Official Answers by week

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 12/01 Through 12/18 2012

severin Asks:

1) Are there any plans to make scavengeable items more limited in-game in order to force more trade and interaction between players and tribes?

Yes, this is part of the crafting update. We have a new tool available that allows us to re-distribute resources visually. Scavenged resources will be more regional, in particular material of items found.

2) Are there any plans to not have newly planted and spawned trees make new saplings and perhaps also not able to harvest resources from them?

Yes, only mature trees will spawn saplings in the next patch. Resources will be properly limited from saplings with the crafting and resource changes.

3) Is there any estimated time on when logs not under roof will have a decay timer?

Sorry, I don't have an estimated time for the release of any features or changes.

Nephilum Asks:

1) Will we be able to transfer ownership of constructed structures?

Yes. We have a Real Estate system that allowed for this. The system was tested and almost ready for release last February or March. It was delayed because there were some potential conflicts with tribe permissions and abandoned buildings. We'll return to the Real Estate system after the current crafting changes and bug fixes are done.

2) For homesteaders it would be nice to be able to set usage permissions on gates similar to the lock features on canopy. Is this planned for the future?

Yes, it's planned for when we revisit the Real Estate system.

3) Many of us have alts, good friends or even family members we play with. Will it possible to designate people on your friends list as siblings, parent or other significant family member and provide that as a separate permission group for existing lock/permission mechanics?

As I understand, this would be a 'best friends' list. Yes, this is possible and I've put it on our suggestion list.

4) Regrowth of grass, forest floor... is there an eta on this? I know there are issues to be resolved for this to work correctly however is this on the list of items to be patched in soon or will this be delayed pending kickstart success?

No ETA on this.

Vadio Asks:

1) have plan to add any structure decay? (to keep everyone login or don't made big castle without people to keep in?)

I'm considering a system of decay where all structures on active tribe land can be preserved by 'feeding' appropriate materials to the totem.

2) Like know plans to made people keep login without pvp or pve

Both are currently available in game. We're going to do another round of creature balancing in January and increase the maximum amount of creatures in game.

3) Possibility to tribe archive one big goal ( no just big castle or city , because all here do same , i thing one unique )

4) World Boss? or any other group stuffs can need coordinate group to build/kill/craft or whatever

I think these are a combined question. Larger goals such as epic quests that would require a tribe or team to act together were planned for when we could expand our development team and game. This isn't going to happen any time soon.

There are currently creatures that require players to band together to kill, basically 'world bosses'.

5) Just more structures and ruins from "old world" or start call this game "4000 A.C Game"

Old world structures were not intended for the Prelude.

Zola Asks:

1) Will there be an ETA for when we are able to build a farm or tame animals to breed them?

2) Any ETA on planting grass? Or a possibility for terraformed regions (the grey area's) made green again?

Sorry, no ETA on any features.

3) Will the animals contain special stats or conditions like some are more durable against weather or sickness?

Possibly. Creatures do have different stats right now, but not what you are describing.

4) Will we be able at some point to destroy existing fireplaces not covered by Totems?

Yes. This should be possible now. I've made a note to look into this and fix it this week if it's not working properly.

5) When we are able to breed and tame animals, do we have to feed them and will chickens leave eggs for us?

You will have to feed them. Yes on chickens laying eggs.

6) Are there any plans relating to be able to pledge beside Kickstarter for Xsyon: Apocalypse via PayPal on the main page for rewards?

Yes, we will set up fund raising directly on this site after Kickstarter runs its course.

tomduril Asks:

Have you thought about pushing the reputation of Xsyon at the different mmo/sandbox oriented sites?

From my point of view you have created something quite unique, there are an awful lot of sandbox projects currently in the making (but not running) - however Xsyon unique "selling point" is that it *is* running (not a promise) - it is (for me) the perfect example for a sandbox game - and it is not a *promise*, but reality. I do not think that the small dev team is a down point - it is what it is - and being open about it will get you more sympathy - the problem I see at the moment with the attitude ppl have towards Xsyon is: "Too many promises, not enough fulfillment - probably the "ideas - plans" sound too much like promises and you have to be much more defensive about them.

