Heute Abend zwischen 18 und 20 Uhr (US-Server), bzw. morgen früh zwischen 5 und 7 Uhr (EU-Server), wird der bereits angekündigte Patch 0.5 auf die Server aufgespielt. Folgende Änderungen und Fixes sind enthalten:
* General: All players now have 24 character slots.
* Fixed a known issue with the inventory user interface that caused the client to lock up.
* Fixed a bug which caused the Mini-game to sometimes become stuck.
* Added a /help command to provide assistance using available / commands.
* Some new posters have been added to stations, so check them out!
* Connection Issues: Fixed known issues which sometimes caused players to be disconnected and receive an erroneous network error message.
* Fixed an issue where some home routers would disconnect a user due to an inactive connection.
* Fixed known bugs which sometimes disconnected players during multiplayer quests.
* Fixed problems with NetLimiter 1.30 and some older versions of Norton Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus which would make the user entirely unable to connect to the game.
* Chat: Made several chat interface improvements and the text entry more intuitive.
* Chat window is now open by default in multiplayer.
* Fixed chat window closing when traveling between zones.
* Fixed several cases where the chat window would obstruct other UI components.
* Chat context (such as Party and Guild) is now more clearly defined in the text entry window, including a color-coded border.
* Chat window is now more transparent.
* Added /g command. This is equivalent to /gchat command (guild chat).
* Whisper text now shows up on all chat tabs.
* Whisper messages and admin announcements auto-open the chat panel.
* Auto-switch to the appropriate tab (such as Party and Guild) if you type text to that channel and are not in a tab that shows the text.
* PageUp/PageDown cycle through chat tabs when text entry is active.
* Chat panel now auto-opens if you type text and press Enter while the panel is closed.
* Chat text entry deactivates after entering text.
* Chat panel no longer closes if you press Enter on a blank line.
* Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.
* Items: Fixed known bugs that caused players to sometimes lose items.
* Fixed a bug with the Nanoforge that caused it to inaccurately modify the stats of higher-quality items.
* Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Unique items to drop without special properties. Old unique items that did not have special properties are not changed by this patch. We are looking into whether we can fix the old items, but we don’t currently have a solution.
* Quests: Fixed various known issues which prevented players from being able to continue interrupted side-quests.
* Quest items should no longer remain in the player inventory after the associated quest has been completed. Players with old quest items (such as Train Parts) associated with quests they’ve already completed or no longer have should find these items removed upon logging in.
* Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from receiving credit for killing the “5 Lies” in The Hellgate quest. Players should now be able to properly advance in this quest.
* In order to obtain the Fawkes Force Five item, the player must have completed Stopping Some Guy quest and not have the ‘Blueprints of Fawkes Force Five’ or ‘Fawkes Force Five’ in their inventory or stash. If they completed the quest and don’t have the Blueprints or Fawkes Force Five, then it rewards them with a completed Fawkes Force Five.
* Engineers: Fixed known bugs which prevented Engineer Drones from saving properly.
* PvP: Fixed an incorrect modifier causing Special Effect Attack Strengths in PvP situations to be much higher than intended.
* World Movement: Fixed known issues which occasionally prevented characters from being able to load or switch instances.
* Fixed several issues with players getting stuck in the world.
* Fixed a bug causing players to become stuck at St. Pauls in Nightmare difficulty.
* Portals to party members should now automatically close if the associated party member leaves the game.
Patch Notes Disclaimer: We make every effort to include all upcoming changes in our patch notes, but please be aware that occasionally changes are unintentionally omitted.
Mit dem Patch wird nicht nur das viel kritisierte Chatsystem überarbeitet. Wie ihr sehen könnt, sind auch viele Bugs und Kritikpunkte der Spieler aufgegriffen worden. Ein bekannter Bug, nämlich der der unsichtbaren Gruppenmitglieder wurde identifiziert, kann jedoch erst im nächsten Update behoben werden.
Jason Felix ist Concept Artist bei den Flagship Studios. In einem Forum, in dem sich Künstler austauschen, haben unsere Freunde von HellgateGuru einige seiner frühen Arbeiten zu Hellgate: London entdeckt, die durchaus sehenswert sind:
Dies sind nur zwei Beispiele - Für alle Fans ist es zweifellos interessant, die Entwicklung des Spiels nochmals anhand dieser Bilder nachzuvollziehen. Passend dazu ist auch ein Stellenangebot auf GCJobs. Die Flagship Studios suchen einen Senior Animator. Welche Voraussetzungen dieser Job hat, erfahrt ihr auf der unten verlinkten Seite.
