Dyescape has a very special 'feature' called phasing. It is used to create a full (server & client-sided) entity and block isolations (a phase). This means that you and your friend can be in the same location, but see different things. Things that can differ are mostly entities, such as monsters wandering around or Items on the ground, but also blocks. Phasing will put multiple people in the same location, but fully make it look like you're alone (or with a party/guild) and give you a personalized, isolated experience when you deserve it (for example, in a special cave or full dungeon).
What exactly does it do?
The functionality doesn't just hide players from each other, it fully isolates entities (and all related sound and particle effects) and blocks from each other on the server level. This means that player(s) from phase A will see none of the players or monsters spawned in phase B. Creatures from different phases also can not interact with each other. For example, a witch from phase A cannot damage an entity from phase B with a splash potion of instant damage, nor can a skeleton shoot arrows that hit any player, creature, or other entity from a different phase. AOE (Area Of Effect) spells also can not affect entities from a different phase.
This goes the same for blocks. Some phased areas will change blocks for that phase only. For example, you're in an old ruin and you need to blow up this ancient door. This will be visible and interactable to only those who are in the same phase. It is thus entirely possible that two players are doing an identical dungeon run and are in the same location, yet for player A it may look a bit different than for player B; for example player A has the door blown up while player B hasn't. Player A is able to pass through the door, yet player B isn't. This mechanic could also be used in boss battles where bosses can modify the boss room for example.
When and why does it occur?
Phasing generally occurs when you as a player should receive a personalized experience of something without the interference of other unwanted players (player not in your party or guild). A typical example would be a special cave or full dungeon. We don't want unwanted players to be able to interact with each other while in a special cave or dungeon for example as that could ruin the experience. Consequences of not having phasing in these situations could be:
- Too many players in a small area. It will become too crowded, hard to navigate, hard to fight monsters (especially ranged classes), and so forth;
- The difference in player levels and thus high-level players stealing your kills for example (in small, tight areas);
- Treasure chests being looted before you or not having any treasure chests at all due to respawn time (in small, tight areas);
- Not being able to 'clear' a cave or dungeon from monsters (since no player progress can be kept), meaning monsters would constantly keep re-spawning, and thus no 'clear the cave from monsters' Quests can be made for example.
- Us not being able to make special caves or dungeons more interactive with changing blocks;
- Bosses that modify blocks (in boss rooms) cannot be made;
How does this affect my gameplay?
Phasing does a lot, and also nothing at the same time. From a player perspective, it does not affect gameplay that much and there are absolutely no additional features you can make use of. The only thing you will notice is when entering phased area's (for example, special caves), you won't be able to see other players, you won't be able to interact with the Creatures or other entities from another phase (for example if you're trying to find your friend who said he went into a special cave) and you might see a player going invisible when you see someone entering a phased cave for example
Phasing is more complex than it looks, as it uses fully server-sided isolation logic to properly implement this feature. This means that phased monsters are actually able to interact with phased blocks too just like they would if they weren't phased. The AI also takes phasing into account automatically, so monsters will not try to run after people who aren't in that phase and are thus not even visible. Pathfinding AI also works with this.
Other than this you should barely, but mostly never, be able to notice phasing. This Wiki is written however to inform you about the feature is there and if you run into any weird issues, such as not being able to see your friend in a special cave while not being in a party, you'll know that it may be due to phasing and you have to create a party together to solve the issue.
What are some examples of phasing?