posted 11-22-2000 02:32 PM            

<Morlack> ok, gmornin btw- and great job on that intro duction to birth.. But my first question would be, and ive been dieing to ask.. Is PC vs PC breeding going to be intergrated?
<GL-Jeff> Yes

<Cronniss> How will skills be associated with each other? In other words, if I take mining, what skills will be "directly linked" to it? (Like, would metalurgy, geology, blacksmithing,etc. be associated with it?) And how could we tell what skills would be in direct oposition? (Like, would carpentry be in direct oposition to mining, even tho you need wooden beams to brace & shore the walls of a tunnel?)
<GL-Jeff> The skill's category will determine which skills it works well with and which skills it comflicts with.
<GL-Jeff> We will release detailed information in this area so that there is no confusion, most likely

<Razkir> Will knowledge of how to build build houses and other buildings be required to build them in Dawn?
<Razkir> I just mean as far as,
<Razkir> how to properly construst them.
<Razkir> will we need to know exact measurements and stuff of everything so our house won't collapse
<Razkir> because its built improperly
<GL-Jeff> No, house building will be a pretty easy process for the player, but hard for the character.
<GL-Jeff> Structures will be chosen from a list of items that you know how to build (which of course will grow as the game progresses) and will take a lot of man power and resources to build but not a lot of brain power

<JLBesser> Regarding reserections, you said that they will require a life. Will that person have to give up their life willingly, or can it be taken?
<GL-Jeff>
<GL-Jeff> Well it depends on the magic you are using
<GL-Jeff> The "white" magic based ressurections will require cooperation, but some "black" magic may allow for actually stealing a soul.

<Cronniss> Will Barding be available for horses and other pack type animals?
<GL-Jeff> Singing horses?
<Cronniss> hehe....no, barding as in armor for horses
<GL-Jeff> oh hehe too much EQ for me
<GL-Jeff> Yes you will be able to equip your mounts with appropriate gear.
<GL-Jeff> You won't be able to equip people gear on 4 legged beasts though.

<Morlack> Lately ive been thinking about this, but I was never here if it was answered.. But is food going to be required to survive?
<GL-Jeff> Well yes, to survive a decent existance you'll want food.
<GL-Jeff> Otherwise your stats wither away to nothing and you trip and die.

<JLBesser> Will all races have markings as the dwarves have balacee with markings? And will all races have a new race name for their subrace with the marking?
<GL-Jeff> No, the Balace is unique in its degeneracy.

<Kaim> What happens to followers after our death?
<GL-Jeff> They remain loyal to their masters! But i can say no more.

<Cronniss> Will gunpowder be able to be created from the elements of the land?
<GL-Jeff> Nah
<GL-Jeff> Gunpowder is yucky, we like swords and shields

<Kilor> How will followers react when there masters are killed? Iknow I asked this before was wondering if any new info?
<GL-Jeff> They won't be happy! I can assure you that killing the main character won't keep you safe from his followers, long term or short.

<anarchyklown> How deep will we be able to explore the oceans and will just the swimming skill be used in this?
<GL-Jeff> You'll be going real deep
<GL-Jeff> The way the engine is setup, believe it or not, there is no limit to how deep the ocean can get.
<GL-Jeff> Remember we're not limiting you to a rectangular existance like other games.
<GL-Jeff> The only thing thats going to stop you from digging a hole from one side of the planet to the other is perhaps some lava

<Cronniss> Will I be able to turn people to stone, cause paralisis, aging?
<GL-Jeff> ...probably not permanently
<GL-Jeff> but if there are any permanent effect spells like turning someone into stone then it would require that you first beat them into submission.

<Cronniss> Can I make food and poison it. Can I make exploding chests for people to find?
<GL-Jeff> You can poison any item in the game including food.
<GL-Jeff> Exploding chests (boobie traps) have not yet been decided on yet.

<Cronniss> Can I paint my face for war and also my guild members to match?
<GL-Jeff> minus one "yet"
<GL-Jeff> There will be a way to mark yourself on the game, but it won't be extremely complex...remember each original mark has to be downloaded by everyone who sees it and that can cause some bandwidth problems for our modem users so we are fairly limited in this area.
<GL-Jeff> You will be able to design small patterns for tattoos, however, that should look pretty nice.

<Cronniss> How large can the battles be keeping in mind the lag problem?
<GL-Jeff> Large battles won't cause lag at all, but i will Not disucss why or how.

<anarchyklown> When a female that becomes pregnant suffer any stat loss and how long in game does pregnancy last?
<GL-Jeff> Pregnancy will last about a week real time. There won't be any stat loss until the very last day of pregnancy.

<Cronniss> Can I change my hair styles in the game every so often. Will Hair grow?
<GL-Jeff> For identification purposes (and implementation reasons) hair will not be manipulatable in-game.
<GL-Jeff> You will be able to mess with it during character creation.
<GL-Jeff> There will be no bad hair days in Dawn, so sayeth Jeff.

<Thoth> About power outages.. Will the world (with its multiple nonspawning PCs and NPCs) remain in a "frozen" state or will it, and its associated astronomical bodies, be reset to a predetermined "zero" point upon powerloss?
<GL-Jeff> Everything is frozen when the servers go down. We'll have backup power though because its a real pain in the butt when they do go down.

