Hellgate: London

    Patch 1.3d Live Today & Patch Notes

    Posted Jul 09, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The latest patch for Hellgate: London 1.3d should be availible on Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) today.

    • Shulgoth (US) was updated earlier today already.
    • Sydonai (EU) will have the patch deployed at 03.00am GMT, July 10th


    Multiplayer: Patch 1.3d - July 9th, 2008

    Patch 1.3d introduces a few significant adjustments to gameplay, character creation, and one vendor NPC in particular. Players can now create Elite Mode characters (and subscribers can create Hardcore Mode characters) if their account has a character that reaches level 20 or above. The update also fixes a PRD bug and a character options issue.

    Good hunting, Hellgaters!

    The Hellgate: London Team

    ---

    General

    • All accounts can now access Elite Mode when one of its characters reaches level 20 or above. (Accounts that already have a level 20 character or above will have to gain a level or rank for this to apply.)
    • Subscriber accounts can now access Hardcore Mode when one of its characters reaches level 20 or above. (Accounts that already have a level 20 character or above will have to gain a level or rank for this to apply.)
    • The rate at which Rank experience is gained has been rebalanced. Experience required for ranks increases at higher rank levels.
    • Our favorite Premium Item Merchant, Ko, just got a new shipment of items from a new supplier. Unfortunately, they aren't quite the quality that he is used to getting. In fact, they are all mostly Enhanced items. Sure, he's still got the Rare, Legendary and Unique stuff that he always had, but you are pretty likely to get an Enhanced item from him now. He's got to do something with this new shipment after all.


    Fixes

    • Fixed a bug which could cause a player's PRD to function incorrectly if they were kicked from their party while warping through the PRD.
    • Corrected foreign language translations for PRD messaging.
    • Fixed a bug where character options would change as a result of minimizing the character options tab.

    Patch 1.3 Video Trailer

    Posted Jun 02, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Flagship Studios today released a video to coincide with the recent launch of patch 1.3 for its action RPG Hellgate: London. Patch 1.3 offers no less than eight new features including Shared Stash, a Premium Item Merchant, Donation Collectors and Global Buffs, Ranks and the Expertise system.

    Interacting with your fellow players has been enhanced with the introduction of optional chat bubbles that appear when players talk and performable emotes that characters now have at their disposal. In Patch 1.3, players can also easily browse lists of chat and emote commands using the two according buttons in the chat panel.

    var FO_80 = { movie:"http://dev.curse-gaming.com/static/flash/flvplayer.swf", width:"500", height:"350", majorversion:"7", build:"0", bgcolor:"#FFFFFF", allowfullscreen:"true", flashvars:"file=http://videos.cursebeta.com/stream2/premium/1607.flv&autostart=true" }; $("#flvplayer_80").click(function(event) { UFO.create(FO_80, "flvplayer_80"); $(this).unbind('click'); });

    Patch 1.3 Live

    Posted Apr 25, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Hellgate: London Patch 1.3 is now live. It's a huge update and many many things have been added that should make players happy.

    Patch 1.3 is a beast of a update, offering no less than eight new features to the game including Shared Stash, a Premium Item Merchant, Donation Collectors and Global Buffs, Ranks and the Expertise system, and lots more. This content update also fixes a number of pesky item, skill, and interface bugs and makes a few tweaks to partying and monster scaling in Stonehenge.

    Interacting with your fellow players has been enhanced with the introduction of optional chat bubbles that appear when players talk and performable emotes that your characters now have at their disposal. In Patch 1.3, players can also easily browse lists of chat and emote commands using the two according buttons in the chat pane.

    A very sincere thank you to the many players who tested the many builds of Patch 1.3 uploaded to our Test Center server and helped report on the new patch's balance, performance, and stability.

    Check out the full patch notes.

    The Most Successful Online Korean Launch In Three Years

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    San Francisco, CA (April 11th, 2008) - Flagship Studios today announced that its action role-playing game Hellgate: London has become the most successful online video game launch in Korea of the past three years with over 1 million accounts registered within the first two weeks of its open beta test. Hellgate: London is the first online game in over three years to use a monthly subscription business model.

    After launching the open beta on January 15th, Hellgate: London quickly rose to the ninth most played online game, fifth most popular RPG and most popular online beta game in PC Cafes*, with over 1 million accounts. Hellgate: London was released commercially on February 22nd, and achieved record sales in its first week of presales.

    “To become the most successful launch in Korea for over three years is an incredible achievement,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “This milestone wouldn’t have been possible for us to achieve without the incredible support of our publishing partner, Hanbitsoft, and our dedicated community in Korea. We look forward to expanding the Hellgate universe and building upon this success in the future.”

    “Flagship Studios are well aware of how the Asian market operates very differently to the Western territories” said Alex Kim, CEO of HanbitSoft, “By listening to players’ feedback and through constant updates to the game, Hellgate: London will continue to be an incredible success throughout Asia.”

    Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies, and events. Whether online or off, a player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

    For more information please visit the official Hellgate: London site at http://www.hellgatelondon.com

    • According to Gametrics and Game Report

    About Flagship Studios

    Flagship Studios is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focus on ease of play, replayability, and fun. The studio was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North® and represents the creators of the worldwide, best-selling Diablo® franchise. With members that are renowned within the gaming industry, Flagship Studios and its Flagship Seattle division embody a team that has worked together for over a decade and have numerous #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards to their credit. For more information about Flagship Studios log onto http://www.flagshipstudios.com

    About Hanbitsoft

    HanbitSoft, established in 1999, is one of the largest online game publishers in Korea as well as in Asia. After establishing itself as the No. 1 publisher in Korean PC game market, HanbitSoft has continuously invested in developing and publishing excellent and promising online games. HanbitSoft has broad portfolio of online games ranging from casual games to high-end MMORPG’s, either developed in-house or by external development studios such as Studio Mars (Neo Steam) IMC Games (Granado Espada), Flagship Studios (Hellgate: London, Mythos), etc. Most of its games already have been introduced in the Asian market as well as in the North and South American market. For example, PangYa, a fantasy-themed online golf game, is now in commercial service in more than 12 countries including Japan, USA and Brazil. Now, HanbitSoft is focusing on pioneering overseas online game markets in an effort to be a global leading publisher.

    Test Center Updated To Patch 1.3

    Posted Apr 07, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    You can now check out the new shiny (and still in development) Patch 1.3 to Hellgate: London on the Test Center.

    The patch offers an impressive selection of new features including Ranks and the Perk Points system, numerous emotes, character inspection, gambling, shared stash, and then some.

    Test Center Patch 1.3 Notes

    April 4, 2008

    New Features

    • Ranks and Perks:
      • After characters hit Level 50, they can start earning experience towards gaining Ranks.
      • There are 50 Ranks, each of which will take a long time to earn.
      • Rank is displayed under the character’s level and is visible to other players.
      • Each Rank grants you one Perk Point. Perk Points can be spent on Perks.
      • There will be 15 different kinds of Perks with four levels each.
      • Perks will be displayed in a skill-tree-like fashion – with icons and popup text describing what the benefits are of the Perk. Hit U to view the Perks screen.
      • The first level for each Perk will cost one Perk Point. Another Perk Point will be needed to increase each level after the first, much like with upgrading an item using Nanoshards.
    • Shared Stash:
      • Now all characters on your subscriber account can share their items! Current trade conventions do apply: items will not be able to be traded across play modes. Also, “no trade” items can not be placed in Shared Stash.
    • Hide Helmet:
      • Players can elect to hide their headgear and show their characters’ faces without removing it. This toggle can be found at the bottom of the character screen.
    • Emotes:
      • A host of emotes are now at your disposal including beg, bow, cheer, cry, flex, kiss, laugh, point, stop, taunt, and wave. While others are also available on Test Center, these are being reserved as rewards. Type “/” and the word, then hit enter to perform it.
    • Inspect Players:
      • Players can now inspect other players’ equipment. Right click on a nearby character and select the “Inspect” option to bring up a ragdoll interface showing the character and its equipment.
      • Players can prevent their characters from being inspected by toggling the Inspect option at the bottom of their character screen.
    • Gambling Merchant:
      • Presently located in Stonehenge, Gambling Merchant Ko has items for sale which are unidentified and do not reveal their actual rarity level. Players can risk their hard-earned Palladium for the chance to gamble on these items.
    • Optional Chat Bubbles:
      • Chat bubbles are now an optional chat feature and can be toggled in the Game Options menu. Different chat channels will appear as different text colors.


    General

    • The maximum Palladium a player may carry has been increased to 100,000,000.
    • Fixed a bug which caused Xfire to disconnect when the player switches instances.
    • The in-game mail database system has been rewritten, please provide feedback on it!


    User Interface

    • Party members’ names now show up on the automap when the Alt key is held down.
    • The name of the recipient of a trade request is now displayed in the trade window.
    • Players may now choose to abbreviate the names of other players in the chat window down to a maximum of nine letters. This option can be toggled under Game Options.
    • Fixed a bug causing items to register as not equippable if they give enough of an attribute to make up for the amount of feed they will cost.
    • Fixed a bug causing some items to unequip when the player enters the game or zones.
    • Improved the accuracy of attribute and feed changes in the character panel when hovering over an item.
    • The “Hardcore” indicator icon now shows up to the left of the player’s name.
    • Fixed a bug causing clicks in the server list dropdown menu to sometimes click through to buttons underneath it.
    • Buttons have been added to the chat interface allowing for quick access to chat commands and emotes. They can be found in the lower right corner of the chat panel.


    World Movement

    • Players can now warp to any friend or guildmate who is in a town by right-clicking on the person’s name. The buddy list and guild list will have the player’s current location noted.


    Combat

    • Fixed a bug which sometimes caused shields and/or power to decrease in larger chunks than they should when getting hit or using a skill.
    • Fixed a bug which caused proc effects to not be properly normalized based on the weapon’s speed.
    • Fixed a bug which caused proc-on-attack effects to never trigger.
    • Fixed a bug which would sometimes cause skill cooldowns to not trigger.
    • Fixed a bug which caused fields to often not damage monsters in indoor areas.
    • Fixed a bug which caused Armor Percent bonuses to be applied twice during damage reduction calculations.


    PvP

    • Players with PvP enabled may no longer open party portals.
    • Consumable items other than Medpacks are no longer usable in PvP.


    Skills

    • If a player removes an item that grants them the only point in a summoning skill, or otherwise forgets a summoning skill, all pets summoned by that skill will now be dismissed.


