Design Notes
February 01, 2017
GroundHorc's Day 2017 is Here!
If you Live in Australia... at least.
For everyone else, bookmark this post and read it tomorrow. (Or, if you're a rebel, read it now and insert "tomorrow" where the text below talks about the present.) For all you heroes who live in the future... Happy GroundHorc's Day!
On this day every year, Philip, the weather predicting groundhog pops his head out of his hole and peers around. If he comes out to play, then spring is here! If he sees his shadow and vanishes back into his warm, cozy burrow than we know that we are in for SIX MORE WEEKS of winter!
Groundhorc's Day Seasonal Rares!
I'm not a fan of the cold. Actually I kind of hate it. Actually I really hate it. Actually, I'd beat snow up if I could. But if there is one person who HATES winter more than I do, it's General Porcon over in the Horc Fort (you can see it on the greenguard map).
General Porcon!
He has taken it upon himself to kidnap Philip in a desperate attempt to end winter. What he doesn't understand is that if Philip doesn't get to look at his shadow then winter will NEVER end!
Talk to Phil in Battleon and accept the Groundhorc's Day quest to save Phillip and you will recieve at least 1 (possibly all three) of the Groundhorc's Day 1-Day-Only Seasonal Rares!
The clock is ticking on a lot of things: Nulgath's Birthday Shop leaves Friday, the January Upgrade Bonus Gear Friday too, and in exactly ONE MONTH from this Friday, Dage's birthday shop arrives! AND this Sunday is the Superbowl halftime Shop and Punt map (with special rares to celebrate the Loyalists and and Doom Phoenixes).
That's a LOT of stuff!
March 30, 2016
Friday: The EveryWhen Portal Opens
Journey through a NEW point in Spacetime!
Cysero the Green Mage has been experimenting again! He’s opened a portal to somewhere… or somewhen? He doesn’t know WHAT point in timespace he’s discovered, but he needs YOUR help to map it out… and make sure its creatures don't succeed in making OUR world theirs!
This weekend, you'll face creatures that seem familiar but are absolutely alien to our world. The only way to make sure we do not turn into them is with Cysero's help... and the power of mathemagic! O_O
December 15, 2015
AQ3D was Greenlit on Steam
AQ3D is STEAM APPROVED!
Yesterday was a VERY good day for us. In addition to the AQ3D Kickstater reaching its goal, AQ3D was also approved by STEAM GREENLIGHT!
Best. Day. Ever.
I probably don't need to tell you but we were jumping up and down as the Kickstarter ticked over the $200,000 mark, but about an hour later when STEAM approved us, we were going out of our minds! Now, we've calmed down. These are both amazingly good things for AQ3D and AE, but they also represent a LOT of work ahead of us.
Being Greenlit DOES NOT mean that AQ3D is on Steam yet.
Being Greenlit on Steam means that you and the Steam community have upvoted the project, made us the #4 most popular game on Greenlight, Steam took notice and has decided that AQ3D would be a good fit once we have a version of the game ready to distribute.
It means that, once AQ3D is ready, it WILL appear on Steam.
We are currently working in the Steam SDK and taking our first steps toward having a Steam-ready version of AQ3D but even an early release version probably won't be ready until AT LEAST summer, same as the mobile beta releases.
Until then we will be keeping you updated on the development of the game on the AQ3D design notes.
Kickstarter Continues!
The Kickstarter is still going on! We have reached our goal but we will keep taking pledges until the campaign ends on January 1st. If you want to become a backer and Founder of AQ3D, you have until January 1st to make your pledge.
The Kickstarter has raised over $208,000 for AQ3D. These are the funds that we're going to use to MAKE the game for the next 6 months or so. We have a decent alpha which many of you are already testing but it has a long way to go to become the game of our dreams. Now, thanks to you, we have the funding to complete AQ3D. These funds will be allocated to development costs like software (more Unity5 licences and existing plugins and tools to help us build the game, etc), hardware (servers, etc), and paying the developers.
We won't see any of the Kickstarter funds until January 1st, when the Kickstarter ends, but we're still working hard on the game until we get the funding which you have provided.
Now that we are funded, we are over-funding and unlocking stretch goals. The first two stretch goals were reached in the first day and the more the Kickstarter earns for AQ3D, the more we are able to use those funds to develop the game further.