<Cronniss> Will teeth be visible? If so can they be knocked out?
<GL-Jeff> Teeth won't be visible, so we can pretend that we've implemented something that knocks teeth out but we haven't

<Ombrenoire> Will a person be able to specilize <sp> in a form of fighting (ie knife, club) and if so will there be a damage bonus when a person decides to use this style of fighting
<GL-Jeff> Specialization is merely focusing in one area...there's no need for arbitrary bonuses here and there because the damage calculation equations are well balanced to begin with.
<GL-Jeff> However, we will be including special melee/caster ability skills that are attained during game play - not practiced - in order to spice things up.

<Cronniss> This one is about psionics. There seems to be some question about what psionic powers there MAY be in Dawn. Other than the messaging system, and possibly telekinesis & pyrokinesis, will there be psionic powers in the game? And if so, what kinds of powers/disciplines can we expect to find in Dawn?
<GL-Jeff> Psionic powers are honestly quite difficult to implement in a game and keep things balanced. We'll probably be limiting it to communication.
<GL-Jeff> You are welcome to add possible ideas to the beta testers database in the forums that we will look at when the time comes.

<Morlack> Will spells, the larger ones, effect the terain when you cast it and miss, or just cast it?
<GL-Jeff> Spells will be able to both damage trees/vegetation and displace terrain.

<Cronniss> My last question from someone in my group....he REALLY wants to know....Have you ever seen a grown man nekkid?
<GL-Jeff> Only in movies.
<GL-Jeff> But don't get the wrong idea, i don't seek out movies with such sights

<JLBesser> You said that the things about scripting will be revoked? What now will we have to choose from?
<GL-Jeff> A list of behaviors.
<GL-Jeff> Scripting *may* be in the game...but we can't make a final ruling until all the leveling/ skill gaining code has been written and it hasn't yet.

<Asimov> I was wondering, with skill categories, will it be possible to raise two different skills in different categories to a high amount, just harder? Or will one lower another?
<GL-Jeff> Yes, depending on the degree of which two categories conflict it will simply be harder to train the skills in both areas.
<GL-Jeff> Some categories, however, may be in total conflict making it impossible to be profecient in both areas.

<Morlack> this loophole that you speak of, Will changing into any of the species through it effect stats in a positive way? cause if they put em a positive way... it would pull out some nasty pkers
<GL-Jeff> The process by which you become another species is quite debilitating actually.
<GL-Jeff> Its not like *poof* you're a dragon now go kill everyone.

<Kilor> Any ifo on wether we will need molds to create weapons or are we just going to have to pound them out?
<GL-Jeff> There will be both molding and pounding.

<JLBesser> If we happen to be near GL's headquarters, are we allowed to just drop by and see the place and people?
<GL-Jeff> At this time we don't have a big headquarters with secrataries and rows of cubicles, so it probably wouldn't be as exciting as you may think, but yes

<thijszilla> by what means can you explore under water? only spels or with inventions you have to build too?
<GL-Jeff> Well all effects in the game are spell based. Even if you put on an item that would allow you to breathe underwater it would still be considered a spell.
<GL-Jeff> So 'inventing' an item that allowed you to breath under water is possible, but its still a spell

<Thoth> Will we be able to Carve , not just paint or etch, rocks or wood thereby enabeling Monolithic structures?
<GL-Jeff> The environment will be very manipulatable but probably not that much. You will only be able to carve words into things, you can't create David.

<Morlack> Will after the infant stage, will we go straight to adulthood? or flipflop gradually from infantcy to childhood, then to teenage, then to adult?
<GL-Jeff> After infant stage you are full functional, but the fact that you are not a full grown man yet will be visible graphically.

<Dantier> Will we be able to construct roads? And if so what will be our options...dirts, cobbled, etc.
<GL-Jeff> We're still playing around with the road idea...its actually more of a pain in the butt to implement than you might think. Like walls you'll probably be able to construct roads piece by piece.

<Ombrenoire> will it be possible to leave the midevil times in this game, like go into the computer age on dawn
<GL-Jeff> No
<GL-Jeff> Well possibly but it will take about 100 years gameplay

<anarchyklown> In previous chats youve said terrain digging might not work horizontally, how is this comming along?
<GL-Jeff> We're only allowing vertical digging and thats pretty final now. You will be able to make underground areas in which to live in with the help of structures.

<thijszilla> will you always have a child when you "breed"?
<GL-Jeff> No

<Sebastian> Will different regions in the game favor different crops? If yes, will this be because of real weather patterns? Rainfall, and temperature variance? Also, does this open up total warfare, i.e., a mage freezing your crops... ? And, could the climate change over time within a region, and how would it be effected, if so?
<GL-Jeff> Certain crops will be indigenous to certain areas in the world, but there are no special formulas we use that say "corn grows best in 35% sunlight and 2 pints of water per acre per day" etc so you can grow anything anywhere basically, its not overly complex.

<Axehandler> LOL - 1/2 asleep here. =) - Have you guys decided how many spells can be placed on weapons to enhance them? and have you taken any of the idea's we posted about making the weapons so they arnt the same?
<GL-Jeff> It will be vary rare to find two weapons that are exactly the same.
<GL-Jeff> There are subtle changes in spells that allow for thousands of different degrees of spells to be placed on items, but i can't give you a number on the amount of different effects there will be.

