Victor recalled that KuroUsagi had also mentioned something similar, expressing frustration that no mission was generated from a critical scene. He had complained that such an important event should at least trigger a notification. Coincidentally, Victor was about to roll out the next update, so he figured he might as well incorporate some of the players’ suggestions.
“Lizbeth, as usual, it’s time for you to shine.” Victor smirked at her; this fairy’s programming skills were top-notch to the point that he suspected her for an AI.
“I knew this was coming.” She sighed, though she didn't resist the task on the surface. “But I’m still waiting for that food you promised me.”
“Mhm, I’ve got that covered.” With a wave of his hand, Victor conjured a full-course meal of exotic beast meat on the desk.
Despite lacking superb quality treasures, the citadel did possess a well-stocked freezer filled with top-quality magical beast meats and other ingredients. Victor had asked the twin overseers to prepare these special dishes just for this occasion.
Lizbeth’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the feast before her. “Wow! Look at all these dishes!” In an instant, she tried to dive headfirst into the food, her excitement getting the better of her.
“Hold on a minute.” Victor gently swatted the overeager fairy with a flick of his finger, causing her to tumble backward in the air. “You can eat when you’ve finished with your assignment.” He stored the dishes back into his interspatial ring.
Lizbeth pouted for a moment but quickly became enthusiastic. “Fine, I’ll get to work right away!” she declared, raising her fist in determination.
Seeing her eagerness, Victor nodded approvingly and went to work on his task too. He had a version update announcement to prepare, along with a detailed developer’s diary to complement it. If he lazed around, the players would definitely complain.
Magus Academy Online Testing Server Alpha Version 0.5.1 Update Announcement
Major Update:
- New Class Update
We know you want a new class, and we have now fulfilled your request! Behold, as this new update is now online with a new class called “Ki-Warrior” to enrich your gameplay experience and enhance your freedom in choosing your path in the game. - New Grand Expedition Opportunity and Purpose
Prepare for a new grand expedition to the nearby City of Brightmoon. This is a new restricted area only available through an expedition party of at least ten players and no more than fifteen players that the academy’s headmaster will host. You will find a new important storyline if you’re eligible to join. - Bloodline Transmuter Facility
We understand that players feel that getting a bloodline in the game is just too rare and random. To make this more accessible, we’re introducing the Bloodline Transmuter in the Nexus Tower. This facility allows you to inject a magical beast bloodline inside your body, provided that you have a magical beast’s bloodline essence.
- Adding a Feature for Returning Lost Items.
While your characters may be immortal, your items aren’t. To address the frustration of losing equipment upon death, we’re adding a bounty system where players can post and recover lost items. This feature ensures that even in the face of defeat, your hard-earned gear won’t be lost forever. - Mission System Improvements
We have tackled the issues with mission generation during key interactions and events. You’ll now have clear objectives and missions available in critical moments, enhancing your gameplay experience. - Increase in Total Quota for Applicants
The quota for closed-alpha players has been set to 750 or more.
- New Subsidize System
In order to hasten the progress of players in the game, they will be subsidized with mana crystals each week depending on the Magus rank.
Optimization:
- New Cityscapes and More NPCs
With the grand expedition on the horizon, new cityscapes and NPC character models will be added to the game.
- Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements
Our team has been hard at work weaving away any pesky bugs and enhancing the overall performance of the game. Your experience in Magus Academy Online will now be smoother and more enjoyable than ever.
Other Changes:
- Adding a Grading System (Stars) on Missions and Settlements
In order to give better clarity to players, we will be grading missions with stars based on their difficulty. Furthermore, settlements like the village will be given relation metrics so that players can better understand the game’s dynamics. - New In-Game Internet Access
Players can now access the internet directly through the Shadowlink Marks within the game. However, this feature is intentionally restricted, allowing access only to essential search engines and preventing the viewing of any R-18 content that violates the game’s terms of service.
Please note that the server update will occur from 12:00 EST until 18:00 EST, and you won’t be able to log in during that period of time. This is still a significant update and truly the last update of the closed-alpha version. We appreciate your patience and feedback as we continue to refine and expand the world of Magus Academy Online. Stay tuned for more exciting updates and announcements in the world of Magus Academy Online!
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This time, Victor decided not to add too many on the update since it was an intermittent one rather than a major update like before. But still, there were quite a few features worth highlighting, and as such, he had to make sure that he covered them all in the dev diary.
Dev Diary #5: Alpha Version 0.5.1
“Greetings, everyone! It’s your dearest promotional manager here again to walk you through the latest update and provide a thorough explanation of what’s new in Magus Academy Online.”
“It hasn’t been long since our last update, and here we are with another one already! Now, I know I mentioned that the previous update would be the final one before we transitioned to the closed beta phase, but this update is particularly important as it addresses some crucial features in the game.”
