 | Excitement! Game Update 42 is looming, and I'm really quite excited about the amount of content that will be released. This is a large chunk of new stuff, and I know you'll find it just as engaging as I do. Here are some of the highlights: |
1) We have the deities returning with renewed strength, and additional members…The Tribunal, Karana, and Bertoxxolous. You will find these encounters even more challenging than ever!
2) Also coming in this update are the new mannequins, which will allow you to show off your armor and weapons inside your house. If you're anxious to get one of these, be sure to touch base with your local crafting expert, who will be filling orders soon.
3) Searching for items that you care about on the broker will become much easier, as we have implemented the ability to search for items by the effect name on the item.
4) We've added a new Pet Options window to allow you to set your pet name, hide status and how they'll act around you.
5) While we can't control the entire internet yet, we can show you what may be happening between your computer and ours, with a new Connections Stats window to show you your ping, bytes per second, frames per second, and packet loss.
6) Oh, and someone mentioned epics. I think there are some epic quests in this update.
Now, it would be easy and fun for me to spend 5 or 10 minutes pontificating on the nature of epics, the game play, the steps required, and the rewards. Suffice it to say that I'll leave that task as an exercise for the reader. Our folks, from design, to art, to code, to quality assurance have worked quite diligently to make these quests as exciting and challenging as possible, and the rewards to match. We're trying to be quite secretive about how the actual quest line works so that people will feel a real sense of accomplishment when they complete them. Certainly, if you wait several weeks, one of our supporting web sites will end up with a walk through for those who want to wait, but we're so excited that we've even kept the data as secret as possible. In fact, if you ask a GM for assistance, there's a good chance they won't have access to the data necessary to help, as we have kept it all very close to the vest.
We were working towards being completed with the project by the end of January, and are on schedule. As I write this, we're running the last bits through our QA department, and taking their feedback on each section, and folding in their feedback. Look for the update to come in early February.
In the meantime, the normal business of the team rumbles on, from budgeting, to scheduling, to working on some upcoming live events, working on the next expansion, fixing bugs…we're busy. But then I could say that every month.
Good Hunting!
Bruce "Froech" Ferguson