<thijszilla> when building, can annyone just join building, or will they have to talk to the supervising builder first to know what to do?
<GL-Jeff> Basically you can just join building.

<Thoth> Will things be preassembled to a point or will we activly have to, say... brade our own twine into ropes, or assemble the materials to make bricks..mix them manually then bake them?..how minipulative will the programming allow?
<GL-Jeff> (its a lot like warcraft building/repairing)
<GL-Jeff> Well when you are making rope, you're not going to be switched into a screen where you see big fingers and you have to control them with your mouse in order to braid the rope.
<GL-Jeff> Basically you'll be taking resources and combning them either manually or with tools...there will be a high degree of interaction, but not to the point where you actually have to, for instance, move your mouse in a circular pattern to mix the ingredients.

<JLBesser> Do Raz and 7o6 have any past works that we can see?
<GL-Jeff> They're past impressive works were largely created for the use in private projects I believe, I'm not really sure you'll have to ask them yourself.

<Brisk> what type of weapons will be attached to ships for use in Naval war or town Sieges? Also is a boat built the same way as other buildings?
<GL-Jeff> Yes boats are built the same way as other structures. I don't think we have plans for having boats with attached weaponry, you'll have to wheel ballistas and catapults onboard.

<arillyn> How far can we go to "individualise" the characters
<arillyn> Graphically I mean
<GL-Jeff> Players will be able to equip a armor and clothing in an EQ type fashion but with many more possibilties of color/design because the players themselves will be choosing what the clothing they make looks like.
<GL-Jeff> Nearly every item, down to the rings, will be visible on the player models
<GL-Jeff> And during character creation you will be able to manipulate your hair (on your head and facial)
<GL-Jeff> I had something else to say but i can't remember

<JLBesser> Currenty, more and more big beta sites are featuring Dawn, and a few of them are even going to attempt to create network news sites for Dawn. Will GL be supporting these news sites or will they ignore them?
<GL-Jeff> Yes we're in the process of abandoning our underground shelter and getting on some of the more major networks for publicity.
<GL-Jeff> We have accomplished what we wanted with our initial word of mouth beta tester population
<GL-Jeff> which was develop an understanding with a small group of people and handpick those who would have Eye status in the game

<thijszilla> so persons have souls, can you use them to take over that person, or do annything else with it besides ress.?
<GL-Jeff> Nothing comes to mind..
<GL-Jeff> but i can say that you cannot capture another person and use them as a follower.
<GL-Jeff> all followers must be attained at infancy for balance purposes

<anarchyklown> What musical instruments are you planning to put in the game so far?
<GL-Jeff> We don't have big plans for players being able to write/play their own music in the game as of yet.
<GL-Jeff> But we're considering it
<GL-Jeff> And you can expect to see standard instruments if we do, no electric guitars...just medieval fun stuff

<Thagg> Will there be a number on human civs to choose from? white, black, red, asian
<GL-Jeff> Races won't vary ethnically via graphics
<GL-Jeff> The different cultures that develop won't be preprogrammed, they will arise due to the difference resources and indigenous to the civ's areas.

<arillyn> Will there be mechanisms in place to discipline "grief players" (ie players who harrass, abuse (including verbally) others)
<GL-Jeff> Anyone who goes out of their way to piss other people off with OOC actions will be treated as tho his character is mentally unstable.
<GL-Jeff> But as long as someone is staying within the realm of role play, there will be no penalty for choosing to play an evil character.

<Kilor> will we be able to make a npc (insert race here) a follower if we find them at lvl 1?
<GL-Jeff> This hasn't been decided on yet.
<GL-Jeff> We're considering only allowing you to have non-super-intelligent species as followers.
<GL-Jeff> And i'm pretty sure that will be the final ruling.

<Razkir> In the very beginning of the game, (first few minutes)would it be possible for some people to kill a monster, and that monster had an item on it that you normally couldn't so early into the game, such as: armor, weapons, etc?
<GL-Jeff> No Razkir, there's much about the beginning of the game thats left a secret. Remember you are always born to parents, you won't be thrown into a world of nothingness.

<Brisk> Is it possible to 'poison' food? If yes , are their going to be skills used to 'detect' poison? Also is it possible for blood to be implemented in Dawn? This would allow for other neat features like Blood trials , vampires , etc?
<GL-Jeff> We all love blood, but there won't be long term blood trails. Quakish style gore is what we use to describe the violence level of Dawn.
<GL-Jeff> So you can expect blood...but dont expect blood to be splattered on your face during battle and not wash off until you take a swim ( we wish we could implement this but we can't at this time)
<GL-Jeff> And as far as poison detection, yes there will be a skill

<thijszilla> what degeneracy are you talking about when referring to the balace
<GL-Jeff> The balace's degeneracy is a mystery...
<GL-Jeff> All i can say is playing a balace will be very different from playing another type of race.
<GL-Jeff> They have very unusual stats.

<Razkir> Will there be breathing devices we can make, so we don't run out of air while underwater?
<GL-Jeff> Spell based breathing devices, yes.

<arillyn> Do you have any idea what system requirements will be needed to install and play "Dawn"?
<GL-Jeff> Quake3 type requirements.

