Maegwyn

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Buggy Monday on Tuesday and Calendar PreOrders

Buggy Monday on Tuesday! We worked yesterday and this morning on fixing some of the Gremlins that crept in to things - here's the list

 

  • Removed an incorrect description from mod SC dB5

 

Skelapunk:

  • Fixed missing color on Skelapunk FA hand & finger   
  • Korin added color to missile popups
  • Corrected the HP values on the chassis to display correctly for NSC  
  • New Feature: Korin added Color-Customization feature for SC players and on the NG models

AC-490:

  • <s>Back Arm</s> HEAD no longer causes NaN bug when battled in PvP 
  • Body of AC-490 can trigger damage-increasing effect now - and Back Arm

er, ooops - durrrrr - (via IRC: 

  • <&Vivi> oh Mae, it was the head causing the NaN bug in PvP XD
  • <~Mae|Highlight> oh ha 
  • <&Vivi> BA and Body are for triggering damage boost
  • <~Mae|Highlight> I'll just quote that shall I?

This was a fun set of fixes - Vivi showed me how to fix the missing color stuff and he fixed AC-490 - Korin added the extras on Skelapunk and we decided to wait until today to roll everything ... which was great because he got a letter in the mail from a player who reported that his HP value on the Skelator model wasn't displaying correctly.  I was able to fix that so it is live in this set of fixes as well.  As always, thanks for reporting your bugs in the Gremlins forum and even by mail!   

Calendar Pre-Orders!

Great news - we are doing a second print run on the calendars!  You still have time to get a Chronomech in MQ and the other games' promo items as well!  Go to HeroMart  now to pre-order your 2011 "Year of the Moglin" AE Calendar!  Hurry before these all sell out... 

Maegwyn

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Encore War Mogloween etc

Thanks for being patient & waiting for the more-detailed Design Notes!  Yesterday I did a terrible haphazard job of vacuuming but I had a lovely time at the corner store and spent some time out with my cousins and brother-in-law plus some friends.  Later, my cousin came over and played guitar with my husband - I played a little trumpet, but that is a loud instrument for late-night jam sessions in a quiet neighborhood...

Anyway, I was a little surprised that the Encore War wasn't going very quickly - until Terosin asked whether there was a reward... it does help to know that you're fighting for something, doesn't it!?  There is a brief mention in the newsletter also, but here's the scoop. Jack has some new mods for your mechas, but you'll have to get through the groupies and have a facedown with Evil Jim himself before those shops will unlock.  Azami and I worked together on these - even though they're holiday rares, the idea is to create some that fill an empty niche.  So you won't already have something with the same stat boosting values.  There are NSC, SC,  and NG mods waiting for you in the shops, and Korin made a really cool cutscene... I think I'll wait until you get to 100% and have a chance to see Evil Jim in action before I talk more about Mogloween-related stuff - so Battle ON!  

So if you've battled the character IDs in PvP from yesterday's DNs - 8367666 and/or 304236 - you've gotten a little sneak peek at the Chronomech's capabilities.  When you have one of your very own, which you can get by ordering the AE Calendar at HeroMart (right now these are just pre-orders and they have not begun shipping yet- so there will be a wait before you can get your calendar with your code) you will be able to click an area of the body during battle.  This is a new thing for MechQuest - with this button you can choose between two specials on the body attack.  The regular special - that happens if you don't toggle the button - triggers the Time Warp Drive that wears down your enemy's weapons and armor (Nerfs Over Time) while increasing your own speed (Buffs Over Time).  By toggling the button, you can choose during battle when you want your next body attack to do its healing special.  This is available once per battle, and has a VERY rare chance of restoring your HP and EP back to where they were at the beginning of the combat.  So this is something that is impossible to see in Assault Mecha, and just one of the cool innovations - Vivi and I will post all the specials for you in much more detail.  They are very interactive specials so the PvP AI can't display the real power and potential for you.  Also we'll get a picture up.

Real life calls again for now - I need to do a better job of vacuuming (haha) and also help my husband, who is trying to figure out some issues with our plumbing... I know some of you are awaiting answers to your PMs on the forums too, so I'll get to those later also.  See you on the forums when I have my household tasks done!

Maegwyn

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Chronomech Specials

Incoming transmission from Vivi:

Normally I would only give you guys the quick-and-dirty details of a new weapon or mecha, but with how awesome Chrono is I decided that a more extensive write-up would be worth the time. So here is what Chrono is capable of. 

First off is the Front Arm - Chrono-Meter. This weapon's effect changes depending on how long you've gone without using it or the body attack, so be sure to plan your timing with this weapon to get the best effect possible! 
-1 round (body was used last turn): 125% damage 
-2 rounds: 130% damage, boost increased by 15 for 3 turns 
-3 rounds: 140% damage, boost increased by 20 for 4 turns 
-4 or more rounds: 150% damage, boost increased by 15 per turn for 4 turns 

Next is the Back Arm - Chrono-Cannon. This attack deals 125% damage and also inflicts your enemy with a Nerf Over Time that will decrease their bonus by 12 points each round. A simple weapon on its own, but it plays well to Chrono's strength as a long-term battler and has great synergy with Chrono's head and body attacks. 

