January 31th, 2008
Downtime.

Zhoom is taking the game down right now to refund 25% of everyone's destroyed itme DC's. He says It should take half an hour *starting 3:47 PM server time*.

We will have DragonFable back up ASAP and sorry again for the interruption in game play.

So....

Anyone got any cards?

UPDATE: Zhoom says that it take longer than he expected to get the game back up and running. We will give you updates as soon as we know more, and post as soon as the game goes live again.

UPDATE: Zhoom says that something is wrong with the refund code and taking far longer than expected. The refund will be delayed but the game will be returned to normal functionality. Sorry, guys. False alarm.

Zhoom is currently working on the code to find the bugs, and will have the refunds for you as soon as he can. In the mean time, if the bug gave one of you 2,469,093,210 Dragon Coins... just let us know.

UPDATE: The game is back up! DC Sell Back is LIVE! The refunds are still going to be a while. It really depends on how hard the bug is to track down, but you WILL get your retroactive refunds as soon as possible.

UPDATE: The first reports are coming in from people who are selling DC items that they've been hanging onto for a long time. The current versions of these drops have been converted to gold drops, but the old versions will still have the DC sell-back.

January 30th, 2008
Your Left Sock.

I had a great idea.

This is where you go "uh oh".

And then I say: No, it's cool. Check this out. We're all really excited about DragonCon even though it's still 6 months away. I've been the last 2 years and both years were legendary.

My first year we met Stratos, a DF player for whom the Stratospheric Tachi was created. The next year we got to hang out with Stratos again and we got to meet about six other players. This year, I am expecting no less than 2 billion DragonFable players at D-Con. I might be over-estimating a little bit.

BUT, if you A) plan on going to DragonCon, B) are able to find me there C) come up to me and ask-for / demand your left sock and D) give me your character ID.... When I get back from D-Con I will drop a special "Left Sock" supe-rare DragonCon only item into your character's backpack. I'm not sure what it will do yet. Maybe it will be a sock themed bacon element pet. I might also give you your left sock back in person.

Fun, right?

January 29th, 2008
DragonCon Panel!
This just in.... it looks like AQ/MQ/DF will be holding our first ever panel* at DragonCon in Atlanta Geogia that takes place in August of this year. We have been going for the past few years as our big "yearly vacation". I will be there with Cysero, Warlic, Galanoth, Safiria, Geo, Zhoom, Rolith, Nythera, Thyton, and possibly Aisha and Korin (Collin got a name!) We reserved a HUGE suite, so we are awefully tempted to throw a Party**. If we do this we will certainly make a post to let you know***! It is... <checks watch> half a year away yet, so lots of time. FORUM QUESTION: What should the name and subject of our panel be? Here are my suggestions:

"How many things taste great with Bacon -- hosted by Cysero!"
"Massivly multiplayer games.... and other things we did not make"
"How to draw photorealistic stick figures" - hosted by Thyton
...any ideas?

* ... and after how badly I am destined to embarrass myself, it is likely to be our last!
**Party: A RPG likely to form up and hunt undead and bring down a boss monster for epic lewts! Sort of like what will be happening in DragonFable on Friday <ducks from Cysero and Geo's stare>
*** Something ELSE you should know -- Artix does not drink, nor smoke, nor do drugs. Expect any parties he throws together to be PG13 and just like the games... powered by caffine and bad puns... all disputes will be solved with stat rolls.

Stardate: Supplemental
More On Dragon Coins.

So, we've got news. After the varied responses and amazingly large amount of players who were confused by the very concept of a Dragon Coin return policy, and several days of furious work from Zhoom and Rolith, we have come up with an idea should make you guys pretty pleased with us.

Here is the new Dragon Coin sell-back policy:

Once you buy a DC item you will have 24 hours from the time of purchase to return the item for 90% of the original cost. AFTER THAT, the DC item will have a flat 25% DC sell back.

