Test Server | EverQuest 2 Game Update Blog

Producer’s Letter: Welcome back to EverQuest II

EverQuest II - News, The EQ2 Wire Comments Off

May 192011

Hello, Norrathians!

We’re incredibly glad to have our worlds back online again and we really appreciate you all being so patient with us while we strengthened the castle walls.

It’s been quite odd working on the game without it running. We’re glad you’re back!

So, you’re probably wondering, “What has your Dev Team been doing for the last couple of weeks?”

Here’s a small list of things that happened during that time:

Figured out the Fan Faire panel details. The “New Stuff” panel is going to be a heck of a show this year, I think.

Continued brainstorming on a major new feature set (which we intend to unveil at Fan Faire.)

Detailed out the mechanics change plan for the coming year (we’ll be sharing these plans with you soon and think you will really like what we have in store.)

Worked out a very cool set of tradeskilling quest changes to make those more interesting.

Made a quick UI change to the AA trees so that unavailable abilities are greyed out. (Kind of a “no duh” change, but it’s nice.)

Freeport artwork concepting has been going well and the first architecture changes have started.

And of course, there’s a lot more, but details will roll out as we get closer to their release.

Because of the outage, we’re going to bump the release of “The Children of War” (GU 60) out a couple weeks so that it can soak for longer on the Test server and we can get the original amount of player feedback we had planned. It’ll likely be the end of the month for the new release instead of mid-month. But that release will have a big chunk of stuff in it, including new dungeons, new raids, big PvP rules improvements as well as a new Battleground and a new BG game type!

We hope you also enjoy the “Welcome Back” package of stuff we’ve turned on this week, scheduled to run through May 22, 2011. All the city festivals, the Aether Races, the Moonlight Enchantments, Double XP on everything, even granting a month’s free house rent to everyone and ensuring no time was lost on duration quests…they’re all a big “thank you” for being so patient.

Welcome back!

– Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson

DoV Shard Armor Now Craftable by Players

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Apr 062011

Fastidious crafters took advantage of yesterday’s update and trundled back to the daily Tradeskill Group instances for a chance to loot one of the two volumes of the new Far Seas Strategic Pricing 3rd Edition. As with past editions, these recipe books allow crafters to create shard armor and jewelry for players with a reduced number of tokens/shards. Interestingly, neither players nor crafters must have faction with the Ry’Gorr to make or receive this armor or jewelry. They do however require the designated dungeon-dropped crystals.

With yesterday’s Test Update Notes, we found out that the current Velious shard armor will be dropping from 70 to 52 Primal Velium Shards per piece.

However it seems the recipe book to craft shard armor has been partially updated to reflect the new shard prices. Assassins, Berserkers, Brigands, Bruisers, Coercers, and Conjurors (all classes starting with A, B, or C) are asked to pony up 63 shards per piece, while all other classes pay 40 shards per piece. Nindaene, the player who brought up this issue, also noticed that crafted armor has more mitigation than Ry’Gorr purchased armor.

Domino posted on the issue:

As you may have noticed from the Test server update notes today, we are in the process of lowering the shard costs of the armor. However, it looks like some of the recipes were pushed live with a lower cost than they should have been set to yet. So yes, these prices are an error and will likely change again as we are still in the process of adjusting the prices based on feedback. We’ll get that corrected as soon as possible (hopefully Thursday) but in the mean time it might be safest to hold off on crafting the items, since the final shard cost is not yet finalized. Apologies for the error, and thanks for pointing it out!

To participate in Tradeskill Group Instances, crafters must have completed the Ship Out tradeskill quest line and then may pick up the daily Group Tradeskill Mission on the Isle of Mara. These missions can be soloed, but considering you must make 108 combines — 96 of them for other tradeskill classes — it’s really better to bring a friend. There are currently four rotating missions, one available per day: Shipyard Services, Clockwork Rescue, Supply Stocking, Emergency Portal Repairs)

GU60: Multi-Housing on Test in 1-2 Weeks?

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Apr 032011

As always, this is subject to change based on any number of code issues, delays, etc. but we now have a soft timeframe for when Game Update 60, or at least the Multi-housing (the ability of 1 character to have multiple houses) will be hitting the Test server. It sounds like it may be on Test for several weeks for players to test everything out and make sure there are no problems with houses and guild halls. Undoubtedly a change like this requires major alterations to the database. We haven’t got anything concrete how what changes will be made Teleport to Player House guild hall amenity, but we’ve heard good things.

