SOE Free Realms

[Lantyssa]

A big update came today.

Player housing.  Everyone gets a small apartment.  Members get a medium Wilds house which has a yard where all your pets run around and which can also be decorated.  Large houses are purchasable.  Interestingly, you keep access to all your owned houses.

Combat has been updated to be more action-oriented.  Clothes and accessories have been similarly revamped to match.  The skills you get at 5, 10, 15, and 20 are passive.  Your weapon gives you two abilities and mobs will sometimes drop power boosts which cause different effects.  Health regenerates much faster and some shards can affect this.  I think it could use a few more abilities, however they have taken it in an interesting direction.

Almost all mini-games and instances now have a wheel spin at the end where you can win clothes or other items.  They added fishing.  There isn't much to it, but that's okay.

Pet trainer is supposedly removed.  I still have the profession, however all my clothes turned into free-style, so it may not be available to new characters.  I didn't look to see if I still had training options.  My biggest gripe is that they turned the basic pet trainer boots from awesome knee-high combats into  floppy open-laced hiking boots.  Grim, if you're reading, I want my boots back, especially now that they are free-style.

[Jobu]

Is your in-game name "Lantyssa" as well? Because I thought it might be.. and if it was, I totally rick rolled you in Snowhill, and you rejected my friend invite and ran away.

[Hawkbit]

Wow.  My 4 year old plays this for about 15min almost every day now.  I saw her playing with her apartment today, but didn't realize it went live that recently.  I can't believe she picks up on this stuff so fast. 

She was flipping out because the login screen had snowflakes on it.  She's like a lvl 12 brawler, too.  How the hell do they pick this stuff up so fast?

[Lantyssa]

Is your in-game name "Lantyssa" as well? Because I thought it might be.. and if it was, I totally rick rolled you in Snowhill, and you rejected my friend invite and ran away.

Oh, sorry.  That was me.  Send me a tell if you actually know me.  Everyone sends unannounced invites so I reject things automatically.

[Grimwell]

.  My biggest gripe is that they turned the basic pet trainer boots from awesome knee-high combats into  floppy open-laced hiking boots.  Grim, if you're reading, I want my boots back, especially now that they are free-style.

Just to be sure that I read you properly, you are telling me that the name of the item stayed the same, but the appearance (visuals) changed?

Can you give me the specific name? Do you have images (I know, it's a stretch) of the before/after?

I don't do personalized bug service all that often, but I know how important footwear is for some. 

[Lantyssa]

Hehehe.  Thanks.  I'll look once I'm home this evening and post it then.  These were the boots given to Pet Trainers, I think in their quest line.

[Lantyssa]

They are the "Pet Trainer Boots".


I had no pictures of the old boots, unfortunately.  They were closer in style to the Traveler's boots in the second pic, but tall enough to touch the red capris, had no socks showing, and had a greenish canvas combat boot texture.

[Grimwell]

It's enough to start with. I'll see what I can get rolling tomorrow when I get to the office and the normal morning dust settles. Thanks for finding some pics.

[Signe]

I was sick recently and bored so I decided to play this game again.  I couldn't concentrate on anything more difficult.  They kind of buggered up the combat, though, didn't they?  It wasn't challenging or anything before, but it hardly seems fun at all now.  The wheel at the end isn't awful, but the prizes don't even change and you don't get anything special with combat.  They seem to have done away with those special little jobs you would get too, didn't they?  And no more aiming?  What?  Or am I making that up? The fun seems to have gone out of combat altogether, although the animations are very cute. 

Also, what the hell are those big blocks you get with your house for?  What a weird accessory. 

[Grimwell]

Combat was revisited in broad strokes to do better with the target audience. So far, it is doing a good job of that. The older, more experienced folks find it a lot less interesting.

Never did hear back anything meaningful about those boots. Sorry :(

Those blocks are things to just tinker with. Kids don't want normal house stuff to make it all perfect, some of them want to build, so they were given blocks. It's neat to see what they are up to with them, but a bit "Um, what?" at first when you get some.

[Signe]

Ah, so they don't really do anything, they're just for fun.  I understand about the combat, then, if kids were having a problem with the old system.  It was pretty cool before and I like the special bits, but, yeah - it's pretty boring now.  Oh well.  Thanks for answering, though! 

[Signe]

Every time I go fishing and I get a chest, it's very nearly almost always a "small pouch".  What the hell is that?  Is it anything at all?  It doesn't even show up in my inventory.  

Nevermind.  I'm an idiot.

[Lantyssa]

Never did hear back anything meaningful about those boots. Sorry :(

My enjoyment is at steak!

Thanks for trying.  I give you permission to bug them endlessly about them so I don't bug you endlessly.

[Evildrider]

Never did hear back anything meaningful about those boots. Sorry :(

My enjoyment is at steak!

Thanks for trying.  I give you permission to bug them endlessly about them so I don't bug you endlessly.

Mmm I too enjoy steak!   

[Signe]

I'm inspired to wear my steak outfit instead of my tacky Christmas sweater, antlers and red skinny jeans!

