests is almost a duplicate of part of the Voodoo Staff quest (Huge Gators, Vampire Bats, Fly Traps, etc.). The second one, however, adds an interesting variation by being location specific: 5 Dread Scorps from Outcast; 5 Giant Crabs from Tormenta, and 5 Skellies from Cutthroat. Edited to add: Finally finished killing the beasties. As has been the case with all these new quests, I had to kill 2-3 times the number stated to get the right "item" from each (although why so many Giant Crabs on Tormenta don't have claws is a mystery to me...) Anyway, the next task on this quest requires me to sink 10 (count 'em 10) Skeleton Ships! As I said above, these aren't "fluff" quests. Who knows? They may even be an indication of the level of challenge we'll find in the next story chapter.
No more stowaways: Looks like this works, but, as might be expected, I hit a bug. Even though I was on the captain's crew, I could not tp to her. I kept getting a message saying that I needed to be part of the captain's crew! So I had to use the tried & true method of boarding a dinghy to get on the ship.
Whisper Chat: As soon as you Whisper to somebody, the chat box stays in Whisper mode to that person. You don't have to keep selecting their name off your list. Makes having a conversation with individual friends/guildmates much easier.
Haven't had an opportunity to check out the new Attack mode for enemies yet. But, other than the too-generous bonus rep for crewing, I really like the updates. (One weird thing, however, is the change in the colors on the compass. The blues and greens are now reversed, so blue dots are NPCs and green are other pirates. Pirate ships at sea are also green. Fortunately, red still indicates enemies.)
Don't know when the updates will hit the Open servers, but I think they've got a few bugs to work out still. Aside from the ship boarding bug I mentioned above, I probably crashed more times today than at any time in PotCO history. Usually, it was a simple act -- like walking through a shop door -- that sent me crashing to the desktop. Aside from that problem, however, I must say that the new quests and features put some much-needed life back into the game.
Ammo pouches and cannonball barrels: This is an AWESOME additon! The medium-size cannon barrel (cost 2000 gold) holds 125 each of Firebrand and Thunderbolt! No need to use either sparingly now. And the medium grenade sack (cost 4000 gold) holds 125 Explosive and 70 Fire Bomb.
Better rep bonuses for crewing: A good idea in theory, but I think they've taken it a bit too far in practice. I was on a crew with 3 others and was getting something like 40% bonus rep. For example, I was killing Big Gators for 20 rep each and got an extra 7-8 as a crew bonus. (They actually show you the Crew Rep separately.) And the numbers we were getting from sinking ships were ridiculous! Sweet when you're leveling, but makes it almost too easy. (FYI, I added almost 10,000 in rep today.)
A dozen new quests to receive jewelry and tattoos: Certainly a step up from the quests we’re used to. I’ve finished the first 3 I accepted (from the jewelers in PR and on Tort). Though not too difficult for experienced pirates, lower levels might have trouble sinking the 1-2 Barracudas and Marauders required. My rewards so far have been a large onyx loop earring, a turquoise eyebrow stud, and a double turquoise nose piercing. (You can sell back the jewelry if you want.)
I’ve now started on a couple quests from Mercedes in the Padres tattoo parlor. One of the quests is almost a duplicate of part of the Voodoo Staff quest (Huge Gators, Vampire Bats, Fly Traps, etc.). The second one, however, adds an interesting variation by being location specific: 5 Dread Scorps from Outcast; 5 Giant Crabs from Tormenta, and 5 Skellies from Cutthroat. Edited to add: Finally finished killing the beasties. As has been the case with all these new quests, I had to kill 2-3 times the number stated to get the right "item" from each (although why so many Giant Crabs on Tormenta don't have claws is a mystery to me...) Anyway, the next task on this quest requires me to sink 10 (count 'em 10) Skeleton Ships! As I said above, these aren't "fluff" quests. Who knows? They may even be an indication of the level of challenge we'll find in the next story chapter.
No more stowaways: Looks like this works, but, as might be expected, I hit a bug. Even though I was on the captain's crew, I could not tp to her. I kept getting a message saying that I needed to be part of the captain's crew! So I had to use the tried & true method of boarding a dinghy to get on the ship.
Whisper Chat: As soon as you Whisper to somebody, the chat box stays in Whisper mode to that person. You don't have to keep selecting their name off your list. Makes having a conversation with individual friends/guildmates much easier.
Haven't had an opportunity to check out the new Attack mode for enemies yet. But, other than the too-generous bonus rep for crewing, I really like the updates. (One weird thing, however, is the change in the colors on the compass. The blues and greens are now reversed, so blue dots are NPCs and green are other pirates. Pirate ships at sea are also green. Fortunately, red still indicates enemies.)
Don't know when the updates will hit the Open servers, but I think they've got a few bugs to work out still. Aside from the ship boarding bug I mentioned above, I probably crashed more times today than at any time in PotCO history. Usually, it was a simple act -- like walking through a shop door -- that sent me crashing to the desktop. Aside from that problem, however, I must say that the new quests and features put some much-needed life back into the game.
Ulysses Stormrunner- Number of posts : 16
Age : 57
Location : Los Angeles
Current Notoriety : L37
Registration date : 2007-12-21
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