image
News

Posts Tagged ‘MMO’

piopico

Anniversary Event Bonanza!

Monday, May 20 2013 - 9:59 AM
by piopico

 

Adventurers of the seven Astral seas! The 2nd Anniversary is at at a high with the announcement of a new update coming soon to your server! As we are in a celebratory month and wish to offer you more to make it unforgettable, we are glad to launch a bonanza of events for all our Facebook followers!

 

From Monday, May 20th until Monday, May 27th, participate in the Anniversary Event Bonanza to win from a grand pool of prizes!

 

3 events will take place for a week, allowing you to win prizes that range from the cutest Assistant of the next update, to Premium Crystals, to a full weekend of Double Experience and Gold for your server! Everyone has a chance to win so join us on Facebook and tell your friends about it!

 

 

allods online top fan event

 

Share and Support to win the exclusive Fairy Assistant!


You are tired of your Magpie? Your Aviator doesn’t make the girls swoon as much as it used too? Why don’t you show your Allods Online pride to win the newest assistant from the Path of Victory update: the Fairy!

 

Click here for the fairy picture!

 

All players that share the fairy picture will be entered in a raffle to win this fabulous creature!

 

1. Log in and visit the Allods Facebook Fan Page

2. Underneath the fairy picture, click “Share”

3. With the share photo pop-up interface, click “Share” in the top-left corner and make sure it’s set to “On your own timeline”

4. Towards the bottom of the photo pop-up interface, click the button and change the audience of your picture share to “Public”

5. Click “Share Photo”

6. On Monday, May 27th, we will choose 5 lucky winners amongst everyone who shared the image.

 

If you are one of the lucky raffle winners, you will receive the Fairy Assistant on the day of the Path to Victory update! Be the first one to get the cutest Assistant of Sarnaut!

 

allods online caption contest

 

Special Caption Contest

 

We promised you it will be back, and we didn’t lie! For this month, you will have the opportunity to share your best captions for our special capture on our Facebook wall!

 

You have until Monday, May 27th to comment with a creative caption on our Facebook page! Just click on the picture below to access it:

 allods online caption contest

Click here for the caption contest picture!

 

 The five top captions will be rewarded with the following prizes:

 

1st 1500 Premium Crystals
2nd 1000 Premium Crystals
3rd 800 Premium Crystals
4th 500 Premium Crystals
5th 300 Premium Crystals

 

 You have one week to come up with one! Will you make it in the top 5?

 

 

allods online likes illustration

 

Lucky Moment Bonanza!

 

You love illustrations? You love to see how the Path to Victory will look like? You love Lucky Moments?

 

You can get the three of them, with a click of a button! We just shared the illustration album for the Path to Victory update on our Facebook page, and for every 100 Likes, we will give a full day of Lucky Moments!

 

So for example, if you like it 100 times, you will get 24 hours of Lucky Moment, if you like it 200 times, 48 hours and so on! See how much you can get in a week!

*Lucky Moment bonuses will start on Saturday, June 1st

 

Click on the link below to access the album and start liking it! Feel free to drop a comment if you liked an illustration!

 

 

Click here for the Path to Victory picture album!

 

 

You have 3 events, so 3 ways to win a prize for yourself and your server! Join us for the Facebook Event Bonanza between Monday, May 20th until Monday, May 27th!



piopico

Path to Victory Coming Soon!

Wednesday, May 15 2013 - 4:00 AM
by piopico


 

Last week was the launch of our amazing Anniversary event, celebrating 2 years of the Allods Online Official Release!
 
You had cake, wonderful new outfits, a fierce wolf to expand your mounts’ collection, and even learned a lively dance to showcase at your summer parties! Although it is normal to think nothing can top this celebration, you may be very wrong as we are glad to announce the upcoming arrival of the next Allods Online update!

 

March on the Path to Victory to become an even greater deity, witness the Warrior revamp, the Astral Pier feature, the Dominion evolution and much more! You can have a sneak peek of these features in our first teaser video below! See it, share it and enjoy it!

 

 

Come back very soon to our official website to discover our first “Closer look at…” preview for the Path to Victory!

 

allods online update



piopico

Join the Allods Online Anniversary Extravaganza!

Thursday, May 09 2013 - 2:56 AM
by piopico


 

Dear Sarnautians,

 

You have been invited to Allods Online 2nd Anniversary Celebration starting Friday, 10th of May! Meet beside Aidenus Tower or in the Old square of Nezebgrad to attend the party!  You are allowed to bring guests with you, but ensure you are dressed in your best attire to join the festivities!

 

Dearly,

Aidenus and Yasker.

 

PS: Clean Gibberlings compulsory.

 

 

We are happy to invite all Sarnautians to the finest party, celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of Allods Online Official Release!

