Increased Spawn Rates At Launch Means Exploitable Quests

[Sunderfury]

Originally Posted by Uthgaard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Some zones were coded to never be devoid of mobs, without having an insane farmable static respawn spot. That might be the better way to go here.

One easily observable example was groups of three decaying skeletons. Once they had spread out, it wouldn't be very obvious which three were part of a spawngroup unless you either watched them spawn or had track (sorted them to the top), but when all three died, a new group of three would respawn at a random location.

This was very obvious while farming bone chips in Paineel. Another notable area this was done was Terrorantula, clusters of spiders were always up, not every spider was part of the cluster, but when all spiders from the cluster were dead, a new cluster of about 6 spiders, 3 terrorantulings, or the terrorantula would spawn.

This technique provided a "supply meets demand" dynamic that isn't so directly exploitable. But it is more work to implement.

Basically said the same thing on Page 5 of this thread lol (posted below), didn't know about the Terrorantula spawns though.

I'd suggest for Green 202X insta-respawn mechanics can be put in place but a script in place that is non-exploitable (i.e. it isn't always the same 3 spawns in Paineel). I don't see this getting done and tested in time for Green 2020 even if launch is delayed.

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm fairly convinced that on live, perhaps even currently, there are still 'insta spawn' mechanics in place in some noob areas.

The most evident was when paineel was added, there were 3 skeletons that spawn right next to each other. There was a script in place that if all 3 spawns were dead, they instantly respawned. So people would kill those mobs and constantly farm bone chips. It wasn't put in for a 'cash cow' feature (although that is what it became), but more to ensure there were always mobs up for their customers starting out in noob zones.

I've come across posted evidence of this in Everfrost Peaks, GFay, Qeynos newbie yard and a few other places.

It would make sense original EQ devs would have insta-spawn mechanics in place to ensure fresh starting people don't get bored without finding anything to kill and to handle a large infuse of population.

I wouldn't put it past other zones outside noob yards having some form of insta-respawn, there is evidence of it in Quillmane cycles and other places.

So my point, is the instant respawn knowledge / spawn points may not be known, but there is evidence that it is there. So temp increased spawn rate in noob zones to handle population surge isn't necessarily unclassic.

Would be great if someone could investigate live (if these zones still exist, no clue) and pinpoint the respawn mechanics. Then we can have a more classic Green 202X launch.

[Deathrydar]

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

even if launch is delayed.

Don't ever say those words!

[Uthgaard]

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Basically said the same thing on Page 5 of this thread lol (posted below), didn't know about the Terrorantula spawns though.

I'd suggest for Green 202X insta-respawn mechanics can be put in place but a script in place that is non-exploitable (i.e. it isn't always the same 3 spawns in Paineel). I don't see this getting done and tested in time for Green 2020 even if launch is delayed.

Glad to see it was already mentioned and I wasn't just throwing out a crazy idea no one had heard of.
As far as I know, spawngroups were never implemented on any emulated server, but the database structure exists to do it without a lot of hard coding. It wouldn't need a dedicated script for every area, it would just need some server code to call up spawngroups as a functional thing from database tables, similar to how spawn tables are called now. The server code would be short, and the database work could then be done piecemeal and adjustable on the fly.

Also, nice to meet you.

[Sunderfury]

Originally Posted by Uthgaard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Glad to see it was already mentioned and I wasn't just throwing out a crazy idea no one had heard of.
As far as I know, spawngroups were never implemented on any emulated server, but the database structure exists to do it without a lot of hard coding. It wouldn't need a dedicated script for every area, it would just need some server code to call up spawngroups as a functional thing from database tables, similar to how spawn tables are called now. The server code would be short, and the database work could then be done piecemeal and adjustable on the fly.

Also, nice to meet you.

Cool that the structure is there. To be clear, i'm not involved in any development on p99, just have a passion for bug reporting and research.

What I meant by a script, was not hard code 3 specific spawn points (for example) to instant respawn if dead, but randomize the spawn points every X hours or cycles. If neckbeards track specific spawn points to instant respawns, it will eventually be exploited. But if it was dynamic the chances would go down significantly.

[Uthgaard]

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Cool that the structure is there. To be clear, i'm not involved in any development on p99, just have a passion for bug reporting and research.

That was how I started. Don't be afraid to give it a shot, DB work is really straightforward with the right tools, and mostly research/QA.

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What I meant by a script, was not hard code 3 specific spawn points (for example) to instant respawn if dead, but randomize the spawn points every X hours or cycles. If neckbeards track specific spawn points to instant respawns, it will eventually be exploited. But if it was dynamic the chances would go down significantly.

That's basically what a spawngroup is. The entity and the location are random. It's the same concept as a single spawn point, just with pre-defined clusters that spawn around a point and wander out from the center, and instantly respawn once the last from the spawngroup is dead. But here all of the spawns are singular and just approximated as random spawns from a single placeholder. It was "good enough" to not justify the extra work, but the high competition in old zones might give a reason to revisit the mechanic.

[Sunderfury]

Originally Posted by Uthgaard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That was how I started. Don't be afraid to give it a shot, DB work is really straightforward with the right tools, and mostly research/QA.

Man I would love to if papa Rogean would ever entrust me with DB / code access, but at this stage I am not worthy (in skill and time commitment). While I'm devoted to the project, I have 2 kids at a very young age and my primary focus is spending time with the family, especially during these formative years. Even doing guiding is tough, been restricted to bug forum lurking these last few months.

Originally Posted by Uthgaard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That's basically what a spawngroup is. The entity and the location are random. It's the same concept as a single spawn point, just with pre-defined clusters that spawn around a point and wander out from the center, and instantly respawn once the last from the spawngroup is dead. But here all of the spawns are singular and just approximated as random spawns from a single placeholder. It was "good enough" to not justify the extra work, but the high competition in old zones might give a reason to revisit the mechanic.

Sounds like you need to reach out to Rogean / Nilbog and come back to the project [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

In our darkest hour, a hero returns
Songs are being sung from every bard,
His passion is back and the fire burns,
With fear and renown, Norrath whispers: Uthgaard

[Uthgaard]

Originally Posted by Sunderfury [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Man I would love to if papa Rogean would ever entrust me with DB / code access, but at this stage I am not worthy (in skill and time commitment). While I'm devoted to the project, I have 2 kids at a very young age and my primary focus is spending time with the family, especially during these formative years. Even doing guiding is tough, been restricted to bug forum lurking these last few months.



Sounds like you need to reach out to Rogean / Nilbog and come back to the project [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

In our darkest hour, a hero returns
Songs are being sung from every bard,
His passion is back and the fire burns,
With fear and renown, Norrath whispers: Uthgaard

I laughed out loud. No one has ever written me a poem before. Maybe a limerick at best. Thanks that was nice.