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Game Director Letter – July 2013

Hi all,

The warmth of summer is upon us and most of the dev team is back from their vacation and raring to go on Issue #8. I’ll keep this update short and sweet.

First of all, I wish to thank everybody who joined in the celebrations of the first anniversary. It was a huge success, some technical glitches aside, and it was amazing to see the way the community came together to form a great hunt which purged The Secret World of the Guardians of Gaia almost as soon as they appeared.

It’s also been a great learning experience for us and will help us to direct large scale events in the game in the future. Thank you to everyone involved, and let’s make sure that the second year of The Secret World will be as amazing as the first!

There have been quite a few community questions regarding the Fusang Pet - it will be available through another event at a later date for those who missed out on it during the anniversary.

Moving forward, we are splitting the development team into two different areas of focus - the systems driven updates for Issue #8 and the content heavy new Tokyo playfield for Issue #9.

Issue #8 begins at the Council of Venice, the location where players will be able to access the Scenario system. From there, players will need to earn certification for entering Tokyo by running a certain number of scenarios. The plan is to ship Issue #8 with a number of Scenarios, some of which will be free and others which will be available for purchase in the Item Store just like in other Issues.

The Augment system, which allows you to improve almost all of the abilities in your arsenal, will also ship with Issue #8. The Augments, which require crafting to create, are made from base drops which players can collect during the Scenarios.

The Augment system and Scenario system go hand in hand and, in reflecting the growing versatility of the player with regards to Anima, as you increase your skill in Augmentation, your ability to store Ability Points will increase. Some of the more expensive Augmentation upgrades can cost several hundred AP.

Then, there is Tokyo. This is the one that people have been eagerly awaiting for a while, and we aim to meet all of those expectations. We’ll be pouring all of the lessons we have learned over the past year into Tokyo and we’re very excited to start letting people into the zone.

As I have mentioned previously, Tokyo will be broken down across several updates. Issue #9 will contain the first half of the zone - including an expanded section of Venice and a return to a location that everybody will recognize immediately.

Other updates will contain the second half of the Tokyo zone, and other important parts, such as the Tokyo Lair and the Orochi Tower, which has both a solo and component and a group dungeon. Tokyo also includes a location which will reveal the next zone where we will be taking the story.

We’re very excited about the work we are doing on Tokyo and the zone is a massive urban landscape which really highlights the setting and the strength of The Secret World.

I look forward to telling you more about it, over the coming months.

Cheers,

Joel

15 Million!

It’s unbelievable: Star Citizen fans have helped us reach the $15 million mark without any special promotion! Ten years ago, big publishers decided space games weren’t profitable… and you are proving them very, very wrong!

The $15 million unlock adds another flyable ship class to the game, the oft-discussed escort carrier. Every backer will also get a free digital 42-page Upgrade Handbook manual with their game which goes through the process of customizing and overclocking ship systems! We’re excited about putting this one together, since it goes right to the heart of what’s going to make Star Citizen unique.

The previously-announced $16 million stretch goals are:

• Arena mode: Arena mode is a simulation within the game, although it is not the simulator itself. Players will have access to an actual training simulator in their hangars, which will be used for the dogfight alpha. The Arena is something bigger. It is a galaxy-wide event, where players come to specific locations, pay their entry fees, and jump into space battles to prove who is the best dogfighter of all. Think of it as a combination of a sports tournament and modern-day gaming contests. Each winner will receive credits for the victory, and the best of the best will meet in higher and higher rounds until a grand champion is crowned.

• A laser pistol for every pledger before this point. Keep your ship safe from boarders with a pistol by your side.

With today’s achievement, we’re happy to unlock the $17 million rewards:

$17 million

• Ship upgrade package for every pledger containing an engine modifier.
• Additional flyable ship class: battlecruiser

Thank you all for your continued support. Tell your friends, Star Citizen is coming!

RIFT is officially F2P!

FREE TO PLAY
No trials. No tricks. No traps. We've made all of Telara free while adding exciting new Loyalty rewards and benefits for the most dedicated Ascended. Learn more on our Free to Play page where we cover new free-player and Patron options plus the RIFT Store, Gifting, and REX.

DENDROME
Home to lush jungles and windswept dunes, Dendrome is the heart of Update 2.3. Explore its vast reaches and battle the Architects and Awakened where new threats rise and burrow. Along the way you뭠l find unrivaled artifacts, events, and challenges, meet and drink with old friends in the riotous town of Hailol, and seek the egg of an unhatched dragon god ... one whose fate is yours to decide!