    Items

    • Gyro Stabilizers may now be used while stunned.
    • Fixed a bug which sometimes caused a crash when the player attempts to drop a quest item.


    Known Issues

    • Using the Skill or Attribute Retrainers does not reset the attributes for the Engineer's drone.
    • Gambling Vendor Ko sells items with an exceedingly wide range of level requirements.
    • Monsters do not receive damage from Rebounder Rounds when they are aimed at ground.
    • Text goes beyond the boundaries of Chat Bubbles.
    • The instance-switching box is cut off in non-widescreen resolutions and disappears when changing resolutions.
    • The “Surgical” Perk does not grant the character its increased Critical Chance.
    • After inspecting a player, the inspector can see the inspected in the User Interface.
    • Characters cannot assign Perk Points when they have spent all of their Skill Points before earning a Rank.
    • The Perks button has caused other buttons to overlap the Alt Menu.
    • The “Lung Capacity” Perk is listed as an Active Perk in its tooltip.
    • The “Arcane Resolve” Perk is missing its percentage in its tooltip.
    • Switching instances may cause a network error.
    • If there are more than six people in an instance, all vendors’ inventories will be empty. Players can try to change instances using the instance switcher at the top right corner above the mini-map.
    • Gambling Vendor Ko's weapons and armor can be analyzed before buying, revealing their "unknown" affixes.
    • Gambling Vendor Ko only sells rare items.

    ---

    Patch Notes Disclaimer: While we make every effort to include all upcoming changes in our patch notes, please be aware that occasionally some changes are unintentionally omitted.

    ---

    Happy testing, Hellgaters!

    Patch 1.2 soon available for Single Player

    Posted Apr 01, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Soloist Hellgaters will be excited to learn that a "beta" version of Patch 1.2 for Single Player Mode will be made available for players to try out next week. This is similar to how our Multiplayer patches are "road-tested" on our Test Center server before being released.

    This Single Player patch will match the content, balance changes, and bug fixes found in the Multiplayer version of Patch 1.2. Our QA team has reported no show-stoppers in the course of testing it thus far.

    A solid ETA for the publishing of this "1.2 Beta" Single Player patch will be made available early next week.

    Patch 1.3 soon at the Test Center

    Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Recently they announced that the upcoming patch 1.3 for Hellgate: London will soon hit the Test Center. This patch is at least as big as its predecessor. There's mention of it hitting the Test Center 'next week' (which is this week!).

    Hot on the heels of Patch 1.2 comes Patch 1.3 which offers a host of new features and improvements to your Hellgate: London experience. This update is just as beefy as its predecessor and then some. Taken from the searing forge of development, it has been hammered and honed on the fiery anvil of in-house testing and will soon be fortified upon being thrust into the cold water that is Test Center.

    Metaphors aside, Patch 1.3 has been crafted with an abundance of hotly desired features, the patch notes for which are presently being compiled. The latest addition to Patch 1.3 is Shared Stash, originally slated for the Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2). This feature will allow all of an account's characters to have a space to keep weapons, equipment, and other items in a location where any other characters on the account can access them. Two other new additions to the patch include gambling vendors and an increase to the current Palladium cap per character. Gambling vendors will offer unidentified items for sale which appear as "Normal" rarity and may or may not be worth far more than their purchase price. For more information on the estimated "content schedule" for Patch 1.3, be sure to check the "Lowdown On Upcoming Updates" news post made shortly before Patch 1.2 launched.

    Patch 1.3 is estimated to be ready for Test Center next week. A more absolute date will be announced in the coming days along with the update's patch notes.

    New Hellgate-Flavored Literature

    Posted Mar 27, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    We've got a double dose of paperback goodness aimed to please those Hellgaters who like to read and those who like to read...less. Let's hit the books!

    Recently slated for a release date of April 8th, Tokyopop's Hellgate: London manga, simply titled Hellgate: London, will bit hitting shelves in just two short weeks. This graphic novel is a prequel to the actual game, taking place 18 years before you begin your adventure in Russel Square. Here is the plot synopsis from Tokyopop's website:

    In the year 2020, a demon invasion strikes several cities around the globe...including London, home to college Rugby champ John Fowler and his family. But before the climatic Battle of All Hallow's Eve, John and his sister Lindsey attempted to discover the story behind what seemed to be a series of bizarre portents: an exhumed skeleton, a haunting apparition, and a powerful sword that they find in their attic. Solving the mystery, though, reveals something about their family that changes their lives forever...In the prequel to the hit video game, explore the world of Hellgate just 48 hours before the world becomes a demon-ridden, war-torn hell--and discover just what might have started it all./

    Hellgate_London_Tokyopop_Manga_Cover

    "Will they survive the invasion?" "Who is the figure in red at the top?" "Are Molten Edge swords really that huge?" If these are the questions you find yourself asking, you'll be glad to know there's more information to be had on the Tokyopop website including character profiles and a word from the manga's senior editor.

    Now, something for the Hellgater who's more of a traditional reader. Mel Odom has completed the second in a trilogy of novels based on the Hellgate: London universe, fourteen years before the time Hellgate: London video game takes place in. Titled Hellgate: London: Goetia, it continues where Hellgate: London: Exodus, the first book, left off:

    2024: Four years after the Demons opened the planar rift known as the Hellgate, mankind's desperate struggle to survive continues. Simon Cross, expatriate of the secret Templar order, works to find and transport survivors out of the ruined city. Hiding within London's Underground system, Simon is raising an army to fight against the encroaching Darkness. Now, he battles the monsters that roam the city and fends off a jealous Knight who plans to take Simon down...all while striving to reunite the divided Templar forces.

