AQ3D Design Notes/News/Patch Notes

Here ... you will see the new News that are posted in AQ3D official site... this is just to those who are tired of searching for it... so starting today.. lets update here...

 

Essa, the DragonSlayer
Artix Krieger | Friday, April 28, 2017

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"To help and protect others... no matter how dangerous"
Essa, is the most caring of the DragonSlayers... and would do anything to save others from the deadly attacks of Dragons. You have already met Essa's brother, Gibbs (The explosives guy) during the first part of Ashfall.

The Town of Brimston
Why in the world would anyone build a town near a giant dragon-head shaped volcano!? Easy... GOLD. See, the town of Brimston was built near the Magma Mines which are rich in many types of ore-- especially gold. Also, the dragon head was not there when the town was built. The miners and their families have managed to cultivate the ash laden soil to produce crops. Producing food on an unstable volcano is no easy task! There may have been a little magic involved. (NOTE: There is almost always magic involved.) It is hard to say how many families & children live in Brimston... but there is one thing we do know, no one has seen any of them since the dragon's attacked this region.

Essa's Mission & The Orphanage
It was no surprise to anyone who knew her, Essa was the first to volunteer to investigate the town Brimston. She is selfless with an enormous about of heart. As young children, Essa and her brother Gibbs lost their parents in a dragon attack. She pledged to continue with the Dragonslayers until they defeat whatever lurks in the center of that volcano... but one her mission is complete, Essa plans to return to the DragonSlayer Orphanage where she and her brother were raised to help other children who have lost their parents to dragon attacks. She knows what they have been through and it's her dream to help them.



Dragons of Ashfall: Part 2 launches next week!
Dragonslayers, the wait is almost over. Zhoom has requested that we finish testing and have all files checked in Monday in anticipation of a Tuesday release. I threw a little curveball at the team with one more bonus/challenge/#OMGWHATAREYOUDOINGARTIX area for crazy, dark, and slightly evil players only. It seems that one of the mages of the Crimson Circle has gone renegade and has hatched a plan of his own. Assist him at your own peril. Also, Zhoom says the next version of AdventureQuest 3D (1.4.4 or code name "Mr. Jelly Frogzard Pants" because I think we should name them from now on) is looking stable and we will be submitting next week. It includes some fun graphical updates including login screen, name plates, and I think it also includes the "monsters bleed damage numbers" thing which I absolutely love. Basically when you hit a monster it looks like you are wacking the damage out of them.

Things to do!

• Follow AdventureQuest 3D on Facebook
• Follow @ArtixKrieger on Twitter
• Follow AdventureQuest 3D on Google (does anyone actually use this ?)
• Make sure your email for the game is up to date and that you have newsletters turned on... this is how we will send you free stuffs.
  
  Link: Essa, the DragonSlayer

 

Ashfall Cloud Build
Artix Krieger | Tuesday, May 2, 2017

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"Get your head out of IN the clouds!"
We are counting down to the release of The Dragons of Ashfall: Part 2. We are making it the guinea pig for our new in-house server cloud farm thingy!* What could possibly go wrong? Mwahahahahahaa... <insert crying and hiding under desk> Yesterday, I had a ton of fun doing a final walkthrough with Sayn, Fan, Bido, and Lady Platinum. It feels like there is a lot in this release, and there is bonus content for all types of players-- including that insane scary bonus thing I asked Yergen and Cysero to make at the end of Friday which, will both drive people bonkers and be met with devious delight. The files are rolling out from our cloud thingy to the staging server for final check to make sure it is all... actually there. A bunch of the older maps already broke because of outdated or missing meta data-- one of the many re-occuring manual problems we hope our cloud farm will fix with the power of ROBOTIC AUTOMATION**. To be safe, I will say Ashfall is coming out tomorrow... but feel free to make sacrificial offerings to our new cloud based robot overlords to encourage a miracle today. Hoorrrray!

* The official technical term is "Fancy pants rubber band and duck tape assembled distributed networking rendering build assembly thing-a-ma-jig" but I did not want to confuse any non expert level computer guru types.

** PRO TIP: We have also been secretly replacing the AE team with cybernetic android look-a-likes for years. We are pretty lazy though-- so you can often find the skeletons of the real staff sorta where their replacements are.

