OrbusVR News

Another big update is on the horizon! On Tuesday, September 28th we will be rolling out a patch with two major changes: a character update and the return of the fall Harvest Festival.

[h2]Character Update[/h2]

We have heard from the community that you all would like more options when it comes to styling your in-game avatar - and we couldn’t agree more! To that end, the upcoming patch will introduce a combined total of more than 40 new hairstyles, eyes, mouths and noses for you to mix and match and adjust to fit your own personal style. We’ll be introducing a large number of more feminine styles for hair, eyes and mouths, as well as some out-of-the ordinary options for those of you really looking to spice your character up.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



In addition to new styles, we are also excited to introduce animations for eyes and mouths. Eyes will now blink, and mouths will move when a player is talking, all of which we hope will make characters feel more natural. Each mouth's animation will look slightly different from the other styles (just one more way we are striving to add variety), and will be tied to the volume meter on your character.



Note: Facial animations will be disabled by default for the time being. In order to turn this feature on and see other characters' animations, select "Enable Facial Animations" on the Graphics tab of the Settings menu.

To celebrate the update, we are giving every active character a free refresh so you can utilize the new styles. When you log in following the patch, click on your character, then select the "Change" option from the list of choices. If you find you want to change your appearance later on, you can always visit the NPC in the Odds and Ends store in the underground market of Highsteppe to purchase a Barbershop token.

[h2]Fall Festival[/h2]

The annual fall Harvest Festival will also be returning for its third year on Tuesday, September 28th. We'll be introducing three new rewards (details in a future post), while also bringing back the pumpkin helm and skeleton gloves transmog set. Everyone's favorite spirits will be back haunting the countryside again, so get ready to do some slaying!

Welcome one and all to the newest version of Highsteppe, as many of you know Markos’ triumphant return, with help from a few brave adventurers, he has declared that now is a time of prosperity. With that, the city has invested Dram along with countless craftsman hours to restoring Highsteppe to its once great stature, that of itself before the dark times that fell upon us.





Today's patch going live around 11AM CST features the brand new remodeled Highsteppe and some minor bugfixes. You can read the detailed patch notes, with map notes and a list of changes with the positions of certain NPCs here:

https://community.orbusvr.com/t/patch-14-01-highsteppe-makeover/24279

We'll see you in game!

The updated Highsteppe will be coming out in a patch on Tuesday, August 31st. For a preview of the many upcoming changes, we turn to the pages of the Highsteppe Enquirer and their in-depth coverage on Highsteppe and all things Patreayl.

HIGHSTEPPE, PATREAYL - By edict of Markos of Runevale, recently returned to sanity and consciousness from the clutches of evil sorcerer Sephotep, the city of Highsteppe has been renovated in order to match the splendor of Patreayl!

Gone is the hodgepodge, ramshackle style of old Highsteppe. The raw timber and salvaged materials have been replaced city-wide with stone, glass and new wrought iron work crafted by our very own Master Smith.

Newly refurbished home of Patreayl's homegrown hero

Chef Lethrow's new kitchen

Mayor Kaia finally has her own office for conducting her mayoral affairs, and Pierre Cenn’s shop has received a facelift. Chef Lethrow’s kitchen has also received a major upgrade, with ample space for his cauldrons and cooking stoves, a necessary change as the chef has more mouths to feed with the ever-increasing population of the surrounding area. The Chef is helped in his culinary pursuits through the salvaging and harvesting efforts of Whisper, who has expanded her shop to include extra space for drying herbs.

New Fellowship Hall and Fellowship Court

Even your very own Highsteppe Enquirer has new offices, though our request to be moved off the side street into the thick of town was denied, so you will still have to visit us next to the airship dock to submit any bits of news or gossip for your local reporter. And speaking of the airship dock, the newly constructed dock offers a breathtaking view for the adventurous spirit willing to clamber all the way up there. (You will quite literally have your breath taken away after climbing to the top of the new dock. It's quite tall.)

View of Highsteppe from the top of the new airship dock

While the pathways through town have mostly remained the same, some unidentified person in city planning made the questionable decision to put a bank of new housing next to Mayor Kaia’s office, so all residents will now need to take the new tunnel off the bridge from the center tree in order to access the far side of town. This change has also created a dead-end alley behind Pierre Cenn’s Critter Capture shop, which no doubt will create a gathering place for the town’s riff-raff.

Pierre Cenn's renovated Critter Capture shop, with entrance to new tunnel on left

Trade with the Ottathamine and Parathine empires has been steadily increasing in recent months, and the payoffs of this prosperity can be seen all over town, from the new cobblestone walkways to the exquisite fountain under the Guardian tree to the peaks of the refurbished Fellowship Hall.

“It’s about time this city reflected the wealth of our empire,” Markos told this reporter. “Gone are the dark days!”

