Ask a GM Chat Log

[iDerrick]

Part One.

Thank you for everybody's participation, we are happy to have such a strong showing from the community. Here's the log for the Chat Session, enjoy!

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<@CM_Loonie> Thank you for joining our Q&A Session. Just wanted to remind everybody that we will not be able to answer every single questions. Questions related to gameplay, CS, Tech Support, we will not be able to answer certain game play questions such as why a specific game mechanic is how it is.

<@PWEcraig> We'll start off with some introductions
<@PWEcraig> I'm Craig aka Kharybdis aka Dragonlord. I'm the Product Manager for ESO
<@GM_Misty> Hi all, I'm one of our GMs for ESO. It's been a pleasure answering all of your many, many tickets.
<@CM_Loonie> and I'm Loonie, the Community Manager for ESO
<@MBroom> I'm MetalBroom, one of the tech support guys for ESO.
<@seralynn> I'm another GM, seralynn, on both servers.

Will there be any list of updates, to the cs, or ingame content available ahead of time? rather than.. wait for patch notes during maintenance each week
<@PWEcraig> Answer: There are two different aspects to that. We will be announcing content updates well ahead of time. In fact, you'll see that first hand next week with an announcement about the PVP 6v6 instances. CS items are a bit different. We plan to announce updates ahead of time -- however, it always doesn't work out. Now that the game has been out for a bit and things are stable, you can expect previews ahead of time.

Will the 3hr mini events be made 24hrs a day as at the moment it an gives unfair advantage to non-us players?
<@PWEcraig> Answer: There is no plan to do this at the moment. However, I can understand your point of view, especially how US ESO is the only international version. I'd like to gather more input on this aspect, so please let me know

The upcoming Player Council will be appropriate for this - http://eso.perfectworld.com/news/sub...r-council-2191

What’s your favorite color?
<@PWEcraig> Red
<@GM_Misty> My favorite color is red, thanks for asking!
<@seralynn> dark green
<@CM_Loonie> Gray !
<@MBroom> Answer: I'm 50/50 between green and blue, keeps me up at night

Will headgear equipment be made visible on characters?
<@CM_Loonie> The game was not designed to allow headgear equipment to be visible, so that is not being planned

How did you pick your names?
<@GM_Misty> It is a mystery really, some believe it's a Pokemon reference, others believe its a volleyball reference, others just think I'm not very original.
<@MBroom> I saw a rake when I was 5 and kept calling it a metalbroom to annoy my dad
<@seralynn> i have no cool stories... mine is completely random.
<@PWEcraig> Easy, my name is Craig :P But my forum nick (Kharybdis) has been my nick for a long time. It's from the Odyssey. Odysseus had to pass through a straight between Kharybdis, the giant whirlpool monster, and Skylla, the bird with six talons. Skylla would kill a handful of his crewmates, while Kharybdis would destroy the entire ship, killing everyone so basically, Kharybdis is the worse of two evils.
<@CM_Loonie> My name was also random, and it sounded cool, I think

Same gender marriages, is it available to Ether Saga or not ? I was just going to try it on my own >> but didn't want to waste money if it didn't work.
<@seralynn> they aren't available at this time, sorry. Feel free to make a suggestion on the forums or through ticketing though.
<@PWEcraig> Cultural acceptance of same-sex marriage in the US is different than many parts of the world (and even we don’t accept it fully yet).

What are you working on these days as a major addition for the game?
<@PWEcraig> We’re putting polishing touches on many of the content additions to the game. We have new instances to add: both PVP and PVE. Additionally, we already have content available to raise the level cap. We working on getting all of that content localized.

Besides ESO what games do you all enjoy playing on your free time?
<@CM_Loonie> Besides ESO, I like to play a lot of Strategy games and puzzle games, minesweeper!!
<@seralynn> staying in the theme of RPGs, I really like Tales of Vesperia right now
<@PWEcraig> I've been playing a lot of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon lately
<@GM_Misty> Besides ESO, I've been playing Call of Duty 5, Colonization, and NHL 2009 recently.... PS Go Sharks!
<@MBroom> I waste a lot of time playing team fortress 2 and X3

[iDerrick]

Part Two.

Do you guys have any control of which monsters drop what items, and stuff like that?
<@MBroom> The drop tables for the monsters are fixed, we have no direct control over them.

Will the rate of Etherbucks stay the same? 1 USD:1 Etherbuck ?
<@GM_Misty> Yes, the zen to etherbuck conversion ratio will remain the same.

Will you be taking any action to stop players using pets/transformation card to block event NPC's, yes can click through them but it’s annoying that people do it
<@seralynn> People have already been banned for short periods of time. we hope that the spirit of community will win out and people will stop doing this.

Will special events like the easter egg hunt, have rewards for taking part rather than 1st 9 players?
<@CM_Loonie> Prizes for events will always vary, we will look at what we can do in terms of participation prizes for future events.

Do GMs have super powers?
<@GM_Misty> Of course, they allow us to monitor the game like an omnipotent being.
<@PWEcraig> and to fight crime at night
<@seralynn> we're always there, so watch out!

Will the fashions remain bound to characters?
<@PWEcraig> Yes. If you have any further comments, have a representative address it in the player council.

Will 10$ and 20$ eso cards be put in other store? Like Rite Aid,Staples etc.( No Target Around my location)
<@PWEcraig> Target is our first foray into our own prepaid cards. If it's successful, we plan to work with other partners. So come out and support it!

