So... what's coming?

zahinder

Has there been any word in the past, oh, month on planned improvements, fixes, etc. from the devs for Foundry?

dardove

The only thing we actually know they are working on at the moment is PvP changes. No nothing about anything PvE or Foundry related that are in the works.

eldarth

Actually, spirals999 is trying to get some audio assets added for us (see audio requests)

...and panderus briefly mentioned this:

panderus 11-06-2013, 11:40 AM wrote: »

Also, in before eldarth says "no foundry fixes <link to list of current issues>". I have bumped your list internally and am trying to negotiate getting some Foundry improvements for a post Module 2 build or Module 3 at latest if possible.

Module 2 is out ... Module 3 is rapidly approaching.

So, even if no real fixes, I'm really hoping for at least a bunch of new detail assets and sound assets.
That "other" new online game will be here shortly and they really need to step it up.

hercooles130uscg

We might get a token nod in the form of assets, but if your expecting any bug fixes or features...

don't hold your breath.

the incompetence if rampant at PWE (the management at PWE, not the devs at cryptic, they probably want to fix things, but I have read how the dumbasses at PWE run a dev team)

You have to remember, most if not all of the bugs in the foundry now, have been in since I was in alpha...ya...that long.

devocut

eldarth wrote: »

Actually, spirals999 is trying to get some audio assets added for us (see audio requests)

...and panderus briefly mentioned this:

Originally Posted by panderus 11-06-2013, 11:40 AM View Post

Also, in before eldarth says "no foundry fixes <link to list of current issues>". I have bumped your list internally and am trying to negotiate getting some Foundry improvements for a post Module 2 build or Module 3 at latest if possible.

Having to negotiate just to get the foundry some attention? Not a good sign.

Perhaps another clue that the foundry is not a priority.

zahinder

Considering the selling point of this game is 'hey, it's Neverwinter!', the popularity of which came massively from the ability to create and modify and generate new player content...

This is very very very disappointing.

apocrs1980

/agree

I honestly believed that the Foundry is what would keep a good player base coming back to NWO, however, I can see that the player base is starting to filter out, apparently the only thing that drives NWO is vanity and cash shops. I can tell that the Foundry was only important as a selling point to bring players in, long ago it was stated that there were some exiting things planned for the foundry within the next year...well over a year later and we have a few assets from Module 2, while rag and drop in 3D edit is nice, the major things holding Authors back from creating really awesome content is still not here... Bosses REAL bosses have been the biggest ticket item for many authors waaaaaaaay back in closed Beta, it still continues to be and yet, we still see nothing. Honestly, if they could just implement actual bosses and actual timer's in the special tab, and new actor spawn at previous actor death location, I would shut up for a very long time, at least for the next 12 months .

What the boss element looks like in the foundry:

* a check box or drop down which can set the actor from normal to BOSS in the parameters window.
* abilities list for 100%HP, 75%HP, 50%HP, and 25% HP able to assign up to 4 abilities each. ( also an appear/disappear when function at the same previously mentioned percentages of health for the boss.)
* Large HP Bucket the boss should take 5 players a minimum of 10-15 min to bring down for a truly epic fight.
* improved scaling to allow players to make their bosses as huge as giants, if need be.
* Reset function (built in), upon party wipe the fight resets when HP not reduced to 0%
* Invulnerable to Kill Volumes - to prevent exploitation
* Boss has an adjustable radius of 40ft minimum, to which the boss will not travel beyond and if a PC leaves this radius it resets the boss fight. - to prevent exploitation.
* Bosses have no collision with assets with exception for one ( a created asset that is a 1000X1000X5 Invisible floor that is made only for boss collision, which is horizontal and can not be rotated, only moved on it's axis for positioning. Named "Boss Collision Floor.") - to prevent exploitation.
* upon Boss death it drops 3 randomized pieces of loot = to the highest level of the PC in the party but slightly below the official content.

(The other thing that this would do is give some of the developers access to some very creative mechanics for free, who knows there may be a truly epic boss fight they would want to consider adding to the official content down the road.)

