The new racial system will go live soon

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Cherek
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Posts: 3609
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Cherek » 07 Mar 2023 15:50

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Hello everyone.

It's time! 

Time to launch the brand new Genesis racial system!

The new system will go live after next Armageddon, which will happen sometime 
just before midnight Tuesday March 14 GT (Game Time).

Here is a summary of what will happen:

- All races will get the so-called racial modifiers set to the same value for 
  all stats. 

- To make the races unique, all races will get six different racial abilities,
  and you may select two of them.

- All existing players will get a prompt shortly after they login, asking them
  to select their racial abilities. 

- Stats you focus on when meditating will grow quicker than before, and the 
  stats you don't focus on will grow slower than before. So, if you want 
  "goblin strength" or "elf mentals", you'll still be able to get that, the 
  difference now is that all races can get those kind of stats.

- All players will get a free body change AND a free stat redistrubution at 
  the Thaumaturgist in Palanthas. You can of course also use your free body
  change to re-select your racial abilities (with or without changing race) 
  if you do not like the ones you pick on your first attempt. If you still 
  aren't happy with your selection, the Sparkle giants will be able to assist
  you, as always.
  
- The Thaumaturgist will be a safe room from now on (permanently).
  
- The selection prompt for abilities and the free race change / stat 
  redistribution will last indefinitely. So, you don't have to rush to "fix"
  all your alts immediately, and you don't have to call all your old Genesis 
  friends and push them to login so they don't miss out on this (but feel 
  free to do that anyway).

- The character creation sequence will be updated, since new players will
  of course select their racial abilities when creating their character.

- Death will be updated so you can change your racial abilities if you
  enter the portal and select a new body.

- The tutorial library (where you can freely change body) will be updated 
  so it uses the new system. 

- A number of help files will be updated, and several new help files will
  be added. (More about that below). 

For more information about why we are making this change, and our reasoning 
for selecting this particular idea, please check out the previous common board
posts about this.

Finally, I would like to send a BIG thank you to Zizuph for doing basically 
all coding for this major change. Many of you know I have talked about this 
idea of mine for many years, and I am really excited it's finally happening, 
and it couldn't have happened without Zizuph's awesome programming skills and
determination to finish this massive project.

So, what I really want to say is, if everything is buggy, please blame 
Zizuph :) Just kidding. But if you do encounter bugs, please send a mail to 
me (Cherek) and Zizuph. It's a big change, and while we of course have done a
lot of testing, there are bound to be some things we haven't thought of. So, 
please help us out by pointing out any problems. Same goes for typos, there 
is a lot of new text and there is bound to be some typo somewhere that we 
have missed. So, mail us if you see one.

Now, if you don't like the idea and design of the new system at all, blame 
me, not Zizuph. If you feel like rage-quitting the game because this sucks, 
please at least visit the Thaumturgist to fix your stats first, and please 
give the new racial abilities a chance before you dismiss them.

Also, thanks to Varian for helping out with brainstorming, proofreading,
and editing of the various texts and messages found in this new system. And 
thanks Cotillion for helping out with some of the needed Mudlib changes.

                         THE NEW ABILITIES

But what are those new abilities?!?!? Yes, yes, I know many of you are 
dying to know what the abilities will be. So, below you will find all the 
updated/new help files that will go live after the next Armageddon.

And, before you start reading, please note that the abilities are NOT meant to
be amazingly powerful. The whole idea with this project is to give the races 
some distinct differences - without the risk of it becoming imbalanced again, 
which has been the problem with the current system for so many years.

The abilities are meant to be fun and race-thematc while also providing some 
minor benefits.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Races

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.

DESCRIPTION
        Core Races
            Genesis has six so-called core races, meaning these are the races
            that can be selected when a new character is created. The six
            races are human, elf, dwarf, hobbit, gnome, and goblin. All races
            are equally strong in terms of stats, however, their different
            racial abilities set them apart. 
            
            Each race has six different racial abilities and you may select 
            any two of them. Some abilities are unique while others are
            shared between some races. For example, both elves and hobbits
            can be 'fleet-footed' while only gnomes can be 'well-connected'.
            
            To learn more about the abilities of the different races, please 
            see <help race 'race name'>. For example <help race-human>, <help 
            race-elf>, etc.
        
