Post by Rhabuka on Jul 16, 2005 7:00:12 GMT -5
Sapphyra's State of Norrath Address
July 2005
Hail, adventurers!
Previously, we've participated in the time-honored tradition of taking a moment to reflect on what has come to pass, what is happening right now, and what the future holds every so often in the form of a Producer's Letter. That all sounds too stuffy and formal for this barbarian gal, I'm here to indulge everyone with a bit of nostalgia, a recap of the current events, and a glimpse into the future!
First, the past:
February marked my move from part time design to full time. I was sad to leave my folks on Diren Hold behind, but very excited to spend more time making the game great for everyone! During this month, we saw tweaks made to the Cazic Thule Trial which had be revamped shortly before, everyone was enjoying the new features from the previous update such as the resurrection timer and the rehabilitator for Class Masteries and training points, anniversary fireworks, valentine's day quests, and the Undead Drake Lord terrorized higher level adventurers. Whew, just looking at all that happened in the shortest month of the year is making me tired!
In the fair month of March, adventurers were able to purchase a 1 point class mastery to correct their path if the previous ability had been given in error. The fire giant magus had finally put his foot down, and would absolutely not allow an audience with the majestic Lord Nagafen without completing his tasks. Both of these changes were due to popular request. Later in the month, the next update brought the new toolbelt with functionality that allowed a "snapshot" of what was in your hands to be saved, and loaded up at any time. We also celebrated St. Patties Day with the infamous "The Luck" quest (Shadus O'Yardle and his silly pants ::grin:
and saw the first forum quest, which was a hit! Both of these quests are traditions we are committed to continue as they were absolutely too much fun.
April updates began right at the beginning of the month with the first round of tank archetype balancing, and nope, we haven't forgotten about round two! We also watched with glee as the sneaky Lirpa Sloof and friends made mischief in celebration of April Fool's day. Next on the list of updates, we added some new hunt and gather quests as well as retuning Cazic's loot to be more desirable and worthy of a treasure received from slaying a god. Late in April, zombies began to invade the northwestern areas of Tunaria as well as a mystic portal appearing in the Whale Hill area, and the Misadventures of Stan Crandleberry marked the second forum quest. I hope everyone obtained their refillable mug!
While everyone was busy either slaying zombies or watching and laughing at their foes in trouble, in May the development team added quests for the evil folks to delve into their side of the story, as well as more small quests for everyone to enjoy (barshin' zombies is good fun!). Then, we welcomed Zatozia the Torturess as our new Community Relations Manager, and we wondered how we got along without her! The forums have been never been so well-kept and alive with activity. Around the middle of May, the development team went into hiding for a while (it was certainly dark in those caves; I had to readjust to sunlight after that experience!).
Early in June, we emerged and with us brought the first epic-sode! Adventurers of the 60th season flocked to the recruiters to begin their journey. The epics also indirectly introduced 6 new hunting areas, as well as 4 new challenging encounters and an angry Ogre that was quite death-touch-happy. Soon after, Zatozia and I made our way to the fabled lands of Las Vegas. A big, sincere thank you to all of the EQOA folks who made it out to come have fun with us, and I especially can't wait to show the world your handiwork! Upon returning, nursing our tired feet and aching heads, we dove directly into the next update-the much anticipated return of dueling! Also, more good and evil quests telling the story of Nalga and the Teir`Dal dissidence were introduced, as well as the third forum quest. I promise the next forum quest won't be so random ::grin::.
As well, along the way, we've fixed hundreds of bugs that we managed to fit in with all those updates.
The Present:
And here, we are, back from a stroll down memory lane to present day. Whew, just the memories are wearing this poor barbarian lass out!
Our last update focused on adding a bit more to the ongoing storyline of the invasion, as well as adjusting the melee damage of higher level NPCs. The next update, along with the second epic-sode, will see a few adjustments to these monster's abilities and a decrease in spawn times in some other popular hunting areas, as well as a global loot table (and yes, this means there is a teeny tiny chance you can loot a rose of renewal from any of the new hunting grounds added with epic-sode 1).
Recently, we were also able to announce some good news: some new faces will be joining the EQOA staff relatively soon! We'll introduce you to them later, after they've gotten settled and we've equipped them with maximum fire resist.
Let me see if I can gaze into my crystal ball and conjure up a few prophecies for the future (but let me offer the disclaimer that the crystal ball is partly cloudy, so all visions are simply a hint of what is to come....)
The Future:
July: We're looking at the middle of this month as the tentative release date for the next installment of the epic-sodes, and we hope you enjoy these as much as the first ones. These should be more story driven and should give your brains as well as your swords a workout. By the end of the month, there should be more quests continuing the zombie invasion story.
August and after: The culmination of the epic quests and events will perhaps bring a surprising twist on the story affecting Norrath now. The last epic-sode will allow you to wield the power made possible by these recent happenings, but the adventure doesn't stop there. The final battle will take Norrathians banding together in a way that hasn't happened before.
Other things that I can see in the crystal ball but are a bit more hazy: more rewarding newbie quests (and general improvements to the newbie experience), the Zaoran Plateau, and a good look into all the archetypes for class balancing. Stay tuned for more information as the time draws closer.
Lastly, whether you've been enjoying EQOA for two days or two years, I'm truly in awe every day when I see how amazing, loyal, dedicated, and just plain awesome this community is. It shouldn't surprise me after being around you folks since February 2003, but you continually reaffirm that you are the some of the best people to ever play an MMO. We share our passion for EQOA, and the team and I are committed to keeping the flow of updates going for a long time to come.