From SmokeJumper:

It’ll probably hit testing next week or the week after. It’s a LOT of code changes, so we’ll probably let it stew on the Test server for a while until we’re confident we kill all the major issues and then release it thereafter.

Soon!

Itemization Changes on Test

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Mar 302011

If you just can’t wait for Thursday to see what (if any) changes you’ll see to your gear, you may be interested in these additional Test Update Notes (beyond the notes already posted on Tuesday):

ITEMS

Dungeon dropped loot has had its power increased.

Dungeon shard armor has had its power increased.

Raid items have had their power increased.

The gap in power between easy and challenge mode raid items has been increased.

The power of a few War Runes has been increased.

Silius brought this to our attention:

Just a heads up that test server should have the biggest chunk of the item increase on it now. If you want to test copy and check it out your feedback is appreciated.

Upcoming House Decorating Course

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Mar 142011

Are you a dedicated decorator that likes to play with house layouts? If so, check out Gracey’s course in EQ2 Layout Editor being held this Thursday, March 17, on the Test server:

This Week’s Topic: New to the layout editor? We can help!!

Time: THURSDAY @ 5pm PST, 8pm EST, (Friday @ 01:00 GMT)

Where: Test Copy server – Gracey’s 1 Room Gorowyn house

What to bring: yourself and maybe some paper and a pen for notes

What level do I need to be: You can make a level 1 char on Test Copy if you don’t already have a char copied over.

Chat: If you come to Gracey’s house or let us know in either Antonia_Bayle.Homeshow or Test.Test we will get you a guild invite and we are using Norrathian Decorator Academy guild for chatting. Sending a tell to me around class time will get you an invite into the guild as well.

Fun stuff to come: Tiling displays are set up in the guild hall to help you work through some of the most common problems – it’s in Halas if you would like to visit.

Reports on previous classes have been very positive. Beginners are welcome! For instructions on how to access the Test server, see page two of the original thread. For an introduction to the EQ2 Layout Editor, EQ2 Designers.com has a good tutorial.

Behind the Music: Destiny of Velious

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Dec 062010

Usually, people want to know the story behind the music. But in this case, it may be the music itself which has more to reveal about the upcoming Destiny of Velious expansion.

As first reported on the EQ2 forums, last night’s Test Update patch included music files tied in to EverQuest II’s seventh expansion. The following zones were represented (categories are mine amd subject to change):

Dungeons/Raid:

Kael Drakkel
Fortress of Drunder Tower
Tower of Frozen Shadow
Velkator’s Labyrinth
Velkator’s Labyrinth: Kraytok’s Fortress

Overland:

Deep Gorge
Iceclad Ocean
Othmir Camp
Rygorr Fortress
South Velious
The Great Wastes

City:

Thurgadin

Unknown:

Rallos Zek

Add this to what we already know from Fan Faire 2010. We were informed that we could expect at least 10 Instanced Dungeons, 1 Massive Contested zone, 2 Overland zones, and 6 Raid Instances. Concept art was shown for:

Kraytok’s Fortress Spire & Forgotten Pools
The Ascent
Thurgadin
Fortress Spire

Unique Housing?

We haven’t known what to make of another small batch of files found in this package. We’re talking about:

home_majdul_library.vpk
home_neriak_opera.vpk
home_qeynos_dojo_SG.vpk

Remember at Fan Faire, we were told “We also hope to start looking at options for more unique “Prestige Housing” which would be specially themed houses you could choose instead of normal city housing.” The first of these was the Skyblade Skiff and Crag Estate. Perhaps these offer a clue to the next 3 housing options?

