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Friday, November 26, 2010

Gamma Evolution 1.1.2

Gamma Evolution 1.1.2 is coming soon! How soon? A matter of fact, we may be live before..uhmmm. We seemed to have stumbled upon a 2v2 bug. Fixing!


The holidays are almost upon us and to celebrate, we are gradually reintroducing our holiday rares from last year, starting with, you guessed it 
-- FROSTBANE!


Frostbane Returns!!!


The devastating, legendary sword Frostbane is returning to EpicDuel and it's better than ever! Immediately after the release goes live, those who purchase the 10,000 varium package will receive the coveted blade for a limited time! Let us know if you purchased the package today before the update and we'll award you the sword as soon as possible!
Armor Enhancements!


Finally bring back those dusty old armors from storage and give them a much-needed boost with armor enhancements! Founders will be rewarded by receiving 10 enhancement slots for their legendary armor. More than any in the game! Enhancing armors works just like weapons, so be sure to stop by one of the available Item Enhancing NPCs (Titan, Nightwraith, Mirv, Valery, Ulysses) to buff your weapons and armors!


Become a Warlord!


As a follow up to last weeks release, we have introduced a Daily War Kill leaderboard! We were honestly quite surprised that the Faction HQ weapons became so popular, so we felt it was only right to reward those who contributed so heavily to their chosen alignments with an achievement for the daily winners! We will also be awarding the Warlord achievement (1625 points) to those on the All-time board at the time of the release to reward those who made this such a successful feature!


One Year Anniversary!


A year ago at this time, Titan and I were in the underground lab working on the merger with Artix Entertainment, and it's been a wild ride ever since! Without them, the game you see today would not have been possible, so to celebrate, we're offering a "Year of the Dragon"achievement for purchasing ANY varium package after the update goes live. This achievement will be available for a limited time to commemorate the anniversary, so grab it while you can!


New Features!
• Frostbane returns! Free with purchase of the 10k varium package or from Titan and Nightwraith in Central Station.
Increased enhancement slots on Frostbane!
Armor enhancements! Add stat points to your armor! Founder armor receives 10 slots!
All primary weapons receive an additional 2 available enhancement slots!
New Daily War Kill leaderboard tracks emplacement kills for each player!
 New Warlord achievement for winners of the Daily War Kills leaderboard!


Bug Fixes!
 Fixed errors generated by NPC chat
Fixed Lawman Suite entrance bug



Not bad for a half-week release, eh? Join us again next week for yet another supercharged update! To those of you in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! To those of you everywhere else, eat a lot and spend quality time with your friends and loved ones!




Saturday, November 20, 2010

Gamma Evolution 1.1.1e

Evolution 1.1.1e is coming soon! Check out this list of new features as development progresses!


For our next super-size release, we will be adding some much needed improvements to the Daily Faction Battle, bringing life to NPCs with NPC chat, a tutorial battle mode, a new War Kill leaderboard and more!


Battlestations!!!




Finally, some welcome decor to the expansive Faction Headquarters. Rank up your Faction to unlock powerful cannons that are capable of inflicting massive damage on the opposing alignment. These lethal artillery emplacements will range from small mortars to massive satellite death beams!


NPC Chat!


The age of silence is over! Now NPCs will talk trash right back at you will an intelligent chat system that detects player status and adjusts to the current situation. If an NPC ever asks for your account information, report them is useless because that means the game has become self-aware! :o 


One Year Anniversary!
A year ago at this time, Titan and I were in the underground lab working on the merger with Artix Entertainment, and it's been a wild ride ever since! Without them, the game you see today would not have been possible, so to celebrate, we're offering a "Year of the Dragon"achievement for purchasing ANY varium package after the update goes live. This achievement will be available for a limited time to commemorate the anniversary, so grab it while you can!


New Features!
• Faction HQ Battlements! Earn weapon emplacements for your Faction HQ to turn the tide of the War!
• New Legion or Exile logos appear next to character names to identify alignment
• NPC Chat for several popular NPCs
• Tutorial mode introduces all new players to the battle engine  immediately
• New War Events display shows the major events of the Daily War, including emplacement attacks!
• War Kill leaderboard tracks emplacement kills for each player
• New Artillery Master achievement for those who achieve 1000 War Kills!


Balance Adjustments
• Reinforcements are slowly reduced as the underdog alignment wins instead of dispersing all at once.
• Reduce block rate base by 5% and block rate max by 5%
• Increased Alignment reinforcements to from 33% to 50% of previous day's victory difference


Bug Fixes!
• Empty inventory prevents players from logging in 
• Fixed flag logic ... now awards influence, then applies tax
• Increase the size of the name field in my vitals 


Saturday, November 6, 2010

Gamma Evolution 1.1.1d

Gamma Evolution 1.1.1d is coming soon! Check out this list of new features as development progresses!


Last week we introduced the Daily Faction War to enhance the Faction War. This week we will be adding a few measures to balance the War along with some fun new features for your dueling pleasure!


Battle the Slayer!


