Rolith
Alac
Likes candy.

October 30th 2009
Happy Mogloween!

It's totally time to Trick or Treat! In a tubular, tasty way! I have run out of good T-words, sorry. Nevertheless, Mogloween is upon us! Grab a mask and something to hold your candy (a pumpkin bucket, a pillowcase, a small aquarium... whatever you can lift, really). We've got some great new masks for you this year, including the some Fire War masks, some anime-based masks, and one that will just make you want to purr!

You shouldn't just Trick or Treat tonight, because Greed is still out there and the Cauldron Sisters haven't gotten back together yet. Mogloween can't end with them still fighting! It just wouldn't be a happy Mogloween! So your mission is to get their candy recipe right so that they see just how good working together can be. Then vanquish Greed and the Greedlings to save Mogloween! At least, that's the plan. There's a twist to this year's Trick or Treating, too. The only way to counteract Greed is with Generosity! So instead of receiving candy, you'll need to SHARE it! So get out there and show those townspeople how it's done. ("Here, have some candy" is the basic premise of the thing. You can put your own spin on it, if you're feeling creative. I like to just pour a bountiful amount into trick-or-treaters' buckets.) The quest will drop a new helm and a set of weapons!

You'll be able to upgrade the new Franken weapons using your Mogloween candy. It will take 3000 candy to create either the level 30 Frankenblade, FrankenFinger, or FrankenEyes Staff. You can upgrade them to either levels 40 or 50.

Zorbak and his legion of baby dracoliches are back, as well! Zorbak fancies himself a proper General now that he has an army of Dragons, and every good General needs a well-turned-out base of operations to fight from. Zorbak's Hideout just isn't grand enough for him, so he sends the babies to take over Thursday's mansion on the edge of Amityvale. But, being babies as they are, they get a bit rowdy. See if you can find the babies before they wreck the mansion! There are some nice Poison weapons which drop from the quest, as well!

The gourds will hatch on Halloween night, so be sure to keep checking for them! You'll find that they've grown into some really nice items!

From all of us here at Artix Entertainment, have a wonderful Halloween! Stay safe when you're Trick or Treating and get as much candy as you can, then share it with your friends! (And remember, your mom and dad might like a few pieces, too. Everyone likes candy.)

BOO!

PS: Cysero's Superstore of Savings will be having an After Mogloween Mask Event starting November 1st (Monday)! He's decided to permanently stock ALL of the masks you've unlocked from all three Mogloweens and sell them for Dragon Coins. So if you've ever wanted to look like a werewolf without having the annoying tail, or if you've longed to look like Xan but not have to deal with the flaming underwear, then THIS is the After Mogloween Special for you!

   

Rolith
Rolith
Has been Evil

October 29th 2009
The First Code Monkey Challenge

So, this whole thing started as a silly mistake. Alac, who was trying to talk about some bug fixes I'd made, started talking about a holiday in honor of Code Monkeys held every fifth Thursday of the month. She genuinly didn't realize there were some months with 5 thursdays and never considered that the first one would only be a few months away. You guys? Did realize it.

And started talking about it on the forums.

And continued talking about it on the forums.

A few weeks ago, I just couldn't ignore it anymore, and started working on a little surprise for you . This challenge is response to the dozens and dozens of requests for more togicides! Good luck solving the first Code Monkey Challenge Lets consider this a thank you to you guys who enjoy doing this. You can find it in Lymcrest, and That's about all I'm going to explain part of the fun is to figgure out the rules of the game by playing it. You WILL need all the help you can get from the forums, so here's a link!

Cya on the forums! (Or Twitter)

 

   


Yulgar
Is worried.

has blue eyes.
Alac
Got a blueprint.

October 27th 2009
Magic Versus Science!

"Dear Grams,

I have just finished reading the letter Aria wrote. It contains some troubling news about things going on in Falconreach. She says that there is tension building, and that she's frightened.