 

allods online anniversary

 

For two years we have brought you the most exciting expansions to the game, with new lands, class spells, allods, confrontations, events and fun! With Lords of Destiny you met the mysterious Tekyans and discovered the stunning environment of Pearl Ring, Crystal Mountains and the new Astral instances. Let’s not forget about another feature that was a feast for the eyes that brought new action to your adventurer’s life! Tep’s Pyramid is now the place to be for the daring guilds of Sarnaut, as the Dominion also brings a new level to PVP activity! And much, much more is to come in the future and we are glad to have you as a part of the Allods Online Community!

 

But let’s focus on our celebration of the month! You missed the opportunity to tame the FREE Grey Wolf last year; it will be back! You wanted to show off with an amazing outfit? A new costume and headgear will be available too: The Set of the Noble Hero! And many more rewards for your characters!

 

We will bring back one of your favorite events, with the return of Vladimir Jubilein in the Old Square, Ivan Godovikov besides Aidenus Tower and the exquisite Prekasa and Inga who will remind you of the anniversary dance! So gather the Anniversary coins you have looted all across Sarnaut, and get your hands on the hottest accessories in Allods Online from the 10th of May until the 10th of June!

 

allods online mmo anniversary event



To participate in this event, all you need to do is log into Allods Online between the 5/10/13 and 6/10/13 and begin mercilessly slaughtering your foes! Collect coins from your fallen enemies and bring them to your capital city to trade to special NPCs for each faction! Of course, those of you who have been collecting coins and stashing them in a safe spot the past few weeks can also use those too!
 
Coins you collect can also be traded up for a higher currency.
 
10 Special Copper Coins can be traded for 1 Special Silver Coin
10 Special Silver Coins can be traded for 1 Special Gold Coin
10 Special Gold Coins can be traded for 1 Special Platinum Coin
 
Once you have them make sure to visit the special event NPC for your faction. For the Empire it’s Vladimir Jubilein, for the League it is Ivan Godovikov. 

 

allods online anniversary wolf

 

Although the NPC will be providing you plenty of items to look at, we will be sending FREE special rewards for our loyal community! Because you are the best of the best and have accompanied us for the past 2 years (or even more), players with characters created before the 9th of May will receive:

 

- 250 Premium Crystals on their account

- An Anniversary Gift send by mail in-game to each of your characters!

 

And what does this Anniversary Gift contain?

 

 allods online anniversary chest

Anniversary Chest (3): gives a new piece of equipment (rare quality) or gold for your character level 51 and under.

 

For characters level 52 and above, the chest will give you a quest allowing you to receive a glyph from Valya Skomorokhova (Elven District for League) or Zinaida Krichalkina (Yasker Tower for the Empire).

Bound to your character.

 

The Anniversary chests are given to the Progenitor and Reincarnations.

allods online speck of light 

Speck of Light (1000): increases your attacking and healing skills in combat. Once activated, the speck is destroyed. A speck goes off 10 to 30 seconds after combat begins or the previous speck is destroyed.

Bound to your character.

 

The Specks of Light are given to the Progenitor only.

allods online anniversary incense 

Incense (10): extends the duration of your Patron’s blessing by one day. Patron’s blessing allows you to use special Patronage abilities and makes your Astral travels more comfortable.

Bound to your character.

 

The Incense pack is given to the Progenitor only.

 

 If you are only joining us now, don’t worry, you will receive plenty amazing things in the future, on top of taming the Grey Wolf this spring!

 

We hope these anniversary gifts will show you our appreciation to all members of the Allods Online community! Thanks to your support, our game grows bigger and we hope to reach new heights together!

 

Feel free to showcase your new outfit and beloved mounts on our social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and happy anniversary!

 

allods online anniversary



piopico

Developer Diary – Raid Creation!

Friday, May 03 2013 - 8:14 AM
by piopico

Hello Sarnautians!

 

A peek behind the scenes at how a game is made is an exciting experience! We showcased the Developer Diary videos earlier this year, explaining the reasons behind the Xadaganian girl revamp, how they draft new zones and so on! Today, we are sharing with you the diary of Arkady, the Game Designer, explaining how raids are created!

 

Settle back with a nice cup of tea or coffee and learn more about the creation of this exciting activity!

 

My name is Arkady, and I happen to be a Game Designer. A better, but not complete description of what I do, is the development of game mechanics design. However, we are not going to discuss my field of action today. We’re going to talk about raids, in the development of which (among other things), I am a part of.­­

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Raids, also known as group adventures, are PvE activities for groups of up to 24 players (for the moment). But you might already know this. In this article I am going to tell you about things you do not yet know about. Curious? Shall we start then?

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

How does the creation of a raid begin? First you have to pick a whiskey brand, at least, some say so. I wouldn’t know about that, but what I know for sure is that it’s actually a Scriptwriter who’s at ground zero of it all.

 

The Scriptwriter’s task is to make sure there’s a common sense to everything we do and bring it all into sync with the Allods Online universe. This is where a raid springs from. The Scriptwriter develops the plot and sets the mood. It normally goes like this: “Friends and colleagues! In our new Raid we should elaborate on the subject of Tep. He is a very important character, we ought to favor him with our attention”.

