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EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

Behind the scenes information about EpicDuel's development and releases, a real-time PVP MMO that you can play online in your web browser.
Nightwraith

December 21, 2012

Wear a Yeti!

Just a friendly reminder that the Are You Yeti shirts are now available at HeroMart! The Yetis are not currently available in game, so the shirt might be the quickest way to get your hands on a Yeti, particularly the new Dark Yeti!
Wear it on your torso!
 

HeroMart

The Dark Yeti offers an energy-based alternative to the classic Baby Yeti's attacks. When Omega goes live, you will be able to upgrade it to the Omega Dark Yeti!

 Yeti Chomp

 

Yeti Kick

Along with a Baby Yeti and Dark Yeti in EpicDuel, you will also receive a Baby Yeti Battle Pet in AQW!

Mr. Scrabbles!

Shirts are a real limited quantity item. There are only so many, so once they're gone, we're very unlikely to reprint more.

Get a shirt, save three yetis! Can't beat that! Mr. Scrabbles approves!

Happy Holidays! I look forward to continuing Omega development in the frosty Northlands.

Tags: Titan Are You Yeti Shirt HeroMart Yeti Pet Bot AQW


Titan

December 20, 2012

Omega Announcement

All the coffee in the world couldn't release Omega today

Hey guys,

I have some pretty bad news to share. The EpicDuel Omega release will not be ready in time for Christmas and will need to be delayed until after the new year. The team has gone to absolute insane lengths to put in the best possible effort to create what is effectively a brand new game. I have never worked harder in my life on anything, and I think I can speak for the team in saying the same for them.  I'm incredibly impressed by everyone's dedication, and for that reason, I'm extremely disappointed that we couldn't showcase their efforts in time for the holiday.  Honestly, it makes me sick that it's not ready, but I'm out of options at this point.

We did not take this decision lightly.  This week is our fourth straight week of 7 days a week, minimum 15 hours per day.  We've had several meetings discussing where we could cut, and how we could trim the release to be able to get things out on time. Last week, when we announced the delay from Dec 14 to Dec 20, we made the tough decision to cut several features that we previously thought were critical to the release. I thought with these cuts and our strongest effort that we could get Omega out in time. I was wrong and I'll take the blame for miscalculating the requirements.  

 

"Scary Town"

I wanted to share briefly why this release is so important, why it's taking so long: Over the course of several months and numerous meetings, we compiled a list the primary reasons why someone might not enjoy playing EpicDuel.  Additionally, we wrote down every issue in our development pipeline that was overly tedious, or limiting in what was possible. This list is known as "Scary Town". The goal of the EpicDuel Omega release is to crush "Scary Town." Some of the major issues we want to solve include improving the initial gameplay experience, speeding up the development time on new skills and items, eliminating the plague of power creep, and removing loads of restrictions that create a bad experience for players and ultimately hurt the game itself.

 

Battle Engine:

The battle engine is the main sticking point for why we're unable to release on time.  It's an all or nothing proposal.  Unlike other features that we can cut, the engine either is ready or it isn't... and in this case it isn't.  There are currently 87 abilities that need to be recreated on the new engine just to get back to zero.  I've taken on this task personally, and so far I've only recreated about 70 of the skills.  The remaining incomplete ones include Robot abilities and item specials.  Once those are complete, I can move forward creating the new special abilities for our Omega promotional items and the new Yetis.
Last night around 3am I was getting overrun with bugs from our testing staff.  I was unable to knock out these final abilities and as a result, the engine is not stable enough to release going into Christmas.  I'm not going to chance pushing it and risk having catastrophe over the holiday, especially a thoroughly gutted release that would lack many key features. 


 
Compromise:
 
Again, we understand that this is a tremendous disappointment to all of our players, but especially our most hardcore loyal players. We tried to think of something we could do with what we've built so far. We thought about releasing a last-minute, best-in-game ubersword of doom, but that would fly in the face of everything we're trying to achieve with Omega.
 
Here's what we're going to do -- we're going to offer the Omega Onslaughter/Impaler, Obliterator/Slayer, both Yetis, and an Omega Ticket that grants access to a month-long contest for the price of one 5-key package. When you buy this package you will receive a ticket that will guarantee you receive the items as soon as Omega officially goes live in January early February.  After Omega goes live, we will split the Obliterator and Onslaughter into 2 separate packages as planned, but those who preordered will already have it all and be able to participate in the competition without delay! 
 
Preorder and Be Yeti for the Yetis
In the mean time, we are going to push a small content release out of some seasonal rares items, and we're going to setup the Baby Yeti and Dark Yeti so the HeroMart T-shirt items are ready. The shirts are available NOW. Other than that we'll be holding onto the Omega release until after the new year.
 
Are you Yeti to wear a Yeti?