<thijszilla> when you say no limit to how deep the ocean can getm does that mena it could be bigger than the dawn world, or is it just a way of speaking?
<GL-Jeff> Just a way of speaking

<Morlack> Heh, how thick will Dawns crust be? Lava may stop you, but someone will just devote their whole time in Dawn to split the whole freakin planet in 2 lol
<GL-Jeff> I can't tell you how thick it is, thats something that will be left to experimentation.

<Brisk> Will you guys put in any surprises in random spots in the ocean/ground? This way some people might go 'treasure digging' or find a nice donation when making a city?
<GL-Jeff> It won't be like the crates in red alert, but there is always the possibility to find BIG surprises in the land of Dawn.

<arillyn> I have heard all the horrid things players can do to each other...what can a "good" player do in defense?
<GL-Jeff> All the horrid things that can be done to the "good" guys can also be done to the "bad" guys. Perm death goes both ways, and so does capture/imprisonment. Under the assumption that the majority of the players are "good" guys, there shouldn't be a problem with the "bad" populace taking over. But if they do then so be it - this is not a game about controlling the actions of players its quite the opposite.

<Axehandler> Will we find that an ancient race once inhabited the lands? - thus allowing us to find new Majiks and Such? or no such luck there?
<GL-Jeff> You'll be getting information on the dominate species very soon. And yes this could definitely allow you to find new magic and power.

<thijszilla> will i be able to enslave npc's or pc's i capture?
<GL-Jeff> You can attempt to force them to do work for you by threatening their lives...but you cannot make them your followers.
<GL-Jeff> Slaving probably won't be a very profitable endeavor in Dawn simply because people will log and let AI take over and the AI will more likely than not reject any form of slavery.

<JLBesser> will we be able to cause others players to have ahllucinations and see things that they aren't really seeing?
<GL-Jeff> Depending on the strength of you magic yes. Much like there are spells that turn things invisible there are spells that make it appear as tho there are things that exist that aren't really there.

<Thagg> Will NPCs have thier own moral beliefs, will i be able to order "any" NPC folower to kill an old ma or child?
<GL-Jeff> NPC's are programmed to realize the importance of staying out of trouble. Like PC's however there will always be some rotten eggs..purposely.

<Cronniss> Will tattoos be able to be erased/wiped?
<GL-Jeff> There will be a plastic surgery trade and with the aid of lasers you will able to remove tattoos.
<GL-Jeff> Actually it hasn't been decided, but you can assume tattoos will be fairly permanent and you might be better off getting the pattern put on your gear instead of your skin.

<Brisk> With Naval vechiles will thing such as Sail material , number of rowers, or other enhancements make different empires navies more powerful? (Meaning can you make ships go faster/ram harder with such things?)
<GL-Jeff> Row powered ships will definitely travel at different speeds depending on the rowers.
<GL-Jeff> And yes you will be able to ram ships and cause damage.
<GL-Jeff> As with any structures, the materials you build it out of will determines its effectiveness.

<Axehandler> You said the players that were chosen as EYE's won't be informed... If I signed up for an Eye.. how would I know if I made it or not? and should I just act as and EYE.. etc.. etc???
<GL-Jeff> Well an Eye shouldn't act any differently from a nonEye and thats essentially the reason why we are not telling you who's an Eye and who isn't
<GL-Jeff> We don't want the Eyes bragging about their status, and this will ensure they cannot.

<Morlack> Will we be able to control all of our parts of our body? meaning like we can move our fingers *non emote wise* and move our legs in certain ways? and will, if we have to move our fingers and such, will using\handling certain objects require balance and such?
<GL-Jeff> Heh, no
<GL-Jeff> i wish the technology was adavanced enough to support that but it isnt'

<thijszilla> will you have annymeans of birth control or abortion?
<GL-Jeff> Possibly abortion but not birth control.

<JLBesser> in game, will we be able to reflect light into beams, possibly even colored beams?
<GL-Jeff> Nope sorry

<Morlack> Is there any chance at birth for something to go wrong? like you get mutated cause the parent is unhealthily taking care of herself? Well I guess mutate is a harsh word for it, but how about disabled?
<GL-Jeff> Definitely.

<Bartman> thanks - My question: Will there be a facility to record a section of the game? IE not just a screenshot, but 10-15 seconds of gametime etc.. (Does that make sense?)
<GL-Jeff> Motion capture has already been implemented in the engine...and you probably will be able to use it.
<GL-Jeff> But there are some OOC concerns with it... so you may be limited to screenshots.

<Morlack> With the question I had, will spells effect terain when casted.. I meant, can I like blow up a mountain side wall for tunneling with some big spell?
<GL-Jeff> It would take one hell of a spell to blow up a mountain, but yes spells will effect the terrain just as digging would to a certain degree.

<Cronniss> Has it been decied yet as to wether or not Dawn will be full-screen or windowed?
<GL-Jeff> Previously we had said that we will be allowing windowed play, but we're going back on that, sorry.
<GL-Jeff> You may still be able to alt tab out of the game
<GL-Jeff> but we don't want people to be able able to so easily communicate out of the game

<JLBesser> About the loophole, will the change be permanent? And also, how common will activation of this loophole be?
<GL-Jeff> The change will be permanent, and I can't really say how common it will be.
<GL-Jeff> Its up to how much the players want to be other species i suppose.