Definitely. We do what we can. I am personally not going to post on other sites. I don't have enough time and I know it would be a thankless task of combating trolls. Thank you for your comments. You are right, I always post plans and what's in progress here on these forums and these are plans, not 'promises'.

We do have some players that regularly post in support of Xsyon on other forums. If you would like to join in, please contact us via support.

Please state your plans towards cooking?

Cooking is planned as a flexible system where players will be able to add primary and secondary ingredients. Cooked food will provide buffs. The ingredients used will determine the buff type, power and duration. The higher your cooking skill, the more ingredients you can use (and the more powerful buffs the resulting food will provide).

Willowhawk Asks:

1) I noticed that Mutants as well as Revenants do not seem to grow beyond a certain size/HPs unless they make kills. Is this working as intended or should Mutant animals be growing on their own?

Yes, this is working as intended. Revenants grow in power only when they make kills. Mutants that have reached the maximum age also only increase their power with more kills.

2) Any plans to give us a "Duel" mode? This would allow tribes to hold tournaments within our tribes as well would allow people to compete without being sent back to their totem when they lose

Duel modes was part of the original design many years ago. It's still on our list, but not planned for any time soon.

3) I thought I read somewhere that the free trial on the main server is only going until kickstart ends, is this correct? If not would it be possible to have some designation on the totem showing status as trial or subbed account? Without this it's hard to know who is contributing to tribe size and in fairness the available building space should be reserved for those who are contributing to the tribal territory.

4) In addition, are there any plans to enhance the tribe totem interface so we know when a tribe member joined and when they last logged in? This would help with allocating tents and living quarters, building permissions on tribe land and when to retrieve an abandoned cart among other things.

Free time on the main server will continue beyond January 1. Yes, I'm considering ways for tribes to clearly see what tribe members are recently active and full 'citizens' contributing to the tribe radius.

Thanks for the questions!

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 12/19/2012 Through 01/13/2013

thepreston Asks:

What effect, if any, does food and water meter have on anything?

I've heard many different things including energy use per action, energy recovery, skill gain rate, and exp gain rate.
There are several people who say that food and water have no effect whatsoever, and if it does, it is so little that it makes the effort put into carrying food/water with you as you travel pointless (added weight < benefit of higher food and water meter).
I would like this cleared up so the players don't have to argue and speculate as to the possible usefulness/uselessness of nutrition.

Food and water affect energy regeneration rate. The magnitude of the effect will be revised as we are working on farming and cooking (work began a few days ago as the trade functions at totems are being wrapped up).

How are scavenged resources distributed in a general sense?

I'm finding that as long as I stay in 1 spot, or travel along 1 pre-set path/line, I tend to get the exact same items.
Not (for example) 'plastic things in general' but like, '5 Long Plastic Poles' almost every single time when I stay in a small area.
I know that resources are distributed by larger zones, so that 1 very large area may have a much better chance of finding rivets but a lower chance of finding screws, or vice versa, but being able to grab almost the exact same stuff in small areas makes no sense.

I've had several people tell me they get similar items if they stay in small areas/paths on a particular junkpile, so I know its not just me.

Resources are distributed per natural region (for example, Round Hill or Zephyr). What you describe sounds odd. Resources will be redistributed as part of the current round of development as we now have a much better visual tool to aid with this.

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 01/14/2013 Through 03/06/2013

ladguf Asks:

The Field of view is MUCH too narrow and there is no way to change this on my side.

It really feels awful for me - like looking through binoculars or wearing blinkers permanently. Is there any hope that this might be changed (soon ?) ?

We may make this a setting in the future but not any time soon. We have other priorities and increasing the field of view would decrease game performance.

booby_the_bird Asks:

1. How does the skill cap act on a trial player? you get it to 30 and can keep leveling it but you don't get anything better than 30 unless you pay? Maybe you get 30 and it just keeps track of how much more levels and adds them when you buy the game? I'm not sure but I don't think all the exp you earn is just nullified.

Any skill gain beyond 30 is nullified for trial players. The experience and skill use is not stored.