OPEN-WORLD RAID BOSSES
Energy from the shattered Blood Storm has given rise to terrifying creatures across Dendrome. The greatest of these menaces ?Kaaz'Ra, Senbora the Devourer, and Ahkane the Eternal ?stalk the open world, battling Ascended in dynamically-scaling raid encounters. Defeat each boss in new weekly quests that offer a chance at raid gear plus guaranteed tokens, infinity stones, and more.

Ahkane the Eternal must die in the Venific Locus, Kaaz'Ra must die in Hive Kaaz'Gfuu and Senbora the Devourer must die in Greenscale's Crater, or players will not receive credit for their deaths!

CHRONICLE: QUEEN'S GAMBIT
Mistress Inyra and her Awakened cult are harvesting the Architects?ancient knowledge in a misguided bid for Ascension. Brave a merciless new Chronicle to stop their schemes before the Architects turn the tables on the Awakened and summon a far greater danger to Telara.

SLIVER: GRIM AWAKENING
What would have happened to Kingsward had Salvarola prevailed? Find out as you lead the charge into a timeline where the Awakened have formed a demonic pact in return for the secret to Ascension. Battle past the infernal strength of a fallen Prince Kaliban and Salvarola himself before facing Ultane, demon lord patron of the Awakened.

STRONGHOLDS
The war against planar invasions takes to the skies in new player-summoned Strongholds, multi-tiered fortifications manned by a variety of friendly forces. Fight off new threats to Telara while flying between jump pads and platforms. Just remember to bring friends, as the most daunting invasions will lay siege to Strongholds tuned for 10-70+ players!

RIFT STORE SERVICES
* There are a large number of new Services available for purchase in the RIFT Store!
- 3/15/30 Day Patron Pass: Get all the benefits of being a Patron (Subscriber) from the convenience of using the in-game store. Learn more about the benefits of being a Patron in RIFT!
- Rune Unsocketing Apparatus: Runes can now be unsocketed from your equipment! Right-clicking this new item from your inventory makes the magic happen.
- Planar Essence Removal Device: Like Runes, you can also safely unsocket Planar Essences from your focus.
- Transfiguration Bauble: Customize your weapon with the appearance of any other as long as it's the same weapon-type! Be sure to read the instructions carefully when using.
- Brevanic Portal Generator: Allows remote access to a Porticulum for one character. can be bought for your account via the Collectors Upgrade available in the Services category.
- Brevanic Portal Battery: this item Allows you to reset the cooldown on your Brevanic Portal Generator.
- Trade Skill Extension: Use this item to unlock an additional trade skill slot, up to a maximum of 9.
- Character Slot Extension: Allows you to make an additional character per shard on all shards, up to a maximum of 12.
- Faction Change Scroll: What it says on the tin!Does not Change your race.
- Mass Soul Mend: Restore Soul Vitality to all raid members with this one consumable.
* There are other services available for purchase throughout the rest of the game as well!
- Role Slots: There are now a maximum of 20, and can be purchased with Credits from your Class Trainer.
- Wardrobe Slots: There are now a maximum of 19, and they can be purchased with Credits or Coin from your Character window.
- Race/Gender Change: Explore the new you for a handful of Credits at the Barbershop.
- Bank Vaults: Additional Vaults can now be purchased at the Banker.
- Bag Slots: The bag slot bar now supports up to a maximum of 7 bags. Additional bag bar slots are available for purchase by right-clicking on them.


LOYALTY
* Loyalty Points are gained by consuming REX, buying and spending Credits, and special promotions. There are 5 tiers of Loyalty Rewards to unlock, with a few extra rewards in-between tiers. Claim your Loyalty Rewards on the Home page of the Rift Store!
* Players who were previously or are currently subscribed to RIFT will get a one-time allotment of 7,000 Loyalty Points multiplied by the number of months they have paid for.
* The old Veteran Rewards have been rolled into the Loyalty system.
* The old Guardian and Defiant specific achievements for Veterans Rewards have been replaced by Loyalty versions.
* Jarvis and Cadbury are now summoned by a new ability, Summon: Veteran Vendor. When used, Jarvis will spawn for Defiants, and Cadbury will spawn for Guardians. This new ability is acquired at 7,000 Loyalty, which is equivalent to one month's subscription.
* Patron abilities start with 1 Charge. Charges are gained at a rate of 1 per day, with a maximum of 7. Note: if you let your Patron status lapse, all accumulated charges will be lost.

