Hello NosPlayers!
As we enter the final quarter of the year, we wanted to reach out and talk about what’s currently in the pipeline, what plans we have, and what problems lie ahead.
Today’s community update focuses on two main issues – the international server merges and the next balancing patch – and the reasons why neither is quite ready!
Last week we made the difficult decision to push the server merges we’d had pencilled down for November back into next year. We know that many of you will be annoyed to hear this, and we totally understand – in fact, nobody’s more put out by this than we are! Be that as it may, we want to be as open and frank as we can about both the reasons behind this decision, and where we’re going from here.
The aim of the server merges is to pool the smaller communities into a larger one, yet still allow each player to choose the language version they want to play the game in. NosTale currently has 9 completely separate setups and databases across all languages, making this project far more complicated than simply throwing together servers from within the same territory.
We need more time than originally budgeted for to ensure that no accounts slip through our digital fingers, and all the servers can be merged without a hitch. But enough of our excuses! Let’s come to what you really want to know: when are the merges coming? Well, if everything goes according to the current plan, we should be able to get this underway early next year. We don’t have a concrete date yet, but we’ll keep you posted as things progress.
What does all this have to do with the eagerly awaited balancing patch? Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about that. One request on a lot of players’ lips is for more and deeper-running changes. While we’ve already taken a number of steps in this direction, the last thing we want to do is release a patch which knocks everything out of kilter – and let’s be honest, that wouldn’t be the first time. So we’ve come up with another solution…
Introducing the Public Experimental Server for Testing Stuff (or PESTS – okay, fine, the name is still WIP)!
That’s right, we want to hear your feedback to any changes we make as directly as we can, so we’re working on setting up a public test server where you can try out all our experimental tweaks and adjustments first hand. It’s important to us that everyone has a fair say, so we didn’t want make this an exclusively English server. Once the international merges are complete, we plan to roll out an international server as a test playground, where everyone can mess around and play with all the toys.
But that’s why the next big balancing patch is directly linked to the server merges.
Fine, so is there anything coming out this year?! Don’t worry, we’ve still got plenty in the pipeline to publish over the next few months. Keep your breath baited and fish around for clues, and you might even find a few hints about the next specialist coming to NosVille.
As ever, we’d like to thank you for being patient, and apologise for these delays. You’re what makes NosTale so amazing even after 13 years, and we cannot thank you enough. Have a great October and see you next update!
The NosTale Team