2. What's up with regrowing grass? does grass that got depleted ever grow back? is it only those that have at least 1/4 grass left? This might be affected by the farming update that is coming up, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

Depleted grass currently does not grow back, but grass growing will be part of the coming agriculture update.

emprepus Asks:

If I leave four skills in a category at 5.0 because I have the luxury of having companions having these maxed, will other skills start decaying at some point or will these four just continue to decay until they are negative and further?

Other skills will decay unless they are locked. Skills do not decay below 5.0.

MrDDT Asks:

Care to explain "Totem Upkeep" you posted about in your update?

The Totem Upkeep system will be posted in detail when we are ready to test, before the end of this week. In briefs players will need to upkeep totems with currency and resources in order for their tribe to function properly and with tribal bonuses.

Corbies Asks:

Would it be feasible, or at all possible for player trading posts? Or will it be forever bound to totems? I like the idea of there even being trade posts, for what it's worth, but it would be nice to have little outposts here and there.

Yes, player Trade Totems (Trading Posts) are part of the next patch and are currently implemented on the Test Server. Trade Totems can be placed on your own tribe land and allied tribe land.

lordadamar Asks:

I Have seen several mentions of improving the construction system

Currently we're not working on construction system improvements, but I will answer your questions. Revising construction with proper two story construction will require revising our collision system. This was started but stopped when we reduced the programming team to just me. It will be resumed whenever possible. The answers below apply for the future.

1. Does this mean elevation buttons will work?

Yes.

2. Does this mean no more giant piles of dirt just to get height..

No. I'm not planning to change the system of removing dirt with 'lower' and requiring dirt for 'raise'.

3. Will we be able to build, houses like normal people from the ground up, instead of from max height Down...

Yes.

4. Will a Truss, beam, post system be put in to make multi-level buildings?

There will be parts similar to the current roof frames, but without the roof in order to support multiple story floors.

5. Will we be able to move ghosted items through or into each other to move things around, really hate the Blah blah is in the way.. and sometimes I just want it to meld together not sit next to each other..

Likely yes for moving 'ghosts' but not for melding parts together.

6. Will it ever be changed so that you can Directly place Dirt into a bin thats in a cart, It will not let you, has to be entire basket with dirt in it from your person, it wont let your just place 20 dirt in the bin in the cart? seems odd.

Dirt needs revised, but I need to think through the details. Dirt was not meant to be easily disposed. When we added carts, the system got complicated and needs to be improved. We'll see.

I also saw building Decay, will this be handled with tribe totem and money/mats or will we have to individually maintain each piece...

Buildings will not require individual maintenance. Building will be kept up through the Main Totem using the upkeep system using resources and currency.

Will decaying building piece have a visual indicator, ( like smoldering ), I remember in Shadowbane things smolders and smoked...

I would like to have visual building wear and decay, but it's currently not feasible.

Any plans to add hire-able NPC's to aid in tribe maintenance and maybe have them say what they need or the cost of doing what they did... I dont wanna remove all the work from the player but with all the plans to make everything Decay, even base tribes could become overwelming...

No plans to add NPCs. Town maintenance should not be overwhelming.

Deacon asks:

1. What's current status of "PhysX" engine/sofware you were going to integrate ?

On hold until I can afford to re-hire programmers.

2. What happens to totems/tribe lands and structures on subscribed accounts that arent.....upkept?

Nothing unless the tribe becomes abandoned. The Upkeep system in progress will be required for a tribe to function correctly but will not affect buildings.

OrlandoKev asks:

In regards to stats, does having higher than 100 have any extra effect, example, in my charm suit i am at 112 charm, is it wasted stat on my suit, or does the extra 12 points over 100 help me when scavenging.

Stats above 100 do have an extra effect, but depends on the stat and skill. Part of the current revisions for the upcoming big patch include revised armor sets and effects for all stats beyond 100 will be ensured to have value.

shyhawk Asks:

IS there going to be a Donate to game button. I know not many would use this but it could be helpful and maybe allow the game to make more profit. The more money that is made equals faster the game can grow and the more content we get. The bigger this game is the more chances it has to get noticed by more people. I don't know if a donation button would help a lot but I know if I had some extra money laying around that I would gladly donate it to a game I love to help it grow.

There will be in the future. Right now the few players that want to donate can do so directly to our PayPal account (and a few have). Players can contact support and we gladly accept!