Failing to reach a stretch goal does NOT mean that item won't be in the game. For example, if we don't hit $300K there might still be pets in the game in some form in the distant future, but hitting the $300K stretch goal guarantees that pets WILL be in AQ3D and much sooner. The more funding the game gets, the more resources we have to make the game better.
If you were waiting until we were funded or Greenlit to back AQ3D then NOW is your time!
THIS IS ALL YOU!
I just want to remind you that YOU are the backers who are making AQ3D possible and YOU are the ones who made us the #4 game, out of thousands of games, on Steam Greenlight. We are in your debt, literally. We owe you a great game and we won't let you down.
August 03, 2015
AQ3D Alpha is (almost) here!
We are SO close... but we're not there yet.
AQ3D is leaving behind the fun Tech Demo phase today and entering a new, exciting stage of development... Alpha!
But right at this VERY SECOND, the servers are offline while we perform some merging of tables and databases and make sure the server hamsters have state of the art wee tiny running shoes.
Once we enter Alpha Phase, a lot more people are going to be able to play. Not just active AQW members, but former members, AC purchasers, DragonLords, StarCaptains, Guardians, those who have bought Varium, Soul Gems and even Smash Coins.
Tech Demo testers can expect their Tech Demo badges and Star Swords to arrive by the end of today, and remember that all Tech Demo testers, our new Alpha Testers and even those who tested Legends of Lore will (toward the end of Alpha) recieve the Alpha Knight armor and access to the rest of the Alpha Knight Set.
Get your Firefox and IE ready (because AQ3D doesn't work on Chrome. They dropped support for Unity)... before the sun suts here in sunny Florida, you will be able to create your shiny new AQ3D account, and get a very early shot at grabbing the coolest character name you can think of.
Hold on to your hats.
July 31, 2015
Cysero's Secrets
Do you dare face the Ancient Goose?
Yeah. You probably do.
I mean, of course you do. Why else would you be here? Just cheering on your friends while they play the release? I don't think so.
You want a piece of this goose. AND YOU'RE NOT ALONE! The Queen of All Monsters also wants a piece of him (three pieces, actually).
My first special guest release for the Return Of The Living Devs was a lot of fun. It was a story I thought about for a while, and I think the AQW team did a fantastic job making the release come to life.
I think it surprised a lot of people because people expect zany, wacky fun from me, but It was dark and moody and very emotional and I'm so happy that so many of you played it and let the story do its job.
For my second special guest release (of two), I really wanted to give you some of the Cysero that a lot of you expect to see. The story is dumb (but fun and has a few great surprises in it), and the gear is very nice, but the MAP is the real jewel here. I planned out each room, each twist and turn, each hidden exit, shortcut and hidden mouse-over.
Cysero is what's up.
I really tried to give you somewhere that was fun to run around. (of course J6 and Reens were the ones who had to build the map to my exacting standards and Ghost expertly animated some of my favorite cutscenes in all of AQW history for tonight, so they all have permission to hit me. Sorry, guys.)
Let's face it. There are only so many types of quests that you can go on before they all start feeling kind of similar... so, I wanted to give you a PLACE that fun to run around in. This way, if the quests start feeling like work, the map will always keep things interesting with a hidden treat in almost every room.
Look carefully, dear player. If you want to find MY secrets... you're going to have to work for them.
July 30, 2015
What IS Cysero's Secret?
I'll Give You a Hint... It's Not Yogurt.
If you had ONE guess as to what Cysero's secret is... what do you think it could be? Tweet your guess to Cysero, Artix, and Alina, then find out for real in tomorrow night's release!
July 20, 2015
Friday: The LunarMancer Arrives!
And an Old Enemy Considers a New Alliance!
When a powerful (maybe slightly moon-dazed) LunarMancer seeks revenge on those who've wronged him, he requires YOUR help to complete a complex ritual that will set everything to right. If you ever want to leave the lovely Luna Cove, located on the shores of Terra Lacuna Island (also the setting for last week's Titan Hollow release), you'll need to help him... if you can!
BUT WAIT! It's almost the full moon, and you know what THAT means on Lore... unforeseen accidents, shenanigans, and - oh yes, you'll be lycan what comes next... moon-based mayhem! Help the Lunarmancer complete his ritual, save the villagers, and discover what is in store for old enemies and new... friends(!?) this weekend!
