>What about companion combat?

Same idea, basically.

-Z

>>Does this mean that companions will be re-written to coincide with the release of that system?!

Getting quoted out of context is one of the few things on the forums that can genuinely irritate me, for exactly this kind of reason.

>>We've also compromised on a way to add meaningful familiar combat into the mix, though that is not a Magic 3 release goal.
>>However, I stress again this is not a Magic 3 release goal.

-Armifer
"In our days truth is taken to result from the effacing of the living man behind the mathematical structures that think themselves out in him, rather than he be thinking them." - Emmanuel Levinas

>>Same idea, basically.

Thanks, Z.

Was just curious if companions would be able to latch on and benefit from any future familiar work, since I believe the possibility of them working on the same sort of system was mentioned in the past.

>>Getting quoted out of context is one of the few things on the forums that can genuinely irritate me

My bad, did not think to capture the rest of the discussion.

It's been alluded to and stated in many ways that I am rewriting the Companions system entirely. This hasn't changed. It is going to happen. There is however no timetable I can provide at this point. My hope was and remains for this year, but I cannot make a guarantee.

Companions (and familiars) are NOT going to be spells. The alluded to cyclical spell is to enhance.

Said cyclical spells are not a part of the Companion 2.0 nor Magic 3.0 releases! They are entirely separate.


- GM Sithix

XXXXXX exclaims, "Oh goody more fire ants!"

I did finally pick up another raccoon recently and I found that you don't get animal lore anymore from feeding and petting anymore. It's been at least 6 years since I've had a companion, but I don't remember ever having a raccoon pick things up and I had 21 animal lore, which I think was just from feeding and petting. (This would have all been between 2001 and 2004.) Did this change?

Oh and in addition to my last post, feeding DOES give AL experience...1 whole exp point.

Zinaca and her wolf, Lucky

Likes:
1) Being able to deliver things
2) Being able to locate people
3) Being able to track to located peoples
4) Pulling people from hiding (wish this would increase with skill)

Dislikes:
*) Everything Else (Literally)

>Likes:

1) Being able to deliver things

2) Being able to locate people

3) Being able to track to located peoples

4) Pulling people from hiding (wish this would increase with skill)

I like these as well, with the caveat that 3 blows because current tracking blow. Having a wolf be passive search based on my character's current perception would be cool, until it started pulling my tourney team out of hiding also because of the current crappy state of group mechanics (ie be careful what you wish for).

I really hate feeding wolves. Raccoons are ok since you can pretty easily stash a dozen ears of corn when you're near a source, but meat, even with the extended timers, is just such a pain in the butt.

I'd like my horse to be my companion, and I want horses to be useful (ie, I want to use my horse to haul saddlebags full of boxes/skins/deadders back to town). IMO a ranger shouldn't stable his horse (or geld it for that matter) he should just whistle for it bam!

~Hunter Hanryu
http://drplat.com/CombatEquipmentCompendium.xls
http://tinyurl.com/HanryuTanning

I like the 4 things listed previously and...

I LIKE feeding my wolf and would love it if the more time we spend with our companions, petting, feeding and generally hanging out, the more the companion would bond to us. AL is going away, but I would like some knowledge boost from learning to exist with a companion.

What I would love is a graduated bonding. At first the companion would be shy and unsure with you, but as you feed and pet and such, the more trusting it is of you.

I would love it if we could send our wolves to hunt and THEY REALLY DID HUNT! IE actually catch something and eat it similar to what panthers do as fams (you hear a rustling and a quick eep! and the panther comes back licking it's chops or something like that). Having said that, I also would like the option to feed the meat to a wolf every once in a while.

I would love it if we could get things or better, make things to help our companions and us...like slings to put our baby wolves in to free our hands on trails.

One of the things I love about baby wolves, is they yap and bark a lot. I would like the older wolves to do that too. Figure that they realize we aren't wolves, and so vocalize similar to how cats purr to vocalize around us. I usually rp that my wolf is either cheering me on as I hunt, or giving me critiques on how I hunt.

