Futuza

As Noodle mentions, the idea is that we want you to contribute to JKHub first before just taking without giving back.  There have been far too many people that get on with an expectancy of being able to request difficult and hard-to-do requests and actually get a response, and to make matters worse they've shown no willingness to learn or contribute or that they've even attempted to try to do their own request first.  This helps curtail those spam-like requests that really just annoy most of us long time modders more than make us interested in contributing to your request.

maybe i'll be tracer?

 

Has anybody ripped Overwatch models and ported them to JKA yet?  Cause otherwise I can't reply properly to this.

Link has been updated, thank you for pointing out it was out of date! I'm sure a fair few people have tried clicking it to their disappointment by now (it was supposed to be set to permanent, discord must have made a mistake somewhere). 

*Disney conspiracy theories intensify*

@@Darth Futuza ...why not just create a StarTrek-like Bacta Hypo-spray injection. Then just create a stabbing animation of applying it to yourself or others?

It already exists in game.  It just doesn't have a stabbing animation to go with it.

We see what you see. The owners probably bought the domain but didn't have a use for it.

More like they bought it for the sole purpose of domain squatting and hoping they could resell it at a high value to you

Well if you want just a bunch of star wars themed skins in a collection you could check out KotF2.

 

Otherwise you'll need to just surf around and find stuff you like and adding them one by one, try looking at JKHub's models selection in the file's area starting here. For example, Revan or Vader.

Like this?

https://jkhub.org/topic/8131-jedi-fighter-beta-3-released-focusing-on-adaptive-ai/

Hosting test matches for v1.3.18 today. The server is up and running, feel free to try in the meantime and play a match on your own terms. 

We'll be holding 3 matches tomorrow (20th of October 2018) at :

• UTC 6:30pm - 7pm
• UTC 9:30pm-10pm
• Sunday UTC 2:30am-3:00am

 

 

EDIT: Thanks for the matches everyone!

Where is this modding license you speak of? I've actually never seen such a thing, though people speak of it a lot.

 

Apeiron actually flaunted themselves as a mod of KOTOR, but is it really a mod when you're using an entirely new engine and assets? It's was basically a new game at that point.

 

Nobody is protected against a C&D though. Technically they can send a C&D for something as trivial as someone painting the Star Wars logo on a bedroom wall.

Stuff like this, but looking into it more, looks like KoToR never had anything like that as far as I can tell, so maybe not - I never got into modding KoToR so I'm not an expert on it.

Part of the problem is they flaunted themselves as a new game rather than as merely a MOD for KOTOR, which would remove what little protection they would have from under a KOTOR modding license.

 

As a Star Wars fan, it's sad to see fan-made projects put down. But as a copyright holder myself, I can't help but side with Lucasfilm on the whole thing.

Some of their stuff was BS though, especially the bit about demanding to destroy all the code.  The code has nothing to do with the intellectual property of Star Wars (unless it used clearly violating terms such as "Jedi" or "Star Wars") and could easily be rebranded and worked into a new IP without violating IP, Disney's lawyers went too far with that demand and are not in the right with such claims in my view, especially given that it isn't necessary to protect their property and is a real dick move.

 

In theory, JKHub and JKA modders in general should be protected in most cases provided they follow the original licensing terms provided by the game for modding, but Disney owns the rights now and can change them to whatever they want and I doubt any of us are rich enough (or care enough) to try and fight them in court should they decide that modding any Star Wars game is illegal.

Like Jedi Knight Galaxies? 

Dang this just looks better and better

So, how was the contest?

I dunno exactly, but here's some of the videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPbujntnje6dWX98mR3DIpQ/videos

I think you overestimate Lucas's ability to write.

JKG already has one of these in it, just saying if y'all are really desperate to have one...

Well this simultaneously made and ruined my day. Of all the excuses, this would have to be the craziest and most ridiculous excuse I've ever seen from Disney.