Coming Next Week: Cysero's Secret
As Reens and Arklen build Laken's LunarMancer release (/cheer for another Laken story!), Memet and J6 are hard at work creating the assets that will be used for Cysero's release next week - the final installment of our Summer 2015 "Return of the Living Devs" event!
If you know Cysero, then you know it WILL be crazy, you WILL get to take a gander at the unexpected, and you WILL be quack-ing up before he's through!
Last Chance to get up to 30% More Free AdventureCoins!
Get up to 30% more free Adventurecoins when you buy select packages until July 24th! With all the awesome events this summer, you'll want to stock up so you don't miss any of the epic reward gear - like the new Collector Class or the Ancient Groveborn gear! And when you buy any AC package, you'll unlock the exclusive Ancient Grovebreaker Blade!
Also releasing this week in AQWorlds:
- Coral Beach - the hottest new surf hangout - arrives with more summer gear!
- The Fantastic Lore Limited Time Shop arrives Friday with The Fiending Set!
June 26, 2015
Deadmoor Spirit: The Stolen Screams
BACK on the Design Notes and On Your Screen... IN GREEN!
Hey guys! It seems like it's been forever since I was able to post something here and I can honestly say that it's nice to be back. I've been getting such a warm reception from all of you and it's just...
...really...
... nice.
Moving on! Last week you got to play through Artix's first guest star release and this week you get mine! I need your help in Deadmoor, returning the stolen voice for the ghost of a little girls who was murdered more than a century ago...
... but you're not alone. The Queen of All Monsters has sent one of her most capable bounty hunters to Deadmoor, and they have plans for this little spirits stolen screams.
But wait, there's more (moor?)...
MY PERSONAL GEAR!
I've also decided to let you guys have my own, personal Mad Weaponsmith armor and my glowing Super Hammer. They are free for ALL players, and 0AC so you don't need to worry about storage.
All you need to do is complete the release that I designed and you will unlock the quests that lead to my stuff. It will take a while (Members get perks so it will take them much less time),but all you have to do is put in a little effort and they are yours for the keeping. Enjoy with my blessing.
In the quest you will also find drops, a shop filled with Member gear, Non-member gear and a few AC items, and I've even included a bonus cutscene that lets you know a little bit more about me.
I hope you have as much fun playing through this as I had writing it and watching helplessly as the AQW staff assembled it. This must be the feeling that a writer has when they see a movie of their book for the first time.
June 24, 2015
AQWeekly Newsletter: June 26 2015
Deadmoor Spirit release written by Cysero
Everyone’s favorite Mad Weaponsmith, Cysero, specially designed Friday’s upcoming release: Deadmoor Spirit!
Click to read this week’s brand new newsletter and discover all the new NEW happening this week!
June 22, 2015
The DreadMoor Spirit
BACK on the Design Notes and On Your Screen... IN GREEN!
Hey guys! I've been working on AE's mobile games for the past few years but THIS FRIDAY I'm returning to AQW for a special guest release that I designed. Close your eyes and picture this...
OK, you can't read with your eyes closed. I see the problem.
Change of plan... keep reading but picture yourself with your eyes closed picturing this: The village of Deadmoor has been a ghost town for as long as anyone can remember. Some really bad stuff went down here and we're a few hundred years late to the party but it's never too late to try and right the wrongs of the past.
I made friends with the ghost of a little girl who died here. Her voice was stolen when she was brutally murdered by the townspeople. If you can help me return her stolen screams, then I'll give you the chance to earn my own personal, Mad Weaponsmith armor and my super hammer! There will also be a bunch of other rewards if you're not a fan of green, but you look like a player with some taste... so you like green.
Getting off topic... Come to Deadmoor, help me help her. Learn the secrets of Deadmoor's terrible past and you'll get to learn a little bit more about me too (if you're interested. It's optional). The adventure in Deadmoor starts THIS FRIDAY in AQW! Don't let me down.
April 24, 2015
We Need Your Screenshots
Submit your best screenshot and we'll put it on AQ.com!
If you've visited the homepage recently, you've seen the cool, super-clean new look it's got. But now we need new screenshots of the AQWorlds, to make sure they're as shiny as the site is! Send us your best screenshots of you and/or your friends battling, taking down bosses, looking awesome in cutscenes, chatting, and playing the game on Facebook or Twitter. We'll choose the most engaging shots and upload them to the screenshots page on AQ.com!