But wait... there's more. As of THIS FRIDAY, Feb 1, 2008 (when the new sell-back goes into effect) we will ALSO be reaching back into the past and giving you a 25% refund for ANY Dragon Coin item that you have destroyed in the last 9 months!

It breaks down like this: After this Friday, if you buy a DC item, you will have 24 hours from that minute to return the item to any vendor in the game for 90% of it's original DC price. After that, (24 hours and one minute) the item will sell back for 25% of its original cost. This applies for any item in the game except stackable items like Dragon Chow.

But wait... there's more. We will also be releasing some new DC items in Cysero's Superstore of Savings... and at least one new quest in Zhoom's zone. Probably two new quests.

In order to retroactively refund 25% of every destroyed item's price for the last 9 months we will have to take the game down for about 20 minutes. We're planning on doing that pretty early on Friday morning (like 2-4 am server time). We' apologize in advance for the interruption in game play.

But wait... there's more! No... wait. I was mistaken. There isn't more. That's it. You can go now.

January 28th, 2008
The Deady Mobile
We recieved a package in the mail today! But first.... a flashback! *Wavy flashback TV special FX... feel free to make do the sound at home* Last year we created the Deady Minigame for Voltaire (The dark and spooky singer/artist/evil-overlord who did the song "BRAINS" for the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and many other tongue in cheek songs.) He sent Safiria and I a present..... THE DEADY MOBILE!

The first... YES, that is art from the game we made on the box (SO COOL!). Second, YES... that is a real honest to goodness Hot Wheels Logo -- in fact, this limited edition set was created for the Hotwheels Custom Car Show in Osaka, Japan. Only 2,000 were produced and... .we have no idea how anyone would get one since they were only being sold in Japan (to the best of our knowledge) As I am sure you can believe, it is pretty wild seeing something in real life materialize with our art! We are going to start a shelf where we are going to put all of the things we have created (one of each: Zorbak, Twilly, each T-shirt, and what is left of this miniature herse full of skeletons after I excorcise it. *smiles* I love my job! (And congratulations Voltaire, and thank you very much for the gift!)

New Boss Monster in DragonFable this week!
The feedback on Zhoom's zone has been incredible. The game is truly back on path as you and your fellow players are now in search of the Elemental Orbs, keeping them out of Sepulchure's evil grasp. This week, the team is working on a special battle for you! ...I am getting a very stern stare from Geo, Cysero, Rolith and Zhoom --- so I better stop here. I will say this... WE CANNOT THINK OF A SINGLE OTHER GAME THAT HAS EVER DONE THIS BEFORE. If it has been, I am going to feel silly... but this feels like a world first -- Coming this Friday!

January 25th, 2008
Happy Birthday, Cap!

That's right, today Captain Rhubarb is one year older. Join us in wishing him a happy birthday by sporting Rhubarb's Birthday Hat available in Patch's barber shop in Falconreach (it's still free).

We're still working on today's release. I'll tell you that it will probably be 2 quests in Zhoom's quest chain furthering the plot line in The Sandsea as you and Zhoom team up to capture one of the most elusive members of the reisitance. The first of the two will have a puzzle mini-game built into the quest. It's not hard to figure out but hopefully it will show you heroes down a little. There will be a few new monsters which is fantastic considering that Ghost has been sick all week. There will be some new Free and DA weapon drops as well.

We'll let you know as soon a we've rolled out the new quests (which will probably be in several hours)

UPDATE: The release is live folks! Head to The Sandsea and talk to Zhoom to continue your search for the Orb of Light. The resistance needs YOU!

January 23th, 2008
The Time Is Nigh!

(Artix hates this space ^ ) Nigh means "near". After nearly a year of brainstorming, coming up with ideas, tweaking code, finding loop holes, plugging them up, finding MORE loop holes, plugging those, going to the store for more loophole plugs, stopping for a smoothie, and coming back to only to trip over several other loop holes, It is a great pleasure to announce that we are FINALLY introducing a Dragon Coin Item Return policy, in-game.