Unfortunately, I have the feeling that this idea will just fall on deaf ears and have the PWE producers say... meh it's a waste of time and money, we want Cryptic to get more exotic mounts for the cash shop now!

orangefiree

apocrs1980 wrote: »

/agree

I honestly believed that the Foundry is what would keep a good player base coming back to NWO, however, I can see that the player base is starting to filter out, apparently the only thing that drives NWO is vanity and cash shops. I can tell that the Foundry was only important as a selling point to bring players in, long ago it was stated that there were some exiting things planned for the foundry within the next year...well over a year later and we have a few assets from Module 2, while rag and drop in 3D edit is nice, the major things holding Authors back from creating really awesome content is still not here... Bosses REAL bosses have been the biggest ticket item for many authors waaaaaaaay back in closed Beta, it still continues to be and yet, we still see nothing. Honestly, if they could just implement actual bosses and actual timer's in the special tab, and new actor spawn at previous actor death location, I would shut up for a very long time, at least for the next 12 months .

What the boss element looks like in the foundry:

* a check box or drop down which can set the actor from normal to BOSS in the parameters window.
* abilities list for 100%HP, 75%HP, 50%HP, and 25% HP able to assign up to 4 abilities each. ( also an appear/disappear when function at the same previously mentioned percentages of health for the boss.)
* Large HP Bucket the boss should take 5 players a minimum of 10-15 min to bring down for a truly epic fight.
* improved scaling to allow players to make their bosses as huge as giants, if need be.
* Reset function (built in), upon party wipe the fight resets when HP not reduced to 0%
* Invulnerable to Kill Volumes - to prevent exploitation
* Boss has an adjustable radius of 40ft minimum, to which the boss will not travel beyond and if a PC leaves this radius it resets the boss fight. - to prevent exploitation.
* Bosses have no collision with assets with exception for one ( a created asset that is a 1000X1000X5 Invisible floor that is made only for boss collision, which is horizontal and can not be rotated, only moved on it's axis for positioning. Named "Boss Collision Floor.") - to prevent exploitation.
* upon Boss death it drops 3 randomized pieces of loot = to the highest level of the PC in the party but slightly below the official content.

(The other thing that this would do is give some of the developers access to some very creative mechanics for free, who knows there may be a truly epic boss fight they would want to consider adding to the official content down the road.)

Unfortunately, I have the feeling that this idea will just fall on deaf ears and have the PWE producers say... meh it's a waste of time and money, we want Cryptic to get more exotic mounts for the cash shop now!

They are in the works, they are prioritizing bug fixed first sadly, but they are working on them.

This was in response to someone asking for bosses on preview at one point.

badbotlimit wrote: »

AND WE WANT TO GET THEM TO YOU!

But first we need to focus on things that impact the usability and stability of the Foundry.
There is a HUGE list of requests that we look at and prioritize on a regular basis. That list includes things like Boss fights and team content but also includes features that make it easier for players to find content they will like.

For this update we focused on much needed improvements to the editor and search. The top requested feature was a tag system. That alone was a lot of work.

Adding a solo encounter with more HP sounds easy but we already have that. They are ogres and we see what people want to do with those. There is also the consideration of what a boss means to various players. HP bags tied on to existing encounters may not be a solution for Bosses that allows for Boss encounters.

We really want to give the authors the ability to create boss encounters and build content that is designed for teams. There is a lot to consider when we do this and I wouldn't feel comfortable just adding an HP, ATK-UP <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> and call it Bosses.

eldarth

apocrs1980 wrote: »

Honestly, if they could just implement actual bosses and actual timer's in the special tab, and new actor spawn at previous actor death location, I would shut up for a very long time, at least for the next 12 months .

AMEN!

I'm holding out hope for Module 3 aka "Stem the bleeding from ESO release."

"Supposedly" there is a Foundry Development team (of which we have only seen a supposed manager (Panderus) of rumored team [...and manages how many other teams]).

"Supposedly" there is lots of Foundry work going on "post Module 2 and pre Module 3" (approaching rapidly).

