|
June
30th,
2008 There has beena lot of speculation as to what might cause all 3 games, the DNs, the forums and the minigame site to go down and stay down for several hours. I can't tell you anything for certain right now, but I can tell you this... it wasn't my fault. Pretty sure it wasn't my fault. Things are still a little wonky but the disconnectivity storm seems to be blowing over. Bear with us and things should be fully opperational again soon. ish. We'll now that the Necropolis is all tied up, we will be working on a new zone for a few weeks. I won't say much except A) you'll want to dress warm and B) you're going to want to find a disguise for your baby dragon. You know how Galanoth can get. THIS week we're still working a few things, including balancing out the necromancer armor (Rolith forgot a few damage dividers in there so Final really is Final), and getting it out to you as soon as we can, so you can get your Deathknight armor too. Also this weekend we will be releasing some 4th of July rare DA weapons. These bad boys will be colored Red, White and Blue to celebrate the 4th (Independence Day in the United States, celebrating our Declaration of Independence signed back in 1776...usually it means flags, fireworks and family cook-outs!) and when their specials (yes, they will have specials) go off, fireworks will erupt from them as they deal additional damage over time! I'm also trying to see if it can randomly tint the affected target red, white or blue. These weapons will be DA ONLY and they will only be in the game for the extended weekend, so get them before they vanish! Geo is also working on a few interesting quests for the Pirate and Ninja Inns, and we were talking about a second weapon for rogues. We can't use shortswords because a lot of the daggers are large enough to be short swords already, can't use fist weapons because of the ways that the weapons change direction in the rogue's hands during some attacks. We were thinking about Sacks of Things as a secondary rogue weapon. Like a sack of
rocks, or doorknobs... or frogs....
|
|
June
27th,
2008 ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- The release is LIVE! and MAN, is the Necro Armor so much fun!!!! ------------------UPDATE---------------------------
Well, not exactly. We ARE releasing it for free DA ONLY testing. Mostly fully trained (except one skill that we're having real problems with) versions of the armor will be available from a button in Falconreach (like the Deathknight is now) and once you guys have found ALL the bugs and given us lots of helpful feedback then we will rebalance and release them. Here's what it looks like:
That's me fighting a Boardrake in the testing arena. Yes, I just summoned that skeleton dog thing. Yes, I am floating. Yes, you too will float instead of run, just like Noxus. Yes, the Necro Helm and Necro Cape that
I'm wearing will be released in the Superstore of Savings later today. Rolith would melt. That would be very bad. Today, as promised we ARE releasing the newest level of the Doom Weapons (available in Yulgar's Forge for you to built on your own). We are also releasing the purified versions of the Doom Weapons. Once we are live, go visit Artix and bring your Doomy, and he will transform them using the power of Light, into the Twin Blades of Destiny, the Dragonstaff of Destiny or the Blinding Light of Destiny! Seen here:
Remember, you will only be able to de-bug and balance test the fully trained Necromancer armor if you have a Dragon Amulet, and thanks in advance to all of our Dragonlords for, once again, helping to improve Dragon Fable by testing and giving us all that great feedback! We will let you know as soon as the release is live. In other news, Warlic and I tried to test our powers against each other today. See, he's the creative director of MechQuest and I'm the creative director of DragonFable... so we hold the same rank, I guess. I've worked for the company longer but he's known Artix since they were kids. We wondered what would happen if we tried to fire each other... so we did. Either we are both fired, or they cancelled each other out. We're not sure which. |
|
June
25th,
2008 ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- We had a BIG bug issue with the war boss! There was a MASSIVE bug that reset your Necropolis quest chain. We've tracked the bug down and repaired the issue but unfortunately there is a chance that it reset your Artix chain back to the first quest. You will have to play those quests over again. Sorry for the inconvienence! If it makes you feel any better, I have to do it too. This was a VERY big oversight on my part, and for all of you affected you've got my deepest apologize that we didn't catch this bug during testing. ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- Bye. *Cysero gets up and starts heading out the door. Artix grabs him by the arms and sits him back down, pointing at the keyboard* Ok, I guess I DO have to tell you. it is apparently in my job description that I have to do this. Who knew? Once the war is over you will have access to the Boss Fight! You will also unlock the last 2 quests in the Doomwood: Necropolis saga... the final fight against Noxus and the Titan battle, which is one of my favorites to date. He eats your dragon's mana. Fun, right? You will notice a few new buttons when you talk to Artix (Other Classes and Purify Doom Weapon) and yes, we are aiming to release at LEAST ONE (maybe both) of the promised classes this week.... as well as the new levels of the Doomies AND the purified versions! I would also like to point out the tiny music note in the upper right hand corner of the Noxus quest. Click on this to load Warcry of the Paladin by TheOutCrowd (remember him from the music contest?), and play it while fighting Noxus and his creations! It makes a fun quest even more fun! Speaking of contests, we have a new one... it's a Screenshot contest! Here is the official thread! Good luck in the contest, and against Noxus, and if you're a Dragonlord.... against the Titan! You're gonna need it!