“Just so you know, our dedicated programmers and designers have been working tirelessly to fix all the issues and roll out this update. As a pleasant surprise, our strict but ‘beloved’ superiors have rewarded our team with a well-deserved vacation for successfully delivering the closed-alpha phase. Many of our employees are finally getting the chance to reunite with their families, which has been their dream since joining the company.”
“But enough about that! Let’s dive into the content of this update, shall we?”
“I’m confident that this update is one of the most exciting we’ve had in a while. Why, you ask? Because we’re introducing a brand-new class into the game! You’ve probably wondered how some of those bandits manage to have such extraordinary strength despite not being acolytes. Well, wonder no more — they are what we call ‘Ki-Warriors.’ Unlike Magi, who rely on mana and meditation techniques, Ki-Warriors harness their inner energy, or ‘ki,’ through specialized breathing techniques.”
“In order to give players the opportunity to follow the Ki-Warrior path, we’re introducing a special instructor who can teach you these breathing techniques. However, it’s important to note that the Ki-Warrior path is more limited than the Magus path and can potentially divide your focus. Still, the Ki-Warrior class offers significant advantages, especially in the early stages of the game. After all, you’re not limited to a single path in this game.”
Rowan would be the best candidate to be the instructor, as his existence was still unknown to the players, and he was the strongest brainwashed Ki-Warrior in his possession. Additionally, Victor had imparted the new breathing technique to him so he would be ready to teach the players as soon as the update went live.
“Next up, we have an exciting new grand expedition to Brightmoon City, which means a brand-new map to explore! But before you get too excited, let me clarify that only the most qualified players will be able to join this expedition, and the quota is capped at fifteen. I hope you have cozied up enough with the headmaster if you want to secure a spot on this grand opportunity. Keep in mind, this map is still in development, and although we’re confident there won’t be any major issues, you might encounter a few unexpected glitches or bugs along the way.”
As Victor wrote this, he couldn’t help but imagine players cozying up to him, trying their hardest to secure a place on the expedition. As for the mentioned potential glitches, it was a safe line in case the expedition met a potential problem or something.
“Moving on, I’ve been hearing complaints that only a very, very few players have the luck to acquire a special bloodline when they first enter the game. Some of you have envied these players, wishing that you could delete your character and start over to get a shot at one. But let me be completely honest here: having a special bloodline isn’t necessarily an advantage in the long run. Depending on the bloodline, a player might hit an absolute limit in their progress due to what we call ‘bloodline shackles.’”
In fact, aside from Butterfly, there were two to three cases where a player obtained a special bloodline. Though none of them was as special and as powerful as the one that Butterfly had.
“That being said, for those of you who are still determined to inject yourself with a magical beast bloodline and walk the path of a Bloodline Magus or Warlock, we’re introducing the Bloodline Transmuter facility. You’ll find this new feature on the basement floor of the Nexus Tower, and you only need to pay one thousand merit points to use it. We’ve added it to balance the game and give you more opportunities to explore different paths. But make sure you won’t regret rushing into this, as waiting for a more powerful bloodline to transmute might be worth your patience.”
The reason Victor put up a steep cost and a caution here was that he knew some idiots would transmute a very weak magical beast bloodline into their body just for a short-term benefit. He wanted to avoid this situation as much as possible because this behavior could potentially lead to dissatisfied players abandoning their in-game characters. Not that that’s likely, though, but better safe than sorry.
“Fourth on the list, let’s address the problem that has become a growing concern among players. As more of you explore and engage in battles, more and more of you are dying — and when you die, your items drop. Even though you can resurrect endlessly, there’s a high chance you’ll lose your items and equipment depending on where you fall. There’s also been some concern about other players looting your belongings, despite the measures we’ve put in place with the Shadowlink Marks.”
“To tackle this issue, we’re introducing a new bounty system. This will allow you to post a bounty for your lost items, enabling other players to retrieve them for you in exchange for a reward. Of course, to prevent abuse of this system, like players falsely claiming ownership of others’ items, any items must be registered with the Shadowlink Marks prior and pay a small number of merit points.”
“Remember, we don’t support stealing and won’t tolerate any form of dishonesty in the game. I hope this system encourages fair play and cooperation among all players!”
“Okay, we finally get to the part that many of you have been eagerly waiting for. I’ve noticed that some players have been confused about why certain missions weren’t generated in specific situations. Others have observed that only certain key NPCs with marks on their wrists, similar to the ones players have, can issue tasks and missions. This was intentional in our initial design, but after seeing how it integrates into the gameplay, we’ve decided to make some improvements.”
“Now, this doesn’t mean that any random scene or action will trigger a mission, no. Missions will still only trigger when the situation is truly critical, and when a key NPC is present to issue it. Our goal with this update is to enhance your gameplay experience and make mission generation feel more organic and clearer.”
Although these situations would be rare, Victor knew that with the increasing number of players and expanding areas of activity, the chances of such events occurring would naturally rise. The Shadowlink Marks would be optimized to generate missions accordingly by assessing the situation in real time.