Yes and No.
Pub 81 Case 1:
Player A has 75 Max DCI from Armor Refinement and has 75 DCI.
Player B has 45 Max DCI and has 75 DCI.
Both players have equal skill and HCI.
Player B if hit with HLD will remain at 45 DCI due to over cap while Player A will be reduced to 34DCI.
Player B by over capping wins in this case versus HLD but Player A benefits from the fact that they are able to reach 70% DCI.
Player A while not under the effects of HLD is receiving a 9% defense increase over Player B.(Total Hit Chance)
Pub 81 Case 2:
Player A has 75 Max DCI from Armor Refinement and has 75 DCI.
Player B has 45 Max DCI and has 45 DCI.
Both players have equal skill and HCI.
Player B if hit with HLD will be reduced to 20 DCI while Player A will be reduced to 34DCI.
Since there is no over capping Player A is the clear winner: 20 DCI vs 34DCI
Player A while not under the effects of HLD is still is receiving a 9% defense increase over Player B.(Total Hit Chance)
Player A while under the effects of HLD is still is receiving a 6% defense increase over Player B.(Total Hit Chance)
Bleak, you should ask yourself: "Do I program that stuff for me and others with a degree in math or programming, or do I program for the majority of the playerbase, for the majority of the paying customers, the guys who pay my salary?"
English isn't my first language, not even my second, so I'll leave the eloquent speaking and elaborate replys to the others, you got already enough text to read. Many thanks to posters like Klomp, you sum up my feelings nicely with your thought-out posts.
However, after spending about a day to read through all that posts related to that publish, I'm a bit sad. Sad about a missed opportunity after Cal left. I think our current dev team is so far apart from the game and its playerbase, I could cry. (To the board warriors: Keep your jokes about cheese and wine for yourself). That you even considered something like the mana phase and ssi debuff stuff... *shakes head*.
You're trying to keep us busy with quantity, not with quality. Your so-called bugsprint (sp?) was another prime example: An impressing number of glitches and bugs fixed, great! Its just... most of them are really unimportant. No one cares if The Redeemer can be used to skin animals, or if vendors can equip Faction Morph Earrings. Where is the fix for that age-old trade window bug who crashes us CC users nearly every time we dare to do a trade at a bank? Where is the fix for targeting (target next hostile)? Where is the fix for the not updating monster healthbars? After years you finally confirm that "bermuda-triangle-for-pets" bug, great! But, why did it years to do so? Hundreds of pages, bug reports, lost pets...
Where is a new "new player experience"? Have you ever played through that new player stuff? Get a friend, a relative, someone who never played UO or played it in its early years and let him go through the (useless) tutorial, watch him trying to get into the game. Record his moves. Discuss that with the team. Revamp the whole thing! And no, just giving them a check over 1mil isn't a good solution. A good and easy start would be disabling of the F1 Key. That "playguide" who pops up is a joke. Undo that Despise minigame. Don't add more useless mods like ephemeral.
Really, I wish you guys would fix that really annoying stuff before you mess with new things. And if you have to mess with new things, please make it easier, not more complicated. Yes, I'm all for making plate more useful. Actually, my sampires wear plate already, and they are doing great and looking great. So, why not just raise the imbuing cap on plate/studded/bone as others have suggested? Is that to easy for you? Where is the reason behind that complicated formulas? You don't have to impress us with your programming skills, you know
We're already in awe that you are able to maintain that age old code, really. Personally, I wouldn't touch that code with a ten foot stick. That's your job.
But keeping in touch with the playerbase AND playing that game is your job too. And here you have a ballooning deficit. You guys do a lot, really a lot. But - is that what you're doing good for the game? Does it enhance our gameplay? Sometimes I think you have a quota to fill: Add x new things per month, whether they are good or needed is secondary.
Please, do a bit less. Add a bit less new stuff, BUT make sure its tested and needed/wanted! Fix a bit less bugs, BUT fix the really annoying ones! Make that complicated stuff a bit easier. Don't add a few new pages to my already big spreadsheets. I'm getting older, ya know!
In short, do more quality, not more quantity! You have a very loyal (and sometimes very passionate) playerbase to work with. Use it!
I wish you, Bleak, and the rest of your crew all the best and I hope i did not sound to harsh. I'm just trying to express my feelings in a foreign language, not always an easy thing to do.
Safe travels always,
Crowen
PS: And leave my maces alone! If you dare to touch the black staff or the war axe, I'll take a few days off work, book a flight and come to visit you at your office! With my trusted old black staff!