 

 

To cut a long story short, we develop the plot a couple of updates ahead, and we pick a villain to be subdued. Today we are going to discuss a raid where we bring low Tep and his minions.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

The Scriptwriter provides us with one simple fact: “We battle Tep,” – and with a few extras. For instance, there’s a list of Tep’s minions that includes their backgrounds, basic qualities, likes and dislikes and so on. Also, there’s Key Keeper, who’s malign, but faithful to Tep, fond of engineering and knows well how to disassemble and reassemble a golem.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Here’s where the Creature and World Object Design Leads step in. Together we decide how much we are able to do. This is one of the most important things – how much we’re allowed to create. We are limited by our deadlines and other stuff we have to work on. For instance, we had to create new mounts and costumes simultaneously with the Raid mobs. Having all this on our plate, we must set priorities – what needs to be done in the first place, and what can be prioritized. High priority things push the raid down the queue.

 

Thus, the discussions held together with the Creature and WO Designers is vitally important. It sets our immediate and potential goals for the near future and helps develop the schedule for any new things that need to be created and some old things that could be redesigned.

 

That’s correct, we create the new, but we also modify the old. Skin modification is the process of “dressing up” an old model with new textures, visual effects and animations. The most obvious case is the mount with its kaleidoscope of color patterns. The first raid boss called Bouncer is a direct offspring of good old Squealer.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

This discussion results in a list of raid bosses and the estimated size of the raid. Concept creators enter the field now. They create the concept sketches of the future models and animations. This is one of the most complicated points because of the sheer volume of what must be done. We need to elaborate how a boss should behave, what actions it should perform: Will it freeze to the ground or move about? Will it use physical or magical attacks, et cetera. All this has a significant impact even upon the rough draft sketches, not to mention further modeling and animations.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

At the same time we start building up the location and the visuals and develop the scenario of the raid. The location’ size is highly important, for it depends on whether the raid group will have to run about much or not, kite or split the additional mobs, or if any pools will be splashed… all this needs careful thought before designing the gameplay.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

The environment is constructed very carefully and may undergo numerous transformations. For instance, when Tep’s Pyramid was being developed, its interior was reworked five or six times. The reasons vary: the scenario was rethought, the Mood of the Raid changed, the boss’ list of abilities extended…

 

The most frequently modified parameter is the Atmospherics, that is: the light options, the air clarity, the general mood. The first version of atmospherics in Tep’s pyramid looked like this:

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

As soon as the processing of all the necessary components has started, I lay down the Raid Design itself. In our particular case it contains the general plot, the subject, the list of bosses, gameplay drafts (they go like “Nihil casts AoE; route, devices; Bouncer – tanks”). Before it is submitted, a few concepts and details are subject to modification.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Now, here’s my favorite part: Boss Fight Design. The first rough draft may take up to a month to complete!

 

 

The draft basically covers two points: what the players do and how they do it. The first is the basic description of Players’ Actions. Sihal, for instance, has four stages, each of which requires certain gameplay. Stage One: Players meet the boss. Stage Two: They focus on additional mobs, switch tanks, deal damage. Stage Three: Active healing and Sparks transmission. Stage Four: Damage, damage, enrage. To get to the point, my task is to make players play this particular instance.

 

The WAY they do it, the second point, goes down to achieving the goal described above. I describe the principles that direct the players to play exactly the way it was meant to be played. There are two ways to acheive this: encourage the correct gameplay and punish the incorrect. The carrots work better than the whips; however, it is perceived a bit differently in the game.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

To tell you the truth, I’m absolutely sure that carrots and whips need to be finely balanced when designing the boss fight. I’ll explain. Figure a random boss who splashes in pools that increase damage dealt to him. The players need to lure him right into the pools, while each step deals damage to them. Thus, we have carrots – increased damage to the boss while he’s in the splashed pool, and whips – it costs players hit points to use the feature. However, if the whips are too painful – that is, too much damage is received – the players are not going to use it.

 

The same boss casts an aura that stacks poison on players within a 10-plus yard radius. Extra damage equals whips. To make the poison debuff fade, players have to slip out of the area. They run out and away from the boss, who, in his turn, ends up out of his extra-damage pool. Voila, carrots make players ignore the whips.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

 

All this makes up the Boss Design. At the same time, we need to decide whether we should let the players fight the boss strictly in the pre-designed way, or we should allow them to develop their own strategy. On the one hand, forcing players is not nice at all. On the other hand, the single way is easier to balance and pre-calculate. Besides, if there are multiple strategies, one of them is bound to be more efficient. One design covers all raid bosses. Despite a diversity of features they all should work in one style and accord.

 

Another important thing to be carefully considered is Class Abilities. It’s not a good idea to fix up a boss with a powerful area of effect spell that reduces players’ hit points by 146% – not all classes are able to reduce incoming damage of this magnitude.

