Maegwyn

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Mae Flies

Hallo from Points East!  I'm having a sort of vacation, in that I am not at home, and assisting some dear friends who live in a large city, doing things like helping get a broken air-conditioning unit out of the window and out of the apartment, and doing errands such as looking for the proper style of 60-watt lightbulbs... 

They don't have internet access at their place, so I've been going to this wonderful coffee shop just a few blocks away, which offers free Wi-Fi.  It's very small, so I try not to over-stay my welcome, but they have been very sweet and accommodating - and they brew excellent coffee, of which I've been drinking quite a lot more than usual. Yesterday I sat there and ate a delicious arugula salad with freshly-grated parmesan curls while testing the release with Korin and Vivi.  

Yep, that was Vivi.  Not our Azami (who also helps test when he has time).  Thanks, Vivi!! I had to go hunting lightbulbs before we were quite finished with the testing - who knew that 60-watt bulbs would be so elusive.

This morning I am using a chain coffee shop to access the internet, which is not nearly as nice, but the little shop restricts laptops until afternoon on Saturdays.  Because people go there to, y'know, eat brunch and stuff.  Which is really what the cafe is for.  

So anyway I wanted to nudge everyone to tell Korin on the forums what a great job he did with the release this week, doing practically everything solo since we all went hither and thither without him... Korin is seriously awesome!  

And now I must away to stalk the wild 60-watt!  See you at DragonCon if you're going - and I'll be home and back to a more usual way of doing things after the holidays!

Korin

Friday, August 27, 2010

Hazuko's Challenges now available!

Short DN's today. First I would like to say WHERE DID EVERYBODY GOOOO T_____T!!!

That's right. Mae and Jemini are both on vacation this week. Mae was nice enough to help out yesterday and this morning. Jemini is super busy getting ready for DragonCon. Azami has been helping but he had to run some errands. So bottom line, hopefully everything works! If not I'll be right on it to fix it. My biggest concern is balancing but I did play through each challenge at different levels and it seemed to be about what I wanted.

So finally we have more enemies that don't scale. Leveling has a purpose again! I plan on doing this more often as side quests/bosses. Just go see Master Hazuko's dojo! Marked by another fancy ! mark in Yokai.

Anyways, please know that this is an odd week. So is next week. I'm thinking we may only have a Star Captain mech on Wednesday since we'll be off to DragonCon Thursday morning!!

Coming up in the next weeks will be a revamp of the intro shuttle to hopefully make it easier for new players and especially easier for players that make new characters and don't want to sit through the level 3 requirement everytime because I know that gets on my nerves sometimes and I'm sure it bugs some of you guys and gals.

After that, more work on the new planet though first I need to get Artix's approval on some things. We're also planning the epic Mogloween storyline. Do I sense Evil Jim? I do. Trust me.

I thought these DNs would be short but it turns out they're kind of long. Anywho, enjoy the new energy blade weapons for Mechas and enjoy your weekend. Hope everything works the first time. My fingers are crossed. Later everyone.

Oh. And don't forget to do some Art for the Art Museum! Gehn Aboraji recently submitted a 3D piece which looks amazing and you can definitely expect to find it in the art museum but we need moar! MOAR!!! Go forth and draw your characters, your dream-mech, an alternate version of Soluna! I look forward to seeing it. Now I'm hitting publish for real. Later.

Korin

Friday, August 20, 2010

Lol Finally!

Yes we may be 3 hours late but I don't care! I think this release is on a very large scale and anyone that hates it, I will personally come to your house and cry in your ktchen sink. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "HAHA! YEAH! CRY, Korin! Your tears are my nutrients and your cries of pity are my Enya!" Can I say Enya without getting sued? Anywho, sure that seems cool at first. But it gets awkward after a week. The dishes start to pile up. And you try to wash them but it just gets salty tears over everything.

So the best solution? Say "Hey, MQ team, this release is awesome. This was the Star Captain quest that can let me die happy!" in which I will respond "Why thank you, sirs and sirettes, however please avoid the dying for at least 60 years."

