It has been quite awhile since our last major update regarding the current projects that we are working on, so we wanted to give everyone a big update on what's been going on and what's coming soon.
Since our last update, we've released the Kelpari Revamp, had a fantastic Spring Festival, and had a mini 4th of July celebration. With summer winding down, we want to give everyone an update on what to expect for the next few months.
Ny'vene Revamp
Firstly, in regards to the Ny'vene revamp, we have finally been able to get some progress done on them and they are being worked on at a rapid pace atm. I would say they are about 3/4 of the way finished and probably next week or the week after, we can post some finished screenshots and begin to work on implementing them into the Site.
We would have liked for them to have been available sooner, but between us and our artists' schedules, things just took longer than expected unfortunately.
But they are coming along great and, although I don't really have any screenshots I can share at this time, you should be able to expect some within the next week or two. =)
MegaZone Update
The MegaZone is still 'mega' in every aspect of the word. We continue to pour hours and hours into developing it and it continues to chug along, piece by piece. A named battle here, and NPC there, an item drop, some map tweaks, etc. As of writing this, the second section of the MegaZone is nearly complete. I think at this point, virtually all of the artwork is finished for it spare maybe a few pieces we think of adding as we go along. Most of the named fights are coded and the storyline is about halfway finished. I think it would be very feasible to complete the second section of the MegaZone by the end of August (keep in mind, this also includes releasing the Ny'vene revamp).
At that point, all that would remain is the third and final section, which would be the quickest of the three sections to create. This would probably put us on schedule to, optimally, release the MegaZone a few weeks or a month prior to the Fall Festival, or release the MegaZone immediately following the Fall Festival.
As always, we will push and try our hardest to get things done as quickly as is possible and maybe squeeze out an end of September/beginning of October release, but if not, we would rather hold it and wait until after the Fall Festival.
We have also tossed around the idea of releasing the first two sections and then finishing the third section as the community goes through the first two. However, this would be a huge hassle on my end to code things to function this way because the MegaZone is kind of a living entity and, because of this, I can't have it be in two states at one point in time. Meaning, I can't have it play in the first or second section for the community, but test in the third section for me as I create it. So unfortunately, we probably will avoid this scenario.
That said, progress is being made and we are getting there. When it is finally released, it will most definitely provide everyone with hundreds of hours of new content. We have created a very large mountain of progression for everyone where you will have to work your way up, inch by inch, to reach the top. Along the way will hopefully be a lot of fun encounters, pet progression, story progression, and community growth. Now that we know pretty much how the entire zone will function, I'm going to provide an in-depth explanation of pretty much all of the core features of the MegaZone as they are planned now. =)
Generic names (MegaZone, First Section, Second Section, etc) are used to help protect the surprise and intrigue for the zone and its content once it's released.
First Section
The MegaZone will begin in the first section, obviously. In order to access the MegaZone, you must have completed the current storyline all the way through Astryl's Tranquility. In the first section, you will be thrown into a world that you are unfamiliar with. The level cap will be raised to 65 and you will begin exploring this new world as an entire community through community driven tasks. As you progress through these tasks as a community, you will evolve the MegaZone itself and unlock new features and content. As your pets level up, they will grow significantly stronger through each level than they did for each of the previous 60 levels. They will earn proficiency points faster. They will earn more level up points per level. And they will gain access to much more powerful equipment.
As the community progresses through the first section, a core feature will be unlocked that becomes a personal feature for each and every player. I don't want to spoil it, so let's just say that this will be a feature that kinda serves as your personal base of operations for the entire MegaZone. It will contain multiple pieces and you will be able to upgrade and progress each piece individually - unlocking even more features and abilities for you while inside the MegaZone. It is a very important aspect of the MegaZone and will take a ton of effort and time to ultimately 'max out', but doing so will be a very rewarding, and hopefully fun, process along the way.
As progression continues through the first section, it pinnacles on a task that the community must literally cooperate on in order to unlock and progress to the second section. This will be something that has never been seen before in Sylestia and we think everyone will be really excited and strive to work together to accomplish the task.
Second Section
Once the second section is unlocked, the level cap will be increased to 70. Now, as you personally level up through the MegaZone, it will become more difficult and attune to your level. This is to ensure that earlier content will not become trivial and boring, but yet still provide a challenge and sense of accomplishment. As you and your pets get stronger, so do the denizens of the MegaZone! However, now you will have access to even stronger equipment and your pets will be able to grow even stronger.
