Monsters & Memories

[Kalarion]

what if instead of monsters & memories it was called monsters & mammaries

think on it

Glowie Overlord can't read the page he's on, fails to come up with Original Content (TM)(C). @Vergil hardest hit

[Kalarion]

@Kriptini I'm updating my client now, let me know when you're in-game and I'll send you a tell.

[Kriptini]

@Kriptini I'm updating my client now, let me know when you're in-game and I'll send you a tell.

Cool. I need to spend some time this morning helping some buddies camp a higher level mob, but feel free to add my toons to your friends list and send me tells if you have any questions. I'm playing on Kriptini right now.

[Kalarion]

I've been grinding and hit level 8 tonight, with major spell upgrades: SoW, haste, a heavier slow, new heal over time line, new poison dot, did I mention SoW?

@Kriptini twinked me out hardcore with a full set of crafted copper chain, a brand-new weapon and a couple sweet jewelcrafted earrings, doubling my ac in the course of about 5 minutes:

Look at this handsome lil' devil

MUD actions are officially in the game. I don't know how extensively MUD is tied into all gameplay, but at this point it's a part of all starter class-specific questlines. I already had to go find an old, dried-out well, /look at it, find what I needed, and /take it.

For the next part of my class quest I've got to travel to several different places, including deep into the two nearby dungeons (Tel Ekir and Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane). I also had to find an undisturbed spot with flowing water during the dead of night to pick some rare plants:

Another upgrade from EQ: an in-game journal. The devs promise expanded functionality

I spent a good half hour wandering through the Shaded Sands in the dead of night, squinting for likely candidates. Finally I found a little oasis waaaaaaaaaaaay at the back of the zone, with no humanoid encampments around it (I originally thought I'd need to find a creek or headwater but gave up on that). I took a /look at the shore and sure enough!

Realistic depiction of the lighting situation

I proceeded to /take some of the pods:

Turned on my Fire Beetle Eye for this screenshot

SUCCESS!

The first, and easiest, part is over. Now to do some dungeon delving and whatever mini-quest I have to do for the final ingredient (I might be able to get what I need solo from one of the dungeons, but the other I'll probably need a group).

Fun day.

[rusty_shackleford]

@Kriptini twinked me out hardcore

[Kriptini]

The MUD actions are cool but I think they need to tweak a little more direction into some of the quests that use them. The Rogue quest for example, I had to stand in a specific spot, /throw a grapple hook, climb up onto a tower, drop down to a specific spot, /pry a gem from a statue that had no visual model... I had no hope of doing it without a walkthrough.

That being said, the system is very cool and I'm looking forward to seeing it more fleshed out!

[Kalarion]

@Kriptini twinked me out hardcore

I kid. Krip is a blacksmith and making me copper chain was doing double duty of skilling up, I assume.

It's good gear but it's not like he gave me double Jade Maces to start (this is actually how I started EQ).

[Kalarion]

On Friday I went on a dangerous expedition to The Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane, to retrieve the second part of my Shaman quest. I originally thought I'd have to go with a group for safety, but I was actually able to do it myself with a combination of Invisibility Versus Undead and clever movement from one mob blind spot to another. Another little qol thing I appreciate over EQ—Invisibility spells are still randomized length (with higher casting skill giving higher average duration), but now I get messages when the spell is about to wear off (something FF XI did).

I had a thought that the item I needed might just be a drop from the highest-level camps in the Tomb (several class quests have exactly that), but players in the Tomb had never seen them drop in hours of camping. So I went skittering from darkened nook to dimly-lit cranny (as any good goblin should), carefully making my way through the Tomb, constantly /considering mobs to make sure they weren't seeing through my IvU. As I found interesting-looking rooms I /looked at them to see if their descriptions were close matches to the quest NPC's description:

Deep down in the tomb, I finally hit possible paydirt:

Close, but no mention of dust. Hmmm...

Undeterred by the lack of specificity, I started working my way slowly through the small complex, /looking, hoping to see a change in appearance. And then!

EUREKA!

SUCCESS ONCE AGAIN!

I then moved to an old quarry and completed some ****** dorf's ******** fetch quest for the third item needed. Thankfully the mobs that dropped what he wanted were easy to solo but it was annoying as hell. ******* dorfs.

