Dacy

Okay! New update on Test! Looks like concerns were listened to...check it out! Also, this on patch notes, don't know if anyone noticed, bc they weren't there on the first ones: The editor items have been reorganized and search functions have been added. The reorganization focused on categorizing items according to function as much as possible, while also disturbing the familiar order of things as little as possible. A great deal of information about items was added into the Info tab. The improved search features include a visible marker that there actually is a search field, a detail that had escaped the attention of some, plus being able to search with two terms, and a vast expansion of what is searchable. Requests for more information on editing commands has also been heard, with information on both editing and searching now available under Options on the editor menu. The reorganization focused on categorizing items according to function as much as possible, while still adhering to the familiar structure overall.Emphasis was put on reducing the number of tabs, based on player feedback, and wherever possible the number of items within each tab was kept within a consistent range, which also kept the number of tabs overall lower. To help newer builders understand which items are actually needed in a services base, only the items that are functional and not duplicated were pulled into the Base Services tab, in both arcane and tech styles. Items that are functional but not strictly necessary due to changes from Live have "Legacy" added to their names. Items that used to have a function but now do not are labeled "obsolete". The obsolete, legacy, and inactive items were dispersed to tabs according to their style or perceived function, and may still be used by those that prefer to use them. There was a massive amount of information added to the "Info" tab, and this is the field the search uses, and also there was more information added in the "Object" window. All is searchable; your search will return anything with the word or part of the word that you type without a #, and only things with those keywords if you use a #. Characteristics that were catalogued and are searchable include: Size: Tiny, Small, Large, and Huge. Only the smallest and largest sizes to keep it easy to remember. Tiny is less than 1' in any dimension. Small is less than 2' in any dimension. Large is larger than 64' in any direction, but not over 128'. Huge is over 128' or requires clipping to be enabled to place. Appearance: Materials item seems to be made of, such as metal, wood, stone. Functions: What the item is and what it is used for, including how experienced builders might commonly use it. Color: Major color or colors of item, and whether it is tintable, and what parts may be colored if so. Shape: Basic shape of object or of accessible sides. Mesh coverage: Is the object complete, one sided, or complete on most sides? Sound: Does the object make any noise, and is it loud or subtle? FX: Does the item have FX, or, are parts of the item processed as FX that disappear or change behind things that block fx, such as some water tiles or some glass? Light: Does the item work as a light source? Is the light colored? Does it come on at night? Further information was also given in the Info tab, such as special uses the item might have, and tips on using the item in unique ways if applicable, and unique characteristics, such as items that have no collision. Some of this information is also noted in the Object window, as well as things such as where the object will attach, and if it functions as a floor or wall, etc. All of these things are searchable by #keywords, one to two characteristics at a time, and the applicable keywords are all listed, as well as the object name and tab location. The improved search field now has the word "Search" that calls attention to the field's presence. The search will match whatever string you type in by returning anything that matches your input exactly, so, for example if you type in "table" you get tables, but you also get anything listed as "tintable". However, if you use the # in front of your word, you will only get the items with that search term; in this case, #table would only return tables. Items that have been moved from familiar tabs can usually be gathered together by typing "#item" such as, #NPC, which will bring up all the NPCs. #Bar would bring up all bar related items, regardless of whether "bar" was in the object name or not. #Tint, #flat would bring up all items that may be tinted and have at least one flat side, and so forth. I can see several differences. What do you think?

This is the way New tags have worked in the past. When new items come in, items that were previously the "new" ones lose the tag, and it's given to the incoming items. So I imagine that they will continue to be noted like that, only this time as keywords instead of as (new) in the name. As far as the bindable base commands go, there is a list of commands on the forums, so you definitely can bind those if you need to, but I think they might need to be specific as to what anglesnap degree you wanted, or what gridsnap you need, unless there's a way to increment it with a bind, but I do not know enough of binds to be able to answer that. You will find these in the "cheat sheet" section under the pinned "Base Building Guide & Community Base Directory" topic in base building. Here are the commands you can bind: /edit_base [1/0] = Turn base editing on or off. 1 = on, 0 = off /grid_snap [value] = Set item placement grid to [value] degrees. Default grid = 1 /angle_snap [value] = Set rotation value to [value] degrees. Default snap = 5 /room_clip [1/0] -- 0 = In parent room, 1 = no constraints /see_everything [1/0] = See the boundary boxes for everything in the base. 1 = on, 0 = off I hope these help.