 

By the time the designing routine is over, the creature concepts must have already been finished. In a perfect world, even the models should be created. Now there’s this epic moment to proceed to a most difficult and complicated stage – The Effects. That is, visual effects of spellcasting, spells, abilities, buffs et cetera.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Sometimes a visual effect can be implemented using an existing engine, this is a welcome but rare case. If a solution does not turn out to be this simple, it’s time for workarounds — a non-standard means of solving non-standard problems.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

(1) Energy flows appear from the thin air, concentrate (2), move down with the rays (3) that eminate from the sphere (4). Sparks dance around the sphere.

 

It took me over two weeks to create an Out-of-the-Box solution for the Spark in the third phase of Sihal. It had to appear from a broken generator and into the first illusion to destroy it, on to the second illusion and so on. It’s not as simple as it looks: a creature can cast a spell on another one, but it’s tricky to send a visual effect roaming from point A to point B, especially if they are not interconnected.

 

Sometimes the Resources of the engine and the in-game mechanics are not up to the design, and it has to be reconstructed to ensure game client does not slow down or lag.

 

Effects are the last (but not least) thing that is created by other teams and does not depend on me to develop. Actually, there are also sound and music, but they’re recorded after the fact. When the effects are ready, it’s my turn to enter the stage and put down in detail the Game Mechanics.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

What are Game Mechanics, exactly? They are a list of commands supported by the server and the game client. These commands define the movements of mobs, describe their spells and abilities, everything. Nothing is going to work if the mechanics are not thoroughly described. This is the important, crucial part of the job. Mechanics are the core of the game.

 

Raid Mechanics take a pretty long time to develop. The more complicated the raids become, the more complex the Raid Mechanics get. Each new raid involves something brand new, original, never-done-before, so we create, invent, build up, drink blood, eat brains and succeed.

 

Let us study a simple case – A Mage’s Fireball. This is a ranged spell (its distance is, say, 40 yards), it has a certain visual, aimed at a single target, and it deals Fire damage. It is described as follows in the editor:

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Pretty neat, huh? Now figure a spell that casts selectively upon targets whose hit points are above a certain level, and then applies Buff A if the target’s hit points are lower than 50%, or Buff B, if their hit points are over 50%. Buff A stuns the target and may be healed, but it damages everyone in the area when cleared. Buff B deals damage over time, and upon fade casts a pool around the target. This pool applies Buff C to everyone who steps in it, and when Buff C fades, it increases the damage dealt by the boss to the target. This all is described as one single spell. Not so simple now.

 

To make the work more structured, for every single boss we create a Workspace, where we store all of their abilities, spells, additional mobs, all the phases and stages, and the rest of the things connected with that particular boss.

 

The Game Mechanics Designer’s primary task is to create a concise description that would not potentially cause bugs. A 10 step description that includes checks and sub-checks is more dangerous in terms of errors than a simple 2-step-1-check listing.

 

A bug-hazardous code is a code which won’t allow full apprehension of the mechanics – the Fireball is least bug-hazardous, while the complicated spell might cause a few. Each of the classes has its own peculiarities, such as spell protection, physical protection, different types of bubbles and immortalities, resistances and a lot of Rubies. To make sure a spell is 100% bug-free, one has to test it through and through in all the possible combinations.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

There was once a Boss whose mechanics were bound to work alright, but for an unknown reason, it kept failing. The reason was finally found. It was one of the Paladin’s abilities that forcefully applied an effect to targets, and its high priority overlapped with Boss’ actions. The funny thing is that this ability had never triggered any such things before.

Of course, there are special scripts, bots, testing programs and servers that test such things, but sometimes this is just not enough. For a good designer it is vitally important to know how it all works, and to be able to test it manually.

 

Raid mechanics development includes A Few Steps: gameplay rough draft, test version, polishing. First, we place a few identical mobs with no objects or skins on a plain surface, attach Bosses’ mechanics to them, gather a group of the designers and a couple of assistants and playtest the raid to see if our ideas are working out. This way we develop about 99% of the mechanics, then we add the models, most of the effects, and get to the Adjustments. We define the damage, hit points, schedule time to summon additional mobs. After this the time comes to gather a proper group of six players (Tank and Healer included) to hold another play test which may result in more changes and alterations in the mechanics.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

Nihil has suffered many changes; the way it is now is the sixth revision of the mechanics. In the very beginning she had no phases, her spells cast instantly, and players had to be under shield and jump away from black holes. There was a special device to aim Nihil’s cannons at herself. We took a couple of play tests, and saw how complicated it was all at once, so we decided to divide the fight into phases.

