Blog degli sviluppatori: Evento estivo

Cari coloni,

Oggi vogliamo introdurvi una nuova parte (in Inglese) del nostro Diario degli sviluppatori: il Blog degli sviluppatori.
Questi testi vengono forniti (a sorpresa!) dal team degli sviluppatori, al fine di dare alcune informazioni sulle decisioni di progettazione delle funzionalità.


Cos'è l'evento estivo?

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Il seguente Blog degli sviluppatori è fornito da BB_Stokely che ha gestito l'attuale evento estivo.

Who am I?
I am BB_Stokely, a game designer who was in charge for this year's summer event.


In the following text I will answer some of typical questions popping up in forums
and I will explain you why we implemented the feature like it is now.


Why click adventures and not military adventures?

Two years ago there was already a soccer event that basically consisted of military adventures. The community feedback was quite mixed. Some of you mentioned that they finished the adventures quite quickly which resulted in a time span without new tasks. New players were not able to participate, because the required minimum level was 26. On top, some of you were not that interested in playing military adventures at all. So game design pondered about what can be changed. Again, we wanted to use the adventure maps with a nice look similar to a soccer field. But due to the feedback it was decided not to implement military adventures this time. Instead, the idea was born to use bandit camp buffs that had been introduced with the epic raids. Some adjustments were needed, but it was possible to use a buff solution.

http://static.cdn.ubi.com/0034/archi..._06_WM/map.jpg

On top, the buffs come with further advantages:
Each camp skill can be defeated with several buffs. The buffs can be created in the provision house by using special event resources. As the type of available resources differ per player, a challenge is to decide on clever buff production compositions in order to increase the efficiency. Furthermore, a lot of game mechanics for this event can be used. This enriches the gameplay with a huge variety of possibilities how to receive the resources for the event buffs: Explorers can find the resources, collectibles can be picked up from the home island, daily quests or playing military adventures are additional opportunities to get the items.

Why was a strange balancing on the test server?

The balancing was very hard, because so many different features were used; the testing phase ended with a complex calculation, but also with finding a mistake. Thanks to your feedback, the team was able to find the glitch and corrected it.

Why do I produce a header out of an elastic spring and a helmet?

A decent sense of humour was always part of ”The Settlers Online”. However, a classic soccer match would not match with the humour of ‘The Settlers Online’ and the era of the game scenario. An important aspect was to attach skills to the soccer camps and at the same time something was needed to defeat the skills. Because we were not able to grant (new) skills to the generals for this specific feature, it was decided to create new buffs that rely on new resources.

Why the grout and why the explorer?

Both main event items were designed to fit the needs of many players who have to deal with lack of space on their island. Both items come with possibilities to empower a home island without using any additional building space. The explorer provides buffs to improve the efficiency of buildings. The new opportunity to upgrade a first batch of building to level 6 is another method to improve the economy. The farm, stone mason and marble mason are some of the most used buildings after the residence, hence, level 6 option was added.

I hope that these insights provide a better understanding about some new features designed for “The Settlers Online”.

Happy Settling!
BB_Stokely