What is your favorite character class?
<@CM_Loonie> I'm split between the Mystic and Dragoon
<@GM_Misty> The special unlockable GM class which allows me to kill everything in an 8-mile radius.
<@MBroom> I'd say archer, always liked the ye olde pew pew
<@GM_Misty> But Mystic is cool too
<@seralynn> shaman and dragoon

What sparked the interest for the Journey to the West theme?
<@CM_Loonie> We really liked the theme of Journey to the West because it was such a popular piece of Culture in Asia. The storyline has sparked so many books, movies etc, we felt that a MMO would be a really good fit

How far has the dev team gone into localizing the quiz bowl, and further more how long roughly as a estimate till its released?
<@PWEcraig> The quiz bowl, while fun, has been problematic in the Chinese version. It’s difficult to maintain, and has rewards that unbalances the game. Until we can address these problems, it will be off the table unfortunately.

Since the game has no option for donating all the diplomatic options and not A-Z alphabetic to the reputation agents, so will there be one in the future? Because it’s a pain for finding something you keep looking for on the list.
<@seralynn> Believe us, we wish for that option just as much as you do. Part of the problem is that it is in alphabetical order in the chinese, but when that gets translated, it isn't the same. But it's definitely on the list of things to do.

Another question, is the use of caveman macros, for example a lego construct that is used to click repeatedly the mouse ( for gathering crafting materials ) a bannable offense ?
<@GM_Misty> While we do love LEGO, this would technically be considered botting. So yes, it would be a bannable offense.

Are all the GMs here employees of PWE (with a salary, etc.)? Or are they just normal players, who do this during their spare time? (It already exists in some game companies)
<@CM_Loonie> All of our GMs are employees located in our office. As a company we value customer service, so having paid employees was the best way to have everybody held accountable

What range of action will be taken against autoclickers? So many people admit use freely in global chat, ally chat, but still allowed continue...
<@GM_Misty> Again, this goes against the Terms of Service. Third-party programs that allow automated actions are a no-no. If you see evidence of it, please send reports to our ticketing page here: support.perfectworld.com/ticketing. We will ban users who use these programs.

What books (if any) are you currently in the midst of reading?
<@CM_Loonie> I'll only read books that have pictures, like comics
<@GM_Misty> I'm currently perusing Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway
<@seralynn> i'm in the middle of jacklyn carey's Kushiel series, and katherine kerr's Deverry series
<@PWEcraig> Lately, most of my time is spent on my weekly/monthly magazines like Newsweek and Scientific American. My last novel was about Peter the Great
<@MBroom> Re-reading my old alien vs. predator books

What is the max connections i can make with multiple computers in my house?
<@GM_Misty> We do not limit connections from a single household. We encourage you to play with your friends and family and pets..

I have played many online games and most of them start with CS fashion items and then they go on with items that you're "obliged" to buy if you want to go on with the game. What do you think about it and what's your CS shop idea?
<@PWEcraig> We’re not in the mindset of offering items in the cash shop that will unbalance the gameplay. Simply put, we won’t add weapons and armor so players can buy their way to victory in both PVE and PVP combat. For any other item, please don’t forget that you can trade in-game currency to players for cash shop items or Etherbucks. We cater to all play styles in that regard.

Currently vigor plays a major part in sub skills, will there be any way to increase the rate or capacity of your vigor?
<@CM_Loonie> Currently there is no plans to add in vigor regen rates or capacities. This is due to balance issues, as the vigor skills are very useful

Will your prepaid cards be available at Tesco's? England.
<@PWEcraig> I addressed a similar question before -- we are testing the waters with the Target partnership before we expand our presence elsewhere

When will the level cap be raised above 90?
<@PWEcraig> I cannot state when the release date will be at this point in time. It is on my schedule already, and we have the content prepared. But you should be out having fun with the existing content instead of thinking about the future leave that to us!

The current movement speed of mounts and wings, will they be the same for all future mounts and wings?
<@GM_Misty> Absolutely. However, there is an item being introduced in the future that will increase mount speed.

Will the instance system remain the way it is, or will it change in the future?
<@PWEcraig> The instance system will remain the same for the foreseeable future. There may be a password system implemented in the future for private instances, but it's not guaranteed.

Is mutation by melding completely random or are some certain "rules" about it?
<@MBroom> There are some rules to the mutations, some monster types will influence the mutations. While it is possible to obtain monsters that you can't get normally, you'd need monsters that are not readily available (like prize monsters or rewarded ones)

Are there any plans regarding a PvE server?
<@PWEcraig> Not at this time. However, we are watching PVP in the game and that will influence our decision regarding PVE servers

<@CM_Loonie> We are wrapping up now. Thank you for showing up everybody! Sorry for the questions that we could not answer
<@GM_Misty> Thanks everybody, it's nice to see some good questions
<@CM_Loonie> I will ummute the channel now

I wish some of the people could have asked more useful questions rather than asking if the GMs had super powers or what their favorite color was. Although, I am looking forward to the privatized instances they've mentioned.

If you guys had a chance to ask the staff a question, what would it be? Maybe Loonie will come by and be able to answer some of our questions.

[Hraesvelg]

<@PWEcraig>We’re not in the mindset of offering items in the cash shop that will unbalance the gameplay. Simply put, we won’t add weapons and armor so players can buy their way to victory in both PVE and PVP combat. For any other item, please don’t forget that you can trade in-game currency to players for cash shop items or Etherbucks. We cater to all play styles in that regard.

That's an excellent attitude to have.

[Loveless]

Yeah, that is.

Well, can't complain much about what people asked if you were not there to ask the real questions.