Pet Campaign Update

Just to update you (and others) – this week is “Golden Week” in Japan which is a national holiday week. So, as far as coordinating the “Pet Exchange”, we are looking at possibly this Friday. Please stay tuned — I’ll post something again this Thursday either here or the PG Forum!

BD

Sleepy Face means AFK

Artifact is adding an AFK (Away From Keyboard) feature to the game! They’re debating what it should look like. They’re asking for feedback from the Japanese community. Here are two entries they came up with:

1) A “coffee cup icon” is displayed overhead.

2) A head-down gesture will be added.

Which do you like more?

Japanese Pet Replacement Campaign

Earlier today, a new pet was added as part of a Japanese Pet Replacement Campaign. For the next ten weeks, they will remove one pet and add one pet. This week’s pet added was the white cat. This week’s removed pet was the black horse. You can take a peek at the white cat in action here. It’s unclear as to whether or not the English version will receive these changes right away. Since the emphasis of the campaign is to encourage players to buy gold to acquire pets, it would seem a waste to update our current variety with such a small community.

I will try to communicate with the administrators of the English version to see what they are planning.

Update: News from BoomDizzle! Each English version update will take place approximately one week after the Japanese version. That means around next Wednesday, we will be removing the black horse and implementing the white cat!

That’s right! Guess who these tiki fiends are, and win your very own Primitive Mask! Contest ends 48 hours from this post, or until a winner is found. To enter, post a comment and list all the players in the picture in the correct order(either from left to right or vice versa). Happy guessing!

Update: All comments will remain (or become) unpublished until the contest is over! Don’t worry if your comment disappears or doesn’t show up.

Update 2: BumbleB is the winner! The correct answer was (from left to right): kwula, Delilah, Muruu, CloudStrife, and Jaded. Thank you for playing, everyone!

A third OceanBook video is up!

Even though these pictures are flat, they appear to have depth because of the way characters move.

Tower VIII / OceanBook Q&A

Two new items were introduced today in the Japanese Puppet Guardian blog. The first item seems to be some kind of amulet (aquamarine?), and the second looks like a dragon wig. Update: Rei says it’s a mace of some sort.

Q: Can we transfer pets into ocean book?
A: Pets will not be transferred into Ocean Book.

Q: Will there be a new gem in T8?
A: There are no new gems in T8.

Q: What is the Underground Square for?
A: In the far future, events will take place here.

Thanks to Mint (ミント) for some translations and Rei for the corrections.

Tower VIII: Get ready for the Dragon.

Artifact released some info earlier today about a monster in Tower 8. They also noted that it would be difficult to kill, so don’t expect to be able to stone or paralyze it, or maybe even freeze it. Judging from the silhouette, it looks a bit hairy (and quite large). Maybe it’s not a fire-based dragon, but something else. hmm…

Cut.

The Abandoned Trade System | Tower VIII

I heard from Sorepo today that there was a trade system in the Japanese version about a year ago. However, it was dismissed soon after it came out; people began trading more, and buying less gold to use in the marketplace. It’s unfortunate, since players have no way of gifting items anymore. Perhaps the developers of the English version will try to implement a change to allow a mailing/gifting/package system. That would make this game the best.

On another note, the artifact blog released some new information about T8. Apparently, there will be two bosses and two goals, along with many new elements! Gauntlets(as well as element-specific magic) will have more of an effect on gameplay. Artifact claims that T8 will be out very soon! It should be fun!

Ocean Book: Speculation

Some Japanese players have speculated that Ocean Book will be more of a solo-player game and not emphasize on teamwork as much as Puppet Guardian. This is a big problem for many players, especially since Puppet Guardian was such a community-oriented game.  For other players, this may be a big break, allowing them to gain ranking even when none of his or her friends are online. It is also speculated that there will be PK, or PvP in Ocean Book, although if this is the case, there will only be certain times at which players may be attacked (on a ship, for example).

One source says that Ocean Book will be more in-sync with actual time, requiring several hours or even days before a destination is reached.

If you haven’t heard of Ocean Book yet, check out the following videos. You will be able to use your current puppet, along with your hair color/style, inventory, equipment, synthesis jar, and warehouse, to play.