...Then I died at the very bottom of Tel Ekir when I went full ****** and accidentally dropped my Invisibility in front of a bunch of level 15-20 mobs (I'm level 10 right now). I faced up to the task of running naked and with no spells back to Tel Ekir with great manfulness and absolutely no crying or yelling at the monitor or punching the screen. Thank God, there was a rogue in the zone who was willing to drag my corpse to a rezzer after I begged and pleaded in /ooc (it wasn't actually that bad, I asked politely twice and got cheerful help). With my gear and spellbook recovered I decided to take no more chances for the day. I'd gotten away with sneakiness and trickery once, but for Tel Ekir I'm going in proppa... with a group of bros, genociding every kitty in the way of my quest objective.

[rusty_shackleford]

is this another stress test that ends after a short bit?

[Kriptini]

is this another stress test that ends after a short bit?

Yeah, this current test ends on September 8 at 10 am Pacific time. Afterwards, the closed beta will begin, with another open playtest scheduled for November and early access launch in Q1 2026 (but likely January).

[Classix]

Someone remind me in November when the open test happens, I'll see if I can get in on it with my brother. Been watching this for awhile now.

[Kalarion]

Update on Beta Timing

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates ... eta-timing

And in the meantime, we're still well on track for the Stress Test this weekend (Oct. 4th and 5th) and our 10-day open playtest on November 1st.

Should any dates beyond that move, we'll have more open playtesting to allow you to keep an eye on the progress firsthand.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

@Classix @Kriptini @GhostCow weekend stress test.

LOCK IN

[Xenich]

Game is looking great! Can't wait for release.

One question to those of you who have a listen on the devs...

How well do you think they will fare concerning mainstream pressure?

[Kriptini]

Update on Beta Timing

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates ... eta-timing

And in the meantime, we're still well on track for the Stress Test this weekend (Oct. 4th and 5th) and our 10-day open playtest on November 1st.

Should any dates beyond that move, we'll have more open playtesting to allow you to keep an eye on the progress firsthand.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

@Classix @Kriptini @GhostCow weekend stress test.

LOCK IN

This weekend stress test is going to start off by locking ~2,000 people together in Night Harbor. It should be... interesting.

Game is looking great! Can't wait for release.

One question to those of you who have a listen on the devs...

How well do you think they will fare concerning mainstream pressure?

Their business is going to be flexible depending on their success. If they have low subscriber numbers, they're going to continue working part-time, and updates would probably come at around the same speed they're coming now. If they have higher subscriber numbers, they can bring on more team members full-time which means updates come more frequently and/or we get higher quality updates. You can see some more detailed information about their costs and plans for managing their business post-launch here: https://monstersandmemories.com/costs

Regardless of their success level, they're committed to supporting the game for as long as it's financially possible.

In terms of what early access subscriber numbers are going to look like, I'm not sure I have a great idea, but my current estimate based on how the playtests have gone is around 4,000 subscribers. If that turns out to not be enough subscribers to keep them going part-time, they'll consider changing some of the more controversial mechanics (like dropping your spellbook on death) in order to appeal to people who have those things as dealbreakers.

[Xenich]

Update on Beta Timing

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates ... eta-timing

And in the meantime, we're still well on track for the Stress Test this weekend (Oct. 4th and 5th) and our 10-day open playtest on November 1st.

Should any dates beyond that move, we'll have more open playtesting to allow you to keep an eye on the progress firsthand.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

@Classix @Kriptini @GhostCow weekend stress test.

LOCK IN

This weekend stress test is going to start off by locking ~2,000 people together in Night Harbor. It should be... interesting.

Game is looking great! Can't wait for release.

One question to those of you who have a listen on the devs...

How well do you think they will fare concerning mainstream pressure?

Their business is going to be flexible depending on their success. If they have low subscriber numbers, they're going to continue working part-time, and updates would probably come at around the same speed they're coming now. If they have higher subscriber numbers, they can bring on more team members full-time which means updates come more frequently and/or we get higher quality updates. You can see some more detailed information about their costs and plans for managing their business post-launch here: https://monstersandmemories.com/costs

Regardless of their success level, they're committed to supporting the game for as long as it's financially possible.

