Game Update - 20 September 2020
Sept 19, 2020 23:35:19 GMT 1
Giant Dad, stratosphere, and 4 more like this
Post by Belouch on Sept 19, 2020 23:35:19 GMT 1
Game Update 20 September 2020
Balance of weapons AP and damage
This was the last section that required adjustments to the new fight system.
You can see the changes in the two pictures below:
New weapon damage (changes are marked in red
):
New weapon attack bonus (changes are marked in red
)
How was it calculated?
We have a fight simulator that can simulate the outcome of 200,000 fights in 5 seconds. We used it to simulate many different combinations.
The aim was to have every weapon balanced for every tier. This means that for example, a blowgun user has 50% chance to win against a THH user at tier3, tier4 or tier5 gear (if they have same skills and stats).
The new figures were validated if the win ratio was between 49% and 51% against all other weapons, which was very tricky and required hundreds of simulations, hence why it took so long.
Also note that each tier balance was made with what we consider would be the average runage and average armor/shield protection a char of that tier would have.
Why the difference in training damage/AP?
Saying blowgun is even with THH is only true in PvP against an opponent of similar strength, which was the main aspect used for the balance. However, against monsters or against characters that are much weaker (and where the difference of AP doesn't make much of an impact because the hit-rate is already very high), it is still nicer to do bigger damage. So low damage weapons are even with high damage weapons in a balanced PvP fight, but big damage weapon are more convenient in PvE and against weak PvP, hence they are a bit harder to train as well.
Final step of the new fight system
This was the last step of the big fight system revamping we undertook a few months ago. Countless evenings were spent making simulations in every possible scenario and micro-adjusting the variables in-between each until we were happy with the results. At least 2,000 simulations were made, and each of them contains 200,000 fights, so that's a total of 400,000,000 fights. Please remember that next time you think you want to challenge the balance of the tribes or weapons after 3 fights
.
Change to some recipes / explores / drops
Explores & drops changes
-Iron ores: -25% explore
-Silk, Glands and Ivory: +20% drops
-Limestone: -20% explore
Weapons recipes changes
-Tier 4 Bow
-Tier 4 THH
-Tier 5 Axe
-Tier 5 Hammer
-The guide is updated with the new recipes
Armors & shields recipe changes
-Almost all armors & shields T3 and above had some level of adjustments in their recipes
-The guide is updated with the new recipes
About balancing, real value and perceived value
I have had countless requests about some weapons that are too difficult and some too easy to craft.
You have to understand the difference between 'REAL VALUE' (RV) and 'PERCEIVED VALUE' (PV).
The RV is the mathematical value of the item, based on its drop rate / explore rate. In a way it is equivalent to 'how much XP you would lose if you hunt for this item rather than train normally'. Only devs know this value (but knowing that we balance precisely the recipes, players can get a hint of that based on the recipes).
The PV is the value players think the item is worth.
The recipes are currently balanced. You could think differently but you would be in the wrong. Example: PV of Ivory is 20% higher than silk (perception is 10 silk per 8 ivory), but the RV of ivory is 100% higher than silk (reality is 10 silk per 5 ivory): it's same level of encounter, same XP loss, and drop rate is two times higher for silk, so very straight-forward.
This means we have two options:
1-Keep the recipes balanced on the RV. We screw nobody and it's fair, but some players/weapons will have the illusion they are getting screwed.
2-Adjust the recipes and balance them on the PV. We would mathematically be screwing some players, but they would have the illusion that they don't get screwed.
So obviously we prefer to stay with option 1. Also, because the RV is stable over time and will never change unless we actively decide to change it, whereas PV fluctuates a LOT (look at sulfur for example).
This leaves very little room for adjustments, and we can only really toy around with the balance of items for which the RV is not directly linked to XP loss (for example dragon parts which are a bit of an exception).
Armor protection
Small change to the slice/pierce/blunt protection of armors. Now each armor has one strong point, and two average ones (like shields). For example, limestone is now 15/9/9 instead of 15/11/7.
New election system!
Just a reminder also that just because two terrains are in the same Fauna quest does not mean they are equivalent in terms of XP and danger. As we already said, there is much more granularity in the encounters and the fauna quests just divide them artificially. For example, Dashers and Kakurus spots are both in Fauna 5, but Dashers is actually closer to Miragaia (Fauna 6) then it is to Kakurus in terms of xp and difficulty.
Annual Arena Tournament
You will receive a message ingame soon, to sign-up, just reply to it and specify which one you sign up to.
Rookies can sign-up to both tournaments if they wish.
The rules are here: agonia.boards.net/thread/438/poll-annual-agonia-pvp-tournament
All participants will receive a prize based on their final ranking in the Tournament.
Note: we make extra efforts to try and always explain how and why every change is made. Please do not mistaken this as an invitation to open a debate on every single change.