Effecttive February 1st, 2008: When you purchase a Dragon Coin (DC) Item from an in-game vendor (like my shop, for example) you will have 48 hours from the minute of purchase to return that item to ANY VENDOR in the game for 90% of the original Dragon Coin price.

We've had to make a few changes in the game to support this new, pretty awesome functionality but most of those changes are things that you'll never see. This policy will NOT apply to stackable items like the dragon chow that Lady Celestia sells.

This has been a long time coming, and we're all very happy to have something like this inside DF. It will hopefully make every pile of Dragon Coins in the game last a LOT longer, go a lot further, and if you've ever accidentally purchased the wrong item (like me) then you should love this. Rather than just living with your slip up and having to destroy your accidental item, you get 48 hours to return it for nearly the full purchase price!

Here are a couple of questions that should be adressed:

"What if I have purchased few months ago?"
"What about after 48 hours?"

Unless a few months ago was in the last 48 hours, then you will not be able to return the item. The return policy only applies to 48 hours after the purchase. After 48 hours, there is no return or sell back.

"So this means we'll be able to sell drops that cost DCs for DCs? "

Sadly no. The return counts for items purchased, not found. DC drops will not be returnable, only destroyable.

And remember, this is going into effect Feb 1. It's not in the game now.

On to this week's release. Zhoom is used to working alone but so far he's been very pleased with your work. This friday he will need your help catching one of the most elusive members of the resistance. This quest will have several new enemies for you to face, a few interesting weapon drops, an interesting puzzle minigame and will hopefully take you one step closer to getting your hands on the Orb of Light.

There has been a lot of talk on the forums about the ranger class and we're working on the class skill list as we speak (go go geopetal!) but the ranger class is NOT coming this week. Sorry to disappoint you.

Other than working on the DC return functinality, the next step in Zhoom's quest chain and the ranger class we have also been working on a lot of Mid Secret (not quite Top Secret) functionality. It's still in its baby stages but we have taken a few leaps toward player housing (far distant future releases). I dunno about you guys, but I've played the Sims, I lived and breathed Animal Crossing for the Cube and I'm looking really forward to DF's own version of "Let's find a lamp to match this rug".

Does that make me weird?

January 22th, 2008
Cafe' Paladin Adventures
After a long two weeks of intense work sessions and non-stop visitors (including a TV writer, a Multiplayer server specialist, and team members) I did something very unusual.... I took a day off! (Note: This was last Saturday) Can you imagine? A full day where it would be impossible for me to say (or do) anything embarrasing! This is the story of that day...

I went to the Border's book store and purchased a few manga and a warm cup of cocco. The book store had a huge lounge area with tables were people can read and enjoy their drinks... some students go there to study. I remember it well... I made ArchKnight here. I crossed my legs and sat back into the big fluffy chair and enjoyed the still silence as all of the other customers sat and quietly flipped the pages of their book. The girl behind the counter smiled and called my name for me to come get my drink. (See, perfectly normal, non-embarrasing, relaxing moment) So I got the drink and sat down at a different table and flipped open my copy of "Heros are Extinct II" and turned the page...

"HAHah...........!", I blurted involentarily and abruptly (and obviously way too loudly because every head in the room swiveled towards me). I swallowed hard and froze like a deer in headlights. Sure, the joke caught me off guard... at least nothing else embarrasing could happen. Then I heard a LOUD cell phone on the other side of the room. I thought... "That sounds just like mine." It rang a REALLY long time. A lady who was sitting in the bigg fluffy chair leans down and picks up a black phone with a DragonFable Black Dragon Logo on it *gulps* and looks at me, "Is this... yours?". Sheepishly I smile and get up, "Oh... thank you, mam!". Everyone in the room is staring at me again... I quickly grabbed my things and headed for the door as to not inturrupt all of the people trying to read their books anymore.... I opened the door then... BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP (The alarm had gone off.) I step back inside as the room watches my every step with horror and curiosity. I walked to girl behind the counter holding my bag up high (as if it was some sort of bomb that would clearly explode if it got to close to the ground...) but as I got closer she waved her arms and said, "It is ok, I know you bought everything.". *gulps* So I turned, walked back to the door.... took one last big breath.... opened the door and BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP ... walked out.