This new weaponsmith in town, the one who has taken my place... Lime? Lum? No, Lim I think it is. She says she's seen him just STARING at Cysero as he goes about town. The strange thing is, though, that she says Cysero doesn't even notice. She describes how one time she saw Cysero strolling through town and passing Lim. Our mad weaponsmith tossed Lim a bruised banana, smiled and waved, then continued on his way whistling. Now, THAT is not so strange; it IS Cysero after all. But what scared little Aria was that Lim watched him walk away, glaring and shaking his fist. Not even noticing the squished banana that dripped down his arm.

I fear a showdown may be coming. IF Cysero notices that there is anything wrong. He sent me letter attached to one of his carrier-turtles (which explains why it was dated 6 months ago) and says that he should have an amazing new set of weapons available in his shop. If they haven't already arrived, I believe they will become available soon. Once Lim sees this, don't you think he'll feel compelled to counter with a set showing off his weapon-making prowess?

If we're lucky, the clash between Falconreach's smiths will be no more than battles of weapon-making one-upmanship, where Lim tries to prove his worth as a smith while Cysero continues on unaware that the science-adept feels he needs to show himself off. If we're NOT lucky, then the clash of the weaponsmiths may turn out to involve what Aria fears: explosions, and lots of them. And with your Pet Shop so close to Cysero's shop, I worry for you.

Take care, Grams, and watch over Aria for me. Please let me know the latest of what is happening with this situation.

- Yulgar

PS - Aria says that Lim is passing these blueprints around town, shamelessly trying to convince everyone in the area that his plans for weapons are superior to anything Cysero might create with his magic. He's walking up to people, thrusting a copy of his blueprint in their face, and yelling "SCIENCE!" before bounding away.

SCIENCE!


This development in Falconreach should prove interesting to watch. Who will come out on top? Whose weapons will be better? Lim's? Cysero's? Will Cysero's Defenders take a hand in defending their Master before he even knows there is a situation? Will Lim find himself with an army of Lieutenants bound and determined to prove the superiority of SCIENCE(!)?

As Yulgar's letter said, Cysero's shop will soon have weapons which will be a testament to his skills as a magic weaponsmith. They will be sold for Dragon Coins, as usual, which you can get here. Lim will also be selling weapons for Dragon Coins in HIS shop, because he can't let Cysero harness the awesome power of the Dragon Coin for long. He needs some to run.... experiments. If you want to see what THOSE bring, you can also use an Upgrade Card to buy Dragon Coins. And remember, if you want to fully explore the world of DragonFable (and maybe pick up a Carrier Turtle pet of your own, you can buy a Dragon Amulet by going here.

has blue eyes.
Alac
Was a Princess.

October 26th 2009
Mogloween is Almost Here!

Just about everyone likes candy now and then. And this year, the townspeople of Falconreach REALLY like candy. They like it so much that they're hoarding it! THAT should make trick or treating... interesting. You'll see what happens on Friday, won't you? You didn't think we'd forgotten about trick or treating, did you? That is a Mogloween (and Halloween) tradition! And you still don't know enough about Tomix and what he's doing in town. As a mysterious character, he is required by Subsection 42 of the universally recognized Non-Player Character Code of Rules and Requirements to withhold as much information as possible. But that just leaves more for YOU to draw out of him!

There will also be another Zorbak's Legion quest this week! Zorbak has an army now, and he's prepared to use it! (Even if you aren't.) He wants Amityvale, and he intends to have it, and YOU'RE going to help him get it if you want those baby dracoliches to stay safe. And really, how could you not want to protect them? They're adorably bony! Bonily adorable? Cute. They're cute. (That's much easier to say.)

Rolith is working on bugs and Engine 9.0 while Lim, Ghost, and Tomix are busy churning out new art and animations for you! We are all pretty busy here, but we haven't forgotten about the fun part of this time of year! And what is more fun than Mogloween/Halloween during Fall? If you're dressing up for Halloween, what will it be as?

