Aruspex's ingame diplomacy chatlog!

This log has been editted by the Vanguard Spheres staff to remove spam and unanswered questions from the beta testers on hand.

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Aruspex broadcasts, "Good evening beta testers. If you enter Bordinar's Cleft right now, you will notice you receive five buffs just for walking into the city. This is the fruits of the Civic Diplomacy work that diplomacy players have done. If you wish to discuss Diplomacy and how it works on a larger scale, /join dip and we will start that discussion shortly.
Aruspex: Hi folks, my name is Aruspex, the lead for the diplomacy team. We'll be starting this discussion shortly.
Aruspex: As you can see, I have no vocal control, so I'm just going to shout over any noise.
Faldari: Not very diplomatic
Aruspex: Shout is its own diplomacy
Aruspex: Afk for a minute, then we'll start
Fisdatin: Aru plays with Demand, not inspire Faldari.
Aruspex: (In real life I play inspire, and sometimes demand. )
Aruspex: I see you have a lot of questions about diplo, and I want to hit as many high points as possible. First I'd like to talk about civic diplomacy, the next system for diplomacy coming to a beta near you.
Aruspex: After I talk about civic diplomacy, I'll touch on the bugs we're all experiencing, and what we're doing about them
Mcfox: Aruspex, Apprentic Mog (Ca'ial Brael, Nook's Discover quest from Raki diplomacy line) seems to have problem....I can't open any window with him I petitionned (and waiting) and so I can't continue the line
Aruspex: Bugs are best reported, however, to the forums in the continental threads, or via /bug report
Aruspex: Ok, ready? time to speechify.
Aruspex: Most of you have probably seen the newbie lines we have built for diplomacy, these are solo experiences that stress lore and teaching you how to play.
Aruspex: Civic diplomacy becomes available as you leave the newbie lines.
Aruspex: Most cities in the game, and many outposts as well, now have pillars/trees with bulletin boards around them.
Aruspex: They are currently not functional, but are right now a good meeting place for diplomats to meet and discuss how they will do civic diplomacy in an area.
Aruspex: Burnt ones, incidentally, indicate our second pass of civic places, the whole ones will have civic in them in the coming weeks.
Aruspex: The boards will allow you to at a glance see the status of each city's civic diplomacy
Aruspex: Civic diplomacy can be done by individuals, but it quickly becomes tedious. Where the system comes into its own is when groups of players tackle a common goal.
Aruspex: Each city has between 5 and 35 levers in them.
Aruspex: These levers can be pulled by players winning a parley against any NPC in the city.
Aruspex: Also, when you pull a lever, between 0 and 4 other levers go down in response.
Aruspex: The levers thus oppose each other.
Sargblug: literal or metaphorical levers?
Aruspex: Netaphorical levers
Aruspex: As you win civic parleys, you will gain a special type of loot called information that can be turned in for diplomacy loot and other loot.
Aruspex: You also will gain faction, prestige faction, and presence
Aruspex: When these levers hit a specific threshold (50 points in beta now), a buff, event, or spawn will occur in the city.
Aruspex: Right now this is a straightforward system of buffs.
Aruspex: The regional trade system is a subset of civic diplomacy, centering around the vendors in a city.
Aruspex: Six buffs in bordinar's
Aruspex: The regional trade system and other systems are (or will be) described at our affiliate website vgtact.com.
Aruspex: Also, I have a few posts to try and dig up in our official forums.
Aruspex: The buffs you receive are adventuring, harvesting, crafting, and diplomacy buffs, depending on the lever.
Aruspex: Rather than keep talking, I'll take questions right now about the subject of civic diplomacy. After that I will take questions about anything else in diplomacy.
Aruspex: In case you are wondering who I am, my name is Aruspex, AKA Steve Williams, the diplomacy lead dev and one of the creators of our diplomacy system.
Bendore: Did you add the Burma Shave line?
Aruspex: All the placeholder text is mine, yes.
Seishiro: Is there still going to be substantial dip rewards like a horse?
Aruspex: Horse quest is going back in this week or next, along with a civic diplomacy training quest.
Soulsyk: Are these metaphoric levers at all tied to the expression categories that each town seems to be more inclined towards?
Aruspex: Each lever is tied to one specific buff, event, or spawn
Trally: Soulsyk, levers are grouped together by type...academic, soldier, domestic, etc...
Rekalek: What's the rough plan for when/how many cities will be set for civic?
Aruspex: Civic diplomacy has the potential to be regional and continental
Jinkie: Where do we turn in the information for the Dip loot, etc?
Trally: thats not in yet, jinkie
Aruspex: We have the code in for that now, we just need to catch up.
Aruspex: In case you haven't guessed, my diplomacy team is one of the newest teams in vanguard, so we will be behind the other spheres at launch.
Rekash: Is it possible to start civic before finishing the newbie lines? Im stuck on 1 encounter and will need more cards to win it.
Aruspex: Presence controls access to all parleys after your newbie quests. You will need much presence, which is mostly available on your clothing, to do civic and quests and other things in diplomacy.
