Conquest of the Horde - Kretol's Blog

Inactivity as of late - Feedbacks!

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:18:26 -0700

So! Time to ask people what they've been up to!

It's been no secret that activity has been rather subpar, even before we switched to Cataclysm. While folks may have school or work to focus on, or perhaps even retail (like myself, particularly with path 5.4 released), I'm curious if there may be other factors dissuading folks from logging on. Or heck, are there folks who are not liking Cataclysm and haven't been playing as a result of preferring WotLK? Is it because of a lack of RP going on when you happen to log on (which, admittedly, is like a domino effect - one person stops logging on because RP isn't as plentiful, so others notice and also stop logging on, and so forth)?

I wish that this was an easy thing to pinpoint, such as just lack of interest (which I'm pretty sure has hit a few folks). If you're one of the folks not logging on because of a lack of interest or maybe other things that can be changed, what might entice you to log in again?
And if one of the reasons is because a lack of RP to join, have you perhaps tried to create RP or maybe even schedule something (not necessarily an event, just open RP)?

GIVE ME FEEDBACKS PLZKTHX!

Server Stats Page Updated

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 02:46:53 -0700

For anyone curious, the Stats Page on the Accounts site has been updated to include Goblin and Worgen characters as well as levels 81-85!

Custom Item Spreadsheet + Possible Change Requests

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:55:04 -0700

So, for anyone that may have visited the list of 300k custom items which is linked in one of the stickies in my blog, you may have noticed that I enhanced it a bit. It now has a sheet for all 300k-range items, 100k-range items, and other sub-100k-range items which may still be custom. It now also has a sheet for any 200k-range items which may be edited from their normal item template.

The big thing, here? Changing the subclass of a 200k-range item. We've heard/seen it many times before, requesting changing an item (or copying an item) from something like mail to leather, or leather to cloth. In the past it hasn't been a huge problem because the original armor-wearer could still use it. With transmog, though, it was more of an issue because then the original armor-wearer wouldn't be able to use it for transmog.

Recently, I got a PM from Psychyn requesting changing some hoods from leather to cloth. Right when I saw that, I was preparing to respond with a denial for the reason above, but then I visited the link (http://www.wowhead.com/item=22273/moonsh...e-model-as) that he provided. Now, Wowhead only very recently changed their "same model as" page so that it actually shows models of the items that have the same model. Before, it was simply a list of the items and you had to go to each page to hopefully see a screenshot (or click the 3d model button). With the ease of that, it certainly provides some awesomeness in trying to find transmog items. It also acted as a catalyst for this idea.

We all know that there are often several items that have the same exact model of an item. We really don't need multiple .addrp versions of the same model. Therefore, the compromise that I send to Psychyn was that I would change one of any of those hoods from that page that had duplicates to cloth. In order to track it, I decided to enhance the spreadsheet I linked at the beginning of the post. I also decided to include all other custom items as well for easier tracking.

What I'll probably do is start a sticky thread in GM Requests/Suggestions that will be available for requests for similar situations. A request would be given, as well as a link to the appropriate "same model as" page so I can verify that there is more than one available .addrp item of the same color-scheme model. This part is important considering it will also include MoP items which do not exist yet in Cata. Further info regarding that would probably be included in that thread.

So, thoughts?

Kretol: To-Do List - Spreadsheet Edition!

Sat, 13 Jul 2013 02:06:55 -0700

Attempt two at making and maintaining a To-Do list, this time in spreadsheet format (naturally)!

Players can access it in HTML form via this link.

GMs can access it in spreadsheet form (and also see the extra sheet) via this link. GMs, you can make comments on the spreadsheet as well, so if you have suggestions for the extra sheet please feel free to add them!

6/4/13 - New Custom Items

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:32:04 -0700

New items added (Rigley)! They should be addable after the next server restart!

