Design Notes

December 07, 2011

Mid-Week Release Goodness

The Blue Undead Legend Armor is LIVE!

You have probably already read about FallenPaladin's wish to make a blue variant of Dage's Undead Legend armor.

Well, it went live at 6:00 PM Server time (check your options to see server time) and it will remain in the shop for exactly 24 hours, as per FallenPaladin's wish! Once this armor is gone it will NOT be back (unless someone ELSE wishes it back into existence... can you do that?)

Very much like the creator of the original Undead Legend, Dage The Evil, you can also find FallenPaladin's NPC selling the Blue Undead Legend in Dage's chambers.

Remember... only 24 hours, then the wish expires.

It looks like I'M next on the chopping block so if you feel like hanging out with me for a few hours and getting a wish of your own, all you need to do is buy Cysero's Golden Cheezburger from Cleric Joy or Warlic in Battleon.

Remember that you get 1 chance at winning if you have that item but you get one extra chance for every AExtra you complete and every month of Membership that remains on your account on the day of the drawing!

This round of the CAN I HAS MOD contest ends on January 2nd, 2012.

Mid-Week Member Release

We've also snuck in a mid-week mini-release! We first learned about Mudluks (the frog-like people) back in Arcangrove. There is a New Mudluk named Molgulp who has set up camp in Marsh2.

He is an archaeologist and blacksmith who is trying to rediscover a fragment of ancient Mudluck crafting skills that were lost ages ago. He has followed the rumors of an ancient Mudluk weapon to the marsh2 area and is hoping you can help him find it.

He has a few items for sale of his own modern Mudluk design, but if you are able to help him, he might let you use the forge in his hut to craft your own Mudluk weapons!

This release is for AQW MEMBERS ONLY. We hope to keep adding lots more mid-week releases bringing you back to older areas and adding mini-storylines, adding new NPC, continuing older storylines and adding lots of new items for Members to enjoy.

FRIDAY: BLOODTUSK CHAOS LORD!

Don't forget: even thought we have a mid-week release we still have our regular FRIDAY release coming in just 2 days.

Prepare yourselves to face down the most driven Chaos Lord yet. I won't spoil the story for anyone who is not up to date but this area has had one of our best storylines yet and you don't want to miss out of the finale!

September 03, 2010

I herd U liek Mudluks!

Tonight’s Release is Live!

I gatta give a “gratz” to the Team first. We all survived our lengthy 8 hour trip to DragonCon and have just launched this week’s release! We really hope you enjoy it, whether you are at home playing through tonight’s release or mooching a wifi connection over here at DragonCon! ^__^

The Team has already met a bunch of our fellow players here at Con! We are sooo excited to meet you all—much more excited than you can possibly imagine! If you are here at Con, or are planning on coming out tomorrow, we will be hosting our awesome 3-hour panel at

The Sheraton Hotel - The Savannah Room; Atlanta Georgia
on this Saturday, September 4^th at 1pm to 3:30pm... or until they kick us out

A new free NON-MEMBER pet will be awarded to everyone who graces our panel with a smiling face! You can also get your hands on AE swag from the ChickenCow T-Shirts to signed MechQuest Artbooks and the NPCS Critical Hits cd, all available this Saturday! We cannot wait to see you there!

Sooooo what’s goin on tonight? Check it out.

The swampy path to Mudluk Village has finally opened! Talk to Rayst in at the Tower of Magic to begin your journey to the magical Arcangrove swamp. Paddylump, the Mudluk Spellhunter, has a bunch of new quests lined up for you… but they require more brain than brawn!

A beautiful new map, a new fun boss monster, a killer cutscene, lots of great monster drops, a secret AC shop, new Rep items, new area music, and a wicked puzzle await!

Secret Armor... Shhh don't let Cysero know!

Rayst at the Tower of Magic knows where you need to go next. Paddylump the Mudluk Spellhunter is eagerly awaiting your arrival in order to help in Arcangrove’s plight. Bunches of new items await the intrepid adventurer in the swamp, including:

• Scythe of Slough
• Light Bug Visor
• Mudluk’s Tadpolearm (heh, get it… tadpole-arm…tad-polearm…)
• Dark Tribe Skull Axe
• And many more… including a SECRET Armor and Helm set!

More items have been added to Rayst’s Arcangrove Rep shop. With enough reputation, you can be the proud owner of:

• Mystic Tribal Axe
• Light Bug Advanced Helm
• Mystic Tribal Sword
• Mystic Tribal Dagger

On behalf of the entire Team, we really hope you enjoy this release. Despite us being 460 miles away from our Secret Lab… we are still keeping true to our promise of releasing every Friday! None of this could be possible without out you (and a stable internet connection)… so thank you!!

Enjoy the release my friends, and Battle On!

September 01, 2010

Dragoncon Panel Info

When & Where is AE?!

I know that most of you aren't going to be able to make it to Dragoncon, but it's the fastest way to reach those of you who are going.

Safiria wants to make sure that you know where we are going to be and when:

AE/AQW Panel
Saturday Sept. 4, 2010
1pm to 3:30 pm
Sheraton Hotel
Savannah Room

We will be wandering all around con, of course, from Thursday night until Monday morning. I'll be carrying Zorbak with me as much as I can. Please, say "Hi". We are WAY more excited to run into you than you are to run into us.

