As a player in this game and as a student developer, I must point out the bad thinks that you are patching in this game. I'm sorry if the developers doesn't like my review and feedback, but it's required if you want to attract more players to this server.
Currently, the test server has a malfunction in the concept and game experience that the game should have. If you start with a new character, you start at Candor, instead at Tulimshar, where a lot of players begun their stories. Plus, reviewing several sections of Candor, you have the hiding kids quest in the island, but the problem it's that there is no children hidden, they can be found easier than current Tulimshar (Which in the stable server it's a challenge if you want to do it without guidance).
Adding to this review, the test server has a full reduce what Tulimshar is right now, the mountains are mixed with the legendary Snake Pit (It's legendary, because a lot of top players were leveling in those caves after the graveyard were developed) and leaving some low level quests that tulimshar have and that nobody with do because they are so easy and without an important reward that a level 30 or 40 can use, just for one reason I use this range of levels as an example, everyone can improve their characters without spending a lot of time in Tulimshar, one hour maximum and you can level it in some caves at Hurnscald, reaching levels of 30 or 40 just in some days. Also will happen with the “new” Candor, because doesn't represent a real challenge.
All this, seems that can fix a big problem that everyone knows. Tulimshar right now, doesn't matter for advanced players, because it's so orientated to low players to begin at the game and discover some stuff that can do in this game. And then we have Hurnscald, the big city that everyone meets and improve their characters to not come back to Tulimshar, leaving us with one “important” map where everyone can enjoy for a long time.
So, what is the big deal to reduce Tulimshar in development and using Candor as a new source for new players? Maybe for having an starting plot? Maybe for a fresh place? Maybe because a lot of advanced players goes to Candor just for enjoy battles at Parua's arena?
All this, reach us to a point, Candor can't fix what Tulimshar didn't did through all this years, because it's useless that a new players goes to fight at Parua's arena if will be killed so quickly by the monsters and a new player can't have 20k just for enjoy the experience. Some advanced players doesn't like to be with noobs, because a lot of them are begging for items for free and some of them are annoying. The begining plot it's just a copypaste from other videogames and it's useless if you want to level your character as fast as you can.
With all this data, what developers can do?
As an developer, everyone knows that replacing code can be more expensive than fix a bug, also will depend in how screwed it's the code, now Tulimshar has a castle, a noble section, a market, sewers, mining camp, mountains, the snake pit, troll's cave and a lot of space without useful stuff, instead of replacing Tulimshar, you most to improve it, as best as you can, that players can have a real challenge in those spaces that there is nothing to do. The troll's cave it's a good idea for start with this idea, you are developing sectors that doesn't had a use and giving a challenge. It's a rewind of what developers did with Tulimshar and Candor, but it's necessary, to give the real potential that a city that Tulimshar can offer in game experience. Also must be fixed the plot, quests and monsters that we have in Tulimshar and Hurnscald, because the RPG's idea it's that you level up as best as you can according to the places that you are visiting and the monsters that you kill represent an obstacle to overcome. Same think with Hurnscald, because it's useless that you go to Hurnscald to fight weak monsters that you can kill without effort, for example, pinkies, they are so weak that getting the scythe from Hinnak, doesn't represent a challenge, just require patience to get the 10 antennae.
Being innovative, it's understandable that this game it's inspired by a lot of videogames, but doesn't mean that you can't innovate or create something new for a better experience, and I don't mean new clothes of fancy wearable for characters, I mean quests that doesn't are so similar to videogames or a copypaste from massive monster killing (Illia's quest, Xmas Quest, Parua's Arena, etc). I mean bosses like the general skeletons, Jack O, Illia, but that doesn't looks so similar that a creature that it's already in the game.
And Candor, it's nice that Parua's arena represent's a challenge, but also you can use that island for develop quest and dungeons for advanced players, with a highest difficulty that other sectors in Hurnscald.
For end this review, I must say that you do a great effort to improve the game and to immerse to the players in this world. Just the ideas doesn't fit in what you want and what the player should see in the game. If the ideas are wrong, the results will be wrong too.
I hope that this can help to grew this project.