    Warren Schimmer, a Cabalist who is magically linked to a powerful demon, searches for Goetia. Also known as the Lesser Key of Solomon, this ancient artifact could provide the forces of good or evil with an edge in the ongoing war. Standing in his path is Simon Cross. Warren has made a bargain with his Demon lord for survival and the promise of vengeance against the persuasive

    More information on Goetia can be found at Simon & Schuster's website including an excerpt from the novel.

    Hellgate_London_Goetia_Book_Cover

    Shiny new Patch 1.2 Video

    Posted Mar 26, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Check out the latest Hellgate: London video below. This time featuring what 1.2 got in store for brave adventurers.

    Patch 1.2 launched last week and Hellgaters have started discovering what lies in wait in the murky depths of The Deepest Wild. For those who have yet to make the journey, here is a brief glimpse at what horrors and treasures await you. Heed the lesson to be learned from this tale: The Desiccator has very sensitive feelings and doesn't take kindly to brash adventurers who left their manners behind in Stonehenge.

    var FO_214 = { movie:"http://dev.curse-gaming.com/static/flash/flvplayer.swf", width:"500", height:"350", majorversion:"7", build:"0", bgcolor:"#FFFFFF", allowfullscreen:"true", flashvars:"file=http://videos.cursebeta.com/stream2/premium/1291.flv&autostart=true" }; $("#flvplayer_214").click(function(event) { UFO.create(FO_214, "flvplayer_214"); $(this).unbind('click'); });

    Patch 1.2 have made it to the Live Servers

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London
    Hellgate: London

    Today Patch 1.2 was released on the Live Servers of Hellgate: London. See below for details and the patch notes.

    Patch 1.2 Notes

    March 17, 2008

    Hello everyone!

    This patch is has some major skill changes, a few vital balance tweaks, some pesky bug fixes, and a highly-requested new feature.

    First and foremost is the introduction of our in-game mail system. This is something that we know is of vital interest to our community, and is the foundation for our consignment / auction house system. Players can not only send and receive messages with anyone in the game, but they can also attach Palladium and items to their mail. This makes getting items from one character to another – even your own – much simpler and more convenient. And while you need to be in a Station to attach or receive items and Palladium, you can read your messages anywhere, anytime.

    We’re also rolling out the second of our major character class balance passes. In this patch, we’ve done a comprehensive balance pass on the Marksman. We focused on addressing a number of issues that have made the class vastly over-powered in comparison to the rest of the classes and the desired difficulty of the game. There are also numerous areas where we have increased the effectiveness of, or altered skills to give Marksman players a wider variety of builds and tactics.

    Chief amongst these changes is addressing the notorious skill/weapon combinations involving Ricochet, Reflecting Shot, Multishot, Rapid Fire, Heightened Senses, Beacon, Dead Eye, and Hollow Points, while using a high rate of fire weapon, such as an Arclight Rifle. While we realize that making choices on skill, item, and mod combinations which complement each other is a fundamental design element most emphasized with the Marksman in particular, there should never be one combination of skills which completely outshines the rest.

    We didn’t want to entirely remove the most overpowered Marksman skill combinations altogether, however, and we also didn’t want to leave other Marksman skill issues unaddressed. This would have been largely unfair to the Marksman players. As a result, you’ll see a large number of changes to the skills - such as synergies to the Ballistics, Grenade, and Precision Strike skill groups - that should promote an increased variety of specialized builds and create a more diversified play experience overall. We’ve been doing a lot of balance and tweaking over the past few weeks in Test Center with these changes, and we’re excited to roll them out to all of our players. Big thanks to everyone for all the great feedback!

    We’re also introducing our first “pets with abilities” in this patch. These pets can be found out in the Wild and offer more for brave adventurers than mere companionship. Keep an eye out for those Mysterious Eggs!

    Finally, there are a MASSIVE amount of other fixes and additions in this patch, including adjusting the difficulty of the Nightmare end-game, making the big Moloch battle more interesting and challenging, adding a slew of new Unique items and challenges in the Wild, and much, MUCH more.

    Thanks again to everyone for their great feedback and continued support of making Hellgate: London bigger and better.

    See you online!

    The Hellgate: London Team


    Click here to read the full patch notes for Patch 1.2!

    A new build of 1.2 hits the Test center.

    A new build of the 1.2 patch hit the test center tonight. Lots of good things coming. among them is marksmen balancing.

    here are a few other tidbits

    In-Game Mail Characters can now send and receive mail from any other character, including characters within the same account. Mail consists of text messages, and one item of any size and any amount of Palladium can be attached for delivery.

