Sernnon posted:
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:59 am Post subject: 3.5 (Extra) - Current Status of 3.5 and 3.2 - 7th July 2007 Reply with quote
Hello everyone,
It has been some time since a post was placed in this announcement forum, although interest and work upon 3.5 has not ceased. Though I have explained elsewhere, I have yet to place the information here as to the current status of 3.5. Allow me to correct that now...
As you all know, 3.5 entered a 'delayed' state on the 1st of February. 3.5 is still in this delayed state, and as there can be no ETAs granted for projects at this stage, the date for 3.5s release will remain TBC (to be confirmed).
The delay was caused by a number of factors, some public already, and some private. The flood was a major contributing factor, but it was not the sole factor. There is also the change in staffing that must be considered, as dedicated work from past programmers must now be picked up by Aaron and explored/learned so that it can be manipulated and completed securely (not to mention properly!). You'll have to forgive me for not going into all the fine details.
However, right now we are operating with just Aaron as programmer. Though we can continue to review and refine plans, juggling coding a new version and keeping up content additions for this version, alongside all office-based work and updating critical systems means Aaron has very little time - and all of it is prioritised.
Our main priority right now is to continue to develop 3.2, so that we can give people content to retain players, and attract new people to the community. We're also concentrating on updating existing services and policies/hardware to ensure we can expand - and offer the game to new people (and yes, that includes marketing strategies).
We simply do not have the resources to complete the Realm 3.5 incarnation without seriously affecting 3.2 in the meantime. That would place us in a seriously dangerous position with 3.2 if we did - effectively losing much of the community to staleness and losing the ability to continue coding 3.5 or 3.2.
Development are not, and can not, give out any ETAs/release dates at this time. We will continue to develop 3.2 by moving content and systems from the 3.5 plans and adding them to 3.2 (rather than the initial plan of adapting those systems to 3.2 after 3.5 launch). Thus the transition to 3.5 will be less of a leap than identified last year, and more of a gentle slide into the system with the final step for players of moving over to the new server.
In short,
3.2 and 3.5 will still exist as separate servers.
3.2 will still be getting all the updates/content/systems that it is planned to have, both from pre and post 3.5 implementation.
3.5 will still be according to our plans as presented for the most part. Those parts unable to be coded before release will occur afterwards. None of those will be critical systems.
3.2 will be at a more developed state when 3.5 is implemented, giving it a stronger presence and more likely to survive much longer post-3.5.
The content of these updates that were once destined for post-release of 3.5 has yet to be released. The only information available are the released targets that will be covered by all updates to 3.2 that are on our plans. This list is not exhaustive of all our plans (there must be some surprises), nor will all of these targets be reached before 3.5's release. Some will however, and information on which will be forthcoming.
Items on the list include: New player systems, class balancing, risk vs reward reshuffle (the treasure/exp drops worldwide), social tools, new areas/monsters/items, PvP expansion, Crafting and Gathering system, Trading Posts and Trade Windows, Area difficulty and world balance (Improvements to how the different areas of Realm interact and the level-targets of areas as well as character progression through areas).
As you can see, there's tons on the horizon that a wide range of players will enjoy. We have taken a lot of feedback onboard whilst prioritising updates, and will continue to do so; so please make use of the forums and CR chats to tell us what you think. The above list is only a taste of the plans, and does not include topics such as Events, Storyline and so forth that combine with the updates to present you with an ongoing evolution of the Realm around you.
I'll be seeing you in Realm!
Chris.
_________________________
Burke, out...
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