Again, the community will work together through the various tasks of the section second as you continue to work on your own personal goals and accomplishments. Eventually, the community will unlock the second major personal feature available in the MegaZone. This feature will also allow you to grow and unlock personal content for yourself with various benefits and rewards. Ultimately, the community will accomplish the tasks, unlock the secrets, and move into the third, and final, section.
Final Section
This information is somewhat speculative, because it has not been created yet.
Unlocking the final section will raise the level cap to its final resting point of level 75. The final section will still have some community driven tasks and progression, but its main purpose is to act like a living, explorable dungeon. Inside the final section, you will find the toughest encounters ever known to Sylestia. Only the bravest and most prepared Sylestians will hope to achieve ultimate victory and unlock the rarest and most treasured secrets. While this may sound intimidating to some, the great news is that the MegaZone offers more than enough progression to counter the challenges brought forth in the final section.
It's our goal to make the final section act as the ultimate end-game to Sylestia. Achieving victory would be the ultimate achievement for the beta version of our game. We plan on having numerous amazing rewards from super rare pets, avatar items, titles, and more available for those who can achieve victory. Even if this task doesn't necessarily interest you, there is tons of other content throughout the MegaZone to spend your time one. We literally hope to have something for everyone to enjoy inside the MegaZone in some way or another.
Post Final Section
Now, just because all of the MegaZone is unlocked and even if you've achieved ultimate victory by besting the hardest encounters created doesn't mean that's the end! We do plan on adding various events and new content to the MegaZone as time goes on. We may even look into adding seasonal content to the MegaZone later on. For example, maybe throughout the months of Spring, things related to the Aeridini take place in the MegaZone.
Bulletin List of MegaZone Features
Since we see in a lot of places players ask all sorts of various questions about the MegaZone that we may have answered elsewhere, I wanted to just try and put everything we want to share regarding it in a nice list below for reference.
-Level cap will ultimately increase to 75, from 60.
-A total of 20 Proficiency Points will be available by level 75. This means two more abilities will unlock on ability trees!
-New species will be released and available only in the MegaZone. (Yes, they are finally in game atm and finished),
-New Themed Pets for all tame-able species will be available throughout the MegaZone.
-Tons, tons, and tons of new Avatar Items will be available.
-Said avatar items won't just all be drops, but actually most must be crafted by collecting various materials.
-Four new tiers of Pet Equipment.
-Pet Equipment Tier 1 will drop from basically anything.
-Pet Equipment Tier 2 will drop from named.
-Pet Equipment Tier 3 must be crafted. Requires first two sections of MegaZone.
-Pet Equipment Tier 4 must be crafted. Requires all three sections of MegaZone.
-All MegaZone Pet Equipment can be upgraded through crafting. This means that there is more to do with your equipment besides just looting it!
-Know of those max stat breeding projects? They will definitely be useful to have!
-Dozens of new tasks, quests, and progression to enjoy. Literally, hundreds of hours to be spent seeing and doing everything. Probably over a thousand hours required to accomplish everything the MegaZone has to offer.
-Both community and personal driven progression. The MegaZone will serve a great purpose in bringing the community together.
-Leaderboards for contribution. Will probably be both one-time leaderboards and recycling leaderboards. Prizes will be awarded to top contributors and for participation.
-A total of at least 15 new named and boss encounters - each with unique challenges and strategies required for victory. Some will be the most brutal encounters ever created! (Only some!)
-The MegaZone is a living entity. It will evolve and change as time goes on, even after the community storyline is finished.
-And, perhaps most importantly, while everyone is able to play and enjoy the MegaZone, Faiona and I will be busy re-building Sylestia for our highly anticipated Revamp and Relaunch! =)
New MegaZone Artwork Teasers
Lastly, in regards to the MegaZone, I wanted to share a few more teasers of what you can expect to see once the MegaZone is live. This includes Avatar Items, Monsters, and map assets. Remember, these are only a few examples of what you'll find. Enjoy!
I found something furry!
Explore Footage of the Second Section
New Map Assets
A Named from the Second Section
A creature found in the Second Section
New piece of Pet Equipment
New Avatar Set
New Avatar Held Spriteling
Summer Festival
With everything else out of the way, I'd like to take a final moment to address this year's Summer Festival. At this time, it is looking like we will probably have to skip out on this year's Summer Festival. Our artists are currently working 100% on the Ny'vene Revamp and have no time to spare for Summer Festival assets.
Now, we may be able to squeeze in an event by the end of August or beginning of September for the Lighiras, but it will depend on how much time is available to our artists in between the Ny'vene Revamp finishing and the requirement of the final batch of MegaZone assets.
At this time though, we are not planning on an event. However, it is not 100% ruled out so you never know! We will try to squeeze it in if we can. |
