EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

June 06, 2012

Hi there EpicDuelists- we’ve got some really exciting stuff for you this week.

CRASH! WOO!

As you may have noticed, it appeared that all of EpicDuel’s servers were down. Well, they weren’t. Last week, Titan and Rabble introduced a new system to automatically show a server as Offline in the event of a crash to prevent players from attempting to login to a dead server. They also changed the way time is synchronized across the servers. Apparently, with this new change, when the day switched over, all the servers were flagged as dead. However, thanks to your reports, we got to the bottom of the issue and have a few fixes planned this week that should address our server woes!  

Ideally, we want to create a system that can automatically notify us when the servers crash and even automatically reboot a crashed server. That's a feature that ALL of the AE games would love to have, especially with two new games on the way. We are not quite that fancy yet, but we are working on solutions to improve stability and manager server instability. Server stability is our #1 priority and we are working extra hard this week to eliminate errors and bugs so we don't have any down time during the War.

Infernal Infiltration Imminent

We should be starting up with the new war later this month, but preparations must still be made. We are introducing 2 of the new NPCs that you’ll be interacting very closely with during the saga- the Legion and Exile Footsoldiers. Without talking about too much I’m not authorized to announce yet (you’ll get the full breakdown when we’re ready to launch the war proper), these guys basically represent you.

In addition, those of you who were able to finish up every mission and chain that awards blueprint scraps should report to your Infernal Infiltration Alignment General (John “The Lawman” St. Alban for Exile players and Administrator Silas Auer for Legion players) to turn in your blueprint scraps. Your reward will be a key that unlocks a special shop full of alignment-specific items and weapons designed by our new artist, Disturbed!

Faction Improvement

RabbleFroth announced in the AEF that we’re going to be streamlining and improving the Faction System. Currently, the cannons are rather disconnected with the rest of the Faction systems and highly favor Varium players. To that end, the Faction Cannons will be removed for the time being until they can be retooled for the new faction system. For the full story, check out RabbleFroth's post in the AEF.

The Inventor and the Cyborg

Time does not pass as normal in the Void. The Void’s inhabitants experience each moment of their lives simultaneously and exclusively. To protect itself from this torture, the mind will drop memories of the time spent- some people exit the void knowing only their name, some not even that, while others experience their exile only as the blink of an eye.

When Ulysses returned from the Void, he was one of those who could remember nothing.

Upon news of Ulysses’ return, The Lawman “acquired” a technician named Mort to assist with the repair of the Inventor, and gave them safe haven in the area surrounding the Mine Tower. St. Alban’s pockets were deep, and Mort a man of desperate financial straits, so he did not think twice to use semi-legal means to get the required medical supplies for the maimed inventor.

Mort was the perfect man to get in and out of classified areas- he was a tech working under the Shadow Guard’s respected Security Officer Paloma San Marco, which gave him clearance to come and go as he pleased, and he was low-ranking enough that his presence aroused no suspicions. So, under the Lawman’s command, he was able to freely take out gauze, painkillers, and nanomedicines. The stolen medical supplies included a SurgeryBot, a top-of-the line model that included the programming from a deceased surgeon.

Day and night, Ulysses was nursed back to relative health- the damage was extensive, and his memory was foggy at best. Most of the time, he could only speak in vague thoughts, but eventually he awoke during a procedure and merely asked “What happened?”

Being the only one around, the SurgeryBot answered “You were injured, sir. I am treating your wounds.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re safe.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“Your eyes were destroyed in the explosion.”

“Who are you?”

“I am SurgeryBot 7948. I was commissioned by...”

“No.” Ulysses interrupted. “Are you a program or a cyborg?”

SurgeryBot paused, holding the scalpel above his body. “I’m a cyborg. I was a surgeon for over thirty-five years.”

“Who were you?”

“I do not have access to that, sir. According to my biomarkers, I was female. That is the only information in my memory banks.”

“That makes two of us. I can remember vague shadows of names, nothing about my life before.”

As she worked, Ulysses asked her about the outside world, how it had changed from his memories, what few he had, and she told him about the Exile, the Revolution, about Baelius and the Legion, and about the man who had given her the directive to heal Ulysses. As she explained the world, he reached up toward her with his intact arm, and held her hand. Years later, she would say it was that moment when she started to remember her humanity.

Tags: Cinderella Infernal Infiltration