In terms of what early access subscriber numbers are going to look like, I'm not sure I have a great idea, but my current estimate based on how the playtests have gone is around 4,000 subscribers. If that turns out to not be enough subscribers to keep them going part-time, they'll consider changing some of the more controversial mechanics (like dropping your spellbook on death) in order to appeal to people who have those things as dealbreakers.

Easy solution to mainstream complaints is simply to have some mainstream servers that "relax" such mechanics if that is an issue. If they change it for the core crowd to appeal to mainstream, well... for people like me, I just move on, been there... done that... don't have any interest in that progression of eventual demise.

[Kriptini]

Update on Beta Timing

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates ... eta-timing



YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

@Classix @Kriptini @GhostCow weekend stress test.

LOCK IN

This weekend stress test is going to start off by locking ~2,000 people together in Night Harbor. It should be... interesting.

Game is looking great! Can't wait for release.

One question to those of you who have a listen on the devs...

How well do you think they will fare concerning mainstream pressure?

Their business is going to be flexible depending on their success. If they have low subscriber numbers, they're going to continue working part-time, and updates would probably come at around the same speed they're coming now. If they have higher subscriber numbers, they can bring on more team members full-time which means updates come more frequently and/or we get higher quality updates. You can see some more detailed information about their costs and plans for managing their business post-launch here: https://monstersandmemories.com/costs

Regardless of their success level, they're committed to supporting the game for as long as it's financially possible.

In terms of what early access subscriber numbers are going to look like, I'm not sure I have a great idea, but my current estimate based on how the playtests have gone is around 4,000 subscribers. If that turns out to not be enough subscribers to keep them going part-time, they'll consider changing some of the more controversial mechanics (like dropping your spellbook on death) in order to appeal to people who have those things as dealbreakers.

Easy solution to mainstream complaints is simply to have some mainstream servers that "relax" such mechanics if that is an issue. If they change it for the core crowd to appeal to mainstream, well... for people like me, I just move on, been there... done that... don't have any interest in that progression of eventual demise.

That's also something they've talked about considering, and they're absolutely interested in exploring servers with different rulesets as long as there's enough players to support them. There are already plans for a PvP ruleset server and a strict-RP ruleset server.

[Xenich]

This weekend stress test is going to start off by locking ~2,000 people together in Night Harbor. It should be... interesting.



Their business is going to be flexible depending on their success. If they have low subscriber numbers, they're going to continue working part-time, and updates would probably come at around the same speed they're coming now. If they have higher subscriber numbers, they can bring on more team members full-time which means updates come more frequently and/or we get higher quality updates. You can see some more detailed information about their costs and plans for managing their business post-launch here: https://monstersandmemories.com/costs

Regardless of their success level, they're committed to supporting the game for as long as it's financially possible.

In terms of what early access subscriber numbers are going to look like, I'm not sure I have a great idea, but my current estimate based on how the playtests have gone is around 4,000 subscribers. If that turns out to not be enough subscribers to keep them going part-time, they'll consider changing some of the more controversial mechanics (like dropping your spellbook on death) in order to appeal to people who have those things as dealbreakers.

Easy solution to mainstream complaints is simply to have some mainstream servers that "relax" such mechanics if that is an issue. If they change it for the core crowd to appeal to mainstream, well... for people like me, I just move on, been there... done that... don't have any interest in that progression of eventual demise.

That's also something they've talked about considering, and they're absolutely interested in exploring servers with different rulesets as long as there's enough players to support them. There are already plans for a PvP ruleset server and a strict-RP ruleset server.

I think it would clear up the issues that a lot of player debates have. Honestly, with how easy it is to do this as opposed to the early MMOs, I don't see why it isn't a standard approach. Heck, from a point of statistical gathering, I think such would be fascinating to implement. We always here how "If you don't do this, or that... or provide x, y, z... the game will fail!" constantly used in various discussions, but this would solve all of that.

You could essentially put up multiple server rulesets across certain themes derived from player polling and the like. Then you open up those servers with the different declared rulesets and then see where everyone goes. The servers that have the highest numbers for a sustained period of time will then become the "rulesets of choice" and you can shut off any servers that don't have the numbers with a very clear message to the base "Sorry, we gave the option, but people weren't interested!".