Thanks for the questions!

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 03/06/2013 Through 03/11/2013

Willowhawk Asks:

When agriculture comes in will we have more freedom to plant near buildings and structures than we currently have with tree planting? I tried planting on test server and since the first action "Plowing" seems to use the same basic concept as terraforming I was not allowed to plow near objects. Also when planting I received the same message as with trees "Named Object" is in the way. It would be very useful if we could plant up against our buildings since that is where we have an abundance of open dirt lol, as well I have tribe members who would like to create gardens outside of their homes.

Yes, this can be adjusted. What you've seen so far is the first step towards agriculture. We'll ask for more feedback after the Totem and Upkeep improvements are finished.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 03/06/2013 Through 04/18/2013

MrDDT asks:

I'm being told by other players in game that trapping animals is not allowed. Is this true and why?

Trapping creatures and 'feeding' them by allowing the creature to kill you repeatedly is not allowed because it's not playing the game as intended. Trapped creatures are not a challenge and this makes it too easy to boost creature based materials.

We do plan to implement death penalties and improve creature AI to prevent this type of situation with in game changes.

If it is true, how else do you expect people to get high end mats off aged animals?

By exploring and hunting. I am aware of the current lack of creatures because creatures are again wandering into the mist and not returning. This will be resolved and will be worked on within the next few weeks.

Khalart asks:

I took a look at terrain reset cycle on the Test server and I've a question about this system: the revert process follow the same terraforming sequence that players used while modifing it?

No, it simply reverts terrain in increments of 0.5 meters until the terrain reaches it's original state.

Nezdar asks:

Where are the useful animals like deer, bears, coyotes, etc? Will we have to wait for a full patch at some distant time in the future in order to re-balance the creatures, or can something be done in the near term? We know that the patch cycle is slow due to limited resources, but I think this will have to be addressed of the majority of our tribe will not make another month.

Unfortunately, re-balancing creatures will require another patch. Now that the big changes that were in progress are out of the way, checking and fixing problems with creature distribution will be a priority.

Deacon asks:

When or do you plan to increase number of staff to increase productivity? What are you plans to fund this if any?

Staff will be increased as soon as I can afford to do so. My main focus right now is improving the game. I hope and expect that patches that will be rolled out over the next 3 months, starting tomorrow morning, will increase the game population enough to where I can re-hire coders and expand the team.

I am open to but not actively seeking investors right now as over the past six months my funding efforts have only taken away from valuable development time.

MrDDT asks:

What are the plans with permissions for tribe leaders to move carts around? Currently we have to ask guides for help on moving them.

Tribe leader permissions will be added. This would have fit in well with the current changes but there are many small improvements I just didn't have time to add. I've taken a note to add this to the next patch.

With all the extra recipes coming into the game, is there any plans on helping with the storage or sorting issue with them?

Not right now but I am open to suggestions. I have considered different container types that could hold more items of a specific item type (recipes, food etc.)

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 03/06/2013 Through 05/13/2013

MrDDT asks:

Are there any plans to have carts decay?

Current plans are for carts to become abandoned in the same way that buildings become abandoned. Decay for carts and bins with use may come in time.

What's the status of the Steam Greenlight?

We reached a decent 'percent to the top 100' games but activity has been slow on Greenlight lately. It will remain slow without more publicity directing players to the Greenlight page. I am hoping to attract more players directly here with a publicity push over the next few months and players will be encouraged to check out our Greenlight page and vote for us.

Regardless of the internal score or number of votes we get on Greenlight, ultimately it's a decision of the Steam staff to give us the final approval.

ryanguru asks:

Sorting/Storage is a big chore, even bigger so with the new crafting revisions.
Q. Are there any plans to implement a right-click auto stack feature?

This has been requested and yes, I'm looking into it.

Q. If not, are there any plans to improve the sorting/storage system to reduce this work load?
DDT's idea about a recipe book would help out a lot: http://www.xsyon.com/project.php?issueid=1752#note6972

I like the idea but it would require database changes and is a complex task beyond what I can fit into my schedule right now.