300318 - Red Gilnean Jacket
300319 - Black Gilnean Jacket
300320 - Brown Gilnean Jacket
300321 - Dreadshredder Jacket
300322 - Dreadshredder Shorts
300323 - Dreadshredder Underplate
300324 - Black Embersilk Jacket
300325 - Black Embersilk Kilt
300326 - Black Embersilk Pants
300327 - Black Embersilk Gloves
300328 - Black Embersilk Headgear
300329 - Black Embersilk Shoulders
300330 - Black Embersilk Belt
300331 - Black Embersilk Boots
300332 - Red Embersilk Jacket
300333 - White Embersilk Jacket
300334 - White Trousers
300335 - Gray Trousers
300336 - Hardsuit Helm
300337 - Hardsuit Chestguard
300338 - Hardsuit Legplates
300339 - Hardsuit Underplate
300340 - Hardsuit Gauntlets
300341 - Hardsuit Boots
300342 - Hardy Gilnean Boots
300343 - Red Desert Tunic
300344 - Blue Twilight Shawl
300345 - Brown Twilight Shawl
300346 - Brown Primal Shawl
300347 - White Primal Shawl
300348 - Blue Kirin Tor Jacket
300349 - Blue Jacket
300350 - Green Jacket
300351 - Brown Dunewalker Tunic
300352 - Blue Royal Tunic
300353 - Flight Club Vest
300354 - Flight Club Jacket
300355 - Silver-Lined Jacket
300356 - Red Armbands
300357 - Brown Suspenders
300358 - Fine Green Vest
300359 - Crimson Chain Armor
300360 - Silver Shoulderguards
300361 - Priest's Overcoat
300362 - Priest's Cowl
300363 - Priest's Grips
300364 - Green Lightbringer Shoulders
300365 - Green Lightbringer Chest
300366 - Green Lightbringer Legguards
300367 - Green Lightbringer Bracers
300368 - Green Lightbringer Gauntlets
300369 - Green Imperial Chest
300370 - Green Imperial Legguards
300371 - Green Imperial Bracers
300372 - Green Imperial Gauntlets
300373 - Green Imperial Belt
300374 - Green Imperial Boots
300375 - Entertainer's Armbands
300376 - Tribal Armbands
300377 - Dark Spectacles
300378 - Blue Bandit Mask
300379 - Zhevra Shades
300380 - Silver Jouster's Helm
300381 - Flowing Red Hood
300382 - Loose Black Mask
300383 - Teal Diving Helm
300384 - Bishop's Cap
300385 - Gray Diving Helm
300386 - Red Diving Helm
300387 - Low Grey Hood
300388 - Low Black Hood
300389 - Low Purple Hood
300390 - Drawn Black Hood
300391 - Steel Hawk Helm
300392 - Elven Bandit Mask
300393 - Earthforged Shoulders
300394 - Earthforged Belt
300395 - Earthforged Boots
300396 - Earthforged Gauntlets
300397 - Marshal's Undershirt
300398 - Marshal's Bracers
300399 - Gilnean Rifle
300400 - Goblin Handheld Cannon
300401 - Dwarven 'Pistol'
300402 - Goblin Pipe Gun
300403 - Crude Crossbow
300404 - Simple Crossbow
300405 - Big Blank Boots
300406 - Big Blank Treads

5/2/13 - New Custom Items

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:02:13 -0700

I hate Rigley right now. I have more to add of the Gilnean and other stuffs, but this is all for now. Also, I added a copy of the goggles in the 300k range!

300283 - Character Naked-Bug-Fixer Goggles (Nakeyness Pulverizer)
300284 - Black Gilnean Fascinator
300285 - White Gilnean Fascinator
300286 - Red Gilnean Fascinator
300287 - Gold-Rimmed Spectacles
300288 - Black Spectacles
300289 - Red-Tinted Glasses
300290 - Gold Monocle
300291 - Blue Monocle
300292 - Green Top Hat
300293 - Bronze-Rimmed Top Hat
300294 - Full-Black Top Hat
300295 - Red Top Hat
300296 - Gentleman''s Dapper Combo
300297 - Fine Gold Cloak
300298 - Fine Red Cloak
300299 - Noble''s Golden Cloak
300300 - Extravagant Green Suit [Male]
300301 - Extravagant Green Pants [Male]
300302 - Extravagant Blue Suit [Male]
300303 - Extravagant Blue Pants [Male]
300304 - Extravagant Red Suit [Male]
300305 - Extravagant Red Pants [Male]
300306 - Red Standard Suit [Male]
300307 - Red Standard Pants [Male]
300308 - Red Normal Dress [Female] [TOP]
300309 - Red Normal Dress [Female] [BOTTOM]
300310 - Black Normal Dress [Female] [TOP]
300311 - Black Normal Dress [Female] [BOTTOM]
300312 - Extravagant Beige Dress [Female] [TOP]
300313 - Extravagant Beige Dress [Female] [BOTTOM]
300314 - Extravagant Blue Dress [Female] [TOP]
300315 - Extravagant Blue Dress [Female] [BOTTOM]
300316 - Extravagant Red Dress [Female] [TOP]
300317 - Extravagant Red Dress [Female] [BOTTOM]

All Custom (300k range) Items

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:00:32 -0700

I figured that, with Cata looming over us, I'd take the time to create and publish a spreadsheet of all the custom items (300k range) that people can add on their own.