Speaking of dressing up... today was a VERY costume-y day in the Secret Underground Lab! We had a viking, an inflatable clown (or, rather, someone IN an inflatable clown suit), some half-mecha (only the heads), a doctor, Xena the Warrior Princess, a few video game designers... MANY costumes! Everyone dressed up for the Almost-Halloween Birthday party (Ai No Miko's birthday was yesterday, and mine is today). There was cake, styrofoam weapons, and a few kung-fu moves. Artix and Warlic played the Happy Birthday song on the guitar. All in all, a great birthday party! Thank you from both Miko and me for ALL the Happy birthday wishes on the forums, Twitter, and Facebook!

The cake is NOT a lie! This time.

has blue eyes.
Alac
Tries to be generous.

October 23rd 2009
The Greedening!

Weeeeelcome to Friday! Lets get this party started off right. Recap of the release is... go!

The madness (the greedness? Greediness? Yeah, that one.) continues as Greed's influence over the town of Falconreach continues. His scheme is proceeding apace, and might even be ahead of schedule as now not only are the Cauldron Sisters jealously guarding their own candies, but now the townspeople of Falconreach are caught up in Greed's diabolical plot! They're ready to defend their candy stashes. Even from YOU! You'll have to fight back against the townspeople, just try not to hurt them TOO much. They don't know what they're doing! Some new capes will drop as rewards from this quest!

And Dragon Amulet holders should head to Amityvale to talk to Zorbak to start the Zorbak's Legion quest chain! You'll need to replay the Undead Dravir quest first, then that will unlock the new quest for this week. Zorbak wants an army and there is one all ready for the taking! He just needs to make them his! Then prepare yourselves for... General Zorbak! New Darkness weapons (levels 25, 35, and 50) will drop from the quest! (Note: The Undead Dravir quest will remain open to free players, but to continue on in the rest of the chain, you will need a Dragon Amulet.)

Enjoy your weekend! Remember, Mogloween (and Halloween) are only a week away! Better prepare yourselves for candy in real life. And remember, sharing is caring, as my first grade teacher Mrs. Ackerman always said. Except when the boy at the table behind mine put paste into the hair of the girl next to me. Then she didn't say anything about sharing. But she did turn a lovely shade of purple.

Muahahaha

has blue eyes.
Alac
Reads webcomics.

October 21th 2009
A (semi-regular) webcomic!

Lim was doodling yesterday, and the little comic he made turned out really well! So we said to ourselves, "Hey!" And then we were like, "Why don't you do a webcomic in the Design Notes, Lim? The players might really like that!" And Lim was all, "That sounds pretty cool. I will do a new one when I have free time and we can post it."

And so this is the start of making Lim do even MORE! (He just started learning how to build quests, too! We are keeping him busy.)

Lim gives you... webcomic!

Yo Boss!

has blue eyes.
Alac
got nerfed.

October 20th 2009
Quest Log Restructure!

A few months ago on the forums, you guys mentioned that you'd like to see the Quest Log re-done. The quest log can be accessed by clicking on the Dragon Amulet symbol on the screen next to your inventory icon. We promised that it would be worked on in a few months, and that time is here! (No thanks to the time travel fairies, who I believe are continually flipping the pages of my calendar to put me behind..)

So I had a chat with Cysero, sat down across from Rolith, waited until he put DOWN the nerf gun (note: nerf gun projectiles do NOT stick to long hair, but they DO get tangled in it when fired from a close enough distance), and told him we needed to talk about redoing the quest log.

I started dissecting it this afternoon, making a list of things I'd like to change, but we want to know what YOU would like to see in the new Quest Log. Give us ideas, feedback, thoughts, opinions, and any other synonyms for those words which involve you telling us what you think about the Quest Log by posting in this thread.

PS - As I am writing this, I just watched Rolith fire the nerf gun into Lim's FACE. For fun. And Lim didn't even flinch! Lim is pretty hardcore.
PPS - I think it must be Nerf Weapon Day at the DragonFable table.

has blue eyes.
Alac
Can see stuff.

October 20th 2009
Relive the War at See and talk again with The Irismancer!