Not everyone believes the dark days are gone, however. The new stonework seen on buildings around town is echoed ten times in the newly strengthened stone walls of the city - which begs the question, if Patreayl has really returned from dark times, why are we strengthening our walls rather than venturing beyond them?

“Dunno what Markus is talking about,” said Rodolphous Dungbar, aged 36 of Highsteppe, who is always good for one off-color remark. “Last time I set foot outside the gates, a bush damn near took my head off.”

The countryside is no doubt still overrun with monsters and Scavs, though you can’t say that the wealth of monsters hasn’t translated itself into a wealth of another kind. All it takes is one look at Darius’s renovated shop to see that business is certainly booming for the Sphinxian bounty hunter. Inside you’ll find a menagerie of Patreayl’s finest monsters on display. Darius has even gone to the effort of organizing them by region of the country, so the city's intrepid explorers can see what fiends and foes await them in the lands beyond.

Interior of Darius's newly renovated shop

Speaking of the lands beyond, not all new construction has been relegated to inside the city's walls. The risk of monsters hasn't stopped Farmers Sam and Jonce from reestablishing their farmsteads in the Highsteppe Hills.

“After so many years of lying fallow, the soil in the hills is at its finest. I think we’ll see some of our best harvests this year,” said Sam, whose humble homestead can be found in the foothills of the path up to the plateau. “I’ve been working sun up til sundown since moving out here. Might have to advertise for a farmhand soon. Say, does the enquirer have a classifieds section?”

But whatever you do, don't take this reporter's word for it. Get out and explore your own town!

The Highsteppe Update Patch will release on Tuesday, August 31st. We will have more information about content in the rest of the patch in our next post.

Hi everyone,

It’s been awhile since we last put out an official roadmap, so here is a look at what is coming up in the world of Orbus between now and the end of the year.

[h2]Highsteppe Update[/h2]

The new Highsteppe will officially debut on Tuesday, August 31st! Along with a new look for the main hub town of Patreayl, we’ll also be introducing a couple new side questlines in this patch.



[h2]Character Update[/h2]

Early fall will also see the addition of new character styles! The update we have planned should have more than 40 new hairstyles, eyes, mouths and noses. There will be some new options for female characters in particular, as well as a few off-the-wall choices.



[h2]New Battlegrounds Map[/h2]

We will also be introducing a new Battlegrounds map in Q4 2021, which will replace the “arena” currently in-game. While the concept will remain the same (still “Capture the Outpost”), the new map should provide a more challenging and intriguing setup, with more capture points spread throughout both interior and exterior portions of a temple-like structure.

[h2]Fall Festival[/h2]

Everyone’s favorite seasonal festival (okay, maybe just our favorite seasonal festival) will also be back in early October. As always, the countryside will experience a terrain change, and we'll have a few new themed rewards to collect.



Other new content you can expect to see later this year:

• New Legendary Overworld Drops: We'll be adding a few new ones later this fall.
  
• World Boss: We'll be brining back a reimagined version of the fan favorite Esasa world boss from the original game. As with the other world bosses, defeat the Esasa Lord for a chance at a cape, world boss pet, and even a ring.
  
• Long-Term Missions: We’ll be adding some new long-term missions in a variety of activities (including some that haven't been covered yet, like dragon racing) to keep you grinding away.
  
• Winter Festival: And finally we will be ending the year as always with our winter festival!
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

Along with the above planned features, the Dev team is also dedicating time to fixing some class-specific bugs in order to improve the general playing experience of the community. Last week we successfully rolled out a patch with our first targeted class fix, which was for Ranger weak points. Next up we will be tackling the issue of Shaman orbs not respawning sporadically on top of the totems.

We appreciate the community helping with this process, as well as the continued support and patience you all have given us.

The OrbusVR Team

The latest patch is live, and with it a few updates.

[h2]World Bosses in Community Event Area[/h2]

Overworld boss Bjorn Stafrute (aka "Treesus") has now been temporarily added to the community event area Edge of Nowhere to facilitate larger community events in a less performance-intensive area.

Drops will still be the same, and don't worry: Bjorn can still be found in the overworld, too! We'll cycle Bjorn out for another world boss in future patches to keep the fun moving.

We encourage the community to organize some world boss events and let us know if hosting events in this new area significantly improves the large group experience!

As a reminder, you can access the Edge of Nowhere zone through a door in the Highsteppe Tavern (on the upper balcony, next to the Long-Term Mission Vendor).

[h2]New Blocking Feature[/h2]

With this patch we are also introducing a first pass on a new blocking feature. This is an additional option you may choose to employ from the proximity menu if muting is not sufficient. Blocking another player will turn them in a ghost orb, as well as mute and prevent spell effects from being seen.



Blocking does not currently prevent invite popup boxes, but we are looking to add this feature in the future.

[h2]New Trailer[/h2]

It's been over two years since the release of OrbusVR: Reborn and we felt it was time for a new look to represent the game. Check it out!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]