Lots of threads, no time to read them all? Here are today's MouseHunt news, highlights, and gossip! Read on:
(Now with actual thread links!)
First up, the question on everyone's mind:
Who is John Galt?
No, that's not it.
Who is John Locke?
Dang, not it either. Wait... here it is...Who is Balack the Betrayed?
Other questions that spring to mind: Why is he coming? Where is he coming from? Will he bring cupcakes? Why isn't his name 'John?' And the unfortunate truth is that we just don't know, though we expect that the cupcakes are a no-go. The Ticker simply warns us that
Balack the Betrayed is coming...
And that, my friends, is all we have to work with. Well, that and a couple of snippets from Feedback Friday, but I'm going to make you read the appropriate section for that information. So until then (and after), we'll just have to wonder. In the meantime, get your thinking cap on and make up some wild theory! Speculate to your heart's content in this thread.
Fire Salt Friday - Live From the Trenches
Earlier this week, Fern gave us all some very inside information. The message was not very well hidden and not at all encrypted, but what do you expect from a fern? She told us that "This Friday will be Firesalt Friday! Mice in the Jungle of Dread will be dropping double Fire Salt all day long! Watch this space for official announcement of start/end times."
Hunters with access to the Jungle of Eternal Pain and Punishment reveled at this news, while hunters without access and hunters who had just used all of their assorted Havarti cheese whimpered in the corner and cursed their high DHU. People flocked to the Isles to collect seeds and peppers and craft Havartis in various rainbow colours.
Since Fern is not always the most reliable source of information, many hunters headed into the Jungle of Dread well ahead of the anticipated start time. They were rewarded with the first Double Drops of the event, starting around 10:30pm Eastern Dev Time. There was much discussion and debate on the discussion boards, as some hunters were getting two Fire Salts while others were getting one, or even none. There were enough double drops that the consensus on the forums was that the event had actually started early.
As more and more hunters entered the Jungle of Suffering and Humiliation, the place got crowded. Over 11,000 hunters are currently in the area, all being painfully reminded that this place blows. Also, it bites. With sharp teeth. It probably has rabies. Additionally, these mice are equipped with steel-toed boots, and they kick frequently. But we're a stalwart group, and we're not leaving until Fern tells us to. Toothmarks, bruises, and rabies aside - there's fire salt in them there... jungle. Which leads us to the next question:
When does this event end?
Hmm... let me calculate. 10:30pm Eastern Dev Time plus 9 hours plus 24 hours plus (+) =
Sometime after 7:30am Dev Time tomorrow.
That's really the best I can do. I was going to send you to Google to look for a converter, but thankfully Dane Koster found this amazing site which will convert that to your own time zone for you! Just select your location from the drop-down menu, and then remember the event will end "sometime shortly after that."
Feedback Friday!
Preamble: There's a banner that reads, "Balack the Betrayed is coming..." We've seen this a couple of times now, so we figure it might be important. Even Franco (whose beard is becoming nearly as impressive as the Original Beard™) wants to know who Balack is.
Dave gets straight to the points: We have Good News and Bad News. Hunters want the bad news first.
The Bad News: Longtail is being slightly delayed. This is frustrating for everyone, including Franco who really wants to shave. But wait, there's more!That is all the information we have. We're prodding Fern as fast as we can, but she's looking a little droopy. (Dave should probably water her more often. Or less often.)
The Good News: They're not going to wait for Longtail to release some new content. Watch out for Balack the Betrayed, new mice, and new cheese in the Tribal Isles region.
Section One: Feedback Questions
1. What is your favorite location in the game to hunt? Dojo, Derr, Catacombs.... hunters have opinions. Lots of opinions - in fact, we're all over the map. Clearly, there's something for everyone.
2. What is your favorite reward for hunting? What makes your favorite location your favorite? Gold? Points? Mice? Loot? What's your motivation? Franco likes loot. Some people like bragging rights. Some people are hoarders of inventory items and cheeses... again, there's something for everyone. Even points, for people who are into that sort of thing.
3. What do we think about adding map piece drops to previously existing hard to catch mice? (Translation: What if difficult mice we've already caught suddenly started dropping maps to new locations?) And if that were to happen, should people who have already caught that mouse be gifted the map, or should they have to catch it again? By challenging, Dave means mice like the Dojo Master, the Sensei, the Silth, Big Bad Burroughs, etc. Not surprisingly, opinions fall on both sides of this issue. Salient thoughts brought up include that if it's a 100% drop rate for the item, it should be given to hunters who've already caught the mouse but if the drop rate is less than 100%, we should have to catch it again. Also, we're more likely to want to go back and catch it again if there's a story line involved.
