Portal:News/IRC Transcripts/01 October 2010

Chat with Cindy "Abigale" Bowens, Rift's Senior Community Manager, and Amary, Rift's Community Coordinator - 01 October 2010.


 * [07:00.42]  A wild Amary appears!
 * [07:00.43]  Very nice to see you all here :)
 * [07:00.44]  .. and Amary
 * [07:00.45]  good evening Abigale
 * [07:00.51] Abigale: I thought you said you were coming alone? :o
 * [07:00.52]  Hi Amary :)
 * [07:00.53]  Hi Amary
 * [07:00.54]  hi Abigale and Amary
 * [07:00.57]  hello Amary
 * [07:00.58]  amd Amary too! hi girls
 * [07:00.58]  Heya Abi
 * [07:00.58]  Hi all and Abi
 * [07:01.02] Hey Abigale and Amary :)
 * [07:01.02]  Hey there Amary and Abigale :)
 * [07:01.03]  heya Abi
 * [07:01.04]  hi mira
 * [07:01.05]  hai A+A
 * [07:01.08]  and amary
 * [07:01.08] <Abigale> Well, Amary had time to jion me today. :)
 * [07:01.10] <Mira> and Amary
 * [07:01.11] <Tirith> Morning Abigale. Morning Amary
 * [07:01.15] woot!
 * [07:01.16] <Raive> Irc on the iPhone is a success
 * [07:01.20] <WarpCode> hola
 * [07:01.30] <Apoth> how about them bears
 * [07:01.38] <Oabe> hey Amary
 * [07:01.40] <Raive> Fail bears
 * [07:01.53] <Abigale> Ok.... first things first. I know the first question on everyone's mind is the B word ;)
 * [07:02.43] <Abigale> We do have internal dates for Beta now. We aren't releasing that info just yet. But we are on the road to getting there soon :)
 * [07:03.23] <Abigale> But.... if you have a Trion account, be sure to be watching your email over the next few days for some big info :)
 * [07:03.28] <Tirith> Is this like a Tolkein style "The road goes ever on and on"? ;)
 * [07:03.32] :o secret emails!
 * [07:03.36] <Zinn> ooh Big Info :)
 * [07:03.39] <G0kuenuan> yay, email hype
 * [07:03.41] <Kula> I'll play decoy why you guys speed to the end of the road.
 * [07:03.41] <Ravel> Ah newsletter
 * [07:03.47] <Haaken> Abigale - How about the broken newsletter
 * [07:03.50] <Braen> L33t b3ta inf0z
 * [07:03.59] <Haaken> lots of us are not receiving any newsletter
 * [07:04.04] <Anasazi> oh no I won't be able to close the email now
 * [07:04.05] Abigale hope it will be mentioned on forums, to "double-check your spam folder" point
 * [07:04.09] <Abigale> Make sure you are opted in to receive emails! And no, it's something separate from the newsletter ;)
 * [07:04.13] <Raive> Yeh it's just newsletter stuffs /sad
 * [07:04.13] <Massabik> finally saw the earth rifts, good stuff
 * [07:04.15] or, private forum message!
 * [07:04.25] <Ciovala> If you have questions, /msg Rifty your question
 * [07:04.39] <Haaken> Alright thanks
 * [07:04.56] <Ravel> What can it be, what can it be?
 * [07:05.02] Cake.
 * [07:05.03] <Abigale> We have been working on the newsletter issue. Hopefully we will have less trouble when the next one goes out
 * [07:05.10] On that note, I'm off. Have fun!
 * [07:05.18] * starspun is now known as scottpilgrimspun
 * [07:05.20] <Europe> your timing is impeccable :(
 * [07:05.20] <Ravel> cya
 * [07:05.29] Lastr scottpilgrimspun
 * [07:05.36] <Abigale> Now. I want to tell you a little about somethign we did around here the other night...
 * [07:05.37] Later even
 * [07:05.48] * Europe covers the children's ears
 * [07:05.53] <Braen> remembedr this is a PG channel
 * [07:06.01] <Sylvrin> <is all ears.
 * [07:06.14] <Massabik> *covers Europe's eyes
 * [07:06.15] <Abigale> We were all asked to participate in a big PVP play test on our new alpha pvp server :)
 * [07:06.18] <Tirith> When two MMO developers love each other very much, sometimes they give a special hug.
 * [07:06.30] <Tirith> PvP is ... kind of like a special hug.
 * [07:06.33] <Amary> :D
 * [07:06.35] Abigale: So, Simon had the highest death count, right? :)
 * [07:06.39] <Braen> with knives
 * [07:06.40] yeah, from behind.
 * [07:06.51] <Abigale> Now I have to say first that I am NOT a pvp player.
 * [07:06.55] <Ravel> Red against blue
 * [07:06.58] <Europe> Archonix probably killed everyone
 * [07:07.00] <bc> PvE?
 * [07:07.01] <Oabe> noo Abigale :(
 * [07:07.04] <Europe> his friggin license plate says PKDEV
 * [07:07.09] <bc> PvRifts???!?!? :P