It's late though. I'm ready to eat. Please, faithful players, won't you help keep me out of your sinks? Yes. Please do. Enjoy. And talk to you later.

Korin

Monday, August 16, 2010

Post Friday the 13th!

So Friday the 13th has passed. And there are a couple small things worth noting.

First, the bonus EXP and Credits were accidental but it seemed to be a good solution to a small holiday release and everyone seemed to enjoy it so I've decided to leave everything up until this Friday when we make our next release.

This week I'd love to make the Star Captain Only quest as well as open up a hair shop in Yokai. We also need to begin on the Star Captain mech which I wish we started earlier but I got caught up last week.

As for the video, I hear it frightened a few and was generally liked by most. A couple people didn't find it scary at all which is fine because it's really more of an awkward video than a scary one. The video unfortunately has no meaning. At first I was going to ask you all to find the meaning in the video but since there was no meaning, people might get upset if I came out and went "HAR HAR IT MEANS NOTHING!!" Plus I wanted to make sure there was no meaning to ensure no one tried linking it to anything outside of MechQuest and trying to say MQ is the devil. It's just random stuff that looks cool and feels weird. My personal favorite is the beetle that gets cured of his black and blurry appearance only to end up getting caught on fire and emitting a horrific shadow that engulfs everything. My next favorite is the orange scene of the tree just because it's pretty.

I think Friday the 13th is a success for this year. Like I said (somewhere), the Jameson storylines were starting to be like beating a dead horse. We couldn't think of any other monsters we could use or even make in the short time span so I think this ring spoof was fun because we literally just stopped and said we should try scaring some people. One of the reasons behind this are that it's what Friday the 13th has been about. Watching scary movies to the point where your scared stupid was all I did growing up. Granted the fear never REALLY sat in with me but I would still watch a bunch of silly movies to try and get the scared feeling. So I thought it would be fun to bring that to a game.

Sorry if that last paragraph is garbled. I kept pausing in the middle of my sentences. Anywho, should be a good week. I'm really excited for the SC quest. Just need to come up with some good reward item(s). So look forward to that and I'll try and keep you posted!

Maegwyn

Friday, August 13, 2010

Friday 13 August 3010 ( 2010 )

The Uber Jameson series (Turbo, Super, Hyper, Ultra, Mega, Giga, Uber ) is making a comeback with a tiny modification to the name (each is now 3010) and some buffs to the chassis. Specifically, each chassis now has an extra +15 HP, +10 EP, and +1 regeneration rate, to make an already-wowz0rz mecha even better.

Important: These chassis buffs apply also to last year's models, so there is no need to buy a 3010 model if you have one of the Uber Jamesons!

We hunted around and we're not sure these got the love they truly deserve - and we can't find an exact description of the specials - so Vivi with his Valorous Vigor has put together a run-down!  This thing is complex, to say the least, and really underrated!

FA: Tool Shed - CD 1 -

  • vs Equippable enemy / or unequippable monster

Machete: Damage boost between 50 and 70, and has a chance to dismember either the head or body  or inflict a 2x HP DoT 

Axe: Chance for critical hit; and has a chance to dismember one of the shoulders - if the enemy is equippable - or to inflict a double EP DoT if they are unequippable

Claws: Damage bonus between 50 and 70, and gives the enemy -33 bonus and boost

Chainsaw:
vs Equippable:
First hit has chance for a 1x HP DoT
Second hit has a chance to dismember one of the arms *

*note that in Assault Mecha, strange things happen and something else might get dismembered. A " feature!" yeah yeah that's what it is!
Chainsaw vs Unequippable:
First hit has a chance for a 2x HP DoT
Second hit is guaranteed to critical

BA: Megawatt Surge - CD 4 - Increasing damage per hit (starts at 20% and increases by 10% each), last hit halts EP Regen and applies a 1.5x EP DoT

FS: Armor Piercing Shot - CD 3 - Second hit does increased damage (total damage from the weapon is 150%), -20 defense

BS: Photon Machete - CD 3 - Chance for extra hit that is guaranteed to be critical

Head: Terror Cannon - CD 5 - chance to critical between 60 and 70%, and guaranteed stun on a critical hit

Body: Ultimate Devastation - CD 5

-First hit lowers defense by 30 for 5 turns
-Last hit lowers bonus by 30 for 5 turns
-Even-numbered hits except the last hit have a chance to do increased damage
-Odd-numbered hits except the first hit have a chance for a critical hit

Thanks, Vivi!

