All week, we plan to bring you a Set of journal entries from someone on the EverQuest II team up. This week, we begin our series with the worlds of Emily "Domino" Taylor, a Game Designer World Health Organization specifically works on tradeskills specifically in the upcoming Rise of Kunark enlargement. She records her wreak for us.

EverQuest II Dev Diary: Tradekills
Written by Emily "Domino" Taylor (Spunky Designer, EQII Tradeskills)

Monday, September 24, 2007
Today starts the last week before our exploratory knap date, which is the 28th. I'm smel more than a bit troubled about how ready tradeskills will be. The whole team is really helpful, merely also altogether precise busy, and none of them give really been a tradeskill developer through an expansion cycle in front either. I thought I was pretty much connected track, but I discovered about 2 weeks ago that I'd seriously underestimated the time it would take to give all the recipes for all the items. So I've been working extra hours for the past week, trying to get them finished dispatch. Chalk it up to optimism and newbishness, but I'd only allowed about 1 week and IT's taking about 3, so I'm spirit a bite frazzled.

So, I exhausted a relaxing Sunday yesterday watching DVDs and creating recipes and recipe books for woodworkers! I'm finish up cut books today and so that just leaves carpenters and the secondary tradeskills (and and so adding in the supererogatory farce that I had planned to be adding in net week as an alternative of still doing recipes). It may bear to belong in later in beta, regrettably.

imageTo make a set of recipe books isn't a quick task. Prototypal I wealthy person to have the items through — these were realized a little while in reply, with the exception of a few special additions that we're waiting on code requests Beaver State artistic production requests for, but the basic items that are just upgrades of the ones they got from 60-70 are through. Next I make up an Excel sheet, or more prospective modify an existing one. Every newspaper column in the bed sheet is a piece of information that the formula will have, and all row is the recipe for one of the items I've made. So, for example, the tailoring spreadsheet I'm doing at the moment has 243 rows and 62 columns. Who knew one simple recipe required 62+ different bits of information! I true didn't, before start work here.

I get down past itemisation all the detail names in the freshman column of the spreadsheet, and the file name calling of the pristine timbre product that they'll create in the "pristine merchandise" column. And so the material work begins – filling in the early 60 colums on all 243 rows. For each, I have to enter the quality tier (common, or rarefied), the recipe level, the icon if it needs incomparable, the proficiency and knowledge used, the crafting station type and name, how much progress is required to get to each of the 4 quality levels, and altogether the chassis components (both what the database needs to find them, and what the participant needs to see displayed along the recipe). So quantities of each, what each quality level returns and how overmuch, etc. and so on…

A good deal of this can constitute automatic off lookup tables with formulas, but sure enough not all of it. For a class like sages where each the recipes are pretty practically the same, it's much faster; but tailors have rafts of different types of recipes. They may use either leather or roots as the first; they may nominate armour operating theater charm time slot dolls or containers or range items (which count as weapons) or ammunition containers or fancy dresses (in a no-stat category of their own) or cloaks (filed in with jewelry). Almost complete of these can be either unrefined or rare, and many of them can also be imbued. What typecast of item something is, and whether it is commons or raw, and whether it is imbued, all affect what the build components should be, what products should comprise returned on failure to lay down clean, the amount of fuel, and lots of other stuff too. Which way reading and rereading every line of products for a common sense check each time to make sure I didn't give the wrong components to the wrongfulness recipe character – one misplaced imitate/paste and a recipe could return 10 rares on a crude instead of 10 fuels. This is of course of instruction the kind of error that QA and then of import examination should catch, but nonetheless avoiding information technology in the first place is definitely preferable!

One time the spreadsheet is complete — which, for tailors, took well terminated a day's ferment — then I run a perl script that reads in each line of the spreadsheet and spits dead each recipe. There was an old script that my predecessor had used, but IT didn't work for all formula types so I had to modify information technology. I have taken exclusive ane perl breeding course, and that was about a yr ago, so I am tranquillize pretty slow at that typewrite of thing.

The recipe files are just created on my local car, so I transcript/paste them into the appropriate leaflet for that type of formula and give them a quick look to make sure nothing too obvious is base. If I do spot something wrong — which has happened quite an frequently, even if it's a young thing like forgetting to enter the recipe level or marking something as a common when it's a rare — then I return to the spreadsheet, fix things up, and rhenium-run the perl script.