Take a look here!

I will try and keep this up-to-date with new items added!

Half-Breed NPCs

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:47:23 -0700

So apparently there was some confusion with the previous poll regarding half-breeds. In addition, during the lead-up to the poll, there was more of a focus on lobbying for more leniency with half-breed NPCs instead of actual playable half-breeds. However, it seems that the latter does indeed have some support, especially if we stick to confirmed lore examples. I personally didn't really differentiate the two, and didn't think of separating them. I am curious to see what everyone thinks, however, and whether there may be different results compared to the playable half-breeds.

As before, feel free to elaborate regarding your opinion!

Half-Breeds

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:31:47 -0700

Alright, so lately there's been some lobbying for the notion of allowing half-breeds. I believe it all started when there was discussion about half-breed NPC children (naturally resulting from PCs of differing races WooHooing and having a child), which I didn't realize really occurred at all. To make a long story short, it eventually evolved into the possibility of allowing half-breeds, period.

So! I am curious to know what everyone thinks and whether they believe it should be allowed, and/or to what extent. Do you think it should? If so, should it be limited to what pairings have been confirmed in lore? Or perhaps you may think that we've done well enough so far without them and should continue along that path? Please feel free to present reasonings for or against, or present other alternatives!

3/5/13 - Google Search Bar

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:00:55 -0800

So! As folks have noticed by now, I added the Google search right at the top of the forums. Before, I had the CotH G-Search in the side menu, as well as had the Search button at the top point to a separate page for it. After discovering that a pop-up method for the search results was now possible (thanks, TrinityCore webmaster, for bringing it to light), I went to work on implementing it myself!

As before, the Google search indexes all pages/topics that a normal Visitor can access (at some point I'll take the time to review what all they can view and ensure they can at least see everything that a Peon can see, and if not I may make a special usergroup for that purpose). It does not include private forums, so if you need to search for something of that nature, you'll still need to use the forum built-in search.

I'm also still working on the appearance of the search results, but I'm rather bad at CSS rules, so I'm perplexed as to why some of my stylesheets are being ignored in favor of the default. Anyone versed in CSS, please feel free to speak up!

Other than that, how do folks like it? The search defaults to including the Forums, Wiki, and GM IDs site (http://gm.conquestofthehorde.com), but you can narrow your results using the tabs at the top of the results page.

2/27/13 - Cataclysm Updates

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:35:37 -0800

So, I thought it may be ideal for folks to get a status update for the darn Cata server.

As I mentioned in my other Cata thread, I decided that we would stick with 4.3.4. Reasons include those stated in @Grakor456's Ark vs Trinity thread. Furthermore, Ark has stopped supporting their 4.0.6a branch (or at least they no longer develop it). For more reading, feel free to also take a look at Grak's Concerning Cataclysm thread.

Recently, I managed to port over all the custom items as well as made .addrp versions of all weapons/armor (<= epic quality) in the new database (including things such as shirts and tabards). I also ported over custom NPC vendor tables (though they may be changed with the new items available). Something to point out is that custom items no longer have question marks in your inventory (unless their displayID doesn't actually exist), so organizing them will be much better. Furthermore, they actually act like normal items (for abilities/enchanting). I still need to test them with transmogrification, however.

It is important to note that Trinity 4.3.4 is still in an alpha state. This precedes a beta, which means there will be (and are) bugs; the developers intend it only for developmental purposes. The worgen transformation bugs were fixed, but some big ones involve the rubber-banding of other characters (movement), as well as occasionally not even seeing other characters (not a phasing issue, it just doesn't/can't update the display. There's an error that shows up on the console when this happens). One resolution is to phase out and back in, though I may see if I can find or create a workaround for players (something that may phase out a character really quickly or the like).