Think you've got what it takes to bring down the mysterious and powerful Slayer? He's the reason there aren't any Bio Hazards anywhere but the Bio Dome, so you'd better have your wits about you if you hope to defeat this skilled warrior. If you beat him, he'll give you his special Shurikens as a trophy! (Armor coming soon! ;) )


Selina Strikes!


She's young, but she still packs a punch! You can now challenge Selina, but beware: She'll tell her daddy if you beat her!


Fall Fashion!


Decorate your home will some great seasonal items created by the newest addition to the EpicDuel team: Charfade!


One Year Anniversary!
A year ago at this time, Titan and I were in the underground lab working on the merger with Artix Entertainment, and it's been a wild ride ever since! Without them, the game you see today would not have been possible, so to celebrate, we're offering a "Year of the Dragon"achievement for purchasing ANY varium package after the update goes live. If you bought just before this announcement, please let Titan or myself know and we'll award them manually after the release. This achievement will be available for a limited time to commemorate the anniversary, so grab it while you can!


New Features!

  • 2 New Fightable NPCs: Slayer and Selina!
  • New house items!
  • Faction creation through Daily War Bar!
  • Faction Founder step-down!*
Faction War Adjustments!

  • Daily War balance! The losing alignment will receive a % in the difference between Exile and Legion victories for the next day as reinforcements!
  • A small base tax will be applied at all Factions on the losing side. This will be done to eventually negate the influence of inactive Factions.
  • Keep the ideas coming. The Daily War is an exciting concept, but we want it to be fun and fair for both sides.

Balance Adjustments

  • Defense reduction on Artillery Strike changed to 10%
  • Reduction in Rage rate
Bug Fixes!

  • -1 days active error in Faction manager
  • Female Desert Ronin displays as Female Shadow Guard
In case you were unaware, we've still got these!
Bring the Pain with the NEW RARE Ghoul Cannon and Spectral Blaster! 




We're also working on a new EpicDuel T-shirt design for HeroMart. Let us know what you think!



*Still couldn't get this feature in this week. It's more complex than you'd think, and balancing the faction war took priority.

Notes on the Forum Merger

EpicDuel is an important part of the Artix Entertainment stable of games. This is so not merely because every game is important to AE, but because EpicDuel brings something unique and special to the company. It brings an enthusiastic community of players who love it, a team of designers that are talented, innovative and dedicated to excellence and a team of moderators that are devoted to both. At AE, we value all three.

As we grow the Battleon brand, we take measured steps toward the improvement of all the games that fall within it, including EpicDuel. We take our responsibility toward this community very seriously both because we care about you and because it is now ours as well. We are very focused on the needs of the players both on the design team and on the forum team; we all work together to ensure that our customers have the best experience we can provide. The players are what drive us, and the EpicDuel community is no exception.

I realize that the forum merger is a bit contentious - and I realize that with no animosity and with complete understanding. Part of what makes your community special is your dedication and enthusiasm, and wanting to hold on to the existing forum falls squarely within those traits we so admire. I want to offer you my promise that we at AE will do whatever we can, however we can, to provide for this community and to ensure that the transition is as fluid and painless as possible.

As a part of that promise, I would like to make a few comments regarding the atmosphere and moderation style of the Battleon forum. First, the forum is staffed by people who care as much for AE as you do for EpicDuel. EpicDuel is now as much a part of AE as AQW or DF, and we will be giving as much attention to ED as we do to any of the other games. While we may have different styles, I want to assure you that the passion and interest that drive our efforts are the same. Second, while we do have different styles, we are not robots. We are human beings capable of change and adaptation under the right circumstances. We will do everything we can to adapt to the needs of the EpicDuel community, provided that you are in turn willing to work to adapt to our needs as well. The art of compromise is going to be very important as we take our steps toward merging our communities into one, comprehensive family and I hope we can all work together to accomplish that goal.

The primary objective of the Battleon forum team is to provide a safe, comfortable and friendly place for people to discuss the AE products and work together to navigate the obstacles that accompany gaming - we see no difference in providing that service to the EpicDuel community. Yes, your community is accustomed to a particular style and manner of discussion. Yes, we will do everything we can to accommodate those expectations. But at the end of the day, our goals should all be the same: to provide a clean and friendly place for both children and adults to spend their time.

I know that you all have concerns and I hope this note has helped to put them to rest. If you have specific questions, I will be happy to receive them via PM or as responses to this thread. I'm very excited about this merger and the opportunity to fully welcome EpicDuel and its players to the Battleon forum. I look forward to a productive and engaging relationship with those of you that elect to join us. To those that don't, I wish you all the best and sincerely thank you for your commitment to and patronage of EpicDuel.

Beta Evolution 1.0.6 - Coming Monday January 18, 2010 EST

Coming Monday night, January 18, 2010 EST we will be releasing EpicDuel Beta Evolution 1.0.6!


Changes in this update include:



  • Founder status will expire!

  • Founder Duel Master Armor will go RARE!

  • New centralized server clock (More details below)

  • Purchase more slots for your buddy list!

  • New map screens and New NPC - Ulysses!