    • Moloch has been further increased in difficulty, as well as being more resistant to Ignite and Ignite Damage. Be sure you’re well prepared before attempting to defeat him in Hardcore Elite Mode!
    • Moloch drops the following additional, extra-rare loot for “head-holders” only:
    • 1% chance to drop a Respec Attribute Token. This item allows a character to “zero out” all points put into attributes (Accuracy, Strength, Stamina, and Willpower) and freely reassign them. These tokens are tradable.
    • 5% chance to drop one of a new class of dye kits that have intrinsic properties. These properties scale with the level of the item, so one gained from Moloch at level 50 will be better than one gained from Moloch at level 30. These dye kits are tradable. In order of least rare to most rare:
             o Earth Core Dye Kit: Health regeneration
             o Dark Vengeance Dye Kit: + to luck
             o Indigo Fire Dye Kit: Electricity “thorns damage” effect
             o Copper Sky Dye Kit: + to all Elemental special effect defense
             o Ivory Haze Dye Kit: + to Shields
             o Vanquish Dye Kit: +1 level of Sprint skill (this does not scale)
             o Cold Steel Dye Kit: + to Armor
             o Black Knight Dye Kit: + to all attributes
    
    1. A new boss monster, The Desiccator, has a 25% chance of appearing in The Deepest Wild zone. He should be extremely hard to kill, particularly solo or in small parties. As his health constantly regenerates, there is no guarantee a party will ever be able to kill him.
    2. When defeated, The Desiccator has a 20% chance to drop a “Mysterious Egg.”
    3. When placed in the Transmogrifying Cube, a Mysterious Egg will hatch into one of three new “pets with abilities”. These new pets and the Mysterious Egg are not tradable. These pets are:
    • Nautilus – occasionally heals all friends in range
    • Revenant – occasionally fires a spectral missile at enemies
    • Heap Raptor – breaks all those pesky crates for you

    Plus a lot more things. check the patch notes for more details.

    No word as to when it will go live but if past patches are any indication a week or so with no major bugs on the TC will see it going live.

    Roper: We messed up.

    Posted Feb 26, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Bill Roper -- former Blizzard employee turned Flagship Studios head honcho -- has admitted that Flagship messed up when they released Hellgate: London.

    Flagship wanted a spiritual successor to the Diablo franchise with lots of goodies and fans wanted the same. Roper did not shy away from pointing out that this, among other things, may have been slightly to high an expectation for the game studio.

    I think that people had incredibly high expectations that we simply didn't meet[...]

    Hellgate: London hasn't exactly had the greatest of times since launch. The game launched with major, game breaking bugs that turned a lot of people off. In one territory, a complete character wipe was undertaken. Things didn't look so shiny for the ex-Diablo devs and their new pals.

    [...]we simply tried to do too much with the game. Vista, DirectX 10, being both a single-player boxed product and a multiplayer online game, a simultaneous launch in seven languages across Europe, the US and South East Asia, and creating our own fully-featured online destination on top of all that.

    Roper has said that Flagship will take full blame for the rocky release but states that the problems weren't so much to do with the number of months the game spent in testing and more to do with the number of problems that came up right at the end.

    Despite the admittance that things didn't go quite according to plan, Flagship won't be dropping their flagship title into the abyss just yet, with Roper stating that Flagship will continue to fight for Earth against the armies of Hell. Ok, maybe he didn't put it quite like that.

    The challenges of an independent game studio are drastically different than those owned by a publisher. We're fortunate that the online nature of the game has allowed us to continue to fix bugs, add content, and respond directly to our players' wants and needs.

    We'll keep pushing on all fronts with Hellgate: London.

    The phrase, "stay a while and listen," come to mind...

    Blademaster Video Tutorial

    Posted Feb 24, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Flagship Studios have released a Blademaster Video Tutorial. This is a great video to watch if you're new to Hellgate: London. You can view the video below!

    Today we’ve got another little tutorial video for you. Like before, this is intended for newer players who are still getting used to the game. (Really, you’d be surprised how many people find stuff like this helpful.) I mention in the video that this is only one way to go about playing the Blademaster class, and I really want to emphasize the “one way” part. There are so many ways to play the game – the video just shows how I personally like to level up to 10 when playing a Blademaster. Check it out in the video player below.

    var FO_245 = { movie:"http://dev.curse-gaming.com/static/flash/flvplayer.swf", width:"500", height:"350", majorversion:"7", build:"0", bgcolor:"#FFFFFF", allowfullscreen:"true", flashvars:"file=http://videos.cursebeta.com/stream2/premium/1187.flv&autostart=true" }; $("#flvplayer_245").click(function(event) { UFO.create(FO_245, "flvplayer_245"); $(this).unbind('click'); });

    Preview of Upcoming Patches

    Posted Feb 21, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Ever wanted to know what Flagship Studios have planned for the future of Hellgate: London? Well, look no further! (This information was released at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco).

    Perhaps the most sought-after information that Hellgaters are most interested in on our forums is insight into the future of Hellgate: London. After a great first day at the Games Developer Conference, we'd like to offer a kingly scoop on this very topic. And so, without further ado, we lift the curtain and reveal our plans for the next three Hellgate: London updates. Note that while the bullets outline the contents of each patch, they are actively being worked on and will have more thorough patch notes upon release.

    Patch 1.2

    • In-game mail with the ability to attach items.
    • Marksman skill adjustments.
    • Many bug fixes.

    Previously known only for its sweeping changes to the Marksman class, Patch 1.2 will add in-game mail, a hotly desired feature. Additionally, a great many bugs are addressed in this build, many of them reported by the community.

    Patch 1.3

    • New functional pets.
    • Warp to any player in buddy list.
    • Emotes.
    • Text bubbles over character heads.
    • Display party member level and class.
    • Inspect other player's equipment.
    • Link items into the chat.
    • Split stacked items.

