POTCO Release Notes: 2007
From Disneys Online Worlds Guide (Wiki)
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| March | April | May | September | October | November | December |
March 2007
March 6, 2007
Hints:
Find Will Turner in the building across from the East India Trading Company pier.
- To get into a player-vs-player battle, use the Lookout system. Hit L to bring up the Lookout panel.
- You can find Joshamee Gibbs in the tavern in Tortuga (a building with a light blue door).
Known Issues:
- Teleporting to Del Fuego will cause a crash
Chapter 3 quests are incomplete
Fixes:
- Poker improvements: Better calculation of minimum bets. Bets double on turn and river.
- Fixed missing ship rigging
- Fixed bug that was causing camera to snap when using radial menu ship skills.
- Building doors working now
- Tutorial is now set at night
GUI
- Several weapon and enemy balancing improvements.
- Added the Grave Shackles Doll effect.
- Enemies taunt the player when they outnumber him.
- Added an enemy skill attack display below the status panel.
- Increased cannonball power.
- Differentiated between player and npc damage numbers.
- Enemies added to Tortuga swamp.
- High-level Mossman removed near Port Royal fort.
- Signs added to functional buildings in Tortuga and Port Royal.
Randomized spawn points added to Port Royal.
March 12, 2007
New features:
PVP ship battles now available!!!
Multiple worlds are available now through your map page.
New radar indicators added for quest targets.
Options button added to Sea Chest.
Devil's Anvil island added - look there for Barbossa!
New sound effects added for grenades and daggers.
Bug fixes:
- Fixed crash when teleporting or sailing to Padre Del Fuego.
Boarding a ship does not set you back to world origin now.
Known bugs:
- Enemies cannot be attacked after they chase you and disengage.
Player will be unable to pull out a ship after it has been sunk.
April 2007
April 11, 2007
IMPORTANT NOTE: The game database is being reset for this release causing all avatars to be deleted. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we think you'll like all the improvements we've made to the game!
Enemy ships now shoot back.
Hit point changes are better synchronized with the server so you will not see your avatar die while still appearing to have health.
Pick-a-Pirate interface now displays account name, subscription type, and allows selection of any subscription in your family account to play under.
Mayhem PVP game type added. It's every pirate for himself in this game.
Captain Barbossa pistol tutorial added. Pistol given to player and the lookout system is introduced.
Tia Dalma voodoo quests added.
Guild/crew/speak buttons added to chat functionality so you can direct your chat to specific groups.
Treasure collection quests added. Elizabeth Swann, Barbossa, and Will Turner will now give out treasure collection quests.
Kingshead Island added.
Tells added to Poker system. Player will now occasionally get excited or agitated while looking at their hand.
Prison Dog added!
Many crew system bugs fixed.
More enemy placement and balancing.
April 16, 2007
Improvements to server stability.
April 27, 2007
Taking a ship out via the dockworker has been simplified.
Added boss battle: Rescuing the Black Pearl.
Splitting and doubling has been added to Blackjack.
A Log-out button has been added to the options panel.
When you log in, you will appear on the last island you visited. Major islands have jails.
The ability to teleport to a friend has been added.
There is now a new user interface in place for currently targeted enemy.
Enemy aggro has been tuned so enemies don't gang up on people as often.
New name tags reveal the difficulty of an Enemy relative to a player. Red: Hard to defeat. Yellow: Near equal to player. Green: Easy to defeat. Gray: Very easy to defeat.
The Lookout system is now defaulted to Invite Crew.
You should not be able to buy or equip a weapon before you've earned the right to have it.
May 2007
May 2, 2007
A number of client crashes have been fixed.
Improvements have been made to reduce latency issues - this will help to increase performance during PVP battles.
Launcher and game interface artwork has been updated.
May 4, 2007
Fixed a bug that was causing a client crash when using broadside cannons.
Fixed a bug that was overflowing an 8 bit register and causing an AI crash.
Published a new version of the launcher application.
May 11, 2007
The player's user interface has been changed.
The jungles, caves and swamps in Port Royal and Tortuga now have names.
Buried treasure is more closely guarded by enemies.