It is a win/win for both the players and the developers. It would settle the arguments so to speak, and this is coming from someone who understands that "my time" (ie the time of original EQ) may have passed its base and no longer is appealing by many.

That said, I would wager that a ruleset leaning more to "old school EQ" would be more appealing to those who seek this type of game. Certainly more than what is led to be believed and I think enough to warrant such a server.

While I think a mainstream server where everything is made as such would be popular "initially", something tells me it would be a ghost town rather quickly as the locusts consumed the content at record pace and then began to complain (like they do with modern MMOs).

Regardless, I think a strategic approach to this concept could be quite beneficial on many fronts.

[Kalarion]

Servers should be up, go go go.

[Xenich]

I want to, I really do... but I am going to wait for EA.

[Classix]

Update on Beta Timing

https://monstersandmemories.com/updates ... eta-timing

And in the meantime, we're still well on track for the Stress Test this weekend (Oct. 4th and 5th) and our 10-day open playtest on November 1st.

Should any dates beyond that move, we'll have more open playtesting to allow you to keep an eye on the progress firsthand.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

@Classix @Kriptini @GhostCow weekend stress test.

LOCK IN

Of course this has to be on a weekend I am sick. Good luck boys, let me know how it goes.

[Kriptini]

You're not missing anything, this stress test is really just for testing the limits of the servers. The real gaming will resume in November.

[Xenich]

I know they pushed some things back, but are they still roughly on track for Q1 26 for EA release?

[Kriptini]

I know they pushed some things back, but are they still roughly on track for Q1 26 for EA release?

Yep! They are still on track for "January, but reserve the right to delay until later in Q1 without disappointing anyone" (sic, from Shawn's regular weekly streams).

[GhostCow]

I haven't had time to check in on the game for a while and don't have much desire to play until at least EA. I kind of hope EA gets pushed back until after we finish my fiancé's immigration because I won't really be able to play a game that takes that much attention until she moves in

[rusty_shackleford]

I haven't had time to check in on the game for a while and don't have much desire to play until at least EA. I kind of hope EA gets pushed back until after we finish my fiancé's immigration because I won't really be able to play a game that takes that much attention until she moves in

Denying her greencard so you can have extra time to play with the boys

[GhostCow]

I haven't had time to check in on the game for a while and don't have much desire to play until at least EA. I kind of hope EA gets pushed back until after we finish my fiancé's immigration because I won't really be able to play a game that takes that much attention until she moves in

Denying her greencard so you can have extra time to play with the boys

It's easier to play if she's living with me because she demands attention 24/7 and it's easier to play a game at the same time if she's in the same room. Also she wants to be in the party and her only Windows PC is here in my bedroom

[Kriptini]

Tell her to roll a Druid or Shaman!

[GhostCow]

Tell her to roll a Druid or Shaman!

She likes healing in Overwatch and Marvel Rivals but I don't think her zoomer attention span can handle it in a game this slow paced. I think she played a Rogue when we played one of the tests

[Tweed]

I haven't had time to check in on the game for a while and don't have much desire to play until at least EA. I kind of hope EA gets pushed back until after we finish my fiancé's immigration because I won't really be able to play a game that takes that much attention until she moves in

Denying her greencard so you can have extra time to play with the boys

It's easier to play if she's living with me because she demands attention 24/7 and it's easier to play a game at the same time if she's in the same room. Also she wants to be in the party and her only Windows PC is here in my bedroom

WOOP WOOP, womyn alert!

Never play with couples, ever.

Never never ******* ever.

[Xenich]

Denying her greencard so you can have extra time to play with the boys

It's easier to play if she's living with me because she demands attention 24/7 and it's easier to play a game at the same time if she's in the same room. Also she wants to be in the party and her only Windows PC is here in my bedroom

WOOP WOOP, womyn alert!

Never play with couples, ever.

Never never ******* ever.

I gotta say, this has been an issue in some past games I have played.

As it concerns PnP games, I am a hard NO on women, especially girlfriends/wives, it always ends badly, especially if your ******* DM is a simp and has his GF play.