|
|
June
20th,
2008 So why am I fighting war waves with you? Cause I am an idiot. And the experience is pretty good. I just wanted to show you guys that we have SOME taste. In the original end of the necropolis Noxus was this undead obsessed scientist type. Basicly harmless, just nuts. See, when he was a kid all that he ever wanted was a puppy, but he never got one. So he has spent his entire career trying to make himself one... an undead puppy. Sadly, even though he has nearly perfected his art, he just couldn't get that puppy right. He had a pit in his lab, and when he failed in his latest attempt he'd grab the poor thing and toss it into the undead puppy pit and start all over from scratch. There had to be hundreds of the cuddly undead in there. You were going to kick him into the pit after you defeated him in battle... ripped straight out oft 300. I wrote most of that cutscene a few weeks ago, so when I started building the quest a few days ago I cracked open that text file and, know what? That's REALLY SICK! When Artix and I were talking about it at the beginning of the zone, we were laughing at that idea so hard that we couldn't see through our tears... and maybe it IS that funny, but it's also really disturbing. We scrapped the idea and went in a totally different direction. And that is our editing process. In other news, forumite and DF player Suuichi was so inspired by J6's SROD that he made himself a Skullstaff of Doom! Nice! Today's release: Happens when you beat the war!
|
|
June
17th,
2008 He's really the sleeping giant amongst us...The artistic elephant in the room. He's so quiet and unassuming that you'd never know the creative torrent that constantly flows out of him. See, J6 does art for AQ, DF, MQ and now AQW also. His skills as a Flash artist are unmatched and we could really use a cloning machine so we could *poit*......brb *checks E-bay for cloning tech* *nothin there* ...Ok, as I was saying... we could really using a cloning machine so each game could have a J6 to ourselves. In addidtion to bring mad game to Florida this trip he also brought this...
That's right. He built his own Shadowreaper of Doom. Granted, it's only about as large as a shoe but still he MADE IT! He even made the wee coffin in which it sleeps. He's so talanted that I feel a very strong urge to eat his heart and take his artistic strength into myself. But if that didn't work then I just killed one of our top artists. Ok, i'll just have a yogurt instead. Keep fighting on my friends and loyal customers! The necromancers can't quite keep up with your power! We've got them on the run! |
|
June
13th,
2008 The WAR is now LIVE! ------------------UPDATE---------------------------
We have a LOT happening today! First and most importantly we'd all like to say Happy Birthday Ghost! Since he came on the team he was been my personal savior more times than I care to count. Way past "I owe you a bagel" more into the realm of "I owe you my first 3 children". He has come a long way as an animator and an artist (In fact, unbeknownst to him, he was forced to make the art for the war weapon drops... which were made to celebrate his own birthday! HA!) and I always know that when we need something animated with mind-blowing awesome sauce and a side of sneevil fries, he is the dead guy to turn to. Ghost, here's to you! Happy Birthday! Speaking of the 4 levels of weapon drops
from the war, all 4 levels are for ALL players! up to level 37! We haven't
shown the free players enough love lately so these are the highest level
of weapons that we've ever made for you! The Dragon Amulet Only war quest features the Scary Doll monster, which was abyssofmillenium's prize winning Monster Contest design. As a special WAR RARE ITEM you can get 3 levels of the Scary Doll PET from the DA only quest! You can also buy the lowest level version of the Scary Doll from the my Superstore of Savings if you have the spare Dragon Coins and don't feel like farming. Also launched today is DF's own Wallpaper page. These quality wallpapers were built by our own Randor the Red, (pulled from the ranks of the forums, much like Ghost, and into the Artix Entertainment family). These are all free! Check out Reens as Ms. June 2008! If you are the type of Dragon Amulet holder who only has time to stop in on the weekends don't forget to see Lady Celestia about your Color Customizable and/or Evolved versions of the Dragonlord Armor that we release on Tuesday to celebrate your dragon's birthday and Dragon Fable's 2 year anniversary! This war will be a long one but the rewards are numerous, the monsters are fun and the gold and xp are pretty decent! Fight hard, heroes of Falconreach! The release is nearly ready. We are in the last few minutes of testing and we should have this week's release out to you in the next 15 days. ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- The WAR is now LIVE! ------------------UPDATE---------------------------
|
|
June
12th,
