Announcements & News

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2365459][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/updates/devupdate.png[/img][/url][/center] Today we're going to talk all things [i]technical[/i]. The [b]Coliseum Technical Beta[/b] will be kicking off [b]Monday, February 5th @ 06:00 Server Time[/b], and we hope you'll join us in testing it out! [center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2365459][b]Click here to learn more about this update.[/b][/url][/center] [more] [b][size=4]Testing Goals[/size][/b] The revamp to the [b]Coliseum[/b] is just around the corner, and in order for us to make sure it's ready for prime time, we will be launching it in beta form and running targeted testing efforts against it. [b]Your feedback has been integral to the rebuild's development, and we'd like to invite any player interested in testing it to participate.[/b] This process is [b]entirely voluntary[/b], and will not affect the current version of Coliseum in any way. [b][size=4]Restrictions[/size][/b] The following elements of the test build will be disabled to avoid disruption of any live dragons or items: [LIST] [*]Dragon energy will not be lost (either while fleeing or losing a battle) [*]Dragons will not gain experience [*]Loot will not be awarded [*]Battle Stones and stats cannot be altered [*]Items cannot be used in battle [/LIST] We encourage everyone to use dragons that are somewhat already equipped to be fighting in the Coliseum and don't need to have their battle stones or stats adjusted. In fact, it is crucial at this point that Coliseum players attempt to play as normal as they would in the current version so that we can ensure there isn't dramatic disruption to current play styles. Keep in mind that while you are using your real dragons for testing, if you decide to alter their battle stones or stats for purposes of trying something out in the beta, [b]we will not be able to offer reimbursements or restorations of items used for this purpose[/b]. ----------- [b][size=4]Testing Schedule[/size] [/b] We will be launching the Coliseum Technical Beta on [b]Monday, February 5th[/b], starting at [b]06:00 Server Time[/b] (PST). We will be asking you to focus on specific aspects of the Coliseum on each of the first few days of the beta and providing testing feedback and bugs. [LIST] [*][b]Monday, February 5th: Party Formation, Custom Party Saving/Loading[/b] This day's testing will focus primarily on the [i]Organize Party[/i] page, which has had several new options added to it. We would like everyone to spend time creating, saving, and loading custom parties. Additionally, we would like everyone to test out the new sorting and filtering options on the Available Dragons list to ensure that it is functioning correctly. [*][b]Tuesday, February 6th: General Battle and Ability Testing[/b] This day's testing will focus on general usage of the battle system and ability functionality. Coliseum has lots of abilities and we'd like to make sure they're all working. It will also give us a good semblance of player load that will help us tune things on the back end for festivals or events where Coliseum usage is heaviest. [*][b]Wednesday, February 7th: Keyboard Controls & Visual Effects Options[/b] This day's testing will focus on various combinations of using keyboard controls and enabling/disabling the rich visual effects. [*][b]Thursday, February 8th: Mobile Compatibility[/b] On this day, we would like to get a wide array of mobile testing performed. While we are not going to be able to 100% support the myriad of hardware platforms out there, we encourage you to play the Coliseum beta from a device other than a computer and help us weed out any critical issues that arise. [*][b]Friday, February 9th and onwards: General Play, Bug Fix Rollout and Soak Testing[/b] From this day forward, we encourage you to use the Coliseum without focusing specifically on testing anything, but rather just seeing if things feel right and are running as smooth as possible. This is what we'll call the "soak" period. As time goes on, we will likely roll out bug fixes and ask for feedback on if the implementation worked. After such a time passes that we feel we've collected significant results, we will disable the Coliseum Tech Beta and not long after, we will release the final version.[/LIST] ----------- [size=4][b]Stuff You Should Know[/b][/size] We wanted to make everyone aware of a few things before the beta kicks off: [LIST] [*][b]Please remember that this is an unfinished beta version of a completely rewritten feature[/b] and there are going to be things that may not function correctly, if at all, and there are bound to be some display issues. We will be continuing development alongside the beta and you may see things implemented along the way. [*][b]In the new version, each section of the Coliseum refreshes the web page.