Monthly Development Update - May 2015 (Yes We Rubi-Kan!)
Hello everyone - I hope everyone had a great May! Most of the internal whirlwind of 18.7's initial launch has died down, with focus now shifted towards the upcoming Anniversary and future content updates.
18.7 & 18.7.4
18.7.0 went Live a little over a month ago, and I still couldn't be happier with how it turned out, given the grand scope of the update. The patch did come with a few hiccups, most of which have been resolved with the follow-up patches, but there are still a few lingering issues which I hope to resolve with the upcoming 18.7.4.
Bundled with 18.7.4, based on feedback from various sources within the community, a number of profession toolset changes will be implemented. With a game as complex as AO, things will continue to change and adapt over time. I currently do not have any more sweeping profession change patches planned, but adjustments will be made with future patches, as needed. I initially estimated to have this patch out earlier this month, but the smaller patches that were released this month resulted in pushing back this set of changes - Sorry for the delay. I plan to have this on Testlive early next week, and on Live not too long after.
2015 Anniversary
Less than a month from now will be Anarchy Online's 14th birthday! Preparations are being made for this celebration. The Tinker will be returning with some new gifts for everyone! While there will be guaranteed rewards for the people who earn loot rights on the Desert Rider, as this is a celebration for all, it will be possible for others to acquire his spoils. Best of luck to everyone! The anniversary event should begin during the week of June 27th.
It is fun to think back 14 years. I do remember having fun pouring over the old Rubi-Ka map that came inside of the large, orange box that AO shipped in. Having never played a MMO or any kind of RPG of the size and scale of AO, I really had no idea of what I was getting myself into, and I certainly did not expect to find a game that would eventually stay relevant to me for almost half of my life. Anarchy Online has affected many people over its lifetime, even impacting the industry as a whole. It is still very humbling to hold this role over such a figure of gaming history. Thank you everyone who has played a part in making, maintaining, and keeping Anarchy Online alive for the past 14 years!
Future Content
As mentioned in last month's letter, there are two new locations planned to be implemented. While there is still a very considerable amount of work to be done, I will reveal that both The Reck, a southern Rubi-Ka region near Rome, and the Broken Shores pyramid will be where this content takes place. The Reck will contain content aimed for players between roughly level 100 to 150 while the Pyramid of Home will be an end-game encounter.
Thank you everyone! I will post up a news article when the birthday preparations have been complete, with details on the event, new items, subscription offers, etc. Also, don't forget to get your jetpacks! :)