Otherwise it was a perfectly normal day. Other than falling asleep for 30 minutes on the couch at the Sam Ash Music store sound recording department (embarrasing), running into (almost literally) Warlic there, then becoming trapped at the Mall during a storm with a Tornado. Hmm, the funny thing about the way I worded that sentience is it sounded like the Tornado was trapped in the mall with me during the storm. Battle on!

January 18th, 2008
The Sandsea Awaits
Welcome to the desert. Endless dunes, harsh winds, tyrannical rulers and a ranger that will help you... for the right price. The latest zone is now live with three new random quests, 16 new weapons (we made a few more today), a new helm, incredible artwork (make sure to check out the wallpapers below) and an fanatastic cutscene, made by Ghost, that introduces us to Zhoom.

You can look forward to the introduction of Zhoom's quest chain, the ranger class, and the race to the Orb of Light. All set against the struggle of the resistence under Sek-Duat XV. Can you find the orb before Sepulchure, save the people from Sek-Duat, avoid getting sand in your eyes... or will you bow into the wind and be buried beneath the dunes?

January 17th, 2008
Sek-Duat's Crib

We are making a TON of new art of the zone. You won't get to see even half of it when The Sandsea goes live, but you will get to see some neat stuff. Ghost's cutscene is nearly done and already conveys exactly how dangerous Zhoom actually is.

I spent my day making houses (for the villagers, not for you), writing cutscenes, making background items, sand, sand dunes, sand monsters, and Sek-Duat XV's Imperial palace. This is the seat of power for the entire Sandsea and the place that the dynasty has ruled the land for generation after generation. Few people have ever entered the palace and fewer still have left it. Still, it's pretty though. I've made you a few Wallpapers, free for download here. Enjoy:

Sandsea Wallpaper 1024 x 768


Sandsea Wallpaper 1280 x 768

January 15th, 2008
A Fond Farewell

The time has come to bid farewell to dear Ballyhoo. She has heard the road between worlds singing her song and she's packed up her things... including the DeathKnight armor.

Thank to those of you who helped us test it, and gave us necessary feedback on the forums. As you know, the DeathKnight armor will EVENTUALLY be available through Artix's mini-zone located just outside Amityvale near the graveyard. Sir malifact is itching to give it to you (and turn your heart a little more toward the Darkness) but now we begin the long rebalancing stage.

We really want you guys to realize that your ideas help to shape the game, and we were really pleased that so many of you participateed in testing the armor. If you had fun with it, let us know and we'll try to work more things like that into Ballyhoo next time she appears in Falconreach!

I should probably say something about The Sandsea. If you were to leave Falconreach and head vaguely south, southeast for a few days, you would see the terrain slowly changing from rich green forests, to the dry, dusty farmlands on the outskirts of The Sandsea. Life is hard on the edges of the desert but the people have adapted and the honey-cactus farms thrive there. If you had a really good reason, or you were crazy you could keep heading south into The Sandsea.

Travlers beware: if you are thirsty enough your mind will play tricks on you. Too many heroes have been lost in The Sandsea chasing mirages... never to be seen again. There are sand dunes as far as the eye can see, when not blinded by the fierce sandstorms (with winds strong enough to tear flesh from bone if you get caught out in the open). If you were enough lucky to find an oasis amongst the sun-bleeched stones and rolling waves of sand, then you might make it to the next settlement.