I really wish you reconsider allowing companions to distract critters and help us hunting that way. Seems to me it would be an instictive thing for them to want to watch our backs...after all, we mean food.

Besides the developing of trust with our companions, I absolutely want each companion to be unique in looks and character. Some might be more shy, some more vocal, some less so, some a little lazy, some not...you get the idea.

Would love it if we could make chew toys for our critters. Raccoons LOVE to chew (witness my Dad's garage after 2 raccoons got in it--they chew EVERYTHING). Wolves need to sharpen their teeth. Leather balls, leather "bones", leather "logs" could be constructed to provide teething...the insides could be filled with beans, corn husks and for a real treat for wolves, jerky.

I want more meat choices and more raccoon food. We could even make or buy raccoon food?

And in your spare time...would love a few companion obstacle courses. Be kinda fun to race em, though I suspect any respectable wolf would likely snort and bite the leg of any ranger wanted them to do so.

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks for the chance to input!

Zinaca and her wolf, Lucky (grow Lucky grow--before the new companions come and I have to lose you!)

<<Presuming the growth concept remains in a different context, but initial companions are actually untrained adults? Just a random comment to stir discussion. :D>>

I would like babies to old growth to stay. It makes sense rp wise too. Figure adults could get by on their own so why choose us? As for wolves, there is a note in the ranger guild on why the wolves want to bond with us. The blood wolves have taken over their territory, eating their food and causing starvation in the packs. So the packs are willing to share their young with us rather than watch em die.

Perhaps both could be allowed? Sometimes when we went for a new wolf, an older wolf might come to us, but more often a baby one? But I really like raising them from babyhood on...just not how long it takes. If the length could be shortened, that would be ideal.

Zinaca and her wolf, Lucky

>It makes sense rp wise too. Figure adults could get by on their own so why choose us? As for wolves, there is a note in the ranger guild on why the wolves want to bond with us.

So the extent of the "companion" and "bond" is an animal that couldn't get along without you otherwise? Hmm. And here I thought an animal that was with you because they actually wanted to be (for whatever various reasons) was the better realization of the word, "companion".

>If the length could be shortened

Pretty unlikely if we stick with the whole birth to adult thing.


- GM Sithix

If you'd stop finding bugs I could code Companions 2.0.

I want my companion to be, well, my companion. I want to not just train it but for it to have a personality that will develop over time. I'd like it to respond when praised for doing something when I'm training it. I'd like there to be a wider variety, depending on species, of things it can help with. I'd rather that they become progressively more independent as far as taking care of their bodily functions, including eating. But I'd still like to be able to give them treats. I'd like them to help me do all the things I do from hunting to survival stuff to crafting stuff. I like how raccoons will help you forage, for instance. It's nice that wolves can help you find people. What they help with should make sense for that species. I really like someone's idea for horses, but I think horses might be code that can't be messed with.

Oh, and forgot... Really, really want to get some kind of wild cat... Panther, cougar, mountain lion, whatever.

-pete

>Oh, and forgot... Really, really want to get some kind of wild cat... Panther, cougar, mountain lion, whatever.


White/orange/stripped tigers!!!

I think it'd be neat if once you got a companion it was always with you, no way to make it go away... you could train it to hide when you hide, be calm (still for meetings and such, or track whatever down, if you kill something it can eat it depending on the companion, or have it go hunt/forage if it's hungry.
I like having wolves boost your perception... (like a police k-9 dog) tigers (or whatever large cat) boost your stealth/reflex (since they're really sneaky hunters)tie it in with spells... sott would go with tigers, wotp with wolves?

~Purnay
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."

One thing I would like to see is a much larger variety of animals. I'm assuming this was originally in the works since Aesry's guildleader appears to already have a big cat companion. I've been jealous since the day I first walked into that guild.