2. Small animal innards (from my understanding), cannot be used in game yet because they cannot be dissected into guts.

Q. Are there any plans to convert small animal innards into guts so catgut thread is not so hard to obtain?

Yes, this has been added recently.

Sandman asks:

A few ideas that may increase trade: making money weightless could be a great idea. Boats need I say more? A road that goes all the way around the shore line that can not be built on or altered like a tribe land, this will allow immersion and increase trade in this game by ten folds in my humble opinion. Is there anyway we could get these ideas to happen?

The weight of money has been greatly reduced. Boats is too big of a task for now. I have some ideas for roads and bridges that would allow for easier travel, but these would be player created and maintained. Once I'm done with the next series of patches up through agriculture and cooking, I plan to develop and implement the road and bridges ideas I have in mind.

Can you edit out the live stream on steam that no longer plays, makes look like game is dead? Do you have a status update on how long it will take to go green on steam?

Yes, this has been done.

Trade totem issue I hope has been taken care of, MrDDT informed you.

Yes, thanks for the report.

Able to build on top of platforms, this annoys me why I would not be able to. Is there any
plans to allow this to happen?

It will require a revision of our collision system which was started months ago, using PhysX, but was shelved. I can't estimate at this point when we'll be able to get back to it.

Wiki needs updating, cooking/farming are not even listed etc

The wiki is an ongoing project and players are welcome to add to it. Cooking and farming will be added after they are publicly released, but there are other things that do need to be added and updated since the recent big patch.

Kickstarter for small patch updates, i'd be willing to support this. What advertisement plans for this game as I never knew the last kickstarter was even going on I would have supported you.

I've thought about it but from the last attempt I learned that it's a big effort for unpredictable results.

Our advertising plans include putting out more frequent press releases and increasing our use of social media. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with specific task so if you are interested please email SUPPORT.

Is there anyway to get a modding community in this game?

This would be a massive task and beyond the scope of what can be done now.

I understand why you have the totem radius like it is for people don't go around making empty cities all over the lands but for legit city builders like myself I have a small tribe and it's just not befitting for the lower level tribes.

Is there a way to increase the radius of smaller tribes that get new paid players or the starting radius?

I'm considering an option where players could buy additional land or tribe radius directly without adding new full accounts (at a lower cost per radius increase). We'll see.

Is there any way to make waterskins weigh less to encourage drinking and carrying water?

All weights will be revised in a coming update (next few weeks).

Currently there is a standard now of currency in game Dollars, Quarters, Pennies, Beer Tabs, BottleCaps, Nails. This is player driven but is there anyways to just get rid of beer tabs and bottle caps and make those into dollars/quarters/pennies? For the sake of simplicity?

I'm going to leave this as is for now and continue to observe the use of the different currencies over time especially as the game population increases.

I would like to put signs in the game is this possible? I would like to place traps in the game is this possible? (for hunt and base defense)

These are possible, but not planned in our current round of development. Signs may be added when I work on roads and bridges. Traps would come later in the future.

I am still having issues with having only four bins open at a time, the cart take two slots by maybe reduce that somehow to one would help a lot.

If you think there is a bug please report it directly to BUGS.

jwjohnson1978 asks:

In regards to mounts, could I suggest some small engine mounts? I know gas/diesel is pretty much non-existent, but with farming and cooking being added to the game in the near future, it would open up the possibility of having bio-fuel as a biproduct.

This is beyond the scope of what I have planned right now.

Nezdar asks:

Flying mounts? I'd love to have a hang glider in game. Seriously, I know that is far out on the dev schedule.

This too.

Are there plans for logging to be affected by the axe QL? It is very difficult to obtain Master QL wood and I think it's impossible to obtain Supreme QL wood now. Compared to obtaining other materials like rock or metal, this seems out of balance.

Yes, makes sense and I've taken a note to look into this as we continue to work on resource and crafting improvements in the next few weeks.

Thanks for all the questions!

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 05/14/2013 Through 06/01/2013

toolkit68 asks:

First of all i'd like to point out that the FAQ link in the other sticky leads nowhere.Can you fix that please?

Thanks for pointing that out. It's been fixed.

I do understand the goal to get paying customers and the general limitations of the free account to test out things. Would you consider a change regarding placement of a tent at least please?