There you would find a small tribe of desert people who have lived under the rule of the oppresive Sek-Duat dynasty. You would not hear a harsh world spoken against the mighty Sek-Duat XV, the current ruler of The Sandsea... the people know better. The desert people have a saying "Each grain of sand is one of the ears of Sek-Duat", and it seems to be true, for anyone who speaks out against the emporer goes missing by the next sunrise. For 1500 years, the family has ruled the scorching sands, passing the crown to the first-born male, and each new emperor seems more insane and cruel than the last.

The other thing that the people of the sands never speak of is the resistance. No one is a member. No one knows where they meet. Every time they attack one of Sek-Duat's massive treasuries, or attack one of the platoons of royal guards in the middle of the night, the emperor squeezes the people a little more tightly, but either they know nothing... or they are unwilling to talk.

Enter Zhoom: Riding into The Sandsea from parts unknown is a ranger whose name is spoken in dark places by frightening people. Some say that he is the most dangerous man alive, other say that he is the most dangerous man who has EVER lived. The people who have met him know the truth... He is only dangerous if you fail to pay him, and Sek-Duat XV has paid him VERY well to track down and eliminate every last member of the resistance.

Ghost is working on several new monsters, and a really cool animated cutscene to introduce Zhoom. Geo is building 3 new quests to start the zone off and Rolith is coding up a few surprises to put inside them. I'm going to see if i can talk Canon into doing a little music for Ghost's cutscene.

January 11th, 2008
This Is My Fault!

We thought it was going to be a neat system. We still think that, but the problem with trying something new is that you never know how it's going to come out... or how long it is going to take. This has taken a bit longer than we expected. We are testing the release now, trying out darndest to make sure that we've ironed out all the little wrinkles and hiccoughs. We all want a smooth release. Say hello to Reens in her royal alchemist outfit.

The actual mini-puzzle game to train up your alchemist skill wasn't as hard to finish as the tutorial was. It's really hard to explain something that you see to clearly in your head.

ALSO this week: It's not much but I should mention it. We've been reading a lot on the forums that people have wanted a helm to match their DragonLord armor. Personally I feel that matching attire is much less fun, but you guys said it and so you get it. We are releasing the Dragonmaster helm (an exact replica of Dragonmaster Frostscythe's) and I went though personal pains to make SURE that it matches the DragonLord armor.

You will be able to find this helm in Cysero's Cuperctore of Cavings (heh) and it's is the MOST expensive helm but it's beats the Lavis helm into the ground. The stats are sweet AND it matches? No, you're not dreaming.

Another small note: Ballyhoo is packing her stuff. Some of you might see her button over the weekend, and some of you might not... but next week, the takes to the interdimensional roads once again and she's taking the DK armor with her!

We're testing the release now, so it won't be long! Just hold tight a little bit longer and it will be coming right to you! Oooh geo just said that the alchemy tutorial was the most clearly explained thing in DF so far. YES!

January 9thithish, 2008
Perserverence (Bonus: Artix vs Undead update)
Greetings and salutations! As you likely know by now (unless you are just joining -- in which case welcome... and RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN!) we do not take ourselves very seriously, are a "bit" goofy, and are a pretty friendly bunch who care deeply about the games, characters and those of you who are enjoying them and helping us continue building them. We had a special guest who flew in from LA to meet with us on the Artix vs the Undead short and help us on the path to turning this into a real show that you may one day see on TV. Today -- I have complete control over this project and am allowed to say anything I want (if you listen very carefully you can hear our lawyer and some of the business people banging their heads on the table as I type this) The process is pretty crazy -- you pitch it to a network, they accept... then they tell me everything I have ever written, said, drawn, or thought of is 100% completely wrong... we argue a lot.... and then 2-3 years later when the pilot airs (but at 6:30 in the morning on a community access channel in a small town in the middle of the desert with a population of 9... and Artix will be recast as a girl and due to standards and practices we are not allowed to have any fighting so they just chew bubble gum very intensly towards the enemies... retitled "SweetyQuest: The heroic tale of a girl and her magic pony who learn the joy of collecting stamps) and we celebrate! I really wish the 2-3 year part was a joke.... *forces a silly smile*. Now, I should be the first to tell you this is no easy task! If a network does pick us up --- I will not be allowed to talk about it. In which case those of you who have read this will see me write something like...

