EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

July 06, 2012

Almost...

Baelius was no fool and whatever he buried in the mines, he didn't want it to be uncovered. The first door has fallen to the Legion, and Mechachillids are already hard at work removing the rubble to reveal the next door, moving the Legion forces one step closer to claiming the Vault's contents for their own!

But don't count the Exiles out just yet.  This is still The Lawman's turf, and he's not going to give up so easily, especially when the fighting just got interesting.  What tricks does he have stored up those dusty sleeves of his, anyway?

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The brave Legion warriors who aggressively smashed through the Vaults millions of hit points in under a week deserve a hearty round of applause.  The AI-based entity, M4tr1x will be waiting for you beyond the first door to offer you a Vault Breaker Achievement and rare Mechachillid Armor!

My Skeleton; Your Shield

Mechachillids reproduce by gathering scrap metal from derelict mining facilities and the surface to build new Mechachillids.  Sometimes, a Mechachillid will "outgrow" it's current shell and seek to replace it with newer metals and more efficient power supplies.  This process is known as molting, and the end result is tons of empty Mechachillid husks scattered throughout the mines.  The technology necessary to reanimate these husks is expensive and rare on Delta V in its current state, but it still makes an effective combat ready armor.  Mechachillid armors come with an inherent Exoskeleton skill.

Exoskeleton - The Mechachillids were designed to withstand conditions lethal to humans, especially those found in the Infernal Mines.  By wearing Mechachillid armor, players are granted increased resistance against the Vault's lethal security systems.

Remember to check the style change bots around Delta V!  Each gender and class is getting 3 new Mechachillid styles (a total of 18).

Infernal Interdictor

Forged from the same rare crystals as the Infernal Slayer, the Infernal Interdictor is a sight to be feared on any battlefield.  Help your alignment secure the Vault by acquiring this rare, impressive weapon, which comes with a devastating new skill, Massive Strike.  Visit the Light Mechachillid at the screen just beyond the Refinery Entrance to purchase it in game or get both level 25 and 35 variants for free with the 10K Varium package.

Massive Strike - The mysterious crystals powering the Infernal Interdictor grant its wielder superhuman strength.  The reinforced steel of the Vault doors yield to its power and critical strikes have the ability to knock even the strongest opponents to their knees, inflicting massive damage.

One Level Deeper

As players from both alignments descend deeper into the mines, be prepared for more exciting new content as this conflict continues to boil beneath the surface of Delta V!

Tags: Titan War Nightwraith Legion Exiles Faction Silas The Lawman Infernal Interdictor New Promotion Varium Achievements Mines Summer

June 20, 2012

Hey there EpicDuelists.  After a brief hiatus where I was working on HeroSmash, we are back with our regular helping of Design Notes.  These are gonna be extra meaty today, so make sure you have a good appetite for news!

Infernal Infiltration War

Originally, we planned to release the War this Friday, but after some massive discussions involving the proposed features for the Infernal Infiltration War, including new battle types, new NPC AI, and new consumables, we determined that it will be better to release a fully tested and polished version of the War next week rather than a buggy, less spectacular version this week. 

However, we do plan to have a working prototype for Friday so our testers can create some awesome preview videos and demonstrate some of the War's exciting new features!  This is disappointing short term news, but we are confident it will be worth the wait!

During the Conflict, players should report to their alignment’s 4 officers.  Each side has a General, Lieutenant, 3rd Officer, and Auxiliary Officer.  The War Officers are (in order) Exile: John St. Alban (The Lawman), Ulysses, Galatea, and Selina; Legion: Silas Auer (Administrator 7), Valestra, Nightwraith, and Ella St. Alban (Cinderella).  There will be NPC adjustments and improvements soon- the Lawman’s revamp is going live with the start of the war, with revamps to Ella and Valestra soon to follow.

Attack the Vault

Ok, here’s the real meat and potatoes.  This war will function differently than Frysteland- we’ve learned from our mistakes and we’re ready to take on this next challenge.  Basically, this is set up as a race to the finish.  Instead of strictly Legion vs. Exile, both Legion and Exile players will be punching through the Vault gates. Baelius spared no expense when securing the Delta Vault so the Vault doors are protected by multiple layers of shielding to protect the them from human activity.  When breached, each level of protection releases a special “something” that will be discovered when that level of defense is breached.  What is the reward?  That’s for you to discover!

