Reurning chars

[Shihan]

This has come up recently, there are few enough players left and lord knows, I do not want to discourage anyone from playing again but I've been asked whether or not I could restore an expired character. I've always tried to make sure that I've got lots of copies of all the hard work you guys put into the game and it seems to have worked. I can't guarantee I've saved every char or that I have the very latest state of each apart from the ones currently playing.

Part of me says yes, they've done the work to get there in the first place, part of me says no, having potentially powerful chars just jump back in may upset the few who have stayed throughout.

As I'm sitting on the fence on this issue I thought I'd throw it open and get your takes on it.

[Valiant]

Tough one. Although I try to keep my two remaining characters alive, somehow if I ever return, I might just start afresh. Wouldn't be quite as fun jumping back in as a high level character. In fact, I think it would be much better to have a new character and see the remnants of one of my characters' achievements in the world. Having your own character related patch of map - priceless. (Those of you who haven't seen it yet - look for Tipsy's work somewhere in Amber. And no, it's not the cathedral, that one's been rebuilt by now (I assume).)

However, it will come in useful at some point (in the case of a return), so I will keep them

Edit: not to mention unique items, like RP gifts, or tourney prizes. Quite irreplacable.

[Shod]

I can see there'd be a lot of mixed opinions here, but I'd say anything that might get more people playing again would be a good thing.

[Scorpion]

It could help to bring some old players back. However i am against it. If an old player wants to play again, he should start all over.

If my mage still has all the spells/titles she used to have, then suddently you have a char back in the game which is one of the power full chars around. and none of the new players knows her (past) RP and visa versa. For those who don't know her.. she can kill every char in 6 seconds without getting hit (stun+earthquake ftw).

It wouldn't be fair for the new players, and if an old player really wants to come back, it should be quite easy to lvl up a char to a respectable lvl. This because 1. you know how to play. 2. you know where the items/spells are. 3. You (should) know how to RP.

No offence shihan, i know it took a lot of your time to set up this game and to keep it running, but if you seriously want to get more players, then you need to release some updates to the game to keep it interesting for both new and old players.
I know i haven't found everything yet, but somehow i don't feel like searching every place in the lands again. (suggestion: bring in some sort of quest giver to keep people active?)

[Shihan]

Fair response and more than anything its the balance issue that worried me so if you've manage to keep your char alive well done otherwise its start all over again.

As for updates...... Yes I'd love to expand things more but time and commitments stand in the way. I would start publishing again if my job changed so that my commute was roughly sane. There are many loose ends that I need to tie off and of course one day give you all the levelling quests to get to the max possible levels.

I am drifting back towards LoS again, spending a little time improving the back end code which would make the development of new areas a little easier. It means that I'm also maintaining familiarity with the code and db so should I have the opportunity it wouldn't be hard to slip back into it.

[Kampfer]

Don't give up the good work Shihan. Like Scorpion said, yeah we need some kind of new stuff to play in. If I may suggest, is there any possibility to enhance the world like adding more story and places related to other Gods, I have fought years for Kron, I have fought for Aester and that other good God which I forgot the name *feel ashamed*. It could be refreshing to fight for another deity.

I have been playing "Lord of the Rings Online" since closed beta 3 years ago and they are lazy on releasing contain, but not like LoS, they are a lot of devs and enough players to make it worth some hard work. I took a break, about a year, just because the last update was 30$ and I did everything in it within a month, it is ridiculous for that kind of game.

About my high level character, "If" Kampfer is still alive I would like to make him integrate the world as a NPC who could be battled, that fight could be interesting if he battles like me: "Oh, a Paladin, no hesitation, wither, engulf/immolate, NEXT!", and if my minion Nrel decide to join the fight (if he retires as well) he is welcome. Also, all the storage within the Crypt locked in place to keep the charm of the rooms but accessible. Hmmm, it would also allow Paladins to finally use their turn undead on him.

I miss those LoSing days, wandering in the lands looking for something to do, meeting other players, having a chat, fighting together for a greater deed. I remember when the Ent forest was released, what a fun it was and still is. where is that dark place in the north of the Farm/Amethyst!?

[Kampfer]

Just to add to that, I also appreciate a lot the presence noticable of DMs/Liaisons playing with us, such as NPC or simply their own character.

For the past 9 months I play "Stargate Resistance" which is a third-person shooter with a Stargate theme. The Devs of the game play with us quite often, it make us believe they enjoy our presence in their game.

And I miss your Uzis Shihan

[Scorpion]

Just to add to that, I also appreciate a lot the presence noticable of DMs/Liaisons playing with us, such as NPC or simply their own character.

yeah fun, turning ppl into orcs.

yeah, enjoyed that

But making them an npc aint a bad idea. Put Ghandi and scorpion in lionhearts keep. That way you don't have to remove that area.