I'm considering other options for free accounts but nothing will change with the current limitations and system for at least a few months.

The current system encourages new players to join existing tribes and seek help from other players, which in my opinion is a good thing.

Regarding the use of one tool as a substitute for another. Could you make it easier to spot what is eligable substitution please? As a new player its impossible to see/know that a mallet can be used instead of a hammer i.e.

I believe the only such case is the use of mallets and hammers. I will check this.

Could you introduce a beginner level of the tools shears and saw pls?.

I made a note to review the tools again when we are reworking weapon schemes within the next few months.

Can you add tooltips to the buttons in the character creation pls?

This is on our task list and will be done eventually.

fatboy21007 asks:

Any chance of us being able to move our totems( lift it out without loosing our entire tribe n being forced to reform).

This has been asked many times before. The answer is the same, currently no. The potential problems caused and time and testing involved is not worth the benefits.

Any chances of the *radiation areas* being push back a zone to let us explore more?

Right now, no. There are two areas that are physically ready to be opened but as we are now working on a new resource distribution system, the data tables for these areas will need to be reworked. It's not a priority.

Any chances of camp fires actually being brighter? I mean I light one and doesn't really feel like I have one going or heck im up for a new light source that is brighter.

I've added this the suggestions list.

Do you still plan to do a pve server in the near future?

Only if the population grows to support this.

MrDDT asks:

Any plans on having an in game tutorial?

Yes, and this is being worked on slowly right now.

Can you give us some details on your opinion on what hunting should be like or PVE? Things like basic hunting, risky/dangerous things, rewards, what you expect the world PVE to be like, goals of players you expect them to do?

Creatures ranging from easy (can be handled by a starting player) to difficult (require a group of veteran players) with the material rewards increasing with the power of creatures and with the distribution of creatures ranging from easier along the shores of the lake and more difficult along the edges of the green mist.

That's how the system and we continue to strive for balance based on feedback.

Regarding player goals and my expectations: My goal is to provide an open world and system so that players can set their own goals and create their own gameplay experience.

Very few items on the distribution table is rare. I know you plan on updating this table with the new recipes, my question is, What are your thoughts on how regional items and rarities of these items should work and how would they promote trading/economy?

The new distribution system will make items more region specific with more valuable items and in particular materials being found in more dangerous regions. This is intended to promote trade as nobody will be able to sit in one area and obtain everything they need, but will have to travel or trade.

We should be testing the new distribution in a week or two.

FrostyMug asks:

Can we get a sorting system in the containers that allows for quick stacking like items?

Yes, auto stacking in containers been added and will be available for player testing this week.

Can we get some Chat options to increase the font and change the colors for the chat?

This is in our suggestions list already in the 'fit in when there is time' category.

Can we get a Social are sorting for online only to show in Friend and Tribe tabs?

This is in our suggestions list already in the 'fit in when there is time' category.

Can we get a Idea when the Mackinaw fish will at least be stackable?

This will be fixed when cooking is added which is scheduled for this summer. The Mackinaw is a huge fish and was set up to be realistic where it would need to be cut up for cooking.

Can Hunting be a more gradual skill instead of the almost imposible task as a noob even with focus on str and weapon?

Hunting should be easier now with the reduced hp and power of small creatures.

Can we get a faster decay on the Hundreds of totems that are months old as still there?

No, I believe that the current tribe decay is fair.

Can we get a cost for someone to plant a totem?

It's in the suggestion list, but I'm not convinced that it's a good idea to add more barriers for players to start a tribe and get to the features they primarily enjoy such as building.

Can we get a climbing skill so we can chase the fuzzy bunnies up the cliffs?

The real solution is improving collision on the server to slow creatures running up hill. Currently animals were set to cross any slope to prevent problems we were having with creatures getting stuck too often.

Can we make upkeep a requirement on the totems that protect land?

If you mean that tribe land would shrink if an amount of upkeep is not provided, no. It's not something that I agree with.

Can we get the ability to add channels like Alliance chat Fishing Chat Mason chat Tailor Chat Wains Chat and a trade chat would be nice?

Yes, it's possible and it's on the suggestions list.