As folks have probably noticed by now, we're rolling out the custom patch to the rest of the world, instead of just designated patch areas. This effectively makes the custom patch required now! So, be sure to get it if you haven't already! I bring this up because I currently intend on leaving both servers running, at least for a while, when Cata is "officially released," whenever that may be. I realize there are people that are rather against switching to Cata, and I also think there will be a fair amount of folks that may not want to deal with the bugs that the Cata server will have. Therefore, I'll keep both servers up to present a choice for folks. I know that it could split the population a bit, but I think it also has the potential to attract (and retain) more folks as well.

Folks are free to log into the Cata server if they want to test it out, though GMs will not give out any items or port folks (so no DKs, worgen, or goblins). The unstucker in the Components has been updated to let folks choose between the WotLK server or Cata, so if you get stuck you can still use that.

If you need a full 4.3.4 client, use one of the following torrents:
PC - Here or Here (Archived version)
Mac - Here (Be sure to read this guide by Reigen involving the process)

After fully downloading the files, I'd suggest to make a copy of the folder so your "fresh" WoW folder isn't touched, and then use the copied folder for connecting (or simply extract the files if you're on PC). I highly recommend to get this batch file, put it in your WoW folder, and then run it. It simply renames the launcher to prevent accidentally running it, makes a patch-related file non-writable (to help prevent the game from automatically patching), as well as automatically alters the realmlist (for enUS and enGB clients - if you have another client, let me know which region so I can update the batch file for future users).

2/8/13 - Forum Stuff

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 02:08:29 -0800

Added in a new subforum under Server Info - Custom Roleplay Locations. This subforum will be used to showcase new (and existing) custom RP locations, both for ease of discovery and organization. Existing threads of current custom RP locations will eventually all be moved there, as will all future threads. This should also help in possibly encouraging new players to take a look at the various locations. New threads involving custom RP locations should include a decent amount of pictures to help folks get an idea of what they have to look forward to. Only GMs will be able to create new threads in this subforum, but Peons+ will be able to post replies.
Extended the width of the post editor container so as to prevent the overlap of the textbox.

Tapatalk and Forumrunner

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:29:05 -0800

Just a reminder to folks that the forum supports use of both Tapatalk and Forumrunner. Long ago, we initially started with Tapatalk, and after a while (when it started causing crashes/lock-ups of the web server after a forum update) I switched to Forumrunner.
Recently, I received an update email notifying me of an update for Tapatalk. I decided to activate it again to try it out once more, and one of the things I noticed is that it has support for the custom "like" plugin built in, which I found amusing.
Anyway, for now I'm testing having them both enabled, and I just wanted to remind folks that apps exist to read the forum easier on tablets and mobile devices!

(Posted from teh phonez!)

1/2/13 - Cataclysm Code Stuff

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:58:40 -0800

So, as I mentioned in the Cata announcement thread the other day, it's almost certain we'll be sticking with 4.3.4 (with TrinityCore). Doing this has also made it quite easier to port over custom code changes.

Some notes:

- Custom creatures and self-made gameobjects have been ported over. This does not include gameobjects requiring the patch (and those ones probably won't be re-introduced anytime in the near future).

- Next on the plate is porting over custom-made items. .addrp items will be recreated using the Cata item database table.

- Transmogrifying is free. Once I have .addrp items in the database, I'll test using them as sources for transmog (hopefully the code will permit removing the "no stats" restriction).

- I've successfully tested mail retrieval being at an account level. This means that mail sent to any of your characters can also be retrieved from any of your characters on that same account.
e.g. Kretol sends Grakor a mail. Grak doesn't feel like playing Grak during that week and has been on Balgarn and Thragash for most of the week. Grak still sees that he received a message whether he's on Balgarn or Thragash (he also sees the new mail indicator on his minimap border).
Downside: Mail does not specify who it's to, considering it's not normally supposed to act like this. I'll test a bit more and see if I can automatically make the code pre-pend messages with something like "To: CharacterName\n\n" or such so there's no confusion.

12/30/12 - Some Housecleaning

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 19:19:26 -0800

Just to note, some deprecated subdomains have been abolished from the site. These include the crp, cothworld, and gallery subdomains.

I will have user pictures available for a temporary amount of time here, so for those that uploaded pictures and don't happen to have other copies available, feel free to re-download them!