GUIDE SYSTEM
Guards in Meridian, Sanctum, and Tempest Bay can now help lost visitors find their way. Simply speak to one and select a point of interest to put a waypoint on your main map.
* Fire up your Omen/Quantum Sight: Twisted artifacts are now available in all Storm Legion zones with a new title for collecting the full rare set in each one!
* Play as Guest: New users wanting to try out RIFT can download the patcher and start playing with very little hassle up to 1 experience away from level 10. Chat restrictions do apply to keep spam and abuse at bay.

$10 Million!

As you can tell from the counter we have crossed over the astounding $10 million mark! The team at Cloud Imperium is grateful for your incredible support. Your support is letting us build the space sim we’ve always wanted to play… and we’re pleased we’re going to share the Star Citizen universe with the community you’ve formed. As promised, $10 million in crowd-funding means that we can go ahead and build our own motion capture studio, greatly expanding our development capabilities for Star Citizen.

Stay tuned, as big things are coming to the Roberts Space Industries website! In just over two weeks, we’ll be launching the all-new website with a 24-hour livestream full of new information about the game and other exciting reveals.

And a very special thanks to Star Citizen Danil Guschin. Danil’s pledge was the one that pushed the project over the $10 million limit. In a great coincidence, Danil is from Moscow… one of the locations we are modeling as a spaceport on Earth! In his honor, here is the latest version of the Moscow cityscape concept art:

We’re sending Danil home with a special prize for being Mr. $10 Million… the very first Avenger spacecraft off the production lines! What is an Avenger? You’ll have to tune in during the livestream to find out more.

Tribe Clears Tier 15!

Yeah, that's right, another Tier cleared!

Lei Shen was difficult because of the sheer RNG mechanics. The kill boiled down to two healing so we could have that extra dps to push him quicker between phases and Zailus getting all excited.

Our next goal is to start working on some heroic raid content very soon before the next raid tier is released.

Congratulations Tribe!

The month of May was probably one of our best months for new 25man kills!

Resource Extraction

We have spent a bit of time looking at the crafting system in previous articles, and even have a 20 minute video, so we thought it was important to have an article looking at the other side of this system: resource gathering. In order to properly fuel the crafting system, resources need to be collected in some fashion. We feature 2 systems for this and this article is going to focus on the first one: Extraction.

Extraction is the process of removing resources from dead creatures. In most games the standard extraction method is an ability and the results are based on the level of the creature. While our method includes an ability, Corpse Extraction, we do not have a traditional level system built into the game, instead we focus on the resources' grade. At the lowest difficulty, a creature can yield grade A results, but the chances are slim. When the difficulty increases, the chances for a higher grade also increase. As you extract from a particular species, you gain Species Mastery, which allows you to more easily extract resources from that creature. In addition, species mastery can also be increased by engaging in combat with the species in question.

Extraction is completed using a 2 round process: the first round allows the player to determine how difficult the extraction will be, while the second round is used to determine the grade of the material harvested. Both are impacted by your skill and your species mastery. The more skilled you are the quicker and easier the process. Driving up the difficulty during the extraction will increase the chances of getting a better grade. Various creatures have differing maximum difficulties.

 

The next step is to increase the grade. The grade is generated once the difficulty stage is completed. Once the Grade stage starts, it will list the maximum available grade that you can reach. Time, as well as your skill, comes into play here.. If you aren’t greatly skilled at extracting, getting a grade A result might be a bit of challenge in the time allowed.

The last choice is the quick option. Choosing Quick will save on button presses and time by combining 3 difficulty and 3 grade increases in one click and then finishing the extraction process. If the maximum possible result for the grade ends up being an A the automatic process is stopped so you can manually increase the grade. The 3 grade “increases” done through the Quick method most likely not result in an A result allowing you to take advantage of the high quality opportunity.

Once the process is finished the system will then check against the extraction list and spit out the appropriate results. Much like the crafting system there are multiple possibilities based on difficulty and grade. At low grades, it is possible that no items will be extracted. At higher grades, the chance of an item being extracted increases and additional options might open up as well.

Beyond these changes, there are a few things still on the table to be implemented a bit further down the road. We would like to add an event like system similar to what we have with crafting, to allow a bit of extra randomness and risk taking in the process.

Our next article will focus on harvesting and the options available for non-combat oriented harvesting.

Tribe goes 10/12 in Throne of Thunder!

With another month coming to a close just around the corner, Tribe defeats two more bosses on 10man - Dark Animus and Iron Qon! Our goal is to clear ToT soon and to start working on heroics.