VIP passes have been added to the game's lookout system, allowing players to specifically invite crew members and friends to join them in PVP combat and parlor games.
The "Challenge to Skirmish" has been fixed.
Navy Guards have been added between the town and Governor's mansion.
Gold drops from enemies have been balanced.
Auto-sail and auto-run have been added. Press Shift-W to enable.
Game Options should now stick upon restart of the game.
We are testing the Basic Access (free) mode of the game - all new accounts created with beta keys will default to this. Basic Access play is ad supported (will run inside an ad frame) and provides players with limited access to certain game features. Please help us test this mode of the game!
September 2007
September 27, 2007
Increased the ability to see other ships from a farther distance
Fixed bugs associated with leaving a Parlor game from the Lookout system
Completed several server-side optimizations
Fixed various reported client crashes
The cost of ship repair has been reduced
Enhanced support for in-game shaders and reflections on the Mac version
Motion of a player swinging onto a flagship has been improved
September 28, 2007
Balanced enemy difficulty and placement
Added feedback on the population of different worlds
Fixed backwards shovel bug for treasure digging
Enhanced player's status meter to indicate the Groggy penalty
Added low-level ships between Port Royal and Tortuga
Removed the Store Option from Bartenders
Decreased distance radius for credits on a land and sea kill
Damage-Over-Time buffs on a target reduced from five to three copies
Relaxed Enemy Ship AI and improved loot drop rates at sea
Improved whisper chat
District activity now displayed on shard panel
Changed pirate name approval/rejection terms
Modified auto-centering function on ship camera
Improved cannon tutorial timing and fixed low-end platforms
October 2007
October 4, 2007
Completed a number of server-side optimizations
Added and adjusted particle effects for the following: stun, smoke, fire
Fixed 'Shackles' bug - player no longer becomes permanently immobile
You are no longer able to break out of 'Stun' or 'Shackles' simply by switching weapons.
Issue with 'Stun' effect appearing over everyone's head during combat has been fixed
Added 'Stun' effect to Cutlass Brawl. Targets hit by the 'Stun' effect cannot move or attack anything for a few seconds, and become immune to further stunning for 60 seconds.
Fixes were put in for various server crashes
Fixed the bug associated with seeing a flagship's boarding timer and panel, even when you weren't battling the flagship
Added a fix for the Windows crash that would happen upon exiting the game
The Three Assassins is now redeemable
October 10, 2007
Fixed the problem associated with avatars rapidly orbiting around enemies during battle.
Various bug fixes were made to the PVP system.
A reward description was added to the top level of non-story quests.
Added more server side optimizations to address the lag issues on busy worlds.
Added undead skins for the alligator, bat, scorpion, and wasp enemies.
Made improvements to the visual effects in the Bo Beck/Jolly Roger cut scene.
Fixed the bugs associated with whispering to non-visible friends.
Added a new hole graphic for sails on ships.
Fixed the bug associated with enemy ships spawning in incorrect areas of the ocean.
Fixed the crash that occurred when players leave the poker table and quit.
Added quest-specific speed chat phrases.
Removed the pirate code warning that was coming up when aiming at enemies that are close to another player.
Fixed 3D sound effects for the impact sounds in ship battle. Sound effects should now feel more distant when hitting an enemy ship.
An Exploit fix was added for being able to tag ships and allow other people to sink them.
Fixed some collision and texture problems on the sloop and galleon ships.
The weapon store interface tabs now have images instead of text.
October 12, 2007
Added more server optimizations to address the lag issue on crowded worlds
Removed NPC's from ships - they will still appear when you board a flagship
Fixed the bug that was preventing people from purchasing grenades after they had earned them
Fixed the bug that was preventing people from leveling up certain skills
Moved the friends list to the right side of the screen and added online/offline icons to friend entries
Fixed the missing buttons on the friend detail panel
Fixed a bug that was allowing people to run extra fast and jump extra high.
