With 2017 already underway, Grinding Gear has offered a few thoughts about the year that was for Path of Exile. And, while the rest of the week was pretty quiet, there are still some fun nuggets of information to be found.
Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New
The most significant piece of news on the Path of Exile front is the brief year in review retrospective. Calling 2016 the best year ever for Grinding Gear and Path of Exile, a big nod of appreciation is given to the community for being part of an epic year.
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Then a quick look at all the happenings of 2016 was presented:
- We launched four challenge leagues: Perandus, Prophecy, Essence and Breach.
- We absorbed the Russia and Singapore Garena communities.
- We introduced cloaks!
- We released our two largest ever expansions: Ascendancy and Atlas of Worlds.
- We launched more purple leagues than any previous year.
- We set a record number of players online with the introduction of the Breach challenge league.
- We launched a successful alpha and beta release in China. Path of Exile is currently listed as #1 on the most anticipated upcoming games list on the popular Chinese news site 17173.com.
- We expanded from 60 to 92 staff members.
- Chris shaved his beard.
- We deployed 76 updates/patches to our realm.
- We posted 313 news articles - an average of 6 posts per week.
- There were 40% more hours played of Path of Exile on our realm in 2016 than 2015. This is a buff.
- Massively increased average game performance (by triple for many users).
- Grinding Gear Games celebrated its 10 year anniversary!
It's a pretty impressive list of achievements for a mere 365 days and sets a firm foundation for 2017.
Physics Programmer Alex Dishes on Cloaks
Grinding Gear's Alex, a physics programmer with the company, was the subject of a recent in-house interview in which he discusses cloth physics and how it applies to the newly revealed microtransaction cloaks. In addition, Alex provides some background about his training and his work with Grinding Gear.
Do you have any advice for aspiring programmers?
When I started writing my first programs I had no idea that someday I would do it professionally. I thought that being a “programmer” was out of my reach, I have never planned to become one, I just did what I enjoyed. Just succumb to what drives you and do what you really enjoy, it’ll be a matter of time you become professional at that.
Alex says that players can look forward to improvements in physics, graphics and optimization. By way of a small teaser, Alex let it out that low level areas are being overhauled to provide a better visual impression to new players. Alex is working, as he said, to provide "oomph" on the technical side of things.
Gore Fireworks - a Bloody Fine Celebration
Grinding Gear released several new microtransactions, most notably the celebratory Gore Fireworks. As the name implies, setting off Gore Fireworks sends a bloody celebratory spray skyward. These babies will only be available through January 10th and come in a pack of ten for fifteen points.
Other new microtransactions include the Boar, Bear, and Stag Hood Helmets, the Carnage Gear (individual pieces) and Wings, the Gore Portal, Vampiric Wings and the Grasping Hands Pet are all out and available. You can check out videos and a bit more information here.
Trippin' Down Memory Lane
The last bit of news is an interesting look back at the patch history from Path of Exile's earliest days. Patch notes from updates 0.8.0 through 0.8.6 have been posted. If you have a bent for blasting from the past, this is a great opportunity to see where the game was and has come to over the course of its life.
See you next week!
