Just a quick tossout poll for you guys, If the silent tower were to reappear mystertiosly through pappa Neps graces, How many of you would return to cf and begin playing for that sole reason? For those of you with dwindling interests, for how many of you would that light a fire under your ass to explore?

Part of what I liked about Silent Tower, as well as a few other areas, is that they're a great time sink for people who aren't interested in spending most of every session engaging in cabal wars and/or the various things (like farming preps, etc.) that go along with cabal wars and aggressive PK. I some ways, I thought of Silent Tower almost as a sort of single-player mode of CF, meaning I could simply log on and go there and learn and work on figuring stuff. It didn't matter if I couldn't find an invoker or a compatible bard or a warrior with rescue or whatever. Not that Silent Tower isn't a great place for pairs or groups, but it was also an area that A) wasn't just about killing mobs, and B) provided something very enjoyable to do that could be done solo and was not dependent on assistance from other people/builds.

I understand that Silent Tower presents some challenges and disappointments when it comes to players respecting the intentions of the author and the spirit of it's "secretness". Nonetheless, in a CF where "sweet explore groups" are limited and players might be looking for something else to do besides grind out cabal wars and PK night after night, Silent Tower, partly because of the sheer quality and depth of the area and it's story, and partly because of all the things that make it "not work", provides something that isn't present in most other areas or in CF's atmosphere in general.

If Silent Tower were opened up again, it would definitely go a long way to giving me the motivation to grind out the levels to hero despite a pretty depressing WHO GROUP most of the time.

To some players, Silent Tower is good book that was lost before it was finished. To others, it's one of those "you must experience" things they never got to, and apparently will never. To another group, it's simply an area with sweet equipment and no slight against the author or level of shady conduct is too much to trade for the keys to the locks that guard that sweet equipment.

All I know is that I could give a rat's ass who has archmage gear. How many people know it's secrets, how many walk-throughs exist, or how much of the gear is in circulation has no influence on how much enjoyment people get out of Silent Tower's story, quests, puzzles, etc.

I would very much like to see it restored, even though I never got there. I also feel bad for Nep that he presumably put so much time and love into it, only to have to take it out (and hear people whine about it. Anyway, my suggestion is that it receive the same kind of what-happens-in-ST-stay-in-ST mechanic that exists in the Khardrath's. Further, any objects from there should crumble within a couple ticks of leaving the tower.

If these things happen, then I think ST can be brought back and we can explore it for fun explore exp). Without the mechanical rewards, there won't be too much motivation to pass around gear lists. With some high-but-not-insane explore exp, you might be able to reward (and thus motivate) people to go in there, without giving over-the-top perks to cheaters.

put it in, but if it is deemed too powerful, put an EXPLORE flag on all the items so they crumble.

I loved figuring out the puzzles.

and I had no chance to retrieve those things. After that, I didn't play for a year.

I completely agree that ST was an area for uberveterans. Also, I'm sure no normal player would solve even a 5% of it (and without OOC help, hints and etc).

So, answering to your question: more likely I'd leave again if ST would reappear, since I'd try to solve it, would die a lot of times, would get pissed again and would delete my Zmud again

I'm not fond of Silent Tower and am perfectly happy with it not returning to the game. Silent Tower would have no effect in making me return game.

Silent tower is a puzzle area with über rewards. Essentially, it is possible to farm such an area for rewards if you are familiar with the puzzle. Thus, the area is vulnerable to exploitation via walkthroughs, meaning that information circulated via OOC means can be put to effective use. Thus, people will be able to get the great rewards without having to figure out the puzzle themselves.

The area itself is a gigantic monument for Nep's love of overpowered little secrets that only work if they are known by few people only and otherwise break the game. We've said goodbye to Ysigrath's skill spamming vine and we've said goodbye to Silent Tower. These things had to go in the form they currently exist.

ST is full of overpowered rewards that put people without these rewards at disadvantage against people with ST stuff. If ST were to return, those rewards should be balanced in a way that allows balanced PK when a wider number of playerbase is able to claim them, even if some of the information is circulated via OOC means. Furthermore, the area itself is too high maintenance to constantly tweak and change the puzzles. There are better ways to use implementor time than to keep obscure puzzles obscure. Nerf the rewards or make it stay gone.

I know only about crystal gear set from it but I would not call it 'overpowered'.

And if people think it would be nice to reduce item stats from ST to return it - I am all for it. Just do not make them completely useless.

... the special effects. Like resist mental, being able to walk out of it with sanc, nasty procs etc. And the gear with those procs and special effects also had very good stats. Not like for example prayer beads that basically just gives a proc, or some other items with crappy stats but awesome procs.

Instead they had very good stats and awesome procs.

Always shoot first and then call whatever you hit the target.

I'm against overpowered stuff, like items having unique, nasty progs and such a la haste boots and see hidden mask (not ST gear, I know, but you see the principle). Furthermore, the tower could be gamed to the extent of using it as a source of long-lasting haste and lore skill could efficiently be spammed there due to easy means to fill your mana. These two things could be done without solving even a single puzzle in the tower and were easy to figure out. I personally used the tower as a certain haste source and perfected lore there when I had characters that could enter the tower that had such skill (I did that with Muug only, but still).

Oh Noes! Not a lore skill hax!1!!1 OP!

That which does not kill us,
makes us stronger.

agtarhrahr

I still say all skills should just scale with int, level and hours. Use-based improvement just rewards grinding.

I'd like to remove strange bracers from the game as well. They make powerful char even more powerful, no newbie will get them, it will be some powerhouse, which will put newbies to even more comfortable position to rape them.

This is the same argument people use for gun control. It's asinine.

To clarify: I've never had the bracers. I've only had lightning rings with three characters, only had Prayerbeads with two characters, one of which couldn't use them, but in all that time I never begrudged anyone who did have those items.

That would be unAmerican.

would be to make it so when you really need to take them off, you can't.

That is, when the wearer is bleeding, poisoned, or low on hitpoints/mana/moves.

Areas like this cause way too much resentment, especially when they are implemented the way Silent was. I think its sort of nice that they've kept it closed.

I liked Silent and I'd like to see it back.

However, I know the same people that abuse hell would abuse silent, and then claim they weren't doing anything wrong.

.

But I don't have prior knowledge or friends with knowledge of it and I don't explore.

So it only benefits me that it's gone.

However I play and will play anyway, no matter what.