 * [07:07.20] <Ravel> What side were you on?
 * [07:07.32] <Abigale> I suck at it. And I don't like killing people. But I did have some fun :)
 * [07:07.47] <RIRCGuest175> But there's nothing quite like beating another person
 * [07:07.48] <Anasazi> did you get to kill Simon?
 * [07:08.00] <Braen> gross RIRC
 * [07:08.07] <Abigale> But what was really fun to me was to be in the channel with the devs as they were reading feedback :)
 * [07:08.07] <Oabe> RIRCGuest175 yes huh killign simon alot lol
 * [07:08.10] <RIRCGuest175> dangit how do I change my nick?
 * [07:08.12] <Massabik> Amary was sneaking around spreading the Pox wasn't she? :P
 * [07:08.19] <Oabe>  /nick yourname
 * [07:08.24] * RIRCGuest175 is now known as Brangdha
 * [07:08.31] <Amary> Hah, I'm actually terribad at PvP, until I just started rolling heals on everyone... :)
 * [07:08.41] <Selene> what kind of feedback was there?
 * [07:08.50] <Entropy> Kill the HEALER!
 * [07:08.58] <Oabe> no dont kill the healer thats mean :(
 * [07:09.11] <Sylvrin> no that;s smart
 * [07:09.14] <Raive> Mmm
 * [07:09.16] <Anasazi> you just have to learn how to faceroll someone
 * [07:09.16] <Entropy> #1 rule of PvP
 * [07:09.17] <Haaken> which class did you play abigale
 * [07:09.17] <Brangdha> but that's how you always win group vs group
 * [07:09.26] <Abigale> There is a lot of balancing to be done and they are starting to do regular pvp tests now, several times a week. So I guess my pvp skills are going to get a work out whether I like it or not! :)
 * [07:09.26] <Europe> Amary sounds like a warden
 * [07:09.53] <Brangdha> Abi, just roll a pure tank and everyone will ignore you. ;)
 * [07:10.01] <Entropy> rofl
 * [07:10.09] <Alderius> unless you go after healer
 * [07:10.12] <AutomaticZen> Depends on if those taunts force attacking.
 * [07:10.16] <Mira> at least you're having fun, right?
 * [07:10.19] <Nalerian> aye, paladin/void knight and no one will touch you
 * [07:10.27] <Abigale> I killed a few people. And they were people I knew! I don't like killing my friends. I am a totalcare bear ;)
 * [07:10.36] <Anasazi> be a thief and just hide and backstab
 * [07:10.42] Abigale: Did you get to kill Simon?
 * [07:10.43] <Brangdha> But friends always mess with each other!
 * [07:10.44] <Amary> I didn't know her character name, Abi probably killed me in there, too. :(
 * [07:10.52] <AutomaticZen> Awww...
 * [07:10.55] dibs on 'totalcare' name when rift goes live
 * [07:10.56] <Abigale> I'll never tell ;)
 * [07:11.00] <Brangdha> lol
 * [07:11.07] <Sylvrin> think of it tis way...it;s like beating them at a game of chess, they don't really die.
 * [07:11.15] <Oabe> still say end of beta event simon hunting
 * [07:11.15] <Nalerian> all this care bear stuff.. I bet she's a monster in PvP
 * [07:11.18] <Anasazi> do you guys have a healthcare program for thos egetting hurt in pvp?
 * [07:11.21] <Mira> so...what was the feedback?
 * [07:11.26] <Ravel> How many where in the fight, was it free for all, or staged, or...
 * [07:11.30] <Haaken> Total bare care bear
 * [07:11.36] <G0kuenuan> did any1 lag during the big pvp fight?
 * [07:11.49] <Tirith> You rarely see master chess players jump on the table and scream "HA! PWNED JU N00B!" after a match though =P
 * [07:11.51] <Abigale> A lot of the feedback was about balance. Which was to be expected
 * [07:12.20] <Sylvrin> true Trith
 * [07:12.22] <Abigale> I didn't notice any lag. I was concentrating on the fighting :)
 * [07:12.23] <Brangdha> Have you gone through the beta app thread some already or is that waiting until you start inviting people?
 * [07:12.25] <Haaken> Tirith, that's how I roll when i play chess
 * [07:12.28] <Massabik> is the balance going to be more just for in PvP, or is it going to affect PvE?
 * [07:12.32] <Nagoth> which spec/soul killed you the most? :P
 * [07:12.38] <Amary> It was running really smooth for me, actually, I didn't even notice/think about it lagwise
 * [07:12.57] <Abigale> Same here, Amary. I didn't notice any either
 * [07:12.59] <G0kuenuan> im worried that i have to turn off Players again, like in aion :(