So, how are you getting through the Vault's defenses?  You’ll be using grenades, available from drops or by purchase, to inflict massive damage on the Vault doors.  ALL grenades will be available as drops (no exceptions), so anyone can use any bomb on the doors.  There will also be mission chains that award even more war bombs!  The catch is the Vault doors fight back!  How long can you last against its devastating security systems?  We will be featuring the most devastating players in Infernal War leaderboards!

The Mechachillids are, understandably, not happy about surface dwellers ransacking their home, so they’re sending Mechachillid soldiers out into the world to bring you down in a new battle mode. Random 1v1 or 2v2 battles have a chance to match you with a Mechachillid AI opponent or ally!

Loyalty is the Key

Just a reminder that the special Alignment Shops will remain open for the duration of the conflict, and will be periodically updated with more items (though not this week).  Don’t like what’s available?  After the Infernal Infiltration War is won, the Legion or Exile Key will be converted into an achievement!

But remember- choose your alignment wisely.  Once you’ve chosen a side during wartime, there’s no turning back.  You may still leave an Exile faction and rejoin another Exile faction, but there will be absolutely no turncoating during the Infernal Infiltration War.

New War Cheevos

Along with a new War comes new War Ranks- the stats for each rank are the same as they were for the Frysteland War and the player with the most points for his or her alignment (in this case, the one who inflicts the most damage upon the vault) at reset will win the Infernal War Hero achievement! Yay!

U Jelly?

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are well known for their production of honey, which is formed by purifying and concentrating the nectar harvested by workers.  The worker regurgitates the honey into cells in the hive several times to treat the nectar with the enzyme invertase (which breaks sucrose into its monosaccharide components glucose and fructose) and lower the water content, making it into a sticky syrup.  The honey is then consumed by the colony members, including the larvae.

However, this is not the only food consumed by bees.  All larvae are fed initially with Royal Jelly, which is secreted from the mouthparts of workers.  Royal Jelly is a high-quality nutritious food high in B vitamins and fatty acids, and female larvae that are destined to become Queens are fed Royal Jelly spiked with Royalactin.  This peptide causes stimulation and maturation of the ovaries, which differentiates her from her sterile worker sisters.

Tags: Cinderella Infernal Infiltration War Silas The Lawman NPCs Vault Delta exile Legion Factions Loyalty

June 08, 2012

Loyalty is the Key

As we improve the War system, we will be introducing new and exciting features to differentiate the alignments without disrupting game balance.  One of these features is a Legion and Exile shop to reward alignment loyalty which can be accessed with a special key.  Our new volunteer artist Disturbed has created a grand cache of Infernal weapons to reward the loyalty of Legion and Exile players.  

But how do you acquire these weapons?  You will need to turn in FOUR Blueprint scraps to either Silas or The Lawman.  Because there are now tons of mission in the game, I have located this handy-dandy list of missions that reward Blueprint Scraps!

Refined - Slayer

Dance, Puppets! Dance! - Alydriod

Toxic Love - Lepus

Impious Convictions - The Lawman

God Prefers a Heretic - Silas Auer

After you have gathered FOUR Blueprint scraps (they will be sellable later if you have too many for whatever reason), please report to either the Lawman or Silas for the mission "The Bigger Picture".  Completeing either mission will reward either an Exile Locker Key (Lawman) or Legion Locker Key (Silas).  This item will unlock a shop contained on either NPC offering exclusive alignment specific items.  

Remember, once you have completed the mission and turned in the scraps for a key, you CANNOT access the opposite alignment's shop.  We plan to update these shops as the war progresses. 

Because this system is new and we want everyone to be aware of how it works and where to get Blueprint scraps, we are delaying the release of these weapons until next week.  We also want to ensure that the servers are stable before introducing this new feature.  We had some setbacks this week, but next week we'll hit the war even harder to make up for lost time!

Faction Cannons

We still plan to remove the Faction Cannons until they can be adjusted for the new Faction system, but their removal will be delayed until next week.

Tags: Nightwraith Infernal Infiltration Weapons Disturbed Silas Lawman Blueprint Scraps