Fixed the bug that was causing whispers appear as "blah blah blah" when sent to far away friends
Fixed some collision issues on the Warships
Fixed the bug that was sometimes causing the dig animation to not play correctly
Added sound effects for the drinking tonics, as well as the Full Sail and Ramming Speed sailing skills
New text was added for the Steal Ship List quest
Improved ship placement upon deployment around islands
A fix was added to prevent server crashes from happening when a grenade was thrown in PVP
Fixed the bug in the shackles attack for the voodoo doll
A text fix was made for all the broken quests relating to flagship captures
Added a work-around for the SiS video chips
October 18, 2007
Optimized AI to reduce latency and lag
Added several Flagship fixes
Improved the projectile collision system (relating to cannon balls)
Increased rewards for higher level quests
Polished some rough edges around the PVP system
Repaired several poker related crashes
Removed backgrounds from the Compass
Updated chat panel GUI for "SpeedChat-only" mode
Fixed a number of pirate creation crashes
Resolved several teleport-related issues
Updated numerous models throughout the game
Some quests can now only be completed once
Enemies now chase pirates more aggressively
Walking back from Pantano River no longer dumps you in the ocean
Nametags have been updated:
- They are now visible
- Guild name is displayed as well
- Founder status icon added
Navy officers now hold their swords correctly
Cannon icon is now visible at the ammunition store
Take Aim skill slows a player down when being used
October 19, 2007
Resolved a prevalent sailing crash introduced in version 1.0.10.11 of the release notes
Players no longer have to fear other player's voodoo dolls
Loading screen pictures have been restored
Kingshead bridge and pier have been restored
The tutorial Sea Chest icon's texture has been restored
October 26, 2007
Overall level cap was increased to 40 and the weapon level cap was increased to 25
Raised the level requirement for upgrading ships
Added the ability to click on other players' ships to get info about the captain and crew
Added a "Port of Call" button on the map page, which takes you back to the last major island you were on
Increased maximum capacity on all ships
Fixed the rollup/rolldown sail animation that occurs when the player stops sailing
Fixed the bug that was causing player to end autosailing
Pulled the default camera distance back when sailing a ship
Added a hint on dinghys for players who don't have a ship
Balanced damage values for naval combat
More flagship fixes were made
When you grapple a second flagship, the first one will now sink
Fixed the bug where cargo was being misreported if you teleported to a ship mid-adventure
Fixed descriptions of 'Defeat Ship' quests so the ship class is always shown
A new wake effect was added on ships
Adjusted the level at which some quests are unlocked
Fixed the "unknown location" bug
Removed level 1 weapons from weapon shops
Balanced voodoo doll and voodoo staff skills
Added a team agro check - an enemy who agro's will also agro nearby enemies
PVP games will now take place on less burdened servers to decrease lag
Lowered the damage taken from the pistol "take aim" skill
Tweaked the skill set used by Davy Jones' crew
Fixed the bug that was causing players to start with incorrect Voodoo Staff skills
Added a visual indicator to weapons and skills that are maxed out
Added new animations for pain
Added new animations for being defeated
Re-enabled the quest indicator and ray of light for the graveyard and mansion
Added names to NPC's that were missing one (O'Malley, Peter Blakeley, Daisy, John Wallace, Philip Fuller, Clayton Collard)
Added more descriptive text in parts of the Greer, June and Nill Offrill quest lines
Fixed the Jolly Roger soul drain, poision, heal smoke, spectral smoke, and curse hit effects
Updated lighting inside caves to make it easier to see
Made some minor economy adjustments
Guild members are no longer able to eject the guild leader
New island music has been added, so every island now has it's own unique music
Updated both the tavern and sailing music
Made footsteps a bit louder
Added auto capitalization as names are typed in during Make-a-Pirate
Adjusted the size and placement of the Founder token
Some fixes were made to improve sorting of the friends list
Adjusted chat formatting and colors
Fixed Joshamee Gibbs' neck
Fixed the problem that was causing the Report a Bug page to come up when you logged out
Admin messages now use regular message popups and appear in the chat log
Changed the icon for open chat vs. speed chat plus. The speed chat plus icon is now: "+"
Adjusted the art and screenshots on the panel that appears when you are prompted to upgrade your account
Several server side optimizations have been made to address the lag issue
Changed server terminology to "Oceans" instead of "Worlds"
Early entry has been added for new installs. You can now start making a pirate before the full game is downloaded
November 2007
November 1, 2007
Guild name approvals - known issues:
Several guild names that were previously submitted were accidentally denied -- these will be placed back into the approval process. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
We have also fixed a bug where a user was unable to submit a new guild name if their previous request for a guild name was rejected.
