Heya heroes! You’ve been asking about news on Oracle and the Sky Pirates Saga, and I'm here to deliver! If you’ve been riding the waves with us on the Design Notes, Twitter, and Facebook, then you’ve seen us navigate through a sea of challenges over the past few months. But! If there's one thing we never do when the tides get tough, is give up on making video games. And game updates. And ofc silly puns to keep things afloat!
Seriously though, we wish we could have gotten this update out sooner, since we all know it is well overdue, but fact of the matter is we’ve been exceptionally busy dealing with weekly releases, bug-squashing, setbacks, challenges, and other crazy things life habitually throws our way.
It probably feels like we're dishing out a bunch of excuses, right? Trust me, we get it. You just wanna see results, and we're totally with you on that. But hey, I’m not here to make excuses – I’m here to be real with you.
Game development is a complex and unpredictable process with so many moving parts and sooo many opportunities for things to go awry. Despite our best efforts and planning, unforeseen obstacles always arise that impact timelines, progress, and, if I’m being completely honest, our sanity. Regrettably, we've experienced our fair share of setbacks, but the good news is…
Oracle Class and Sky Pirates are on the horizon!
Your patience and enthusiasm have been a driving force for us, and we can't wait to bring these new adventures to life. I’m sure you can tell that I’m super excited for all the new NEW! And since you’re here, I know you’re equally excited too. So let's get to it!
The Oracle Class, originally slated for release last Fall, has met many hurdles. From larger events like Friday the 13th to new features like Housing to team members transitioning to new opportunities, each delay has been a lesson in patience, persistence, and perseverance. Trust me: we 100% know how frustrating it is to hear about setbacks, and we 100% want you to know that Artix Entertainment is committed to delivering results, even if it takes a bit (or a lot) longer than expected.
More news coming your way at the end of this month regarding the progress of the Oracle Class. In the meantime, here is some beautiful artwork of Oracle to get your imagination ignited!
Oracle Class concept, courtesy of Charfade
Shall we soar into the realm of Sky Pirates now? When you take to the skies in the new Sky Pirates Saga, you will discover the utopian city of Brassport. This seemingly perfect utopia is home to the most advanced technology Lore has ever seen… but… paradise comes at a price.
The city is split into 2 halves – upper and lower Brassport. In order to sustain the lavish life of luxury, a lottery is held every year to, um, “relocate” the lucky few to the undercity. Brassport’s lower city is made up of rebels who are trying their best to survive, but there’s some sinister stuff happening in the upper city as well. If you love cool gadgets, mechs, and mayhem, then you’ll wanna sign up for the Sky Pirates Saga!
The Sky Pirate zone has been in development for a handful of months now, in between working on the Nulgath Saga, the new intro zone, and of course everyone’s newest favorite feature, Player Housing. We are aiming for a summer release of Sky Pirates in AQ3D. Hopefully sooner, but I’m looking at the calendar and realizing that HEY summer is right around the corner. So! While we wait, here is some cool concept art.
Brassport City
Brassport City Hall
Please note this is concept art and the final in-game appearance may vary. Prolly shouldn’t have to say that, but just wanna make sure everyone’s exceedingly aware that concept art is, well, a concept.
In addition to all these new in-game things, we're making waves as we explore new ways to engage with you all in the real world too! Join Clarion weekdays at 6pm EDT as he streams on Twitch. Never know what’s gonna happen there! There was some commotion about a blue cape the other week and it kind of became a meme, and then it kind of tidal waved into a new game item, so that was super cool to witness 🤩 Just when you think you’ve sea-n it all, the seas of creativity continue surging forth!
Watch Clarion Twitch weekdays at 6pm
at twitch.tv/artixentertainment
IDK if you noticed before scrolling down, but there’s a new “Listen” button towards the top of my Design Notes – right next to the pink Beleen button (did you even know that was there?). Personally, I love listening to articles and audiobooks while I’m working out and laying out by the pool, so I thought maybe perhaps you’d be interested in listening to me reading the thingies that I wrote? Complete with my wild run-on sentences and everything?!? Eeeep! And so, after a lot of eager Beleen squeals, Ai No Miko conjured her programming power and made my dream a reality!
Is this ‘Listen feature’ something you’d like to see – well, technically, hear – more of? LMK in the comments below, or cast your vote on Twitter!
We’ve been getting a lot of requests for updates on these projects… and questions about what’s causing the slowdowns. Straight up: our small team has been juggling multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously. We’ve been trying our best to balance all the things, and as much as we'd love to move at lightning speed, the reality is sometimes a bit more challenging… and slow moving 🐢
Despite these turtle hurdles, no challenge is too powerful to diminish the love and passion I hear from the team during every Monday morning meeting!
I hope you know this by now, but you all mean the world to us. We're constantly striving every week to make your gaming experience as enjoyable as possible. It’s the bitter truth that with the loss of staff members, our tiny team is now even smaller, and each of us have taken on additional responsibilities. But rest assured, we are dedicated to delivering brand new newness on a weekly basis while keeping you informed every step of the way. Even if it’s at our own detriment, lol 🙈
For real though: we deeply value the patience and support of our community throughout the entire process. Your enthusiasm and encouragement are what drive us forward, even in the face of adversity. Just remember: with enough coffee, we can conquer anything!!!!
And as always, we promise to keep you updated regularly on our progress and any new shenanigans along the way.
Thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and unwavering support. We couldn't do this without you – and we can’t wait to experience these new adventures with you, too!
Battle on!
Beleen, Alina, Blaze, and the AQ3D team
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