Korin decided to re-release the credits models as well - these are absolutely un-changed from previous years, so if you have one, you don't need a new one!

So what's NEW? Well, you could check out the Cursed Tape.  What makes it Cursed, though?  What could it mean....

Hint: Check out the video, then just battle either in the Camp Murky Lake button or wherever you please ... looks like the rewards are worth doing a bunch of battles this weekend, hm?

Hint 2: To lift the curse, log out and back in again, and don't watch the tape again this time!

Also new: new Chainsaws in the weapons shops at Camp Murky Lake!  More details on those later though - I should really eat breakfast now that it's 8:30 PM my time!

Have fun, have a great weekend, and thanks for playing!

Blues

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Supreme Master & Dragon Spirit Specials

And here is what you waited for.... the playable versions of the Yokai Mechas:

Supreme Master

Special rolls are NG
Damage NG>SC>NSC
Only the NG version has choosable attacks, NSC and SC version have a random attack order

Staredown:
- Increased damage
- Hit 1: +20 Bonus and Boost for 3 turns
- Hit 2:  chance for -30 Bonus for 3 turns

Beard Fist:
- increased damage
- chance for a crit

Double Kick:
- increased damage
- Hit 1: chance for a stun,
-30/40/50 defense for three turns
- Hit 2: chance for a crit and Boost -30 for three turns

Dragon Spirit

Every attack has a chance for a crit!

Shout
- acc decrease- -10 per Hit

Crescent Kick
- -25 enemy defense per Hit, -50 in total

Chi Phantom Punch
- damage decrease -10% per Hit, adds up to -30

Slap Kick
- acc decrease - 5 per Hit, stacks with shout

Fists of Fury
- Increasing damage for every Hit

Dragon Attack
- accuracy boost +15 per Hit, stacking to +45 total

The NG Model has additional +4 defense and accuracy per Weapon, stacking up to
24 for both!

We hope you enjoy the release, enjoy your weekend and as always...

Have fun!

Note from Maegwyn & Korin: Blame that transdimensional whatsit for the lateness of this note - blues sent it for publication last weekend *cue innocent whistlings* 

Maegwyn

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Friday the 13th Notes

Soo-o-o-o-o this Friday (tomorrow) is Friday the 13th!  The MQ Newsletter has gone "to the presses" so keep an eye on your email inbox (or on the forums) - while you're waiting for that news, you should log in to AQWorlds (or make your account if you haven't already) to pick up your Marshmallow on a Stick!  Then, don't forget - at 6PM Server Time (Eastern Time) on Friday - George Lowe (best-recognized as the voice of************ Space Ghost* ) and One-Eyed Doll and Voltaire will all be at the campfire telling ghost stories!  So you should roast your marshmallow at the campfire, check out the ghost stories, and see what happens - then head back to MechQuest for more excitement!

 

*zapper of Zorak*** ... no, not Zorbak - Zorak**...

** Yes, Space Ghost had Brak on his shows as well

***If Zorak went to G.E.A.R.S, he would totally be in MystRaven.  I'm sure of it.****

****My cousin & I are huge Space Ghost fans, from way before I ever met Korin*****

*****Korin might be a bigger George Lowe fan****** than both of us put together

******But I am the biggest Zorak fan******* of all

*******Jemini is a fan of Brak

 

****************

http://www.aq.com/events/spooky/
Our host and guide during the event will be the famous voice actor George Lowe. How did we get him to do this event? NO IDEA! You may recognize his voice from such shows as Space Ghost, Aqua Teen Hunter Force, The Brak Show, Robot Chicken.... which are all registered trademarks of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company. (Yay for legal-eze!) Additionally, Voltaire, Kimberly and members of the AQW Team will be doing voice acting during the event too

Korin

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Best Buy Promo August 8 - August 21

Hey everyone! Korin, here (durr) and I'm here to tell you about an exciting new offer that uhhh.. Well... Let me just copy and paste here...

