Mounts

[Feco]

I hate to bring these up, but maybe they could function like old wrist razors, just not as lame, and with far less smirking.

Command based attacks would be lame and abused.

[Jihelu]

I hate to bring these up, but maybe they could function like old wrist razors, just not as lame, and with far less smirking.

Or even more smirking

[Riev]

To this day, I love the "feature" that some agro creatures will target your mount first. SO GOOD.

[Bahliker]

Haha! I forgot they made you smirk! I remember my first time. "Emote didn't just smirk, he's very serious looking right now."

Well bred and battle trained war mounts that occasionally added a little bit of cherry to a charge or trample, or as suggested sometimes did a secondary attack on their own, would be so amazewow.

Spitballing: what if it only happened to second or third mobs fighting a rider that the rider is not fighting back? So your schmeetle won't help you solo that horror but it will start kicking like crazy if it gets surrounded?

[Riev]

If it were possible for mounts to grant bonuses to the rider, I'd say some mounts could have +ride... but then OBVIOUSLY min-maxers will want that even at maximum arousa-... ride.

[Bahliker]

I don't see a problem with that. One would think that a universally easy to ride mount wouldn't necessarily be the biggest, sturdiest or meanest. Trade offs and balance yaknow? It's a cool idea. More is better, variety and unique coolness is better. Now I'm wondering, why NOT bring back rocs, aurochs... Why can't another breed of kank from beyond the borders of the known world wander its way in? When we added three or four beetle varieties people ruined their shorts over them and they're not even different animals.

[gotdamnmiracle]

So I'm taking a guess here, but I remember a thread discussing flip weapons. The staff said that flip weapons, when -flipped- are essentially remade into a new weapon entirely, thus shirking off all of damage done to the weapon itself. If I had to guess mounts work the same way with stabling, where every time you turn in a ticket you're getting a completely new NPC mount with new stats and all that junk.

I kinda figured, since you can't call them by their titled name, that the guy at the stables doesn't really care and is just leading the first beetle from the back that marginally looks like yours.

Again, I'm not 100% certain here and this is just a leap from one coded command to another. This is just to cull some idea that become impossible if this is true.

[manipura]

So I'm taking a guess here, but I remember a thread discussing flip weapons. The staff said that flip weapons, when -flipped- are essentially remade into a new weapon entirely, thus shirking off all of damage done to the weapon itself. If I had to guess mounts work the same way with stabling, where every time you turn in a ticket you're getting a completely new NPC mount with new stats and all that junk.

I kinda figured, since you can't call them by their titled name, that the guy at the stables doesn't really care and is just leading the first beetle from the back that marginally looks like yours.

Again, I'm not 100% certain here and this is just a leap from one coded command to another. This is just to cull some idea that become impossible if this is true.

As far a I know, the coded stats of your animal are random every time you hand your ticket in, same as your animal's stats are random when you're a ranger and you log in with your mount.
If it's stats are -noticeably- different my PC usually assumes that the animal was treated like shit in the stable, or it was crammed in with another animal and didn't rest well or something.  But it's still my same mount.
This is most frustrating when you ride your critter to the stable and log out, and then log in again and your mount isn't strong enough to carry you.
Or when you're out rangering and you log back in to a mount that can't carry you and your bags anymore. 

I'm not sure what you mean by you can't call them by their titled name?   

[gotdamnmiracle]

So I'm taking a guess here, but I remember a thread discussing flip weapons. The staff said that flip weapons, when -flipped- are essentially remade into a new weapon entirely, thus shirking off all of damage done to the weapon itself. If I had to guess mounts work the same way with stabling, where every time you turn in a ticket you're getting a completely new NPC mount with new stats and all that junk.

I kinda figured, since you can't call them by their titled name, that the guy at the stables doesn't really care and is just leading the first beetle from the back that marginally looks like yours.

Again, I'm not 100% certain here and this is just a leap from one coded command to another. This is just to cull some idea that become impossible if this is true.

As far a I know, the coded stats of your animal are random every time you hand your ticket in, same as your animal's stats are random when you're a ranger and you log in with your mount.
If it's stats are -noticeably- different my PC usually assumes that the animal was treated like shit in the stable, or it was crammed in with another animal and didn't rest well or something.  But it's still my same mount.
This is most frustrating when you ride your critter to the stable and log out, and then log in again and your mount isn't strong enough to carry you.
Or when you're out rangering and you log back in to a mount that can't carry you and your bags anymore.  