 

Ну, теперь все сделано, мне нужна замена масла. Нет, я не русский.

Here:

That's exactly what I was thinking. No images, no previews, just a request to join a discord server. This shit is starting to scream an attempt to do what TimFX did with KOTF before @@Fire Phoenix and @@Linken took it off his cold hands and made it right. I'm literally having my eyebrow raised to the point where it touches the ceiling and I'm sure everyone else is at this point.

Nah, this sort of is so far beneath notice and so frequently spammed it doesn't even warrant an eyebrow twitch.

 

That said I feel kinda bad for all the people who keep trying to do stuff like this, because they just don't know any better.  I need to make a thread about this or something.  I guess maybe this is relevant.

futuza, im guessin you havent heard, but moneysoft bought github, lol. there was a mass exodus of devs that went to gitlab, sourceforge and the like, lol.

 

and last i seen, they havent made any linux updates since 0.0.3, lol. and that access request only appears to be for contributions, therefore proprietary code, closed source, no linux support, thy maul of truth hath droppeth, and im backquiet, kek

Yes, I know and the devs that are doing so are just giving into fear mongering - Microsoft isn't doing anything significantly different with Github - hence the not really sure why part.

Yeah, I'm agreeing with you dr backquiet.  But like he said earlier there's no request for linux updates (other than you) so they aren't working on that part since its a minor feature that's less important than others.  Putting linux support on the back burner isn't the same as no linux support at all.

fakenews, you did too drop linux support, theres demand for linux support and opensource, so go backout with those lies

I mean he has somewhat of a point since the repo was moved to a private repo on bitbucket and you have email them to request access: (mcsgitproject@gmail.com) not exactly my definition of open, but that doesn't mean they dropped linux support or that anyone can't still request access.  Source: https://github.com/ClydeFrog68/MCS  Not sure why they aren't just using Github, but whatever.

Item Durability

 

In phase 3 and beyond, items will come with a durability status as indicated above.  Durability calculations will be fairly simple, to explain I will be using Standard Stormtrooper Torso Armor as an example. This item has a durability stat of 50 and when first created or purchased will start out with 50/50 durability.  It is a refined item and so it has a higher durability score than most common items (which usually vary from 10-30 durability).  When an items durability reaches 0, it will be destroyed.  The game will warn you when you have equipped items with less than 25% of its max durability.  When an item hits 0 durability there is a 25% chance that the item will be destroyed entirely, the remaining times it will be transformed into a random ingredient/component scrap item.  In this example Stormtrooper Armor is made from plastoid and has a 75% chance of turning into plastoid scrap material.  This material component could then be used by a crafter in turn to create new Stormtrooper Armor or even something else.  In the event that the item is already a material/scrap/ingredient type it will simply just be destroyed.

 

An items durability can typically decrease in one of four ways:

• Damage: Whenever an item is equipped and your character takes damage to that location.  In this example, getting shot in the chest, while the Stormtrooper Torso Armor is equipped, causes the item to have a chance of taking durability damage.  Common items have a 50% chance of decreasing the durability, refined items have a 40% chance of decreasing, elite items have a 30% chance of decreasing, and superior items have a 20% chance of decreasing (legendary items do not have a durability stat to decrease).  Typically this means it takes a superior item 4x as many shots to take durability damage than a common item would.  Generally only one point of durability is lost this way, however some elements in JKG may have special abilities or circumstances that cause additional durability damage.  For example, acid lizards on Tatooine are more prone to damage equipment when one takes damage from them, than most other creatures.  Note: many shields take durability damage whenever the shield is overloaded.
• Crafting Risk: As part of the crafting process, items are often used as components or ingredients to create a new better item.  This is not always successful, in the event that the crafting process fails, ingredients/components will take durability damage and possibly be destroyed if it lowers their durability.  Crafting generally does more than one point of durability damage this way and it is usually a good idea to use components/ingredients with high durability to decrease the risk that they will not be destroyed in the crafting process.
• Use: Some items decrease their durability whenever they are used.  Many weapons such as blasters, vibroblades, etc have this side effect.  The risk of an items durability being decreased from use is typically much less than from taking damage.  Common weapons typically have a 5% chance of decreasing durability when fired, refined have a 4% chance, elite have a 3% chance, and superior have a 2% chance.
• Decay: All items (except legendary tier) are subject to the laws of entropy and as a result will eventually break down without repair.  All equipped items will take one point of durability damage per hour of play that the owning player is online (note: this rate is highly likely to be adjusted on a real time basis to balance the current state of the economy).  Items that are placed in a warehouse/storage/bank or inventory etc will probably not take decay damage (though this might be changed eventually).  Due to this mechanic, durability will not be a simple integer so that decay can damage durability in amounts less than 1, however the score displayed to the player will be an integer.  This mechanic is probably my least favorite one, but I feel like it will be necessary in order to help regulate the economy (see below).

