Letter to the Community - November 2013 2013-11-27 16:00 - [Azael]

Hello there and welcome to our now monthly talk.

As usual, I will talk about the last update and what’s coming in the next one.
 

Last Update

I think this was a rather positive update, even though it wasn’t perfect.

The new organization of the team that was implemented for the last update did bring results, and I want to thank all of you for your support, as well as the team for all the efforts provided to make it work and bring results so quickly.
 

Wild Estate

I’m particularly happy with the quality of the Wild Estate, and I believe we found similar feedback in your comments: thank you all for sharing your thoughts!

This will motivate us to do even more and keep improving the “structure” of our narrative content for the next islands while staying focused on little details that could be problematic.
 

Beta server

The Beta server is also a success: many of you joined us for testing and sent us much valuable feedback that was used to improve content for the last update. Once again: thank you all!

Another example of its usefulness: Last week it allowed us to identify an issue with the conversion of experience following the revamp of the experience curve. Had we not tested this change on Beta, we wouldn’t have noticed it for the Update!
 

Players/Developers communication

This is an ongoing process that began with our CMs, and I think we can say that the results are quite positive so far with the addition of early changelogs and devblogs being published much earlier to receive your feedback.
 

Bugs

Once again, this is a huge downside of the update. But I want to talk about it as I believe that regarding content addition, our new methods have proven efficient.

However, there are two points that couldn’t go unnoticed:

• Al Howin
• Updater

 
Al Howin… Too many issues with this one. We’re already taking steps to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. In the name of the team I sincerely apologize and a compensation has already been sent to all those that connected during the event.

The issues encountered can be explained by the fact that we had to completely relocate the event in the new Astrub, without modifying it too much. We also don’t have any automatic event system, which generated issues with the quests that couldn’t be repeated after a year.
 
The next two events, Kwismas and the Spring festival will be a real test for us.

The production time needed for an event is high. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if the event could be repeated every year automatically. However, if the team has to work on it every year, and spend as much time as the first year, I’d rather ask them to focus on other content.
 
This is a decision I will make based on the success of the next two events in 2013 and beginning of 2014.
 
About issues with the updater since the update to Java 6, these are unfortunately outside of the control of the Production team. Be sure that we are doing everything that is possible on our side to make sure that the next update will be deployed and patched more smoothly.
 
These points really darkened the global impression of the update, and changed something positive into a more reserved feedback.

But when I look at the new organization, and what it accomplished in a month and a half, I stay confidant about the quality of our next updates, although the next one will be a real challenge!
 

December Update

While the last update was focused on content addition, the next one will not only include a new feature (Sidekicks), but also a couple revamps: Smithmagic and the experience gain in-game.

This is quite an ambitious program that I hope will be a success in terms of new content and the overall quality of the update.
 

Smithmagic and experience curve

We said we would revamp them for the end of the year, and it shall be done!

You can already find a Devblog about Smithmagic here.

Let us know what you think!

A Devblog about the experience curve is being written as we speak, and will explain the many adjustments that had to be done on the curve itself, and the experience gains.
 

No mobile arenas

Nope, we haven’t forgotten about it, I did look into it to see if we could reopen them in their current state.

Unfortunately, this will not be possible and would require a complete revamp of the rewards and heavy testing. As you know, the last update of this year will not allow us to spend that amount of time on them.
 

Challenges in combat

As some of you discovered on Beta, challenges are coming, and they should bring more fun to the game.

We will keep implementing new challenges with new updates, to improve the mechanic and the fun.

We know that the first challenges will not be achievable by all, but this is intended.

This new feature is still new and should evolve with time and your feedback. Don’t hesitate to share it!
 

Sidekicks

This feature will finally bring a true tactical RPG aspect to WAKFU, by offering players control over a team of up to three characters.

We will soon be publishing a Devblog that should help you understand the real role of each Sidekick, and convince you that they will be more than simple “pets ++”.

Not only will you get to control them, but you will also be able to equip them. Each has a specific build, and you will get them to level up with you. Note also that they won’t be linked to your character, but to the entire account.

The first Sidekicks will be the Multimen, released with the feature itself, but we will add new ones regularly.

Those who follow me for some time should know that I always try to stay honest, so I would like to directly address the question that has been on everyone’s lips: Why selling them?

Allowing players to control multiple characters is directly impacting multi-accounts. Either we face this fact, or we just ignore it and keep going.

We chose the first, but it has a cost…

We did not want to impact the subscriptions or sell a one use only service. We decided to allow players to purchase a Sidekick once for the whole account and all his characters.

This addition is optional, and only needs to be paid once.

We then had to find the perfect balance between making the Sidekicks useful without making them more efficient than another player.

I want to specify however that our subscribers will be able to use a Sidekick “for free” in game, each week, just as in a MOBA. The experience gained on this Sidekick will be saved, and you will be able to level up all your Sidekicks each week without need to buy them… You will only have to wait until your favorite Sidekick becomes available again.

Will there be some for free?

Only one, right upon release: the Knight of Astrub.

He will have less spells than other Sidekicks, but remain just as powerful.

Note however that the next ones will also be sold.
 

Postponing the Feca

First, let me say this again, classes remain one of our top priorities, with experience, drop and crafting.

Why postponing the Feca? Is it because of the Multiman?

The Sidekick feature was indeed designed by the same team as classes, and required a significant testing time, and same with Smithmagic.

The time left for Feca just seemed too short to offer a complete revamp. As I said, classes remain a priority, which means that I want to be sure to have enough time to guarantee the best quality possible.

I had to make a decision, and one of the things that influenced this decision was that in the first quarter of 2014, we will implement new rules for levels over 100.

We will have to modify all classes to add a real gain after level 100, which should make many of you happy.
 
I didn’t want to have to modify a class that was already revamped two months earlier.

However we won’t leave you without any information about the Feca since we will be publishing the PDF of its changes on the forums soon, as well as a Devblog about its revamp in December.
 

Astrub and factions

We still have more content to implement in Astrub, some of it being the factions and a secondary quest rewarding you with a relic.

We will also add a first narrative chapter to the Nations that should allow you to become a guard… I won’t say more now and I’ll let you discover…
 

Have fun in-game and talk to you soon with a new Letter to the Community!