Zack Storch, faithful Artix Entertainment gamer & TV star on King of the Nerds, returns to AQWorlds this week in a special in-game event based on his new book, Za’nar: Impossibility! In a realm light-years away from our planet, the dread dragon Jir’abin waits in the Void Plane with an army large enough to conquer worlds. This weekend, work with the mages of Za’nar and DragonRune Hall to repel Jir’abin’s army of Void Shades as they flood into our world to harvest the magic of Chaos!
Get your event rares and learn about the world of Za’Nar before the event starts in the Za’Nar Lobby!
Work with the Za’narian Magi to battle Void monsters across Lore to repel the Jir’abin’s army!
Help Nulgath the ArchFiend celebrate his birthday with the Hanzo Void series of armor sets!
Collect Za’Narian Tokens to create gear in the Za’Nar Merge Shop
Barry Jotter’s former class mate Juan has unleashed an Army of Hallow upon Battleon seeking to capture and make Barry pay for a tragic accident that occurred several years ago at Zardwarts.
Barry’s strong protestations of innocence have fallen on deaf ears, and Juan will stop at nothing to avenge his lost pet!
Januray Golden Giftboxes - Xano's Gauntlet and Kiss of the Dark Angel!
Xano’s Gauntlet unleashes several powerful blasts of light!
Call upon the aid of a fallen angel to heal your wounds! She may also offer to replenish your potions!
Making a games involves a LOT. Some people think that you just draw and code and presto, you have a game. Launch it and make millions.
I wish.
Everything from the characters to the user interfaces go through a million changes and its all part of a process to try and make every screen, every animation, every NPC, every in-game purchase, every punch or jump or sound effect as perfect, fun and pleasing to the senses as possible. I thought I would show you some of the process that I've been going through for the past few days.
This is the story of the AQ BattleOn Character Create Screen:
1. First the Project Lead or the Lead UI Designer (in our case, the Project Lead, Artix) comes up with a concept sketch of how the character screen should work and how the process of character creation will flow. Once the sketch is complete, the Project Lead will usually talk it over with some or all of the team to make sure that everyone is on the same page and nobody has any questions or better ideas.
2. After that, it gets mocked up in a very simple wire-frame form, usually at-size. You can see in the image below that the mock is made at a 16:9 ratio (most modern mobile devices) but the active area is in 4:3 ratio (so it can fit into even older devices and still look good and function properly).
3. Next, it goes to the UI (User Interface) Artist (in this case, me) who begins cementing the layout and making some of the actual art assets. You can see that I added a bulkier armor to the player model so we will know how much room we have to work with, exactly and began creating some better selection arrows and one of our finalized buttons for CREATE! I created some new cions that work inside the limited area of the circles. I removed the color splotches to indicate a color option, thinking it would look cleaner if we just colored the icons in the circles with the selected color. I also made a nice, long player name to see how a long one would fit in the allotted space. Being me, I made it an awesome name.
4. Then we continue forward. You can see that I've reused some slick AQW assets (J6's art just can't be beat) and combined them with some of the new game's art (like the guardian tower in the distance) to create a nice, friendly background. After looking at the previous version on my phone I thought that the arrows looked too much like the icon circles so I made them solid gold and Yergen comented that they were kind of smallish so I enlarged them and they got a lot more reasonable to hit on a touchscreen.
5. Next, it goes back to the Project Lead for notes and changes. When it's this far along you can see things that you didn't before like name options on the bottm need a backdrop to make them more visible, and how changing the color of the icon circle instead of the icon works better. A few other small changes were made like getting the clouds and sun out from behind the name so nothing interferes with the readability and fixing the size of the sword to reflect it's actual size in-ga.
6. Then the file gets passed back to the UI Artist for another round of changes based on the notes from the Project Lead. This can go on for a while, back and forth, if something isn't working or grating on one of the team but eventually it all comes together in the finished mock up.
7. Once the mock up is complete, each element of the mock is exported at-size as a transparent PNG, taken into Photoshop and exported again because they manage transparency better than Flash's kind of crude exporter (it was never really meant for this). Then all the elements are assembled in a 1024 x 1024 texture atlas, imported into Unity3d and reassembled there to match the mock up as closely as possible, then handed off to the coders for functionality.
