pacov pacov

The September Demigod Community Question Thread

The September Demigod Community Question Thread

Updated on 9/19/2009

Why does this thread exist?  Frogboy suggested we create a monthly question post and agreed to write a dev journal answering the questions as well as possible. 

Who is Frogboy?  Frogboy is the user name of Brad Wardell, the CEO of Stardock.  If anyone can get or provide an answer on anything Demigod related, Frogboy is that guy. 

What should you post in this thread?  Specific, constructive questions that haven't already been previously answered. 

I will be making updates to this list as new questions are added.  Even though we will initially have quite a few questions, the goal will be to get the list down to 10-15 questions. 

Ptarth was kind enough to sift through which questions weren't addressed in last months thread (http://forums.demigodthegame.com/362149).  Here is that list.  New questions will follow after it. 

  1. If the only new maps we can expect are from the modding tools, will we be able to upload maps for other people to play somehow?
  2. Can you provide an update regarding the progress being made towards improving the online ranking and stat tracking?  -- answered to some degree in the sept dg community faq http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502 in Q: What is happening with regards to Demigod online stat tracking and generally improving the multiplayer experience?
  3. Instant cast items are an issue at the moment because they 'stop' your previous action.  Is there going to be a fix for this?
  4. What was your favorite ability that had to be removed for game play issues?  -- frogboy's response:  A: I seem to remember that the Queen of Thorns used to be able to burrow in the ground and come up somewhere else but that could be my imagination.  http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502
  5. Why is it that Gas Powered Games has become a seemingly invisible partner in Demigods development? -- answered to some degree in the august demigod faq http://forums.demigodthegame.com/362335 in Q: Are Gas Powered games happy with the direction Demigod is headed.
  6. Are there any plans for additional game types (conquest/domination/slaughter) within Demigod?  --response from Sorian - This was discussed recently. This actually poses a large problem. For any new game mode added we would have to either make it a player-only mode (and figure out what to if a player drops) or write AI code to support the new mode (very time consuming).
  7. Apart from the features that have already been confirmed to be 'on their way' are there any additional features that can be confirmed as in the works, or at the very least being talked about? Hints threw clever word use is an acceptable answer.
  8. With the Team Features on the horizon, are there any plans at either GPG or SD to push the advertising or promotion of Demigod further?
  9. Stardock/GPG, will you be giving the existing demigods new funny replies? At the moment only TB and Erebus made me seriously chuckle. And of course oak with : This armor itches (LOL!!!)
  10. How much time do you spend reading the Ideas section and what Demigods/Maps did you find interesting there and would consider implementing?  --adressed to some degree in the August community Faq by frogboy http://forums.demigodthegame.com/362335
  11. Is SD/GPG willing to "officalize" and distribute community made maps, mods, items, demigods, and the like if they gain popularity?
  12. Are there any plans for improving the Minion User Interface based on feedback from the community?  -- Frogboy's response:  A: Well, there’s a few things that I’d like to see. I want to know how many of my minions are left from the UI. I’d like to be able to more easily control types of minions from the UI (or at least hot keys).  There are no specific plans at this moment to do anything about it (which merely means we haven’t submitted this request to GPG yet formally).  http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502
  13.  