Another thing that would be interesting to see... I would love it if instead of us calling them out all the time if they would just stay out. (this is assuming we could have them go hunt and they would feed themselves occasionally that way.) This would seem more realistic to me. They would come and go as they please which I would think most animals would do anyways. The more we care for them and play with them the more they hang with us. Course leave the whistle because we still might want them out when they aren't out. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but if I didn't have to go to lang or crossing to get meat for my wolf every X amount of time I would have it out far more often.

Also as mentioned by others... please oh please please more meat options... it's silly how strange meat options are. Peccaries can be carved... boars can't be, cougars can but bobcats can't.

<<So the extent of the "companion" and "bond" is an animal that couldn't get along without you otherwise? Hmm. And here I thought an animal that was with you because they actually wanted to be (for whatever various reasons) was the better realization of the word, "companion".>>

OK, when I said it made sense rp wise for us to help companions and that adults could already help themselves so why choose us, after all we usually mean food was my attempt to see the companions from the wolf's point of view. The packs are concerned with surviving, and give us their wolves to raise because they can't all survive in their old territory due to the influx of bloodwolves (per the note in the ranger guild). At first, I think all animals learn to trust us by learning to eat by our hand. True for dogs cats and raccoons too! Never had real contact with a wolf though in real life. After a while they learn to want to be with us--but being essentially wild and not pets, they can leave us if they're disatisfied.

For MY ranger's perception of companions, the following expresses it better than I ever could.
<<I want my companion to be, well, my companion. I want to not just train it but for it to have a personality that will develop over time. I'd like it to respond when praised for doing something when I'm training it. I'd like there to be a wider variety, depending on species, of things it can help with. I'd rather that they become progressively more independent as far as taking care of their bodily functions, including eating. But I'd still like to be able to give them treats. I'd like them to help me do all the things I do from hunting to survival stuff to crafting stuff. I like how raccoons will help you forage, for instance. It's nice that wolves can help you find people. What they help with should make sense for that species.>>

Hope this clarifies things.

Zinaca and her wolf, Lucky

By the way, if you look at Zinaca, she has a wolf howling at a moon on her wrist, and her quote in her profile is "My wolf is my pack and I'm his" Or "Lucky is my pack and I'm his". That pretty much sums up Zina's thoughts about companions.

Having baby companions for an extended period of time is not necessarily bad. The problem is when they are pains in the neck, easy to lose, take a lot of attention, and have no capabilities until then. I really do like the whole feeling of the baby growing up with you, but it would be nice if their functionality was based more on this training than age.

I would also like to see companions be a bit unique. A little bit different looks and personalities to them. Maybe have their personalities be shaped by your interactions with them as a baby. I know some people would love to have cute snuggly companions, and others are much more interested in the ferocious and imposing. It would be nice to cater to both crowds.

Tsarenzi

Would like to echo requests for a huge variety of appearances within each species, if that seems both feasible and logical, both in the short description and potentially in the long description. And/Or the ability to get different "flavors" of a species by acquiring the creature in a different area of the game (for instance black wolves in one place and white ones in another, small vs. large, et cetera).

I like the idea of the animals having personalities, maybe align the companions demeanor to work with the Rangers. ( I say this with no idea of the difficulty of actually doing it.) So if a Dwarf Ranger was generally leery of a certain race, or person, the companion would be as well, sensing his owner's emotions.

> As I've already said, I won't be doing baby -> adult companions without an at least somewhat loosely realistic time length, which is at least what it is now, or longer.

I had a baby raccoon for literally 6 in game years. That's not realistic at all. If you want them to age "realistically" they need to age when they're not in your lap. Wild animals rarely stay in the "so helpless I can't even find a leaf to eat on my own" stage for very long.

~Hunter Hanryu
http://drplat.com/CombatEquipmentCompendium.xls
http://tinyurl.com/HanryuTanning