Also, you should be able to wear sunglasses with hats.  It doesn't make any sense that you can't.  This is a serious issue.  By the way, my new name - I don't know what happened to my old character with all her cool pricey stuff - is Olga Strangebreath but she's still waiting on a name change to Signe Salamander.  And then I might make a new character named Olga Strangebreath anyway.  She's growing on me.  It seems to take a very Very VERY long time for the name change.

[Lantyssa]

Mmm I too enjoy steak!   

It was intentional.

[Signe]

If anyone is still playing once in a while, you can now block group, duel, friend, whatever invites.  This makes playing as a grown up much much nicer.

Oh, and you can sell more than one thing at a time. 

[Lantyssa]

Oh, nice.  I got tired of declining twenty friend attempts a session.

[Signe]

I don't play often but when I do, I get a ton of all sorts of invites, too.  A lot of times one person will give me two or three different ones, which drives me nuts.  I'm hardly playing at all now, anyway.  I'm not liking the new combat much at all, though I understand the reason they changed it.  I probably won't renew the sub for it this time around.  Free is good enough for the odd mini-game while waiting for the laundry to dry.

[Lantyssa]

They've added mounts.  Right now a T-Rex and a Dragon (really a wyvern).  The Dragon only hovers, but they're cute and let you move a little faster.

Also, my Pet Trainer boots have been reverted.  I think the color was more of an olive drab, but I'm happy with them.  Thanks Grimwell!

[Signe]

Yeah, you don't have to be in maxed out postman mode to go quicker now.  YAY!  Faster makes a difference to me.  I hate feeling slow.  It's also member's only AND you have to use SC to buy them so I get to zip by the lower castes and laugh at their pooriness.  Actually, they should really have some sort of mount for non-subscribers.  I still had some SC left so I used it to pay for another month and a mount.  I think riding might also members only which leads me to think that if you stop paying, you can't use your mount anymore.  That would be sick.  hehe.  It might not be that way, though, I'm just guessing.  I'm so pessimistic! The red dragon is pretty, too.  I haven't a clue what the diff is between a dragon and a wyvern.  All I know is they're cuter than the dinosaurs.

All the wheel spin stuff is just awful.  I have a zillion yellow blocks and simple pet food.  If they have to have these wheels, they should at least give you a variety of stuff and not the same old shit constantly.  Even the Valentine wheel is rubbish.  I'm using the character Twee Paramore at the moment, Lantyssa, and I have loads of extra Valentine thingys like those harps and some other junk if you want some.  I never bother selling anything.  I just let it pile up.

Aren't the load screens off the scale slow?  It's like the olden days of Everquest slow.

[Lantyssa]

I'd absolutely love any of your extras.  I'm a sucker for collecting all the holiday stuff.  (It let me make a cute reindeer outfit for x-mas, so it has uses! )  I'll keep looking for you.

A wyvern has only four limbs, it's arms are it's wings.  A dragon has arms, legs, and wings.

[Signe]

I looked up a pic of a wyvern and a dragon last night and the number of limbs being different didn't even register!  D'oh!

Yes, I got the tacky sweaters and a pair of antlers and a giant candy cane for Xmas, put them together with a red skirt or red jeans and lace up  boots and liked it better than the pre-made outfits they sold.   

[Lantyssa]

I have no idea how to send a tell to a person with two names.  I'm sending a tell to "Twee".  Oops.  Can you keep a text out for "Lantyssa".

[Jobu]

I bought the cute little pink penguin pet. I'm a sucker for silly pets that follow me around.

[Grimwell]

Also, my Pet Trainer boots have been reverted.  I think the color was more of an olive drab, but I'm happy with them.  Thanks Grimwell!

Wait, I'm getting things done now?  Oh crap!

:)

Those rides are pretty damn popular too. It was a good addition to the game.

[Lantyssa]

Wait, I'm getting things done now?  Oh crap!

Well, I don't know if it is you or someone else responsible, but you did inquire on my behalf, so I'll go with it.  If it was someone else then feel free to pass the thanks along.

[Grimwell]

I made sure the inquiry was made, but didn't hear back either way. I'll just take it as a happy surprise and run with the credit before anyone can stop me.

[Signe]

Give you the credit for that and we'll give you the blame for something else later!   

[Lantyssa]

Such as the chat filter.

 

[Grimwell]

 

[Elidroth]

Oh, nice.  I got tired of declining twenty friend attempts a session.

I'll friend anyone who asks.. They're all mobile teleport locations. Want to go somewhere specific? Just look for a 'friend' in the area, and ZOOM! You're there.

[Signe]

Oh, nice.  I got tired of declining twenty friend attempts a session.

I'll friend anyone who asks.. They're all mobile teleport locations. Want to go somewhere specific? Just look for a 'friend' in the area, and ZOOM! You're there.

We're just cogs in the machine to you, aren't we? 

[Signe]

Now they have pirate ships.  You chase other people around and try and sink their ships (or the computer, I think, if there isn't anyone around) and grab booty, dash off to your dock, and do it again until time is up.  You win pirate stuff and coins, mostly, I think.   

[Nonentity]

Now they have pirate ships.  You chase other people around and try and sink their ships (or the computer, I think, if there isn't anyone around) and grab booty, dash off to your dock, and do it again until time is up.  You win pirate stuff and coins, mostly, I think.   

I mean, uh, awesome. That game has too much to do now, it intimidates me.