    This patch will introduce a host of features designed to enhance the Hellgate experience. Not only will you now be able to check out your teammates' armor and weapons, items will be able to be "linked" into the chat window, allowing other players to see their statistics with ease. Emotes will provide new depth to interacting with your fellow Hellgaters as will text bubbles. All in all, Patch 1.3 offers a bevy of new features.

    "The Abyss Chronicles" (Patch 2)

    • Group PvP, PvP games, and PvP ranking.
    • The Abyss "endless" dungeon.
    • Big Ben/Parliament Square adventure area.
    • Three new base monster types.
    • Five new bosses.
    • New skills for all classes.
    • New high end armor for all factions.
    • New weapons for all factions.
    • Consignment house.
    • Shared stash.
    • Instance switching.

    Our biggest major content update yet (well, until the next Chronicle). Sizable additions to the PvP department, seriously unique skills for all classes, new armor and weapons for all factions, new monster types, new bosses... Oh, and then there's the consignment house and shared stash. Big? This content update is HUGE. Now for some glimpses at the sights to be seen when you enter... The Abyss Chronicles!

    hellgate_art_021908_06_comp hellgate_art_021908_10_comp hellgate_art_021908_11_comp hellgate_art_021908_16_comp hellgate_art_021908_18_comp

    Second Dev Chat - Transcript

    Posted Feb 12, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The transcript from the second IRC chat with the developers of Hellgate: London has been posted on the official Hellgate: London website.

    Many thanks to all Hellgaters who attended this second Developer Chat Event! You can read the entire formatted transcript here:

    [Scapes]: It is 4PM here at Flagship Studios and we would like to welcome you all to this Hellgate: London Developer Chat Event! This is the second DevChat we've had and it looks to be a big one!

    [Scapes]: We have a host of developers ready to answer your burning questions about Hellgate: London. [Bill Roper]: Hey everyone! Welcome to the chat! [Tyler Thompson]: Hey everyone! [Taylor Balbi]: Hey all :) [Dave Glenn]: hello all [Alan Hu]: Hey everyone :]

    [InnerVisions]: What happened to the random quests that were planned for the game? Is there any plans to add them in a future update?

    [Tyler Thompson]: We've been talking about these more recently. I can't guarantee one way or another, but they definitely on our radar. [Bill Roper]: We've been looking at a lot of things to get into the game during the upcoming updates, and the re-introduction of random quests is currently in discussion. We know that players want more non-linear content, so we're looking into all sorts of ideas.

    To read the full dev chat click here.

    Developer Chat at IRC Today

    Posted Feb 08, 2008 by Zyuu
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Flagship Studios is holding a second Hellgate: London developer chat at IRC today. The details are listed below.

    This chat will occur via IRC this Friday, February 8th, at 4:00 PM PST (7:00 PM EST, 12:00 AM GMT) and will be held on the following server and channel.

    Server: irc.ForTheGamers.org

    Channel: #FlagshipStudios

    Everyone can participate in this event. There are a few methods to connect to the IRC server. One is via an IRC client such as http://www.mirc.commIRC or ChatZilla. Alternatively, ForTheGamers has a Java chat client you can use directly in a browser by clicking this link. Some instant message clients also support connections to IRC.

    For those who are new to IRC, the connecting is really simple. With mIRC, under the connection settings, enter "irc.ForTheGamers.org" (without the quotes) as the server and, once connected, type "/join #FlagshipStudios" (again, no quotes) in the text bar. This will instruct your client to join the proper channel. Other clients will operate similarly.

    Once in and the question bot has been unlocked, you can ask a question by typing "/msg DevBot QUESTION" with QUESTION being your question. We'll also have another channel set up where you can all just chat amongst yourselves.

    Second Developer Chat planned

    Posted Feb 08, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Those of you who play Hellgate: London will be excited to know that the guys behind the game at flagship have planned a second developer chat.

    Players will be able to ask the devs questions about the recent content addition to the game. Stonehenge, as well as questions about the future of the title.

    After a very fast-paced January in which the forums were restructured, the Stonehenge Chronicles content update was launched, and a popular follow-up patch was released, we are looking forward to hosting the second Hellgate: London Developer Chat Event. This chat will occur via IRC this Friday, February 8th, at 4:00 PM PST (7:00 PM EST, 12:00 AM GMT) and will be held on the following server and channel.


    Server: irc.ForTheGamers.org Channel: #FlagshipStudios

    Founders Offer Almost Over!

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Those of you wanting to take advantage of the Founders offer for Hellgate: London only have a matter of hours to get your cash out and spend. The Founders offer closes at 11.59 PST on 31st January 2008!

    The offer allows those of you who took the time to pre-order Hellgate: London to take advantage of a life time subscription to the online aspect of Flagships first title at a greatly reduced cost.

    Also worth noting is that there will be an outage of our accounts and billing services tonight, January 30th, from 6:00 PM PST (2:00 AM GMT) until 7:00 PM PST (3:00 AM GMT). This is brought about by the installation of internal upgrades as part of our efforts to continually improve our billing and customer management platform.

    All accounts and billing services will be unavailable during the maintenance window and you will not be able to create new accounts, subscribe, or change account information during this time period. Once the maintenance is complete, accounts and billing services will again be available.

    Thank you for your patience while we upgrade and improve our service.

