Friday the 13th - You can replay Friday the 13th events on the News Screen sidebar buttons!  

Tek's Mechs - New Head Weapons suggested by YOU! Many thanks to you for your suggestions! Credit goes to G.E.A.R.S. student MachineMaster for the Cranium Phaser (Star Captains only),  .R.M. for the Hyper Helmet (Nova Gem model), and ultimatenoobowner for the Smilie Face (available to all players). You can find these heads at Tek's Mechs. (This shop focuses on low-to-mid-level player equipment, since off-planet shops provide a wealth of equipment for levels 20+ but you will find some higher-level weapons here in various slots.) 

Cranium Phaser Series: 

Hyper Helmet Series:

• Starts with 1.25 times damage 
• Each hit has a chance for a Critical Hit
• Hit 1 general damage BoT of +12% per turn for 4 turns 
• Hit 2 enemy BtH reduce NoT, -10 per turn for 4 turns 
• Hit 3 double HP DoT for 4 turns 
  

Smilie Face Series:

• Hits may increase your Bonus to Hit by +10 BtH, stacking
• if hit 3 is successful, chance for: 1-turn stun, or damage BoT, or enemy damage NoT.

Thanks to our 'Pedia Archknight golden1231 for the assistance with the specials details!  And thank you all for playing MechQuest!

It's a good weekend to play MechQuest!  Experience and credits boost weekend!!! You will earn 15% EXTRA experience and credits in battle - if you are a Star Captain you will earn 20% !!

Other Star Captain special aspects of this week's release include:

• A new quest in the Friday the 13th camp!
• A higher-level Jameson mecha (Jameson Avenger model) Level 42 scales to 49
• Buffed specials for the Avenger series include '09 models!

What's going on for you if you haven't yet upgraded?  Oh, you get some new stuff too!

• Everyone gets a version of the new Screamer Head (visit the Metal Shop in the Friday 13th camp)
• Everyone can now choose to battle the Hard Mode in the Friday the 13th Quest (the first part)

We didn't forget about Nova Gem items!  

• The higher-level version of the older Jameson mecha (the Vengeance series) Level 44 - scales to 49 
• Buffed specials for the Vengeance series include '09 models!

This week's release also fixed a few bugs - the Nemesis *should* now be able to enter the 2nd part of the Friday the 13th quests, the sounds should respect the muter... 

So the Star Captain Exclusive quest gives you a reason to use that Pipe hand-to-hand combat weapon (or another powerful Energy Blade).  I was able to code something new and interesting into the enemy  so I hope you like it and figure out how to beat it... over and over again because it gives good rewards.  I hear that this fight isn't respecting the boost weekend, but it gives better experience than any other swordfight in game, and good credit reward as well.

I have also learned that if you lose the 3rd swordfight, you can't get back into the room... I should know exactly how to fix this since I  coded it, but I have become confused so if you get stuck, please use this workaround for now:

Use your Hometown button, then go back to the Friday the 13th camp via the button in Soluna.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the boost!

Let's try this again... yesterday I wrote you some lovely, long Design Notes but I wrote them directly into the Content Management System... and did not save early and often... so CMS logged me out when I went to post them and they were eaten.  I'm writing these in Notepad...

Friday the 13th was a fun and kinda scary release... because Korin turned me loose on planning & managing it.  I've been helping him do this kind of thing for a little while now, but it's different when you're actually in charge of it.  We have this amazing team, though, so it really wasn't all that scary.  At first, I thought that I would mainly be filling a managerial role because I had already planned to be working with blues on the next installment of the Star Captain Xtreme Challenge during this timeframe - but as it turned out it is his vacation time!  So I was able to focus on Friday the 13th & be more involved in the creative process as well as the behind-the-scenes mechanics.  

One of the first things that happened in preparation for the Friday 13th release was that I asked blues before he went away for recommendations for the Uber Jameson buff.

Uber Jameson buff: Applies to the Nova Gem models of 3010 and 3009 plus the new L45 Primo Jameson. Added a general damage boost, and the head now has a Damage BoT (Buff over Time) of +10 per turn over 5 turns.  
(I actually did some of the coding for the buff, with the help of Korin and Vivi, along with my update to the levels-with-you code -  I was a little worried that it was too strong but I'm not hearing any complaints on the forums.)