LINK: Ashfall Cloud Build

 

Ashfall II is LIVE!
Cysero | Wednesday, May 3, 2017

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Just a brief announcement to let everyone know that The Dragons of Ashfall, Part II is now live. Expect a longer Design Notes post tomorrow discussing it further.

KNOWN ISSUE: Some players on Android devices (possibly other devices) seem to be having issues with Essa in Brimston Ruins not having an chat bubble. Clear your cache to fix this.
Link: Ashfall II is LIVE!

 

Tweet Us!
Cysero | Thursday, May 4, 2017

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STAY IN TOUCH
I have always felt that it's really important for a game developer to stay in contact with their players. Social media tools like Twitter help us reach you and more importantly let you reach us.

MY TWITTER
Many of you already know this but I am probably the most interactive member of Artix Entertainment. I consider it part of my job to talk to you guys and listen to your feedback and also just mess around with you. I take time every day, from when I wake up to when I fall asleep, just to read your messages and respond to some. Sometimes this happens in the game or the comments section on the Design Notes... but mostly it's through my Twitter, @Cysero.



I joined back in 2008 and since then I have been tweeting, joining discussions, answering questions, directing players to Player Support when they need help and telling people that they can't be mods nearly every day since then.

Mostly I tweet about our games, usually AQ3D now... but I also tweet funny things, gamer things, pop-culture things and science things.

ARTIX'S TWITTER
Artix also joined back in 2008, about a month after I dove in. His Twitter account is @ArtixKrieger (by the time he joined @Artix was already taken by some fan).



Artix is probably the second most interactive member of the development team. Like me, he also believes that it's vitally important to stay in close contact with the people who make your games what they are. He would definitely be the MOST active member of AE if he didn't have a stupid company to run, always taking up his time.

Artix also tweets about our games and whatever exciting projects AE has cooking, but you can also find a lot of puns, videos and lots and lots of inspiration!

AQ3D'S OFFICIAL TWITTER
The game itself also has an official Twitter account, which is @AQ3Dgame.



The official AQ3D Twitter is a great source of AQ3D info. It's young but we will be using it more and more as we continue to build AQ3D. This account is run by several people, including Myself and Artix and usually features game announcements, links to new Design Notes posts and more AQ3D game related tweets.

AQ3D'S OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE
The game also has an official Facebook page, which is a great way to keep track of game updates while you book your face off with your friends and family.



OTHER TWITTERS & FACEBOOKS
Many of the AE staff like Alina, Dage and even HeroMart also have Twitter accounts and all of our games have Facebook Pages. You can find the links to all of them on our Instant Fan Page.



It's also important to remember that ANYONE can make a Twitter or Facebook account and claim to be me or Artix or a moderator or anyone else. NEVER give ANYONE your passwords or personal info, no matter what they promise you. If you aren't sure if someone is legit, look around a little. Check the Instant Fan page and/or ask one of the staff that you know are legit.

Be smart and be safe.

Remember that if you have account or payment issues, the Player Support team are the ONLY people who can help. You can reach them through the Help/Support links on ANY of our game pages.



SAY HI!
We get a LOT of message. We can't respond to them all but if you have a question about the games, don't be afraid to ask. You're not bugging us, it's why we're on Twitter and Facebook!

Show us your fan art! Maybe we'll retweet your masterpiece! Maybe our games inspired you to try game development too... show us what you're working on! Maybe you just want to say hi!

OH and if it's your birthday, Tweet me. If I see it, I will always wish you a happy birthday.

LINK:Tweet Us!

 

Dragons of Ashfall: Part 2
Artix Krieger | Thursday, May 4, 2017

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The Dragons of Ashfall Saga: Part 2 is LIVE!
It is time for action DragonSlayers! This major story release includes new areas, items, monsters, cutscenes, and bonus challenge areas.



New Armor & Item sets!
Check in with the DragonSlayer's Quartermaster, Senna for new craftable items including DrakeStalker armor, Crimson Battle Mage armor, and more. Quests & monsters will also drop new gear as you adventure. If you are up for a challenge... carefully explore the maps to discover the challenge areas and the treasures they hold.



Meet the entire Order of the DragonSlayers
Finish meeting all of your new DragonSlayer brothers and sisters. The friendship and bonds you form throughout this adventure will be vital. In the upcoming part 3, ALL of the DragonSlayers will team up (including you) to enter the Volcanic Lair together.