I'm not sure what you mean by you can't call them by their titled name?  

You have to retitle them each time you log in or pull them from stable. But yeah, you have some good RP solutions to those issues.

And back on track, yeah. I don't see any reason for us to do a crazy beast overhaul. It would be welcomed and probably yield some neat results, but I don't doubt staff has other things on their plate. But making it impossible to purchase some mounts that must be captured is up my alley. Although, I will admit, it may require a fair bit of retconnery and yes, a change to beast stats and base skills to make them sought after or even enticing in some situations so there is any kind of market for them beyond the slaughterhouse.

[nauta]

I want to circle this back to one of the topics:

Do you think the best two (or three) mounts are too good right now, at least in terms of how cheap they are?

I think Delirium and I might disagree on the data, and perhaps agility or some stat is taken into account, but I can, on walk mode, ride my mount past everything (common) on the trade route between Allanak and Luir's, Allanak and the Mul Outpost, and Luir's and Tuluk/Morin's (and I don't have to rest between the two main points in each case).  It's not by much -- even a second spent dilldallying and the mobs catch up and attack -- but if you spam walk you can totally glide by.

So granted that data, I still think that such mounts should either get their speed lowered (there are mounts that have high speed and low endurance after all) or get their prices ramped up.  Lowering their endurance -would- make them annoying, however: high endurance mounts for the win.

I totally understand the concern about playability -- try riding a shedya beetle around, hehe -- but at this point I think certain mounts have high endurance and high speed, and should have their speeds docked just enough so they can't walk past mobs.

[Lizzie]

Nauta, if you spam-walk past a templar with barrier on, you can totally glide by execution. If you spam-walk past an assassin who was "watching" in the other direction for you, you can totally glide by assassination. If you spam-walk past any adversary, whether on foot or on a mount, you can totally glide by. I have walked to Red Storm from Luir's, with no special magickal effects, playing a race other than a desert elf, with "walk" not "run," and totally glided by with a beetle immediately to the west/east. This doesn't make walking too easy, it doesn't make assassins and templars suck.

You're basing your opinion on the ability to spam-move. Try NOT spam-moving. Try pausing for your character to think, "Oh this is that section of road where carrus sometimes charge in out off the scrub. I should run past this section instead of walking." and then hit run - and go 4 rooms, then use think to express relief that you didn't see any carrus. Then bring your mount back to walking. RISK your mount being tired out from this experience, before you can get to your destination. If you know where all the gith are, ROLEPLAY being nervous about passing through their territory. Give the game a chance to respond to your proximity to the gith (and anything/anyone else who might be nearby).

If you're spam-moving from point A to point B, then it's not the game or your mount being too easy. It's you not giving the game a chance to provide the risk you are seeking.

The more popular mounts seem to work just fine, when you roleplay your travels. I've experienced no small amount of risk on a mount, I've gotten into plenty of trouble as a result of being mounted, I've lost characters as a result of being mounted. I'd say most of us have. If you haven't, then it's not the mount. It's you.

[Feco]

Do you think the best two (or three) mounts are too good right now, at least in terms of how cheap they are?

No.

[path]

If anything were docked, I think it should be endurance. It's really fun resting a mount in the desert. Fun and full of danger. Mostly dangerous. Love it. I wish even argosies had to stop and make camp half way between settlements.

That said, it might just be best for me to roleplay that when I feel like it instead of being forced into that position by code. For this reason I agree with what Lizzie said, though I think she unintentionally came off a bit aggressively in her response. Nauta is on our side. She's the good guys. She's not the bad guys. I mean, sometimes she's the bad guys and that's good. You know what I'm saying.

Is it okay that players who want to can flow straight through between settlements because the code allows it? I say YES! For the same reasons we have quit OOC. Sometimes you only have so much time for a jolly ride. Sometimes you have to keep the story moving on along. More choices are better. I should find this Vanth quote I like and sig it. Something like, "Let's not penalize the entire playerbase for the mistakes of a few twinks."

Anyway, call me a big baby, but I get too bored of skilling up so the wilds are always danger for me. Super danger. So dangerous...and I don't know my way. I don't know for sure if I could get from Red Storm to Luirs. Eventually, for sure I could...if I didn't die. I'd just go in the general direction. Northishly. What could go wrong?