All this is going on at the same time as the animators are working on animating the players, pets and monsters... the artists are coming up combat effects and with new monster sketches, getting those aproved and moving forward with the art... the programmers are working on the core engine to make sure that Character Create actually creates and saves a character and all the goodies like color customization on the various character parts work and so on... and almost everyone here is working on more than one game at a time.
For example, while I was doing this I was also testing and restesting the most recent round of AQ Dragons bug fixes and rebalancing which will be released soon. I was also in mettings about Battle Gems fixes and what we are replacing the BG Founder package with and a ton of other stuff (like tweeting with you guys and writing this, for example).
It all has to be done right but it also has to be done fast because I really believe from my experience that no industry on earth moves faster than the gaming industry. Things change every day and delaying the launch of a game, even a tiny mobile game like ours, by as little as a week can mean the difference betwen a hit and a flop.
AQ BattleOn is still in the early stages of development so there is no estimated release date yet but keep your eyes here on the ARTIX.COM design notes for more info on this and other upcoming projects.
This Friday, take on the monsters at Eagle’s Reach Battlegrounds, the Arctic Academy for Warriors, Rogues and Wizards of all levels and ranks! Learn the art of sub-zero monster slaying with extra-high rep, XP, and class point rewards as we prepare for war against the Queen of Monsters! Members can battle through the Hall of Honors for even greater rewards!
Battle through 5 level-scaled training arenas to rank up your Class skills and gain experience
Defeat monsters and quests to earn tokens to create new gear from the Arena merge shop
Legends are able to battle through the Hall of Honors for EXTRA rewards!
Help test the new quest user interface system when you /join northstar and talk to Twilly
Find the Golden Gladiator Tier package in your in-game menu or on our Upgrade page
A simple picnic in the woods, ends in tragedy, misery, and all out warfare as an army of Hallow led by Barry’s former classmate Juan, seek revenge for a past wrong.
When Barry tries to help, things just go from bad to worse! For all Players...
Also don’t miss the awesome New Year’s weapons in the Limited-Time Shop!
Lime needs your help! Log in now and head to the Falconreach Weapon Shop to help Lim’s assistant find the ingredients to make the perfect fireworks to impress their best friend!
Make sure to head to Frostvale and pick up your presents and check out the new house shop before the town disappears for another year!
One of the most common questions/suggestions that we get is about adding Trade to AQW.
I know that I'm on the OMNI team now but the answer is the same now as it was back when I was working on AQW. We wish we had expected AQW to get as big as it did, because then we would have added it in when we were laying the groundwork. It's already something that we are heavily discusing for AQW 3D but for AQW... Trade will never be a part of AQW.
There are several reasons.
First, there is nothing in the AQW engine that would allow for trading of any kind so it would take not just writing the new function into the engine but a complete retooling of the entire AQW engine. The ability to give an item to another player is pretty core functionality. It's not something that you can just tack onto an existing game in most cases.
Second, Flash actually has an actionscript line limit before it can no longer compile. The changes to allow for Trade and to make it secure, as it would need to be, would be a massive addition to the engine and the engine is already large enough that Adobe Flash has issues compiling it. Think of the engine like a slice of pizza. The AQW pizza already has so many toppings that the crust can barely support it all right now. Adding trade would essentially be adding another pizza on top of the first one at which point the pizza would then collapse under its own weight. Then you'd have to eat pizza with a fork and who want's to eat pizza with a fork? Mutants and losers, that's who.
Third, having a reasonable trade system means having a balanced economy in-game. Gold rewards and item sale prices would have to be normalized across the game to make gold a reasonable currency with which to trade. This would mean going back over the game and retooling EVERY SINGLE quest, item price, monster kill award and shop by hand, one at a time, to balance the economy. All that could only take place after the math was done to figure out what changes would need to be made to make the ongoing economy viable.
Fourth, all of this would take the code team a REALLY LONG time and without the coders, there isn't much that the rest of the Devs can do to make a release. While the programmers took the time to do all this and do it right, AQW would probably have limited to NO weekly releases which would make people come back less often which would reduce player count which would reduce sales which would pretty quickly kill the game off. We don't want that. That's bad.