 

The last step is The Polishing. We replace draft figures with final ones: the damage, hit points, time counters. See that the effects and the sounds are finalised and well linked. Figures are the most difficult part. It looks simple: the boss deals 200000 damage. However, The Basic Damage is to be modified by a lot of stats, both boss’ and players’: boss’ level, type (boss, raid boss, common mob etc), its difficulty, stat modifiers; players’ level, resistances, Rubies, stats. We enter “damage 19” in our editor, and after all multiplications, calculations, reductions and scaling, it results in 200000.

 

Thorough tests are needed to check the whole volume of work done. We invite a few players to our office to hold Real Time Play Tests, which show exactly what’s come out really well, and what hasn’t. The result of this test changes a lot. For instance, we once playtested Sihal, and I hated the looks of his attack, so we swapped his tentacles for claws:

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Raid Creation

 

After the polishing is done, we pass the raid to the QA department for a few weeks for testing. They look for minor bugs and discrepancies.

 

Before we distribute the new content, we bind one last Spy function to each boss. It records boss fight history, so we can always look up what players do to our creatures and how they do it. We also monitor raid groups, wipe frequency, damage done by different classes, spells used. This helps estimate the effectiveness of classes and boss design quality.

 

Raid creation is a long and complicated process that involves a lot of difficulties and risks.  About a hundred people work on it, from artists to QA, for you to enjoy the game and have fun.

 

I hope you have liked my story! See you!



piopico

The Astral Servants and Magpie Helpers are back!

Wednesday, May 01 2013 - 8:21 AM
by piopico

 

With the sun shining brighter than usual this Spring, all adventurers are eager to discover new places with only a backpack, hoping to fill it with dreams and many treasures!

 

But if you were worried about spending too much time collecting your findings, rather than admiring the landscape or slaying some zombies, we have an amazing offer for you!

 

From Thursday, May 2nd until Wednesday, May 8th, rediscover the Temporary Astral Servant and the Temporary Magpie in the Allods Item Shop!

 

allods online magpie

 

You will have the chance to tame the 7 and 25-Day Magpie that will pick up the loots for you in a blink of an eye when you are busy fighting your ruthless enemies. This is a great opportunity to test these assistants before adopting them for good!

 

 allods online magpie

Helper: Magpie – 25 days: allows you to summon a Magpie helper for 25 days upon its activation. When summoned, the Magpie will collect loots until your bag is full.

 

The Magpie can be sold or exchanged, unless obtained through Premium Crystals or activated by right-clicking on the icon.

 allods online magpie

Helper: Magpie – 7 days: allows you to summon a Magpie helper for 7 days upon its activation. When summoned, the Magpie will collect loots until your bag is full.

 

The Magpie can be sold or exchanged, unless obtained through Premium Crystals or activated by right-clicking on the icon.

 

The Magpie will collect your loots if you don’t want to lose time while killing off your enemies so you can continue your rampage!

 

And who do you call when your bag is full of loot or ores? You guessed it right: the Astral Servant! Along his peers, he will make a comeback for a limited time as! So why don’t you try out the 7 and 30-Day Astral Servant and see the wonderfulness of this creature!

 

 allods online master goblin

Astral Servant – 30 Days: summons a 30-day Master goblin that provides instant access to mailbox, bank, auction and Currency Exchange, teleports to any location, buys items and sells Myrrh. Only player who summoned the Goblin can interact with him.

When you obtain this Astral Servant from the Item Shop, it will be bound to your character and the timer will start.

 allods online master goblin Astral Servant – 7 Days: summons a 7-day Astral servant that provides instant access to mailbox, bank, auction and Currency Exchange, teleports to any location, buys items and sells Myrrh. Only player who summoned the Goblin can interact with him.

When you obtain this Astral Servant from the Item Shop, it will be bound to your character and the timer will start.

 

The ingame text says the Astral Servant will be consumed after use although the Astral Servant will not be consumed after use. Instead, it stays in your character’s bag until the item duration runs out.

 

Thanks to these servitors, you won’t worry about the number of Master goblins left in your bag, and you can use these 7 and 30-day Astral Servants any time you want during the day, and whenever you want during the length of its service! If you never used them, it is the perfect trial for you!

 

allods online master goblin

Let’s recap: you can have you own personal Goblin Banker and just enjoy your time admiring the wonderful landscape of Allods Online with your Magpie helper doing the looting so you’ll have more spare time to slay more monsters!

 

Don’t forget you can obtain these items with gPotato, Gem Shards, or Premium Crystals. The items will be bound to your character if you use the Premium Crystals currency!

 

Get your hands on Temporary Astral Servant, and the Temporary Magpie between the 2nd and the 8th of May!



piopico

Developer Diary – Astral Allod Creation!

Friday, April 26 2013 - 6:46 AM
by piopico

Hello Sarnautians,

 
“Allods Online” is a game that is constantly evolving. But there can be no development without adding a lot of new content that fills and spreads through the whole game world. That is why the Allods’ Team never ceases the creation process. And now, thanks to the Developer Diary, we are able to showcase how new content is imagined and created by this amazing team!

 

Let us present to you the latest entry of the Developer Diary: the Astral Allod creation!