 * [07:13.00] <Jaudark> well I don't expect lag when the server is in the same building
 * [07:13.02] <Jaudark> tbh
 * [07:13.10] <Brangdha> heheh
 * [07:13.11] <Abigale> I was at home ;)
 * [07:13.21] <Jaudark> ah
 * [07:13.27] <Oabe> phahaha
 * [07:13.28] what's your usual ping value then?
 * [07:13.30] <Ciovala> well, i'd not expect network lag, more lag due to all the spell effects and people on screen :)
 * [07:13.39] <Brangdha> frame lag, you mean
 * [07:13.48] <G0kuenuan> not worried about internet lag, 100 mbs connection should be enough :)
 * [07:13.49] <Abigale> We are allowed to play from home. Most people stayed here in the office to play but I went home and lpayed from there
 * [07:13.55] there is 'server lag' component, too >_>
 * [07:14.03] <Haaken> G0kuenuan don't think you should be so worried, Without knowing it for sure, I don't think you will have 200 players all flying around between eachother like in Aion
 * [07:14.13] <bc> no such thing as lag. ! :P
 * [07:14.23] <Oabe> lag is a myth
 * [07:14.28] <Brangdha> I wish
 * [07:14.38] * Ciovala waves her hand.
 * [07:14.43] <Ciovala> This is not the lag you're looking for
 * [07:14.44] lagging aas intended.
 * [07:14.47] <Braen> Iraqi Information Minister: There is no lag here!
 * [07:14.51] <Amary> I stayed here at the office and listening to some of the comments coming from the other rooms of the office was pretty entertaining :D
 * [07:14.56] <Brangdha> There will always be lag until internet gets sub 1ms latency world-wide
 * [07:15.05] <Traldan> What are the best specs for ganking? :P
 * [07:15.09] <Ciovala> so we need faster than light comms
 * [07:15.10] <Kula> Lots of shouting, Amary?
 * [07:15.17] <Braen> Pentium Pros
 * [07:15.20] <Brangdha> yep
 * [07:15.25] * RIRCGuest976 is now known as Junaya
 * [07:15.34] <Amary> I wouldn't say "shouting" ... mostly just very, um, passionate commentary :)
 * [07:15.34] <Junaya> hi all^^
 * [07:15.45] <Mira> Can you be more specific about the PvP play yall did?
 * [07:15.57] <G0kuenuan> the number of participants pls :D
 * [07:16.08] <Jaudark> fbombs!
 * [07:16.12] <Foghladha> was there a catapult involved?
 * [07:16.13] fork bomb?
 * [07:16.30] no, he means fetus bomb
 * [07:16.36] <Ciovala> ...
 * [07:16.36] (a meme, google it)
 * [07:16.39] <Braen> I don't like bombs either Jaudark
 * [07:16.55] <Nagoth> AoE Spells.... yum
 * [07:16.57] <Abigale> Well, I didn't do to well. I came in late and just ran around killing. Like I said, I am no good at pvp. I never really did learn the strategies. But I have had that problem every time I try to pvp lol
 * [07:17.08] <Entropy> faction V faction PvP?
 * [07:17.12] <Abigale> Yes
 * [07:17.21] <G0kuenuan> the number of participants pls :D aprox.
 * [07:17.25] <Mira> while doing a rift?
 * [07:17.25] <Entropy> ~WIN!
 * [07:17.29] * eqisow is now known as Isow
 * [07:17.44] <Apoth> instanced battleground or open world PVP? ;)
 * [07:18.01] <Haaken> *cough* Warfront
 * [07:18.13] <Entropy> please say open world, please say open world :p
 * [07:18.15] <Abigale> Instanced for these tests. The server is pvp but we just logged on for the Warfront tests
 * [07:18.31] <Calcifar> official dev chat ?
 * [07:18.50] <Jaudark> official community managers chat more like
 * [07:18.51] <Brangdha> siege PvP?
 * [07:18.51] <Nagoth> AbiChat
 * [07:18.55] <Ciovala> Abigale and Amary are here this evening, CMs
 * [07:18.56] <Brangdha> Open > instanced
 * [07:18.56] <Braen> <--- That way
 * [07:19.01] <Abigale> I can't share a whole lot more about it as this is the time that they are making changes.
 * [07:19.02] <Amary> The A-Team Chat. :)
 * [07:20.18] <Abigale> I really enjoyed reading what the devs had to say though. They were so excited to see people logging in and playing and then they just devoured the feeedback
 * [07:20.56] <Abigale> I have seen little groups around discussing the play sessions and coming up with solutions and ideas. It's really cool to hear these conversations
 * [07:22.02] <Abigale> Ok, I'll answer a few of the questions coming in that I can answer