That's right, we're bringing back the War at See! This was was first released in February of 2007 and was only for Dragon Amulet holders.However, thanks to the posters in this thread, we're bringing back the War and its boss, The Irismancer.

The Irismancer has some very important information to tell you about the Doom Weapons, Sepulchure, and the Guardian Tower in Falconreach. But this time around, the war and boss will be for ALL players! You guys pointed out that so much of the rest of the main storyline was open to free and DA players alike, and upon reviewing comments made on the forum, we felt you made a good point.

To access the War at See and talk to The Irismancer, head south in Falconreach to the Mayor's office. Once there, go inside and to the left and talk to Damien, the legal advisor for Falconreach. His library has a stack of books on the floor and one of them will tell you about the war and let you replay the battles and cutscene.

Thanks older players for looking out for the newer players and trying to make sure that they have the best gameplay experience possible! You guys rock!

PS - We just added new Irismancer helms from the reward shop. Level 25 and 37 version helms for free players and Dragon Amulet holders, and then a level 50 version for DA holders.

has blue eyes.
Alac
Is being productive!

October 19th 2009
Who is working to get ahead? We are!

Here at the DragonFable table (rhyme!), we have LOTS of plans and ideas! What we DON'T have a lot of is time. But we have all been working extra-hard to get ahead in work so that we have a bit of breathing room.

Breathing room = Fewer head explosions.
Fewer head explosions = Cleaner Secret Underground Lab.
Cleaner Secret Underground Lab = Easier to see the zombies and other undead which WILL one day try to attack us.
See? Now THAT'S planning in advance!

And what do we have for you THIS week? Well, since you asked, I'll tell you. Geopetal will have the next Mogloween quest for you this week! Will Greed take over the town? Who knows?!* I'll have the start of the Zorbak's Legion quest chain for you this week, too. That wacky blue rabbit-thing. What hijinks will he and his army get up to? I don't know!**

Ghost, Lim, and Tomix are working their little art-loving behinds off churning out new animation, new weapons, and new art. I just saw some of Lim's sketches for rewards in the Zorbak's Legion quest chain. They are pretty awesome! We've got plans for new Darkness, Poison, and Disease sets, so keep your eyes peeled for those.***

And Rolith is code code coding away. He's adding a special to the Vanilla Ice Katana as I type. So, yay codemonkey! We know you guys have been waiting for that. That should go live sometime this week. Probably on Friday. After he does that, he plans to continue working on DragonFable 9.0, the new engine. That is NOT going to go live this week, but he WILL be working on it.

* Geopetal does.
** Yes I do.
*** Don't really do that. OW. That's a really horrible expression, when you stop and think about it.

 

has blue eyes.
Alac
Will not be greedy.

October 16th 2009
The Greed, Its Taking Over!

If Jealousy is a Green-Eyed Monster, would that make Greed a Gold-Eyed one? You be the judge, this week in... DragonFable! (*cue theme song*)

That's right, this week in the Mogloween event, the little Greedling you saw affect the Cauldron sisters is continuing to spread its poison throughout the town, and the townspeople are starting to be affected now! Enter Tomix, stage left. He's traveled from the site of his imprisonment this past summer and he needs your help, but he won't say why. Investigate the town with him; see what you can find- whether it's clues about Tomix or... something else. Some new belts will drop from the Mogloween quest this week!

Also releasing this week is the finale of the Wanderland chain! Last time you got some advice from the Mad Haberdasher so this week it's time to put the plan into action! Pick up your schnozzberries from him and journey back to the castle where the Queen of Tarts is holding Aria prisoner! Whether by persuasion or force, you'll need to convince the Queen that Aria must be freed. If you can do THAT, you'll get a nifty new Cheshire Twilly pet (levels 20-50), which will have a rare chance to heal 10% of your character's hit points.

And be sure to have your music turned on for both quests, tonight, because there are multiple new songs coming to DF (including the Kordana quest) courtesy of Ghost rocking out to your benefit. .