            To see which racial abilities you currently have, simply use the
            command <rabilities> or <ra>.

        Sub-races
            In addition to the core races it is possible to be transformed
            into many different sub-races by joining specific guilds. For
            example, a hobbit can be transformed into a halfling or a kender 
            by joining the appropriate guild, however, doing so will NOT 
            change the core race. So, a hobbit that has become a halfling will
            look like a halfling but will keep their hobbit abilities. There
            are two exceptions to this, namely the ogre and undead sub-races.
            These two sub-races completely transform a character so that
            nothing of the old race remains. Please see <help race-ogre> and
            <help race-undead> to learn more about these unique sub-races.

        Changing race
            Changing sub-race is usually as simple as leaving the guild that 
            transformed you in the first place. Changing core race can only
            be done by selecting a new body when you die, and also comes with 
            the additional cost of losing half of your skills. However, 
            changing your core race does not come with a penalty in the
            tutorial area. If you are in the tutorial area you can simply
            visit the library to change your race without penalty.

        Changing racial abilities
            If you want to keep your core race but change your racial 
            abilities you can do so by selecting a new body when you die. 
            Simply select the same race and you will get to reselect your 
            abilities. Since you are selecting a new body you will of course
            still suffer the additional penalty of losing half of your 
            skills. Changing abilities is, just like race change, without 
            penalty in the tutorial area.       

SEE ALSO
        rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, race-gnome, 
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.
		
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       
NAME
        rabilities - see your racial abilities
        ra         - a global alias for 'rabilities'
        
SYNOPSIS
        rabilities
        ra
    
DESCRIPTION
        With this command you can see which special abilities your race is
        granting you.

SEE ALSO
        races, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, race-gnome,
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.       

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Race-human

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.      

DESCRIPTION
        As a human you may select two of the following six racial abilities:
    
        Good memory
            You will be able to remember twenty-five percent more names 
            compared to other people.
                          
        Eye for detail
            You will get a twenty skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            trading, appraise object, and appraise value.
                          
        Light-fingered
            You will get a twenty skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            pick pocket.

        Tenacious
            You will recover lost experience (from death, leaving guilds, 
            etc.) faster than other people.
           
        Scavenger
            You will occasionally find more coins on fallen enemies compared 
            to other people.
                          
        Apothecary
            The cooldown time between using herbs will be slightly reduced 
            for you. 

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, race-gnome, 
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.
        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Race-elf

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        As an elf you may select two of the following six racial abilities:
    
        Fleet-footed     
            If you are not in combat, you will be able to recover your energy
            quicker after you get tired.
                           
        Scotopic vision  
            You will be able to see inside many areas covered in non-magical 
            darkness.
                           
        Apothecary      
            The cooldown time between using herbs will be slightly reduced
            for you.
        
        Explorer         
            You will get a ten skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            herbalism, awareness, location sense, and tracking.
                           
        Stealthy         
            You will get a ten skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            sneak and hide.
                           
        Light-footed    
            There will be a ten percent chance that you will not leave any 
            tracks behind when moving.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, race-gnome, 
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.
        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        
NAME
        Race-dwarf

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        As a dwarf you may select two of the following six racial abilities:
    
        Stalwart        
            You will be able to carry heavier loads than other people before
            becoming encumbered by it.
                        
        Good memory
            You will be able to remember twenty-five percent more names 
            compared to other people.
                        
        Resilient
            Your resistance to magic, and especially poison, will be stronger
            than other people.
                        
        Strong liver
            You will heal slightly faster due to your ability to consume 
            more alcohol than other people.
                        
        Insatiable
            You will be able to eat more food than other people, meaning you
            will not tire as easily.
                        
        Eye for detail
            You will get a twenty skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in
            trading, appraise object, and appraise value.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-hobbit, race-gnome,
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.        
        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       
NAME
        Race-hobbit

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        As a hobbit you may select two of the following six racial abilities:

        Stealthy
            You will get a ten skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            sneak and hide.
                         
        Fleet-footed
            If you are not in combat, you will be able to recover your energy
            quicker after you get tired.
                         
        Insatiable    
            You will be able to eat more food than other people, meaning you 
            will not tire as easily.
                         