  14. Is there a chance that the General/Assassin catigorzation will be removed as more hybrid demigods are introduced?
  15. Say a mod that removed the catigorization gains more popularity than the vanilla game, would SD/GPG reconsider the catigorization then?
  16. Are there any plans to fix the bug/exploit where the opposing team can capture the gold mine flag(s) on Cataract while standing outside the range of the towers?  -- per frogboy here http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502, yes - A: Shhhh! Seriously though, yes, it’s something on our list.
  17. GPG has near 100 employees, how many of them are still involved in DG?  -- response from Sorian:  It depends. Currently there are quite a few of us working on it because there is a lot of work going on.
  18. when will first official tournaments start, and how are they designed?
  19. are there still any plans the make the game "server-client"... to make DG more playable for guys with small upload and less infected with lag problems ?
  20. Can we have a game mode added that is 2v2v2 or 3v3v3, with new maps made for more then 2 teams?  --Community answer - The way the game is build there is no way for there to be more than 2 teams unless a major overhaul of the LUA is done.  GPG will most likely not do this since it will take a lot of editing to the dgdata.zip.  so the short answer is no, this will not be added. 
  21. Can you reset the stats for 1.2?  (this is under discussion by the community here - http://forums.demigodthegame.com/363089 - not all want a reset) -- Frogboy's response - stat reset will likely happen with 1.2, but no favor reset.  http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502  in Q: When is Epoch 3 going to come and what stats are going to be changed?
  22. Why is AI added to pantheon and skirmish in the beginning of a game if Demigod is supposed to be a competitive game?
  23. Is there any chance of being able to disable the camera angle resetting on death or being able to remap the camera function keys in the future?
  24. Is the rollover data error on flags under fog of war bug being looked at?
  25. Also is it just me or when playing a general do the select all minions, demigod and demigod and minions buttons not always respond on the first click?
  26. Is it possible to have a dynamic minion spawn rate that lowers the rate at which minions spawn from portals when the game is lagging?
  27. Are demigod likes QoT getting any sort of BUFF in the near future?  --response from frogboy:  we have a request in to buff QoT http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502
  28. Are Sedna's minions going to get tweaked---> lowers mana cost and increasing their hp?
  29. Will Rook's Structural transfer get a look over because currently it is almost useless?
  30. Regulus's level 15 skills seem to be lacking. Any chance of updating these skills?
  31. Are random teams going to be supported? 
  32. Would they (GPG or SD) be able to edit existing maps that are rarely played, such as Brothers and Mandala, into smaller, 3v3 Cataract sized versions?
  33. Are there going to be new favor items?  --this was already answered in August's community faq http://forums.demigodthegame.com/362335 (Frogboy:  "Yes, I do expect some new favor items to go in prior to v1.2 being completed.  We are still evaluating items that were taken out. Sometimes, something that looks good on paper doesn’t work out in online play.")  -- Update the favor items that were removed are coming back in 1.19.  No new word on specific new favor items
  34. Are favor items going to be balanced some more? -- if you want this asked, please provide some specific examples and I'll add it back in.  Generic questions get generic answers. 
  35. When are the 2 new demigods going to be released? They will be added in 1.2... no official eta at this point on 1.2Frogboy's response:  A: The scripts are written, the artwork is getting there. My understanding that the artwork is taking longer than anticipated.
  36. Are there ever going to be passive agressive enemies in new maps?
  37. Is SD / GPG aware of the shambler attack bug and its fix? http://forums.demigodthegame.com/358902
  38. Can we get the evasion cap (30%) removed or increased so we can try evasion builds such as HorseRadishes Can't touch Erebus build in the Strategy section?
  39. Is it possible to update the language file for german users via impulse with the one located here?  http://nokthra.impulsedriven.net/article/347922/A_new_german_translation_for_Demigod_hits_the_ground
  40. Frogboy had a dev journal over here http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364282 where he went over some of the new content that will be in build 1.19.  What is mod-triggered desynch handling?
  41. As there don't currently appear to be any balance enhancements for specific Demigods slated for 1.19, can we expect to see any in the near future?  I noticed in your last dev journal, you mentioned that there are some additional balance updates in internal beta for 1.2?  Are these balance updates for specific demigods, or items, or ?  --response from frogboy:  we have a request in to buff QoT http://forums.demigodthegame.com/364502

 

18,744 views 62 replies
Reply #26 Top

Ok then... thanks for the responses regarding CosMoe's question.  Fair points.  Keep the questions rolling in... bet we'll have a few more once 1.19 goes live. 

Edit:  I updated the list.  Please take a look when you get a chance.  If an item has already been answered somewhere, I'd like to remove it... so if you see something I missed, let me know.  Thanks!

Reply #28 Top

COUGH

Reply #29 Top

Reguarding #18: Are there any plans to fix the bug/exploit where the opposing team can capture the gold mine flag(s) on Cataract while standing outside the range of the towers? --community answer:  this appears intentional.

Where is this community reply?  I've only ever seen the blurb by Shiro_Sol as seen above.

-- Tukulis

Reply #30 Top

Quoting Tukulis, reply 29
Reguarding #18: Are there any plans to fix the bug/exploit where the opposing team can capture the gold mine flag(s) on Cataract while standing outside the range of the towers? --community answer:  this appears intentional.

Where is this community reply?  I've only ever seen the blurb by Shiro_Sol as seen above.

-- Tukulis
End of Tukulis's quote

I'm removing the note there... looks like an error on my part as I don't know of any other reference. 

Reply #31 Top

Can we get the evasion cap (30%) removed or increased so we can try evasion builds such as HorseRadishes Can't touch Erebus build in the Stratedgy section?

Currently all you need to do is stack HP....

Reply #32 Top

I can aswer a couple of these real quick, if noone minds.

8. Are there any plans for additional game types (conquest/domination/slaughter) within Demigod?
End of quote

This was discussed recently. This actually poses a large problem. For any new game mode added we would have to either make it a player-only mode (and figure out what to if a player drops) or write AI code to support the new mode (very time consuming).

 

20. GPG has near 100 employees, how many of them are still involved in DG?
End of quote

It depends. Currently there are quite a few of us working on it because there is a lot of work going on.

