Wild West Online Articles
If you're a Wild West Online alpha player, you'll be happy to hear that the big patch to bring both overhauled and new systems into the game is coming sometime this week (March 19-24). There is no specific date for release, but it's worth noting that "accounts will be wiped and you will receive all your default account items back including Treasury Land deeds etc.". The full patch notes are being prepared for release later today or early tomorrow.
The Wild West Online site has been updated with several screenshots designed to show the community a number of new customization options. In addition, the frontend UI is shown. While not explicitly stated, it is likely that these options will be available in the patch that is coming in the next week or so. Check them all out after the jump.
The Wild West Online team is back with the great news that a big new update is incoming. Servers will be taken down today, though it could take a week or more to "prepare the new game backend, database and make sure that account data is intact". The post also thanks the community for its patience as the integration of new features and the overhaul of alpha systems took longer than originally planned. Rewards will be passed out for helping test the alpha version and for patience.
Over the initial course of Wild West Online alpha testing, players discovered that the Sheriffs & Outlaws system was not going according to plan. Developers initially decided to remove it altogether, however, later determined that the system is a core component of any game taking place in the Old West. As a result, the Sheriffs & Outlaws system has been redesigned from the ground up.
The Wild West Online forum has been updated with an announcement that farming will be coming to the game. The decision to implement "farming and roleplaying", came as a result of feedback from alpha testers, discussions on the forums and from comments made on Facebook. To achieve that goal, a number of essential farming facts have been revealed.
The Wild West Online team has culled through community feedback about features they'd like to see in the game in the future. Using those results, a new poll has opened on the WWO forums asking which new feature players would most like to see implemented next. Options include things like a quickdraw system for dueling and PvP or what bar games (darts or poker) should be included or a better bar utilization system, to name a few.
The Wild West Online site has a Friday teaser for fans and players. The post announces a January update post coming soon, though when remains unknown. However, they also included a number of screenshots that show off the new map with new locations (Windy Plain & Venomvale), new firearms, including guns with scopes, and a WIP look at skill trees.
The Wild West Online forum has been updated with a new post that revises the development roadmap going forward. The biggest nugget of information concerns the release date for WWO. "Over the course of the last few months and reading all the feedback from our community members, we realized the game needed more to meet your expectations". With that in mind, the release has been moved back to "late winter 2018".
The Wild West Online site has been updated with a brief post to show an expanded character creation menu. Players will have more choices available while making their characters, as well as the ability to delete and rename characters if they have been in existence for at least 48-hours. There will be a "nominal charge" in Treasury Notes. Lastly, the ability to select a faction has also been added.
The Wild West Online site has been updated with the first in a series of monthly developer blogs to update the community about what the team is working to bring to the game. November's letter reveals big changes coming to the new player experience and to several other key features in WWO.
The Wild West Online team has updated its Facebook page with a brief announcement to let players know that release is not going to hit full retail release in 2017 as originally planned. "[T]he last few weeks have showed us that we clearly need to spend more time in Early Access Alpha before we'll be able to release the game to a larger audience".
Wild West Online is ready to ride into Early Access beginning today. Players will be able to explore a "large game map" that is packed with a number of environments and tons of NPCs. In addition, players can take part in server-wide public PvP events, take on quests from NPCs and work to mine gold. As characters progress, they will unlock new abilities and be able to access new, better gear. In time, players will be able to take part in public events including Artifact Hunt and Golden Road.
UPDATE: The team has announced that Early Access Alpha will begin on November 15th. Original article: Players who have purchased Pioneer and Collector's Editions of the game will be receiving a special bonus in Wild West Online to reflect their importance to the dev team. The addition of Treasury Notes (the in-game premium currency) to those two packages is to compensate for delays in getting Early Access started.
After a week or two of relative quiet from the Wild West Online team, the posse is back with a brief overview of improvements being made to the grouping system in preparation for Early Access Open Alpha. This was, according to the blog post, the most asked-for feature by the player community.
The Wild West Online team has a new post on the game's Facebook page to let players know that the Early Access Alpha build of the game "just ain't ready yet". The news came after the development team ran an internal playthrough session. According to the post, developers want the next time that players enter the game to be a great experience and for that to happen, certain critical elements need to be addressed. "People want a game that's better & more complete, not just early".