        Tenacious
            You will recover lost experience (from death, leaving guilds, 
            etc.) faster than other people.
                         
        Opportunistic
            You will have a slightly higher chance of scoring a critical hit
            (additional damage) on your enemy.
                         
        Explorer
            You will get a ten skill level bonus in herbalism, awareness, 
            location sense, and tracking.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-gnome, 
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.        
        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       
NAME
        Race-gnome
        
SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        As a gnome you may select two of the following six racial abilities:

        Resilient       
            Your resistance to magic, and especially poison, will be stronger
            than other people.
                    
        Scotopic vision
            You will be able to see inside many areas covered in non-magical
            darkness.
        
        Eye for detail  
            You will get a twenty skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            trading, appraise object, and appraise value.
                    
        Stealthy
            You will get a ten skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            sneak and hide.
                    
        Good memory
            You will be able to remember twenty-five percent more names 
            compared to other people.
                    
        Well-connected
            You will get a twenty-five percent discount when exchanging coins
            at all Gnomes of Genesis (GoG) banks.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, 
        race-goblin, race-ogre, race-undead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Race-goblin

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        As a goblin you may select two of the following six racial abilities:

        Stalwart
            You will be able to carry heavier loads than other people before 
            becoming encumbered by it.
                        
        Scavenger
            You will occasionally find more coins on fallen enemies compared 
            to other people.
        
        Opportunistic
            You will have a slightly higher chance of scoring a critical hit 
            (additional damage) on your enemy.
                        
        Light-fingered
            You will get a twenty skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            pick pocket.
                        
        Stealthy
            You will get a ten skill level bonus (up to superior guru) in 
            sneak and hide.
                        
        Resilient
            Your resistance to magic, and especially poison, will be stronger
            than other people.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, 
        race-gnome, race-ogre, race-undead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Race-ogre

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        Since becoming an ogre is a complete transformation of your mind and 
        body you will remember nothing of your old racial abilities. As an 
        ogre you will be granted the following preset racial abilities 
        instead:

        Insatiable    
            You will be able to eat more food than other people, meaning you 
            will not tire as easily.
            
        Resilient
            Your resistance to magic, and especially poison, will be stronger
            than other people.
            
        Being an ogre also means you will have other ogre-specific benefits
        and drawbacks.

        Ogre benefits
            - You will receive a considerable strength and constitution boost.
            - You will be able to wield two-handed weapons in one hand.
            - Your thick hide will act as a natural armour. 
            
        Ogre drawbacks
            - Your intelligence and wisdom will be extremely low.
            - You will not be able to wield one-handed weapons.
            - You will not be able to wear shields.
            - You will not be able to wear armours other than special 
              ogre-sized armours found in the Army of Darkness guild.
            - You will not be able to sneak or hide.
            - You will not be able to whisper without being overheard.

        If you stop being an ogre you will return to your old race and the 
        benefits and drawbacks of being an ogre goes away. You will also get
        your old racial abilities back.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, 
        race-gnome, race-goblin, race-undead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME
        Race-undead

SYNOPSIS
        This is not a command, simply information.
        
DESCRIPTION
        Since becoming undead is a complete transformation of your mind and 
        body you will remember nothing of your old racial abilities. As an 
        undead you will be granted the following preset racial abilities 
        instead:

        Stalwart
            You will be able to carry heavier loads than other people before
            becoming encumbered by it.
            
        Good memory
            You will be able to remember twenty-five percent more names 
            compared to other people.
            
        Being undead also means you will have other undead-specific benefits
        and drawbacks.

        Undead benefits
            - You will be immune to poison.
            - You will have natural darkvision.
            - You cannot drown.
            - You will have increased fatigue regeneration.
            - All forms of death magic will heal you instead of damage you.
            - You cannot be stunned. Note that this generally only applies 
              to effects that prevent you from fighting. It usually does not 
              apply to effects that paralyze you completely or stop you from 
              moving.

        Undead drawbacks
            - Your undead body cannot process any food or herbs. This means
              that you will not be able to eat anything at all and you will 
              not be able to consume herbs in other ways either, for example 
              by smearing, chewing, etc.
            - You will not be able to drink, which means you will not get any
              benefit from alcohol or other drinks. The only exception is
              magical potions that can be quaffed.
            - You will be harmed by all kinds of healing spells (except the
              ones that use death magic).
            - You will be extra vulnerable to life magic.