Durability exists for primarily two reasons.  The first is that it helps provide a mechanic for entropy in the game reflecting the nature that everything breaks down eventually, this is vastly needed component as it helps counteract new items that are introduced into the economy through mechanics such as crafting, item drops, mining, quest rewards, new players etc.  Closed economic systems that do not have consumers (only producers) will result in endless inflation.  The second reason is related to the first, and is simply that it exists as a credit sink to require something for players to spend credits/time on in order to maintain their equipment and items.  This also means that crafters and other players who spend time producing new items or acquiring components/ingredients are absolutely vital to players who wish to continue using their equipment and crafters will continually be relevant.  Many shopkeepers and vendors can repair (restore an item's lost durability score) for lower tier items, for a fee.  However, only skilled player crafters are able to repair higher tier items and often need to consume additional components/materials to do so, most players will probably also be likely to charge a fee for repairs.  A trade mechanic allowing crafters and clients to exchange services and items with each other will be provided to help provide a trusted mechanism so players don't have to worry about being scammed out of items they want repaired.  The balance of durability vs repairs should be such that it isn't annoying where every hour of play you're having to have something repaired, but where it is still a necessary expenditure every once in a while to continue using the item.  Repairs for higher quality items will cost more in terms of resources and credits than lower tier items.

 

As a side note, I would like to eventually also code some statistical tracking functions in the game so that the devs can keep a a close eye on the economy and adjust decay rates and other resource sinks in real time as needed and flag problematic items that effect the economy too much, too quickly.  This way they can be reevaluated before they cause too much damage.  While Phase 3 servers will have persistent data, it will primarily be used as a beta testing rate for balance and economic flow and probably frequently reset before Phase IV is ready so the economy will probably be much more volatile during phase 3 until we can get things adjusted correctly.

 

Item Tiers

Items in Jedi Knight Galaxies will have a tier level associated with it.  Tiers represent an items rarity and value, most items typically have at least three different tiered versions that exist, though some exceptions will exist.  Having multiple tiers helps represent how an item or equipment might be improved or customized over a base version.  Some items are valuable or rare enough that they do not have lower tier versions, while the reverse may also be true that some items do not have higher tier versions available.  While higher tier equipment will always offer an advantage, it is not such that lower quality equipment is completely and utterly outmatched by high quality equipment.  JKG will remain a primarily player skill based game - good equipment cannot make up for a lack of skill using that equipment. The tiers are as listed below:

 

• Tier I - Common The most common types of items are of the common variety.  These items are typically available from shopkeepers, vendors, drops, mines etc. They are typically not very powerful, often used as materials or ingredients, and usually do not have a high value.  Most NPCs have common tier equipment.  These types of items typically have a low durability value and are prone to often needing repairs (items that are not repaired and reach 0 durability will eventually break and become worthless except as scrap components).  Typically have a durability value of 10-30.  Common items might include things such as frag grenades, ores, plasteel components, the trandoshan pistol, a leather jacket, etc. 