<Brisk> Will their be any Gold or Plantinum Beta CDs? Also can one buy any sort of Dawn Merchandise? (ie: shirts,hats,keychains,etc.) ?
<GL-Jeff> There will just be on version of Dawn, but its possible that we will release seperate CDs with music upgrades.
<GL-Jeff> As far as merchandise, its a bit too early to decide on that but most likely yes.

<Bartman> is there any plan to provide any voice-style communications, a la roger wilco or something? would help for long, 'proper' conversations
<GL-Jeff> This was considered, but it turns out area based voice communication is a definite no-no for modem users.
<GL-Jeff> IF we have voice communication it will be via the use of psionics.

<Cronniss> Since the subject of swimming & being underwater is prevelant....will it be possible to die by drowning?
<GL-Jeff> Yes of course.

<Cronniss> How's the Jack Daniels holding up? =]
<GL-Jeff> I don't drink any JD, doesn't help the programming mind, but 7o6 and Raz are both passed out right now so go figure
<GL-Jeff> j/k of course

<Asimov> You stated earlier that spells could damage trees. Would this put the Sylvains at a disadvantage with their tree houses. Would damage to the tree cause the house to collapse or fall down with the tree?
<GL-Jeff> Naturally there are both advantages and disadvantage to building your house high in the trees.
<GL-Jeff> But its safe to assume that a tree strong enough and large enough to hold a house will be very difficult to damage.

<thijszilla> so how are you doing in the music department? got anny music you are gonna release before the game comes out?
<GL-Jeff> We've got another animation in the works w/ music but that will probably be one of the last until the release of the game.

<Bartman> if we cant dig horizontally, is there the chance of natural caverns that extend horizontally?
<GL-Jeff> Yes there may exist such things
<GL-Jeff> Also, you can simulate horizontal digging with earthen structure building...so your dream of living underground may become a reality

<Lanu> You said that pregnancy would last for about a week. Does this mean we have to wait a week before we can enter as an infant, or will there be a 'stock' of pregnant NPCs so you will go right to the infantile stage?
<GL-Jeff> There will be a 'stock'
<GL-Jeff> You won't have to wait a week unless you choose your parents right after they conceive
<thijszilla> are you guys "l33t liek jeffk!!!!!1" ?
<GL-Jeff> I sure as hell 4/\/\

<Cronniss> Will a user's manual be available to view/read before the beta is distibuted (possibly online)?
<GL-Jeff> Yes, but it will be very different from other game manuals in that it will only exist to get you started in the game, not to teach you about how the game itself works.

<Morlack> Will we be able to customably make certain... grr, I dont wanna call em cars, but sort of carts where you can pull people in? like are we able to put how many wheels we want on it, and how many sort of objects that should be connected 2 it... or will we not be able to customize that much?
<GL-Jeff> All structures will have to be chosen from a list of "buildables"

<Thagg> I realize you can customize your skin tone, but are there different civs of humans to choose from in charater creation that would portray an asian or white or black character?
<GL-Jeff> No, the different races won't vary ethnically via graphics.

<Cronniss> Considering the relatively low turnout of international beta testers to this Q&A chat session, will there be another "off-hours" session for those of us in the US who cannot make it to the ones at "regular" times? (I and my "group" work the swing shift.)
<GL-Jeff> (Besides the terms asian, african, etc don't even make sense in Dawn's world)
<GL-Jeff> Yeah we're going to vary our chat session times, doesn't really matter to me i'm up all the time

<Thagg> Will you be able to change your hair color with dye or change the hair style after creation?
<GL-Jeff> At this point no.

<arillyn> What of the characters physical characteristics? such as body size, eye colour etc..will we be able to manipulate these during creation?
<GL-Jeff> We're either going to make those changes based on stats or allow you to change them during character creation, we're probably going to ask beta testers opinion on that matter in the near future.

<thijszilla> will the beta testers get their name or nickname in some sort of manual or screen when the game comes out?
<GL-Jeff> Heh, that'd be a lot of names
<GL-Jeff> Probably not sorry

<Kvarno> Will you be able to assign a name to a player so that it would show instead of the speaker's iden
<GL-Jeff> Most likely not because such a system could be exploited to assert the identity of people in disguise.

<Bartman> how immersive will sound, 3D sound etc be? Will i be able to hear the bear coming up behind me?
<GL-Jeff> Yes we'll be supporting 3D sound so you'll be able to tell from what direction things are coming from if you have a good pair of headphones or eve quad speakers.

<Squizz> Will characters be able to use musical instruments and "create" their own music via a preset number of tunes for example?
<GL-Jeff> This hasn't been decided on yet...the music made in this fashion would have to be very simple...midi types
<GL-Jeff> but we *might*

<Kvarno> Exactly how essential will eating be? How badly affected would you be if you haven't eaten for 5 days. Question also goes for drinking.
<GL-Jeff> After 5 game days you're a sitting duck, your stats have pretty much degraded to near nothing and anything could kill you.