Balance of weapons AP and damage
This was the last section that required adjustments to the new fight system.
You can see the changes in the two pictures below:
New weapon damage (changes are marked in red
):
New weapon attack bonus (changes are marked in red
)
How was it calculated?
We have a fight simulator that can simulate the outcome of 200,000 fights in 5 seconds. We used it to simulate many different combinations.
The aim was to have every weapon balanced for every tier. This means that for example, a blowgun user has 50% chance to win against a THH user at tier3, tier4 or tier5 gear (if they have same skills and stats).
The new figures were validated if the win ratio was between 49% and 51% against all other weapons, which was very tricky and required hundreds of simulations, hence why it took so long.
Also note that each tier balance was made with what we consider would be the average runage and average armor/shield protection a char of that tier would have.
Why the difference in training damage/AP?
Saying blowgun is even with THH is only true in PvP against an opponent of similar strength, which was the main aspect used for the balance. However, against monsters or against characters that are much weaker (and where the difference of AP doesn't make much of an impact because the hit-rate is already very high), it is still nicer to do bigger damage. So low damage weapons are even with high damage weapons in a balanced PvP fight, but big damage weapon are more convenient in PvE and against weak PvP, hence they are a bit harder to train as well.
Final step of the new fight system
This was the last step of the big fight system revamping we undertook a few months ago. Countless evenings were spent making simulations in every possible scenario and micro-adjusting the variables in-between each until we were happy with the results. At least 2,000 simulations were made, and each of them contains 200,000 fights, so that's a total of 400,000,000 fights. Please remember that next time you think you want to challenge the balance of the tribes or weapons after 3 fights
.Change to some recipes / explores / drops
Explores & drops changes
-Iron ores: -25% explore
-Silk, Glands and Ivory: +20% drops
-Limestone: -20% explore
Weapons recipes changes
-Tier 4 Bow
-Tier 4 THH
-Tier 5 Axe
-Tier 5 Hammer
-The guide is updated with the new recipes
Armors & shields recipe changes
-Almost all armors & shields T3 and above had some level of adjustments in their recipes
-The guide is updated with the new recipes
About balancing, real value and perceived value
I have had countless requests about some weapons that are too difficult and some too easy to craft.
You have to understand the difference between 'REAL VALUE' (RV) and 'PERCEIVED VALUE' (PV).
The RV is the mathematical value of the item, based on its drop rate / explore rate. In a way it is equivalent to 'how much XP you would lose if you hunt for this item rather than train normally'. Only devs know this value (but knowing that we balance precisely the recipes, players can get a hint of that based on the recipes).
The PV is the value players think the item is worth.
The recipes are currently balanced. You could think differently but you would be in the wrong. Example: PV of Ivory is 20% higher than silk (perception is 10 silk per 8 ivory), but the RV of ivory is 100% higher than silk (reality is 10 silk per 5 ivory): it's same level of encounter, same XP loss, and drop rate is two times higher for silk, so very straight-forward.
This means we have two options:
1-Keep the recipes balanced on the RV. We screw nobody and it's fair, but some players/weapons will have the illusion they are getting screwed.
2-Adjust the recipes and balance them on the PV. We would mathematically be screwing some players, but they would have the illusion that they don't get screwed.
So obviously we prefer to stay with option 1. Also, because the RV is stable over time and will never change unless we actively decide to change it, whereas PV fluctuates a LOT (look at sulfur for example).
This leaves very little room for adjustments, and we can only really toy around with the balance of items for which the RV is not directly linked to XP loss (for example dragon parts which are a bit of an exception).
Armor protection
Small change to the slice/pierce/blunt protection of armors. Now each armor has one strong point, and two average ones (like shields). For example, limestone is now 15/9/9 instead of 15/11/7.
New election system!
Elections are now automatic! The code for automatic elections was broken, and has been rewritten plus also given some new features. Since it is only a part of the functions of Capitol page and elections are coming up, links to the new election system will point to a different page that will gradually replace all capitol functions as they are rewritten.
What does this mean for you?
1. The elections will no longer operate on a ballot system handed out via a quest NPC in the capitol and then traded to your candidate. This means that you are in the capitol and eligible to vote, you click a link to vote for who you want to receive your vote, and go about your day. Candidates will not have to linger in the capitol for a week to gather their votes. It's all handled by a strict but impartial Voting Council.
2. The leadership reward given by the quest is now handed to you upon the close of the elections on the condition that the person you voted for is still in the running. If you vote and they withdraw, then you need to vote again to get the reward.
3. The leadership reward for becoming mayor has changed. It is now based upon the number of votes you receive in the election plus a base amount of experience. It is handed out when the voting is complete. This means promoting election participation is important. The leadership XP reward is 25XP per vote (for all candidates, win or lose) and a bonus 2,000XP for the elected mayor.