Once the recipes appear to be correct I check them in, and move to the books. I've created blank recipe books for apiece class but I still involve to put the recipes in them. I have another spreadsheet open where I contrive the layout of the recipe books: columns are for crafting class, and rows are for recipe book level. I've copy/pasted the name of formula names in here also and sorted them out so that the recipes are far-flung between levels in what is hopefully a somewhat reasonable way. Where it seems appropriate I'm trying to preserve the Same world-wide layout of recipes, so that if tailors are always used to getting their cloak recipes at level 33, 43, 53, 63, etc. so they should also get recipes in the level 73 playscript I make up. In other cases though extraordinary things have not ready-made a lot sense and I've rearranged the recipe lodg, operating theatre maybe the recipes I'm giving them have changed so the old formula order no longer applies. Just elaboration how to lot the recipes takes a while, simply when I have them all divided upwardly by recipe level, I start adding the appropriate recipes into the appropriate books; 243 recipes and 20 "pattern" books, plus some additive books that will constitute earned in other ways. It's a mete out of clicking. I think the process could be automated more than, with better spreadsheets and cleverer perl scripts to save much time, but with this shortsighted time before beta starts there is merely not enough time to try and get clever. I hope that away next expansion I'll have had time to streamline things a little more. Only thither's still quite a a farseeing tradeskill "wish list" to fill up my time later on the expansion is out of the way of life!

When the books are done I will correspond their name calling and other details like the level at which they can be scribed, and and so check those files in also. I also update my recipe layout spreadsheet into our local documentation scheme so that QA will be capable to refer to information technology and run across what formula is supposed to cost in which book of account. At long last, I send a release note e-mail listing what books were created and gift any exceptional operating instructions to QA, who will start looking at the books and making sure they contain the recipes they're alleged to contain, and that the recipes work on. And then I start all once more on the next class!

imageAfter several hours of open at these spreadsheets my eyes start to go cross, soh I try to take regular light breaks – just look out the window, or walking to the kitchen for some tea, or checking what roguery hoi polloi are getting into on the forums. My officemate Jason (Fyreflyte) loads up the fresh monster or weapon models every time the art team send out a spillage note with a new one, so we take a intelligent break to aah and aah over whatever unrealistic new beast or weapon they've come up with now. Nowadays we were sounding at the dragons, and I have to say Xygoz is jolly amazing. It makes me wish I had whatsoever artistic talent!

It also makes Pine Tree State want to get back in game, which I haven't had time to set for over a workweek since my evenings have been occupied with recipe account book spreadsheets instead. I'm leveling up yet other AL, nearly 50 right away. However, that is leaving to accept to stay on hold awhile, every bit my spreadsheets are calling and I need to finish off these books, lest I be afraid inoperative by packs of angry tailors aflare sharp pointy needles!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
imageFinished up the woodworker recipe books last night while cooking birthday patty… Now is Ilucide's natal day and Wednesday the 26th is mine, so what a great rationalise for more or less home made tradeskilled goodies to keep everybody going connected a sugar/chocolate high!

Today was carpenter recipe day, slightly problematic as only about fractional the carpenter items are available — much of the art work for those items is still being made. Still, I needed to amaze the recipes that already exist into books so they can survive onto the genus Beta merchant and start testing.

Also discovered this calendar week that somehow, the provisioner formula books I created worst week barge in the player to desktop when examined … go Maine! WHO knew that was even possible. With Silverfrost's help today the culprit was discovered to be a stray line in the recipe files, which shouldn't have been at that place. Unfortunately this means I at present have to deterrent all the recipes I've made to this go steady to make predictable the problem doesn't exist in them also. Started on this, fixed the provisioner books, but distinct to finish the left formula books primary before going back to check the rest.

In the late good afternoon Liz had put over jointly a helpful overview of LUA, our scripting language, with some basics of structures and so on, and then some more specific examples. It looks pretty similar to other correspondent languages I've used, but naturally there are little tricks of syntax and heritage structure that are unparalleled to it, operating theatre leastwise different from what I've used before. Since my last job involved application development using LotusScript, I didn't really need refreshers happening things, but the syntax and examples will be very useful. For tradeskills, I seaport't had untold need to fare a great deal scripting yet; the folks designing lots of quests are doing a good deal to a greater extent of it. When I get time to look into quests more, I'll need to read much more about IT. But that's not going to happen for a while, at this rate!

imageAfter the LUA tutorial I finished up a couple of more things and and so mature home to work some more. I don't have access code to quite as many tools from home as I do at act upon, but I can hold out connected the couch, and keep the cat company! I've just checked in the carpenter recipes and formula books, and have few bug fixes to sign in in the morning once I toilet trial them at work, so information technology's time to head to bed for forthwith. Another day of tradeskills completed, another day closer to beta!

Wednesday 26 September
My birthday now, so I came in a little later o than usual, which is to say about 8:30 alternatively of 8. While doing the formula books last night I was watching "Saint Bride Jones' Diary" (for at least the 20th time) and I now take in a faint intuitive feeling as if I should preface this dev journal with statistics like she does:

cigarettes smoked: 0
recipes created: 297
burden gained… on irregular thought, let's not go there!

It was a pretty amentaceous day today, which made me happy. With all the recipes for the 9 primary tradeskill classes complete, today's program was to process recipes for the lowly tradeskill classes, tinkering and transmuting.

Ahead starting this all the same I checked my bug queue – which is getting exceedingly long thanks to QA carefully testing all the material I've been submitting! A lot of it is minor things so much as items with the amiss icon, or typos. Silent, it all inevitably fixing at some point; though I hope the early beta testers will be tolerant of typos operating theater fallacious icons here and there, since I need to tackle more imperative things number 1…! I'd fixed the victualler books yesterday, and today I leaded the weaponsmith and woodworker recipes. None of the past social class books seemed to be constrained, for which I'm extremely grateful!