Other bug fixes:
Fixed crashes that were occurring when using the shuffle function in Make-a-Pirate.
All newly created Pirates will now be placed in an Ocean that is ideally populated, instead of a quiet Ocean.
November 5, 2007
Fixed bug causing missing mouse pointer on Mac's
Fixed a memory leak that was causing Pirates to take up more system memory over time
Fixed Voodoo Doll attunement bugs where targets appeared to be attuned but were not taking damage
Fixed the bug which caused your pirate be invisible in Tia Dalma's cutscene
Fixed the bug which caused difficulty performing a cutlass combo while being attacked
Removed warning about being too close to shore when you aren't steering the ship
Made ships respawn in the world faster
Fixed rare server crash caused by a pirate ship sinking. There may still be cases where your screen will hang indefinitely after sinking, in which case you will have to restart the game.
Added new tips for the loading screens
Fixed a bug where enemies were not healing properly after retreating
Adjusted calculation for deciding when a server population is "ideal"
Removed high level skeletons near Tortuga town
Fixed bug in the healing option giving by NPC's that was giving players a speed and jumping boost
Fixed several bugs that caused crashes when creating a pirate and using the "shuffle" button
November 8, 2007
Added ability to invite a friend into your guild by giving them a guild code. Check your guild panel for the "Create Invitation" button.
Fixed bug in quest dialog that was causing some dialog to be missing when returning a quest
Improved graphics of far-away ships
Fixed some loading screen hints
Fixed a bug where the player can purchase more than one of each weapon.
Fixed a bug where the player could purchase Grenade ammo before having the grenade weapon.
Fixed some incorrect skill descriptions for the Voodoo Staff Desolation skill.
Added some text to the Sailing Maneuver skill descriptions to notify the player that Maneuvers do not stack
Added a description to firebrand ammo in the store GUI
We are now limiting PVP mayhem matches to only 8 players
Mouse wheel on a Mac should now select weapon types
Repositioned the attune menu higher so it doesn't interfere with the friends page. Also scaled the buttons down a bit.
Fixed the name that appears when you attune a training dummy.
Fixed jail interior in Port Royal to stop player from getting out of game world.
Fixed jumpiness when steering Black Pearl, and some disconnect problems. There are still known issues with not being able to hit the Goliath properly, or taking damage from forts that we will be fixing soon. Thanks for your patience.
Fixed a bug when a pirate's name was rejected after it was initially approved, and the player could not rename their pirate.
Fixed some memory leaks that were causing the client performance to degrade over time
November 13, 2007
Added ability to invite a friend into your guild by giving them a guild code. Check your guild panel for the "Create Invitation" button.
Fixed bug in quest dialog that was causing some dialog to be missing when returning a quest
Made the following quests lines available for Basic Access members:
- Black Mack's Quest Ladder
- Tortuga Teleport Unlock Quest Ladder
- Darby Drydock's Solo Quest Ladder
- All of Josie McReedy's Quest Ladders (including the Random One)
- R. Smith's Quest Ladder
- Peter Chipparr's Quest Ladder
- All of Sam Seabones' Quest Ladders
- All Three Shane McGreeny Quest Ladders
Improved graphics of far-away ships
Fixed some loading screen hints
Fixed a bug where the player can purchase more than one of each weapon.
Fixed a bug where the player could purchase Grenade ammo before having the grenade weapon.
Fixed some incorrect skill descriptions for the Voodoo Staff Desolation skill.
Added some text to the Sailing Maneuver skill descriptions to notify the player that Maneuvers do not stack
Added a description to firebrand ammo in the store GUI
We are now limiting PVP mayhem matches to only 8 players
Mouse wheel on a Mac should now select weapon types
Repositioned the attune menu higher so it doesn't interfere with the friends page. Also scaled the buttons down a bit.
Fixed the name that appears when you attune a training dummy.
Fixed jail interior in Port Royal to stop player from getting out of game world.
