- Barding changes reverted:
I've reverted the barding change with regard to humanoid creatures introduced yesterday.
Do note though, there were humanoid creatures on AI that have always been unbardable (like Adam and Jade in Wind,) those have not changed. - [1] Line-of-sight checks:
o Remove auto-jail code for failed LOS checks that passed the LOS checks of targeting
o Strengthen LOS checks for certain targeted spells: Blade Spirits, Energy Vortex, Meteor Swarm, and Chain Lightning. - [2] Toned down the Angry Miner spawn
I was observing the AMS in Shame and noticed large groups of AMs teaming up (sometimes 5 or 6) making it very difficult for non-tamers to get through these mobs.
[1] Detailed explanation:
Standard OSI dictates that all of these spells require LOS for targeting. This was the implementation on Angel Island and probably all other shards. However, certain 3rd party programs like Razor allow the queueing and reuse of previously acquired valid targets. These reused targets can fool the targeting system into thinking they have a valid target for a particular application when in fact, they do not. I have implemented a reverse LOS check (RLC) to augment the targeting system. This reverse check does exactly the same checks that the spell was originally designed for. I.e., to check the line-of-sight from the caster-to-target. I just do this RLC later in the casting process to ensure the original OSI intent is enforced.
This change will only come into play when you are trying to cast these spells into a house.
Indeed, you can still cast these spells into a house through say an open door, or in the case of MS/CL you can target outside the house, but LOS applies.
[2] A little background detail:
Angry Miners are designed to ‘team up’. They communicate with each other and will work together. Even though I was only spawning 2 here and three there, players were inadvertently coalescing these smaller groups into larger, somewhat formidable groups.
I have reduced the AMs by roughly 30%.