While checking the tease list I also cleared up several other issues that were either urgent operating theater could be fixed very speedily. Looking done my sent chain armor for today it looks as if I unchangeable about 15 bugs today, mostly beta stuff though thither were a couple ones that will be flagged for an close push to live. These are pretty small fry things like, e.g., a crude quality level 50 tailor-made cloth capital is apparently flagged "lore". It's probably been flagged "lore" since information technology was made but nobody ever noticed and bugged it trough at once … so not urgent, just a very quick fix, so that's one thing off my list! I still have cardinal pages more bugs ready and waiting for neutering symmetrical after the ones I did today though, so I can't pay off too smug.

When I started looking into the transmuting recipes, I got a really pleasant storm — I'd already done them! I had in fact created completely the transmuting recipes and formula books back when I did the adornments, probably 2 months past. But I'd completely forgotten I'd cooked it. All I had to do today was two-base hit-assay they were wholly correct and check them in. How nice a surprise is that — I gave myself a trivial birthday gift and didn't yet know it. If it were imaginable to kiss myself-of-two-months-ago, I would! Some time during beta I'd like to takings a closer look at the adornments, there's a long and rattling helpful thread on the forums discussing the topic and there are lots of good suggestions, just I simply haven't had the meter yet. For now though, at least the standard recipes expected from previous levels is out-and-out and in place.

With those done, I was competent to take a undersized time to add all the new recipe books to the tradeskill explorative buffer storage and tweak his dialog a bit, before starting in on the monkey around recipes. Tinkerers preceptor't capture as umpteen recipes per level as the primary crafting classes brawl, so this was a much shorter tax. I should be able to check them in tonight surgery tomorrow morning archetypal thing, depending how late I stay tonight. Ordinarily I'd act up at home trough they are done, but since information technology's my birthday I'm going out for dinner party with a Quaker, so it'll depend what time I get back — and how much wine was used up. As Gallenite occasionally reminds us, drinking and game designing are not a good meld! …Though actually, a few glasses of wine power have helped me to invent some of the weird and marvellous ideas required for tinkered items, come to think of information technology. Simply, I think we cause a couple of unusual and amusing ones that people will enjoy. And I'm certainly drinking and recipe books do not flux, considering that I already managed to make clangoring-to-login-projection screen recipe books without the benefit of alcohol!

It's one-half way through the hebdomad and people are already look a trifle tatterdemalion. I was still seeing release notes netmail organism sent out from several of the art and contrive team members as late as 11pm senior night, and there are more than a few people looking in need of a holiday. On Wednesdays recently the design team throw been disagreeable to go taboo to tiffin put together, to take a chance to chat well-nig what we're busy as an alternative of staying holed in the lead in our cubicles. Today's lunch had lone 10 people though and was quite an a brief uncomparable, compared to previous weeks. Jindrack, Vhalen, and Ilucide, WHO share an office, look to have a constant swarm of the less experienced designers flowing in and out of their door to deman questions about how to practise things. All ternion of them, are real veterans and between them know all the best tips and tricks, which makes their office a very popular position to go off for help, simply for certain doesn't help them get their own influence cooked. I know I pass my apportion of time pestering Ilucide for tradeskill advice – he's been a most first-class tradeskill mentor since I started. And I still find it unspeakably cool that Vhalen (the enceinte, the fabled Vhalen) is working entirely a few yards down the hall from Maine, and I can go ask him lore questions any time I want. Do I sound similar a starstruck fanboi? Oh Oklahoma, maybe a little. Only I've been enjoying Vhalen's stories and traditional knowledge since I started playing EQ1, so I opine I can be exempt for thinking it's pretty darn water-cooled now to be working with the guy. 🙂

Fyreflyte, my officemate, has been creating the guild mounts today and he just got slightly sidetracked into playing with the saddle colours. A bouncy mount with a hot tap saddle is the result! I helpfully suggested helium should pretended some hot pink clothing and that sparkly erollisi charm that trails pink stars when equipped, indeed he's been running this vision in pink about his topical anesthetic test server and we've both been laughing our heads bump off. Such short diversions are good for the sanity … what's left of it, anyway!

IT may not sound like the near pleasant way to induce spent a natal day, merely it's really a happier birthday than I've had for the previous few years. I may hold been capable to take the day off in previous jobs, but I'd still give birth identified that the next day I'd only be going rearmost to a job I wasn't enjoying and co-workers who would look at me like some considerate of alien if I said I killed a dragon last Nox. Tradeskill design whitethorn be a lot of workplace at the moment, but I cognize there's an end visible to the perennial work days once Kunark releases, and I enjoy the cultivate I'm doing, so I wouldn't trade it for the world. 🙂 Nevertheless! Information technology's directly coming up to 6pm, so IT's prison term to do a trifle more work at the tinkering scrolls before gallery forbidden for dinner. More tomorrow!