<Brisk> will elevation be a factor in determining damage/defense in battle? Will flinging items from atop a building or charging down a hill give an attack/defense bonus?
<GL-Jeff> There will definitely be a range advantage/disadvantage for elevation.
<GL-Jeff> But rocks and such thrown by catapults use actualy physics to determine the amount of damage done, if a rock gains speed while falling down a cliff it will do more damage on impact.

<Cronniss> I understand we will be able to send communications to individuals, but how will group communications work (if at all)?
<GL-Jeff> Group communication is an essential part of Dawn.
<GL-Jeff> You will be able to organize groups and subgroups of which to communicate with.

<Brisk> will it be possible to start 'fires'? If so can you light buildings or walls up as a form of attack? Also what about adding fire to arrows?
<GL-Jeff> Heh, there's a been a lot of discussion on this topic.
<GL-Jeff> Destroying a wood based village won't be as easy as setting fire to it and wathcing it burn.
<GL-Jeff> Fire won't be very spreadable for mass damage and visual lag concerns.
<GL-Jeff> However, because all structures have different resistances, (wood would have a very low resistance to fire) things like fire will do a substantial amount of damage to certain structures.
<GL-Jeff> And yes you can flame an arrow with spells.

<Kvarno> How come you decided not to make the whole follower- idea part of a taming skill instead?
<GL-Jeff> Because taming skill implies that you will be taming things of varied levels.
<GL-Jeff> We cannot allow people to take total control of animals that are anything but infants
<GL-Jeff> Since this would be an exploitable way to gain power

<Brisk> will their be any unique souvigners(however it's spelled) that can be taken off of a dead body to show you kill that person or thing? (ie: to prove , in the case of a resurrection, that you kill a specific person? diablo2 has ears for example)
<GL-Jeff> Yes, heads will be detachable - for identification purposes this is necessary since there is no naming system.

<Kaim> are you going to make Blood splashes realistic or over gory?... like Quake? hehe
<GL-Jeff> It'll be like quake, whether you think that is realistic or over gory i dont know...personally i've never seen anyone get chopped in half IRL so i couldn't pass judgement myself.

<Thagg> How long will your body remain in the owrld after death and will it show signs of decomposition if it remains for awhile?
<GL-Jeff> Your body will gradually decompose for about a week but your items will remain.

<Squizz> As you are injured in combat, will your injuries be visible on the model?
<GL-Jeff> No, we can't afford that much detail at the time.

<Thagg> I've read on the boards that players will be able to make an unlimited ammount of characters. Does this mean we will have no definite number of character slots and will it remain after testing is complete?
<GL-Jeff> We'll be limiting your number of characters but it will be a nice high number like 10 or so.
<GL-Jeff> If i understood your question correctly: no your beta tester characters will not carry over to the retail.

<Kvarno> How good will customizable movement be? Will you be able to move your characters arms around quite freely, furrow eyebrows, snap fingers, lay down in different positions, etc graphically? Basically to what extent would it go? If not to a great extent will there be text based emotes to make up for it, and in that case how would it be made sure those weren't used to get passed an ig language boundry in the wrong way.
<GL-Jeff> There will be a long list of emotes that you can use, and we don't consider using them for communication to be "the wrong" way, we encourage emote based languages.

<thijszilla> will wards have an "epiration date" on wards, or will they remain in a part of the land, like a minefield after some wiz has gone crazy?
<GL-Jeff> Wards will not be permanent, all spells have a duration.

<Thagg> Will this ancient race be playable via the mysterious loophole?
<GL-Jeff> Yes all species will.

<thijszilla> will you implement torture, and allow people to build torture devices, or are we left on our own, just using you fists to keep punching the prisoner?
<GL-Jeff> Yes there will be torture devices for the very purpose you've stated, to keep prisoners from going to sleep.

<thijszilla> is there a limit to how many tattoo's someone can have, or will you be able to walk around naked in a tattood suit?
<GL-Jeff> There will most likely be a limit for graphical lag issues.

<Razkir> What happens to you if you are on a boat that sinks?
<GL-Jeff> I assume you mean sleeping on a boat when it sinks... You will end up at the surface of the water where ever the currents have taken you.

<Cronniss> Are you taking any more "applications" for being an Eye, or have all the Eye positions been filled?
<GL-Jeff> There is no application procedure. Eyes are hand picked from forum and IRC participation.

<Brisk> Is it possible to mix/make unique resources by combining current ones?
<GL-Jeff> You can't make new resources by combining two different ones, but you can use different amounts of different resoures in items to create varying degrees of quality.

<Cronniss> Since there will be a type of vision that allows you to see "mana" from magic producing items & such, will there be a way to "enchant" items so that all they do is hold/produce "mana"? (ala - heat mirrors from the Forgotten Realms Dark Elf Trilogy [Drizz't])
<GL-Jeff> Items themselves won't hold mana, they are merely the means by which to attain the power from another dimension. Hoewver items that are enchanted will be more visible with the mana type vision.

<anarchyklown> Will we be limited to a first person view?
<GL-Jeff> If we allow any other view it will be 3rd person "behind the ear" view. We will not consider allowing pannable cameras that allow you to see things that you shouldnt normally be able to see.

<Thagg> What races can breed with each other?
<GL-Jeff> We'll be releasing that info shortly.

