It’s been almost a month and a half since the Gameplay Tune-Up’s first wave of testers were given their initial bumignment. What have we been up to in that time? I’ll tell you.

   The first week’s tests involved logging in to the test server, and prompted Evil Trout to shut down some “crucial” (read: not crucial) services, because some pranksters thought it would be funny to take popular names on the test server.

   The second week’s tests involved a thread casting a negative status effect (debuff) on the player, and a retool of the way lemon scoops are earned. The new status effect, called Ad Hominem, deals persistent damage to the player, and is cured by a new drug, currently called Remember-Not. The lemon formula wasn’t so hot.

   The third week’s tests involved making sure that Ad Hominem works properly in all situations, and introduced a battle log that keeps track of what has happened to you during the forum battle. Moreover, the lemon scoop formula was greatly improved, and time and thread count will no longer be factors in trying to earn your three yellows per visit. Furthermore, a new type of collectable was introduced: fans. You gain fans when you pwn fora, and lose them during rollover. The full formula for how you lose fans has yet to be discovered, but it has been noted that you lose fewer fans while you are streaking. (People like naked people, apparently.)

   The fourth week introduced an ability called AFK that increases your defense, but does nothing else. The ability has no cooldown, and at the time, had no seeming value in pwning. This was offset when Evil Trout introduced some new thread debuffs, each of which “inactivates” all of your abilities by a number of turns (1, 3 or 6 on the test server). These are prevented beforehand by consumables purchased in von Neumann’s.

   The current week introduces consumable decay. Consumables that go unused for a period of time go bad, decaying into junk items that then decay into other junk items. At present, some interesting junk items have been discovered, and there may be more to be found.

   And that’s what we’ve been up to over on the test server.

There wasn’t a non-disclosure rule. See http://forumwarz.com/discussions/view_post/581278

Evil Trout Posted:

Unlike with Episode-based testing, you will be free to discuss upcoming changes in public places. None of what we’re working on will be secret.

And if you read the thread again, he corrected himself when I pointed ET’s post out the first time, and updated the OP. Jeez.

Oh, thank God. I thought something bad happened and it was canceled D:

CrinkzPipe Posted:

Also, we are working on some thing so big it will blow your mind.

Log in to see images!

Raepdog Posted:

Raepdog just saying that although I was sorta gone for testing levels 2-4, at the 5th bar things are really fuking cool and its a bit more complicated then max out level, buy a **** load of consumables, and 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-THREAD DEAD.

Well, you’re on the right track.

Dunatis Posted:

Why is there never any Hacker Love?

Would it make you happy to know that the new Lemon Scoop algorithm will separate rewards based on clbum?

MC Banhammer Posted:

Would it make you happy to know that the new Lemon Scoop algorithm will separate rewards based on clbum?

MC Hackers are a lowly people and will bicker to the end of time, they are a bastard clbum.

FOOTNOTE: I was going to bum a picture to explain the WASP-ness of my post but this image is far better that as on the Google image search..

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swine Posted:

Seriously? I guess I need to sell my 800 5-htps.

Thankyou Invariel for announcing this change in advance Log in to see images!

meeeeeeeeee Posted:

Thankyou Invariel for announcing this change in advance Log in to see images!

In my opinion, it is too soon to say if it is a benefit to sell or keep. If the degrading stuff evolves into something useful, it is in your interest to keep consumables.

But I agree, I’d prefer some serious disclosure as we move along. Some of the advantages that seemed to be included for players who were beta testing Episode 2 (books becoming important and expensive, all consumables bumping radically in price) may have skewed the advantage they entered Ep 2 with.