Update 02-04-21In response to monumental amounts of player feedback (both publicly on the forums and discord, and privately through PMs, IRC, etcetera) we've decided to hold off on these changes and revise our future plans.
I'll leave this post up, however, so it can be reviewed further.
(And I hope it was fun to read for those of you who got the joke..) (IMG:[
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Tenboro and I have been talking recently about the future of the HentaiVerse, and we're ready to discuss a general roadmap for the next couple years.
These updates are planned to happen in specific stages, but that may change depending on time availability and unforeseen circumstances, so instead we've decided it's better to format these as a list of patch notes with no guarantee they'll happen at the same time.
Character & StatsThe level cap will probably be raised to 999. There are no plans to change the experience formula at this time.
Dawn of a New Day will reduce proficiency a small amount, to stop players from achieving high proficiency too easily if they aren't working consistently hard. As a side effect, Dawn will trigger within the HentaiVerse as well as galleries, so it can't be avoided.
New avoidance-related stats: 'Evadecounter', 'Blockcounter', 'Parrycounter' and 'Resistcounter'.
- Not to be confused with Counter-Evade, etc.
- These allow characters to have a chance to counter-attack after avoiding an attack regardless of fighting style.
New time-related stats: 'Counter-Speed', 'Anti-Speed' and 'Reverse Speed'
- 'Counter-Speed' increases your speed immediately after countering an attack.
- 'Anti-Speed' reduces monster speed.
- 'Reverse Speed' empowers the new Moonwalk spell (to be revealed at a later date!).
Item WorldTesting has shown that item world isn't really as difficult or random as intended. Although the expected number of resets are adequate, the number of actual runs players have to complete is lacking, so to that end, we're planning to add a new mechanic: negative levels. Every run has a 20% chance to reduce a random potency by 1 to 3 levels. (Don't worry, this will also reduce the item potency level by the same amount.)
Items & InventoryAs a counter-measure against wealth inequality, we plan to cap inventory space, and implement an exciting new system called 'the Refrigerator'.
Thematically, it makes little sense that goods are infinitely storable in any quantity, not to mention the perishability of certain items. Visualise the inventory as a warehouse in town: you can't just put 1,000,000 potions in it. They won't fit!
To that end, we're capping inventory space. Every item will have a size - potions take 1 space, at the low end, while figurines will take 100 (they're lifesize, if you weren't aware). We each took a couple weeks off work and flew out to a few locations around the world to scout out warehouses and get a good idea for average size, and measured a reasonable storage limit to be about 1,200,000 units.
If players have a collective inventory size of more than 1,200,000 units after this update goes live, items will be destroyed at random by a program we're calling MoogleMuncher. But this probably won't go up til Q3 2021 at the earliest, so there's plenty of time to prepare.
In addition, consumables will now be treated as perishable, and must be stored in 'the Refrigerator', a new storage page. Up to 80 consumables can be stored at once. Putting consumables in the Refrigerator is always instant, but withdrawing them requires the player to complete a sliding tile puzzle.
Any consumables stored in regular inventory will decay in quality every 3 days, first becoming 'Stale', then 'Rancid', and finally 'Dangerous' variants of their usual selves. The effects of these variants will be reduced or even reversed (causing damage when consumed).
Fighting StylesThe one-handed style was found to be too safe, and as such, shields are being removed from the game entirely. (This actually simplifies a lot of code and makes it easier to update anyway - about 60% of all HV development delays are due to labyrinthean shield code). One-handed players can still play with one-hand, although it has to be the right hand.
EquipmentIn response to player complaints that most equipment is valueless at the present time, the following changes are being enacted:
- Legendary drop rates are being reduced to 10% of the current rate.
- Equipment will have a 'decay timer'; sixth months after dropping, it will disintegrate into ash.
- There is a chance the blacksmith at the forge will botch equipment repairs, permanently reducing its stats.
New equipment rarities: 'Improbable' and 'Theoretical'
- 'Improbable' equipment drops at 1/10th of the current peerless rate, with guaranteed 125% of legendary max rolls.
- 'Theoretical' equipment drops at 1/25th of the current peerless rate, with guaranteed 200% of legendary max rolls.
New prefixes for armor: 'Null' and 'Void'
- 'Null' prefix armors increase your mitigation against C++ damage.
- 'Void' prefix armors increase your mitigation against Java damage.
Monster LabTo be removed.
Misc/System- We're going to expand the Riddlemaster with ponies from the extended cast.
- Riddlemaster will give partial buffs for guesses that were wrong, but still a good try, like when you pick Fluttershy because Applejack didn't have her hat on.
- We're planning to add several more damage types along a programming theme (see C++ & Java, mentioned earlier), as part of a precursor lore expansion. More on this another time.
- Toying with the idea of a real-money auction house for equipment and items, which will be restricted to only trading through this method. This will help finance ongoing development costs and server upkeep.
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These changes aren't set in stone yet, so this is a good opportunity to give your feedback before we commit to implementing them. I'll try to answer any questions I have the answers to.
This post has been edited by Nezu: Apr 2 2021, 02:23
The Future of the HentaiVerse, April Fool's 2021
Apr 1 2021, 02:02