In Kürze wird der Patch 0.5 erscheinen. Damit dies problemlos vonstatten geht, wird der Testcenter dafür komplett gewipt, und die amerikanischen Charaktere darauf kopiert. Damit können dann die amerikanischen Spieler mit ihren bekannten Charakteren testen, ob alles zu ihrer Zufriedenheit ist. Sollte das alles gut gehen, soll der Patch nächste Woche auf alle Server aufgespielt werden. Die Fixliste wurde ebenfalls veröffentlicht:
* General: All players now have 24 character slots.
* Fixed a known issue with the inventory user interface that caused the client to lock up.
* Fixed a bug which caused the Mini-game to sometimes become stuck.
* The Mini-game now resets every 15 minutes.
* Added a /help command to provide assistance using available / commands.
* Some new posters have been added to stations, so check them out!
* Connection Issues: Fixed known issues which sometimes caused players to be disconnected and receive an erroneous network error message.
* Fixed an issue where some home routers would disconnect a user due to an inactive connection.
* Fixed known bugs which sometimes disconnected players during multiplayer quests.
* Fixed problems with NetLimiter 1.30 and some older versions of Norton Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus which would make the user entirely unable to connect to the game.
* Chat: Made several chat interface improvements and the text entry more intuitive:
* Chat window is now open by default in multiplayer.
* Fixed chat window closing when traveling between zones.
* Fixed several cases where the chat window would obstruct other UI components.
* Chat context (such as Party and Guild) is now more clearly defined in the text entry window, including a color-coded border.
* Chat window is now more transparent.
* Added /g command. This is equivalent to /gchat command (guild chat).
* Whisper text now shows up on all chat tabs.
* Whisper messages and admin announcements auto-open the chat panel.
* Auto-switch to the appropriate tab (such as Party and Guild) if you type text to that channel and are not in a tab that shows the text.
* PageUp/PageDown cycle through chat tabs when text entry is active.
* Chat panel now auto-opens if you type text and press Enter while the panel is closed.
* Chat text entry deactivates after entering text.
* Chat panel no longer closes if you press Enter on a blank line.
* Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.
* Items: Fixed known bugs that caused players to sometimes lose items.
* Fixed a bug with the Nanoforge that caused it to inaccurately modify the stats of higher-quality items.
* Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Unique items to drop without special properties.
* Quests: Fixed various known issues which prevented players from being able to continue interrupted side-quests.
* Quest items should no longer remain in the player inventory after the associated quest has been completed. Players with old quest items (such as Train Parts) associated with quests they’ve already completed or no longer have should find these items removed upon logging in.
* Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from receiving credit for killing the “5 Lies” in The Hellgate quest. Players should now be able to properly advance in this quest.
* Engineers: Fixed known bugs which prevented Engineer Drones from saving properly.
* Fixed a bug which caused Engineers to receive an erroneous “unable to meet requirements” message when entering a new instance with a Drone that has a weapon equipped.
* PvP: Fixed an incorrect modifier causing Special Effect Attack Strengths in PvP situations to be much higher than intended.
* World Movement: Fixed known issues which occasionally prevented characters from being able to load or switch instances.
* Fixed several issues with players getting stuck in the world.
* Fixed a bug related to St. Paul's Nightmare mode progression.
* Portals to party members should now automatically close if the associated party member leaves the game.
* World Events: The Guy Fawkes event has ended. Characters that have completed the NAME Quest that did not receive the Trinket reward should find this item in their inventory.
Gerade die Spieler, die gerne mehrere Klassen ausprobieren, werden sich über die zusätzlichen Slots freuen. Auch die Verbesserungen an Interface und den bekannten Bugs werden sicherlich auf große Zustimmung stoßen.