P.S. I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING WITH THE LETTERS V OR T IN IT!

... and when if you do indeed see this, you must uphold the vow and remain perfectly silent and share a silent moment of pride and joy with us. This made me think of something. If you were with me during the few years I struggled to build the Zorbak and Twilly toys by myself you may have noticed this... WE NEVER GIVE UP. EVER.

Perserverence: a virtue, implies persistence, endurance, hardiness, fortitude, stamina, robustness and tolerance. It is constant persistence in a course of action, purpose, or state, steadfast pursuit of an aim, tenacious assiduity or endeavor, continuance in a state of grace leading finally to a state of ... (Definition from Google)

I think it is perserverence... not smarts, not born-talent, not luck that empowers people to achieve their life goals. If we fall over...

I think it's luck.

...we just get back up and keep going.

...if you're lucky.

You probably already know all of this, but I was in deep reflection about this today. I am not anyone special, but I never give up. I thought that maybe if you had a real passion about doing something in your life -- and like me, you had a lot of people telling you non-stop that you could not do things, or it would never work.... that I should make a point today of saying that YOU should never give up. If you think about all of the great superheros, they all have one thing in common -- they never give up. I often think of scenes from DragonBall Z where Goku is beaten into the ground and utterly defeated... and he just keeps standing back up. He never gave up. We should not either! I truly believe that being yourself, following your dreams and never giving up is the secret to doing anything. One day, I may fall and need to be reminded of this. I hope you are the one to tell me.

Battle on!
Artix

January 8th, 2008
Fresh Starts
We're all awake again, which is kind of a shame... I was having a cool dream about an ice cube museum. It wasn't made of ice cubes, it was a museum where you could go to see some of history's greatest ice cubes.

We have finished all three promised titan fights on Sho Nuff Island and the holiday of Frostval is winding down (path to Frostvale will be closed by this time next week, so this is your last chance to fight Xanta Claus and gab your presents!) So... where do we go from here?

This is a question that the development team has to ask itself when we finish up a zone or quest chain... what's the next cool thing? The problem is not a lack of direction or ideas, but too MANY options!

The Sepulchure titan battle set a lot of people back onto the MAIN storyline. We have begun plans to introduce a new zone along the main storyline. A sand swept desert land which is ruled by a powerful god-king (not Linus). This king's bloodline has ruled this dry land for untold generations, and each generation of ruler is more cruel to the people than the last, but when people have lived under tyrany that long how can they hope to esacpe it?

There is a small band of freedom fighters (who will probably be asking for your help), but the ruler is growing tired of this pathetic resistance and has hired a ranger to hunt them down and deal with them. This is a ranger with legendary and deadly skills... A ranger who has never once lost his prey and will hunt anything for the right price.... a ranger named ZHOOM!

I got the chance to bust out my sketchbook and start doing some concept art for the zone. The final versions will probably look nothing like these, but I thought I would scan a page of sketches and let you guys see into my head.

This zone WILL NOT be released this Friday. We have only just begun working on it, and we've got a long way to go before you get to meet Zhoom.

THIS week, we're getting around to something that we've wanted to do since you guys first mentioned it. Reens has finally finished unpacking, found all her Master Alchemist outfit, and her shop will (hopefully) be opening this Friday!. Reens will serve as your teacher and will test your knowlesde of the transmutation circle, as you learn to MAKE BETTER HEALING POTIONS YOURSELF! Like blacksmithing, your basic alchemy training will go up to level 35. For every level that you test you will improve the potentcy of your healing potions. If you have trained all 35 available levels of basic alchemy (at level 35, you can only train up yo your current level) then EACH of your healing potions will heal you for 625 HP!

