This week's release brings you back to Yokai, where you should begin to explore the reclaimed Town!  A door has opened, and if you will help the brother of a friend, you will be rewarded. 

Yes, there is a new NPC, and Jemini really did a fabulous job with him. He reminds me of an old friend, in fact.  The newsletter mentioned quests - in this area there is a chance to get either the minigame or a single battle.  So technically that's 2 quests!  And if you are a Star Captain, you might want to check out Hard and Extreme modes here - there's a boosted RTK (Rounds To Kill) to kick things up a notch.  Korin did an amazing job with the minigame - there's nothing like it on any other planet. 

After you complete the process (I don't want to be too specific due to spoilers) then you will gain access to some shops with new weapons.  I'd like to say what a grand job Minar did with the designs, and thank blues as always for the terrific specials.  Vivi tested with me to be sure everything is working as intended, so unless some Gremlin snuck in, things are looking good.  I'm feeling confident that our team-fu is strong this week! 

There's something going on in the Dojo as well. You should poke your head in & check it out for at least a minute.  I realize that this may be as exciting as kicking the box in the Museum ( ) - but Korin did something amusing - and if you want to see Everything in MechQuest, you will grin ... at the very least.  (I guffawed.)

Ok for now I think that's it - I should probably take a little break!   Thanks for playing MechQuest - please tell your friends and don't forget - if you give them your special recruitment link (see the News Screen in Soluna City - Recruit button) to sign up, then YOU will get a daily bonus equal to 10% of all the experience and credits they earn. A lot of people ask me how to earn free Nova Gems and I mustn't forget to include this part: If your friend upgrades, then your character will receive 250 Nova Gems!

Artix has pictures and stories from Metrocon here http://www.aqworlds.com/gamedesignnotes/metrocon-pictures-and-stories-185

I was so excited to hear about the many die-hard MechQuest fans there!  I know from the forums how intense, loyal, and dedicated you are - thanks for turning out for the convention!  I wish I could have been there myself - but I am planning to go to DragonCon this year, and couldn't do both. Are you going to DragonCon?

The MechQuest team is super-excited about a ton of things - Korin & I were just talking about the new Museum exhibit while getting some testing done on the new weapons for Planet Yokai.  And doing a bunch of other stuff.  We're big on multi-tasking - I'm eating cherries while doing stuff in the database and reading the Gremlins and General Discussion sections of the MechQuest forums, while waving a magnet over my ear, thinking about typo-fixes and pondering what Gianna Glow might have meant when she said, "Otter Bomb"...  and if I told you what Circe & I were considering, I might... have to... nah, couldn't do THAT!

So yeah - the MQ team is also working on the SCMM - the Cosmic Talon!  Korin & Arklen are working together on animation/attack-related things so that either Korin or I can get the number of hits/animation description for each attack over to blues so he can design the specials.  I've got the basics set up in the database, though the default weapons names and descriptions have to wait until I see how they look and what they'll do - then we'll work with Vivi (and whoever else on staff is around to help) to get it all tested & balanced.  The plan is to have it all set for Monday.

I'm insanely excited about the AE CD, "Critical Hits" - by the NPCs!  We've got some cool promo weapons planned for the CDs.  I can hardly wait for the premiere of the new HeroMart Store (which I've been told will open shortly) - and the new ChickenCow Shirts!  

Well, blues wrote up specials which were supposed to be posted early last weekend except that Korin was at Metrocon & I was swimming ... and ok, also I goofed off a little playing AQWorlds ... we jumped into this week with both feet and suddenly it is Thursday somehow!  So read the post below this for the info blues prepared & wanted you to have on Saturday!  If you haven't read it already.  Because I spent like 2 extra hours agonizing over whether these DNs were funny enough/informative enough/tooooo boring to post ... what do you want to read?  Please tell us on the forums!

The first step in improving C-Mail is the addition of a Storyline button. This will advise you of what you should do next to progress in the requirements for accessing the next quest. Some people are missing something that is required for access to the Dragonoid Saga, for example (although currently everyone can use the New Release button to access Yokai when there is a new Yokai release, this new feature is designed to keep you moving along with the actual storyline).

The C-Mail messages that we're also working on, which will come a bit later, will tell you about the non-essential quests as well. Lyris and Vivi have been working closely with me to set things out in documents for Korin - who is setting up the mechanics of the interface.

So, the requirements for the Dragonoid Saga will be in the Storyline section, and that is the first improvement you will see. This is being set up to track each character's progress, to show you step-by-step what you are still missing from the required quests.

We will be adding new actual C-Mail messages as the next step. When both of these improvements are in game, they will work together to help you do things in order and help keep you from missing something (whether it is an actual requirement in the Story button or just a C-Mailed directive showing what you should do next for the best understanding of the story).

These "4th of July" models will go into the shop on Friday, July 2nd and stay there through Monday, July 5th. 

Available to all players:

• L8       22000 credits
• L16    176000 credits
• L24    264000 credits
• L32    352000 credits
• L40    440000 credits

For Star Captains:

• L7       19250 credits
• L14    154000 credits
• L21    231000 credits
• L27    297000 credits
• L35    385000 credits
• L40    440000 credits

Nova Gem Models:

• L5       275 Nova Gems
• L12     660 Nova Gems
• L19   1045 Nova Gems
• L26   1430 Nova Gems
• L33   1815 Nova Gems
• L40   2200 Nova Gems

Azami is back for a few days - perfect timing - he double-checked all the prices on the mechas to be sure I didn't make any typos.  Thanks, Azami!  And now you all have the info so you can plan ahead!  Have fun!