Creating Adventure - February 2021
Words of Wyrom
Well, 2020 was quite the year to get through. We had a lot of different plans at the start of the year, with timelines that we ended up scrapping so that we could deliver content sooner for #PlayApartTogether. Our main goal was to keep engagement high so that we could give everyone an outlet to stay home throughout the year. And while we had our ups and downs in 2020, I do hope that everyone who was able to play GemStone IV enjoyed their time in Elanthia.
We had some restructuring with our teams late in 2020. It was decided to disband the Events team since participation on the staff side was mostly opt-in already when it came to our paid content. Leadership over an event will no longer be a specific team, but those who want to oversee an event can do so starting in 2021. Events will continue to be opt-in by staff, so anyone who works on them wants to work on them. I will continue to help guide each event, but each lead will definitely be able to add their creative visions moving forward.
We are in the process of using a lot of Discord's tools to help engage with our players in better ways. We recently became a community, which helps us out with announcement channels. In the past we've tried Facebook, but the way posts work there, not everyone gets to see it right away. We currently use Twitter, but the separation between Prime and Platinum has also been an issue. With the Discord announcement channels, you can follow the ones you care about to get notifications in (mostly) real time. We are still working on the tools in-game to be able to broadcast better, but our goal in 2021 is to make Discord a better, more efficient, communication platform to connect to players.
Spotlight on Staff is taking a break this time around. We have plans to change it up and make it a bit more fresh. More on this hopefully in the coming months.
Road Ahead
A new GIFTBOX will be available shortly after this article goes live. It will contain items to get you started for our upcoming run of Duskruin. Double BOUNTY POINTS are also live for two weeks. A new promo code will also be starting shortly, GS2021WINTERTIDES for 60 days of Premium (and Basic). There are also REAL GEMS out there to find! These are part of our Wondrous Wintertides promotion. We finally hammered out the Premium and Platinum Point pooling, essentially doubling the points offered monthly for our Platinum subscribers. Soon there will be some additional offerings to spend those points on! We have a lot more to come, so let's talk about that 2021 roadmap.
Game Development
We have a lot of development already underway. The team has been hard at work laying the foundation to the next tiers of ascension by ensuring that each profession's base (i.e. non-ascension) abilities are where they should be before the elite and legendary abilities are built (such as we've seen with the recent Ranger and Paladin reviews and also last year's Cleric updates). Thus, there are several updates to professions coming up, including the Sorcerer and Bard reviews. There is also plans to work on the third wave for the Player System Manager (PSM) which is the collective name we've given combat maneuvers (CMAN), shield specializations (SHIELD), and armor specializations (ARMOR). This third phase of PSM updates includes numerous updates targeted for Warriors, Rogues, and Monks. More on all of this will be available really soon now (no, really, it will be). Finally, we also have plans for new hunting grounds, particularly in level ranges that are lacking, including at cap.
Event Shops
A big update coming to the next run of Duskruin is with our shop mechanics for the alternate currencies. We will be slowly introducing attunement options when making a purchase. Not all inventory will have the option, but items that are specially marked to have attunement will have revised usage. Right now you GET/APPRAISE an item to see the costs and then choose to BUY. Debuting at Duskruin, you will now have the option to either BUY or ATTUNE an item. Attuned item can be either character or account attune, but we will be introducing it with account-bound attunement. If you choose to ATTUNE an item, it will come with a 25% discount. That means an item that cost 40,000 bloodscrip will only be 30,000 bloodscrip. In Platinum and Shattered, we will not be offering the ATTUNE option. Instead, we will be moving toward a permanent discount on alternate currencies by default. This includes bloodscrip, raikhen, and seashells.
Inventory Updates
GameMaster Naiken has been working on some big inventory systems that will allow even further customizations on how your character looks. The system will allow you to TUCK items away depending on certain attributes. This will help further customize how you look to others. There will also be a new spot, At Feet, that will let you safely place something on the "ground" but in all reality, it will be in your inventory, safe from that pesky janitor. More details on these two systems should be available in February.
Year in Review
The 2020 roundup! There may be some information missing here due to how some releases are announced. A great resource to review is Leafiara's 2020 Changelog.