Mudluk Village

Thought I'd post a little teaser pic of the village.

You'll get to see a LOT more Friday!

August 31, 2010

Mudluks & DragonCon

The Mudluk Village

I'm pleased to say that we are already testing this week's release and it's only Tuesday. Since we are headed to con EARLY on Thursday, we have all been busting our respective humps trying to get this week's release ship shape and ready to launch on Friday. Of course we are learing EARLY on Thursday morning and I wanted to have all Wednesday to test the Mudluk Village, so we are pretty much done with the release ALREADY.

My goal was to have a quality (mind you, not-rushed, fully tested and fun) release ready to go by tonight and somehow we have succedded. I have to say, even i'm impressed with our work. This is one of the most fun and well rounded releases we've had in a while.

We have a beautiful new map, a new fun boss monster, a killer cutscene, lots of great monster drops, secret AC shop, new rep items, a great new NPC, new area music (Skyline's first try in-game song!), and a wicked puzzle that will require a pencil and some paper to get through.

Unless your friends decide to go all lamezorz and tell you the solution.

Personally, I'd make you work for it.

We even had a little time left over so we made a new Social Item (like the Marshmallow On A Stick from the Friday the 13th Event) to share with your friends. It's the FREE Color Custom Sorcerer's Apprentice Hat. Keep an eye on Twitter and other social networking sites for your free hat! You have my personal guarentee that it will never return once it is removed so keep your eyes peeled.

Peeled eyes. Gross.

We will be releasing the hat later today probably but the Mudluk release isn't coming out until Friday, as usual. It's fun cramming into Artix's hotel room and releasing from Dragoncon!

Cysero's Con Survival Guide! (revised 2010 edition)

Last year, in honor of Beleen's first con, I posted my con survival guide. She managed to live through it so I've decided to repost my helpful guide here!

WHAT TO BRING

• A Large Bag. You're going to to be carrying a LOT of stuff around with you and picking up a lot of stuff as you con so a large bag is necessary.

• A Towel. Your hotel room will probably come equipped with these but I always preffer to bring a large, beach-sized towel with me wherever I go. Hitchikers listed most of the uses, but for a more practical example: I have fallen asleep in the hallways of more than one convention hotel and it's always nice to have a towel for a blanket or pillow.
  Note: Cysero also wore a white bathrobe to our last panel - use your best judgement with all advice.

• Energy Bars. Meals come unpredictably during con and staying alive can be hard. You never know when you'll be stuck at a table-top gaming session that lasts 14 hours straight... and if you leave the brutal GM will just kill you.

• Bottle Of Water. See above.

• Extra Strength Energy Shots (Optional). You know, those little bottles of energy booster that they sell everywhere. These things are not great for you, but caffine and sugar have no effect on MY metabolism and you might be built the same way. Con goes day and night, all weekend long. And it's a holiday weekend. I consider them a necessity during Con.

• Cash (Well Hidden). As you explore the convention you WILL encounter some stuff you NEED to own. Swords, pithy shirts, novels, Lou Ferigno selling autographs... and there is a 50% chance that the thing you want to buy, you can't buy with plastic.. If you plan on falling asleep in a hall somewhere, be sure that your cash is in your sock or in the secret pocket in your boxers... you don't want to wake up broke.

• A Mobile Computing Device. Most modern cell phones will do, but you might not get a signal in the underground mazes that connect the convention hotels. Having a wireless card in a small laptop is priceless. A smartphone attached to a 3G network will do (con-tested my iPhone last year, worked like a dream). You might or might not Tweet. You might or might not need to check your facebook but your FRIENDS will NEED to contact you about something that you HAVE TO SEE RIGHT NOW!

• A Friend. The buddy system is always a good idea. That's why I bring Alces. He's part Dr. Gonzo, part Chief Medical Officer and part Tech Support. He is all best friend and has been for more than half of my life.

• A Camera. Fully charged. Memory card empty. NEEDS a flash. Your cell won't do for this. Too many dark corners with Halo Spartans hiding in them.

• A Zorbak Plushy. It's the ultimate ice-breaker. "Can I get a picture of you holding this guy, please?" "Sure... what is he?"

• Good Walking Shoes. Trust me.

• Glow Sticks or a Dance Party App. Last year Alces and I accidentally found ourselves in a mobile rave. One guy was wearing the sound system and power supply on his back and his two friends were each wearing giant speakers converted into backpacks. The party never stopped moving. Alces and I took a chance, caught a cab, went to an all night market and bought $44 worth of glowsticks to give to share with our fellow mobile partiers. We were gone about 4 minutes, but when we returned to the street corner, they had moved on. We spent the next hour followig the sound of those booming speakers until we caught up. If on'y we'd had the glow sticks on us!

That should be, more or less, everything that you need to pack. Other options include: clean clothes, costumes, things you want autographed, video camera, portable game systems (some lines are long), a map of the con (some of us like getting lost), a pair of scissors (for a lock of Kevin Sorbo's hair while he's passed out in a fountain somewhere), a sketchbook (for ideas), a steampunk R2 unit, Sonic Screwdriver, or grappling hook... just cause.

It's going to be a heck of a party (and I get to bring my shiny new wife and son. It'll be their first REAL CON!). It's a Artix Entertainment Underground lab tradition and it's one that we love. Last year we got to meet a few of our most hardcore fans and we hope to see a lot more of you there this year!