Lamannia Update 64+ Feedback: Cat'astrophe

[Cordovan]

A Note From Nohbob:

Hello folks! As part of the ongoing development series we are streaming called "The Joy of Deving", which you can find on YouTube and Twitch, we are releasing a version of Cat'tastrophe in a more raw form than we would normally release content as part of Lamannia. We want you to see something in a more "first internal playtest" version, so we can discuss it as part of the show this Thursday, 5pm on Twitch.tv/DDOstream.

Note: This dungeon will get its own release, called Update 65.

What does it mean to see a dungeon in this state? Among other things:
- The decoration for the dungeon isn't done yet, so you'll see a less polished space.
- The text is pre-text pass, so it's essentially stubbed versions of the text. Lots of typos, and lots of polish needed.
- NPCs and monsters do not have their appearances or weapon sets set, so they may not look like they should.
- Several appearances of the Dragon, and some additional story telling bits, will be added to make the story more clear.

Please feel free to provide feedback, and come and visit this Thursday!

Bob "Nohbob" Hess

 

[wdhvenrick]

It's definitely hard to give feedback when we are told upfront about how the dungeon is still completely unpolished.

 

[Saaluta]

The guy who builds the laser says to hit the level, and not the lever. Just a small typo

Saal

 

[droid327]

It's definitely hard to give feedback when we are told upfront about how the dungeon is still completely unpolished.

I think this is more of a BTS tour for us than a request for feedback

Still it should be obvious where things are unfinished vs where they need a change in execution

 

[Cordovan]

Yeah, this is a nontraditional preview of the dungeon, you are seeing it in a much earlier state than is typically on Lamannia. Which is the point! We figure if you are seeing the dungeon get made from start to finish, let's show it in its current state on Lamannia.

 

[Yamani]

Quite interesting to run what is just the shell of a quest in progress.
On a kind of funny note. The ball of yarn can be used to trip the mimic boss.

 

[Aelonwy]

What level is the quest on heroic? When on Lamannia I often run the heroic version because most end game ppl ignore it.

Edit: For anyone else wanting this information, the quest is Level 4 Heroic/6 on elite.

 

[axel15810]

Interesting to be able to run a quest in such an early state.

Don't really have much to say at this point in terms of feedback. My group got a pretty good chuckle at the giant yarn ball at the end. I suggest adding a giant litterbox somewhere in the quest too, lol.

 

[Aelonwy]

SPOILERS:

Alright, having run the quest, the ideas are quite clever and amusing. The giant ball of yarn is still named Boulder. I *heard* the squeak at the beginning and we get to see the rat run off from the first group of hired thugs but we never get to fight the rat or find out how she or he is involved?

There is a spot/place where there appears to be a possible secret door close to the end... maybe it would be a good idea to place the rat? wererat? here. Perhaps with a little story hint about the mimic at the end?

The /loc is in the image.

I hope the set decoration includes unusable doorways and graffiti (particularly kobold graffiti). May I suggest (beg and plead more-like) for an unusable door or gate that leads/pictures a well known portion of Stormreach so that we have an immersion idea of where we are?

For instance, we know we are on the outskirts of Stormreach but where exactly? in which direction? Could there be a gate that leads to or is labeled Night Market so we have the idea that we are somewhere between the harbor and the Marketplace? Or you could have an unusable gate that connects to the Saltire District and then we would know we are close to a residential district between the harbor and the Market. Just something that gives us a sense of where we were teleported.

I don't know if this is possible but there are, thankfully, numerous sections where we can see the sky. Would it be possible to have the dragon swooping overhead occasionally? As we see in the Marketplace, or Korthos before the Intro quest, just a flying loop that is seen every now and then?

Finally, and this is probably just me but the Red Dragonscale armor doesn't match the Red Dragonscale helm in vibrancy of the red hue. Is there anything that can be done to fix that or is it too late?

 

[Aelonwy]

A couple of other notes that occurred to me...

The dog mobs are labeled Bloodhounds will they be using the Bloodhound model from the Sharn cosmetic pet eventually?

There are no opportunities to travel across the rooftops which makes the quest feel limited? a little claustrophobic. Even a small section where the players can look around in a limited sense like the intro section to Sane Asylum helps us to not feel like rats in a maze. The illusion of vertical exploration would really improve this quest.

 

[kimberlyte]

I ran it r1 heroic, but haven't followed the dev videos. The two opening NPCs worked well to set up the story, but I didn't really see any rationale for the packs of mobs everywhere, so I'm hoping the dragon appearances will make it clearer once they are added. The mimic dialogue suggested he had hired the mobs to stop us from converting the dragon back into a cat. The dragon seemed to act more cat-like than dragon-like, so I felt no real sense of agency or menace. Perhaps some ominous dialog from the mimic before the first pack of mobs might tie it together better, with the mimic placed on a rooftop or hidden in the shadows.

My recollection of the NPC dialogue is that the cat fell through the roof 3 hours prior. So in 3 hours, Argo sees the problem, develops a plan, sources materials, mimic hears of plan and hires a bunch of trash to delay/prevent us from getting the items. Something about that sequence just feels unsatisfactory. Is there going to be a sequel quest with us hunting down a mole inside Agents of Argonnesson, who was giving this info to the mimic?

I also found it annoying to be knocked down just walking near a motionless ball of yarn.

One of the side rooms before the end fight could use a shrine. I would love to have an orb with the ball of yarn cosmetic for all future tabaxi caster lives.

 

[FaceDancer]

There are two rooms that are full of crates and another with barrels. Destroying these en masse triggers a big hit O'lag. These areas could use a tweak to minimize this I would think. Is anyone else experiencing this?
-EDIT- The DM's narration volume is kinda low too (yeah, I checked my DM audio settings...)