BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Use this forum to post suggestions for Blackstone.

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Gatt
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Gatt »

ok new guys turn :mrgreen:

so far as i can see, the guilds here are pointless, nowt happining with em so im all for the wipe on the guilds and starting them again.
the last server i was on had 3 guids aligned with the gods of good, evil and neutral.
this worked quite well, also your chr woud have an anoucement to the server hen he/she logged in, kinda made you feel special =P~
dont think ive ever seen a guild member on here.
as for the RP, doesnt lways have to revolve around PvP, i have a sellsword on my books called Mick, but no-one wants to pay for his sevices.
as for wipeing players and dms, why????
if you hate the uber gear soo much, sell it.
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Jake_Master »

Ok as far as guilds go they are pointless at the moment...I know 3 people in Starkson guild that play everyday on BSK me being one of them...None of us really play with our characters in the guild. Why? The answer is simple they have no power to achieve anything without a leader their. What im saying is to have a guild you should have a leader truely committed and is on often. The most power given to us 3 to really do anything was we were only ones in server to be able to go over and hang out in the Starkson castle. I know what server Gatt is talking about and I myself was in a guild their it worked out great...One of the best times I have ever had being in a guild. Leaders where assigned and were in game almost everyday. Their was only 1 guild per person so it cut out the crap and confusion of being in an evil guild with joe the plumber and being in a good guild with john doe.
As far as whipping the players out and starting fresh...I think youd end up with some very angry people and if they decide to continue playing their it wouldnt change anything. Power gamers / meta gamers would continue lvling up their uber builds in a week or prolly 3-4 since theyd have to get new gear but their still gonna meta game and RPers will still do their thing. I mean when it boils down to it its just a game (even though often times we take it a little too serious). Play it! You wanna meta game go meta game. If you wanna RP then by god go RP. And I myself think thats what made BSK so special it was a place for any type of player to find a community. Lets face it a meta gamer doesnt belong in a heavy RP server where you even rest and eat meals according to time of day. As a heavy RPer doesnt belong in a server where everyone only talks in party chat and usually how to make an item or where to find a place to grind or what they should use for a given area. What im saying is that it was a good mix if you were that guy buffed by a cleric running to foxmores with pages of inventory filled with drops or if you were the one with a specific outfit on standing by the tree speaking of your enriched young childhood or your rough life in the past. Sorry but I dont think a character swipe would do much.
Now as far as Haste goes...Keep it if you take away haste from the server I think alot of people who currently play BSK wouldnt like it at all. However it could even out quiken spell and give it an actual use I think it would do more harm to the player base.
Id like to bring up a new topic. How about making sneaks on the server taking more then just 1 lvl of Shadow Dancer for Hide in plain sight or not just with sneaks but every build make them have atleast 3 lvls in each class they take this would cut down on all the uber builds a little but at the same time wouldnt be that harsh to those that meta game and make super crazy builds such as a commonly used one cleric 38 monk 1 rogue 1 or all the WMs with 1 monk , bard or rogue at the end of their build for tumble or UMD. I know I myself have used that many of times as many others have. I garuantee 80% of the WMs on BSK have that.
Again just my thoughts on what has been brought up and somthin else for everyone to brainstorm on. Keep it up.BSK is still alive!
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by morpheus »

I have sat here and read the forums for a few weeks and seen the many arguments going on...but 1 thing is for sure if nothing is done to bring back the balance of play sadly BSK is going to die a very slow and extremely agonising death.

Im an old skool player and no not many know who iam and i like to keep it that way...but i know 90% of the GM staff who have been here as long as i have *but thats another story*..back to the matter in hand.

BSK needs a massive facelift..new areas...new creatures ..challenges..dungeon crawls the works...in its hayday you had to cue to get in to the server now look..most i have seen playing in two weeks is 6 and to me thats a very sad state of affairs.

The old skool players are tired of the imbalance..overpowered weapons ..characters immune to virtually every type of dmg..and yes i know of several who are immune to most forms of dmg and cant be hurt and tome that aint even funny especially if you want to RP a confrontation with that character...

