Author Topic: The Easting Reach: A NWN1 Persistent World  (Read 2385 times)

Legacy_FarLandSeeker

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The Easting Reach: A NWN1 Persistent World
« Reply #30 on: March 21, 2015, 01:15:10 pm »


               

Here's my two cents on this one. Came in fresh but I'm feeling disillusioned at the time of writing, as I'm sure you will notice. '^_^'


 


The module is beautifully designed and crafted. The haks are used to great effect. The layout is quite well thought out and it operates as a spider webbing out from a village hub with a city nearby. Dungeons are spread around offering challenging encounters though coin is scarce so you have to party up. I had a strong character and proceeded carefully but the healing vials are expensive and loot just doesn't seem to cover it.


 


The problem here is that a big portion of the player base seems to be made up of the people involved in making and running the server. It's their sand box and you feel more like a grudgingly tolerated guest than a valued player. It's up to you to prove yourself worthy and fit yourself nicely into their play time. It's a cliche, basically. Rather than spontaneous adventures, the entire server gathers together to form one group, explore a cave and then divide the loot at the end. The server is designed in such a way that you have to adventure with the cliche and soloing is difficult due to the cost of healing and small amounts of loot. There may be dungeons designed for soloing but as a new player, I wasn't able to find one.


 


That's not necessarily a bad thing but it relies heavily on how friendly the player/character base is. It means that you have to bend over backwards to tolerate the established characters even if they're insulting your character. There's not much room to be picky about who you chose to adventure with either. I felt disrespected as both player and character, being greeted with "That's a big sword, it matches your boobs". Now, I'm not a feminist but when you make a fully clothed character and are greeted in this way and you're playing a sort of character who'd not tolerate being dishonored, you'd want to punch them in the teeth and certainly not want to travel with them. My character was good aligned so she decided to rise above it and simply walk away. However, since the server is a cliche and it's designed in such a way, you kind of have to party up with these guys regardless.. unless you want to try it alone which as I said, just doesn't really work.


 


Later, I entered into the server group and we adventured with me staying back as I was the lower level. Things went very slowly and carefully and after hours past of trying to help but mostly just watching them kill goblins, a group of enemies spawned right on top of me and my character was killed.. while I was briefly looking away from my monitor. It was late, my character was dead, I was disillusioned, I "ughed" and I quit.


 


The next day I asked someone if it was possible to raise back to life and I didn't get a straight answer. Again, it felt like I was just an unwanted burden, tolerated but unwelcome. I was questioned as to why I logged off and that I might not be told how to respawn because of that.. I had to look through the journals instead. Why he couldn't have just been helpful and given me a straight answer? I assume it was because I wasn't worth it. I asked for clarification and didn't get a response. That's the real issue I have here, you're treated like a second class citizen until you've presumably proved yourself worthy. I didn't want to lower myself to that, I wanted to be myself and forge my own heroic path for my character. Here you're supervised and judged by the very players you're playing with and the server itself is designed to force you into relying on them. Basic questions will not be answered if you aren't following their expectations.


 


I didn't feel like there was any room for me as a player or a character.. at least not until I had presumably dedicated more time to the server and become a known face. But, I ask myself.. why should I invest my time in a place that doesn't even seem to want me?


 


My review will probably be refuted by the current cliche of players on the server. But isn't it the point, that one voice can so easily be drowned out by the many? All I can do is to share my experience here.


 


So, I say check it out and make up your own mind if it's the place for you or not, but don't tolerate them treating you like you're dirt. There are alternatives out there.


 


'<3'



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Blatob

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The Easting Reach: A NWN1 Persistent World
« Reply #31 on: March 21, 2015, 11:32:17 pm »


               

Thank you for your view of the server. I am also very sorry that you have such experience. Please bear with me, since I'm not native English speaker. You are perfectly right regrading how the verbal incident happened. However, bear in mind that some characters are jerks, including that one, which hardly represents the server PC base. I again must stress that the communication was done  strictly IC, not in tell or OOC. TER is mature server regarding the language and characters can expect certain level of verbal tossing if they happen to walk on more unsavory characters - and there will always be one or two of those. Of course, we do not condone other activities considered to be adult. In any occasion, including that one, the player who finds the reaction offending can simply express that through OOC, PM, tell or report the incident to admin, with the log and/or screenshot.


 


The server was created for party play, though there are some dungeons made specifically for level 1 single characters. Adventuring is considered to be very dangerous occupation and has many risks. Do not expect easy way through the dungeons. 


 


Staff members do, indeed, have their own characters, most of them several PCs of varied levels. They do team up on occasions, like  in that specific case. However, it is mostly done if the PCs have proposed the adventure in more dangerous regions of the server, as was the case in question.


 


All new players are welcomed upon logging  and asked if they have any questions regarding the server. We see this as a common courtesy. We include new players in rp and adventure, though it has certain limitations - parties might be already in dungeons upon player's log in, for instance. However, the brand new PC is greeted as just another unknown  character, even if it is played by team member. If any incident  occurs, as in PC death or disappearing, we would like to know what lead to that, in player's opinion. Misplaced spawn, lag, broken connection...


               
               

               
            

Legacy_Fergoose

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« Reply #32 on: March 22, 2015, 07:57:28 pm »


               

Hi Farlandseeker. I'm sorry to hear you had some bad experiences. I am not a team member but may be considered historically very much aligned to them. The server does have an issue whereby there is a trend towards server wide parties fuelled by tells between players. I strongly suspect that in the majority of times the motivation for this is entirely open and positive (i.e. lets be inclusive on this adventure and try and get it up and running quickly) and it certainly makes sense to use it to try and accomodate players that you know have very limited play times.