Oh dear. Good catch!! I'm sure that that will be looked at!

I've double checked to be sure, just wanted to be sure that everyone knows that nothing has been removed from the editor. In this example, the notoriety contacts are exactly where they always have been: in the NPC tab. The base services tab is what is new, here, and from what I can see, it is only listing things that are needed to set up services, although technically, the two lower tier buff machines are not needed, since they are just items that dispense fewer buffs than the largest one does. They are things that used to be built from personal salvage (anyone remember those days?) and you had to build the first tier, then build up to the second and so forth. Now you can just go top tier for free! So maybe those should be removed, to keep it consistent.

There isn't a broken one, but there is one that does not have a function in bases now. Is that what you meant?

You know? I had some problems with that object when placing it once on test. It looked like the inactive version. I double checked...yep, it was supposed to be active. Hmm. I replaced it. Still nothing. I checked power...yeah, I had power. I think I got out of edit mode to see if it was like that outside of editing, and it was. Then entered edit again, and poof, it was working! And I did not jigger the power structure. So there may just be a weirdness with that piece. Some pieces have...idiosyncracies. Recently discovered, thanks to someone who reported it, that the Loremaster trainer did not function if the room was less than 2x2, or if he was in a doorway. Weird. And am currently trying to figure out what the heck with a base where all the placed skies are Nightward in one area in a base where the overall sky used to be Cimerora, The overall sky was switched to Space, and now suddenly, the Nightward section is showing as Cimerora...but only for a while. Bases be weird sometimes. 🙂 But back to the editor. I notice there are two power crystals. One is an actual power object, a table with a crystal, and one is a defunct defense item. Seems like we should change the name of one of them. Which one, do you think? There are six of the obsolete power crystals from defense, differing in size and the active ones spin slowly and the inactive ones sway, and only one power item, like I said, a small table with a crystal on it. Which should be renamed, and to what, do you think?

I should think that the keyword system is ideal for such, yes. If you're reading this and haven't given feedback, please do. If you've given feedback, please encourage others to weigh in. If changes are to be made, NOW is the time to let them know! It's not like I would expect every suggestion to be implemented, because things like programming restrictions and considerations of what's usable for the most people will weigh in, but that's exactly why hearing from people is so valuable.

I find the info tab very helpful; if you have questions about either how to find something, or what uses it has, or special features, check the info tab! And if you do on control items, you will see that they are not needed to run a base, like they were on Live, and any of the main power items also already has the control needed. The only items that actually need power to run are medical items (with the exception of the nurse NPC). You can run the entire base without power if you do not have medical included. That is, I think, the thing I like most: the amount of information in the info tab. Take a look!

Okay, so, feedback people! Let's let them know, because there's been a bit of a disagreement on the base services tab as to organization. Obviously, we'd like it organized in a way that suits the majority of people and how they think, but the only way to determine that is to let them HEAR from a lot of people as to what they think! (So sue me, I really prioritize usability!) So. Things to consider: What order do you want to see things in? Objects such as storage first, items such as base buffs/tip mission devices and such first, NPC services first, medical and power first? Which do you think works better, having all the arcane items together and then all the tech items together, to save bouncing all over the tab when you're doing things thematically? Or having items with the same function together so you can see what your options are for that sort of equipment? Let's let thoughts be known so that it's logical and usable for as many of us as possible. (Hopefully 🙂) And of course, any other thoughts you have on the organization. The editor has been complained about for a long time, it's organization has been a bit chaotic, this is a move in the right direction, I think, and here is our chance to fine tune anything that's not quite right yet.

That is an awesome idea! Have no idea if they could do it, but it would not only be helpful for new people, it would reduce overall item count. However, you'd have to get agreement on how the zones were to be organized! 🙂 Which might not be a small feat, but as long as the other option to create your own remained, I think it would be fine to do it however. I DO know, however, that without major reprogramming, no more teleport points will ever be available , sadly. But we can hope that at some point, they are able to do the reprogramming. Cobalt was able to remove the star texture (YAY, COBALT!!) very quickly, perhaps he'd be willing to consider putting together some teleporters with beacons, if that is even possible. Without a dedicated base artist, item creation has had to take a way, way back seat.