Vorab an alle Leser: Diese News hat nun wirklich rein gar nichts mit Hellgate: London zu tun. Selbst mit Computern im Allgemeinen nur insofern, als dass der Protagonist des Videos, das ich euch vorstellen möchte, beruflich damit zu tun hatte. Auch habe ich lange überlegt, ob ich darüber, aus eben jenen Gründen, überhaupt eine News schreiben soll. Lange, das heißt seit ich es vor fast einem Monat bei Spiegel Online zum ersten Mal sah.
Inzwischen bin ich jedoch der Meinung, dass ein solches Video jedem zugänglich gemacht werden sollte. Der ein oder andere mag es vielleicht schon kennen, und für manche dürfte es schwer zu verstehen sein, weil gute Englisch-Kenntnisse nötig sind. Aber dennoch möchte ich jedem nahelegen, Hellgate: London für anderthalb Stunden ruhen zu lassen, und dieses beeindruckende Video anzuschauen:
Ich kann, zumindest aus meiner Sicht, und all jener, die es bisher angeschaut haben, nur sagen, dass es keine verschwendete Zeit ist.
Update: Für diejenigen, deren Englisch nicht ausreicht, oder die nicht alles verstehen, gibt es auch eine deutsche Übersetzung in Schriftform. Den Link habe ich unten angefügt.
Auf der offiziellen Seite von Hg:L wurde bekannt gegeben, dass die kostenlose Spielzeit der Betatester bis zum 21.11.07 verlängert wurde.
Brave saviors of London, If you are still participating in the Hellgate: London beta, the grace period for playing the game without entering a retail registration key is almost up. On Wednesday, November 21, 2007, we will require that all accounts have a registration code in order to play. To continue playing, you need to enter the registration key from your purchased copy of Hellgate: London into your existing account management page. You do not need to make a new account. You also do not need to be a subscriber to continue playing from where your characters are in-game. Simply log into your account and enter the retail registration key into the registration key field found on your account management page... Previously, we had intended to end the beta grace period on November 14. But, we don't want to cut your game off prematurely, so please make sure you enter your retail registration key as soon as possible. Again, no beta players without registration codes will be able to login and play Hellgate: London after November 21, 2007. See you online!
Nach dem 21.11.07 muss man allerdings den Registrierungscode der Kaufversion eingeben um weiterspielen zu können.
Flagship Poster etlich hat im offiziellen Forum eine Liste derjenigen Dinge gepostet, die nun ebenfalls in den Fokus der Entwickler gerückt sind:
Even if its the wrong forum... This is a good list.
I'm working on prioritizing bugs and new features. Quick update on these...
1) Item trading...
Linked items is a high priority. Auction is a lot of work, so right now bugs and easier fixes are delaying this feature.
2) Landscape Variety
A very high priority for ongoing work. We understand everyone's desire to shake up the settings. You won't have to wait long.
3) Uniques
Fixed in testing here
4) We should have the ability to auto set the map to be on.
The map going away on death is a known bug that isn't that high a priority, frankly, but the map should stay up/down while zoning. It works for me on my dev build. I'll look into it.
5) Chat box
Many chat improvements coming shortly, and many more on the medium term list.
6) Inspecting others gear...
Again, not a high priority (sorry) but on the agenda
7) dropping items
Dropping items causes a lot of performance issues, so its worrisome. Why do you want to do this?
8) Make it easier for players who arent in parties to find each other!
Ideally we want to have a "warp to"-type button accessible from chat or buddy and guild lists. It would only work for players in a town. Its proving to be technically tricky, but we're working on it.
9) A shared portion of the stash
Pretty high priority. In our first big content patch, I hope.
10) I've fallen through an environment object several times and it has placed me back at the beginning of the zone.
Off-hand I can't remember where we are on this. I'll track it down.
11) Run/sprint speed...
I actually like it the way it is, but I'll bring it up to the team
Thanks!
Dies ist sein bisheriges Ergebnis aus den Vorschlägen der User. Wenn auch ihr einen Vorschlag habt, hinterlasst ihn dort. Vielleicht schafft er es ja in eines der kommenden Updates.