2008 A few hours later I was hanging out at The Globe (My coffeehouse of choice, free wi-fi, try the beans and rice!) building a map for the war and reading the DN post that he made. I was forced to call Artix and let him know that he has misspelled it. Bless his wee heart, he wanted to spell that right SO badly. He screamed out loud and immediately fixed it. Today's AQW test is going well and I was really glad to talk to as many of you as I did. I want to thank Loki Dragoon and Paperclip for helping me test my abusable powers, and thank everyone else for all your help during the Alpha. It's still a long way to Beta but every step takes us closer. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Or as my mom used to say "Cleaning your entire room starts with picking up one pair of boxers." Same thing. Tonorrow is Friday the 13th! Every Friday the 13th so far Falconreach has come under attack from the strangely empowered undead. This time we're bringing the fight home. We will spend tonight sharpening our staves and polishing our blades, and tomorrow... as the sun sets... we will make this an unlucky day to be a necromancer. WE ATTACK THE NECROPOLIS! Letter From the Dead of Students; Dear Student of Necromancy University, We have recently been alerted to a VERY LARGE group of heroes marching toward the Necropolis from Falconreach. All that we know for certain is that they number in the thousands and they are not in the mood to talk things over peacefully. This means that, unfortuantely, the regular invasion of Falconreach will have to be cancelled. This also means that a great number of the undead army that you have been tirelessly working on for Sepulchure will be destroyed! We MUST not let these heroes ruins our plans. We must put aside our differences and work together as a single destructive machine! THE PRODUCTION OF UNDEAD SOLDIERS WILL CONTINUE during the invasion of our home and we will drive these invaders back to their pathetic town. Any student caught running from the fight will be slain on sight. Any student who fails to meet their undead soilder quota will be slain on sight. Any student caught complaining about the new "slain on sight" policies will be slain on sight. Be prepared for a long fight, my students. Remember your lessons well. Sincerely,
|
|
June
10th,
2008 ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- The Color Customizable and Evolved versions of the Dragonlord armor are now available from Lady Celestia in Sunbreeze Grove! The Dragonlord Helm (one of the very finest in the game) is now available in Cysero's Superstore of Savings in the Helm and Cape shop. The Dragon's Birthday Hat is now available from patch the barber! Happy Birthday dragons and happy Birthday DF! ------------------UPDATE--------------------------- 1). Baby Dragons are eaisly frightened by loud noises, so if you have a noicemaker at the party, make sure that it... and you... are fireproof. 2). Lady Celestia has an entire volume of Lore's Greatest Recipies (Volume 12) dedicated to cakes for dragons, which says that if yo crumble up some Special Dragon Chow into the icing, you can trick your baby dragon into eating well even on it's birthday. 3). Most baby dragons like a little "Scent Of Panicked Villager" sprayed on their chew toys. 4). Many baby dragons use villagers as chew toys, which causes them to panic. 5). in Draconic, happy birthday is pronounced "Allyorbace Arr Beelongtoouhz" Later today in Lady Celestia's Sunbreeze Grove you will be able to purchase some special altered Dragonlord armors for 20,000 gold each. You will have the option to buy a color customizable version of the Dragonlord armor or unlock the evolved version of the Dragonlord armor (see what exposure to the power of the Dragon Amulet can do to ya?)! If you've got 40K gold lying around you can even unlock both, if you want! You WILL have to unlock these armors in that order... Color Custom Armor and then the Evolved Armor.
The helm will also be available in Cysero's Superstore of Savings in the helms aisle. All of these things will be permanent additions to Dragonfable. Thanks for 2 great years guys, we couldn't have do any of this without your support! |
|
June
9th,
2008 Before I get started I want to say Grats to the AQW team for a lag-free test on Saturday! That was the kind of hurdle you hold your breath until the game jumps. We can all brathe a sigh of relief, inhale and start screaming anew about the next billion hurdles. We've got a LOT on our plates this week in DF. We've got a WAR coming on Friday, but unlike the OTHER Friday the 13th wars, this will be an all-out attack on the forces of the Necropolis! You already know the number of their forces, the location of the Necropolis and you know that you can count on Artix to be there (kill stealing). Once the war has been won, you've will unlock the last quest in the Necropolis zone... you finally get to face Noxus and his personal creations... including one TITANIC beast that will take everything that you've got to defeat. Keep in mind that these necromancers will keep building soldiers as you defeat their other creations. It will be an uphill battle to reach Noxus, but I know that you have the skill and steely nerves to reach him and take down Sepulchure's undead army. Tomorrow is your Dragon's Birthday! One of the ideas that we're working on is using Dragon PVP trophies to buy special armored dragon head options for your dragon! That probably won't be out for a little bit. Tomorrow, though, you Dragonlords will be able to speak to Lady Celestia and use gold to buy a brand new version of the Dragonlord Armor (same skills) if you want! The only question that remains is where do you buy a dragon sized birthday cake? Right now Rolith is huddled in a small ball in the corner crying because he's working on Housing for DF. We have to keep sharp objects away from him until he's done (for his own saftey). Pretty soon you will be able to buy and customize your own plots of land and upgrade from a campsite, to tent, to hut, to house and so on! We have a LOT of ideas for housing which I won't go into because I'm not Artix. That may not come out this Friday but it's getting closer and closer to becoming a reality in DragonFable! Friday is also Ghost's Birthday. We plan on doing something special for that but don't tell him. It's a secret. I'm terrible at secrets.
