Co8 New Content: Hickory Branch

Discussion in 'New Content Subdirectories' started by Gaear, Mar 22, 2010.

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  1. Gehennis

    Gehennis Established Member

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    In my playthrough of the alignments I've found that Stinking Cloud + Frostbrand+3 are an effective combination...:)
     
    Gehennis, Jun 12, 2013
    #211
  2. J'allan UlDragos

    J'allan UlDragos Dragon Warrior

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    This is very EXCITING news! I've been away from the forums for a while... and this excellent game. when does the new version release?

    Glad to hear the Minotaur is getting a more significant role. Not just a silent predator, guarding loot. Interested in the "3rd party" mysterious figure ... and all the other more serious enhancements mentioned....

    However with all the changes i hope the lighter moments of some of the underlings is preserved, as the humorous responses of Noblig, et al really added to the charm of the original!

    Greatly looking forward to playing this!!! :thumbsup:

    Hey, is Krunch involved also in the rewrite? just curious. wasn't he the author of the original Hickory Branch...?
     
    J'allan UlDragos, Jun 12, 2013
    #212
  3. gazra_1971

    gazra_1971 Knights of Legend

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    Originally posted by Gaear:
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2013
    gazra_1971, Jun 12, 2013
    #213
  4. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Or just consult the Release Calendar, which like everything else is in the Modpack Explained sticky/banner thread that is everywhere.

    krunch is not involved ... except for his feature role as Lord Krunch. ;)
     
    Gaear, Jun 12, 2013
    #214
  5. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    New HB is up! Prepare to be bruised. ;)

    Just FYI, since some people seemed to have a tough time grasping this with Moathouse Respawn, this does indeed mean that Brother Smyth/Kenter Nevets won't be giving this quest anymore. You have to wait til you get to Verbobonc, where all the other high level stuff happens.

    This isn't your dad's HB anymore. :nervous:
     
    Gaear, Aug 5, 2013
    #215
  6. BenWH

    BenWH BGPHughes

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    Very excited - thanks for all your hard work Co8.
     
    BenWH, Aug 5, 2013
    #216
  7. chano

    chano Established Member

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    Nice,, so the release is due in a few days then ?
     
    chano, Aug 5, 2013
    #217
  8. sirchet

    sirchet Force for Goodness Moderator Supporter

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    rotflmao! :)
     
    sirchet, Aug 6, 2013
    #218
  9. Gehennis

    Gehennis Established Member

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    Alas! Goodby free arrows and mid level bump- hello to new challenges! :thumbsup:
     
    Gehennis, Aug 6, 2013
    #219
  10. mystang89

    mystang89 Member

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    Sorry, were you talking about Moathouse Respawn not being given out by Smyth or HB not being given out? Is this link still correct with the requirements for Verbobonc?

    Also, how do you get Moathouse Respawn to, well, respawn? I've killed everything and Clearing the Moathouse quest says its complete so I'm really confused.
     
    mystang89, Aug 10, 2013
    #220
  11. BenWH

    BenWH BGPHughes

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    It's all been moved to Verbobonc - so after you do the temple.
     
    BenWH, Aug 10, 2013
    #221
  12. BenWH

    BenWH BGPHughes

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    Some preliminary feedback on Hickory Branch 7.9NC (SPOILERS FOLLOW)

    Party make up on reaching HC:
    Fighter 14
    Fighter 13
    Druid 12
    Wizard/Fighter 11/1
    Druid NPC 12
    Fighter NPC (Taki) 10
    Bard NPC (Zaxis) 9

    The setup works nicely with the missing ranger, though I did wonder if I should investigate so I did travel around the inns and ask the innkeepers, as well as in the constabulary, Smyth and Wilfrick. I also went into the Rabbit Hole and there is no clue available there - maybe add one?

    Dialogue with the ranger has a couple of spelling mistakes in it (I recall waot instead of wait for example) and could use a branch or two to break it up, but works fine. I used intimidate in case it is important for the following bug. On trying to travel straight to HB from the random area, it caused a crash every time. I rebooted and reloaded multiple times and got the same result. Only if I went to Hommlet first did it then work normally.