 

Yeti Chomp

 

Yeti Kick

 

Golden Yeti Competition

I've got a golden ticket!
Oh, yes, I suppose I forgot to mention a 2-week competition in which the top 100 participants will receive an Ultra-Rare Golden Yeti. There will be an ongoing leaderboard showing the current rankings for the duration of the event. This Yeti WILL NOT be available any other way, and you can only win it if you have a Golden Yeti Ticket. If successful, we can evolve this competition into a full-blown tournament feature going forward into Omega.

 

Going Forward:

I felt it was important to explain why things are delayed.  I remain 100% confident that Omega will be EpicDuel's most successful release to date, and I know it will expand the life and playerbase of the game dramatically. When we cut down to the core of the issue, all that really matters is the health of EpicDuel. This news is disappointing, but disappointment fades. Once Omega is polished and live, it will absolutely have been worth the wait. 

 
Thanks for your support. It has been a stressful time for the ED team, but with your support, we can complete Omega and usher in 2013 as the greatest year in EpicDuel's history!
 
Duel On!
 
Titan

Tags: Titan


Cinderella

December 18, 2012

Omega Mission

Omega is almost here! Can you feeeeeel it? We've been working tirelessly to bring you the highly anticipated Omega update and everything is really coming together. As I type this, Titan and Rabblefroth are working furiously along with our equally hard-working testers to troubleshoot the newly reconstructed battle engine. The statting system is looking really promising, and allows for extraordinary flexibility with your gear loadout.

Statting

Be sure to view our development on The Official EpicDuel Youtube Channel:

Titan Fuel

 

Pricing Reshuffle

One new feature you may notice in Omega is that many items have credit OR Varium options, both to purchase and to upgrade. In order to emphasize credits as an effort currency and Varium as a convenience currency, some credit prices will be increasing. However, this is balanced by the fact that you can still upgrade your existing weapons for a credit fee that would be less than purchasing and unlocking a new set of level-cap gear. Also, with unlimited NPC battles, farming for credits will be a much less painful endeavor.

 

Mission Guide

Hi there, EpicDuelists - there's a ton of new missions for your playing pleasure. Alydriah has returned to Frysteland and her capture of the Krampus Shaman Aldhagrimm has forced the Krampus and sympathetic Legion forces in Frysteland to join together to drive her out. The main story quest starts with Commander Edgar Boothe (Legion)

Edgar Boothe

and King Alaric (Exile).

Alaric

Players should report to them to complete the mission “A Frosty Reception” for a Legion Token or Exile Token. This token is your ticket into a class-specific chain. Exiles will turn the Exile Token in to Raymus if they're Bounty Hunters or Cyber Hunters, the Krampus Technician if they're Tech Mages or Blood Mages, and Hank if they're Mercenaries or Tactical Mercenaries. Legion Bounty Hunters and Cyber Hunters should visit Valestra, Tech Mages and Blood Mages should visit Talia, and Mercenaries and Tactical Mercenaries should visit Negawraith to turn in their tokens. For those who want the well-rounded story experience by changing class, Alaric and Boothe have two additional missions that award this token! These all culminate in a single turn-in mission on Rabblefroth, with the same reward for both Legion and Exiles that will conclude part one of this Frysteland saga.

Rabblefroth

This means that, should you complete this chain 3 times, you'll have extra Misc. items, but fortunately they don't take up space in your inventory.

In addition, there are missions that allow you to train up your Baby Yetis and/or Dark Yetis by giving them a Yeti Growth Serum.

Yeti Trainers

Hulnas the Beast Tamer can train your Baby Yetis into Warrior Yetis, and Ylwa the Beast Rider can train your Warrior Yetis into Omega Yetis. Would you rather have a Dark Baby Yeti? The Arctic Trainer can train your Dark Yetis into Dark Warrior Yetis, and the hard-as-ice Captain Murdoc can train your Dark Warrior Yetis into Dark Omega Yetis. Both can be “convinced” to give you some Omega Yeti Serum as well, if you don't want to go through all the trouble of training them.

I'm very excited about the Omega update! For the first time, there are missions requiring you to turn in multiple disparate objects; that is, turning in different kinds of objects. So, if Hank had a mission asking you to help him out with a mirepoix, you would be required to turn in 2 onions, 1 carrot, and 1 celery in the same mission!

Plus, there's a secret mission. What is it? If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret! /mysterious

Tags: Omega Cinderella Update NPCs Skills Stats Testing Credits Varium


Nightwraith

December 11, 2012

Not Quite Yeti

Not Quite Yeti

Greetings EpicDuelists! This morning we had a mega meeting and discussed our progress on Omega. Everything is looking really good and once it's done, I'm 1000% confident it will be the greatest EpicDuel phase ever. However, we were also faced with the realities of being corporeal organisms bound to the laws of physics and biology. Basically, we realized that even working 16-20 hour days every day we would not be able to release Omega in a finished state by Friday. I regret to inform you that the official date for Omega is being pushed back to Thursday December 20th. This was not a decision we arrived at lightly, but a Friday goal simply was not possible. We figured it was better to tell you now rather than at 3 AM Saturday morning. At the very least, this means you'll have a bit longer to complete the mission and collect the items that are going rare when Omega launches.