Tips:
- Screenshots should not be edited, just a straight, unaltered picture from the game.
- Minimize your in-game chat.
- Do not crop your screenshot; we'll do that if it's needed
- In battlescenes, try to show class skills or monster attacks going off.
- If you're taking a cutscene screenshot, appearance counts (so equip your best gear!)
Cysero's Secrets Of The Screenshotting Masters!
Taking a screenshot may seem like pretty simple stuff once you learn how to do it but we all hard to learn sometime.
Earlier this week Artix and I decided to spend a little time in AQW talking to you guys and it seemed to both of us that a lot of you had no idea how to take a screenshot and capture the moment you met your all-time very, very, VERY favorite AE Dev...
...Or Artix.
We decided to make a quick video explaining some fairly fast and easy methods, namely LightShot and the Snipping Tool. You can watch the video here.
We were amazed by how many people started using our methods and thaking us for teaching them how to do this, so we're putting it here for anyone else who might want to learn how to take screenies of their favorite gaming moments.
There are other methods, like just hitting the PRT SC (Print Screen) key on your keyboard which captures your whole display and Pasting into a new file in a basic art program like Paint, but using the Snipping tool is faster and using Lightshot is even faster still and also great for storing and sharing your files with your friends. And it's all FREE!
Happy Screenshotting!
February 19, 2015
AQ3D Update!
AQ3D is evolving!
I've been asked to do a little recap of the recent additions to the AQW 3D (now simply being called the AQ3D) Tech Demo here on the good ol' AQW Design Notes.
If you've tried the Tech Demo for yourself recently then you probably know most of this already but if you haven't then here's what you've missed.
1. We have added Battleon.
You can only go into one of the buildings (The Inn), but it's still beautiful and a lot of fun to run around. You can battle trolluks, see where you can climb and chat with everyone.
2. Zhoom was kind enough to add the single most requested feature of the tech demo so far... the ability to jump!
The very minute that jumping was added, people began hopping up on things and making up their own parkour obstacle courses.
3. We added an obstacle course. We wanted to give all these jumping beans something to jump on so Zhoom and Xero whipped up a quickie obstacle course that is pretty fun.
If you win, there's no way out so you actually have to refresh your browser and log back but its still fun to see how fast you can do it. I made a short video of me running the course which you can see below. Can you beat my time?
4. As of today Zhoom is starting to test out new items! Every time you log in your color will be randomized as usual but you might also have a helm, shoulder pauldrons, gloves, a different weapon or maybe just a different hairstyle.
If you haven't gotten the chance to try the Tech Demo out, now is a great time to jump in. There are a LOT of bugs and not much is funnier than a pre-alpha, bugtastic version of a game.
Remember that this is only a TECH DEMO, it's before Beta, it's before Alpha. The game will only keep growing and adding things. If you have questions about the Tech Demo, I made a short FAQ about it which you can read HERE. See you in Battleon!
September 03, 2014
13 Lords of Chaos Poster
Larga vida a los Señores del Caos Poster!
I used Google Translate for that. This weekend we held our annual Artix Panel at DragonCon 2014 and one of the many, many new and exciting that premiered during the panel was the 13 Lords of Chaos Poster. Those intreped few who came from far and wide to watch us ramble aimlessly for two and a half hours were the VERY FIRST people ON EARTH to be able to get this poster and the avalanche of swag that comes with it.
Their time is over. Now is YOUR time!
The 13 Lords of Chaos Poster is now live on HeroMart, and now YOU can also bury yourself in the aforementioned swagalanche.
---> GET IT NOW! <---
The poster comes with a the AQW Chaos Forge which can be used to obtain and then further UPGRADE these items:
- All-Seeing Spirit Staff
- In-Djinn-ious Blade
- Chaorrupted Dragonlord's Sword
- Escherion's End
- One Eyed Claw
- Wolfwing's Last Paws
- Fallen King's Scythe
- Manabranch Staff
- Temporal Triune Axe
- Kitsune Kitsune Katana
- Lion's Fang Blade
- Tentacular Whip
- Dragonlord Vath (Helm) (Look like Vath)
- Dragonlord Vath (Sword)
- Dragonlord Vath (Wings)
- Corrupted Guardian Dragon Jr (pet)
- Chaosawa mecha
- Chaos Dragonslayer Sword Physical
- Chaos Dragonslayer Sword Energy
Free Stuff, cause why not?