All in all BSK is nerfed big style with all the immunities ..go hard core and WIPE everything and start afresh then you may see a lot of changes and yes i speak as a DM on a different server and as a GM on Wow ..changeis for the better not the worse...sadly NWN2 died before it even took off ..saw that coming when it didnt even hit the top20 worlds best selling games but ahh well Celavie
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by driller »

I am not against doing something like that, but you need to argue for it. Do the 5w2h. What, When, Where, Why, Who, How, How Much.

Thanks,
-driller

morpheus wrote:I have sat here and read the forums for a few weeks and seen the many arguments going on...but 1 thing is for sure if nothing is done to bring back the balance of play sadly BSK is going to die a very slow and extremely agonising death.

Im an old skool player and no not many know who iam and i like to keep it that way...but i know 90% of the GM staff who have been here as long as i have *but thats another story*..back to the matter in hand.

BSK needs a massive facelift..new areas...new creatures ..challenges..dungeon crawls the works...in its hayday you had to cue to get in to the server now look..most i have seen playing in two weeks is 6 and to me thats a very sad state of affairs.

The old skool players are tired of the imbalance..overpowered weapons ..characters immune to virtually every type of dmg..and yes i know of several who are immune to most forms of dmg and cant be hurt and tome that aint even funny especially if you want to RP a confrontation with that character...

All in all BSK is nerfed big style with all the immunities ..go hard core and WIPE everything and start afresh then you may see a lot of changes and yes i speak as a DM on a different server and as a GM on Wow ..changeis for the better not the worse...sadly NWN2 died before it even took off ..saw that coming when it didnt even hit the top20 worlds best selling games but ahh well Celavie
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Jake_Master »

6 players? Just this past weekend on saturday I logged in as #17. BSK is far from dead.
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by morpheus »

Indeed 17 is a good number but not as good as 40 or even 50 when BSK was in full swing....i know its hard to see from most points of view ..but you have to agree that the massive decline in player base is possibly due to everything being overpowered immunities high etc etc the list is endless but ill let the populace decide ..its not for me to agree or disagree this is and will be drillers domain and at the end of the day his final decision on the matter
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Jake_Master »

Yes the imunities are what drove some of the more powerful characters away from the player base and yes I do remeber sitting their and continuously clicking on the server just to get in but the main reason BSK lost players is due to it going down the couple times it did and then it didnt help a little while ago when a few vets came back and said the server was getting shut down...Give it time the little slow step changes are good that are being made we are slowly but steadily bringing new players in and old players back. You know the older players arnt the only ones that have say in this and should not be the only ones trying to make the deciscions their are many new players on the server that play more regularly then those older players and as far as I see more dedicated, and this is because they are on everyday. Although when its all said and done its Driller's server and he can do whatever he wants with it these are just suggestions.
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Arial_the_Destroyer »

Ok as far as guilds go they are pointless at the moment...I know 3 people in Starkson guild that play everyday on BSK me being one of them...None of us really play with our characters in the guild. Why? The answer is simple they have no power to achieve anything without a leader their. What im saying is to have a guild you should have a leader truely committed and is on often. The most power given to us 3 to really do anything was we were only ones in server to be able to go over and hang out in the Starkson castle. I know what server Gatt is talking about and I myself was in a guild their it worked out great...One of the best times I have ever had being in a guild. Leaders where assigned and were in game almost everyday.
Jake said

I'm tired of all the backstabbing that goes on .... I have been on BSK hour after hour and nothing ..... no RP worth mentioning .... nothing .... tell you what .... If you can do anything with Starkson you're welcome to it .... I QUIT .... I"M GONE FROM BSK .... I HOPE EVERYONE IS HAPPY
Arial Le'fentholin
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Pharo_IK »