The complete list of files included in last night’s Test Server patch are presented below, with thanks to Horgana of the Butcherblock guild Defenders of Norrath:

_exp07\Kael_Drakkel
_exp07\Overland
_exp07\Rallos_Zek
_exp07\The_Fortress_of_Dunder
_exp07\Thurgadin
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth
_exp07\Kael_Drakkel\KAEL_DRAKKEL_DUNGEON_02_V2.mp3
_exp07\Kael_Drakkel\KAEL_DRAKKEL_DUNGEON_03.mp3
_exp07\Kael_Drakkel\KAEL_DRAKKEL_THEME.mp3
_exp07\Kael_Drakkel\KING_TORMAX.mp3
_exp07\Overland\DEEP_GORGE.mp3
_exp07\Overland\ICECLAD_OCEAN_V2.mp3
_exp07\Overland\OTHMIR_CAMP.mp3
_exp07\Overland\RYGORR_FORTRESS.mp3
_exp07\Overland\SOUTH_VELIOUS.mp3
_exp07\Overland\THE_GREAT_WASTES_V2.mp3
_exp07\Overland\THRGADIN_CITY_AND_HARBOR.mp3
_exp07\Overland\VELIOUS_MUSIC.mp3
_exp07\Rallos_Zek\RALLOS_ZEK.mp3
_exp07\The_Fortress_of_Dunder\FORTRESS_OF_DRUNDER_TOWER_01.mp3
_exp07\The_Fortress_of_Dunder\FORTRESS_OF_DRUNDER_TOWER_02.mp3
_exp07\The_Fortress_of_Dunder\FORTRESS_OF_DRUNDER_TOWER_03.mp3
_exp07\The_Fortress_of_Dunder\FORTRESS_OF_DRUNDER_TOWER_ARENA.mp3
_exp07\Thurgadin\THURGADIN_CITY_V2.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_01.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_02.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_04.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_05.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_07.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TOWER_OF_FROZEN_SHADOW_FL_08.mp3
_exp07\Tower_of_Frozen_Shadow\TSERRINA.mp3
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth\KRAYTOC.mp3
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth\VELKETORS_LABYRINTH.mp3
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth\VELKETORS_LABYRINTH_FORGOTTEN_POOLS.mp3
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth\VELKETORS_LABYRINTH_KRAYTOCS_FORTRESS.mp3
_exp07\Velkators_Labyrinth\VELKETORS_LABYRINTH_V2.mp3

and 4 new files in the pak’s directory;

home_majdul_library_SG.vpk
home_neriak_opera_SG.vpk
home_qeynos_dojo_SG.vpk
mistmoore_ph_5r01_SG.vpk

Sages, Jewelers, Alchemists Get Lump of Coal for Frostfell

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Dec 042010

It looks like some unexpected changes to Research Assistants have hit the Test server. Spell and Combat Art upgrades are now possible without any involvement by a Sage, Jeweler, or Alchemist. And instead of hailing an NPC, Research is being folded into the interface.

From the Test Copy notes:

RESEARCH

The Research window has been moved in to the Knowledge window.

Journeyman through Master spell tiers can be researched.

You are no longer required to speak with a Research Assistant to start/change/claim research.

Before:

Hail a Research Assistant NPC to begin researching an upgrade for a player-crafted spell or combat art to turn it into a dropped spell or combat art. Hail the NPC again to pick up the Expert or Master.
Hail Research Assistant NPC again in a number of days commeasurate with the spell’s level to pick up the upgrade.
Journeyman (player crafted COMMON spell or combat art) can be upgraded to Adept (dropped TREASURED spell or combat art).
Expert (player crafted RARE spell or combat art) can be upgraded to Master (dropped FABLED spell or combat art).
Sage, Jeweler, and Alchemist tradeskillers are needed to make Journeyman and Expert spells.

After:

Open Research window to begin researching any upgrade for any spell (Journeyman, Adept, Expert) to the next tier.
Players can buy an Adept spell off the broker for 7-12 gold and upgrade it through Master with enough patience, cutting crafters out of the equation altogether.
Sages, Jewelers, and Alchemists start looking for a more lucrative class to train up in.

November 2, 2010 Hotfix Notes

EverQuest II - News, The EQ2 Wire Comments Off

Nov 022010

I hope you got a chance to test all those changes on the Test Server over the weekend, cause they went live today. Once we sorted through the formatting of said Update notes, we were able to determine that the changes cover a broad spectrum of gameplay elements, including solving crashes related to Voice Chat, Battlegrounds tweaks, etc. The most notable line item might be a fix to a potential exploit in Roehn Theer as we discussed over the weekend.

Your Update Notes for November 2, 2010 after the jump…

GENERAL

Fixed a bug where some NPC’s weren’t able to find currency in the new currency window.

Fixed a client crash related to in-game voice chat.