800 x 600
August 25, 2014
Bring on the DragonCon
2014 DragonCon Information
Artix Panel Date & Time
WHEN: Saturday, Aug 30th @ 2:30 PM
WHERE: DragonCon : Grand Salon D room @ the Hilton Atlanta hotel
WHY: To launch the 13 Lords of Chaos poster, to talk about our new Mobile game AQ Dragons, to showcase a new secret Mobile game, and to meet and greet our biggest fans—like you!
Launching: 13 Lords of Chaos Poster!
To commemorate the epic finale of the current AdventureQuest Worlds storyline, we are releasing this AMAZING 13 Lords of Chaos Poster, featuring all 13 Chaos Lords drawn & painted by Diozz and Dage the Evil. The entire Artix team will sign these posters at the lab before they are taken to DragonCon. Anyone attending our panel on Saturday, August 30 at DragonCon will be able to buy these posters before ANYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!
New Mobile Game: AQ Dragons
So you want to know more about AQ Dragons? So OF COURSE DragonCon is the best place to do so! The Artix team will reveal everything we know about the upcoming mobile game, AQ Dragons, at our panel. This is so much better than piecing together tidbits of information via our Twitters =)
Ah yes, a new secret mobile game. Well… it won’t be much of a secret for those who attend our DragonCon panel! And I cannot say much more about it… because it’s been kept a secret from me, too! >…..<
How to Survive DragonCon
Cysero is your best bet for surviving DragonCon. And he’s posted a full length survival guide here.
On behalf of the entire Artix Entertainment team, we hope to see you at the Artix Panel @ DragonCon this Saturday, August 30th, in the Hilton’s Grand Salon D room!
xoxo Beleen =D
Ps... IDK what that drawing up there is for. Cysero drew it... so maybe you can ask him about it on his Twitter?
July 11, 2014
Battle Gems PVP!
BATTLE GEMS PVP IS LIVE!
Actually, it's been live for almost a fullday, but we haven't said much about it because we wanted to make sure there were no terribly bad game killing bugs before we sounded the war horns and drew a lot of attention to it. It was a quiet launch.
Of course there were a few bugs (There are always a few bugs) but noting too serious and we've already got most of those solved and ready to publish to the live versions of the game in the next update today or tomorrow.
As always, if YOU encounter any bugs, they go here: http://www.artix.com/bugs
They do not go on Twitter or Facebook or in the comments of the Artix.com version of this post... they go here: http://www.artix.com/bugs
Just so we're entirely clear, ALL bugs for this or any other AE game go here: http://www.artix.com/bugs
... here: http://www.artix.com/bugs
And now we're moving on.
BATTLE GEMS PVP! What's the deal with that?
Here's the deal.
- Create your own cool (or silly) PVP name!
- Battle anyone within your level range (plus or minus a few levels)
- Collect PvP trophies for winning that raise you higher in the World and Friend Leaderboards!
- Climb through the PvP Titles until you reach Arena Grand Master
- New PvP Titles unlock the ability to buy new PvP Gear in the PvP Shop!
- They cost A LOT!
- But we now allow you to BUY GOLD!
- Random board mechanics make each battle different. You might get...
- Slime Gems
- Stone Gems
- Crit Gems
- Cages
- Lava
- Or in rare cases ALL OF THE ABOVE! (We call that the Devil Board)
WAIT, DID YOU SAY "BUY GOLD"?!
I did indeed say that, imaginary player who asks me this stuff! There are three gold packages to pick from but the obvious winner is the 50 MILLION GOLD PACKAGE. That should keep you set for a while and allow you to buy almost all of the PvP rewards (If you have the intestinal fortitude to unlock them).
Plus it comes with in-game bonuses where the other packages only come with gold (which is still nice).
the 50,000,000 GOLD package gives you a GOLD NAME (in Battle Gems PvP) and the MAKE IT RAIN skill will be added to your skill list. It's like a big gold fireball that explodes into a shower of gold coins when it hits the target. Fun? Yeah, fun.
Apple based players can get the game here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/battle-gems-adventurequest/id694721552
Android based players can get the game here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.battleon.aqbattlegems
And, of course, you can always play it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/games/?fbs=100&app_id=217802018249672
Have fun!
OR ELSE!
AQ3D
BattleGems
BioBeasts
Dragons
Undead Assault