Zwar betrifft die Frage, ob zu viel Singleplayer-Freundlichkeit innerhalb eines MMOG's schädlich ist, nicht nur Hellgate: London, aber sicherlich ist das Werk der Flagship Studios mit davon betroffen. Durch die instanzierten Gebiete und der automatischen Anpassung ist es möglich, große Teile des Spiels ohne Mitspieler zu entdecken. Die zentrale Frage in diesem Zusammenhang stellen die Kollegen von Massively.com:
Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. In the quest to make MMORPGs more accessible to the masses, maybe the games have de-emphasized the social aspects of MMOs too much
Wie steht ihr dazu? Gerät der soziale Aspekt von Onlinespielen angesichts des Ziels, möglichst viele potentielle Spieler ansprechen zu wollen, in den Hintergrund? Sagt uns eure Meinung in unserem Forum!
Außerdem möchten wir euch noch auf ein weiteres Review zu Hellgate: London hinweisen. Bei den Kollegen des Escapist äußert der zuständige Redakteur die Hoffnung, dass es doch zu einem würdigen Diablo-Nachfolger werden könnte:
Hellgate's obviously premature release earned a lukewarm critical reception that, given numerous recent bug fixes, may already be undeserved. Even in its current state, it's an appealing, rewarding, and addictive game. With a bit more fine-tuning its out-of-the box online component would be well worth the retail price. Were Flagship to completely iron out the wrinkles and start delivering some genuinely interesting exclusive content, Hellgate's subscription service could eventually become a no-brainer.
Dies sei aber nur möglich, wenn die zahlreichen Bugs behoben werden, und noch weitere Feinarbeit erfolgt
Der asiatische Publisher IAHGames hat in seinem Forum nun bekannt gegeben, worauf alle Spieler in Asien nach dem plötzlichen Stop des Wipes (wir berichteten) gehofft hatten: Der Wipe findet nicht statt. Stattdessen scheinen die Techniker einen Weg gefunden zu haben, den Patch 0 ohne Löschung aller Charaktere zu implementieren
Dear Gamers,
We are elated to announce Flagship Studios has given us a green light to implement Patch 0 with NO character wipe.
Flagship Studios has investigated the major character issues, including missing skills and statistics, and have found methods to resolve them. They will also be performing a server upgrade to Patch 0.1 for our game service, making it equivalent to what the US gamers are enjoying now.
The process of implementing these improvements should be complete by 22nd November, 2007.
We are also working closely with Hanbitsoft and Flagship Studios on a program to reward our gamers for the patience and perseverance shown during the recent turn of events. Please stay updated to the forum and website for more news from your community manager, Angelace.
Thank you for your attention and have a good day ahead.
Sincerely,
Team HGL
Das Aufspielen des Updates wird nun am 22. November stattfinden, und voraussichtlich einen weiteren kleinen Patch direkt mit beinhalten. Auf die ebenfalls in Form einer Petition geäußerte allgemeine Kritik an der Arbeit des Publishers wird jedoch nicht eingegangen, obwohl sich auch Bill Roper zu Wort meldet.
In wenigen Stunden wird das Guy Fawkes Event beendet. Flagship gibt bekannt, dass hierzu die Server, sowohl in den USA, als auch in Europa, kurzzeitig heruntergefahren werden:
Howdy folks. We'll be rebooting both the US and EU servers soon to bring an end to Guy Fawkes Day. The specifics are:
* US server coming down tonight at midnight PST. That's 2:00AM CST and 3:00AM EST.
* EU server coming down November 13 at 6:00PM PST. That's 8:00PM CST, 9:00PM EST, and 2:00AM GMT.
The downtime shouldn't take too long (likely less than hour), so don't go too far from your PC. Thanks!
Geplant ist eine Downtime von weniger als einer Stunde kommende Nacht gegen drei Uhr unserer Zeit.
Kürzlich berichteten wir darüber, dass für den Patch 0 alle Charaktere auf den asiatischen Servern gelöscht werden müssen. Zwar wurde dies in letzter Sekunde abgewendet, jedoch steht noch nicht fest, ob dies nun bedeutet, dass eine bessere Lösung gefunden wurde. Der Ärger über diese Firmenpolitik scheint bei den asiatischen Spielern tief zu sitzen, und nicht nur durch die drohende Löschung ihrer Charaktere verursacht.
Als Reaktion hat ein asiatischer Spieler, Paul Chor, eine Petition ins Leben gerufen, in der sowohl schlechte Organisation seitens IAHGames, als auch mangelnder Support der Community bemängelt wird.
