Staff Question: Why Unclassic Variance on Shady Goblin?

[loramin]

Originally Posted by nilbog [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's hard to remember the day I wrote this quest, almost a year and a half ago, much less the details.

Willing to fix it if it's wrong. I'm not sure how to interpret the last 2 posts in this thread if someone wants to translate.

Thank you Lord Nilbog! (And as an aside I'm just now realizing the irony of you of all people answering a post about an unclassic goblin.) It sounds like maybe this was just a case of crossed wires and not a deliberate decision after all.

Originally Posted by Para99 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

A lot of the Zam posts suggest it was nerfed on the June 5, 2002 patch and was a 24 hour spawn before that but I didn't spend much time other than that looking. I referenced it in the other shady goblin thread my bad my post didn't make sense without the context.

Thank you Para99 for the summaries! And if this isn't enough I'd be happy to find more evidence.

[Para99]

Here's another thread from July 2002 saying he was broken and saying there was a Monkly Business thread about it being broken, Monkly Business thread wasn't captured by Wayback machine. 4 different people in this thread saying it was recently broken
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thec...lin-t2886.html

Jul 02, 2002 #1
What I haven't been able to do is track down the shady goblin in Warslik Woods. I've read a couple of boards that have reported him missing. If this quest is broken, I'd sure like to know so that I can /feedback, /bug, /whatever until it gets fixed.

Jul 03, 2002 #2
Pretty sure that the spawn is currently broken (ie he's not spawning). I'm stuck on the same step and havent seen him for weeks.

Jul 03, 2002 #3
Same exactly problem, im at the shady goblin part and he isn't spawning. Most likely broken as others have said

Jul 08, 2002 #4
The shady goblin bit seems broken indeed...;(

[DMN]

I don't find any of those anecdotes very compelling evidence. But take heart EverPixelers, I have no say here. I remember there being all sorts of stories/claims about outdoor mobs like these. Probably heard over a hundred often times contradictory anecdotal claims of Pyzjin's spawns back in the day.

[hobart]

Originally Posted by diamondfist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The bearer of entry is lowered when the timer is exact on mobs like this and scout.

Originally Posted by diamondfist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If this 24 hour mob had a variance more like 12 hours - 36? 48? hours you would set the bearer of entry back to what it was on live..

Server first cords. Server last on knowing the term "barrier to entry".

[Pringles]

Not seeing any evidence that there was no variance on the goblin. Only thing I can think of is maybe quest mobs weren't subject to the same variance rules as other mobs were. In the absence of some evidence for that a 24 hour spawn would have around a 10% variance.

[Wonkie]

spawn length variance plz, go

[Swish2]

This server partly runs on bottlenecks and people still needing to do various things/kill various NPCs for various rare items...

Welcome to the latest fun addition.

[Para99]

Originally Posted by Pringles [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Not seeing any evidence that there was no variance on the goblin. Only thing I can think of is maybe quest mobs weren't subject to the same variance rules as other mobs were. In the absence of some evidence for that a 24 hour spawn would have around a 10% variance.

The guides are where the 24 hours is from, where is 10% variance for Shady from? A lot of the complaints reference that how.to/chardok guide but the wayback capture for it is a dead page, Zam had 24 hours on the 2002 Wayback capture for the quest and still does.

Maybe the spawn was broke for a few months around 6/02 because the complaints do just disappear after a few months and I found another post from 2004 saying Shady was still 24 hours and Angry was still 3 days +/- 10%.

Imo either the spawn was broke for a few months, the variance was added June 2002, or the variance was always there and was much much longer than +/- 3 hours and no one noticed until June 2002. It seems really unlikely to me there would be no complaints at all for 8 months then a bunch of complaints in the same few weeks if nothing changed.

Originally Posted by DMN [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Probably heard over a hundred often times contradictory anecdotal claims of Pyzjin's spawns back in the day.

Apples and oranges, Pyzjin has PH's and roams. Shady is either standing where he spawns or is between spawns.

[Rygar]

If the true respawn is set to 24 hrs, I previously uncovered evidence that Scott Charisa is indeed on basically an 11hr30min timer with +/- 30 mins.
https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...d.php?t=281965

If that is to be believed, I also found evidence that every mob in EQ with a spawn time over 2hrs had a variance. Post here:
https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...7&postcount=26

They mention the variance modifier is percentage based, so if evidence on the variance is lacking, safer to assume doubling the scout variance (so +/- 1hr would be my suggestion).

There are definitely exceptions to this such as skipping spawn cycles to extend variance, but without that evidence I say the +/- 1hr is good, or at least a happy compromise.

[DMN]

Originally Posted by Para99 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Apples and oranges, Pyzjin has PH's and roams. Shady is either standing where he spawns or is between spawns.

Spawns might be apples to oranges, but the analogy isn't. Not a single one of those posts even mentioned variance or the possibility thereof. I don't see a single one even saying they had the timer for the spawn.