We've also seen ONE audio developer (spirals999) who has raised some hopes but until the next big release is still only vaporware.

First week in April we should be able to tell for sure if Foundry is important, or not.

antonkyle

eldarth wrote: »

I'm holding out hope for Module 3 aka "Stem the bleeding from ESO release."

One thing that Neverwinter will win hands down on ESO is the foundry. I will be playing ESO for sure but if they improve the foundry I could see myself doing both. The foundry does not take up a huge amount of my time and honestly it is possibly the most enjoyment I have had in a game since FF7.

Also if they just made more PVP content there is another thing worth sticking around for.

But I agree, AMEN to what apocrs1980 said. The only thing I would add to that is making the tag search system count the number of tags, then yes, I'd be happy for at least a year.... well six months.

apocrs1980

orangefiree wrote: »

They are in the works, they are prioritizing bug fixed first sadly, but they are working on them.

This was in response to someone asking for bosses on preview at one point.

I know I can rely on Badbot and mapolis, and am ever so grateful for all they do for the Foundry,

I just haven't said anything in a long while and am venting my frustration as my well of patience runs dry

wintersmercy

I just spent about 6 hours making a mansion in an outdoor map with windows, because there are no walls with windows in and you need to use many, many walls with small gaps.

The Foundry is amazing for the price, and perilously close to being fantastic. I'm still hoping that they put in the higher player cap and a few practical assets. They've got until whatever follows Project Spark comes through (Project Spark charges for author resources so I don't see it being more than a tech demonstrator).

hercooles130uscg

At this point I have stopped trusting anything a dev comes in the forums and says about...well anything Foundry related.

They have had their chance. They blew it, big time. They have cried wolf so many **** times I think if they finally did fix these bugs they keep saying they are working on, most people will just assume it's a cruel april fools joke.

I don't doubt the devs ability, but PWE itself is a reservoir of stinky ****. They don't care about their games, they don't understand their games, and they don't let those who do, namely the group from Cryptic that got grabbed up when they PWE purchased them, do what needs to be done.

The fact they have to negotiate for time to fix bugs that have been in the game since alpha says a lot, when apparently they have no time implementing a dozen new currencies each week and new ways to take money out of your wallet in a grand game of smoke and mirrors, where you are wondering what the hell you even got with your money.

Since the Foundry is not monetized, the heads at PWE DO NOT CARE AT ALL about it. Not one single bit. Anything they do in regards to the Foundry is just enough housekeeping that allows them to keep it has this giant feature in order to attract new players, players who have not realized the Foundry is just an empty husk of what it could be.

I keep coming back, hoping I am wrong, but, every month that goes by, I realize more and more that the Foundry IS DEAD.

Imperfect World Entertainment killed it and burned it with fire. What we are seeing is just the ghost that has not realized it has been forsaken by those who created it.

mrgiggles651

orangefiree wrote: »

They are in the works, they are prioritizing bug fixed first sadly, but they are working on them.

This was in response to someone asking for bosses on preview at one point.

Someone just posted today about the author character respec issue. As Eldarth posted in that thread, thats been a bug since beta. Eldarth maintains a Foundry bug list, you can look at the dates of his bug listings. There are other bugs as old or older, I stopped bothering to post them/report them in Foundry.

The dev quote you posted is from nearly seven months ago.

karranor

Kind of a bummer to see this so far down on the priority list. It sucks being so hindered by the restrictions in the Foundry. This community could make so much better quests if weren't so restricted and on the back burner.

kirksplat

You NW foundry folks might want to listen to a recent STO foundry interview. It might be a good indication of what your situation will be like in a few years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADhhw2Rh3YY&list=TLzMwXyz8XRBCy8AAAWQh6k39ZMYLiw4eI

zahinder

Could you... summarize?

An hour+ interview...

kirksplat

Summary: "Yeah, we realize we've done very little for the Foundry in 2 years and nobody is in charge, but we'll try to bribe a dev to come in on a weekend to get you guys some assets. I also really think that somebody somewhere is working to port a few of the minor NW features, after we told you 2 years ago that we'd happily port all of them... Sorry, to be honest, but the metrics just aren't there. The Foundry is not a priority for us..."