Fixed jumpiness when steering Black Pearl, and some disconnect problems. There are still known issues with not being able to hit the Goliath properly, or taking damage from forts that we will be fixing soon. Thanks for your patience.
Fixed a bug when a pirate's name was rejected after it was initially approved, and the player could not rename their pirate.
Fixed some memory leaks that were causing the client performance to degrade over time
November 15, 2007
A fix has been made to prevent the crash (caused by certain graphics cards) that occurred when going to Padres Del Fuego
Guild name submissions are now auto-capitalized
Fix has been implemented for the crash that occurred when trying to resize your window to 0 pixels tall
Removed latency info that was shown when pressing the F6 key
November 20, 2007
The Black Pearl boss battle has been temporarily disabled due to the fact that it was crashing.
Fixed a crash that was occurring when docking while grappled on to a flagship
A fix has been put into place for the PVP Team Battle server crash
The text for the Gunner Quest has been updated – it now reminds you where to find Olivier
We are continuing to update the text on a variety of Quests
November 29, 2007
Founders program will be ending soon. This release will temporarily change your name tag to Non-Founder status. This will be reverted when we release a new publish.
Added quest tracking for the "return to a townsperson" step in a quest. When a quest is completed, a ray of light will point to the townsperson you need to return to.
Fixed a bug with players and ships popping back and forth suddenly.
Fixed a bug where grenades were hanging in mid air if someone else was also throwing a grenade.
Fixed strange movement of grenade that occurred when a player is moving.
Fixed an issue when switching to grenade that caused siege grenade to always be selected -- now your pirate will use the correct grenade ammo.
Fixed a bug where players wouldn't be able to move when reloading small grenades.
Slowed down player speed when they are using the Long Volley Grenade skill.
Fixed an issue with the Voodoo Doll Swarm skill that was not recording damage correctly at long range.
Fixed a problem with a ship being deployed but still retaining some speed from its previous use.
Added feedback for when teleporting to a friend fails because the friend is unavailable for teleport (for example: in jail, playing PVP, etc...)
Added more feedback for when boarding a ship fails (for example: ship sunk, ship had no more space, etc...)
Fixed an exploit with Voodoo Staff that would allow players to switch between low level and high level skills to avoid long charge times.
Fixed some bugs that were allowing players to move while charging the Voodoo Staff.
Updated some loading screen hints.
Fixed a bug that was causing more than one arrow to appear on the radar.
Added a quest journal notification at the end of Chapter 3.
Guild name submissions are auto-capitalized, and ALL CAPS are automatically removed.
November 30, 2007
Founders program will be ending soon. This release will temporarily change your name tag to Non-Founder status. This will be reverted when we release a new publish.
Added quest tracking for the "return to a townsperson" step in a quest. When a quest is completed, a ray of light will point to the townsperson you need to return to.
Fixed a bug with players and ships popping back and forth suddenly.
Fixed a bug where grenades were hanging in mid air if someone else was also throwing a grenade.
Fixed strange movement of grenade that occurred when a player is moving.
Fixed an issue when switching to grenade that caused siege grenade to always be selected -- now your pirate will use the correct grenade ammo.
Fixed a bug where players wouldn't be able to move when reloading small grenades.
Slowed down player speed when they are using the Long Volley Grenade skill.
Fixed an issue with the Voodoo Doll Swarm skill that was not recording damage correctly at long range.
Fixed a problem with a ship being deployed but still retaining some speed from its previous use.
Added feedback for when teleporting to a friend fails because the friend is unavailable for teleport (for example: in jail, playing PVP, etc...)
Added more feedback for when boarding a ship fails (for example: ship sunk, ship had no more space, etc...)
Fixed an exploit with Voodoo Staff that would allow players to switch between low level and high level skills to avoid long charge times.
Fixed some bugs that were allowing players to move while charging the Voodoo Staff.
Updated some loading screen hints.
Fixed a bug that was causing more than one arrow to appear on the radar.
Added a quest journal notification at the end of Chapter 3.
Guild name submissions are auto-capitalized, and ALL CAPS are automatically removed.
December 2007
December 1, 2007
Founders program will end on Monday, December 1, 2007 at 12:01 AM (PT). You will now see different nametags for Unlimited Founders, Unlimited Non-Founders, and Basic Access players.