 * [07:22.16] <Rifty> Thekk asks: Besides the Soul System and Rift events, what other features of this game stand out for you?
 * [07:23.36] <Abigale> One things that stands out is the beauty of the world. It is so alive! There is movement and interaction among the NPC's, there is beautiful scenery...
 * [07:24.09] <Abigale> I often find myself stopping to look at a vista or exploring a city. I haven't done much of that in a long time
 * [07:24.52] <Abigale> The screenshots just don't do the game justice. I can't wait for you guys to see the real thing
 * [07:26.17] <Amary> The videos really don't do the game justice IMO :)


 * [07:25.13] <Rifty> Thekk asks: Are we still in track for a Q1 2011 release?
 * [07:25.48] <Abigale> Yes, still planning an early 2011 release. Adam said it on film so it must be true ;)


 * [07:26.07] <Rifty> Unforgiven asks: Been waiting for crafting info for some time now and nothing really solid has come down the line yet. Is crafting getting some kind of a major overhaul?
 * [07:27.09] <Abigale> As I mentioned earlier this week on the forum, we won't be releasing crafting info until it is done being tested.
 * [07:27.37] <Abigale> It's not that we are unhappy with it now. We just want to have plenty of time to test things and make changes based on feedback.
 * [07:28.05] <Abigale> If our crafting dev was here today, all she would be able to say is "Sorry, we can't talk about that ye."
 * [07:28.50] <Abigale> But I know how important crafting is to you guys. So I am asking about it on a regular basis. And the minute I am given the green light, we will tell you all about it! :)


 * [07:29.14] <Rifty> Kula asks: How much interaction between individuals/groups are necessary to close a Rift? and How do you close a Rift?
 * [07:30.42] <Abigale> It depends on the rift. You close a rift by defeating the stages in it. Each stage is a wave of mobs.
 * [07:31.27] <Abigale> I've closed some with just a couple of people and some with 5 or 6. but it's really depended on the lvl of the rift too.
 * [07:32.28] <Abigale> But in addition to rifts, there are strongholds. Last night I was trying to turn in some quests and there was a stronghold on top of the NPCs. I died trying to kill them. So I had to ask if there were others around who could help
 * [07:33.07] <Abigale> someone else of my lvl came along and we closed it together. It took some team work but we did it. Was a lot of fun :)
 * [07:34.31] <Abigale> Yeh, I guess we are calling them footholds. My bad. All I know is I needed to get to the questgiver and those darn flaming trolls wouldn't let me near them! :P


 * [07:34.53] <Rifty> Unforgiven asks: I wasn't able to get to any of the recent conventions :( However, I do live in CA. Are any of the Trion/Rift offices open to the public? I would love to stop in and say hi and see what goes on there.
 * [07:35.36] <Abigale> No, we don't allow visitors. We don't have the time, really. Or a lot of room. Everyone here is busy making the game. BUT...
 * [07:36.46] <Abigale> watch for some news soon about us bringing some visitors in. We would like to do that soon. It's always good to meet with the people who are supporting you. So we are hoping to do something along those lines. Watch for more info on that in the next few weeks :)


 * [07:37.17] <Rifty> Mira asks: What levels were yall playing?
 * [07:38.16] <Abigale> I am playing 6 characters right now. So a wide range of lvls for me. My highest is 35, I think. But I have been using this testing time to try out a lot of different souls and combos. It's been a lot of fun :)
 * [07:38.46] bet she meant "in pvp test", Abi
 * [07:39.06] <Abigale> Oh... in the pvp test, we all started at lvl 20 for this test
 * [07:39.16] <Amary> Yep, level 20 in PvP :)


