Magus Academy Online Testing Server Alpha Version 0.5 Update Announcement
Major Update:
1. New Dungeon Clearing Area
Be amazed, be surprised! The new update is now online with a new, expansive dungeon unmatched by the previous one. There will be a new pseudo dungeon area called the “Steelrose Order Stronghold” where players can explore an uncharted pocket dimension filled with all sorts of resources and dangers alike.
2. New In-Game Areas and Opportunities
Now that Thornwood Village has officially joined the academy, it will be opened for players to explore. New missions involving helping the village will be generated, and players will be able to form some sort of agenda with the important villagers by completing them.
3. Economy Update
Not forgetting what players have been suggesting all this time, we have finally added in-game currency for players to trade with each other. Please refer to the official website wiki for more details.
4. Real Money to In-game Money Exchange Platform
We have designed a platform where players can exchange real money for in-game money. However, this platform is based on a real supply-and-demand system, meaning that the game won’t generate in-game money out of nothing. And trades are based on a real-world exchange platform rather than only simply a player-to-player basis. This is only a working prototype as of right now, and you need a crypto wallet to use it. A full, more complete model will be available in later versions.
5. New In-Game Workshop Availability
As our player base grows, so does the need for more resources and equipment. To address this, we want to give these players opportunities to co-own a workshop of their own with the academy. This not only enhances your crafting and production capabilities but also lays the groundwork for future community-driven features like guilds and legions.
6. Increase in Total Quota for Applicants
The quota for closed-alpha players has been set to 500 or more.
7. New Building: “Alchemical Hall”
This is a new building added to the game, which is a tower-like building for concocting potions and elixirs. While its functionality might seem limited due to the sparse number of NPCs, it will only become useful as the game progresses.
8. Upgraded Building: “Nexus Tower”
As you may be aware, the Nexus Tower has been upgraded in this update and can now incubate up to twenty-five players instead of ten. This means that people will have a higher chance of receiving eligibility.
9. Accelerated In-game Time Flow
Players have spoken, and we have answered. The in-game time flow will now be twice as fast as the real world, making the time you spend in the game longer than ever before without affecting your free time in the real world.
Optimization:
1. New NPCs Interactions and Models
With the addition of the village becoming free to visit, there will be new interactions as well as models that will be added to the game.
2. 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:
1. Adding Academy Grade to the Official Website
To encourage players to develop the academy and do missions, we have added a purpose for doing so. Please refer to more information on the forum.
2. Update on the Guidelines and Adding a Demerit System
In response to the added features and increasing number of NPCs, the guidelines are revised to version 4.0 to incorporate new rules. There will also be a hidden mechanic to determine a player’s eligibility to play the game by perceiving the said player’s interactions with NPCs. Recurring
The “Bandit Insurgence” event update has officially ended. The Thornwood Village Contributor title has been issued to more than 200 eligible closed-alpha players, while the Thornwood Village Guardian title has been given to exactly 57 worthy individuals. Their IDs will be included in the Hall of Fame for everyone to see. Congratulations to those who earned any of the titles!
Please note that the server update will occur from 12:00 EST until 24:00 EST, and you won’t be able to log in during that period of time. This is a very big update, and it is also 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!
One had to admit that this update was arguably the most significant since the inception of the game. It introduced a sprawling new dungeon area, along with a series of village-based missions. But the highlight was the economic overhaul, poised to fundamentally transform the gameplay at its core. If ever there was a monumental update unseen in other games, this was it.
Still, Victor felt that without a detailed dev diary, the players might misinterpret the changes and inadvertently stir up more trouble. To address the issue, he swiftly posted the revised dev diary in the official website forum thread and issued an announcement on the Discord server to ensure everyone was informed.
“Dev Diary #4: Alpha Version 0.5”
“Hello there, everyone! It’s your dearest promotional manager here, ready to dive into our latest and greatest update.”
“It’s been a short while since we have an update, but the game has undergone significant transformations. Our programmers and designers have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to meet the target that has been imposed by our superiors. I can’t even tell how many energy-drink trucks that have been going in and out of our company building’s parking lot. And how many angry wives were forcing their husbands to go home… Despite these lively scenes at our headquarters, the team’s focus has never wavered as they finished the update.”