Sincerely,
Leah Ruben (aka Sapphyra) and the EQOA team
July 2005
Hail, adventurers!
Previously, we've participated in the time-honored tradition of taking a moment to reflect on what has come to pass, what is happening right now, and what the future holds every so often in the form of a Producer's Letter. That all sounds too stuffy and formal for this barbarian gal, I'm here to indulge everyone with a bit of nostalgia, a recap of the current events, and a glimpse into the future!
First, the past:
February marked my move from part time design to full time. I was sad to leave my folks on Diren Hold behind, but very excited to spend more time making the game great for everyone! During this month, we saw tweaks made to the Cazic Thule Trial which had be revamped shortly before, everyone was enjoying the new features from the previous update such as the resurrection timer and the rehabilitator for Class Masteries and training points, anniversary fireworks, valentine's day quests, and the Undead Drake Lord terrorized higher level adventurers. Whew, just looking at all that happened in the shortest month of the year is making me tired!
In the fair month of March, adventurers were able to purchase a 1 point class mastery to correct their path if the previous ability had been given in error. The fire giant magus had finally put his foot down, and would absolutely not allow an audience with the majestic Lord Nagafen without completing his tasks. Both of these changes were due to popular request. Later in the month, the next update brought the new toolbelt with functionality that allowed a "snapshot" of what was in your hands to be saved, and loaded up at any time. We also celebrated St. Patties Day with the infamous "The Luck" quest (Shadus O'Yardle and his silly pants ::grin:
and saw the first forum quest, which was a hit! Both of these quests are traditions we are committed to continue as they were absolutely too much fun.April updates began right at the beginning of the month with the first round of tank archetype balancing, and nope, we haven't forgotten about round two! We also watched with glee as the sneaky Lirpa Sloof and friends made mischief in celebration of April Fool's day. Next on the list of updates, we added some new hunt and gather quests as well as retuning Cazic's loot to be more desirable and worthy of a treasure received from slaying a god. Late in April, zombies began to invade the northwestern areas of Tunaria as well as a mystic portal appearing in the Whale Hill area, and the Misadventures of Stan Crandleberry marked the second forum quest. I hope everyone obtained their refillable mug!
While everyone was busy either slaying zombies or watching and laughing at their foes in trouble, in May the development team added quests for the evil folks to delve into their side of the story, as well as more small quests for everyone to enjoy (barshin' zombies is good fun!). Then, we welcomed Zatozia the Torturess as our new Community Relations Manager, and we wondered how we got along without her! The forums have been never been so well-kept and alive with activity. Around the middle of May, the development team went into hiding for a while (it was certainly dark in those caves; I had to readjust to sunlight after that experience!).
Early in June, we emerged and with us brought the first epic-sode! Adventurers of the 60th season flocked to the recruiters to begin their journey. The epics also indirectly introduced 6 new hunting areas, as well as 4 new challenging encounters and an angry Ogre that was quite death-touch-happy. Soon after, Zatozia and I made our way to the fabled lands of Las Vegas. A big, sincere thank you to all of the EQOA folks who made it out to come have fun with us, and I especially can't wait to show the world your handiwork! Upon returning, nursing our tired feet and aching heads, we dove directly into the next update-the much anticipated return of dueling! Also, more good and evil quests telling the story of Nalga and the Teir`Dal dissidence were introduced, as well as the third forum quest. I promise the next forum quest won't be so random ::grin::.
As well, along the way, we've fixed hundreds of bugs that we managed to fit in with all those updates.
The Present:
And here, we are, back from a stroll down memory lane to present day. Whew, just the memories are wearing this poor barbarian lass out!
Our last update focused on adding a bit more to the ongoing storyline of the invasion, as well as adjusting the melee damage of higher level NPCs. The next update, along with the second epic-sode, will see a few adjustments to these monster's abilities and a decrease in spawn times in some other popular hunting areas, as well as a global loot table (and yes, this means there is a teeny tiny chance you can loot a rose of renewal from any of the new hunting grounds added with epic-sode 1).
Recently, we were also able to announce some good news: some new faces will be joining the EQOA staff relatively soon! We'll introduce you to them later, after they've gotten settled and we've equipped them with maximum fire resist.
Let me see if I can gaze into my crystal ball and conjure up a few prophecies for the future (but let me offer the disclaimer that the crystal ball is partly cloudy, so all visions are simply a hint of what is to come....)
The Future:
July: We're looking at the middle of this month as the tentative release date for the next installment of the epic-sodes, and we hope you enjoy these as much as the first ones. These should be more story driven and should give your brains as well as your swords a workout. By the end of the month, there should be more quests continuing the zombie invasion story.
August and after: The culmination of the epic quests and events will perhaps bring a surprising twist on the story affecting Norrath now. The last epic-sode will allow you to wield the power made possible by these recent happenings, but the adventure doesn't stop there. The final battle will take Norrathians banding together in a way that hasn't happened before.
Other things that I can see in the crystal ball but are a bit more hazy: more rewarding newbie quests (and general improvements to the newbie experience), the Zaoran Plateau, and a good look into all the archetypes for class balancing. Stay tuned for more information as the time draws closer.
Lastly, whether you've been enjoying EQOA for two days or two years, I'm truly in awe every day when I see how amazing, loyal, dedicated, and just plain awesome this community is. It shouldn't surprise me after being around you folks since February 2003, but you continually reaffirm that you are the some of the best people to ever play an MMO. We share our passion for EQOA, and the team and I are committed to keeping the flow of updates going for a long time to come.
Sincerely,
Leah Ruben (aka Sapphyra) and the EQOA team