Dave gets specific: If it was the Big Bad Burroughs Mouse, would we want to have to catch it again? And with the Silth, Dave admits that they hinted at it pretty strongly... way back when it was released they said we might want to save some Wicked Gnarly cheese for later. They practically told us there would be a map piece in the works. Hunters in the chat say "catch it again" for the Silth, the Big Bad Burroughs, the Dragon... after all, it would be boring to have map pieces just pop up in your inventory.
This is an issue that comes up frequently, and it's difficult to address because hunting areas are generally "finished" before the next area is prepared. This means they have to go back and give us an avenue to the new area, and no matter how they do it there's a lot of whining, complaining, and hurt feelings on the boards when it happens. But rest assured they're always thinking about ways to do it better.
Section Two: Mailbag - Longtail version
Right now, there are lots of things that are not included in Longtail but are planning to be added later. They would like to know what we're OK with not having right away, and what we need NOW. Some examples:
* For special items "Open/Poke/Pick All" option is missing. (We HATE that this is missing.) Dave explains that since the page doesn't have to reload, it's faster to just pick, click, pick, click, pick... (We all disagree. We want the ALL option back. Yesterday.) Dave says that the thing where the popup is at the top of the page and you're at the bottom of the page is a bug. We don't care. We want the ALL option.
* Help tabs are missing. Nobody seems to mind, and we keep demanding the "Open All" option.
* Global mouse statistics (number caught by everyone in the whole game) are missing. The devs are planning to go nuts with statistics. Eventually. Hunters are looking forward to that, but aren't fussed about it right now. That "Poke All" option, on the other hand...
* Combined cheese effect for weapon and base is not there. It's oddly complicated, and they'll work it out.
* The Full Map on the travel page is not working. For techy people, you can right-click it, in Firefox at least.
* The ability to send individual trade requests is requested but not presently present. The trade request system has been replaced by the Marketplace, and they are planning to implement individual trades later.
* Trap effectiveness messages are gone. Gone, gone, and not coming back. They'll be replaced by something pretty cool, so the devs don't want to waste a bunch of time putting those messages back into our journals. Instead, there will be a bar under your trap to indicate how effective your trap will be in your current hunting area. By clicking the bar, you'll get a list of all the mice in the area and the likelihood of catching any individual mouse in the area with your current trap setup. Trust us, that will be awesome. Almost as awesome as the "Pick all" option.
* The iPhone app is done but must wait for LongTail's release.
The consensus in the chat room is that interface issues can be fixed later, but everyday use issues should go in now. (Like the "Open All" option, just as an example.)
Thread of the Day
None today, because there were no nominations in yesterday's Nibbler Comments Thread. You get to the Comments thread by clicking the big yellow box below. It looks like this:
See Section 3 for details on how to submit a suggestion for the next Nibbler Issue's Thread of the Day.
Quote of the Day goes to Jacob Johnson, re-enacted by Dave Vanderburg. Warning: Spoilers ahead!!
"You're going to have to catch the spoiler mouse using your spoiler by spoilering the spoiler, and then that will let you build the spoiler so that you can spoiler."
So long, farewell, and have a fantastic weekend!!
-JCS, who's getting kicked in the spoiler in the Jungle of Carp. And loving it.
1. If you were a mouse, what type would you be and what would you do to escape the traps set out for you?
- Dwarf. Smash.
2. How much cheese do you eat in a day? Which MH cheese are you most likely to eat in real life? Would you ever consider crafting cheese at home?
- A moderate amount. Swiss. Mmm...
3. Have you skipped anything important just to sound the horn (ie school, work, sleep)? Did you enjoy it?
- Being a robot, I don't need to sleep, but that doesn't necessarily count as skipping, then, does it?
4. Which mouse would you most like to meet? (Assuming the mice could talk, of course.) What questions would you ask that mouse in an interview?
- I'd like to ask the Pirate mouse where he got that SWEET eye-patch.
5. When was the last time you caught a mouse in real life?
- I've never caught a mouse in real life. I'm somewhat of a pacifist. I don't remember the last time I've hurt anything or anyone.
6. What is your favorite trap in the game and why?
- Though I'm a pacifist in real-life, I love over-the-top violence in movies and games when it's ridiculous and funny (not gory and scary). Large explosions, impossible stunts, epic gun fights, etc. That said, my favorite traps were the first ones, because they were the first "out there" mouse traps I had ever seen (crusher, swiss army, DB, etc.).
7. Do you think you could beat an Aged Mouse at chess?
- I'm a pretty good chess player, and I work out math and logic problems for a living. I think I could take him.
8. What was the last occasion where you caught a rare or difficult mouse with a ridiculously low amount of cheese?
- One time, I caught 50 Dragon mice with a SINGLE piece of cheddar...
9. What has been the worst decision of your MouseHunt career, in hindsight?
- Giving away my DDD5K (Devs-only Dragon Doom 5000).
10. If the Ornament Mouse, Bottled Mouse, and Lambent Crystal Mouse were having a fight, who would win and why?
- Yeah, probably that one.
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