Best Buy promotion goes live!
We have some exciting news for you if you live near a Best Buy store!  Aug 8 - Aug 21 will see a 10% discount on our Artix Entertainment game cards - they'll be sold for only $17.95!  You can use them to upgrade ANY Artix Entertainment game! 

If you're enjoying our games (and we really hope you are!), then this is a great way to show your support for our (continually growing) team of friendly game developers!

 

So woot! Happy days indeed! I was supposed to post this yesterday but I got caught up discovering how to make screensavers (gasp!) and working on content for this week's release which may or may not (may) include a spooky tape that Warlic found in someone else's basement. Why was he in their basement? I have no clue. I asked him about it but he didn't want to talk. It might've had something to do with him wearing a polka-dot dress as he kept saying "Why do we shave the ones we love!?" I'm joking. It never happened. It should've. But it didn't. It would be hilarious. Like kitten. They're hilarious. They have the mind of a full grown cat but the strength, balance, and depth perception of a rock. By the way, kitty flip. Youtube it if you're allowed. I can not stop laughing at it and the first time I saw it was a few years ago. It's definitely rated G. For GrrrrrEAT!

Anywho, enjoy and look forward to this week's release. I admit it will be simple but it should have some fun in it.

Artix

Friday, August 6, 2010

Win An iPad Thingy

SuperRewards, the company that provides the 3rd party offers in AEXtras, is doing a iPad giveaway promotion. One lucky player of our games is going to win an iPad*. Yes, they set aside one just for our games so we are guaranteed to have a winner. All you have to do is complete any offer between now (August 6th) and September 6th, 2010. The more offers you complete, the higher your chance to win.

 

iPad Ballyhoo

Read More

Blues

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Cosmic Talon Specials!

The brand new Cosmic Talon SCMM is out and heres what you need to know about it :)

Head:

- Increased damage
- general damage buff BoT, +8% over 5 turns
- chance for an enemy damage nerf NoT, -5% over 5 turns

Body:

- Increased damage for both Hits
- Hit 1: chance for a crit, chance for immobility resistance nerf of 80
- Hit 2: -60 defense, chance to stun

BS:

- increased damage for both Hits
- Hit 1: chance for a damage boost
- Hit 2: chance for a crit

FS:

- increased damage
- acc nerf


FA:

- increased damage
- chance for an extra Hit with a chance for a crit

BA:

- increased damage for both hits
- Hit 1: chance for a crit
- Hit 2: chance for a crit


This Mecha does really nice damage, hope you like it :)
And...... have fun as always!

Maegwyn

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Cosmic Talon - and What's Next?

Star Captain Monthly: Cosmic Talon!  The NEW SCMM is now released - wouldn't it just figure it would give us technical difficulties when we were SO CLOSE to releasing it right on schedule... Well it's in Tek's special monthly shops NOW - and we're hoping that it is now Gremlin-free (as in, no bugs) and that you all enjoy it.  I or blues will write up its specials later, but for now you should have fun playing with it and putting it through its paces.

What's Next?  Well we had a few things planned in a certain order - and then Korin reassessed "popular demand" as we were all reading the forums, and so the playable "Bruce" and "Chuck" mechas are now next up in line.  You really really really want those.  So the Star-Captain-Only quest on Yokai will be delayed, and the Soluna Art Museum's next exhibit may also have to wait a bit longer. Those things are still coming though as well.

No Buggy Monday News This Week?!??  Well I have some typos fixed in various areas but I didn't want to put those up for testing until after we had the SCMM ready.  Because I probably didn't break anything while fixing typos in a zone, but imagine if we didn't have time to test it & it rolled Live by accident when the SCMM rolled and what if I somehow broke an entire planet... I have nightmares about this... so yeah, holding off another week on those typos.  Innocent

Thanks for playing MechQuest & enjoy your week - be talking with you again soon!