<Cronniss> Since magic is item based, will there be a way to tell what kind of spells are being cast? (Like in EQ & AC, there are different motions that the caster goes thru depending on the spell.)
<GL-Jeff> Yes there will be different graphics for the different types of spells. When someone starts to cast something it will be fairly evident if he is meaning to heal you or hurt you.

<Cronniss> Per the loophole - you said that the change would be rather debilitating. Will it be possible to still level & raise stats after changing your species?
<GL-Jeff> Definitely, thats the idea

<Morlack> No reagents req'd for spells right?
<GL-Jeff> Yes that is correct, with the exception of things like souls for ressurection.

<Poindexter> Belay my last, My Q is this: How will you respond to those who decide they're going to use the ShowEQ alternative to hunting around, just make a packet interception program?
<GL-Jeff> There's a considerably smaller amount of data being sent to the client in Dawn than in EQ so there won't be as much to work with. Packet interception doesn't give people a HUGE advantage, but we will be testing some customized fast encoding methods to keep it a challenge for packet theives

<Brisk> will exretion (bal movements/pp) be implemented in dawn? I mean the food comes in but where does it come out? Also could you throw poopie at people / buildings jsut for the graphical comedy? Or P on a wall/city gate?
<GL-Jeff> No sir, this is not the stile project and there will be no poopie throwing whatsoever. You will not have to go to the bathroom in-game either.

<Morlack> what monsters will drop the rings for spells? and can you make the spell rings?
<GL-Jeff> Monsters wont drop rings
<GL-Jeff> NPC's that have made them might, however, and the majority of rings will be made by players, not looted off mobs

<anarchyklown> Without the use of horizontal digging how will we make moats?
<GL-Jeff> The digging system is ideal for canal, moat making.
<GL-Jeff> Although you can only dig down, there are several different types of ways you can dig.
<GL-Jeff> By moving forward slowly and pushing the earth to the left and right you will make a long ditch which can be filled with water.
<GL-Jeff> Get a bunch of people together to do this and you'll have yourself a fullsized moat.

<Thagg> There's been alot of questions about how efectively a dozen newbie "grown ups" can take down someone else considerably higher in level. Can you give us input or should we get a pool going and wait til beta?
<GL-Jeff> The general rule is that the sum of your levels will determine your power.
<GL-Jeff> So 4 level 5's should be able to tackle a level 20

<Amarok> will the terrain be completey regenerated for the release (after the beta) because of the terrain Manipulation?
<GL-Jeff> The terrain will be completely different, it will be an entirely different and larger map.

<Kvarno> If a character isn't played for over a month or so, how would the AI controlling it, be reacting? And will it still be in an invurnable state? Or will there be a certain time-frame which would determine a character to be throw-away or not.
<GL-Jeff> If you are not controlling your character then in most cases he will be asleep.
<GL-Jeff> But once your character is asleep he will not wake up until you log on again.
<GL-Jeff> So if you are gone for a month then your character will simply sleep for a month.

<thijszilla> will there be evil "eyes" too, it sounds unfair if only pleas for good things are better heard
<GL-Jeff> Well an Eye doesnt know he's an Eye.
<GL-Jeff> And an Eye can be good or evil, an pray to good or evil gods.
<GL-Jeff> So yes there is fair representation of both good and evil

<Cronniss> It was stated that picking what your race will be will determine where you start in the world. Will the underground races (i.e. - Dwarves, Gnomes, & Drow) start underground, or on the surface?
<GL-Jeff> You start where your parents are.

<Brisk> How will the character creation screen be? Do you have anything unique that makes it different then the interfaces used in EQ/AC?
<GL-Jeff> Not really, you're looking at your character and making changes to his stats and appearance.

<thijszilla> where are razm and 7o6, at home enjoying thier weekend, or just passed out from too much ol' jack?
<GL-Jeff> Heh, I think they're enjoying their weekend.

<Brisk> To elaborate on Arillyns beta tester fame question - Is it possible to name a weapon after a beta tester then submited a bug or possible give money donations to those that find big bugs ,like unlimited wood or something?
<GL-Jeff> There will be no in-game preferences shown toward any characters.
<GL-Jeff> With the exception of the Eye status (which people won't know about)

<Thagg> What is the earliest set point to release any tracks written by your unknown composer?
<GL-Jeff> Well you heard one of them in the PC birth promo, and you'll be hearing another in the next release anim, but after that you probably won't hear any until the games release.

<Morlack> Will you personally play dawn?
<GL-Jeff> Yes

<GamerJared> how big the map is?
<GL-Jeff> The map be big The AC map which was considered to be fairly large was roughly 500 square miles i believe, Dawn's map is set to be approximately 65,000 square miles, the biggest of any MMORPG

<Amarok> if you could slip on more in at the end I'd be appreciative (my two manin questions)...Will every spell type (fire, wind, etc) have, for lack of a better word, an antithesis (fire-ice)? for the prupose of "counterspell"
<Amarok>I know fire and ice will have that purpose (cast a cold spell on yourself to counter the effects of a fire)...but what I'm wondering is will there be a spell you can cast on yourself to counter the effects of, say, a wind spell
<GL-Jeff> No there probably won't be voodoo.
<GL-Jeff> Yes this was in the last Q&A ice and fire spells will cancel each other out.
<GL-Jeff> The damage for fire and and cold are based on tempurature and resists, allowing one to nullify the other.
<GL-Jeff> Wind spells won't change your temp so they probably won't have any effect on fire type spells.