3 new cutscenes - Face the Evil DragonLord, Talyn!
At long last you will come face to face with Talyn, the villain responsible for everything that is happening in Ashfall. Every dragon and monster in this volcanic region appears to be doing his bidding. But what is he really up to? Play to find out...





The Slabs
The mages of the Crimson Circle are summoning Talyn an infernal army from the abyss. How big is the army? Is it possible top stop them?



Brimston Ruins
The town of Brimston was once home to the brave miners of the Magma Mines. But now it has fallen under attack by one of Tayln's dragons. The entire area is overrun by humaniod Dragons known as the Dravir. But what happened to Brimston's miners and their families?



The Magma Mines
The ancient mines were originally created by the dwarves. They are gone, but their treasure and technology is still down there. It would be safe to assume that Talyn requires the gold from this mine for his master plan... which is why he left the powerful drake, Steelfang, to guard over his vault of gold.



Tower Pass (Home to the Fire Guardians)
Tower pass is the final destination on the way to the Volcano at the center of Ashfall. It is home to the Fire Guardian tower. However, like the other Guardian Towers across our world, we completely lost communication with this tower once the monster attacks suddenly started. What happened to them? Why is this entire region on the verge of collapsing? This area is vital in order to get to the Volcano at the center of Ashfall! Is this all part of something bigger? Login and join the adventure and find out for yourself....



Play The Dragons of Ashfall Parts 1 & 2
AdventureQuest 3D is free and available for your computer, phone, and/or tablet!

Login and play together with your friends from any device. Get AdventureQuest 3D from the app store or steam. Coming next we the Founder's Sanctuary (formerly called Kickstarter Backer's sanctuary), the new town of Battleon, updating the Intro and Greenguard to match the quality of Ashfall, The Fire Guardian's Tower (side adventure for Guardians), then Ashfall: Part III, the Shaman forest, and the Necromancer's Dragon Graveyard. Upcoming game improvements include better classes, skills, stats, UI, environmental damage, monster skills & AI, and more. Thank you to all of you who are making our ongoing releases and game improvements possible. Battle on!

Play AdventureQuest 3D


LINK: Dragons of Ashfall: Part 2

 

May the 4th be with you!
Artix Krieger | Thursday, May 4, 2017

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AdventureQuest 3D's 1st ever Star Swords!
M-06-L1N is selling seasonal rare Star Swords in town a limited time.



"Join the dark side... we have cookies."



Behind the Scenes: We have been so busy with Ashfall Part 2 that we did not think it would be possible to do anything for May the 4th be with you at all. So it is pretty exciting to tell you, that with our new tools, that Xero & Dage built the weapons, Cysero made the moglin, and Yergen updated town, and we released it in about 3.5 hours this afternoon. Which is crazy if you think about it!






LINK: May the 4th be with you!

 

Sorry for the Late Design notes.. just got busy on AQ3D lel...

 

Announcement! MegaCon Orlando 2017
Artix Krieger | Wednesday, May 10, 2017

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AdventureQuest 3D will be at MegaCon Orlando 2017!
The AdventureQuest 3D team will be running a booth at MegaCon convention in Orlando, Florida the weekend of May 25th through the 28th. We also have a panel that Saturday at 6pm where we will show videos, sneak peaks, and have prizes. We will post more info as we get closer to the convension.

Get more information
See the official MegaCon Orlando 2017 website for more information... like special guests Stan Lee, Doctor Show's Jenna Coleman, some of the Stranger Things cast and more!

LINK: Announcement! MegaCon Orlando 2017

 

Just copy lel... and then paste.. thats what i do...

 

What color are my eyes?
Artix Krieger | Friday, May 12, 2017

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"Eye see what you did there."
We are working on two major releases today. The first is the Founder's Sancturary where Founders, Kickstarter Backers, Alpha Testers, and Closed Beta testers will be able to go get their rewards in a single, breath-takingly beautiful shrine floating in the clouds. Also, Zhoom and the coders have a major bug fix coming for Apple iOS players which will solve some of our longest standing load/crash/freeze issues. But for this short post....