Nice catch, Ultra! I also agree with your assessment of the order of things in the base service tab. I would love to see that changed if possible. Personally, I'd like to see the workshop things first, like storage, then work tables, then buff machines, mission computer, oracle, Ouros crystal, then medical rez and dispenser items and then NPCs and then power items. I can see why the Nurse NPC is back with the medical things, but it'd be preferable to have her with the other NPCs, so having the medical things before the NPCs would mean that issue would be solved. And I disliked the other NPCs being interrupted by items.

As far as I can tell, base services only includes relevant and functional services. For me, I love this because I cannot count how many new bases I go into and I see all kinds of things that no longer do anything. But people don’t know that they no longer do anything and so they’ve put them in because they were in the tab. If you read the description, you’ll see that control items are no longer necessary on their own. The power items in the base tab include control. And power is only needed for medical items. Also, I think the power of crystals must be misnamed because they do not do power. In fact, it seems to me they may even be in base defenses, which no longer work at all. I’ll have to look at that, because I just can’t remember right now. #Signs will bring up all of the signs and poof, you’ve made your own tab (for the moment). Clearly, there’s been an effort to reduce the number of tabs. As to the garbage cans being in garbage, that’s where they are now. But I could definitely see them being moved to room details. If you want to know where the mission tips inactive computer is, go ahead and search for it. The information in the tab will now tell you what tab it’s under. That’s true for anything where you can’t figure out where it’s at now. My guess would be that it’s under the computer/monitor type section. Being away from my computer right now, I can’t double check that.

From what I’ve heard, the UI interface is a pain to program and touchy, so that might not be on the table. The organization is definitely something established base builders are going to have to get used to because it’s new, and like all new things is a little bit awkward at first, but at least the search function, if that’s how you find things, is still the same in that regard. And you can now search for things with the hashtags for greater specificity. As for item organization within tabs, I’m sure any comments here will help them figure out improvements if they can be made. One thing I noticed, is if you use the hashtags to look for something you’re used to seeing all together like the NPC‘s, type #NPC and boom, there they all are. Which, given the size of the scroll bar, might even be easier than scrolling. Not sure that works for every original tab, but it’s easy to try. This is when testing comes in handy, right? Right now is the time to make suggestions for things you’d like to see. I like being able to search for things without having to know the specific item name. But I had all the locations memorized from the old interface, so it’s gonna be a learning curve for me. Still, there were times when I could not remember which tab something was in because the location didn’t always make sense to me. So we’ll see how this shakes out.

Right!! He was even in my crew, dang it. Well, it was a very busy day. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful words!!

Thanks for coming by! Thanks! I'll pass the word along. 🙂

I think it's really cool, amazing to see people's creativity! That's what I love most about the Witch's House, it's the perfect meeting place for costuming creativity, RP, base creativity, and community. 🙂

The Witch's House, a virtual haunted house with Live monsters held its 5th annual Halloween Treat Giveaway. I think this year was better than ever! As usual, there were new things to see in the House. We had a ton of new scare actors helping us out, which was awesome and necessary, seeing as RL hit hard for many this year, and prevented them from being able to help out, much to their disappointment. The amazing RP community showed up once again, making this fun for all of us! (Haunted houses just are not much fun if people don't interact and race through, you know?) I got the privilege of handing out several billion worth of treats, thanks to amazing donors like @Amur, @ChiliBear, @Marine X, a large anonymous donor, and my helpful backstage support person (you know who you are! 🙂) My scare actors had a wonderful time and I appreciate them SO much, along with the very kind (but very busy!) GM Impervium and also GM Willow, who plugged along even while feeling quite ill (we all hope you're feeling better!) Visitors were overheard saying that the transformation chamber was one of their very favorite things in the House, and it's so appreciated! So, here are just a few of the people we had visit this year; there were many MANY more fabulous costumes and looks I could not capture because perhaps I was too busy, was hoping someone else captured it (you will note a difference in some of these pics, due to who took them). If you don't see your look here, it probably wasn't because I didn't love it, it was just a busy time!! Thank you ALL for coming, from the RPers who kept us laughing and sharing quotes all weekend, to the players who made the effort to transport over from another server (and there were a good number of those), to the xp focused players who decided they'd take a few minutes to see what the announcements were all about, we all really enjoyed having you there, and I hope you got great treats! ( I know the announcements get tiresome, but there is no other way to reach the majority of players; sorry for having to repeat the announcements so often). Thanks to those who helped out by announcing back on their home shards. I simply cannot be logging characters in to all the servers while I'm interacting with people, and certainly not if that also means I'm handing out treats.) Feel free to call out the characters you recognize! But no fair if their name is listed in the photo. 🙂 I noted the names of some, but felt it was unfair to list those when I could not list all. The House (Boo-17189 on Everlasting) remains open for the curious, with a few afk characters scattered about, but most of the time, no monsters, until Maintenance.