Learning basic alchemy is the only the first step in becomine a true Alchemist! As the game progresses, you will have the option to learn more and more alchemy skills, until you become a Transmutation Grandmaster! The ability to make your heling potions more potent is a VERY powerful skill that will change the way that a LOT of people play Dragonfable so don't expect it to be cheap, but it will be well worth the gold!

Rolith is hard at work on the transmutation circle mini-game that will be used in your basic alchemy training, as well as a material gathering quest that geopetal is building for you. This will be fun!

January 7th, 2008
Whaaa.....
Geopetal: Ummmm, guys? What day is it? Why.... are we all here at the office....
Cysero: I kinda want to know why all those guys in robes are tied up in the corner, myself.
zhoom: zzzzz.... five more minutes, Mmm.... zzzzzz
Geopetal: There's a note...

"Heya all,
We stopped by, but I guess it was naptime. These guys were making a mess and eating all the yogurt, but we took care of it. See ya next time.
~Alac, Reens, Maegwyn"

Geopetal: Wow, they saved the day!
Cysero: They ate my hot dog collection too?!
Geopetal: So, um, what do we have left to do? I think the forums staff pretty much rocked the house on this one.
Cysero: Well, we should let the players know that Ballyhoo is going to be leaving Oaklore tomorrow***. She'll probably stop by again if the new players miss her though.
zhoom: zzzzz..... Ballyhooooooo....zzzzzz
Artix: Hey guys! I got us coffee! Ooooh, is that a pile of necromancers? You guys shouldn't have!

***Oaklore, not Falconreach. The DeathKnight armor will still be up for testing.

January 4rth, 2008
BOSS FIGHT of DOOM - TONIGHT!
If you have completed either the Pirate quest chain or the Ninja quest chain you will be ready for tonight's... Zzzzzzzzzzz........

Necromancer 1: Sleep helpless Paladin. Your end draws near.
Necromancer 2: The sleeping spell has taken effect on the entire area.
Necromancer 1&2: The rooms are now clear my lord *bows and backs up with scurrying feet*
Sepulchure: So. This is the Secret Underground Lab you were telling me about?
Necromancer 1 : Yes, my lord.
Sepulchure: How many are in here?
Necromancer 1: Um, er, well, let's see... there are quite a few....
Sepulchure: It matters not. They are of no further use. Stay here and make sure they cannot interfere with my plans.
Necromancer 1&2: As you command.
Sepulchure: Tonight, I shall posess the Wind Orb AND remove the ONLY REMAINING thorn in my side.
Doom Weapon: HAH AHAHAHH THIS HAHA WILLL BE HAHAHAA SO AMUSING TO WATCH! HAHAHAHA!

January 3rd, 2008
Sepulchure Art
The release is tomorrow.... and we are hoping at sometime between now and then to have selected a design. Thyton is on version 5 of the body and 6 or 7 of the front view of the head. Normally we draw the front first then design a side view -- it is odd (and very challening!) that we are starting from the side and working backwards on the most important villian in the game!

We still need to select a final design, vectorize it (Fact: "Vectorizing" is a term we came up with and have been using for nearly 5 years... and surprisingly we can say it with a straight face., then color it -- and make any parts modular and/or animated.... then build the cutscenes. You can not tell from the tiny pictures in the collage, but each of these drawings are HUGE -- each on a sheet of comic drawing paper here. The ones we do choose will not go to waste.... the armor in the lower right hand of the collage in perticular is is amazing. With all of the back and forth (Cysero, Thyton, Geo, and myself are all heavily involved in this looking perfect) it takes a great deal of time to produce each of them. This will come down to the wire as vectorizing and coloring something this complex and detailed could take.... well, look at the side view Sepulchure armor below for reference! Doing the front of Sepulchures helm was a huge challenge.... I did not put the dozens of back and forth sketches from Cysero, Thyton and I..... but the one in the upper left hand corner of the collage is our favorite. Miltonius is animating the Sepulchure "Fluffy" tranformation cutscane and Rolith is coding the Titan battle. Tomorrow's Titan battle....