 

In this article I’m going to tell you how I build Astral Islands. By the way, a brand new one is set to to appear in the game pretty soon.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

It all starts with a concept

 

I always store a few ideas of how I think new islands should look. They come into my head in the course of my everyday life: on my way to work or during my vacations with friends. While reading a book or watching a movie, I collect my greatest impressions to incorporate them into my future creations. The tiniest things may inspire me, whether it be an interesting story or a bright visual image that sets an atmosphere.

 

For example, the concept for one of the islands was born by mixing up two images: a June city lost in the jungle and snowy mountains with a temple. And so the allod appeared: an ancient city in a frozen jungle.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

During the pre-production stage I pick my favourite idea and start developing it. This produces the Reference: a very important component, a connection between allod elements and the real experience of a player. When in the game, players meet things they have come across before, and these allusions to something already known brings positive emotions, making them believe in whatever is on the screen.

 

The Reference helps bring a story from real life into our game world. Our Emerald Isle is a recognizable allusion to the Wizard of Oz, that is so familiar since childhood. The game gives a wonderfull opportunity to follow in Alla’s footsteps along the Yellow Brick Road and meet Tin Woodman, Scarecrow and Lion who turn into hostile and dangerous bosses under the influence of Mysterious Astral.

 

After the concept of the island is decided, I begin to work it through and expand on its background. This is a very creative process that is a lot of fun. I put down detailed chronicles of the events and describe the zones on the island.

 

This stage involves the Scriptwriter. We strive to make a deep and fascinating storyline. The story is important, for all the details such as mobs and bosses, scripted events and NPCs, will deeply support it. We decide what places players will visit on the island and what and who they are going to see there. This will help with the further design of the monsters, bosses and topology.

 

 

Look before you leap

 

When the storyline is finished, we can get down to the topology. I use a special Map Editor to make a rough draft of the island. Since I am going to make a city-like island, I have to lay the main road, a big temple, a couple of city squares and a huge portal at the end of the island – its landmark.

 

A landmark is a unique object that serves as a reference point and is often noted by the players. There is such a mark on every island, like the Mana Station in Zone 51.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

Landmark: Huge June Portal

When the draft is ready, I focus my attention on the details: I place small and medium objects (trees and buildings). In case of the Icy Isle these were mountains and hills. But all this is still a draft! It still requires a little more work.

 

After my draft of the island has been accepted, the time comes to switch to designing Bosses and Mobs. Here the background of the island helps a lot, for the mob hierarchy was created at that stage. I want to give unique abilities to all the mobs and bosses to bring new challenges to the island. Now players will not resort to a “button mash” strategy and will have to invent some new tactics to fight these enemies.

 

I assign some unusual mechanics to one of the optional bosses, such as the Cayman on a beautiful Koch-Itzmahl Island.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

On my island I created a golem who throws enormous fireballs, so players have to run about all the time to avoid them. If players manage to defeat the boss quickly, it gives them bonus damage and healing for easier exploration of the island.

 

I invent special abilities for mob packs to stimulate the players to think harder, plan more accurately and work as a team. There is usually one of the mobs that increases the others’ damage, controls or weakens the players or casts area of effect spells upon death. It isn’t always for the best, however. My experience shows that players may sometimes misunderstand the mechanics, so they should always be crystal clear to them!

 

Strike while the iron is hot

After the design is completed, a new stage of production begins. This is the time for all the ideas to come to life. When my design gets the green light, I start working on the detailing of the map and the mechanics implementation. I can assign special tasks to programmers in case I need any new game mechanics introduced (e.g. mechanics for The Poison Wing).

 

Pretty often, when standard mobs are not enough to fill the island, I ask designers to create some brand new ones. My favorite demands are often connected with the final epic boss, like the one in Zone 51. This time is not an exception! There will be a totally unique last boss and a unique place to fight him.

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

During the final stage I spend a lot of time with the artists. Together we adjust the lighting and choose colour shades. The artists produce concept art of the new objects, locations and creatures. Here is the concept for the Island’s final boss:

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

To develop mechanics I use special editors that help tune mobs and bosses just as I wish. I set their abilities and script their behavior that can be corrected during the numerous playtests to come. Another important thing is the visual appearance of monsters’ spells and abilities. That is how it all looks in the editor:

 

Allods Online Developer Diary: Astral Allod Creation

 

Finaly the island is ready for the Playtest. It means that all the work of the designers, artists and scriptwriters has ended. The island is filled with decorations, scripted scenes, monsters, NPCs and even some easter eggs!

 

I test the island personaly a few times. Then we gather a group of people who have worked on the island and play together. We mark all the good and bad things, think of suggestions on how to improve on the bad or alter the gameplay and mechanics. But the last word always belongs to the creator of the Island’s concept. When we finish, the island goes to QA Team for bug testing.