Added quest tracking for the "return to a townsperson" step in a quest. When a quest is completed, a ray of light will point to the townsperson you need to return to.
Fixed a bug with players and ships popping back and forth suddenly.
Fixed a bug where grenades were hanging in mid air if someone else was also throwing a grenade.
Fixed strange movement of grenade that occurred when a player is moving.
Fixed an issue when switching to grenade that caused siege grenade to always be selected -- now your pirate will use the correct grenade ammo.
Fixed a bug where players wouldn't be able to move when reloading small grenades.
Slowed down player speed when they are using the Long Volley Grenade skill.
Fixed an issue with the Voodoo Doll Swarm skill that was not recording damage correctly at long range.
Fixed a problem with a ship being deployed but still retaining some speed from its previous use.
Added feedback for when teleporting to a friend fails because the friend is unavailable for teleport (for example: in jail, playing PVP, etc...)
Added more feedback for when boarding a ship fails (for example: ship sunk, ship had no more space, etc...)
Fixed an exploit with Voodoo Staff that would allow players to switch between low level and high level skills to avoid long charge times.
Fixed some bugs that were allowing players to move while charging the Voodoo Staff.
Updated some loading screen hints.
Fixed a bug that was causing more than one arrow to appear on the radar.
Added a quest journal notification at the end of Chapter 3.
Guild name submissions are auto-capitalized, and ALL CAPS are automatically removed.
Fixed a bug in the Speedchat Plus chat mode where words that were not in the Speedchat Plus dictionary were not turning red as you typed them.
December 4, 2007
Names have been added to the taverns on Padres Del Fuego and Cuba
Names have been added to the forts in Kingshead
Tortuga and Port Royal are now more clearly identified on the world map (names have been moved closer to actual islands)
Waterway names have been moved closer to the center of the waterway on the world map
The bug that was causing players to "hang" while attempting to join PVP when another player had dropped out has been fixed
December 7, 2007
We have raised the gold cap to 65000 to give people saving up for the War Frigate some space for additional gold
We have fixed the issue where players near the gold cap were not earning notoriety when defeating enemies
December 10, 2007
Fixed bug that was preventing some players from being able to play Blackjack or Poker
You are now able to change your bid size in Blackjack
Fixed bug with Voodoo Staff charging that was occurring in combination with the Spell Lore passive skill
Several Lookout system fixes have been implemented to make the matchmaking feature more robust, including providing more feedback to the player as to what their chance is of finding a match
You are now able to select a server before you get into the game - some GUI was moved around on the pirate selection screen in order to account for this new interface
You will now be rewarded with some gold (at least) when digging up a treasure chest
A quest icon has been added to the world map for the quest that is currently being tracked - clicking on this icon will take you to the Quest Journal entry for that quest
December 19, 2007
Fixed bug in the Lookout System that was causing players to be sent to the wrong game type
Added notification in the Guild Page that lets you know if your Guildmate is online or offline
Fixed bug that caused ships to occasionally zoom back and forth
Added in-game notification when a Guild invitation token is redeemed
Adjusted the velocity calculation of cannonballs to make it easier to hit enemies while on a moving ship.
Adjusted battle balancing:
- Lower level enemies are now able to damage higher level players. Previously, they would always miss.
- Lower level players are now able to damage higher level enemies. Previously, they would always miss.
Reduced Notoriety gain for Grenades and Voodoo Staff.
Added functionality to put players back on their original server after playing PVP
Fixed bug in server selection that was sometimes sending players to a different server than the one they selected at the login screen
Removed the server selection panel from the 'pick-a-pirate' screen for accounts that have no avatars
Added code to prevent teleport effects when teleporting while swimming
Fixed an issue with being sunk right as you anchor your ship. If you make it to land safely, your ship should never be sunk
Update made to the Quest tracking system to not track Quests that only direct you to a location (i.e. kill crabs on Tortuga)
Added detection to default players with ATI video cards to use DirectX 9 to fix an issue that was causing players to crash when boarding a ship
Added server names to the Speed Chat Plus dictionary
December 21, 2007
Fixed issue with teleporting to friends and crewmates while swimming that was causing game crash