How about we talk about eyes?
This is a bit of an embarrassing story... (as all the good ones are.) Because today, I discovered that I was one of only two people working on the game that knew that our character's eyes were secretly color customizable. O_O


This is the Unity 3D IDE (Or in this cause, hehe... the EyeDE)

Wait, what!?
So a long time ago when we added facial expressions, I must have asked Xero if it was possible to break the eyes onto their own layer so we could make them color customizable. He did it! I was excited when I found out... and I only found out because I was playing around in the editor and saw a public property that exposes the eye color. In my joy I think I even made a design notes post about how it was coming. But Xero and I forgot to do one little... tiny... eeentsy... weensy... little thing.... >_> We did not tell anyone else.

In all fairness, there are a ton of major critical game components being worked on that are taking full focus and priority.

OUR SECRET EYES!
So the next question is... how do we make it possible for you (and also our NPCs) to use this feature? Great question! It is a little bit of work, but updating the database and game would go quick. But why settle for this? (My fellow team mates reading the design notes just felt that sinking feeling in their tummy... god I love my job.) What if we could customize lip color, add blush, or maybe some other face customizability? So instead of intrupting the upcoming class, stats, & combat improvements to rush this one out, I am going to meet with Oishii and Xero and see what else we can do with faces first. Over the past few weeks we have been working on new a new design for our character's heads... mostly on the female model which currently looks a bit alien-esque (The Gray, not Xenomorph). The ultimate goal is to have a unique style that feels like an inspired 3D version of DragonFable, but brought forward with our new level of skill. Like how Dage drew Senna and Kord below.



In my spare time I have been doing a lot of research on face structure. (I have also been taking a C# programming course... but that is a story for another time.) There is a lot more to an expressive face than just a forward facing character. The entire body, from posture to the subtle curves of the lips and eyes, to the angle of the head must be coordinated to truly bring your character to life. Have a shared vision with me here for a moment... you walk into Yulgar's Inn. The entire place is busy and bustling... full of life, laughter, the warmth of the fire, and the band's music inspires a random bar fight. You meet up with friends who's characters personality match their style... you sit around a table sharing a stein of (well, we are rated T now... so whatever the heck you want. I am still going for the Moglinberry smoothie though, Mmmm). I want to walk into this place and see you hanging out... with tons of weird and fun things to do. So much fun that it might escape your mind that this is also a giant sprawling world filled with interesting and characters and monsters that is growing as you sit there.

THIS WAS A POST ABOUT EYE COLOR!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah. <_< ..... >_> ..... O_O

We will add the eye color too. Oishii, Xero! PUT ME ON YOUR SCHEDULE FOR NEXT WEEK! *whispers* We have a lot of work to do.

Link: What color are my eyes?

 

Founder's Sanctuary coming Monday!
Artix Krieger | Friday, May 12, 2017

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Founder's Sanctuary "breaks sky" on Monday
“The rumors are true! It's a beautiful place above the clouds… a floating monument to the heroes who made our world possible.” - Melodia, Yulgar’s Inn.

A single place to get all of your rewards
No more running around trying to figure out which NPC has which shops. Now Founders, Kickstarter Backers, Alpha testers, and Beta testers can get all of their current and future reward items in one place.

Credits! Honoring those who were there for us in darkest hour
The book prominently located in the Founder's Sanctuary will open the the official AdventureQuest 3D credits.

1st Wave of Custom Backer Weapons
The first custom weapon backer items will appear in the game. Each backer has unique and special requirements about whether the item is unique, to be added to the game for everyone through a quest or other means, and/or they will be giving it to up to 10 of their friends. But before we do any of that, we are releasing the cosmetic versions of the 53 items to their creators first. This 1st wave will introduce half of them to the game. Once all 53 are released we will then give them the 10 codes to give to their friends, and any other special/fun requests.

About the Founder's Sanctuary
This is a quiet, peaceful, and serene place for heroes to get their items. There are no monsters and quests. (At least not yet.) This area will be updated. We are scheduled for the "LIVE" release of AdventureQuest 3D on Friday the 13th, this October (2017). If you are playing now, you are participating in the Open Beta-- and will be able to get your Open Beta reward(s) in the Founder's Sanctuary then.

Until Monday... BATTLE ON!


Link : Founder's Sanctuary coming Monday!

 

yes it is...