EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

September 08, 2011

Ahoy there, EpicDuelists! By now I’m sure you’ve all read Nightwraith’s and Artix’s recaps of Dragon*Con (if not, go read them now!) If you’re a loser like me and didn’t get to go, there’s always next year!

But now here’s a bit about the ninja update that just happened!

Interface changes

You may have noticed that some things look different in game- for example the home editor buttons got a lot more shiny (oooh... shiny!). This is reflective of general changes to the interface system. We’ve been improving the way that the buttons and interfaces in EpicDuel work in order to make them more streamlined. Another example is the Inventory screens, which were improved over the weekend.

Balance Changes

Mages should find that their builds are more versatile now, and sword-wielding mages no longer have such a big percentage of their skill trees blocked off. Plasma Rain and Bludgeon no longer require staffs. This should prove to be a significant buff to the mage classes.

Back to the Cave!

Since DragonCon is over, the Draconic weapons will be leaving the game! We left them in a little while longer, since there was a delay in the last update (we got delayed last time, but we’re early this week? MADNESS!). The Dragon and Back to School weapons will remain.

Everyone who purchased a weapon qualifying them for a Dragon Master achievement will also receive this valuable achievement!

Performance Updates

Titan’s still on the warpath against junk code and finding ways to make the Server Hamsters less lethargic, so players should experience a more streamlined performance (although yelling “FIX THE LAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGG” at me is still unlikely to make the server hamsters move faster. They’re kind of contrary like that.)

Welcome Hudelf!

I’d like to take this opportunity to formally welcome Hudelf to the EpicDuel staff! Hudelf is joining our little team as a programmer. Let’s all wish him a warm welcome and a smooth transition!  Remember, he's still an apprentice, but he's learning quickly the arts of code sorcery from Titan!

Insect Fact of the Week: Butts!

This week, we’re going to learn about some of the most interesting butts in the Class Insecta: Fireflies!

Fireflies (or Lightning Bugs) are members of the family Lamprydiae in the order Coleoptera. This means that they are neither bugs nor flies, but beetles! They’re called Lightning bugs or fireflies due to the fact that their butts glow.

Fireflies have a set of light-emitting organs on the lower abdomen, in which a bioluminescent chemical process takes place. The light produced is a cold light- it contains no heat/infrared frequencies. The glow serves as a defensive mechanism for larvae and as a means of communication for adults. This is pretty unique among insect species- most mating signals are mediated by scent, but fireflies use visual communication. Some species have very distinctive courtship signals, where the male signals to a female, and she will glow in response to him. However, females of some fireflies will mimic the response of females of other species to lure males, who they will then eat. Nom. 

Tags: Cinderella