[Hauwke]

It took me two years to learn Nak to Luirs because I couldnt be bothered. *cough*

[Jihelu]

It took me two years to learn Nak to Luirs because I couldnt be bothered. *cough*

I could walk Tuluk to Luirs and back with my eyes closed.


I've yet to learn Nak to luirs

[gotdamnmiracle]

Do you think the best two (or three) mounts are too good right now, at least in terms of how cheap they are?

Nope.

[evilcabbage]

get your nerf hands away from my beetles ;_;

[nauta]

Hmm, I'm starting a new thread.  A little experiment has revealed that quite a few mounts can just 'walk' away from aggressive mobs.  So, I take back everything I said bad about the top two mounts!  It seems to be a universal issue (whether positive or negative in terms of gameplay, I'm not sure).

[nauta]

So, setting my little thing about 'speed' aside, there are quite a few variables that could create some interesting combinations.  I'm pulling together some ideas from above. (As with any code discussion, this is for discussion -- the time-to-implement is something I have no idea on, and of course the coding staff already have a million things on their plats.  I just have mounts on my mind.)  

The ones with '*' are already implemented.

*1. Speed.  (Even granted the speed issue, there are mobs that are quicker than most mounts, so speed is still a live variable.  Plus you could have races.)

*2. Carrying capacity.  Some mounts can carry more than others.  (I have noticed a strange quirk on some mounts where you can pack if not riding it, but not pack while riding it.)

*3. Endurance/stamina.

*4. Bonuses to trample/charge.  (I'm not sure if this is implemented.)

*4.5. Bonus to resist a trample/change.

5. Special attacks/special smirks.  Apparently, some mounts used to be able to do this.

6. Variable stamina hit depending on terrain.  Some mounts might do better in sand than others, for instance.

7. Variable stamina hit depending on temperature.  Some mounts might do better in the heat than others.

8. Climbing (while mounted/while unmounted).  Some mounts might be better at climbing than others.

9. Milk.  Right now, some mounts are a great resource for campfire materials.  Imagine riding an escru that gave you milk?  Or an erdlu that popped out an egg?

*10. Restore of stamina.  Some mounts might restore stamina quicker than others.

11. Hide/sneak.  Some mounts might sneak better; some might even be able to hide.

It'd be neat to, as a hunter, think: Well, I'm going out to the canyons to hunt quirri, and I'll want a mount that handles that terrain, and is capable of hiding with me to sneak past the carru.  Or: I'm going on a lumber run, so I guess I'll take this mount, since it carries more, even though it is slower.  Etc.

(edit: added Delirium's observations of what was implemented to the list.)

[Delirium]

#4 is implemented (bonuses and negatives). Also ability to withstand being charged/bashed.

[manipura]

I always assume that erdlu that end up as mounts are male, which is why no eggs are happening.  I don't know enough about the mating habits of erdlu to speculate how long it takes for an egg to develop and all that.    But if I had a female erdlu as a mount and it suddenly popped out an egg, I might be wondering when my critter ran off and mated with some other critter  

And aren't escru way too small to consider riding?  Like knee high?  Maybe thigh-high?  

Pretty sure some mounts already do better in certain terrain than others...either because they take more stamina to move (they tire faster) or they take longer to recover.

Edit: To clarify, I don't know any of the actual code behind how mounts perform in different types of terrain.  My thought about this is strictly based on various observations in-game, with different mounts and environments and situations et cetera.

[Jihelu]

I thought Erdlu were plainstriders from WoW

[solera]

Unfeathered  Dire Moa/Strider lvl 20 = wild erdlu.  Especially their emotes.

[LauraMars]

erdlus are the best mounts

[manipura]

erdlus are the best mounts

I had a measly amount of starting coin with one character and I needed a mount.  My only option, after scraping together the basics, was an erdlu.
I bought the thing, hopped on it and rode off.  "At least I managed a mount" I thought to myself "because my whole character concept -without- a mount just...doesn't make sense.  Whew!"

And then I stabled it and logged out.
When I logged back in, the stats my erdlu had weren't enough to support my weight. 
I think I had to log out and in like three times before the stupid thing got a stat roll that allowed it to hold my character's weight.

My OOC dislike of most large birds carries over to the game and erdlu are low on my list of critters I like.