Kind of a brutal summary, but it's pretty honest about where STO authors stand after 2 years of waiting for our "module 3." You guys are probably in the same boat now, if the secret project (which isn't the console port) is a new game that includes a Foundry.

Your team may be long gone.

zahinder

Man, I hate them and their metrics.

No appreciation of secondary effects or ownership of blame. It's like STO's KDF faction all over again.

antonkyle

kirksplat wrote: »

You NW foundry folks might want to listen to a recent STO foundry interview. It might be a good indication of what your situation will be like in a few years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADhhw2Rh3YY&list=TLzMwXyz8XRBCy8AAAWQh6k39ZMYLiw4eI

Lol! It's a geek fest! The sort of thing I would do.

reichlyn

apocrs1980 wrote: »

/agree

I honestly believed that the Foundry is what would keep a good player base coming back to NWO, however, I can see that the player base is starting to filter out, apparently the only thing that drives NWO is vanity and cash shops. I can tell that the Foundry was only important as a selling point to bring players in, long ago it was stated that there were some exiting things planned for the foundry within the next year...well over a year later and we have a few assets from Module 2, while rag and drop in 3D edit is nice, the major things holding Authors back from creating really awesome content is still not here... Bosses REAL bosses have been the biggest ticket item for many authors waaaaaaaay back in closed Beta, it still continues to be and yet, we still see nothing. Honestly, if they could just implement actual bosses and actual timer's in the special tab, and new actor spawn at previous actor death location, I would shut up for a very long time, at least for the next 12 months .

What the boss element looks like in the foundry:

* a check box or drop down which can set the actor from normal to BOSS in the parameters window.
* abilities list for 100%HP, 75%HP, 50%HP, and 25% HP able to assign up to 4 abilities each. ( also an appear/disappear when function at the same previously mentioned percentages of health for the boss.)
* Large HP Bucket the boss should take 5 players a minimum of 10-15 min to bring down for a truly epic fight.
* improved scaling to allow players to make their bosses as huge as giants, if need be.
* Reset function (built in), upon party wipe the fight resets when HP not reduced to 0%
* Invulnerable to Kill Volumes - to prevent exploitation
* Boss has an adjustable radius of 40ft minimum, to which the boss will not travel beyond and if a PC leaves this radius it resets the boss fight. - to prevent exploitation.
* Bosses have no collision with assets with exception for one ( a created asset that is a 1000X1000X5 Invisible floor that is made only for boss collision, which is horizontal and can not be rotated, only moved on it's axis for positioning. Named "Boss Collision Floor.") - to prevent exploitation.
* upon Boss death it drops 3 randomized pieces of loot = to the highest level of the PC in the party but slightly below the official content.

(The other thing that this would do is give some of the developers access to some very creative mechanics for free, who knows there may be a truly epic boss fight they would want to consider adding to the official content down the road.)

Unfortunately, I have the feeling that this idea will just fall on deaf ears and have the PWE producers say... meh it's a waste of time and money, we want Cryptic to get more exotic mounts for the cash shop now!

I definetly agree on what everything you said. The 2 things that bother me the most right now are the lack of a timer objective and the Friendly encounters deaths. I actually think it would just be better if they made friendly encounter....aka....bot toons...to just drop to the ground and stay down but alive throughout the rest of the encounter. Then you can resurrect them...or heal them up...after the fight.

kirksplat

Well, they revealed at STO that our old EP was put on a new secret project and it is not a console port of NW. So, if it's another game that includes Foundry, then your Foundry team is probably long gone.

mrgiggles651

zahinder wrote: »

Could you... summarize?

An hour+ interview...

Interview starts around minute 15, you'll get the gist by around :35.

str8slayer

I had heard rumors mere months after beta ended that the foundry had been abandoned, guess they weren't far off the mark...

doc4goth

eldarth wrote: »

AMEN!

I'm holding out hope for Module 3 aka "Stem the bleeding from ESO release."