    Stonehenge Chronicles (1.0) - First Content Patch

    Posted Jan 21, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The patch notes for the very first content patch for Hellgate London has been posted and in it we will see some very interesting additions. The patch notes are huge and after looking through, it is safe to say that this patch is going to add loads.

    Some of the more interesting changes are class balance orientated, with multiple classes being given respec tokens due to the heavy alterations. All Evokers and Guardians will get respec tokens, as will all Subscription Member accounts.

    On the PvP side of things, a brand new PvP arena has been added, allowing players to challenge each other to duels to see who is truly the most skilled.

    The UI has seen some changes, with alterations to the LFG system and the minimap and chat window that will make things a little less unforgiving.

    Sadly, Stonehenge is only available to subscribers, along with a multitude of new quests, NPCs and areas to explore.

    To read the full, novel-like patch notes, click here.

    Hellgate goes stoney

    Posted Jan 18, 2008 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The guys at flagship have set a date for their latest addition to the Hellgate world. The next patch will see the addition of a brand new player hub - Stonehenge - based on the famous British landmark of the same name.

    Along with that, subscribers can now pay by PayPal or PayByCash!

    HELLGATE: LONDON GOES TO STONEHENGE


    Explore New Environments, Conquer New Demons and Find More Phat Loot in the First Chapter of the Hellgate Chronicles


    The fight for humanity is spreading away from the streets and sewers of London and moving all the way out to the mystical areas surrounding Stonehenge – or what’s left of it. The first installment of the ongoing Hellgate Chronicles is going live for subscribers on Monday, January 21st, 2008.


    Stonehenge is a huge outdoor hub accessed through a special portal in Templar Base, connecting players to several new and exciting quests. Heroes will find themselves in completely new open, outdoor wilderness areas unlike anything seen within the city limits of London, battling terrifying new demons and bosses and finding new items very distinct in their appearance. This action-packed update includes:

    • The Caste Caves – Unlock four unique dungeons, one for each caste of enemy – Beast, Necro, Spectral and Demon – to seek and destroy a powerful overlord that resides in each cave. Defeating them and collecting their heads will allow you to continue the adventure…


    • Moloch’s Lair – Only after collecting the heads from the Caste Caves will heroes be allowed entry into the lair, with a chance to defeat the legendary Moloch, one of hell’s most imposing minions who carries very unique items that can only be obtained by defeating him in combat. And because Moloch’s soul is eternal, this quest and it’s rewards can be a never-ending challenge.


    • The Wild – These three mini-raid areas present players with difficult obstacles but also huge rewards with three levels that get increasingly more difficult even with the recommended full party size – you will need a small army to get through these challenges.


    In addition to the above, The Stonehenge Chronicles also includes many of the other updates the Hellgate: London community has been asking for, including improvements to game UI, a large number of skill balance changes, a PvP dueling arena and more. Hellgate: London subscribers can also now pay for their subscriptions via PayPal and PayByCash. For more information on payment options and a full list of notes for this update, please visit www.hellgatelondon.com.

    Hellgate needs love

    Posted Dec 13, 2007 by LHOO
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Popular gaming website MMOsite is currently running its annual Reader's Choice Awards. As the title implies, the winners are decided by you, the players.
    Hellgate: London has been nominated for several categories, including Best New Game and Best Graphics. Actually, our other game Mythos has been nominated as well, for Most Anticipated game of 2007.

    If you want to put in your vote for our games, just head on over to this link and click on any of the categories. Thanks!

    Live IRC Developer Chat

    Posted Dec 07, 2007 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The Hallgate London website is reporting that you will have the chance to speak to the development team about your worries and concerns as well as what you would like to see happen to the game in a live IRC chat.

    The chat will take place a 4.00pm PST and you will be able to ask and say anything (with reason).

    Server: irc.ForTheGamers.org
    Channel: #FlagshipStudios

    Howdy everyone! This Friday, December 7, we'll be doing a live IRC developer chat. It will start at 4PM PST, and you'll have a chance to talk directly with a number of us here at Flagship. You can ask questions, tell us your thoughts on the game, or say whatever you want (well, within reason ^_^). Below are the details.


    Server: irc.ForTheGamers.org Channel: #FlagshipStudios


    Two popular IRC clients you can use are mIRC (a personal favorite) and ChatZilla. Alternatively, ForTheGamers has a Java chat client you can use directly in a browser by clicking this link.


    If you've never used IRC before, it's really easy. Under the connection settings just connect to "irc.ForTheGamers.org" (without the quotes), and then type "/join #FlagshipStudios" (again, no quotes). This will put you into the proper channel.


    Once in, and the question bot has been unlocked, you can ask a question by typing "/msg DevBot XXX" with XXX being your question. We'll also have another channel set up where you can all just chat amongst yourselves.


    We'll give you any updates as the day approaches. Thanks, and see you there!

    Patch 0.6 Now Live

    Posted Dec 05, 2007 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Flagship have announced that patch 0.6 of their MMORPG title, Hellgate London, has gone live.

    The patch introduces numerous bug fixes along with some class alterations. The most important change is the fix of the invisible group bug which was crippling multiplayer grouped gameplay.

    We hope our U.S. players had a great Thanksgiving holiday and that everyone had a fantastic weekend of playing Hellgate: London. We kept working through our cornucopia of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and American football games to get some more fixes done.