 

Return to Frysteland

Recently, on the developer server, we revamped the Frysteland screens. The artillery shells and craters have been swept away but the punishment of the Krampus people and their innocent Yetis endures. For Omega, you'll be able to travel to Alydriah's new Winter palace, built upon the remains of the old Exile fortress, and Titan's Peak, a mysterious addition to the Frysteland skyline that suddenly became visible this year. Could this signal the end of the world? Have the gods finally descended up the cursed world of Delta V to pass final judgment? Find out when Omega goes live December 20th!

 Return to Frysteland

You will also be able to meet a Yeti Trainer. These beast maters can help you evolve your Yeti to the next level, but it won't be easy! A strong Yeti requires a strong master, so you'll need to hone your battle skills before these trainers deem you worthy of a more powerful Yeti. Rumor has it that there's a shortcut to this process. Maybe Titan knows something about it?

Train your yeti!

For the latest Omega updates, be sure to check out our Twitter pages, available from the sidebar on the left side of this page. If you have some Omega suggestions or questions, join the discussion in the EpicDuel forums! 

Tags: Omega Titan


Nightwraith

December 10, 2012

Bye-Bye-Bye

We've done a lot of event releases over the past few months and the game have been getting really crowded with rares and mission chains. A good cleanup has been long overdue so as soon as Omega rolls, we're clearing out the following content. Items marked as permanent rare will not be returning ever. If you are having trouble completing mission chains or locating a particular item, please refer to the amazing EpicDuel Wiki!

 

Home Items:

All Halloween and Harvest weapons will be going seasonal rare, while the seasonal Winter / Juloffenblotten items will be returning.

Non-Event Promotions:

Achievements:

  • Delta Knight

Items:

  • Delta Knight Armor  *Permanent Rare*
  • Tactical Battlegear
  • Veteran Battlegear
  • Advanced Battlegear
  • Starter Kit

 

Back-to-School

Items:

  • Experiment 2B 
  • Backpackzooka
  • Graphite Gun

 

EbilCorp War

Achievements:

  • EbilCorp Conqueror

Missions:

  • Alms for the Rich
  • Business Plan
  • Golden Parachute
  • Greed Is Good
  • Look! A Distraction!
  • Severance Package
  • Sinergy
  • Tailor Made

Items:

  • Platinum's Pride *Permanent Rare*
  • One-Eyed Axe
  • One-Eyed Energy Axe

 

DragonCon Event

Achievements:

  • Dragon Master

Items:

  • Dragon Buster II *Permanent Rare*
  • Dragon Slayer Armor *Permanent Rare*
  • Draconic Destroyer
  • Draconic Devastator 
  • Dragon Buster
  • Dragon Scimitar
  • Dragon War 
  • Blade Dragon 
  • Breath Maul
  • Dragon Mace returned 
  • Dragon Master Staff
  • Dragon Overlord Staff 
  • Dragon Claws
  • Dragon Torch 
  • Cyber Dragon
  • Dragon Cannon

 

The Dragons' Reckoning

Achievements:

  • Delta V Defender
  • Dragon's Breath

Missions: 

  • Declawed
  • Faded Memories
  • Prove Your Worth
  • Silence the Gods
  • Silence the Gods 2
  • Smash the Smash Bros
  • The Reckoning
  • Trinkets from the Gods
  • Twilight of the Gods

Items:

  • Harbinger Husk
  • Charbinger E Sword
  • Charbinger Sword
  • Elite Charbinger E Sword
  • Elite Charbinger Sword
  • Charbinger Axe
  • Charbinger E Axe
  • Elite Charbinger Axe
  • Elite Charbinger E Axe
  • Charbinger E Staff
  • Charbinger Staff
  • Elite Charbinger E Staff
  • Elite Charbinger Staff 
  • Charbinger Claws
  • Charbinger E Claws
  • Elite Charbinger Claws
  • Elite Charbinger E Claws

Note: The Dragonoid Brain will still be fightable as a training similation.

 

Halloween 2012

Achievements: 

  • HalloWarrior

Missions:

  • Mama's Recipe
  • Ooky Spooky
  • Trick or Treat
  • What Is Delicious?

Items:

  • Ebil Hazard Husk *Permanent Rare*
  • Cardboard Crusader
  • ‎Harvest Husk 
  • Harvest Reaper
  • Spectral Reaper
  • Pumpkleaver 
  • Pie Launcher

 

Nightwraith's Birthday

Achievements: 

  • Bacon Cupcake

Missions:

  • 28
  • Cake and Bacon
  • Fish Combo Production
  • I can haz caek?
  • Just icing on the cake.
  • Mischief Makers
  • OneX6
  • The cake is a lie.