"Supposedly" there is a Foundry Development team (of which we have only seen a supposed manager (Panderus) of rumored team [...and manages how many other teams]).

"Supposedly" there is lots of Foundry work going on "post Module 2 and pre Module 3" (approaching rapidly).

We've also seen ONE audio developer (spirals999) who has raised some hopes but until the next big release is still only vaporware.

First week in April we should be able to tell for sure if Foundry is important, or not.

Agreed. Personally I hope they wake up and smell the coffee. In the interim I intend to create Foundires that are as challenging as possible and will REQUIRE a group to complete. When I say group I do not mean 5 GWFs or 5 of any one thing but a balanced party with skills. The very first thing my new maps do is make the sparkly trail USELESS.

All the new foundries I have planned will make use of the "random number generator" to caus doors to appear and disappear, the various player skills Dungeoneering, Arcane etc will be required to solve puzzles and prevent things from happening that make the foundry unfinishable.

Since I am limited in the AND/OR logic I will simply make the player actually have to explore and talk to NPCs/use items etc to get hints and understand how to do things in the foundry. Ambitious? Yes, very much so. If I cannot reward players appropriately the only thingI can do is to at least give them the satisfaction of knowing they completed a very difficult foundry.

As Eldarth stated earlier, the beginning of April will be interesting when the ESO bleed starts and there are other games coming out in the not too distant future that will also cause a player bleed. Only time will tell if this game will rise to the challenge (which it easily could considering the rich lore and IP already in existance for it) or if it will join other promising games on the slag heap of utter failure.

I know which one I am hoping for.

quitegonejin

My thoughts on improving the foundry, not to derail you, but here goes:

I played the original neverwinter nights and one thing that was amazing was when a DM controlled NPCs or made stories on these small shards that somehow included you. Imagine if you will, that the foundry would notify you when someone is playing your mission, and you could enter it as an npc, or even create a copy of your characters in it. This would create some amazing pvp and story telling memories. And since the foundry's rewards are tertiary in comparison to the actual experience it could never be overpowered. You could tell the tale of your origin story to other players, from your own voice, in real time as players enjoy your missions. Or make crazy pvp maps. Or play a giant and talk trash to the heroes who dare to enter your cave. The possibilities would be endless and this game would have something no other game has had ever, a DM feel to it! Anyway, I wish others could see the possibilities from this.

Just one mans crazy idea. The foundry is largely untapped in my opinion, mostly because the experience is to solo, or one sided, like reading a book. Where it should be someone telling you a tale live.

izatar

quitegonejin wrote: »

DM controlled NPCs or made stories on these small shards that somehow included you. Imagine if you will, that the foundry would notify you when someone is playing your mission, and you could enter it as an npc

It turns out there is a way to sort of do what you want.
Make a foundry mission (maybe with some secret event triggers). Log on to a toon, and run around Protector's enclave role-playing someone who needs the help of a heroic party. Invite people to your group, share the quest with them, and take them into it. You can even give them real rewards by actually just..well..giving them rewards when they finish the quest.

eldarth

doc4goth wrote: »

Since I am limited in the AND/OR logic I will simply make the player actually have to explore and talk to NPCs/use items etc to get hints and understand how to do things in the foundry.

Check out Advanced Foundry Topics on the wiki in my sig - a way to do AND and OR is on there.

quitegonejin

izatar wrote: »

It turns out there is a way to sort of do what you want.
Make a foundry mission (maybe with some secret event triggers). Log on to a toon, and run around Protector's enclave role-playing someone who needs the help of a heroic party. Invite people to your group, share the quest with them, and take them into it. You can even give them real rewards by actually just..well..giving them rewards when they finish the quest.

That's pretty ingenious. Although my idea would also add a lot for the pvp community too.

stevedestiny

The Foundry HAS been abandoned. Rectangular window. Enough said.

orangefiree

stevedestiny wrote: »

The Foundry HAS been abandoned. Rectangular window. Enough said.

Rectangular windows mean it is abandoned? Am I missing something? Very confused.