Monthly Development Update - July 2015 (Summertime Blues)
Hello everyone - I hope you all had a nice July! This month was marred by various vacation time and a couple particularly egregious obstacles; Tarasque was being very shy and did not want to be seen within the new engine, despite my best efforts.
14th Anniversary
Earlier this month, we ended our 14th anniversary celebration! Thank you to everyone who showed up to help The Tinker deal with the Desert Rider and his Nomads. The event was a huge success. While 14 years can be an eternity within the games industry, the game has felt more active and alive than it has previously in recent memory. I am honored to be able to support this historic game in my current capacity, and thank you to our amazing community for keeping Anarchy Online alive.
Upcoming Development
Development this month was slowed down a fair amount this month due to summer-related shenanigans, as well as being tied up trying to resolve some less-exciting, resilient issues that did not want to be resolved. With vacation being over and some of the aforementioned bugs solved, focus is being directed towards the upcoming patch, 18.8.3, and then forward to new content updates.
The 18.8.3 patch, which I hope to have Testlive-ready next week, will address some balance issues, minor content updates, and some bug fixes. Going forward, I strive to release a patch every 4-6 weeks. While the scope of these updates will not always be Rubi-Ka-shattering, I will still try to devote time regularly to improving what I can and releasing these fixes when they have been implemented and tested. Large content updates will still operate on their own schedules, while these smaller patches will serve as a supplement. With 18.8.3 released to Live, things will start to move into a more reliable and sustainable groove.
As stated last month, the next large content update will be the the Pyramid of Home, which will be an end-game dungeon that will challenge players to see what lurks beneath. The encounter will start from Number 9's chamber, through an all-too-familiar, yet entirely mysterious, door. The content will be designed to send a group of players through a gauntlet of challenges, both new and old, on their way to the showdown with an entity that has been quietly manipulating the events of the world above, and beyond.
Thank you
This month has had its own set of distractions and obstacles, but I am confident that August will allow for lost time to be made up. Sorry for the short monthly update. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. :)