Fifth, it would pretty much ruin the concept of rarity which still plays a very big role in AQW. Some people would say that it's already ruined but those exact same people have some pretty amazing rare items that they wouldn't part with for all the tea in Teattle (which is like Seattle but has tea instead of coffee), so they can stuff it. People have suggested only making non-rares tradeable but most people wouldn't care about trade unless they could purchase hard-to-find items like rares so that's a pretty bad suggestion.
Finally and most importantly, the ability to actually trade items would give hackers and scammers a real, actual reason to hack people's accounts. Right now, there's no real reason to do that other than to feel important in a pathetic sort of way and we STILL get THOUSANDS of e-mails a day from players who got "hacked" (read as: gave away their account to someone who promised them something, or tried to trade accounts even though it's against the rules for this very reason). Once the hackers and scammers actually had a reason, one of AQW's biggest problems would get substantially worse overnight.
It's not impossible. Anything can be done but as you can see there are some pretty HUGE obstacles that make it very improbable. We're not scared of a little hard work and if something changes that someday makes it possible then we'll let you know but for now, it's pretty safe to say that Trade will NEVER be a part of AQW. Tell your friends.
The FrostSpawn Horde have swarmed the Island of Winds, and many of the refugees have been converted into ice monsters by a strange new magic. The time has come for you to face Karok the Fallen in battle to learn what the future holds for the FrostSpawn Horde, the Queen of Monsters, and the rise of her Ancient Evils!
Take on Karok the Fallen in the WorldBreaker Rising holiday event finale!
Adventure through our New Year’s seasonal events and find the Frozen Dawn armor set in Lim’s Rares shop!
Talk to Quibble Coinbiter in Battleon for the LAST Frostval shop update!
Limted Time Bonus Offer: Get 10% more Artix Points or Adventure Coins when you purchase any AC or Membership package!
Log in until Monday to get DOUBLE BOOSTS on all servers!
The timelines are almost fully merged and a gigantic, angry, half-dead, half-alive Akriloth has almost escaped from the tomb of Earth in which his DragonFable bones were buried.
Can you stop the merged dragon before his escapes? Or will Frostval end in fire?!
Every year, on the 1st day of the new year, I get up early, and come here to the lab. Everyone else finally has a day off. So I am alone here with my thoughts-- and those thoughts are focused on all of the game things we will build together in 2015. I strongly believe this year is going to be our best-- and equally our hardest. It would be safe to say the past two years were training for what we are going to do this year. Because this year Project: Omni (our ambitious and challenging plan to take our games to all devices) will finally spread its wings like phoenix, renewing the life of our existing and new games. Instead of trying rattle off the giant shotgun blast list of goals... I am just going to say the #1 thing on the list that is written on the paper in my hand-- This is the year, we launch AdventureQuest 3D (aka AQW3D). Can I count on you to join us and help make this crazy new game? Battle on!
As the Queen of All Monsters watches, Karok the Fallen and the FrostSpawn Horde begin to overrun the Frozen Tower and Ruins! Accept Syrrus’ quest to seek out the Scythe of Vengeance; it is the key to ensuring the Portal Gate is locked. But beware - the Horde as seeks to destroy the it, and if they do, they will be here… FOREVER!
Take out legions of the FrostSpawn Horde and travel to the Ice Planet Glacera in search of the Scythe of Vengeance
The Frostval Limited Quantity Sets are live! Get your gear here!
Talk to Quibble Coinbiter in Battleon to get the coolest gear of the year
Unlock Cryomancer Class with Glacera Tokens or purchase for 2000 AdventureCoins
Log in starting this Friday to get DOUBLE BOOSTS on all servers!
The moglins are busily making cookies, wrapping gifts, stringing lights, and maintaining watch while you and Icemaster Yeti scope out weak spots in the defenses.
This year there won't be any moglin-napping! It's sure to be quiet, right?