 

• Tier II - Refined The 2nd most common item type, as the name implies is typically a more refined and processed version of common tier items.  While typically not too much more powerful than common items, they are much sparser.  Occasionally they may be sold in stores by some vendors, but most refined items will originate from rare drops or player crafting.  Typically have a durability value of 30-50. Refined items include things such as stormtrooper armor, the e-11 blaster, class e thermal detonators, refined durasteel ore, burst mode jetpacks etc.

 

• Tier III - Elite Rare and powerful, elite items are the most powerful weapons that can be granted from a drop - NPC vendors do not sell these items unless they originate from another player.  Only experienced and skilled player crafters are capable of creating elite items.  It is rumored that some difficult quests undertaken may reward elite tier items for successfully accomplishing the required task at hand by grateful NPCs.  Typically have a durability value of 40-70.  Elite items would include such examples like class a thermal detonators, the BlasTech AA-49 Fleet Protector shield, saber crystals, improved e-11 variants, Z-6 jetpacks, Holocrons, etc.

 

• Tier IV - Superior The rarest and most powerful item type, this type can only be produced by the most experienced player crafters and are often made out of elite components and other rare expensive materials.  These items can only be created by high level crafters who've dedicated much of their game play experience to their craft, bought from other players, or stolen from other players during PVP.  Superior items do not spawn from the game in anyway and can only originate from player crafters.  Player crafters who create superior items or equipment may optionally sign their work, advertising their accomplished craft to all who examine their work.  Typically have a durability value of 50-99. Examples would include customized crafted versions of the e-11, lightsabers, Jedi Master robes, modified BlasTech Fleet Protector shields, custom Mandalore armor, etc.

 

The actual statistical differences between low tier equipment and high tier equipment is not always immediately obvious and sometimes only varies as far as the two items rarity, rather than having an actual statistical difference.  For example, some colors of clothing piece may simply be more rare and hard to find, while having the same bonuses to stats regardless of color.  As a rule of thumb, the difference between the lowest tier and the highest tier for the same item should probably not provide a statistical advantage of more than 50%.  For example: the DL-18 Pistol has a common variant that costs 390 credits, does 21 damage, and has a firing delay of 475ms.  The superior version of the DL-18 has a value of 1900 credits, does 32 damage, and has a firing delay of 375ms.  Eventually JKG will also implement an item durability mechanic.  Generally, higher tier equipment will have a higher durability and is less likely to be damaged or break in battle than lower tier equipment.  Higher tier equipment also tends to look a little cooler.  One way we might simplify visually how one tells the difference between different tiers of equipment is by applying special shaders or colors to the base items.  eg: the Superior DL-18 Pistol might have a slight blue-violet glow aura around the weapon.  This will make it easier to produce higher tier items without requiring entirely new models and textures.  While the color scheme isn't set in stone, we might use the following: Grey -> Green -> Blue -> Violet -> Yellow color scheme for indicating increasing value/rarity.  While treasure classes will still remain the way of how items and wealth is actually distributed systematically, tier information makes it easy for a player to guess at an item's worth and can also change during the items lifetime as it is improved through crafting or falls into disrepair from durability abuse.  It represents an item quality or usefulness, more than explicit item rarity.

 

 

Legendary Equipment

There is a special fifth tier category, known as legendary.  This particular item type has several special properties that makes it different from the regular tiers.  Legendary items are unique and designed to be fought over and passed from one killer to the next as blood inheritance, similar to how the Death Stick in the Harry Potter series works.  Legendary items might be introduced into the game during special Developer run one-time events and the winner(s) of those events may occasionally be rewarded a Legendary item as a reward (thus introducing a new Legendary item into the cycle) or as a reward for completing hidden achievements that no one else has before accomplished in game. Legendary items are typically Star Wars lore items specific to famous individuals, examples might include things like Casus Fett's armor, General Kit Fisto's lightsaber, Tarfful's Crossbow, Revan's Boots, etc. Legendary items have the following properties:

• Infinite durability and cannot be destroyed/deleted (they may however be dropped to the ground for someone else to be picked up).
• One-of-a-kind and only one instance of the item exists at a time on ALL planets (servers).
• The item cannot be stored in warhouses/player storage/banks or other types of containers.
• If you are killed and you have the item equipped or in your inventory it has a 100% drop rate.
• They cannot be crafted and originate only from special events in game.
• They cannot be sold to NPC vendors (the vendors consider it too expensive to buy from you), but may be traded to other players.
• If a player owns a Legendary item and does not log in to their account for more than two weeks, the item will be removed from their inventory/equipment and recycled back into the galaxy.  Typically, if the item originated from a one time event the item will simply be assigned as the next drop from a powerful npc when it is killed in the event that the item's origin event cannot be repeated.  Otherwise it will be recycled into the quest it was originally part of and the next player to successfully complete that quest will be rewarded the legendary item as a reward.
• The game does not clean up Legendary items from off of the ground (normal drops will eventually be removed after a long enough time if they are not claimed), so they will remain wherever they are dropped.
• If no one picks the item up after 2 weeks, it will be cycled back into its quest or as a drop (because it was most likely dropped in an unreachable location).
• They have stats that are at least on par with superior equipment, though frequently slightly stronger than even superior.

More on the crafting concepts briefly implied in this write-up will be expounded upon at a later dater.

Pshhh no love for vibroblades?  Sabers are too quick, don't give you time to savor all the little emotions and give you time to get to know the victim.

As Jedi Knight Galaxies is a multiplayer game, social organizations in game will be a key part of helping players to organize and create their own fun and allegiances.  The primary goal is to give players the ability to organize in-game without needing to rely on outside tools (Such as a guild webpage, discord, etc) so that JKG is self sufficient for player organization.  Player organization has a broad number of different needs so here's an outline of what I would like to be available.  Keep in mind this is a concept outline and will be subject to a lot of change based on feedback and feasibility as we go along.

 

Factions

Factions are developer controlled NPC run massive organizations that exist on multiple planets throughout the servers.  Players may join a faction for certain benefits or perks in exchange for being expected to perform certain services or duties.  The two primary factions are the Rebel Alliance faction and the Imperial faction.  Other factions may eventually be introduced, but only these two will exist initially (for example the Black Sun and Hutts would be considered factions) to simplify things and get feedback for the initial faction system before trying out additional options.  There is technically a 3rd party faction available (Neutral), but everyone is initially assigned to this faction when they create a new character and it behaves different since it doesn't actually exist as a faction.  As you do favors for NPCs, through quests etc and by following a "story line" you will eventually be able to unlock access to a faction and have the opportunity to join it.  Some examples of benefits a faction might provide for a player: access to restricted areas where members of that faction are only allowed, faction specific weapons/equipment is available for purchase, faction produced items are sold at discount to faction members, additional faction specific quests become available, rewards for killing opposing faction players, etc.  We will probably also schedule regular weekly faction war events, where faction members engage in massive battles over some sort of territory or objective once a week - which will provide additional benefits to those who participate and win - while also providing direction for narrative changes in the overall state of the Galaxy.

 

 

Guilds

Guilds are player controlled and created organizations that exist on multiple planets throughout the servers.  Guilds have a max cap of 30 (subject to change) to prevent guilds from becoming massive bloated bureaucracies (that's what factions are for).  Guilds are the core social unit of JKG and provide a home and place of belonging for players that choose to participate in one.  They also conduct wars and compete with one another for resources.  Guilds can make alliances with one another and name other guilds as an ally or foe in order to quickly communicate to their members who is to be trusted and who is not.  Individuals can also be labeled as allies or foes.  Guilds can also officially associate themselves with a faction, but this will be made public and the factions will make certain demands of the guild (while also providing benefits).  eg: The Imperial faction may require you to kill 25 Rebel players every month as a guild.