Forum Question: The battle will take place on your Dragon... but what attire will you wear to the epic smack-talking pre-fight showdown? We want to know! See you on the forums!

January 2nd, 2008
Back at Full Force (Sorta!)
Yesterday we cleaned*! We even setup the green screen, lights and camera in what was previously the "heavily under-used creative room #2"**. The music room is now overflowing with guitars, basses, keyboards, amps, drums an electric voilin and.... Cysero's electric Ukelele. Unfortunately C is out ill today -- which could not have come at worse timing with the upcoming Titan fight still incomplete. Thyton is working out of a room which we now call the "Fonzatorium" drawing a front view of the menacing Sepulchure (Note: Drawing Sepeulchure is not easy task... we are all being picky and he is currently working on version 3....). Aisha took all of the documents I made during the "break" including the DragonFable main plotline path and used her illustrative skills to make them readable by humans who are not able to comprehend... well... let us just say if you think I type hard to read things online, you should see what the hand written things we work off of look like!***. Sepulchure and your character have a number of things in common. Depending on some future choices you make in the game... you may have A LOT in common****. Geo is undertaking a rather ambitious quest while C is gone to work along side Ghost and Zhoom to create a new minigame that will go inside DragonFable. This has a little something to do with Ballyhoo views being low -- so if you would like to help, please visit Ballyhoo at least once a day when you come to play. Rolith fixed the bugs with the DeathKnight armor if you would like to help test some more. Forum Question: (And we are being dead serious) Our newest animator, Collin, who works along side Thyton needs an online name. He has been trying to come up with a good one -- but needs your help. Will you help him find a name that he will be stuck with for the rest of his life? (No pressure!) More coming tomorrow... *smiles* It is good to be back to un-normal!

Update: Thyton just started drawing version 4...

* We shoved all of the chaotic papers, nerf guns, remote controlled thingies and swords (omg there were swords everywhere) into the nearest drawer, cubbboard and closet then forced them shut and locked them!
** Important Note: We did indeed finish the Martial Arts minigame last year -- unfrotunely we never got the proper paperwork back from the students to be allowed to put it online. If we ever get ahead of the DF/MQ/AQ releases maybe we will update the game engine with members of the AE team.... *gulps* ... and release it *double gulp*..... I choose you Zhoom-chu!
***Which makes this the very first design document we made that was not written on the back of a wet, half torn paper napkin! (Do not worry, I am keeping the originals)
**** Same Hair stylist, love of tappioca pudding, etc...etc.... DOOOOM!

January 1st, 2008 (Take that time Fairies!)
Happy New Year!
2007 was a year full of accomplishment and good memories. I hope you are safe and having fun wherever you are right now. Something I did not write in the year in review post that is linked above... is that today is Nythera and my Birthdays. *Ding* Level up!

My Father has a tradition of always working on the 1st of the New Year.... so, you bet I will be at the Secret Underground Lab tomorrow getting ready to charge into the New Year with the team! (Of course we might be a little overboard at the moment... it is 12:33am and Rolith and Geo and Warlic just left *glances at the screen* and Cysero is still online updating too. The moral of the story is, never go to Artix's for a party when he says, "please bring your laptops". I did cook a little though*! We kicked off 2008 with a hearty toast of Gingerale in fancy looking glasses**... but there is one more toast to make; *raises his glass with a toast* "To you and your family -- may 2008 bring you happiness, joy and warm memories that will last a lifetime. Battle on!"

* There may be survivors.
** When I was in college we used to take fancy looking glasses, meltable wire and electrical tape and make very Borg looking glasses. These ones were a little more normal looking though.

Happening Now
The Gift Boxes have opened and we put some Fireworks in town for you!