<Axehandler> HEY I have a question... Why don't you ever VOTE on my polls in here Jeff? =P
<GL-Jeff> i just forget
<GL-Jeff> whats the current poll?

<Morlack> Jeff, how will we know what to kill in the begining of the game to EXP? im pretty sure I heard u say in a previous chat that there was no conning system.. how are we gonna know if the monster is higher lvl then us?
<GL-Jeff> Morlack in the beginning of the game you probably won't be killing for exp

<Amarok> Heh, Jeff...what I meant by my last question was will everyspell type have an opposing resist so that if someone cast, say a wind spell, you could cast its opposing spell on yourself to counter the effects (the way fire and ice are working)
<GL-Jeff> Oh Amarok no not every spell will have a natural antithesis

<Vykromond> One Question: is there any way you can set your house to reply to a command PRIVATELY? in a bustling town, saying how to get into your house out loud might not be prudent.
<GL-Jeff> Vykromond you mean have your house send you a message?
<Vykromond> my question ws, can you send your house the command privately?
<GL-Jeff> probably not Vykromond, i still dont fully understand the question
<GL-Jeff> Thank you Lanu: Vykromond you will NOT be able to issue a private code to your house, its up to you to ensure no one is listening

<Daynan> Will this game have an ending?
<GL-Jeff> there will be no ending

<Thagg> So Jeff, what's your race of choice , weapon of choice and do you prefer the dark side for the fringe benefits and unlimited dental plan?
<GL-Jeff> thagg i'd probably end up a solon wizard or a ogre warrior, i'm an extremist

<Brisk> Jeff: to elaborate on JLB's question , how can we find the build , where is the address?
<GL-Jeff> Glitchless HQ is currently residential, we have no need for commercial expenses at this time.

<Vykromond> One more before I go off to tennis: How exactly will trade be handled? Will it be a secure window like EQ, AC? Honour system like in old AC? And what about NPCs?
<GL-Jeff> Vykromond there will be a secure trade mechanism
<Vykromond> What about trades involving NPCs?
<GL-Jeff> same deal Vykromond

<Brisk> GL-Jeff: (Sorry to ask questions after the QnA is over but i can't help myself) WIll their be some sort of mold that we can look at to see if food has gone bad? Or do we haveto take a bite and then decern not to eat more?
<GL-Jeff> Brisk we're not getting that complex, when food goes bad it will just "go away"

<Amarok> will terrain add strategical bonus' to a battle, be it a duel or an army sieging a castle, in the combat formulas?
<GL-Jeff> Amarok not directly in the combat formulas, but being higher makes your arrows go further etc due to the physics in the engine

<thijszilla> hey jeff, what criteria did you use to select the eyes?
<GL-Jeff> thijszilla the criteria is whether we like you or not

<Aego> JEFF will Gnomes be ugly little yellow people who give you rabies from biting your shins?
<GL-Jeff> Aego naturally

<Morlack> Hey jeff, could ya give us a hint on what the spell graphics will look like? more of the AC-esq moving arms around and stuff, or EQ's standing still and getting all those little sparkles?
<GL-Jeff> Morlack arms moving + sparkles

<Amarok> ok, this question is for purely RP reasons...since fire will damage aplayer by raising their body temperature to, probabaly, boiling (thus causing extreme internal pain and burning). But along those lines, how will a fire spell damage a building? If I suck a person in a 500 degree oven the would die (throughing out sufforcation) from extreme burns. But if you stuck a log in that same oven it may warp a little but it's not going to come out I
<GL-Jeff> Amarok we use the same damage forumlas for buildings and people, but buildings have very different stats

<Brisk> GL-Jeff Will words be said when a spell is cast?
<GL-Jeff> Brisk probably not

<Axehandler> Jeff... will GOLEM, be makeable as followers? - or even Skeletons/Mummys?
<GL-Jeff> Axehandler yup

<Amarok> How often will the random variable be used in Dawn's gameplay equations? For example, almost every action in AD&D involved the random variable (ie the dice), same with EQ
<GL-Jeff> Amarok there's randomness in the whether or not something is successful, then there is randomness in how successful it is
<Amarok> was there supposed to be a "not" somewhere in there?
<GL-Jeff> Amarok there are two rolls essentially: one to determine if something succeeds and another to determine to what degree it succeeds.

<Aego> Jeff are dragon parents very careful about thier babies or could you just run off with one?
<GL-Jeff> Aego Dragon parents don't leave babies lying around.

<thijszilla> hey jeff, after the beta ends, could i(or we) get a map of the world? justa file or sumthin, would luv that
<GL-Jeff> thijszilla we'll never give you a map

<Daynan> Will I be able to build anywhere I wish? Can I snatch up the prime waterfront properties if i get there first?
<GL-Jeff> Daynan yep

<Kaim> Hey Jeff, real quick Q, When can we expect new Model Shots?
<GL-Jeff> Still not for a while we tied up a lot of resources in anims recently but we'll be getting to characters real soon.

<zillabeard> hey jeff, will the weapons and technologies we have be pure medievil, or will there be some more darkages and renesaince tech in it too?
<GL-Jeff> zillabeard we'll have some darkages in there too