The Pipe weapons idea grew spontaneously from the release plan.  Since we are in different locations, we communicate online - so I pulled Vivi and Lyris into an MSN group chat and we brainstormed. Lyris made us a Gdoc and put together the dialogue.  She also put together the art assets that turned into the sewer components - and Minar turned the pipe art into weapons.

The new sounds are kind of an interesting story.  The hand-to-hand combat pipe was ready first, and I gave it to Lyris to test.  She said it worked but it seemed weird for a pipe to make a laser noise and that it would be cool if it would "clang."  So the next morning I wandered around the house banging on metal.  The faucets and pipes don't make the right sound - the thing that ended up with good resonance was my stainless steel soup ladle on the vegetable steamer.  I recorded that as an mp3 and sent it to Korin, who figured out how to attach it to the swordfighting combat stuff.  

So yes, the pipe does the same damage as the Evil Jim Replica Axe (rare) and with the merge with the Polish, also buffs up to the same as the EJ Axe.  The difference is that this has the new sound.  As has been mentioned on the forums, it really would have been cool to have a swordfight-style encounter for this weapon, but we had already planned the quests to be mecha combat so the weapon was really more of a 'teaser' and a souvenir.  I thought it would engender more speculation on the forums than it actually did, and I figured you guys would guess that it was going to have a merged version just like the EJ Axe did.  

Then the mecha-equippable arm - I figured that Vivi would be coding it and since he was working on quests, one of which was the quite-complicated maze, I didn't want it to be too complex with new specials, so I asked Minar to set it up as a one-hit stunning melee style.  Things were getting hectic and I decided to try my hand at adding the code to make it function in combat, and once I got started with that I started playing with figuring out how to make it perform the stun.  In an email I had also put out the idea to the brain trust of doing some kind of BtH nerf to the opponent - as it turned out, that part was the easiest to figure out.  I sent it off to Vivi because I didn't think I had the stun-resist-lowering right & thought I was trying to get too fancy... and I'm actually not sure how much needed changing - so judging from your reactions on the forums it looks like it came out pretty well.  

Anyway, back to the sounds.  So Lyris had noted on the gdoc that a flushing noise could be embedded.  We were talking via email and she mentioned it again, and it occurred to me - just so happens that my downstairs bathroom has the original fixtures from like 1908 or something, including an old-style pull-chain overhead tank toilet - that goes WHOOSH when you flush it.  So I sent over an mp3 of Maegwyn's Toilet, and Lyris enhanced it with more water to make it more dramatic.  She did such a great job with the animated cutscenes - so many great little touches that add dimension. (There actually were more places where she would have liked the music clip to play but it had gotten to a point where other functions had to take priority) - (like making the reward shop button unlock) (haha).

So Vivi was busily setting up the quests, which he's impressively good at doing - and then also we had new enemies - he & Lyris put together the art for the new enemies you meet, using existing art.  (I believe this is what Lyris calls "kitbashing" - which isn't quite the same as what Urban Dictionary tells me it means. Basically it's a matter of dissecting and disassembling existing assets and recombining them to make something new.)  Anyway they did an amazing job - Lyris did The Screamer and the Sewer Gator, and Vivi did Freddy Cougar  (I did the unglamorous but necessary database work for that bit).  

Then everything needs some kind of a hub, so I put together the town file and set up the shops and the buttons that send you to the quests, and came up with some dialogue for those areas.  Then of course as always I set stuff up in the database & managed the testing & the usual.  Korin was around - answered a few questions and was always there if needed - mainly he worked on the Gameshow planet and took some time to fix a bug with the coloration on the Punky uniform - and he made the Cursed Tape in game and starship item.