COMBAT

Pets should be able to attack immune monsters if their owner is able to attack that monster.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT

Fixed a bug where some AAs such as “Enhance: Aria of Magic” would not properly apply bonuses after zoning.

TRADESKILLS

Several Tradeskill Writs have had their quest text updated!

PVP WARFIELDS

The Enchanted Lands inner guards will now spawn as heroic mobs.

PVP ITEMS

The Level 70 season 2 tower shields will now display their name correctly.

Heroic Resistance adornments should now display the correct icon and name.

Heroic Resistance buffs are now all no modify.

ITEMS

Stonewill can no longer be modified by Potency.

LON ITEMS

The petamorph wands obtained from LoN have now also been converted to unlimited charge items, like the station marketplace versions. If you have one in your inventory already, it should be automatically upgraded.

QUESTS

Greater Faydark: Players should no longer have a problem interacting with Scout Moranne for the quest Sentry Trillis’ Report.

BATTLEGROUNDS

Warded damage now counts as damage inflicted and damage taken in a battleground scoreboard.

Battleground Daily challenges will now grant status when complete.

Fixed a bug where waiting to the last few seconds to accept a match would keep you from entering the match.

UNDERFOOT DEPTHS

Master Yael’s charm drops have received a slight upgrade.

Lustrous Brellium Nugget now has a unique spell effect.

PALACE OF ROEHN THEER

It should no longer be possible to bug the swarm adds portion of the Roehn Theer fight.

EVERQUEST II EXTENDED

Silver Membership level accounts now have 4 bag slots and 4 character slots.

Fixed a bug causing Platinum members to not be able to page guild recruiters.

Marketplace Items on Test – Feedback Requested

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Sep 282010

SmokeJumper is looking for feedback on placing F2P marketplace items on the test server. He posted this on the official forums:

Hey, folks,

We don’t have a big enough population on the Test server to run two different Test servers (one for EQII Live and one for EQ2X), and we’d like to get your feedback on whether you think it’s appropriate for us to allow the EQ2X marketplace items to show up on Test.

Since the items are optional, it shouldn’t make much of a difference in your play style, but it would allow us to test them on a real server before they go Live.

Additionally, for anyone interested, they’d probably help leveling a bit, which is always somewhat of a hurdle on this lower-population server.

What do you think?

Thanks for your feedback.

Commentary:

I personally agree with many of the other posters that have already replied who think this would work much better if done on Test Copy. Test Copy gets wiped periodically anyway and gives unlimited station cash. This would seem to be the perfect place to “test” marketplace items.

Coming soon to a server near you: New Fuel Names!

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Sep 212010

DominoeDev posted this heads up for the test update notes on the official forums. This is scheduled to go live with GU58:

The fuel that I’ve made since joining the team has had more standard names that I hoped would give some direction as to the level range, but the old fuel names were not easy to guess the appropriate level from the name. Although I realize it’s going to require some work updating notes, web sites, and habit, I think it’s worth while in the end to rename the fuel to a standard so that it all uses the same adjective.

Consequently, if all goes well this afternoon, by this evening on Test server you should see all the tradeskilled fuel convert to using the name of the imbued material for that level range (and the level 1-9 fuel is called “basic” so it will be listed right at the top of the list). Example names: glowing candle, glowing coal, glowing kindling, lambent candle, lambent incense, luminous candle, luminous coal. The examine descriptions on the fuel have also been standardize to say the level range they are used in. Nothing else has changed about the fuel, prices etc. are all the same, and if you have any fuel in your inventory it will simply be automatically renamed when the update hits. I hope that overall this will solve more confusion than it causes, but if you come across any NPC dialog or quest text that specifically references the name of a fuel that no longer exists, please do /bug it or post here so I can get that changed.

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Game Update 62: Age of Discovery

Game Update 61: The War of Zek

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Producer’s Letter: Welcome back to EverQuest II

DoV Shard Armor Now Craftable by Players

GU60: Multi-Housing on Test in 1-2 Weeks?

Itemization Changes on Test

Upcoming House Decorating Course

Behind the Music: Destiny of Velious

Sages, Jewelers, Alchemists Get Lump of Coal for Frostfell

November 2, 2010 Hotfix Notes

Marketplace Items on Test – Feedback Requested

Coming soon to a server near you: New Fuel Names!

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