Arial_the_Destroyer wrote:
Ok as far as guilds go they are pointless at the moment...I know 3 people in Starkson guild that play everyday on BSK me being one of them...None of us really play with our characters in the guild. Why? The answer is simple they have no power to achieve anything without a leader their. What im saying is to have a guild you should have a leader truely committed and is on often. The most power given to us 3 to really do anything was we were only ones in server to be able to go over and hang out in the Starkson castle. I know what server Gatt is talking about and I myself was in a guild their it worked out great...One of the best times I have ever had being in a guild. Leaders where assigned and were in game almost everyday.
Jake said

I'm tired of all the backstabbing that goes on .... I have been on BSK hour after hour and nothing ..... no RP worth mentioning .... nothing .... tell you what .... If you can do anything with Starkson you're welcome to it .... I QUIT .... I"M GONE FROM BSK .... I HOPE EVERYONE IS HAPPY
Oi!
:(
well, here is some progress. [/sarcasm]

thanks for all the time and effort you put in Arial. i know it wasn't an easy task to adopt, but i appreciate it.
Pharo




p.s.
le sigh...
seems Arial disabled her PM's so I will posted my PM to her here:

i'd like to try to talk you out of quiting BSK, but i also know you have put a lot of effort and recieved little appreciation for it. if your decision is final, then that is just another loss to BSK. thanks for stepping up when called on to help out with Starkson. you were amoung a very few who came forward when the chips were down and people had a chance to put their money where their mouth was.

thanks,
Pharo
Lady Winesa Kenders(RIP): Divine Daughter of Lia, Treaty Holder of the Starkson Protectorate (All realms), Guardian of the Wildlands, Keeper of the Night´s Breath, Speaker of the Great Oak, Champion of Balance.
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Jake_Master »

Arial_the_Destroyer wrote:
Ok as far as guilds go they are pointless at the moment...I know 3 people in Starkson guild that play everyday on BSK me being one of them...None of us really play with our characters in the guild. Why? The answer is simple they have no power to achieve anything without a leader their. What im saying is to have a guild you should have a leader truely committed and is on often. The most power given to us 3 to really do anything was we were only ones in server to be able to go over and hang out in the Starkson castle. I know what server Gatt is talking about and I myself was in a guild their it worked out great...One of the best times I have ever had being in a guild. Leaders where assigned and were in game almost everyday.
Jake said

I'm tired of all the backstabbing that goes on .... I have been on BSK hour after hour and nothing ..... no RP worth mentioning .... nothing .... tell you what .... If you can do anything with Starkson you're welcome to it .... I QUIT .... I"M GONE FROM BSK .... I HOPE EVERYONE IS HAPPY
I really wish you wouldnt take this so personally and wish you would reconsider playing at BSK. I know you have put countless hours into putting alot of things together on this server I was not attacking you Arial I am just saying guilds arnt very opperatable without the leaders their. I know you have also been busy with RL issues as many others are not playing as often due to these set backs. Alot of people dont have as much free time as me or some of the others on everyday. If I have offeneded you in any way I am sorry. My purpose of this post was not to "backstab" you but to explain why no guild interaction is made. I was using Starkson as an example. Starkson is not the only guild without interaction in fact no guild as much interaction on the server anymore.
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Arial_the_Destroyer »

I didn't mean you personally ... it's just the way BSK has become ...

Bye everyone ... Arial has left the building
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by DM_Shadowlands »

Alright folks from a DM's point of view here. Over all the years I have read the post about changing BSK here and there.

First off it is Driller's vision and his alone. He's nice enough to listen to others and add things here and there but in the end it is and will always be his vision.

Second, it seems and please do not get me wrong here I'm not speaking up for any guild but in general. Any time folks want change they pick on the guilds as if they are the root of every problem on the server.

Third, when folks start up a guild it is attacked both in game and on the forums. "They are not doing enough." " They are doing too much." "They should do this or that." This is not fair to the folks who created the guild.

Over all really what causes guilds to fail or folks to leave is being hounded. I have seen it over and over again. If you wish a guild to work please leave them alone and enjoy the interaction when they do it and don't demand it. Guilds yes are folks who wish to RPG or play together. If they wish to do so in the walls of their place let them. If they take the time and work to slave and have Driller give them a place please stop trying to tear it down.

