@Site_Users,

After almost 2 weeks of non stop coding, we are pleased to announce the release of some much awaited content!

New Layout
First off, the new layout is now "live". However, it will ONLY be visible on two pages: Ethernia and the Task Log. We will be implementing it throughout the site as quickly as we can. Due to a completely new set of code, we can't just simply change templates and make it work. For every page we switch over to the new template, we have to completely recode that page and how it functions. As you can imagine, it's quite time intensive!

Additionally, for the new layout, the side panel (grey rectangle on the left side) is not yet coded. It will eventually contain a box for site news, a box for relevant account information, and a global chat system that will ultimately replace Comet Chat's. Also, the notifications in the top right box are not yet working. We can't really implement that system until we recode the relevant pages.


Repeatable Tasks
We have finally enabled repeatable tasks. At this time, they are only available in Astryl's Vale. To view your Task Log, simply click the link under the Explore tab in the menu. From there, you can view active tasks, complete tasks, or unlock more task log slots. In order to accept new tasks, visit the Task Board in Ethernia.

Completed Tasks will reward you with Gold, Advancement Points, Reputation, and Faction Badges. Tasks cycle every hour and there is no limit to how many you can complete each day.


Puffadore Shop
After much delay, we have also now released the Puffadore Shop! You can view the shop from the Plaza in Ethernia. Mr. Rolando will be more than happy to sell you his Puffadores for Gold or Ethernia Badges. The shop completely restocks everyday at midnight. Every 2 hours, the shop restocks sold out Puffadores.

I forgot to mention, Ethernia uses new town code. You can't be exploring Sweet Blossom Orchard (or any zone in the new system) and visit the town. Attempting will redirect you to whichever zone you are currently exploring.

In order to visit Ethernia, you must exit the zone you are exploring first.

I am in love with this new layout. So many cool icons (especially fond of having something for forum pings, friend requests, and eggs ready to hatch)

Great job, it looks amazing.

Also, wanted to say I LOVE the way you set up the puff store, being able to buy with gold or badges, and actually being able to see how they look instead of random egg!

I do have a small question about the upper bar. I know you've been trying to get it to contain lots of info without being over crowded, but I didn't know if it was impractical to have the seconds timer still on it? I found it helpful, especially when deciding when it's time to head towards a for their respawn.

Trying the new stuff out and I must say I love it. Gonna probably save up for a Puffadore in the near future using the shop.

@Ash,

I wish it was easy to just add seconds, but the whole clock issue is actually very complicated lol.

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but our current clock becomes very inaccurate if left running for a few minutes - and insanely inaccurate if left running for long periods of time.

The difference is that the new clock basically runs off of PHP and updates once per minute. When it updates, it updates everything - day, month, year, and time. It is also is pretty much accurate to within 300 milliseconds.

If I were to run a clock on seconds, I would have to use purely javascript. It's both impractical and unfeasible to use PHP to update something every second. Javascript runs client side and also stops if the script has to pause (like if an alert box pops up). It is also very susceptible to becoming inaccurate (like our current clock).

My main goal w/ the new clock was to create an accurate clock. One that didn't show 13:00:00pm in the afternoon or 12:05:00am of the previous day. So in order to achieve the accuracy part, I switched to a minutely-update through PHP.


I will keep brainstorming on some sort of solution to maintain the accuracy and add seconds as I imagine pretty much anyone would like the seconds visible. But at least now you know the reasoning behind the decision.

Ah, it's not a problem at all! Thank you for elaborating! I never noticed it was ever off (maybe because I refresh my page constantly?) But I can certainly see how it would be an issue left the way it was!

Like Ash, I don't think I have ever let a page sit long enough to notice the inaccuracy when I wanted the clock to be helpful, but thank you for explaining why the seconds were removed.

I think the new layout is nice.. but I wonder.. is it intended that I HAVE to leave the Orchard to see Ethernia? I would click the city and get taken to the Orchard instead until I left the zone.

@Zelly,

That's something that was mentioned briefly as being part of the exploration system when it was first announced, I think it was just never coded until now. It does seem kind of strange that you can be in the middle of a dungeon crawl and then poof, you head to town to heal, and the you're right back in the dungeon crawl. On top of that, it kind of makes both potions and the zone healers completely useless.

I believe there were several other reasons behind it, but that is the main one I can recall orz

/goes and digs through forums to find the announcement


Edit: found it!. The whole thread is about the new system, but this specific feature is in the first post as the "Lock In System"

I recall the lockout system plans, but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be working right now since you can still go to any town but Ethernia atm, but trying to go to Ethernia boots you back to the zone:

Ugh that sucks about the clock, would love to have the seconds back, I time everything off of it My extremely slow australian internet makes it super hard to get a bid through without it taking a long time, so I really rely on the seconds