Hello everyone! This past Saturday marked Anarchy Online's 14th anniversary. Thank you to GSP and ARK for hosting the event, and to everyone who was able to attend!
Anniversary Event
Last week The Tinker, the Desert Rider, and his Desert Nomads returned to Rubi-Ka, and they will remain until July 13th. Those who assist The Tinker a sufficient amount will be awarded with a "Vacuum Packed Desert Nomad Armor." Additionally, when the Desert Rider falls, it will spawn a large gift that will offer an additional reward item for everyone who helped defeat this scoundrel; simply run through the large box to claim a prize!
During this event, we are also offering a new subscription offer, the details of which can be found here. In addition to the normal incentives included with these bundles, this year will be offering access to the Luxurious Armor set.
Finally, please be sure to log in during this event to grab your Ganimedes Personal Jetpack, and other free items from the Item Shop.
New Engine
With the start of the Anniversary, we patched the Live servers with AO version 18.8.0. While this patch included some Anniversary updates, perhaps the largest change was that this opened up the New Engine client to be used on the Live servers.
The reaction has been mixed, but I cannot say this was entirely unexpected. It is worth noting that we would not have brought this to Live if there were no plans or intentions to develop it further. Highest priority will be given to the current set of stability issues, as well as some of the larger visual issues. Beyond these priority fixes, there are plans to roll out visual enhancements. Specific details will be shared when there are visuals to show.
Bringing this new engine client back into the spotlight, both externally and internally, was an important step, with updates and improvements ahead of us.
Upcoming Updates
I plan to prepare and release an 18.8.2 near the end of the Anniversary event. The purpose of this patch will be some more bug fixes, and minor adjustments.
After 18.8.2, designer focus will be shifted back towards the design and implementation of the 'Pyramid of Home' dungeon. As this will be a larger update, a smaller patch or two could be expected between these versions to make some balance adjustments and other necessary adjustments.
Thank You
It has been a busy couple of months, between both of the 18.7 and 18.8 updates. While there is still work to be done resulting from both of those large updates, it will be refreshing to begin work on new endeavors and initiatives. Thank you everyone and I hope you have a great July!