    Patch 0.6 has one very notable fix – the invisible group member bug has been slain. This was a crafty, fierce thing with rows of nasty sharp teeth, but we believe it has now fallen into the mists of legend. We’ll stay vigilant in case it raises its ugly invisible head again.


    We’ve also made great strides on the Engineer Drone issue where items become unequipped. There are some cases where Drones (as well as players), will still have items unequip. The main cause of this is when players “ladder up” the equipment on their Character or Drone by using items with statistic bonuses. This results in the Character or Drone being able to use a better overall set of gear than they normally could, and thus causes issues if the items are not equipped in a specific order (or used at all). We’re continuing to work on this one, but it is better with this patch.


    As always, we’re reading the forums, getting your feedback, and seeing your desires for Hellgate. The biggest issue we’re currently working on is the client-side memory usage issue. This is very complex and involved, and we also know that it’s a major issue for users. We’re pouring all of our energies right now into working on the game, so if you don’t see us reply to your posts it doesn’t mean we aren’t listening. It just means we’re working hard to make Hellgate: London a better and better experience.


    Finally, work is well underway on Patch 0.7! This patch will address major memory issues, bring new UI changes, add blueprints and crafting for new items, make a ton of improvements, and usher in the holidays with some surprises for our subscription members. For more details, keep a watchful eye on www.hellgatelondon.com and look for announcements when you launch the game.


    Thanks again for playing, and we’ll see you online!


    The Hellgate: London Team


    Hellgate London Patch 0.6 Notes


    General

    • Fixed a bug that caused group members to be invisible to other group members.


    Chat

    • The chat window no longer overlaps the Crafter merchant UI panel.
    • Fixed a bug that prevented the user from interacting with the chat panel via the mouse when the Buddy List or Guild Panel is open.
    • System messages are now displayed in all chat tabs.
    • The scroll bar on the Guild Panel should now function properly


    Items

    • Items dropped in the world now have slightly lower overall feed requirements.
    • Analyzers now work as expected on stashed items.


    Engineers

    • Fixed a bug that caused items equipped on an Engineer Drone to be unequipped when the Engineer summoned the Drone after changing levels.


    World Movement

    • Fixed a bug that caused players to be randomly teleported under certain circumstances.
    • Warp restriction text clarified to, “Warp Restricted. You don’t have a waypoint far enough to warp to this level.”
    • Fixed an infinite loading issue for Russell Square. Some of those characters may not yet be able to progress in the story/areas, however, without getting a party portal to Russell Square to complete the “Forage” quest.

    Patch 0.6 on Test Servers; 0.7 Nears

    Posted Dec 03, 2007 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    The Hellgate London website has posted an update informing everyone that patch 0.6 of the game is on the test servers and also revealed what players can expect from patch 0.7.

    Howdy everyone! Work on the upcoming 0.7 patch is nearly done, and should be heading to our test center by early next week. We have a nice list of fixes in this patch, including improvements to memory usage, UI changes, and general skill updates.


    Also included will be a number of really cool subscriber items and quests that should please many old D2 fans. We’ll detail this content, as well as the bug fixes, when the patch goes live. Thanks, and hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!


    PS Patch 0.6 is on the Test Center server now, so if you wanna help out, feel free to hop on and check it out. Also, the Party Portal issues should be resolved now after last night's reboot.

    More up-to-date patch notes for 0.7 will apear when 0.6 goes live.

    Hellgate London Patch 0.6

    Posted Nov 27, 2007 by Indelible
    Filed in Hellgate: London

    Flagship Studios have announced their plans for patch 0.6 of their current MMO title, Hellgate London.

    Along with some interesting changes, Flagship are promising that this will see an end to numerous game-breaking bugs, including the infamous invisible group bug that was annoying many a player.

    We’ve also made great strides on the Engineer Drone issue where items become unequipped. There are some cases where Drones (as well as players), will still have items unequip. The main cause of this is when players “ladder up” the equipment on their Character or Drone by using items with statistic bonuses. This results in the Character or Drone being able to use a better overall set of gear than they normally could, and thus causes issues if the items are not equipped in a specific order (or used at all). We’re continuing to work on this one, but it is better with this patch.

    Along with this anouncement, Flagship have acknowledged the continuing problem with the memory usage of the client application and are continuing to explore this issue.

    Current Patch 0.6 Patch Notes

    General:

    • Fixed a bug that caused group members to be invisible to other group members.
    • Fixed a texture memory leak that occurred when inspecting armor items. This will improve long-term memory usage, especially for players that frequently buy, sell, and analyze items.

    Chat:

    • Increased the number of players in global chat.
    • The chat window no longer overlaps the Crafter merchant UI panel.
    • Fixed a bug that prevented the user from interacting with the chat panel via the mouse when the Buddy List or Guild Panel is open.
    • System messages are now displayed in all chat tabs.
    • The scroll bar on the Guild Panel should now function properly.

    Items:

    • Items dropped in the world now have slightly lower overall feed requirements.
    • Analyzers now work as expected on stashed items.

    Engineers:

    • Fixed a bug that caused items equipped on an Engineer Drone to be unequipped when the Engineer summoned the Drone after changing levels.

    World Movement:

    • Fixed a bug that caused players to be randomly teleported under certain circumstances.

    Work is well underway on patch 0.7, which will apparently address a few more bugs in preperation for the highly anticipated Patch 1 content patch.

More Posts Next page »