Some of the fun costumes and such we've seen this year! Identify if you know who they are! I'll start, because I know most of the first set: Upper Left: that's a Venus Flytrap, a free costume change courtesy of one of our amazing GM helpers, either @GM Willow or @GM Impervium. The venus flytrap was having fun putting themselves in the corner. Upper Right: Our very own House Support, Candy Junkie. Lower left, that's WHALE, and lower right, @wednesdaywoe and, of course, the Hamburglar...not really, but I don't have the name. I didn't write anyone down, which is why I don't have names for these fine folks: (I'm BUSY in there, all right? And my screenshots never capture the UI). So, if you see yourself, please tell us the character's name! I know the left pic of the middle row was a tribute to Thomas the Tank Engine, but unfortunately do not recall the exact name. And there's the Adams' Family tribute, and the great Vader costume. There were also a TON of great looks that I missed because I was swamped when they came through my rather limited view of things, or they came thru *really* quickly and I didn't have time to snap a pic, and some where I was so involved with typing or something, I forgot to snap the pic. I will try and do better for our Live Opening time on Halloween!

Thanks! Just a note, this is from last year, here are the hours for the last weekend we'll be live, plus, it's the GIVEAWAY weekend!

Right. Meant in the game, and I did look Infurno up on Wiki to see, and it did not tell me more than the bio on the character did. I would like to see information on why they are there, what their contributions were. I did see the announcement of GM Cyclone's untimely death, but did not know to connect the character with the person. If they're going to be honored, it's just nice to know why, imo. (I have np with them being honored, in fact I think it's great, tho this topic has apparently been covered before and there is policy I hadn't known about, so not going to delve into the whole topic of memorials. Just would like more info on the ones that are there.)

Thanks. I just think it would be nice to have that info out there. Honoring those who gave much to the game is something I feel has been uniquely COH, and I for one think it's an awesome thing to do.

I was taking the Montague mission in the Library, and noticed, for the first time, (sad but true), Infurno, who's listed as a tribute to a player. That's all. Neither Wiki nor her character info lists who this player was, or why they were given this honor. I think that's very sad! If someone is given an honor like that, I think it should be part of that to say why it was given, at the very least! Also, I think that here on the forums, perhaps in Gone but not Forgotten, there should be a pinned list of who is immortalized, where, and why.

Srmalloy, I really appreciate the popmenu. While we were finishing up the directory compilation, some had mentioned maybe doing a popmenu for the server as whole, tho it never happened. I would seriously love some way for bases to be looked up in game, like you can search for someone for your team, or how you can look up stories in AE. That would be WONDERFUL, wouldn't it? 🙂 Yet another thing to add to the list of things the devs would love to do but prolly don't have time for. 🙂 In the meantime, it's people like you who are moving us forward! Thank you! Since you are skilled at such things, I would love it if you would consider contributing your talents to creating a menu that would work on other shards as well? I just want people to be able to see the amazing creativity this group has to offer. There are fantastic bases out there, and they deserve to be found. And every base and base builder deserves to have a place where they can be listed and people know that they can find them on a comprehensive source of available to the public bases. We're not there yet, but we continue to try. 🙂

Okay, I didn't realize that the room size was the relevant factor, and wouldn't you know it, I didn't test for that. Bad Dacy! You are absolutely correct, that sounds very buggy. If you have not already, please report it in bugs, and I'll put it on the builder's Discord as a known issue. Thank you for not only figuring that out, but calling it out!

Well, we only put in bases that put in to be listed. Except, the TOUR bases have a few that aren’t otherwise listed.