Now for the shoulders - Timestopper. These shoulders work together to keep your opponent immobile while you set up your buffs and nerfs, ensuring that you won't ever be left vulnerable at the start of a battle or after effects begin wearing off. The first time you use either Timestopper shoulder, it will attempt to stun the enemy mecha. If it fails then your next Timestopper use (whether it's the same shoulder or the opposite shoulder) will lower their immobility resistance before making its attempt. On top of all this, the one turn stun will occasionally turn into a two turn stun, buying you even more time to do what you want! Quite a duo indeed. 

Next up is the Head, Chrono-Graph, which is a very important weapon for Chrono. It deals increased damage, and by itself also inflicts a 1.5x EP DoT. However, if you've activated one of Chrono's over-time buffs or nerfs (such as the ones on the arms), the effect changes! This weapon is capable of moving the clock back and increasing the duration of an over-time buff that you've applied to yourself by 1 turn, OR moving the clock forward and causing an over-time nerf on your enemy to skip a weaker nerf for a more powerful one! With all of the over-time effects that Chrono has access to this weapon is sure to play a big role in any of your strategies. 

Last but not least, Chrono's body: Time Warp! The body attack will buff your bonus and defense by 10 points each turns for 5 turns while nerfing your opponent's boost and defense by the same amount. Once per battle, it can also restore some lost HP and EP. Normally it will restore 1 attack's worth of EP and give back the HP you lost from the last enemy attack that did damage, but occasionally it will restore ALL of the HP and EP you've lost in the entire battle. When does this once-per-battle effect kick in? You decide! By clicking the center of Chrono's body during your turn you can toggle this effect on or off! This feature has NEVER BEEN SEEN in MechQuest and is definitely one of the coolest things Chrono has to offer.

Thanks, Vivi!

It was really fun working together on this - now that we have a working button mechanism set up, this opens up all sorts of possibilities.  Exciting!  

Well, have a great weekend!

Maegwyn

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

MogloChronoNovelCalendar

Timescramble! What to mention first?

Novel: MQ's Promo Item - Dragon's Secret Head

Specials:

125% damage 
Randomly selects one of the following specials. Head has a CD of 3 to make up for the randomness. 

1) Crit 
2) +50 BtH for 3 turns 
3) +50 def for 3 turns 
4) +25% general damage boost for 3 turns 
5) 2x HP and EP DoT for 3 turns 
Thanks, Vivi, for the specials list!

Get your copy of the novel, The Dragon's Secret, by Lyra Trice Solis, at HeroMart and redeem your code for this novel item in MQ today! Check out the promos in the other AE games as well!  Be A Hero!  Why not consider donating a copy of the novel to a classroom or library, if you would like to unlock promos for more than one character per game?  

AE Calendar:

The calendar goes up on HeroMart for Pre-orders on Thursday, November 11th! (That's tomorrow!)  We only have a limited number of calendars, so you'll definitely want to be one of the first in line to get your pre-order in to make sure you get ALL these AMAZING rewards!

The calendar is only $12.00 USD, which is a GREAT deal!

MQ's Chrono Mecha:

We worked together to get this amazing promotional mecha assembled - if you've been watching Twitter and/or facebook you might be aware that Vivi & I collaborated on a never-before-seen feature for this!  Here on the Design Notes I can tell you that while I cobbled together a rudimentary, working-ish prototype-y version of the vision, and we danced a little when certain features worked, the real excitement (complete with jigging and dining room Zorbo-dancing and similar shenanigans) came when Vivi's fancy code tested out as "Working as intended!"  We solemnly called Korin in to the (virtual, as in chat) room, and had him test the mecha without much explanation.  He later referred to us as "becoming a power team of awesome" - which is teamly... and awesome!  Anyway, this is an amazing mecha and you should totally pre-order a calendar just to get one for your very own. Because that's the only way to get this, and it's got a cool new feature.  Plus some timely specials.  

MogloWhat? Mogloween? It's still not over! Evil Jim is still around for some reason... 

Random Fact: Ketchup is classified as a liquid in the US, in certain places where such things are regulated and classified.  It's classified how and why I know this random fact.  Until maybe Saturday, when I might say more.  Or I might not!  Muahahaha!

Korin

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Artix Entertainment 2011 Wall Calendar!

There are two big projects going on right now, one made by us, and one made by your fellow players!

First up, the Artix Entertainment 2011 Wall Calendar!  This is a project we've wanted to do for about six months, and a month or two ago we realized "hey, it's almost 2011. We should really start making this calendar if we're going to get it to the players on time."

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