Hothtank: When you say spawn, do you mean a mob or npc quest giver or..?
Aruspex: Hothtank, we can use the spawns to spawn raids, to spawn merchants, to spawn quest givers...
Aruspex: Im way behind on questions, so bear with me
Bendore: My big questions...When will we be able to play against other players? Npc's wont ever think as much.
Aruspex: Phase one of diplomacy pvp will be a dueling system. Much of it is in now, but will not be ready for launch.
Aruspex: Phase two of diplomacy pvp will be akin to political parties you can join and defeat other political parties.
Rekash: Will there be diplo PVP on PVE serverS?
Aruspex: Diplomacy PVP is intended for all servers, since it is opt-in.
Soulsyk: We need a raid format for dip
Aruspex: We have plans for diplomacy raids, I won't be talking about that tonight.
Aruspex: Ok, next topic - civic loot
Aruspex: Civic diplomacy will shortly be giving only cash loot, information, faction, presence, and prestige faction.
Aruspex: Information will be turned into special information brokers scattered throughout the continents.
Aruspex: Depending on the broker, you will receive specific loot from a giant loot table.
Aruspex: The advantage is you will learn what sort of loot drops from which broker.
Aruspex: For instance, a blackmail broker will drop head, neck and head items.
Aruspex: So it is random loot, yes, but you have some say in what you get.
Aruspex: Now, there is also boobie prizes on some brokers, things like cash, adventuring items (not great ones) and consumables like food and drink.
Fisdatin: A perfect example of cross-sphere loot you can get from diplomacy quests is: Limited Wooden High Elf Lesser Mask of Illusion
Aruspex: Glad it is working now Fisdatin
Aruspex: Yes, there is cross sphere loot as you progress in diplomacy
Aruspex: The next system that goes in after civic is the writs system, which provides special crafter loot and gems. inlay, and other items that will go into a mask that gives you adventuring bonuses.
Dorakk: Aruspex, are we still supposed to have the cards that were a result of those civic buffs?
Aruspex: Dorakk, no, but with the crash, the region server probably remembers the lever level, but the local server doesn't.
Aruspex: Or vice versa.
Mcfox: Will we be able to down merchant price with parley (as in morrowind as instance, but with parley)?
Aruspex: Ah, so the newest system that is my pleasure to announce is...
Aruspex: Haggling will be in by launch.
Aruspex: Through performing certain diplomacy tasks tbd (we have a plan, just not solid yet), you can give yourslef a permanent decrease to certain built in costs in the game.
Aruspex: This is the first announcement of this system, btw.
Khurne: Example?
Aruspex: I know for a fact that it decreases the cost to put items on the auction house.
Aruspex: Ok, I missed a bunch of questions, so let me try and pick a couple of them up.
Aruspex: And yes, haggling was a fun fight for us to win in diploland
Xorhan: In which cities do I find writs already? Only the dwarven one?
Aruspex: First: Civic diplomacy will be active in 17 places at launch. Writs will be active in possibly two cities at launch.
Khelgarr: I think there should be special diplo mounts
Aruspex: Yes, there is a horse quest going live soon that gives you a free horse.
Cadyenie: Only 1?
Aruspex: Nine per continent
Aruspex: You will be required to have an adventuring or crafting level of 10, before you complain, there will always be rewards that require cross sphere accomplishment to achieve.
Aruspex: Ok, next question?
Sargblug: Will adv/crafting limits always hinder diplomacy or will this pahse out as it becomes a full sphere?
Aruspex: Sargblug, there will always be cross-sphere requirements ofr some rewards
Rekash: Will you havem y babies, Aruspex?
Aruspex: I do not indiscriminantely have babies, Rekash, sorry.
Tangitt: Do we have to haggle with each merchant?
Aruspex: Haggling will be a permanent decrease you carry, not a thing you do each time.
Tangitt: Permanent as in all over the world?
Aruspex: Permanent haggling by continent.
Aruspex: So you have your Thestran, Kojani, and Qalian bonuses.
Khelgarr: What level do diplo classes come at and what are they?
Aruspex: Diplomacy classes are post-launch. They are a customization tool, and provide penalties as well as benefits.
Aruspex: Trally, do you have the names of the diplomacy classes and sub-classes at your site?
Trally: Yes
Gelu: Trally whats your site?
Trally: In the FAQ, which isn ow relatively out of date
Trally: www.vgtact.com
Trally: I'm logging chat now, and will try to update the FAQ as I can with this new info.
Lafak: I still dont understand the flag concept
Aruspex: Lafak, if you go into Bordinar's, Lomshir, or Konarthi Point and type /citystatus, you will see the state of each lever.
Caffy: will you be able to specialize in a specific area of diplomacy with optional special cards that go towards that class?
Aruspex: Caffy, that is exactly the intent of diplomacy classes and sub-classes.
Aruspex: Traldan runs our diplomacy affiliate website www.vgtact.com. I endorse this product or publication.
Pirotess: I'm logging for Vanguard spheres too.
Aruspex: oh, and while i am flogging websites, there are lots of great affiliates out there. i am choosing to endorse vgtact now, but there are great other sites out there. when the game launches, this is where you will find me, as our own forums will be closing.