GreenSpade asks:

Would be good to even have a tribe1 tribe2 tribe3 channels, have them edit able so we can just call them whatever we want.

As above. I currently can't estimate a date for chat improvements, but we'll see after the current In Development rounds.

Snakepit asks:

Is it possible to change the information that a trade totem shows when i look at alley goods on my own trade totem. At the moment the lower window shows no detailed information of ally goods at a distance. I think its good to know this information before i start travel.

I will check. If this is a quick to add improvement, I will add it.

Second question, is it possible to show not only direction and distance for alley goods but also the zone where the trade totem is located. Now i ask my self what will be more fun. Direction and distance so you have to search more or travel to coordinate exact position.

I will check this also. I may add the region but not zone number / position.

vaudevillian asks:

Was wondering if you are going to optimize the game window for triple monitor setups? Right now in triple monitors the zoom function is very zoomed in and cant zoom out.

Sorry, right now, I have to say no. I don't even have a set up to test this.

Another question is world size, I have seen the world map and it looks awesome and was wondering when the current borders are going to be expanded to mach the world map?

Possibly in a few months. As stated above, there are two large areas that are physically ready but would need new distribution data set up.

Is it possible to see tunneling in the game as in mining tunnel?

I would very much like to add this, but it would require a complete revision of the ground system. It's not feasible in the near future.

Glorp asks:

When will you up the loot tables for Saw blades and will you make them available in Most Scav Piles

This is being done right now with a completely revised scavenging distribution table.

Thanks for the all the questions!

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 06/02/2013 Through 09/23/2013

osteth asks:

I have been attempting to set up quests and such to help new players out just outside of founders. however i have run in to some snags in the use of the quest totem. All quests types seem to function as a "collect" quest effectively eliminating all use of the craft and hunt quest types. Is there a way we could get this changes to were it checks if the player has crafted or hunted certain items/creatures?

I will check quests this week. Hunting and Crafting quests should require the person completing the quest to hunt and craft the delivered items.

secondly, is there any change of a batch post feature for quests?? I would love to provide more quests but many quests it takes me longer to post the quest than it does for me to collect the items myself (IE: collect 50 granite)

I've added this to my suggestions list.

Finally, is there any chance we could get an explore quest type. I would like to send players to explore places within the game that I find to be interesting much in the same way people go Geo-caching IRL. I think the simplest way for this to be accomplished would be for the quest totem to place a unique token(or unique token vending bin pending batch posting ability) in your bag upon building the quest that the player can take to points of interest or hide them places for added difficulty and make then the totem could accept the unique token in the same fashion as a collect quest.

Explore quests are planned (though not in this fashion). I do like the geo-cache suggestion and have designed a similar system for treasure hunting quests in the future. When I work on quests again I will definitely consider this.

Thank you for the positive comments.

Whorlok asks:

In the mountains are living lizards! ....would you bring also those lizards as a animal and with a mutant lizard who looks like this on my screen?

Someday. Right now I'm not planning on adding any new creatures for a while as I don't have the artists.

the arrows would make a woodcrafter? with many variations (metal,wood,plastic,with feather and so on)?

Bows and arrows are planned as a separate craft. Yes, there will be many variations.

Deacon asks:

in your guestimate, how far away is ranged combat?

I can't guess right now. Right now I'm working on farming and cooking. There are a few features also near completion including terrain reversion on public lands and resource upkeep. Once those are wrapped up I will see what feature is most in demand. Most likely that will be ranged combat.

Arkonick asks:

When or will you ever make a non pvp server for the pve player base?

Although PvP is an integral part of Xsyon's original design, I do understand there is a demand for a PvE server. I plan to open a PvE server if there is enough of a population to support two servers. Right now there isn't and I think that setting up a separate server would just divide the current population without attracting enough new players. The active player population has been on the rise the past two months though and we're getting increased traffic to the site (despite having less forum activity). I do have a potential solution in mind to keep PvE and PvP players on one server without conflict. The details and testing of this will happen in the next round of development, after what is listed on our In Development page.

Thank you for the positive feedback. It's greatly appreciated.

MrDDT asks:

With the introduction of female only armor sets are the other armor sets going to be for male only? If not, what's your plans on having a male only armor set? Or options to change to a female toon?