|
|
June 6th, 2008 This all starts next week... if you have not already hatched your Dragon and aquired a Dragon Amulet, you will want to do this before the 10th so you do not miss out! * Oh no... the terrible twos! The release is LIVE! The new weapons are in the shops,
as well as 2 new Guardian themed helms (they even match the base armor
color), for you newer players, Oaklore just got more fun with faster
battles and more XP, and the Guardian and Dragonlord power buffs have
been added! |
|
June 5th, 2008 * Zombies, Vampires, Dracolitchs... no problem. Little cute frog? AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! On a serious note.... I have a lot to tell you about. More coming tomorrow.
|
|
June
5th,
2008 1). You will get your 10,000 gold once we are out of Beta (not Alpha, but Beta) and that's really not all that much to spend it on in the stress test anyway. 2). I'm sorry that some of you missed one or both open stress tests but we're not going to turn poor Sir Ver on just for you. 3). You did NOT miss the Alpha. Alpha is the phase that the game is in, in the development schedule. It will continue for some goodly amount of time. You don't need to worry about missing the Alpha, you didn't. Besides, Beta will be a lot more fun anyway. 4). It's REALLY fun to hang out with you guys! I'm glad that I got to see some people that I recognized from the forums and meet some of you that just really like DF and the other Artix Entertainment games. Once this thing really jumps off, you can expect to see me on AQW a lot. So this weekend, we be takin' care of business: 1). A lot of the lower level quests in Oaklore have been tweaked to have fewer time-comsuming 3 monster battles and boosted XP, to help people get to their baby dragon's faster! 2). Final Guardian skill (this will be another Titan fight that you do NOT need a DA for, but unless you have your baby dragon you can't go on the quest!) 3). Guardian Class power Buff. In addition to the last skill we're turning the power knob up on the Guardian Armor. 4). Dragonlord Power Buff! As much as I like the guarian armor, the DL Armor is pretty central to the game and a lot of people think that it's underpowered, so that is ALSO getting a boost. See? We listen. 5). 6 New high level Dragon Coin weapons! 6). Some New Dragon Coin Helms (I'm not sure how many, I haven't drawn them yet)! So if you're going out of town, that is what you're missing.
|
|
June
3rd,
2008 Captain Rhubarb made a booboo. He was running around in the AQW Database and wrote a quick litte snippet of code to change his character's name to "Captain Rhubarb". The only problem is that he forgot to specify that it should change ONLY his character's name to Captain Rhubarb. Now, in the MMO, my name is also Captain Rhubarb. So is Artix's. And Zhoom's. And yours. Every character name in AdventureQuest Worlds is now Captain Rhubarb. Unfortunately there is no way to get them back so we are going to have to nuke the database and everyone is going to have to recreate their level 1 characters again. (Oh NO! 20 seconds of your life... GONE FOREVER). The REALLY funny thing is that Artix said (incorrectly) that all your data would be saved from this point forward, which it won't. The game isn't even a game yet. It's not even in Beta, it's barely in Alpha. Of COURSE many many many interesting things are going to happen while you help us test. That is why you're helping us test... so when the game goes live we can avoind little hiccups like everyone's name becomign Captain Rhubarb. It's going to be a long, very strange and really entrtaining road until AQW is ready for public release and we're really glad that you guys are coming along for the ride! How about some DF news? This week we're working on some things that have almost NOTHING to do with the Doomwood: Necropolis zone. We'll be releasing the last Guardian Class skill (finally), re-balancing some of the earlier quests (not as many 3 monster battles and more XP), adding a few weapons to my shop (Bleach themed swords, among others), and preparing for NEXT week's release including the showdown with Noxus, the necropolis Titan battle, and of course the friday the 13th war (you knew that this was coming). NOTE: You won't be able to re-make your character until we re-open character creation in AQW. It's closed for now but we will let you know when we re-open it.
|
Connect with our online game community!