McFox: What can we expect post launch for dip except classes ?
Aruspex: mcfox, there are a large number of systems we designed for diplomacy, ranging from civic diplomacy to epic quests that cross several continents and require crafter or adventurers to help you.
Lafak: Steve, could you discuss the benefits and disadvantages of the many races in diplomacy
Aruspex: racially, each race has a preferred expression color (demand, inspire, etc.)
Aruspex: you adventuring class also has a preferred color. your adventuring class (and potentially your crafting class) will unlock a special card later in your progression.
Aruspex: approximately skill 300 is the plan. this is a post-launch reward.
Khelgarr: So what your telling me that each race will play a race card aruspex
Aruspex: yes, khelgarr, we play the race card daily here.
Lafak: I've noticed goblin's preferred expression is reason
Aruspex: lafak, this is true. goblins are a smart, reasonable race.
Subby: Are Writs still in atm?
Fisdatin: There is at least 1 functional writ, and it is now completable thanks to Aru's fix.
Aruspex: i won't go into detail about writs right this second. they require defeating placeholders to get to the quest giver. they require you to travel cross-continent.
Aruspex: but while i'm talking post-launch, there are embassies, which is diplomacy with other races like gnolls, beholders, giants, ksaravi, etc.
Aruspex: missions whic are epic quests on behalf of a major government to another government, and the consul system, which allows you, the player, to hand out quests to other players.
Solaar: Do we get the icon above our head?
Aruspex: solaar, not in the plan, sorry.
Aruspex: i know you want to know our plans for diplomacy and player cities, but they actually rap my knuckles when i try to talk about it.
McFox: Will there be sort of quest which will influ on the world for a relatively long time period ?
Aruspex: mcfox, the civic diplomacy code and how we, the designers create the levers allows us to create regional and continental lever.
Aruspex: in a test involving moving a lever to 1000, we caused spawns all over thestra.
Ethion: Should city buffs take hold when you enter the city? I didn't get my bufs back when I logged back on.
Aruspex: ethion, there may be a bug there. the way the servers communicate can be finicky.
Sargblug: So these levers can impact things players actually SEE, not just immaterial buffs. Like a military lever might cause more guards to appear all over?
Aruspex: yes, sargblug. also, in places like new targonor, it will affect the noble houses that vie for the city.
Aruspex: literally, some quests will not be available if the house's enemies are winning.
Khelgarr: Will the basic mechanics of diplo change in the future by getting more advanced such as magic the gathering getting block progress cards or traps or some such?
Aruspex: khelgarr, we have plans for expansion of the card game, yes.
Aruspex: i can't make any promises, but what we tested before it all got coded (with paper and dice lol) is a natural evolution of this "basic set"
Rekash: When will the appearance of the diplomacy cards be finalised? They are currently still stretchy and kindda ugly.
Aruspex: rekash, i saw ben thompson's icons on friday, they look hilariously good.
Rekash: Thank you! Will they be in before release?
Aruspex: yes, rekash, they will be in before release. once the art is done, it is trivial for us to attach them to the card.
Aruspex: we are seeing if we can squeeze a couple more combinations before we attach them to the cards.
Aruspex: they are combinations of faces and hands.
Sargblug: So you might release new editions, like MtG? Will you be able to mix and match cards from multiple sets?
Aruspex: sargblug, sounds like a money maker to me!
Aruspex: and that makes me excited as a developer.
Khelgarr: What was the orginal concept for diplo?
Aruspex: you mean before this system? i'm afraid i can't talk about that, except to say that i like this system better.
Remmion: When will the hadcopy editions be available for us to play when the servers are down?
Aruspex: remmion, our partners at soe do have a card company.... but no, no rumors please, we have talked and joked about a paper version, but there is nothing to announce at this time.
Aruspex: i think it makes sense.
McFox: So ? any deck save option ?
Aruspex: mcfox, there is a huge list of ui upgrades in the pipeline for this system.
Aruspex: card save, card sorting, card resizing, multiple deck save options...
McFox: Will it be at launch or post launch ?
Aruspex: i can't promise timelines on this stuff, but we have code time allocated to all of these, likely post-launch, if the system is as well received as it has been so far.
Aruspex: ok, final questions? i need to get some sleep.
Brandus: Will there be special events planned in the future, like possibly government elections?
Aruspex: brandus, yes, we hope to have an election and npc power system post-launch.
Caffy: How will diplomacy work with player made cities?
Aruspex: caffy, they rap my knuckles when i talk about that.
Finnian: Will civil dip be like work orders, in how we level up skills, so we can do it unlimited?
Aruspex: finnian, civic diplomacy is unlimited and always available.
Jinkie: Aru, thank you to you and your team for all the hard work
Brandus: ya, thanks alot Aruspex for the Q&A
Aruspex: Hang in there with us, guys. our plan involves the player having many moving parts to play with in our game world. as long as they have us working on the system, it'll grow like crazy.
Aruspex: thank you all for your support, and i'll see you all later.