Right now I have no pending plans to add male only armor sets. Some are designed for the future, but I can't afford the artists to create them. The female only sets were created a while back and had been sitting around requiring only minimal work to complete.

If any players would like to switch to a female toon, I am ok with that. This can be done by emailing support with a request.

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 09/24/2013 Through 10/21/2013

Thurgond asks:

One point on the current round's In Development list is:

• Additional tools required for gathering actions

Are we talking about tools or weapons? E.g. to gather rocks will you need a stone chisel (tool) or a pick (weapon).

In some cases weapons (such as picks). In most cases, tools in your pack.

Will all gathering actions require tools? I.E. will you need a rake to gather leaves, or can you use hands?

Yes, though optionally the system may allow for gathering by hand or tools. Gathering with tools would have better results.

Do you consider foraging and scavenging gathering actions?

Scavenging, no. Foraging, most likely no, but I haven't decided.

Will the quality or level of the tool affect the quality or quantity of the resource gathered? E.g. currently a starter's stabby combat blade gets the same results from hunting as a supreme quality blade. Or a basic sickle gathers one grass and a masters sickle four.

The intention is to have tools affect the quality of the final resource gathered. In some cases the amount gathered may also be increased. This would cause problems for bundle items such as grass though, as you wouldn't be able to gather more than the room in your bundle.

Will there be specific tools/weapons for gathering? E.g. wood axes vs. war axes; skinning/boning knives vs. combat blades.

With this round, no.

[Xsyon]

Questions For The Developers 10/22/2013 Through 01/25/2014

MrDDT asks:

What do you propose tribes do when unwanted players drop a totem near your tribal area? Whether it's because they are messing up scavenging piles, or terraforming, or killing off animals, or cutting/planting trees, or removing grass, paving roads, aggressive players etc. Many reasons I can see why many players want sort of a clearer area around their tribes free of this type of stuff.

How do players deal with this?

It's up to players. If players cross the line into making the game unpleasant for others, then we deal with the specific situation. It's difficult to set a rule with the server as it is. When we have PvE and PvP servers it will easier to define what is acceptable.

I noticed you said we are changing to a single currency system, what currency and how is that going to work? Do you plan on adding uses/value to currency? What about denominations?

The currency will be dollar bills. There will be no denominations as that would just add unnecessary complexity when the goal is to simplify the use of currency. The amounts required for upkeep will be increased. Future uses for currency are under consideration.

NorCalGooey asks:

Can you please back the new single currency with nails that can be withdrawn from the trade outpost thing near founders?

The only reason any fiat currency has value in other games is because you can always redeem it for items of real value that the players use in the game. ALWAYS.

This can be the case with Xsyon too, without using NPCs. Just make sure players can always swap their currency for nails at a fixed rate.

I may have some items you can buy with currency in the future at a general totem, but most likely not nails. The upkeep system was intended as a sink for currency (similar to repair bills in other games). Upkeep is currently trivial and needs to be adjusted so that currency has some value simply for upkeep. Once that has been established, I will consider other currency sinks.

Are you open to anyone helping you with this game or do you have some strange desire to do everything yourself?

I tried asking you last January but you shut me down.
I'd work for 10 hours a week for free, designing concept for new content and balancing the math behind new systems.

Literally I just don't get how people can offer to work for free and you still turn them down.

Apologies for any rudeness. We are all just a little frustrated with the lack of flexibility. Very difficult to believe that in 3 years no one else offerred to help you with this game. I mean, the last thing the artists even created since the architecture changes in 2012... was a) carts and b) female armor sets.. c)... trade totems?

Really? They could do a lot more than that. Who knows, maybe they have. Maybe all the art is done for archery, farming, etc etc and they are just waiting on the the code to be complete

I have always accepted volunteers. You were sent a standard NDA and I never received a response. While I greatly appreciate volunteer assistance, unfortunately our past acceptance of volunteer work has had an overall detrimental effect on development.

Because of past experiences, I currently first make sure that the assistance offered fits with our current needs and my vision of the game. I then prepare initial tasks for volunteers to ensure that my time is not wasted.

Thanks for the questions.