Candor can't fix Tulimshar bug
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Re: Candor can't fix Tulimshar bug
New Players are having these problems:
Moving that closer to the main player base affected the towns in a positive way. As you pointed out Tulimshar is not Important to High Level players. That's because the Major Cities and Towns where laid out in a Linear Level Fashion, instead of using a Distance Heat mapping. This leaves you with Major Cities New players can't kill anything around, thus they avoid the major cities. As the Spiked Mushrooms will slaughter most lowbies which are around Hurnscald, ditto with the Black Scorpion in Tulimshar. This produces a Linear direction into where the player can and cannot go. Limiting them to certain isolated areas. Using Distance Heat Mapping, you set your Major cities as Central Hubs connected by spokes, in this case the ferry. Those cities have to be inviting to lowbies and high levels if they are to be the most populated. Stretching out from those cities you make corridors to smaller hubs. As on test a player level 20 is free to roam around Hurnscald, Nivalis and Tulsimshar. There are enough quests in the cities to allow the player to level up to between 15-20 with no problem. The Key point is getting the player accustomed to the world in a free movement pattern. As no one has ever had a reason to goto Hurnscald before level 20 ever.
Now Tulimshar is a very vacant place, it was even more vacant after moving the tutorial out of Tulimshar. The Maps were empty and dead. No one likes the art. The amount of NPCs needed to fill Tulimshar would require an army of developers. Maps and areas of duplicated content are being reduced so people bump into each other. Reducing the size and consolidating maps made for a more vibrant Tulimshar. The Outdoor maps did pretty much the same, offering little in the way of different content. All the caves are still there including "The Hatmakers" cave (prior to the Snake Pit thats what it was called). The New Candor isn't new it's just Candor with more then a hole in the island, but it now has a backstory better befitting the island. Tulimshar has less area to fill and still a bunch of unused content.
The cave on the island is still off limits to under level 40. So no idea what your talking about player going to fight parua? and Candor has been in-game for years.
All stories are copy and paste of some sort. As one of the suggested opening stories to start the AD&D "Waterdeep/Undermountain" campaign is our opening story. Rerefence: Gilgamesh, Iliad, Odyssey. It doesn't detract from them any less. The point of an epic is send a Hero through a series of trials of which they use those virtues which are the current paradigm exemplifies. We need to start with a very non-nondescript opener on the player so they can forge their own future without having to worry about why Lord Boddington of the ninth house of the sun is collecting maggot slime.
Beggars will always find the Online List and proceed to whisper.
- * Not making it out of Tulimshar
* Quitting because the world seems empty
* Tulimshar is Drab
Moving that closer to the main player base affected the towns in a positive way. As you pointed out Tulimshar is not Important to High Level players. That's because the Major Cities and Towns where laid out in a Linear Level Fashion, instead of using a Distance Heat mapping. This leaves you with Major Cities New players can't kill anything around, thus they avoid the major cities. As the Spiked Mushrooms will slaughter most lowbies which are around Hurnscald, ditto with the Black Scorpion in Tulimshar. This produces a Linear direction into where the player can and cannot go. Limiting them to certain isolated areas. Using Distance Heat Mapping, you set your Major cities as Central Hubs connected by spokes, in this case the ferry. Those cities have to be inviting to lowbies and high levels if they are to be the most populated. Stretching out from those cities you make corridors to smaller hubs. As on test a player level 20 is free to roam around Hurnscald, Nivalis and Tulsimshar. There are enough quests in the cities to allow the player to level up to between 15-20 with no problem. The Key point is getting the player accustomed to the world in a free movement pattern. As no one has ever had a reason to goto Hurnscald before level 20 ever.
Now Tulimshar is a very vacant place, it was even more vacant after moving the tutorial out of Tulimshar. The Maps were empty and dead. No one likes the art. The amount of NPCs needed to fill Tulimshar would require an army of developers. Maps and areas of duplicated content are being reduced so people bump into each other. Reducing the size and consolidating maps made for a more vibrant Tulimshar. The Outdoor maps did pretty much the same, offering little in the way of different content. All the caves are still there including "The Hatmakers" cave (prior to the Snake Pit thats what it was called). The New Candor isn't new it's just Candor with more then a hole in the island, but it now has a backstory better befitting the island. Tulimshar has less area to fill and still a bunch of unused content.
The cave on the island is still off limits to under level 40. So no idea what your talking about player going to fight parua? and Candor has been in-game for years.
All stories are copy and paste of some sort. As one of the suggested opening stories to start the AD&D "Waterdeep/Undermountain" campaign is our opening story. Rerefence: Gilgamesh, Iliad, Odyssey. It doesn't detract from them any less. The point of an epic is send a Hero through a series of trials of which they use those virtues which are the current paradigm exemplifies. We need to start with a very non-nondescript opener on the player so they can forge their own future without having to worry about why Lord Boddington of the ninth house of the sun is collecting maggot slime.
Beggars will always find the Online List and proceed to whisper.
The secret to getting all the important stuff done is doing nothing.