Items:

  • Nightwraith's Duds 
  • Wraith Axe
  • Wraith Baton 
  • Wraith Warder
  • Wraith Staff
  • Wraith Reapers
  • Wraith Pikes
  • Wraith Repeater
  • Wraith Revolver 
  • Cake Launcher
  • Elite Big 50
  • Wraith Cannon
  • Wraith Destroyer
  • Wraith Devastator




Tags: Nightwraith


Titan

December 06, 2012

Omega Marathon

Now it can be told: the official release date for Omega is December 14th early February! Of course, we can't confirm what time exactly, but we will do our absolute best to get this epic release to you in a stable, tested condition! To satisfy your curiousity on some of Omega's amazing features, enjoy this new Design Notes as we continue the Omega marathon!

Changes to NPCs

Today we wanted to go over some changes to how NPC fights will work in Omega. We want NPCs to fill the purposes of:

                1) training or testing builds

                2) gaining credits

                3) furthering missions and the storyline

They currently fill some other purposes that we want to move away from, including padding battle records, faction farming, and leveling.

Some of the changes are as follows:

  • NPC fights no longer count towards your battle record. We want the Leaderboards and your battle record to clearly reflect your PvP accomplishments instead of forcing players to farm NPCs to pad their win rates.
  • You can now fight NPCs an unlimited number of times.
  • NPCs will not give experience after level 5. This will allow new players to be eased into the battle system, but afterwards we want the focus to be on PvP. This also allows leveling players to get credits without continuing to level if they feel like they are falling behind.
  • NPCs will no longer give Battle Tokens or Influence. Since you can fight them without limit, we don’t want factions or players to farm them for Tokens or Influence. Again, we want the focus here to be on PvP.
  • NPCs will not give rewards if you lose. We don’t want people to purposely lose to NPCs over and over, so you will need to win to get Credits or other rewards.
  • Brainwashing is removed since it is no longer necessary.

 

Enhancements

We know there are still many questions about what we’re doing with Enhancements, but we’re not quite ready to talk about this in-depth yet. We will say now that the new system will allow for much greater customization than before, and will involve equipping passive effects and active abilities to your weapons.

 Skill Cores

Additionally, we will be providing compensation for those that have enhanced weapons in the current system. We’ll provide more specifics soon.

 

Omega Obliteration! 

We would like to kick off our new development phase with not one, but TWO promotional packages. These designs were inspired by devoted EpicDuel player and aspiring artist TrizzzCentrino! You can choose from the Omega Obliteror set, which features an energy sword plus a mutating weapon! 

Omega Obliterator

OR if physical damage is more your thing, you may select the Omega Onslaughter!

Omega Onslaughter

All of these weapons will offer 2 new weapon skills (one active, one passive) to give you an edge in Omega. We will explain what these skills are and what they do as soon as we finalize the details!

Speaking of promotions: Check out Heromart's Coming Soon page for details on the upcoming "Are You Yeti" shirt! This epic garment will come with not one, but TWO yetis for you to play with for the upcoming release!

Well? Are you?!

 

The Frozen North

Alydriah has been up to no good in her captured territory. However, there is one bastion of hope in this shattered land:

Titan's Magical Lair

Titan stands watch from his mountain lair in Frysteland. Many displaced Krampus have taken shelter at the foot of this mountain fortress, seeking some respite from constant harassment from Legion troops. Alydriah is smart enough to steer clear of this mysterious refuge, but not so fearful that she wouldn't taunt the gods of Delta V through more indirect means. What new cybernetic terrors has Alydriah created in during the Legion's occupation of this region? Would Alydriah burn Frysteland to the ground just to annoy Titan? How many cheeseburgers do you think Titan has hidden up there?

Elite Yeti

I guess you'll have to login to find out!

 

Easy on the Eyes

As we mentioned earlier, the early game experience is getting a drastic overhaul, starting with the login and class selection screens. We will also be refreshing the look of the base armors and styles to reflect this graphical overhaul. This might not be tremendously exciting to our veteran players, but it will make EpicDuel 1000% more appealing to new players, expanding the total number of active players, which means more opponents for you!  

Choose your destiny!

 

WHY NO UPDATE?!

With all the changes to the database structure and game code, we literally cannot release before it's ready.  Also, preparing a weekly release would divert time away from development on Omega, and we cannot spare a second at this point!

On that note -- Code Sorcerer, away!

Tags: Titan promotions Omega Frysteland Winter Obliterator Onslaughter Yeti HeroMart Shirt Enhancements Stats code TRizZzCENTRINO Update Holiday Seasons Epic Skills Weapons alydriah

 

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