 * [07:40.20] <Rifty> Thekk asks: Any more community parties coming our way?
 * [07:41.32] <Abigale> I hope so! I am all about community parties. I still miss the fan faires! I will be very happy if we have regular events. What we have said all along is that if the interest is there, we will have them. And it seems so far, people are really hoping we have them.
 * [07:42.24] <Abigale> It's wonderful to meet players face to face. And I found over the years that i ran the fan faires that people really enjoyed them so they could meet and hang out with each other.
 * [07:42.39] <Abigale> Nothing like getting 1500 gamers together in a hotel bar. ;)
 * [07:43.34] <Abigale> Someday I am going to write a book about all the cool things that happened at fan faires. So yea, if I have anything to say about it, we'll be having fan events :)


 * [07:44.19] <Rifty> darkheals asks: Could the strong holds move to take over major citys or just outside towns
 * [07:44.32] <Dosi> what happens at FF stays at FF :)
 * [07:44.59] <Abigale> Whoa! Dosi, I haven't heard that phrase in a long time! That was my saying! :)
 * [07:46.08] <Abigale> Ok...so back to the questions. Yes, footholds can take over cities, I beleive. But again, that is somethign that can change


 * [07:46.43] <Rifty> Sylvrin asks: Regarding the Name a Soul for Rift thread, there have been lots of suggestions, will we be seeing a poll soon?
 * [07:47.24] <Abigale> Yes. We should have the poll up on Monday, most likely. We'll leave the poll open a few days and then we will have our winner :)


 * [07:47.49] <Rifty> Calcifar asks: how are you intending to ensure high quality feedback from beta tester and letting in the "right" crowd of players.
 * [07:49.32] <Abigale> Well, the "right" crowd of players is the tricky part, right? SO we are working on getting a good cross section of people in beta and alpha. While it is important to have people from the community (and we will continue to add you) we also look to other places, such as people who have tested for us before and done a good job.
 * [07:50.44] <Abigale> Remember that most of us here have tested games before...
 * [07:50.57] <Abigale> so we know a lot of testers.
 * [07:51.39] <Abigale> But don't worry... community members are very important to us and we will see that you get your chance :)
 * [07:52.32] <Abigale> No beta selection system is perfect. Adn we will never be able to make everyone happy unless we just open the server to everyone. But we are really trying to take care of you :)


 * [07:52.52] <Rifty> Unforgiven asks: There seems to be a belief that high post counts better beta chances. Is this true?
 * [07:53.39] <Abigale> It depends on the posts. We don't just look at post count and say, "hey, this guy has 500 posts, let's put him into beta"
 * [07:54.10] <Abigale> We look at posts people make and what they contribute. But mostly at how someone expresses him or herelf
 * [07:55.08] <Abigale> 500 posts that don't say much are not worth as much as 10 posts that are well written and really communicate well
 * [07:56.10] <Abigale> Guys, remember this... we read the forums EVERY DAY. I read them probably 20 times a day. Don't you think we have gotten to know who is who just as well as you have? ;)
 * [07:57.02] <Abigale> We see who starts posting when it's beta talk and who has been here all along contributing to the community
 * [07:58.44] <Abigale> You guys know there are some community people in alpha. There will be more added as we can. But it all comes down to numbers. We can only add a few at a time until we have what we need. But we will add as many of you as we can.
 * [07:59.05] <Raive> Pfft I've been losing steam, been posting my thoughts since June of 09 don't think I can push my thoughts any further
 * [07:59.46] <Abigale> And it is appreciated, Raive. You are very well recognized around here for your contribution to the community :)


 * [08:01.32] <Rifty> Raive asks: Can you elaborate on your community leader post from last week?
 * [08:02.35] <Abigale> My whole purpose of the thread was to just get the discussion going on who and what the community leaders are. There had been some misconceptions, I thought.
 * [08:03.43] <Abigale> Some folks seemed to have an impression that I was selecting people to be community leaders. But I wanted to talk about the fact that leaders are really who you see as leaders. Not necessarily just me.
 * [08:03.47] <Abigale> That make sense?
 * [08:04.54] <Abigale> And I really did want to see if you guys saw the same people as leaders that I do. And it was pretty spot on :)