        If you stop being undead you will return to your old race and the 
        benefits and drawbacks of being undead goes away. You will also get 
        your old racial abilities back.

SEE ALSO
        races, rabilities, race-human, race-elf, race-dwarf, race-hobbit, 
        race-gnome, race-goblin, race-ogre.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------      
        
NAME
        stats - see vital statistics

SYNOPSIS
        stats
        stats reset
        stats <player>
        
DESCRIPTION
        With this command you can see your vital statistics. If you are a
        wizard you can see the stats of other players as well.
            
        Statistics or stats are used to determine how successful you are at
        many different things. Below is a short summary of what the six stats
        mainly affect:
       
        Strength
            How hard you hit and how much you can carry.
          
        Dexterity
            How easily you score and avoid hits in combat.
            
        Constitution
            How much damage you can take before you die (hitpoints). Also 
            determines how much you can eat and drink.
        
        Intelligence
            How potent your spells are and how big your mana pool is 
            (spellpoints).
            
        Wisdom
            How potent your spells are and how quickly you regenerate mana.
            
        Discipline
            How good you are at hitting with and avoiding spells. Also
            determines which enemies you dare attack.            
       
        For information about the possible stat descriptions, please use the
        <levels> command.

OPTIONS
        [none]   - see your own stats
        reset    - reset your progress counter (as if you just logged in).
        <player> - see the stats of <player> when logged in (wizards only).
        
SEE ALSO
        compare, levels, meditate, vitals
        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

That's it!

Cherek - Keeper of Genesis


Thalric
Rising Hero
Posts: 343
Joined: 14 Jun 2016 16:34

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Thalric » 07 Mar 2023 18:16

When my stats change after armageddon, it says my racial stats will all go even, so my stats will change even before I visit the thaumathurgist...

My stats will then change according to the meditate preferences I have set until now?
Also meaning I won't really have a chance to know how to set my preferences to get my final result to look somewhat as it does now?

Budwise
Veteran
Posts: 207
Joined: 01 Jul 2010 10:17

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Budwise » 07 Mar 2023 18:21

No, the rate at which the stats individually grow will be even for alle races after methinks.

For me the stats, that I was weak in as an elf and poured more xp in to raise, will grow bigger.
My strong stats, that didn't take as much xp to grow, will drop.

So from being more or less balanced at Supremes now my stats will be all over the place,
and probably require a trip to the Thaumathurgist to get back to even steven.

Or if I enjoy having goblin stats after I might just get them back to even using meditate.
But will see after the world ends next.

User avatar
Cherek
Site Admin
Posts: 3609
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Cherek » 07 Mar 2023 18:34

Thalric wrote:
07 Mar 2023 18:16
When my stats change after armageddon, it says my racial stats will all go even, so my stats will change even before I visit the thaumathurgist...

My stats will then change according to the meditate preferences I have set until now?
Also meaning I won't really have a chance to know how to set my preferences to get my final result to look somewhat as it does now?
After Armageddon your stats will immediately change. Humans will notice very little (just a tiny overall growth in all stats), but all other races will notice much bigger differences. If you are, for example, a hobbit, your natural DEX boost will be wiped out, and your DEX will likely drop considerably, but your weak stats, like STR and CON will likely go up quite a bit. However, it will also depend on how you have set your learning preferences for your entire life. If you are a hobbit who put all focus on DEX for all your life, you will get a smaller drop in DEX. If you are a hobbit who put all your focus on STR and CON, and nothing on DEX, you will suddenly be an "inverted hobbit", with very little DEX and lots of STR and CON. more even. But this will be different for everyone depending on your current race and how you had your learning preferences set historically. Everyone will have to figure out how to best adjust things with the Thaumaturgist and/or new learning preferences, and it's impossible to give advice that fits everyone.

I hope I managed to explained it better now, and not just made it more confusing? :)

Anyway, unless you are a human you will wake up with very different stats, and they will likely not be exactly the way you want them to be. And yes, it will be hard to know exactly how things will turn out after a visit to the Thaumaturgist. Just like with any big change it will require some getting used to, and it will mean doing some testing for you players as well. You get one free change from the Thaumaturgist, but you can of course just pay him and do it again if you aren't happy with how the first attempt turned out. Or maybe you will be happy after the first attempt. I guess we will see.