And for those of you with questions about the gourds, here's some helpful information: the drops are leaving the quests on Monday, the DC gourds will stay in the shop until Halloween, then they'll get taken out and the gourds will hatch.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the release!

PS - So, lets just say Rolith included a way to escape from the quest in your new form! IF you find the escape method, be sure to post screenshots of your character in it's new appearance from around the game. We'd love to see what you look like in different cutscenes and around the towns!

 

has blue eyes.
Alac
is preparing for next week.

October 13th 2009
What do YOU think would happen?

So, with Wanderland having its finale this week, that means a new side quest chain will be starting up next week! And who better to star in it than your favorite ebil blue moglin? That's right, Zorbak is back after his supporting role in the Great Fire War saga, and he's ready for action! More than that, he's ready for a starring role in a quest chain. No more of this "Oh, here, let me help you." THIS time Zorbak is ready to take over!
And, to that end, I'd like to get some ideas from you guys. Answer the following question, and we'll see where your responses lead. (Will some of them become a part of the coming quest chain? That's the plan!)

Question: If Zorbak was trying to take over a town with an army, what would he have the army do? Or, what would happen TO the army?

Answer: ???

P.S. - Note: This has nothing to do with the Friday the 13th invasions. Completely separate army.

   

Rolith
Rolith
Dinged

October 12th 2009
This Entry brought to you by Data Entry Purgatory

So, because I’ve been working on some rather tedious work converting several “Zones” to “Towns” * I decided to switch focus and work on a Design Notes for today.

A bunch of bug fixes will be rolled today at some point. Along with trying to fix the caching issue for DoomKnight’s fixes I’ll be rolling a new version of the Toddler Dragon art. Tomix tweaked its look last week and I forgot to get it ready to go live.

A lot of my time lately has gone into fixing bugs and dealing with lingering issues, and that’ll be continuing this week as well as work on new stuff. Mondays, I think, are likely to become “bug days” especially with Alac in office helping me sort through things and reminding me to handle them. So stay tuned for future fix days.

Coming this week – we’re continuing Mogloween’s storyline. What was that little creature floating around the Cauldron Sisters last Friday? Are we going to get any answers? And how will the sisters splitting impact this year’s Mogloween festivities?

Also this week, DragonLords will get to see the end of the Wanderland quest chain. Will you play the hero and rescue Aria from the dreaded Queen of Tarts with the help of the Mad Haberdasher? Well, considering the source material, and how the quest chain has gone so far? It’s not likely to be that simple in the end. Tune in Friday to find out!

* A semantic difference, not going to change anything for you guys but will help us to more easily avoid some annoying caching issues in the future.

Cya on the forums! (Or Twitter)

 

   

has blue eyes.
Alac
Enjoys candy.

Rolith
Rolith
Is Fixing!

October 9th 2009
Candy time starts now!

That's right, it's the first release of this year's Mogloween event! Who feels like candy? You do? Excellent. So do the Cauldron sisters! In fact, they're back and better than ever, with a brand new candy recipe! But all is not normal in the land of Lore, because a greedy little spirit has appeared in town, and things are going to get sticky. (But not from the candy. That is GOOD-sticky. This is BAD-sticky.) Each sister will send you on a hunt for a specific ingredient she needs, so you'd better get moving if you want the masks that you'll receive in return! You'll need to hunt for the candies in OTHER quests in the game. Each sister will give you hints as to where in the game you can find their candies.

There is a scavenger hunt starting this week, too! Hunt around for various gourds and in a little while, they'll grow into some nice rewards! The gourds will also be available in Cysero's Superstore of Savings for 50 Dragon Coins each.

It would be a great idea to make threads on the forums to work together in order to find all the candy locations! And have a separate thread going for hunting the gourds!

There's no Wanderland quest this week since I've been away, but next week will be the Wanderland finale, so get ready for some schnozzberry fun thanks to the Mad Haberdasher! And after THAT, there will be a whole NEW side-quest chain starting up with one of your favorite old NPCs. Mehehehe! More information on that next week.