4. Automatic messages will be sent to players when elections open, when a candidate that you voted for has withdrawn from an election and therefore you can cast a new vote, and when the elections close with a summary of election results. These will be "System" messages and titled as being from the Voting Council.
You can have only one ballot active in an election cycle! The Voting Council is very strict and tolerates no voter fraud. If both faction capitols are open for elections, then you cannot "hop the fence" and vote again to receive more vote rewards. Also, once you cast your vote, then you cannot withdraw or change it, with the sole exception of if your vote went to someone that withdrew from the election (but this is under the control of the mayor-candidate, not you).
What if there is a tie? Ties are broken by who put in their application for candidature first. Someone that has put in the time to register early and receive votes will have more favor than someone that dropped in their application in the literal last minute.
Mayor Helpers and Mayor Speech
The capitol identifier system for the old capitol page had a bug in it that broke a few features of the capitols page. This part is now fixed. Current mayors can now present a speech on the capitols page and select Helpers.
Helpers are players designated by the Mayor and to whom he/she delegates some of his/her powers so that they can represent him in the capital if he/she is out travelling.
Helpers are players designated by the Mayor and to whom he/she delegates some of his/her powers so that they can represent him in the capital if he/she is out travelling.
1. The mayor will be able to select 2 Helpers.
2. The Helpers will have access to the Treasury options that are currently only permitted to the Mayor and to the ban list.
3. With this increase in responsibility, the Helpers will receive 400 Leadership XP upon the close of the election cycle. This will affect the Helpers that are currently assigned; cycling through a dozen people will not make a difference, only the Helpers that are active on the end of the election will receive the experience.
The next elections will start in two weeks.
The next elections will start in two weeks.
BBOGD reward
We removed the 25 gold reward for the BBOGD vote.
The reason for this is because it created a very big misconception about the economy in the game.
When newbies ask how to make gold in this game, and some players answer 'by voting', it creates a small explosion inside my brain. It is not only a wrong answer but it also gives a terrible image of the game ("oh, they base the ingame economy on their out-of-game votes?...").
The gold from vote is absolutely meaningless in the game's macro-economy. And it is absolutely not needed. Gold is made to be the currency between players, even with no increase/inject of the gold at all, gold still works. You sell some limestone for 5,000 gold, then buy a spider silk to another player. That's valid with or without votes gold. The best way to make gold is not votes, it's not brigands, it's not quests either, it's other players. Any one bit of iron ore or limestone is worth a whole week of votes alone, and you can get plenty in a day.
Hardcap rush quests
We are aiming to make the transition from softcap to hardcap a bit smoother and faster. The first step was to increase the post-softcap XP by 33% (this was in the July update) and now we will also add a series of new quests that will give a major weapon XP boost. Those quests will be available only after you hit softcap. Fauna Atlas VI (385 skills required) and Fauna Atlas VII (395 skills requied) are now open in both capitols. More quests (and not just the Fauna series) will be added.We removed the 25 gold reward for the BBOGD vote.
The reason for this is because it created a very big misconception about the economy in the game.
When newbies ask how to make gold in this game, and some players answer 'by voting', it creates a small explosion inside my brain. It is not only a wrong answer but it also gives a terrible image of the game ("oh, they base the ingame economy on their out-of-game votes?...").
The gold from vote is absolutely meaningless in the game's macro-economy. And it is absolutely not needed. Gold is made to be the currency between players, even with no increase/inject of the gold at all, gold still works. You sell some limestone for 5,000 gold, then buy a spider silk to another player. That's valid with or without votes gold. The best way to make gold is not votes, it's not brigands, it's not quests either, it's other players. Any one bit of iron ore or limestone is worth a whole week of votes alone, and you can get plenty in a day.
Hardcap rush quests
Just a reminder also that just because two terrains are in the same Fauna quest does not mean they are equivalent in terms of XP and danger. As we already said, there is much more granularity in the encounters and the fauna quests just divide them artificially. For example, Dashers and Kakurus spots are both in Fauna 5, but Dashers is actually closer to Miragaia (Fauna 6) then it is to Kakurus in terms of xp and difficulty.
Annual Arena Tournament
- Rookie Tournament: Saturday 17 October 2020 19h-23h server time (CET)
- Normal Tournament: Sunday 18 October 2020 19h-23h server time (CET)
You will receive a message ingame soon, to sign-up, just reply to it and specify which one you sign up to.
Rookies can sign-up to both tournaments if they wish.
The rules are here: agonia.boards.net/thread/438/poll-annual-agonia-pvp-tournament
All participants will receive a prize based on their final ranking in the Tournament.
Note: we make extra efforts to try and always explain how and why every change is made. Please do not mistaken this as an invitation to open a debate on every single change.
