Design Notes

August 13, 2012

The Dragon of Time

Return to The Span this Friday to learn more!

Very long ago but not so far away, Galanoth slew the Dragon of Time. Very little is known of this creature except that it is vital to your existence... and Lore's. Why did Galanoth slay it and what does its death mean for you? Battle through the TimeVoid across the back of the Vaxt Ahas, the Un-Ending, to find out this Friday!

J6's To-Do List: "Space Snake." Check!

But first, check out Dage the Evil's concept sketch for the Dragon's still art:

Battle-scarred and wise, the Dragon of Time would have taught you much.

Dragon of Time? Wait... what?!

Those of you who have battled with us for a few years may remember the Design Notes post from 2009 where Sepulchure teases you with not-quite-enough information about this timeless being:

The Prologue's Prologue
When Galanoth's blade struck true, he slew the Eternal Dragon of time and destroyed everything... creating the void. A vast empty wasteland of nothingness. Reality was literally, uncreated. They say mortals could not comprehend what happened next. I beg to differ.

I think if you looked inside that slain Eternal Dragon you would find an shattered Hour Glass where his heart should be. The Hour Glass would be bleeding out the sands of time on the floor... but before the last drop of sand fell, ending everything.

Someone (or more likely... someTHING) must have noticed that there was not one hourglass in that Dragon's chest... but three!

Quibble Coinbiter Returns to Battleon Friday!

Quibble has traveled many light-years and alternate-timelines to bring you this gear straight from your past, present, and future! You can see a partial list of what he'll be stocking in this Design Notes post! We'll have more previews of the rest of Quibble's inventory later this week.

Technomancer and Dravir Armors from DragonFable!

But if the above picture isn't enough, and we're sure it isn't, here's a list of what else to look forward to:

• Tonbo-Giri polearm from AdventureQuest
• The Baconing Mace from DragonFable
• Antique Frying Pan from MechQuest
• And more!

Dark Caster Class Release Planned for Friday!

Cysero and Yorumi have designed the skills for the incredibly offensive, single-target Dark Caster Class... and now Dage is working on its art. We WANT to release the Class this Friday. Barring unforeseen obstructions to that, we will.

Remember, you must have the ORIGINAL Dark Caster Armor to unlock the path you'll take to get to the Dark Caster Class. Dage's evil mind is feverishly working on the details of just what price you'll have to pay to get it! We'll announce more details once they're finalized.

The Lorelympics Shop Leaves Now!

Originally, we announced that the Lorelympics shop would be up for a week. In the spirit of fostering healthy competition, and because so many of you asked nicely, we left the shop up until the end of the Olympics. That was yesterday, and so down it comes today.

I hope you got all the gear you were after, because we're not sure when the shop will return! (Possibly in two years.)

Yorumi's Quest to Crush Bugs Continues!

The lag has been better recently - but BETTER isn't GOOD ENOUGH! Yorumi has a list of things to try which should hopefully help reduce lag... or show us what else might! He also fixed one very colorful chat bug over the weekend and another earlier today.

With your help in reporting the botters and cheaters who break the game, we will continue working hard to make AQWorlds the best game it can be! We are very, very lucky to have so many players who want to make the game safe and secure for ALL players. For that, we thank you.

Cyser-notes Tomorrow!

You might have noticed that you haven't heard much from Cysero recently. While the rest of the team and I have been hard at work creating your weekly releases, Cysero has been pushing on some MUCH needed updates to the game. These should hopefully improve your in-game experience.* He'll have more details about his projects tomorrow!

* But are not gameplay functionality. Guilds is still in progress, as are new tradeskills.

PS: More news about the war and rewards tomorrow!

July 30, 2012

This Friday: Evil War Finale

Dage vs Nulgath: Final Showdown!

Ultimate showdown of ultimate EVIL! In the third and final installment of this Summer's Dage vs Nulgath War, we will finally see WHO has the greater army, WHO controls the Underworld, and WHO is the greater Commander of Evil! ... And YOU will decide who wins!

This Friday we'll release a new cutscene introducing the final push to annihilate your opponents, a brand-new area of the Underworld (ish) map to battle in, 2 new monsters, 2 new farming quests, and enough epic reward gear to fill an abattoir! (Look for previews of the new war gear in this week's future Design Notes!)

The decision all comes down to you and your fellow soldiers - Undead Legion, Nulgath Nation... who will YOU fight for?

Changes to the Legion Entry Requirements!

So many recruits have flooded Dage with requests to join the Legion, he has decided to gain entry into his dark, Undead Legion of warriors! Here are the new requirements:

• Undead Warrior Armor - 1200 ACs from the Suggestion Shop in Yulgar's Inn

Dage the Evil is removing the 200 PvP Combat Trophy requirement! Undead Legion, with this requirement removed, new warriors will flood into the Legion... exactly as Dage planned! (What do you expect from someone whose title is "the Evil"?)

Wednesday: Lorelympics Limited Time Shop!

Competition, striving for a goal, and having their athletic achievements recognized brings out the best in many people. That's why we're opening a Limited Time Shop (LTS) with a Lorelympics theme! Grab your color-custom Track Suit Armor, Gymnastics gear, and a whole host of sports-themed weaponry! We're also introducing the member-only Bronze, Silver, and Gold PvP Medals!

Dark Caster Class in Progress!

Players who currently own the Dark Caster Armor will soon be able to gain access to the Dark Caster Class! Dage is working on new art right now while Cysero and Yorumi design the skills! We will release previews of the art, a skill writeup, and the Class itself as soon as they're ready*!

Note: Players who do not have the Dark Caster Armor will not be able to obtain the Dark Caster Class. Owning the Dark Caster X armor does not count for the Dark Caster Class.

* As soon as it's ready-o'clock! **
** This picture is never not the answer to "When will X come?"

Epic Duel's Infernal Infiltration War is On!

BUGS! Battles! And beating up the robotic insects trying to take you down? Sounds like the perfect thing for any warriors, mage, Legionnaire, or Exiles! In Epic Duel's Infernal Infiltration war, Administrator 7 and his Legion are racing to head off The Lawman's Exiles as both sides race to take possession of the Delta Vault!

In the last leg of the war, bikes will slam into blades, Mages massacre Cyber Hunters, and Bounty Hunters on BOTH sides fight dirtier than they ever have! What's in the Delta Vault? ... No one knows! But if the other side wants it so bad, then so do you!

Epic Duel Mechachillid Armor in Battleon this Friday!

Roggark, one of the MechaChillid warriors, is coming to Battleon this Friday to recruit seeking aid for his Queen's army of robotic insect warriors. He's got a shiny Mechachillid Armor and Helm to offer any who wish to learn more!

What Raggork doesn't know is that AQW heroes HATE bugs! Take his armor, learn the deadly details about the war he has to share, then head to Delta V to take his buggy brethren down!

More Yorumi Fixes!

Yorumi spent the weekend monitoring the fixes he rolled to the servers on Friday. He's found some very elegant fixes to a few pretty large problems, but he's not done just yet! He's got a list of functions to clean up and other miscellaneous bits and bytes of code to create.

* You know what goes great while watching two armies battle for the supremacy of their overlord? Peas. Green peas, black-eyed peas, Black-Eyed Peas (Pump It!)... it's too bad that no matter what kind of veggie we offer, neither Dage nor Nulgath can be ap-peas-ed.