    Initial dialogue with the HG, which uses the new 'be discerning' options I think needs a couple of things added; more clear indication of whether you are succeeding or failing your checks, and some feedback on how difficult they are - I used intimidate which was maxed out, but wasn't certain if and when it worked. It also needs an option where you're not trying to 'be' anything, (such as attack, try to disengage etc).

    Enjoyed the first 3-4 combats so far. With my party mix and I am still finding it quite easy, particularly with my number of summons (maybe drop in something to charm those?). Bugbears were fun, but one well placed Spike Stones dealt with them. Overall really enjoying the combat, but think a couple of supporting wizards/dispellers or a bard or something might mix it up a bit. Perhaps some lowish level wizards that focus on dispel magic (to get rid of my buffs) might be a suitable nuisance?

    Really like the low levels of gold on the troops and the fact that most of the gems are the same type - appreciated at this stage in the game!

    Thanks for the new content - amazed by the new area. What did you do with the old one - can we re-use it for something else?

    And before I forget, though totally unrelated: I can't reach the door to get out of the Golden Bullseye - had to use teleport.
     
    BenWH, Aug 12, 2013
    #222
  13. BenWH

    BenWH BGPHughes

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    MORE SPOILERS

    The next combat on the other hand (with the runes) is a great challenge and lots of fun. I think the only improvement that crossed my mind is whether it is possible to post the message regarding the runes in the dice box, or pop it up a bit slower, as it's hard to see what it says. Does killing all the shaman and theurgists stop it by the way? I couldn't tell (maybe a visual cue on them?)

    Sadly I won't be able to give any more feedback now as I am leaving on holiday, which is a shame as I played all week to get here before I left!

    Anyway, super work and looking forward to coming back to play on!
     
    BenWH, Aug 12, 2013
    #223
  14. Kapacha2089

    Kapacha2089 Member

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    SPOILER

    very very minor

    Version 7.9 NC

    The chest in Noostoron's chambers opens backwards when the spell, "KNOCK," is used.

    SPOILER
     

    Attached Files:

    Kapacha2089, Aug 12, 2013
    #224
  15. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Thanks for the feedback. :thumbsup:

    [SPOILERS BELOW. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY PLAYED THE NEW HB UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED]

    I think Kapacha2089 reported that as well - must be something buggy there.

    All the dialogue responses at this stage are dummies - they don't affect anything.

    I deliberately made it so that HB doesn't feature a lot of sophisticated spellcasters. (You'll run into a few exceptions later on.) The rationale is that they're humanoids after all, led by a few exceptional humanoids. While they can excel at physical things (and thus become 'elite' fighters and whatnot), intelligence is generally not their strong suit. Thus we see clerics that for the most part have mastered a limited array of spells - predominantly healing. Hungous would likely want his troops to receive medical care first and foremost. He might not even really understand the value of complex spellcasting himself, quite frankly. They are about brute force for the most part.

    It's scrapped. It was actually a comparatively low-res map (due to most elements being enlarged and the problem with map rendering in old versions of WB). It still has too much in common with the new HB to be re-used anyway.

    I don't think we can put anything in the dice box, and we can't control the speed of the floatlines. I figure you'll get hit with enough of those things to read them eventually. ;) The runes are controlled by various troops who don't advertise that they have the triggers, so nothing so simple as killing the clerics will stop it. (Hungous is now a master strategist as well as a badass. :mrhappy:)

    I'm interested in knowing how players deal with that tactic btw ... did you move in or away?

    ~

    In the big picture sense, I'm hoping that while some battles may seem relatively 'easy' (I'm sure this itself will vary from player to player), the overall effort will be extremely taxing on any party. It should be a pretty tough go now to get it all done in one shot without running off to recover.
     
    Gaear, Aug 12, 2013
    #225
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