This was a great team collaboration and I'm thrilled that Korin put it in my hands.  We all work so well together - it was definitely a lot of work and long hours. I did get out of town for an overnight trip (was in a canoe looking for river otters, taking photos of birds and turtles and flooded areas) so I got up extra-early and stayed up extra-late to make up for taking off ... while Vivi was going through finals at the same time as wrapping up quest work and Lyris was animating scenes in her evenings after having large projects for the day job.  I am so impressed with the work Vivi and Lyris did! (That either sounds like I'm complaining about long hours, or like I'm saying that I went out of town to have fun and left Vivi and Lyris to do all the work.  Hm... )

So I'm sure I'm leaving something out - rewriting this has taken longer than writing it the first time... anyway I should wrap this up by saying this was such a fun release to put together!  I can't praise our team enough for the fantastic work - and from the feedback on the forums I'm seeing, it sounds like you guys really enjoyed the release.  Thank you so much for playing - I love MechQuest and I love our team, but most of all I have to say that I love the passion you all bring to the game!  You guys totally rock!  

Have a great rest-of-the-weekend!  

The weather report is ominous!  It's definitely time for a Murky Lake Reunion.  

I hardly know what to say tonight, I'm so exhilarated & exhausted!  Huge fun working with Vivi and Lyris putting together this event.  I like to try to say who did what - this was such a collaborative effort that it's hard to remember and sort out.  It was a bit scary managing the whole thing & while I could go to Korin with questions I actually didn't have too many.  I'm really proud of our team and I hope you like everything!

We originally had a tough Rusty Rat in by mistake (from the Advanced Combat Theory Class if I'm not mistaken) but now it's a normal one.  Now that that's fixed and I buffed the rest of the Uber Jamesons (at first it was only the 3010 ones) I really need to meet up with my husband & cousins.  I will write more later though!  I'm too hungry to write...

Has it really been a week since I last put up Design Notes?  Where does the time go?  It's May the 4ce already??  May it be with you all!

I read a post by acidoverride on the forums asking what's going on behind the scenes and what we've got in store for you.  We're all working like... like bees! I like bees!  

So first-off, did you know that Korin added a very cool new feature to the Options interface?  Some of you wanted the option to color-customize the now-rare Maypril Derpmachine mecha model, and Korin not only made that possible for Star Captains, but also turned it into an option!  If you prefer it in its original color scheme, you now have that as a choosable option.  The toggle button is in the Graphics section of the Options panel.  (You'll need to re-equip the mecha to see the change.)

Also this week Korin added the long-promised new animations to the Korin Heads from last year.  If you have one you should check it out!  There are two new animations tied to existing specials!  

Korin's been working on the Gameshow planet and he's calling on you (via the forums) for help!  You have the opportunity to win 100 Nova Gems by providing MechQuest Trivia in this thread.  He's been working closely with Minar for background art and with Arklen as well!  Can you tell that I'm excited about the new planet?  I know you're going to love it.

As I'm sure you know, we've got a Friday the 13th coming up!  Lyris and Vivi (and I) are putting together an event.  I can tell you that there will be at least one cutscene from Lyris with animation. I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil anything, but I can say that it's looking fantastic! Also a new quest that Vivi's putting together.  A higher-level version of Uber Jameson complete with a couple of buffs (and the buffs will apply to last year's models) which I'm working on right now. Vivi helped me understand how to add some code - blues provided some numbers and ideas for the buff. blues is about to go on a nice vacation!  

blues & Vivi & I are going to get the next chapter of the Star Captain Xtreme Challenge put together for you when he gets back - in a month.  I'll get the quest written and coded and perfected while he's relaxing, and maybe get some new lessons from Korin and Vivi on programming enemy attacks in preparation for blues' return. Vivi will probably be the one adding anything new and fancy on the enemy challenges!

I know I'm leaving a bunch of stuff out...

So much has been going on.  The long-running GEARS games have a winning  House - Wolfblade! Check out the storyline quests following the fate of their kidnapped leader, Xaria! (Hint - if the timed quest is difficult, try using hard-hitting one-hit weapons - maybe stun your enemies - and remember that you don't have to heal yourself all the way to full values at the stations along the way.)  Grab your grand and well-earned rewards: weapons designed by the astounding Thyton, including a special Valor Badge merge shop item, plus the Starship Items which Star Captains can display with pride in the Starship - all courtesy of the talented Minar!

Ok I guess I will stop talking for now. I'll try to talk here more frequently - and see you on the forums!

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!

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