 

Many of the planets in the game will have neutral territories that can be claimed and controlled by guilds.  Most of these take the form of small towns or large building complexes (such as a fort or factory) that are located in unclaimed territories not controlled by factions.  The process of how a guild claims a territory will be covered in a later concept outline and will deal with a lot of the end-game content for JKG.  In summary, certain territories in game can be claimed as Guild property by meeting certain requirements.  Once claimed, the guild has to pay maintenance costs and continue defending their claim on a regular basis in order to retain ownership.  They can repurpose the territory for their own benefit by using buildings or rooms in the territory as player housing for members of their guild.  The guild will have control over many policies that are applied to that territory.  For example, they can setup a tax on trade for certain (or all) items exchanged in that territory between players (or NPCs) or disable or enable PVP.  This can be beneficial to creating a localized economy and create incentive for encouraging trade in your guilds territory.  For example, a guild could make saber crystal trade legal in their territory and sold at a 10% discount, while making the sell of raw ore materials illegal.  Typically most territories will come with a variety of different NPC services which will be largely controllable by the reigning guild.  eg: The territory may have a security force which can be tasked with killing Imperial Stormtroopers and Rebel Fighters, while not attacking Bounty Hunters. 

 

Apart from controllable territories (which will be covered in more detail at a later time), guilds will have a number of other features, most of which will be accessible from within the guild menu here's some ideas:

• Guild chat where guild members can message each other (and maybe eventually voip, but we'll see...)
• Guild treasury controlled by the Guild Leader, this allows the Guild to pool funds together to buy prohibitively expensive items such as ships or buildings.  Also called the Guild Fund.
• Guild message page, where guild leaders can post announcements, guidelines etc. Normal guild members can view this, but not edit it.
• Guild Positions - see more below.
• Guild Banner/Symbol editor - a symbol the guild uses to identify stuff that is editable in game by Guild Leaders.
• Ability to add guild symbol to equipment (eg: on armor or weapons).
• Ability to create specialized guild equipment, especially if the guild completes special quests or tasks.
• Access to Guild Quests.
• Ability to participate in Guild Events.

 

Guild Positions

When someone creates a guild they have the ability to setup a very customizable set of positions within the guild in order to manage the guild.  The roles for each, except the guild owner are all completely customizable (has access to everything).  Each role is editable with these (or similar features):

 

 

Here's an example of how a guild owner might setup a guild with various different positions

• Owner - Creator of the guild, has full admin access over the guild and can change and edit this list as they see fit, removing positions entirely or changing the access allowed for each.  This role cannot be revoked, unless the Owner leaves the guild (he must name a successor before doing so).  If the Owner is inactive for more than 30 days, his successor is given full owner access - this can be reverted if the owner logs back in.  If no successor was chosen or named, then a random guild member from the next highest permissions level will be selected.  Required contribution setting is disabled for owners.
• Daughter-Heir - can edit guild positions, is a leader, can recruit new members, can edit guild symbol, can kick members, can kick leaders, can use guild funds, can request guild funds, can advertise guild, can edit guild news, has a required contribution of 1000 credits per week.  Is the guild's successor in the event the owner leaves.
• Recruiter - Can advertise the guild (send recruitment invitations, which would need to be approved before the invitee can be recruited), is a trainer, and has a contribution of 100 credits per week.
• Master - Can recruit new members, advertise, is a leader, can kick members, is a trainer and can request guild funds.  Has a contribution of 500 credits per week.
• Apprentice - Can request guild funds, and has a contribution of 100 credits per week.
• Padawan - Has a contribution of 100 credits per month.