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Cherek
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Posts: 3609
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Cherek » 07 Mar 2023 18:42

Budwise wrote:
07 Mar 2023 18:21
No, the rate at which the stats individually grow will be even for alle races after methinks.

For me the stats, that I was weak in as an elf and poured more xp in to raise, will grow bigger.
My strong stats, that didn't take as much xp to grow, will drop.

So from being more or less balanced at Supremes now my stats will be all over the place,
and probably require a trip to the Thaumathurgist to get back to even steven.

Or if I enjoy having goblin stats after I might just get them back to even using meditate.
But will see after the world ends next.
Exactly. That is what will happen for you. And the same will happen for many others who also poured XP into their weak stats.

Budwise
Veteran
Posts: 207
Joined: 01 Jul 2010 10:17

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Budwise » 07 Mar 2023 18:50

About the undeads tho. An ability to carry more before being encumbered
and increased fatigue regeneration. So doesn't that kinda negate or render
the no food-drawback obsolete? (Without having any numbers)

Fun raceabilities otherwise. Could do with three but I guess I will have to choose. :)

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Cherek
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Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Cherek » 07 Mar 2023 21:21

Budwise: Only "Stalwart" and "Good memory" are new for undead. The rest is the same stuff they always had. I just added it to the new help file, but it's nothing new. Their abilities haven't been listed in public before, though.

About the new racial abilities, all races get two new racial abilities. All sub-races except ogres and undeads keep the abilities of the core race, but since not everything fits well thematically or technically for ogres and undeads we decided to give them preset abilities, otherwise you could have ended up with ogres who are stealthy and undeads who can eat more, and other weird and useless combos. So, we picked the two abilities we felt fit ogres and undeads best. But ogres and undeads do have a small drawback compared to others since they don't get to choose, but it was the best compromise we could think of for them.

The only other thing that has changed about undeads in 15 years is that half a year ago or so we added fatigue to undeads. Before that, they suffered no fatigue at all. We instead replaced it with an increased fatigue regeneration ability. So, their increased fatigue regeneration ability was a quite big nerf, not a boost. Undeads today should be more or less on par with other races when it comes to fatigue since the increased regen should roughly make up for not being able to eat fatigue restoring herbs. Before that change they never suffered any fatigue at all. This isn't a new change, though, and it was announced here: viewtopic.php?t=5584

Budwise
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Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Budwise » 08 Mar 2023 08:21

Well, wasn't to complain about it. Just that if the net result is same as the rest of us
it seems overly complicated? I suppose there are other sideeffects. Plus the RP-side,
which is nice.

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Cherek
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Joined: 04 Mar 2010 04:36

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Cherek » 08 Mar 2023 13:05

Budwise wrote:
08 Mar 2023 08:21
Well, wasn't to complain about it. Just that if the net result is same as the rest of us
it seems overly complicated? I suppose there are other sideeffects. Plus the RP-side,
which is nice.
Well, from where we started (with undeads having no fatigue at all) it was the easiest solution. When vampires arrived and many more players became undead we realized how powerful no fatigue could be, and therefore we nerfed that ability to be more similar to how fatigue works for other races. The alternative would have been to either let them eat (which is pretty unthematic) or give them no regeneration at all. But not being able to eat food or herbs to restore fatigue would have been a very frustrating experience I think. You could argue it's an overly complicated way to achieve the same thing as other races, but I think it fits the undead race very nicely. The end result is more or less the same, but it feels differently for the player, which is good I think.

Many of course argue that the undead race isn't balanced, with some saying the benefits are much better than the drawbacks, and others say the opposite. Usually depending on if you are undead or living... :) But that's another discussion for another thread.

Budwise
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Posts: 207
Joined: 01 Jul 2010 10:17

Re: The new racial system will go live soon

Post by Budwise » 08 Mar 2023 14:54

Cherek wrote:
08 Mar 2023 13:05
Usually depending on if you are undead or living... :)
Or as I call it: Before and after the first cup of tea of the day.

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