After the Champion of Chaos let the Queen of Monsters loose, refugees from across the world flee to a new continent as the land grows colder and winter storms rage. Fight alongside Syrrus the Astromancer at the shattered Tower of Winds. Build a planetary gate that will allow a mysterious warrior mage's army to journey across spacetime and add their blades to the battle!
Begin the new main storyline on an all-new continent with 35 quests
Talk to Quibble Coinbiter in Battleon to get the coolest gear of the year
Unlock Cryomancer Class with Glacera Tokens or purchase for 2000 AdventureCoins
Log in each day until December 24th for a free Frostval gift!
The greatest event to ever grace this humble PvP MMO is about to reach its thrilling climax in the 3rd and grandest part of this epic saga. Challenge the Endless to unlock the secrets of the Void and battle for the hearts and minds of Frysteland's citizens.
Endless Power
Visit The Endless to unravel the mysteries of the Void and master its power. Complete this immortal being's task and you will be incredibly rewarded with a powerful new armor and 2 unstoppable new cores: Eternal Enhance and Eternal Protection!
Endless Arcade
Cash in some hard-earned Arcade Tokens on the new Frozen Fury Arcade machine. Win an amazing assortment of wintery prizes, including Assassin Order's Harnessed Yeti Set.
Endless Achievements
Grab the new upgradeable Sushi badge to earn piles of rating points. There are so many new achievements that we've enabled the next tier of epic swag: Red stars! Will you be the first?
Endless Giving
Our 27 Days of Giving continues. Login every day to unwrap your packages and give gifts to your friends (and enemies)!
Endless Styles
We're pleased to introduce 72 bizarre new styles created by Guest Artist Vorzathiel. Ever wanted to look like a festive, psychotic alien? Now is your chance!
The moglins are busily making cookies, wrapping gifts, stringing lights, and maintaining watch while you and Icemaster Yeti scope out weak spots in the defenses.
This year there won't be any moglin-napping! It's sure to be quiet, right?
Congratulations everyone! You already got Dragons to 10,000 players on Android and it has hit #34... nope, make that #32 Top New Free Game! Keep up the great wok spreading the word about AdventureQuest Dragons! (The Apple iPhone & iPad version is off to an amazing start too!)
We are LIVE! Please get the app (Apple | Android ) and rate us 5-stars to help spread the word. Meanwhile, the team and I are hard at work on the bugs that you and fellow players are reporting at www.Artix.com/bugs .
Thank you!
I want to thank everyone for their support, patience and love for this game project. Everyone seems excited about Dragons! Our fellow players love it, The Cookie Clicker guys love it, even distant members of my family are writing me to tell me they love Dragons. When you are neck deep in bugs and issues, the love is like a protective bubble that makes you work faster and harder to fix all the problems.
What we are working on
Android "crash after into video" issue This one is the top priority and we are pretty deep into the fix. The good news is that when this fix is complete, it should speed up the initial game load for all users, even the ones on apple devices
Redeem Key Code for iOS As you likely read, we had to remove the redeem key code feature in the Apple version of Dragons in order to release the game. But keep those codes handy! We have a few ideas that we are going to try to get it approved back in the game. Also, you will be able to use them on the web version of Dragons (which could possibly sync via Facebook.)
On a side note, I would like to express my honest graditude for Apple making Dragons live before the cut-off date of next Monday. We were seriously scared the app would not be approved in time... which would have meant it would not have gone live until January. I wrote a letter in and we submitted an updated build, and someone there at Apple went above and beyond to do us a favor-- which is why the game is live right now. Whoever you are mysterious Apple App Reviewer... THANK YOU!
6-hour Offline Production not working? We tracked down the issue and will be releasing a patch for it ASAP.
More fixes!!!!!! The actual bug fix list is large but with the exception of a few key related issues mostly minor things at this point.... we are working on them all as fast as possible. Thank you for submitting them at www.Artix.com/bugs
In other news, Beleen was thinking it would be cool to do a Dragons art contest. Also, Orteil and I are working on a Cookie Dragon-- we were thinking the dragon would be free if you helped share the game. I will post the concept art Thyton painted for you later this week.
QUESTION: What is your highest Dragon's GPS (Gems per second)?