So what if no one in a guild is on ready to entertain you at 6pm or even 3am. As has been pointed out there are tons of open areas. Guilds only have maybe 1% of the areas and I think from my view even less. So pretty much 95% of the server is open for folks to play in, of the closed off areas Guild have only 1%. That s not a lot.

Suggest something more constructive in your posts than "We need to remove this or that guild" "Or they need to change." "Or they don't need their Hall we need to sell it." If Driller is bothered by that guilds lack of attendance he will tell them or remove it himself. So let's move on please. Start up a guild yourself and work to build it up... or suggest new quests, areas, rework areas, etc. The old stuff will go by the wayside and Driller will revamp BSK I'm sure. He has in the past and will in the future.

Now the disclaimer. I am speaking for ALL player guilds, orders and groups. From the past, present and future. Yes they are not very active right now but complaining about it does not make folks wish to play it only makes them go else were and lay low. A better suggestion is to support the player groups and help them when times are hard. OR failing that just leave them allow and let them sort themselves out.

This post is NOT picking on any one player post. It is general over reading a great many posts in different threads and is just a general overview by a DM.

Lastly over all do remember Driller has the last say in his world. We shall all bow to his will. Myself I will hide in the shadows and hope for the best. OR I will hand out a few pieces of coal with a bic lighter and say..

"Light them up boys it's going to be a cold night and I have a tale to tell."
Little things can lead to... just about anything.

DM_Shadowlands :finger:
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by monrast »

=D> spot on there DM_shadowlands i say.
Arial_the_Destroyer sorry that you feel like leaving. Although I can't say i've come to know you that well myself I do know that if you choose not to return you will be missed.

I've become a novice builder recently myself and have been working on what i hope to be a nice small submission once i've got the scripts running right. Other than the scripting part (if you are not used to it, and i'm not, its a little hard to learn from scratch) designing something new isn't all that hard.

As an example, have had a look through the toolset some and get to grips on what icon does what shouldn't take more than an hour or so to get to grips with some of the basics. After that if you just want to lay out the walkmesh (play surface or whatever you prefer to call it) you could recreate the blackstone road in about 30 min, it's that easy. Ok the zombie spawning will take it out of you trying to script it if you have never done it before but that kinda thing you can leave to driller and his epic range of creatures. just say 'i was thinking that.....' to him and he'll do what he thinks is right, after all it's an addition to his vision.

Placables. Someone said somewhere that placables cause lag, from what i've been reading thats not so much the case. Placeables cause path finding issues for NPC's so i understand rather than the lag, 1 zombie trying to chase you through a forest built out of individual trees for example is a little rough on the server, so keep areas where combat is likley or certain relitivly clear other than that i think you should feel free to plant all the giant mushrooms you want.
If this is in error i'm sure Driller or some other friendly builder will drop in a comment.

Hopefully I can get to grips with the last part of my own work soon and we can have something new to go 'ooooh look!' and 'hmmmn' at and I have caught bits and pieces going round of other peoples work in progress now and then which suggest to me that we have a bright future in the coming year.

cheers
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Capt Cliff »

This is turning into someones private rant!! [-X

I agree with DM Shadowlands ... BSK is "A world according to driller!" ... try to keep it in "this" universe. Guilds need players to interact so without them guilds are not very effective. The whole excercise is to suggest changes that will bring in people to BSK and not drive them away. Like what happened with Arial ... she will be missed. But it is a ladies prerogative to change her mind and then change it again!

So ... back to the thread title ... outside the box ... any other suggestions?
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Re: BSK Facelift! Lets think outside the box!

Post by Alter Fritz »

Sorry to stray from the topic Cappie, but I am gonna.

Sorry to see ya go Arial, I have found you to be one of the better RPers on this server. You will be missed.

*Don't forget your horse, you leave him standing around too long and Ferros will fun off with him.* jk

I hope you change your mind.

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