Members in the guild can then be assigned a position and as guild leaders determine can move up or down in the guild.  There will probably be several additional permissions that can be customized, the above is not by any means a thorough list.  Due to this level of customization guilds can have several different hierarchies or even make everyone equal in the guild (a socialist guild?).  The Required Contribution is optional for each role, but if enabled, will require that member to meet the contribution quota in order to remain a member of the guild.  Those who fail to meet that quota will be autokicked from the guild (possibly other consequences could occur, such as being being assigned a "peasant" role with no permissions).  In order to create a guild, a player must visit a guild registration office (there is at least one on each planet), pay a registration fee (will be something large like 500,000 credits), and be the required minimum level (mostly to prevent newbies from creating guilds they aren't ready to run and force players to have some experience with the game before creating their own guild).  We might also require a guild 'quest' one has to complete first before being trusted enough by the guild office to be ready to start your own guild.  Guilds also have a shared "Guild Fund" and those authorized to use Guild Funds can spend it on things, members might also make requests to use guild funds on something, which would then have to be approved by someone who has guild fund access.  Those who contribute funds to the guild send money to this Guild Fund when they contribute.  Guild Leaders can also make a ladder board for gaining new name/positions based on how much someone has contributed to the Guild Fund (eg: 1 million credits earns VIP tag). 

 

Guild leaders can send an alert notification to members of their guild any time, and whenever the guild news board is edited, the editor can choose to also send a notification out.  Guilds do not share experience or items like party's (see below) except during special guild events, though they are welcome to share items through trade etc.  Guild members can leave the guild at any time for any reason.  Guild owners and named successors, must choose a replacement before they can leave the guild.  If the guild owns appropriate technology, guild members are able to broadcast/receive their in-game position and other information to/from other members of their guild.

 

 

Party

A party is an informal group of players temporarily banding together for mutual benefit.  Any player can create a party at any time.  They can then invite up to 4 other players to join their party.  If party members are in close proximity to each other they will gain shared experience (the party's average level will be used to calculate this).  The party leader can send invites anytime, but also can accept/decline requests to join the party (other players can make requests to Party Leaders to join a party anytime).  They can also make a setting to auto accept requests or auto reject them.  The Party Leader also sets up rules with drops when starting the party, there are a couple of options available:

• (default) Player's who do at least 80% of the damage to a target or deal the killing blow if no one contributes at least 80% damage are rewarded first picks for loot for 1 minute, after the initial minute party members may then also collect loot for one minute before the loot becomes free for all for any player.
• Only the Party Leader may pick up loot for the first minute, then party members, then all players.
• A random member of the party is selected for first pick with each new loot chest acquired, after one minute other party members, then all players.
• First come first serve, whoever picks up the loot first gets it, access for non party members is granted after one minute.

Parties share voip and a chat channel.  The Party Leader can kick anyone out of their party, and party members can leave at any time.  All members of a party share the same notoriety points rounded up (if someone kills another player while part of a party, the whole party will gain notoriety points as if they had each done it).  Depending on the settings the Party Leader has arranged, killing or harming a member of your own party will not count as a crime or gain notoriety points, though if friendly fire reporting is enabled for the party such activity will continue to gain notoriety points as normal.  Party's can also optionally associate themselves with a guild or faction.  If party members own appropriate technology, they are able to broadcast and receive in-game positions, map data and other information to/from other members of their party.  Party's are disbanded if the Party Leader logs out or discontinues the party.  The Party Leader can also transfer the leadership role of the party to one of the other party members at any time.

 

Friends

Each player has a friend list, they can make friend requests to other players which if mutually approved will allow them to private message (often referred to as a whisper or PM) each other.  Guild members and party members can always PM each other while still in the same group.  If friends own appropriate technology, they are able to broadcast/receive in game positions, map data, and other information to/from with other friends.  As part of the friend menu a banlist also exists enabling you to mute or block communication from specific players to prevent abuse.  Players on your banlist take precedence over any other communication, and even if they are in your party, guild, and on your friend list will be unable to communicate with you in any way until you remove them from the banlist.