- Combat Development
- SMRv2 Conversions
- Stun Maneuvers Updates
- Light Armor Mastery Released
- Shadow Dance Released
- Silent Strike Updates
- Shadow Mastery Update
- ARMOR Reduced Costs
- Archery Updates
- Group Contribution Updates
- Armor Specialization Updates for Cloth Armor
- Ranger Tracking Released
- Crit Immunity and Eye Shots
- Shields Become Reactive (Flares)
- Dispel Flares Update
- PSM Updates
- Kroderine Soul Released
- Martial Mastery Released
- Plasma Damage Updates
- Guild Task Trade-in Updates
- Encumbrance Training
- Skill Training Adjustments
- CML and SMR Updates
- Magic Development
- Mage Armor - Fire (520) Updates
- Spell Knowledge Scrolls Update
- Acuity and SMRv2
- Call Familiar (920) Quality of Sleep Improvements
- Mana Formula Update
- Intercession Cost Change
- Provoke (1235) Update
- Monk TATTOO Ability Released
- LOOK at Wall of Thorns
- Sanctuaries and Spellburst
- Glamour (1205) Released
- Animate Dead Update
- Mindwipe (1225) Released
- Enchant and Ensorcell Standardization
- RECALL Update
- Multi-Target (AoE) Spell Updates
- Paladin Spell Updates
- Ranger Spell Updates
- Promotions
- Merchantpalooza
- #PlayApartTogether Perks
- Troll Flower Girl Quest
- Roleplay Contest
- World Development
- Locksmith Pool Released
- Cold Weather Updates
- Spirit Beasts 3.0
- Adventurer's Guild Update: Citizenship Points
- PROFILE and Proudest Victory
- LMASTER RESTORE and Other Lockpick Updates
- Guild Training Point Adjustments
- ESP Reworked
- LUMNIS INFO Updates
- Tattoo Covering Updates
- Drop Off in OTF (Rescues)
- Open Sea Adventures Released
- Kraken's Fall Released
- Hunting Grounds
- Ogres Converted to Basic Critter System
- Boss Creature LTE and Treasure Rewards
- Reim Updates
- Sanctum of Better Scaling
- Lich Phylacteries Update
- Monsoon Jungle
- Den of Rot Released
- F'Eyrie Released
- Rocky Shoals
- Hobgoblin Village
- Cliffwalk
- The Black Weald
- Hornwort Cavern
- Materials
- Magic Resistance Updates
- The Arisaid (Clothing)
- The Tartan Cloth (Clothing)
- Veil Iron and Krodera Updates
- High Steel and Coraesine Updates
- New Material: Aranthium
- Verb Additions and Improvements
- ROLEPLAY NOMINATE and Tracking Update
- LOWER Released
- WEALTH QUIET Released
- RESOURCE Released
- EMPTY Update
- LOOT and STOW Updates
- Documentation
- A Tale of Dwarven Mettle
- Arkati Origins: Amasalen
- The Tale of Kraken's Fall
- Storylines and Festivals
- Clipped Wings
- Landing Player Mayor Elections
- Icemule Player Mayor Elections
- A Darkness Within
- The Trial of Pylasar
- Paradis Exploration
- Subterranearn Siegery
- Wrong Arm of the Law
- Flight of the Griffins
- All That Remains
- Icemule Renaissance
- Burning Blue Waves
- Festival of Lumnea
- Blood Son
- Equilibrium
- Ashes Ashes We All Fall Down
- Tour Elanith
- The Artifacts of Maelshyve
- A Knight to Remember
- Frontier Days
- Briarmoon Cove
- Delirium Manor
- Premium Festival
- The Ice Razor Festival (Platinum)
- SimuCoin Events and Additions
- Quest Nexus: Troubled Waters
- Troubled Waters Prize Pool
- Quest Experience Updates
- Night at the Academy Updates
- SimuCoin Pricing Adjustments
- Ability Fixskill Potions Released
- Mount Travel System
- Monthly Unlocks
- Duskruin
- Rings of Lumnis
- Rumor Woods
- Ebon Gate
- QoL
- NoSpellLook Flag
- GroupMovement Flag
- SilenceDeath Flag
- SING and RECITE to Speech Window
- Announcement Window (StormFront) Released
- SPELL ACTIVE Target and SPELL PRIVACY
- POLICY REPORT
- POLICY Verb Updates