THE Dragon's Neck Dev Update
It is nearly time.
Beginning April 1, 2024 at 10am PDT, The Dragon's Neck will run a Character Creation & Edit "Soft Launch" for the community. This Soft Launch will remain active until our true 'launch' sometime before the end of April. (This is your 30 day warning, we're still working on ensuring that launch date works for the team's calendars to ensure we're available, we'll mention the specific date as soon as possible). During this time the server will be passworded (password to be made available at 10am on Soft-Launch day), and the server itself will be capped at 40 players. In the event folks are remaining in-game far longer than is realistic, we'll implement a timer to automatically remove folks after a certain amount of time online.
What is available for the April 1 Soft-Launch?
- OOC Area.
- Merchant.
- Server Information.
- Tailoring NUI for PC Armor, Shield and Appearance.
- Command: "!tailor"
It is important to note there are some critical changes we've made in order to get TDN out the door:
Character, Weapon & Armor Appearances
Given the long wait, we made the difficult decision to launch without the HD assets we’ve been showcasing. This doesn’t mean we’re abandoning them, though; the assets are still being worked on and are near to completion.
We have however overhauled the system that allows for modifications to your armor, shield and player appearances. This will be accessible via the "!tailor" command.
"Headstart" XP & CXP
We are unfortunately doing away with the XP and CXP headstart that we had intended to extend to veteran players of TDN’s last iteration. This means that everyone is starting on a level playing field. While we appreciate everyone's perserverance, the reality is that the team has been working for YEARS on this new version of TDN and we want everyone experiencing this version of TDN to be starting from the same position.
We still deeply appreciate the players that have stuck around patiently for so long and cheered on development. We hope that the server at launch, and our plans to improve it in the future, will be reward enough.
Some context:
- Our DM team is going to be spread extremely thin at first, creating a level-gap from day one does not help this reality.
- We initially expected development to take far less time and be far less work. The overhaul that we’ve accomplished is highly experimental which we feel also warrants more caution with what we allow.
Silver (previously Gold) Cap
In order to keep a close tab on the economical conditions of the server, especially over the first few months, we are instituting a cap on player-held silver.
Player-Held Silver Cap: 1500
Banked Silver Cap: 4500
We will adjust the caps based on player feedback post-launch. To be clear, this is solely to ensure, for our sake and for the sake of the server, that the economy can’t be ruined at launch due to mistakes we’ve made, bugs or exploits. We intend to keep numbers low when it comes to the economy, so that if there is ever any sign of inflation we have a lot more time and leeway to address it (if we want) before the math gets crazy.
Realities of Launch & A Word of Caution & Optimism
This is a milestone moment for TDN. After the Soft Launch, and especially after our true launch, the team is going to be extremely busy. While we have player-count "ideals", there is some confidence that our initial launch window will result in a significant amounts of players logging into the server for the first time. I'll say this. We will do our best.
Your patience as a community is going to be critical. Although TDN has been in development for ages, we do not have the "live and running" experience that many of you might be used to from other servers who have proven experience and success. We are going to be learning and adjusting our approach right alongside everyone here, especially with how many changes we have made to base NWN.
Word of Caution:
With that in mind, we are going to have a very small tolerance for behavior that is inconsistent with our values. Especially early on, we will not have the luxury of spending hours on end debating policy or judgement errors that took place during gameplay. If we make a decision you disagree with, please ask for context around the decision and then move on. In the event that people are clearly deviating from the server's intentions and driving a wedge into the experience for other players, or just generally being problematic as it pertains to DM/Developer-involvement, we will quickly implement a time-based suspension assuming the issue is not so severe it warrants a permanent ban. You are one of many people playing on TDN, and we have a very small group of Devs/DMs that will be available to assist. Please behave in a manner that respects that reality.
Word of Optimism:
We're here. Finally. There is so much that's been poured into this project from developers over the years. We know that we aren't finished, however we hope you enjoy the experience. We will work quickly to address game-breaking bugs, and do our best to mitigate negative experiences for the community where we can.