A special look at FlyingLab's spooky festivities
Our closed beta test has been underway since December of 2005. By the time we launch our beta will have been going for a year and a half, which means we are getting lots of terrific real-world feedback and solving lots of problems. Betas are a lot of work for players and developers alike.
But betas are also fun. Since it was Halloween, we decided to do something a little bit special and celebrate the holiday in style!
Our content lead, Jess Lebow, led the charge. He recruited artists and mission designers to work up some neat stuff and in just two days, we were ready to go. I'll run down the list of nifty things we did in the four new-player towns of Marsh Harbour (pirate), Jenny Bay (British), Barilla (Spanish), and Tampa (French).
- All four towns got jack-o'lanterns placed everywhere.
- A spooky pumpkin-headed pirate appeared on the docks, begging for treats.
- A new mission, "Mutiny of the Damned," appeared, giving a sneak peek at some of the lore we're working on. Captains betrayed and murdered by Cortez came back from the watery deep piloting black galleons and seeking revenge against the living.
- The open sea became a stormy, rainy night instead of our usual Caribbean blue.
- Defeating the Damned black galleons rewarded special avatar loot, including a pumpkin lollipop, a trick or treat basket, and a flaming candelabrum. The candelabrum was the rarest drop and all the items were untradeable, so players had to earn them.
On Halloween night, we unveiled all this stuff for our beta testers to enjoy and several devs logged in to play as well. I made some screenshots and also collected a couple from beta testers. Check 'em out and I hope your Halloween was as fun as ours!
- John Scott Tynes, Producer of Pirates of the Burning Sea
Neat little touch there.. as always, the screenshots look great!
This and FallenEarth are the two pups I am rooting for!!!
On New Year's Eve, I wonder if all the cannons are going to shoot fireworks instead ;)
Very much looking forward to this game!
This is great to see. I feel that Holiday Events help create a better community and the rewards are almost always fun. I also enjoy the art and graphics that have been released. Being a retiree of EQ2, I am looking forward to my next MMOG. I love the concept of the game and I hope it is very challenging (like EQ1).
Cheers,
Durth
Keep this content in place for the retail release!
Okay, so it's not 'authentic' to the timeline but a game should be fun most of all, shouldn't it?
And will the retail game have lore dealing in the supernatural? That would be great because back then sailors truly *Believed* in sea monsters and myths.
Nowadays our 21st viewpoint prevents us from having the sense of mystery and fear that the deep oceans once had, I think the game would be much improved by putting some of that mystery and legend back into the setting.
Yep, your starter map should just be the island you start on. Everything else should be labeled "Here there be monsters!"
cool stuff, to bad that the release date keeps being pushed back year after year, sure you can make pretty graphics, do you actually have coders there? Eh, I am on the sceptic boat on this title. GL with it all, maybe I will try it out in 2010 when it is released. :P
If you're going to bother to post, you should bother to check your facts.