[/b] This was done for performance/stability reasons. While this may sound like a negative change, it's actually one that you do get used to fairly quickly. One of the most reported issues players submit to us is that the Coliseum stalls out when attempting to load. In the current version, this is because it was having to load everything all at once, and on some internet connections, the process would simply cease. In the new version, you'll only be loading the assets that are important to the feature of the Coliseum you're immediately using. [*][b]If you find an issue, please report it![/b] We will be opening up tracking threads for each testing day. If you encounter a bug, please report it to us, as it's the only way for us to gauge the severity and spread of the issue. Instructions in each thread will let you know what useful information to provide. [*][b]Disabling rich visual effects does not entirely get rid of them[/b]. We wanted to clear up our new visual effects options before everyone started using them, just so there wasn't any confusion. In the revamped Coliseum it will be possible to disable [b]weather effects[/b], [b]screen shakes[/b] and [b]rich visual effects[/b]. While the former two are self-explanatory, disabling rich visual effects doesn't just "turn them off" so that nothing will show at all. It will disable [i]almost[/i] all animation, aside from a very simple/universal way of showing you what ability you're using. (this will likely just end up fading in a single frame of the ability's sprite over the chosen target and fading it back out once the ability's functionality has been rendered). We opted to do this for two reasons. [b]One[/b]: It allowed us to still give you visual feedback of the ability you were doing without playing out its entire animation. And [b]two[/b]: in order to remain fair to players that leave animations on, we needed to make sure abilities all took the same amount of time, and showing a brief fade-in/fade-out of the ability's sprite gave us the opportunity to make the cast times between modes equitable. [*][b]While suggestions are acceptable during the beta, the focus is testing.[/b] We are approaching launching the Coliseum revamp, so a lot of the features are locked down and we are moving into making sure they function correctly and do not cause performance issues to the website. During the beta, while suggestions won't be discouraged, the focus should be on submitting performance feedback and bug reports. If you feel like you've got a really great idea for an addition to the Coliseum, please start up a thread in our Suggestions forum. Suggestions will likely be deleted from beta-specific bug report and feedback threads so that they are easier for our engineering team to parse through. [*][b]You are absolutely not required to participate in the beta, but we hope you decide to![/b] [i]Flight Rising[/i] is played from many types of internet services, on hundreds of types of hardware, and we are trying to make the feature perform as well as it can on as many devices as possible. The only way we can get close to that goal is by lots of exposure to these sources, so if you have some time to give it a whirl, examine the game analytically, and send us detailed reports, that will be of tremendous value to our team. [*][b]There is a more than zero percent chance that the beta may cause issues with the rest of the site[/b], but we will be working hard to notice these issues and resolve them as they come up. [*][b]PVP will not be included initially in the beta test,[/b] however we may run a separate test for it later if we feel we need to.[/list] That being said, we're looking forward to moving forward on this project and delivering the final product to you all. Thanks in advance for your help and dedication to making [i]Flight Rising[/i] the best that it can be![/left] ------------------- [s][size=4][b]A Note on the Agility (AGI) Stat[/b][/size] We wanted to provide an update regarding agility, and how it will feel in the beta vs the upcoming launch. First, we want to provide you some information on just how the stat has changed:[/s] [quote][s][b]The Dodge probability and Critical Hit probability calculations now each involve BOTH the attacker's AGI and the target's AGI.[/b] The more AGI the attacker has relative to the target, the more likely the attacker will achieve a Critical Hit. The less AGI the attacker has relative to the target, the more likely the target will Dodge. There are caps on the Dodge and Critical Hit probabilities, so no matter what the AGI values involved are, there is a limit to how frequently Dodges or Crits can occur. The levels of the combatants are no longer involved; only AGI is considered.[/s][/quote] [s]Agility has been a fairly imbalanced stat since the beginning, so in order to counteract it in the current version of Coliseum, we've been implementing enemies with [b]intentionally low AGI stats[/b] so that high level monsters are not absolutely horrible to fight against. Because the Coliseum Tech Beta will be using the stat data from live enemies combined with the new rebalancing of AGI, it's going to [i]feel[/i] like enemies in the beta have drastically low chances of dodging/critting. That's because they do. When the new version of the Coliseum launches, we will be revisiting the AGI stats of all monsters to make sure that they are altered to be appropriate for their level and type. The result should be an experience that allows AGI to be a much more attractive stat. We would also like to take the time to remind everyone that when the Coliseum revamp launches, we will be sending [b]three (3) Tinctures of Dissolution[/b] to each [i]Flight Rising[/i] account so that you can more easily make changes to your dragons' stats due to the rebalance.[/s] After feedback, we have decided to go in a different direction for this particular release, and not make any stat alterations at this time. Please [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/2369820][b]read the following thread[/b][/url] for more information.