We have different goals in mind for the new interface. First, we want it to have a better ergonomy, so it better fits to the gameplay and is more understandable, with the functions grouped in a more consistent way. We are also working on the interface's evolutivity, to ease the work of the teams working on it internaly, so we can modify it more quickly in the future. And, last but not least, we want better graphics !

Please note that we have a small team dedicated on this on the background, so it's more a long-term work than something we will realease in the next few months.

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Even if it's important that this branch exists (since it brings some diversity to the fighting styles), we are not willing to give it a dominant role : the weapons would loose any interest, and homins are not karatekas. :-) We will rework it (as you pointed out, as part of melee fighting) and give it a boost and probably some new actions. But we do not want to overpower it by making it as efficient as the other branches, as it wouldn't be fair for people fighting with weapons - they have to buy or trade the weapons, which you wouldn't need by only fighting with your hands. If we did so, we would soon see a majority of homins switching to hand fighting, as it would be the easiest thing to do. We will make it useful, but only as a support to other skills.

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The patches we currently put live are mainly the results of our on-going spring clean ; they are bugfixes, gameplay improvements, small features. But we are also adding content to the game, such as the new rites (currently 20 on the ATS), which we will patch live as soon as we get a green light from tests.

As for even bigger patches, such as chapter III, we are currently increasing our focus on the development of the outposts. Within a few weeks, an early draft of the outposts should reach the ATS - this will be a rough and really incomplete version (it will only be 30% complete). Once on the ATS, development and testing will move along, until the point where it will be feature complete and the tests successful - we will then pass it live.

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Regarding the problem with Leanon on April 5; a player tried to perform an action which was causing the crash (it involved the inventories, the selling system and player migration from one shard to another - all at the same time). The shard restarted, and the tenacious player relogged in and tried to perform the same action again. And again.

The live team immediately started to work on the problem; they were able to identify the issue, and produced a quick fix within 45 minutes, which stopped the crashes and finally allowed the unsuspecting player to perform his action. :-) The issue was definitely corrected with the patch 64.

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Glad you liked it! But answering your question would ruin any surprise. But, of course we will keep making stuff like this from time to time, when there is something special to celebrate. For those who didn't logged in the game for easter, the lands of Atys were covered by easter eggs - when eaten, they were giving temporary bonuses such as life. It was also our first use of a new feature : the "potion"-like consumables.

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Regarding exploits or other types of abuses (harassment for example), the customer support team has a general process to decide of the type of sanctions we give. We have four levels; for a small misbehavior, we start at 1) (then 2), 3), etc.), but the evolution can be quicker (and even lead to immediate and permanent ban if the issue is really serious).

Here are the four stages :

• Warning
• 1 day ban
• 1 week ban
• Permanent ban

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Hum, grouping the Q&A at one place and categorizing them is a good idea. Done! :-)

http://www.ryzom.com/development/q-a

For the rest (dev updates, etc.) : the new website will bring the content I currently publish on the forums on the website, so it will be more easily accessible.

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You're right. You only open the new branch when you reach level 21, 51, etc. because we consider that you have to *complete* 20, 50, etc. levels to open the new one (this is the same type of argument as for deciding whether the new millenium started in 2000 or 2001 ). Getting the title at level 20, 50, etc. isn't really consistent, so we will correct it to give the title only when the new branch is opened (except for level 250). Those of you who are at level 20, 50, etc. when we will do it will loose their new title, but will get it again when you complete your level.

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The E3 will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center (US), from May 17th to May 20th. Details can be found at http://www.e3expo.com/.

We will be in the West Hall, at booth 2900. Also note that we are going to run a small contest to give away passes for E3 - keep an eye on the news if you want to try to get one. We will look forward to see you there. :-)

--
Xavier.