Reply #33 Top

Quoting -Sorian-, reply 32
This was discussed recently. This actually poses a large problem. For any new game mode added we would have to either make it a player-only mode (and figure out what to if a player drops) or write AI code to support the new mode (very time consuming).
End of -Sorian-'s quote

Player only would be my idea - increasing the gold income of the remaining party members to counter-act the missing team member for those game modes when someone drops/leaves - as I can safely say AI in our games in not a fan-favourite ;)

Reply #34 Top

Q - Is Sorian willing to work with Cody + Scottish on mods?  I bet we'd see some awesome content much faster?

Also - does Sorian play DG and under what name?  I see the user name but no games...

Reply #35 Top

Quoting pacov, reply 34
Q - Is Sorian willing to work with Cody + Scottish on mods?  I bet we'd see some awesome content much faster?

Also - does Sorian play DG and under what name?  I see the user name but no games...
End of pacov's quote

1) If I can find time to mod, I will. I have some ideas.

2) I did before I got the job, but only against AIs. I'm not that good. As I get more settled into my new schedule I may get back into playing.

Reply #36 Top

I've gotta say that I don't agree with the idea of just increasing the relative strength of the other players when they lose a teammate. Not every DG scales the same way with items or in just pure strength, I'd much rather just see how things turn out with the greatly reduced exp/gold off of AI kills next patch.

Reply #37 Top

Ha, not me, I really suck at LUA I don't know much. More like Malard + Scottish.

Reply #38 Top

i's deinfainately say Malard is the LUA master.  i understand a lot about the maps buit all the stuff with the UI and modes are way out of my league.  Sorian, if u interested in lending a hand (or would like some help youself) feel free to drop by the channel (#dgmodding) and give us a call. 

i haven't been on much lately (school starting and such) but soon as this week is over i should be on more.  i've been really trying to get all my old maps in .max format so soon as the SDK comes out i should have at least 2 maps out in alpha testing before the week is out :D

Reply #39 Top

Righto - forgot Malard when I posted.  Apologies!

Reply #40 Top

bump

Reply #41 Top

but i don't think i have any more questions... at least not untill V1.19 and V1.2 come out... then i'll have a lot of questions :grin:

Reply #42 Top

Quoting TheScottishAlien, reply 41
but i don't think i have any more questions... at least not untill V1.19 and V1.2 come out... then i'll have a lot of questions
End of TheScottishAlien's quote

Yeah - I figured we'd all have a completely different set of questions once 1.19 or 1.2 goes live.  It is what it is though.  Hopefully we are gold next wed/thurs for a release.  Anyway, if we do see a wed/thurs release, be sure to post any new questions asap as the cutoff for this thread is 9/26... and frogboy was pretty quick at answering questions last time around so I HOPE to get the list organized before he creates his journal this time around.  :)

Reply #43 Top

Keep in mind the Elemental beta is out now, so his attentions are going to be divided, and experiments at cloning him have created some ... mixed results.

:borg:

Reply #44 Top

Quoting Cowbuttzex, reply 31
Can we get the evasion cap (30%) removed or increased so we can try evasion builds such as HorseRadishes Can't touch Erebus build in the Stratedgy section?

Currently all you need to do is stack HP....
End of Cowbuttzex's quote

add this?

Reply #45 Top

add this?
End of quote

It will be... going to to another update soon.

Reply #46 Top

Unless there is a successful counter to such a build, I don't think it's wise. Do we have a mechanic for countering +Evasion?

Reply #47 Top

Is it able to update the language file for german users via impulse with this one?

Reply #48 Top

Quoting ZehDon, reply 46
Unless there is a successful counter to such a build, I don't think it's wise. Do we have a mechanic for countering +Evasion?
End of ZehDon's quote

Is there a successful counter to HP stacking besides HP stacking? If you say DPS item stacking your an idiot..... I would just like the oppotunity for more item builds to arise besides HP stacking....

Reply #49 Top

Is there a successful counter to HP stacking besides HP stacking? If you say DPS item stacking your an idiot..... I would just like the oppotunity for more item builds to arise besides HP stacking....
End of quote
Evasion stacking doesn't preclude HP stacking, in fact the build referenced explicitly states that very little HP is lost to build up the high evasion. Evasion+HP stacking would be a massive nuisance and affect different DGs in very different ways.

The cap is there for a good reason, if you want to improve item diversity you should just improve existing items or add new ones, no game mechanics need be changed.

Furthermore if they do add more items with evasion the cap will only become more necessary.

Reply #50 Top

My question, verbalized as civil as possible (I'm rather pissed-off right now):

(edited myself because of regrets after cooling down)

As the 1.19 patch notes are out and there are no balance improvements on the Demigods (although even Frogboy stated that he thought Erebus was rather strong and QoT was rather weak), when do you intend to make Demigod balance improvement?