 

The creation of an Astral Island is a fascinating and exciting process. It requires a great deal of inspiration and imagination because this all is in the hands of one person. This is such a good opportunity to create an adventure of your own and share it with other players. I enjoy reading the Allods Online forums; particularly threads where the players discuss Astral islands, including mine. The comments are a very valuable resource for our team. They help make Allods Online better and more enjoyable. Travel through the Astral and share your impressions, discuss your ideas and thoughts as all of them can find their future in the Astral!

 

Have Fun!



piopico

[Event] Run Crabby, Run!

Monday, April 22 2013 - 11:56 AM
by piopico


Have you ever had a dream where you are one of the most beloved creatures of Sarnaut as you speed through the land with your golden hair flowing majestically through the wind? Well, today is your lucky day as your wild fantasy will become a reality!…sort of. “Laguna Chatata” – it’s an ancient Sarnaut saying for “There are no worries”. Set your struggles aside for a day as we lose ourselves in a bubbly day of wacky entertainment. Break some salty sweat with an epic crab race of a lifetime!
 
Transform into a beady-eye crab for a crab race that will leave you crawling for more! Speed, endurance, and not being crabby will help you come out as a winner!
 
Rules:
The race will begin on Thursday, April 25 at 1 PM PDT – Avilon Server, League
• The race will begin on Thursday, April 25 at 2 PM PDT – Avilon Server, Empire
• The race will begin on Thursday, April 25 at 3 PM PDT – Yul Server, League
• The race will begin on Thursday, April 25 at 4 PM PDT – Yul Server, Empire
 
• Gather near the Demonic Gates (entrance to Gorluxor’s Tower) in Yazes Shard
• Wait for a GM to teleport you past the barrier and transform your character into a crab.
• Once you are in crab form, do not click/remove the crab transformation icon on your buff status, or you will not be able to participate in the race.
• You will be instructed to line up behind the starting line (wall of cows) until the GM tells you when to start the race.
• You will run counter-clockwise until you reach and pass the finish line (wall of cows).
 

 

The first 10 players that run the course and reach the finish line will win 20 Special Gold Coins!
 
Shrinking down to the size of a crab (unless you’re a Gibberling) will make this race seem like a marathon so prepare yourself for the big race coming Thursday, April 25!



piopico

Set Sail with up to 30% OFF Astral Items and Catalysts!

Monday, April 22 2013 - 6:50 AM
by piopico


 

Ahoy Astral Pirates!
 
Spring is the best season to set sail in the Astral and explore the new allods brought by Lords of Destiny! Every sea, pardon, Astralwolf can hear the irresistible call to adventure!
 
Summon your best Helmsman, your best cannoneers and (gently) grab your beloved Goblin repairmen and meet them in the Astral port of your capital to start the journey!
 
What? You need to wait for your ship to be complete and you’re tired of slacking in the Bort Quarter? Or, maybe, you are already in the Astral, without enough emanations to find your way to the mysteries of Turtle Allod?
 
Whether you are an experienced captain a overheated reactor in the middle of a battle with Octhulu or a rookie sailor waiting for her ship to be completed to start the journey, we have the perfect items for you!
 

Set sail with 30% OFF Astral Items and Catalysts from Tuesday, the 23rd of April, to the 25th of April!
 


Set sail and start plundering the remote allods, just like Elf Sparrow!


When you have built your ship you were a young sailor, just graduated from the Gibberling Navy Academy. You were standing at the port eager to set sail, when they have asked you to name your ship. You hadn’t really thought about a name, you were so concerned about reactors and visor, and then you were so eager to set sail that… well you haven’t given the name it deserves to your mighty vessel!
 
Everything has changed now, you’re a veteran and you have already attempted to defeat Tep in his creepy Pyramid. It’s time to rename your ship and, why not, make it more comfortable with the Coupon Book!

It’s the right time to do it with 30% off Astral items and Catalysts!
Coupon Book: gives you a coupon that can be turned to customize the appearance of one of the following ship components: Hull, Sails, Figurehead, Sail Emblem, as well as decorations inside your ship. Talk to the Glowy Family in the League Hangar or to Nomarkh Hanotep in the Empire Hangar and select the “Customize ship” option to change your ship’s appearance.
Mechanic’s Rune: decreases the time needed to repair your ship and can be used only while a ship is summoned in the Astral hangar or it’s being repaired. Mechanic’s Runes do not complete repairs beyond what has already been paid for at the Hangar Overseer.
Bottle of Astral Coolant: reduces heat level of Astral ship’s reactor by 25% of its maximum load, allowing for more frequent use of heat-generating abilities. If several bottles are used within a minute, effectiveness of each subsequent application is decreased by 33%.
Builder’s Rune – 1 Day: can be used to complete a quest that will reduce the time needed to construct an Astral ship. It can only be used while an Astral ship is being built in the Astral hangar.
Astral Emanations – 50 units: can be used to replenish the supply of your ship’s
Astral Emanations without having to kill Astral demons.
Astral Replicator: doubles the amount of experience, loot and prestige when in the astral.
When activated consumes twice as many Astral Keys and Teleport Charges.
Ship Naming License: allows you to rename your Astral ship. Can be traded or auctioned unless obtained through Premium Crystals.
Astral Transporter: summons a character on board. Character incoming to a party can use this
item to make group members teleport him on to the ship. Once the new
character uses this item, Astral Teleport effect appears on it. In
order to summon the new character on the ship, the following
requirements MUST be fulfilled:

- At least four characters must be already on the ship;
- Ship must be in the Astral and not landing (impossible to teleport a character on to an allod);
- Four characters on the ship should go on the teleport platform of the ship;
- Four characters on the ship should use the Astral Transporter context action at the same time to summon the character;
- New member can only be teleported if he is on the teleport platform of the astral hangar;
- No one else in the party should have the Astral Transporter effect on their character.

The item is consumed after use and can be traded or auctioned unless obtained through Premium Crystals.

Concentrated Catalyst: increases the effectiveness of Amalgam refinement by 400%.
Strong Catalyst: increases the effectiveness of Amalgam refinement by 100%.

 
Your helmsman was late and you have to leave without him, and now you really regret not having his Arisen skills onboard. You don’t need to go back to Nezebgrad, if you have an Astral Teleport with you! Well, that doesn’t mean the captain can’t tell him off!
 

 
Whether you need to refine more Amalgam, get more XP, loot and prestige during your Astral adventures or cool off your reactor during a battle, get advantage of the best offer dedicated to our mighty Pirates!
 

All the Astral tab and the Catalysts will be on sale from Tuesday, the 23rd of April, to the 25th of April:
don’t miss this 30% discount, the Astral Demons are waiting for you!



piopico

The Dominion Wars Guide!

Tuesday, April 16 2013 - 8:14 AM
by piopico

Allods Online Dominion

 

Lords of Destiny has brought in many changes, one of the most important being the revamped Astral and thrilling guild vs. guild battles. Even though everyone was excited about these changes, they were still players unsure of some of the mechanics… Would they be able to gain power and resources, and defeat the guild that always stood in their way to total domination?
 
Fear not! We have a very special guide for you that will uncover many of the Dominion War’s secrets. This information will help you to plan your tactics, and prepare to bring down your enemies.
 
See the full Dominion Wars Guide here!



piopico

[Event] Doublin’ PioPico!

Monday, April 15 2013 - 2:18 PM
by piopico


 
Now that I’m getting more settled in my new home (rainy land of Ireland), it’s time for a fun event that’ll show you some of the local sights while letting you have some exploration! For this event, you will need a camera (or phone with camera), two legs, and a good sense of direction with your IRL (in real life) surroundings.
 
I thought it would be fun to show some of the local sights around the city while making a copycat event out of it. With that said, I will show 5 pictures of myself at specific locations around Dublin. You must find close locations around where you live IRL and take a picture of yourself at the same type of location for all/any of the 5 pictures.
 
Of all the copycat entries, I will choose my favorite picture from each of the 5 types of photos that I have shown, and award the owner of the picture with 1,500 Premium Crystals!
 
This means you don’t have to copy each of the 5 pictures since it’s understandable that some of you may have not easy access to the same IRL settings, but it will increase your chances of winning since you have more entries that could be the winning photo of that photo type.
 
Rules:
 
1. Photos #1 – #5 will be posted everyday from Monday – Friday on Allods Online Twitter
 
• Photo #1 – Monday April 15
• Photo #2 – Tuesday April 16
• Photo #3 – Wednesday April 17
• Photo #4 – Thursday April 18
• Photo #5 – Friday April 19
 
2. Once you see the picture tweeted, you must find a nearby location in real life that is similar to the setting shown in the photo. With a camera (it’ll help to have someone take the picture of you), have your picture taken that mimics the setting. IMPORTANT – Make sure you hold up your hand and give a “thumbs up” so we know it’s actually you in the picture or else your entry will not count.
 
3. Retweet the daily tweet with a link to your picture, write your character’s name & server, and include the following hash tags – #allods, #Doublinpio
 
4. Each photo of a particular setting will be judged against other photos of that same setting. For example, a picture of you in a park will be judged against other pictures of players in a park. This setup makes it fair for those who are not capable of taking pictures at each of the 5 locations.
 
5. You have throughout Sunday, April 21st to retweet any of your entries. One retweet per each / any of the 5 picture entries. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 22nd.
 
Prizes:
Of all the copycat entries, I will choose my favorite picture from each of the 5 types of photos that I have shown, and award the owner of the picture with 1,500 Premium Crystals!
 

Have fun doublin’ PioPico and enjoy pictures of PioPico around Dublin, Ireland!

 
Remember, you can only participate in this event if you follow our Allods Online Twitter. If you have not joined the Allods Online Twitter yet, now is the time!