  • Shiny new notification appears to indicate you have leveled up your character

  • Faction Creation cost increases from 125 Varium to 425 Varium

  • FIXED - Characters will no longer obscure the View Stats button in battle

  • FIXED - Sometimes characters would come out of battle and not have full health and energy

  • Holiday Screens will return to normal

  • Seasonal rares will be removed from merchant inventories



  • Introducing New Beta Weapons
    After the Founder status expires and we can no longer offer the Founder Duel Master Armor, our new promotional items for the Medium and large Varium packages will be new Beta Weapons! Players that have already upgraded to Founder will receive these RARE items for Free on Monday!. So please upgrade your account NOW if you want to get the Beta weapons Free in your account when the update is released! Otherwise, players that upgrade their account anytime after we upgrade to Beta 1.0.6 will receive the Beta weapons with their purchase when they buy either the medium or large Varium packages!




    More Weapons Plz 
    It wouldn't be an Epic update without some new weapons! Look for Ulysses for the latest.

    You can find Ulysses one screen to the right of Selina in the Wastelands.

    Eventually, you will be able to travel to his workshop for weapon upgrades!

    The New Server Clock 
    Many players have been confused by the existing server clock that determines when an EpicDuel day concludes. The current system has been unclear and in some cases unfair to players that have worked hard to try to earn achievements. Additionally, the system has a glitch that can cause each server's clock to come out of sync and announce Daily leaders and Daily Champions that are not actually supposed to receive awards.

    The Problem
    Achievements are supposed to be awarded every 24 hours to those players and those factions that earn the most battle victories within the day. The problem is, every time we perform an update, the server clock is reset to the "beginning" of a day. So for example, if a day has been running for 14 hours already (meaning there are supposed to be only 10 hours remaining) and we install a server update, when the server comes back online the clock will restart back to 0. The result is a day that takes 38 hours to complete (14 hours + 24 more hours after the restart). It's even worse if we install two updates within a 24 hour period because this could in effect push the total time of one day up to over 60 hours!! This is bad design and I apologize to any players that have spent time trying to earn a daily achievement only to find that the day was extended by several hours.

    The Solution (Available on Monday, January 18, 2010):
    Starting in our next update, the server clock will no longer restart when the servers restart. Instead, the server clock will use the actual date and time to determine when the days conclude. This way, regardless of when we install updates, the server will always award achievements and reset the daily battle logs at the end of the day. We will be awarding achievements at 12:00 Midnight EST. Additionally, players will be able to check down to the minute when the day will conclude for more accurate planning if they are attempting to win achievements.

    Epic Patch - March 8, 2009 4:00am EDT

    • Level cap raised to 23
    • 30 new weapons added
    • Added ability to retrain character skills and attributes
    • Skill balance changes
    • Added diminishing returns to the effectiveness of most skills
    • Health and energy increase by 2 points per attribute point instead of 3
    • Existing character's health and energy will be scaled to match
    • Physical weapons do slightly more damage / energy weapons do slightly less

    Several exciting new features are in the works... check back for more information or share your ideas in our forums. Thanks for playing!

    Epic Patch - March 4, 2009 4:00am EST

    This update included the following fixes:
    • Fixed negative currency bug from losing battle and purchasing items
    • Corrected * (asterisk) password login problem
    • Updated instance limit to 100 users
    • Added preliminary detection for bogus character stats

    PayByCash Payments are now LIVE!

    We just released PayByCash payments. You can now upgrade your character to Elite with several new payment options, including 70 new options that do not require your credit card! 

    The Team


    EpicDuel was created by a company called Epic Inventions, LLC, and was founded by Jonathan Duran in January of 2008. 

    EpicDuel was acquired by Artix Entertainment in October of 2009.

    The Team

    Titan - Game Director, Artix Entertainment
    Enthusiastically developing computer games since high school, founder Jonathan Duran will build on his expertise, business knowledge, and previous successes to turn EpicDuel into a thriving sustainable community. In spring of 2007, Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences in Computer Information Systems and earned his MBA from Youngstown State University in spring of 2008. Jonathan is certified as an Adobe Systems expert in Flash®, and has experience in multiple programming languages, databases, and web servers. His computer work has been recognized as best-in-show out of over 200 collegiate participants at YSU’s annual forum for student scholarship, and his projects have been selected to represent the university at multiple regional conferences.

    Nightwraith - Lead Artist, Artix Entertainment
    Constantly driven by the desire to unleash his creativity, Bernard Schmalzried will utilize his active imagination to put EpicDuel at the forefront of browser-based online gaming. Bernard has been a part of the creative process on a professional level since his first year at Youngstown State University in which he took on a massive illustration project for a new tabletop RPG, Galactic Conquest. In 2007, he published a number of his artistic endeavors, forming Fish Combo Productions, a freelance illustration studio that has exhibited at Wizard World Chicago 2007, the second largest comic book convention in the United States. In fall of 2007, Bernard earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Technology and is prepared to dedicate all of his energies to defining the aesthetic direction of EpicDuel as its Chief Creative Officer.