There are nine new metal weapons in Lim's shop, levels 50, 33, and 21!

Enjoy the release and have a great weekend!

Update 11PM:

Quests erroring out due to NAN gold bug should all be resolved. Sorry guys, oversight on my part. We've been trying very hard to catch them all as we spot them, but some slip through. Enjoy your weekend!

And since I did it first, and better ;) :

Cya on the forums! (Or Twitter)

   

Rolith
Rolith
Is it already fall?!

October 7th 2009
Guilds – What’s coming.

So, we’ve been working on guilds on and off for the last several weeks, and I figured I’d fill you in on the plans we’ve got for implementing the system.

When guilds go live (We’ll let you know when they’re going live as soon as we have a firm date) This is what’s going to happen:

  • Dragon Lords will be able to forum a guild.
  • Guilds will allow up to 35 members.
  • Players will work to collect gold and resources to level up their communal guild hall
  • Guilds will be rewarded for having an active player base.

Here is what ISN’T coming with release of guilds.

  • Factions will not be released with the start of guilds
  • Inter-faction competitions will be launched when factions unlock
  • Guild Halls will ultimately be customizable by Guild Leaders adding more features and functionality but this will not be ready when it goes live

Several issues have been addressed with the changes we’ve made to the guild system, namely we won’t be having any way for players to directly communicate in game, keeping Dragon Fable a safe single player experience, while still allowing you and your friends to work together to make your guild stronger and more powerful.

Just a note: Guilds arn't coming out in the near future, we'll be sure to let you guys know when they're going to be ready.

Cya on the forums! (Or Twitter)

 

   

Rolith
Rolith
Got up, got coffee...

October 5th 2009
Mogloween is Coming!

Lots to cover, let’s see how quick I can do these design notes.

Guilds – Sometime this week I plan on giving you guys a design notes update on Guilds, and what’s happened in the past few weeks of planning them. Some major changes to the structure of what we’re doing have been made to make them more practical, fun and possible. Some of our ideas that I shared a while ago don’t end up fitting very well inside the DragonFable game when broken down into component parts. The result of these plans is a system that will feel like a much better fit inside the game.

Mogloween – It’s starting THIS WEEK. What do we have planned? The quests will run through the end of the month, bringing with them a big pile of seasonal rares as well as some of the most fun writing I’ve seen from Geo this year! With them we’re also going to see some old familiar faces as well as a new one. If this is your first Mogloween have no fears, we’ll be unlocking the last two years of the event and letting you experience the storyline from beginning to end.

Toddler Dragons – New toddler Dragon art tweaks are done, and will be going live Friday. I will be sure to share a screenshot of them as soon as I’ve got them running in game. I saw a lot of positive feedback to the fixes made to toddler dragons last week, even though we didn’t announce them going live.

DoomKnight Fixes – More DoomKnight bugs and issues keep cropping up as I solve others. Hopefully we’ll see at least most of them handled by Friday’s Release. I won’t be satisified until this armor is as flawless as we can make it.

DragonFable Engine 9.0 – Just got the go ahead to add a long requested feature to the 9.0 build of the game. Combat will be getting keyboard shortcuts for skill selection to help speed battles along. I’ll be giving you guys a rundown of features (a glorified to-do list for me) as soon as I figure them all out.

Whelp, That’s what I’ve got for today. Check back later this week for more.

Cya on the forums! (Or Twitter)

 

   

has no eyes.geopetal
is freezing

October 2nd 2009
Ash Goes North

A brand new Ash quest is live! Travel with Ash and his mysterious friend to the Frozen North in an attempt to cure her fire breath and maybe save a princess on the side.

Fight your way through Ice Wisps (made by Tomix) and see what happens when Ash tries to save the Princess! This quest has some amazing cutscenes from Ghost as well as brand new music, so make sure your sound is turned on. You'll be able to get Ash a brand new sword and helm, as well as a shot at a rare trinket.