Question Eu-insumi - (summarized) For those players with slower connections/machines sub/hub is nearly impossible. Can we get a bazaar? or a portal to a bazaar? (MANY suggestions ensue)
Answer Sean_Huxter - Eu_insumi writes: "Amazing what kind of replies can get a simple,constructive idea."

The reason is that there are no such thing as simple ideas. Nothing is simple. Every single thing that changes in AC has to be weighed against everything else, and worst of all, against human nature and psychology. Some of the responses to this "simple" suggestion take into account things that the original suggester either didn't think about, or doesn't care about. But others do. But WE have to think about and care about EVERYTHING. About EVERYONE. Placing dangerous creatures on the Subway trade floor (never its original intention by the way) would hurt many many players.

What players would it help? Those with poor connections and low-end systems. We have to support those too.

So there are many things we CAN do to help out there, but this one isn't a good one. It's a bad idea. The reason the Subway is so popular is that it has BECOME popular. It's complicated. Back when Arwic was the central location in Dereth, people found that they could set up a marketplace there, and catch the eyes of everyone looking to portal around Dereth. Trading is a good thing. When we added more portal spells it meant you didn't have to visit the Subway as often, so the problem probably has reduced some.

We already unlocked the door. Locking it only made more people congregate waiting for someone with lockpick to open it. That sure didn't help. So removing the lock made it easy for people to just get through the marketplace without cluttering up the place. We could make the portal appear down on the lower deck just before the jump, but then guess what would happen? The marketplace would soon move to the lower deck. Their goal is to catch the eyes of as many people as possible, remember. So they can advertise their wares. We could make the portal appear in a hallway, as it is unfeasible to set up shop in the hallway, but guess what would happen?

Yes, they WOULD set up shop in the hallway. So this "simple" suggestion is not so simple, and you should expect this kind of response. There ARE things we can do to help out with the congestion on the trade floor of the Subway, but this isn't it. The worst problem we as a development team have to face is not even the insanely complex nature of this game. It's the insane complexity of HUMAN nature.

Question rootyb - Where do you get your sound effects from?
Answer Sean_Huxter - Some of our sounds come from a library of sound effects. This same library is in use all over the media industry. I heard the Carenzi in an audio-taped Doctor Who episode, and I've heard some of the sounds in a TV commercial recently. Earlier creatures were sound designed by a contractor so it's unlikely you'll hear those sounds elsewhere.

Question LordExar - (long diatribe) Mages aren't even close to equal anymore... and that is a huge betrayal to subscribers when you nerf a class that anyone has spent a significant amount of time in developing.
Answer Orion-Turbine - Okay let me reiterate once more. Missile 370 Buffed firing with the bar all the way up to 50/50. The accuracy bar is missiles equivalent to heartseeker. At top end there is a 50% bonus to the skill of the user. 370*1.5=555 now remember the real numbers are higher...again not looking at the data. (Took today off to get XMas shopping done. Aagic 360 buffed, that means roughly 300 skill in your magic school, to 50/50. Think trained mage. Melee 420 buffed this includes a 30% modifying bonus for heartseeker and attack bonuses. 420*1.3=546 again roughly. oes this make it clearer how that one creature works? Now as far as how often he will hit you... he should hit most people more than 50% closer to 60% I would gather.

Question -Gol- - Whatever happened to monthly Dev Chats? Any hope for prismatic peas? Any hope for upgrading hollow/phantom (x)bow? Any plans to fix war magic?
Answer Orion-Turbine - Where oh where have your dev chats gone? Good question, if you're looking for a good answer move along there is nothing to see here. We, Turbine and Microsoft have been busy, but that does not mean that any of us have forgotten how to communicate with you guys. We are still as committed as ever to answering questions and trying to give information when we can. see www.accmty.com

Any hope for prismatic peas? There is always hope. (Sorry just saw Two Towers, had to use it.) We're not discussing them at the moment but you never know what the future brings.

Any hope for upgrading hollow/phantom bows/xbow? We're not finished yet, but as always this is an evolving game, give us time...and none of this "but its been 4 months", we ARE looking at them.

Any plans to fix war magic? It's broken? It stopped working? If you mean something for the DoT, stay tuned.

Better teasers? On the way. This month should have seemed a little bit close to teasers of old. We'll stay on that for the future.

They ran out of lies to tell us each month? We're not in the habit of lying, faking questions, pretending to be other people. Oh I will admit to screening out questions like: Are you nekkid? Is your mom hawt? Can I have sexay with u? U guys suck, is that true? But lie...puh-lease.

Solid dates: These will more than likely never be given because when they are and something happens we, like too many threads, are beaten like a dead horse. Regardless, Dev Chats will return...when? Think sometime after the New Year.

Question _DH_ Why did you make the Aphus Lassel recall scroll level 80+?
Answer Orion-Turbine - I knew that this was coming. There was one simple reason for this, as the mean age(level) of players increases the content increases. Granted not all of the population of the world is over 80 yet but enough are that we felt a quest could be created for those players that have reached that level. Further, getting to the island is not that hard by itself. Typically you can find a way through the existing perma-dungeons or find a spot in the middle of the OP for upper level players, or in Northern Osteth or Southern for mid and lower levels. In fact one more thing that we are doing, hopefully for January, is making the recall gems tradable. This will give upper level players a way to get those gems off of their characters and a way for lower level players who cannot yet access the quest a way to obtain a quicker return to the island.

Questions Burtelli - Is it harder to dye Tinkered Armor?
Answer srand - Gouru is almost right. *grin* There is only one exception -- wedding rainment is easier to dye than normal clothing/armor.
Answer Gouru - Per MANY dev messages, the test is simple. The difficulty is 230. Check the cook's skill level. Apply the standard difficulty success formula. Roll the dice. The difficulty does not change. AL does not affect difficulty. Type of armor does not affect difficulty. Material does not affect difficulty. Color of armor does not affect difficulty. Color of Dye does not affect difficulty. Burden does not affect difficulty. Phase of moon does not affect difficulty. On the other hand, I always *pray* before dyeing. Doesn't help, but can't hurt...

Question MT_Gouru - Did little green seeds change? Has the "from a tusker" string been removed?
Answer srand - Hmph. Interesting. And as far as I know, unintentional. It looks like the long and short descriptions got swapped. It'll be cleared up in January.