 

However, it is not something I am supportive of or involve myself in and think it can contribute to some of the perceptions you are raising (although I think you are being a bit ungenerous with your language). If there are six players online, I log on and they are going on an adventure then most assuredly they do not require a seventh to join them (me). So I shall wait for an eighth or ninth player to log on and hopefully seek them out using the player locator. I also consider it a bit of a no-no if I log on and there are one or two characters out there not in a party, to then OOC interact via tells and join up with a dungeon party that is in progress, when there are RP alternatives that don't involve metagaming. There are no hard and fast rules on that, but it's just personal preference.

 

I basically summarised it in this post last month as being potentially unwelcoming as (square brackets added for context):

 

 

 

ii) Larger parties

Covered in part elsewhere above in terms of the impact on RP, so I'll not rehash that. I'd only add I generally think the culture of "server parties" is similarly not always the ideal either in terms of dungeoneering or in terms of being welcoming to others logging onto a server. Particularly if the server has 6+ characters online at the start of a usual peak period of activity. You are the 6th or 7th to log on? Why not just hang fire for 5 mins [rather rush to join something that is already underway]. There'll be other players along soon enough and other adventures to be had. The next oncoming player can @locate and see that not all other characters are out in the wilderness [that they can potentially meet up with].

 

And yeah, one of Blatob's character's is foul mouthed oaf. True, it can be hard to separate the player from the character using that description, but I'm sure his leering will have been entirely IC. '<img'>

 

If you hit -10HP and feel it was unjust then take screenprints of your chat log and explain the scenario prior to your death. If having to go AFK in a dungeon it is always wisest to log off and yes, pesky foes don't always spawn infront of a party. The crafty blighters might take an alternative route and try and attack the flanks or rear of a party. We also have a @afk command that will help notify other members of the party that you are not at your keyboard (and that therefore proceeding in a dungeon might cause problems). I hope you try us out again, but if not, I wish you well in finding a place that is more to your liking.

 

Fergoose

 

EDIT: And blatob is right that some members of the team will often intentionally OOC team up to take on a dungeon that is new or hasn't been thoroughly tested. This is so that if any bugs or difficulty spikes are found (that need to be ironed out) then more experienced members of the team will be the first to encounter this and can take a decision on granting a raise in the event of something unintentional in a dungeon causing a character to hit -10HP. I don't know if that was the case in the example you mention, but you may see a "clique" from time to time, but really it is just team members going out on dungeon test.


               
               

               
            

Legacy_icywind1980

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« Reply #33 on: March 23, 2015, 08:59:15 pm »


               

FarLandSeeker, thank you for your honest and thorough review of this server. I enjoy reading constructive criticism, and use it in making decisions as to where to play.



               
               

               
            

Legacy_rolaskatox

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« Reply #34 on: April 13, 2015, 06:20:08 am »


               

I stopped reading at "Well I'm no feminist.."



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Blatob

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« Reply #35 on: September 10, 2015, 04:31:07 pm »


               

A year after the beta phase, TER is still developing. Server is live, 24/7, low level (currently up to 8th level), low magic PW. The player base is both from US and EU and the new dungeons and areas are added on weekly and biweekly basis. We had several major updates, both in scripts and areas, recently. Forum is located on http://eastingreach....s.org/index.php


 


30thu7l.png


 


2gwgt3r.png


 


2ai4os5.png


 


5xq3dd.png


 


2lij2gj.png


 


330sbqv.png


 


Sarshel, the main city of the server.


 


 


4uf2pg.png


 


21mg7f9.png


 


Vlasta, remote village in the Earthspurs.


 


9r39zc.png


 


2mfx95l.png


 


14a8qax.png


 


Hamlet of Midrikaul and Vlasta bog.


 


2v3sxhd.png


 


2yw7j91.png


 


Outentown.



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Tarashon

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« Reply #36 on: September 10, 2015, 08:25:00 pm »


               

Lovely screenie series, and looks like you guys are putting some effort into atmosphere in building this server '<img'>


 


/tara



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Blatob

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« Reply #37 on: September 15, 2015, 10:47:29 am »


               

Thank you. We give our best to take the all we can, both script and build wise, from the old engine. '<img'> 



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Tonden_Ockay

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« Reply #38 on: February 19, 2016, 06:07:46 pm »


               

Question


 


Is all or most of the vegetation in these screenshots part of the tileset or just lots of placeables? 


 


wTGK4l9.jpg


 


uQ51FLw.jpg



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Blatob

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« Reply #39 on: February 23, 2016, 11:20:53 am »


               

Hello.


 


Lots and lots of placeables, I'm afraid '<img'>. OC and CEP, both, with wearied Z axis values.



               
               

               
            

Legacy_Blatob

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« Reply #40 on: June 04, 2016, 12:18:29 pm »


               

The server is on line 24/7 and is updated on weekly and biweekly basis with the new areas, dungeons included.


 


Forum address is http://eastingreach....rg.uk/index.php


 


Server address is draugr.tomb.org.uk



               
               

               
            

Legacy_CuttyWren

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« Reply #41 on: June 04, 2016, 04:55:10 pm »


               

I checked it out a while ago. Nice place, especially if you're into the limited death and low level scene. Watch your neck.