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“Now, I won’t beat around the bush, and let’s jump straight to the exciting developments in this update.”
“I’m thrilled to announce that this update is by far the most extensive we have undertaken. It’s not that I am boasting; there’s simply so much new content that it’s hard to know where to begin. But the first thing that I want to inform you all, this update will be the final update of the closed-alpha phase. That’s right — we’re moving on to the closed-beta phase in the next major update! We’re one step closer to the full release of the game. Hooray!”
“Okay, moving on to the game content. We’ll be getting a sprawling new dungeon area called the ‘Steelrose Order Stronghold,’ unmatched by anything you’ve encountered so far in size and opportunities by several orders of magnitude. However, with great exploration comes great risk. This dungeon is actually a pocket dimension — a separate, self-contained world with its own vibrant ecosystem. It’s a place where danger lurks around every corner.”
“I’ll keep the specifics under wraps because we want you to experience and discover the mysteries of the Stronghold yourselves. However, I must warn you beforehand that you have to steer clear of the mechanical tower at the center of this pocket dimension since it will result in your demise. Furthermore, it is truly rife with dangers, and two parties full of true acolytes led by a second-stage Initiate Attunement each are required to be able to explore the dungeon. What’s more, there could only be a maximum of ten players exploring the pocket dimension at a time.”
“Next, we’ve something that the community has been asking for on the forum. Thornwood Village has now been opened up for exploration and village-related missions. But be mindful that your conduct with NPCs will be strictly monitored by us. Don’t let your temporary gain in power blind you! We don’t want players to start getting carried away and conduct disruptive behavior. We count on you to hold each other accountable and watch out for one another.”
In truth, even with all these measures in place, Victor found it tough to predict player behavior completely. That was why he wanted players to police each other’s actions to maintain decorum and prevent inappropriate things from happening. After all, these “NPCs” weren’t really a bunch of programmable ones and zeros.
There was actually an additional motive behind Victor’s decision to instruct players to log out and prolong the maintenance period: He had to imprint the Shadowlink Marks to some of the important, smarter villagers and impart them with the fundamental knowledge of assuming NPC roles. Once the Shadowlink Marks were in place, there should be nothing to be worried about.
“On another note, we’ll be getting an economic update! This is the star of this update and something that we’ve been wanting to release for a long time. There have been complaints from some players before that they cannot trade merit points with each other, that they cannot feel the joy of counting money in the game. Or even the fear about NPCs tampering with the Shadowlink Mark to deduct reward. In fact, this worry is completely unnecessary, as the headmaster of the Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi is an absolutely honest and upright person in the setting and will never secretly deduct a penny from players. I can guarantee this!”
“However, although there is no problem with the honesty of our headmaster, there is indeed a problem with the core working of the game’s economy. As such, we decided to finally introduce a new set of currency for the players that they could use to trade with each other or even the native NPCs!”
“This currency is very convenient. One of the types of currency that will be used is actually mana crystals, which are already available in the game. We’re not only increasing the availability of mana crystals but also introducing more granular currencies in the form of gold and platinum coins.”
“Historically, the exchange rate stood at 5 gold coins for 1 platinum coin and 10 platinum coins could be traded for 1 mana crystal. They can be used to buy food, equipment, and other services and goods that require a fee. However, with this update, we’re empowering you, the players, to set the market dynamics yourselves. This change is designed to add a layer of strategy and realism to our game economy.”
“Of course, we understand the importance of accessibility for all players. Therefore, every player logging into the game after the update will receive a starting kit of two gold coins and one platinum coin. This welcome gift also extends to any new players joining us as we move forward. This initiative ensures that everyone has the opportunity to engage with the game’s economy right from the start.”
Actually, Victor gained quite a substantial amount of gold and platinum coins from the mercenaries, especially his former comrades. Their wealth was such that Victor now held over three hundred platinum coins and seven hundred gold coins, more than sufficient to distribute among the 250 players currently active in the game.
Victor had considered adding silver coins as well, but the denomination was too low for them to be used effectively by the players. Given that one mana crystal equated to one hundred merit points once Victor cut its price by half, a single gold coin held a value of two merit points. This meant that a single silver coin was worth a mere 0.1 merit points, rendering it essentially worthless.
Aside from that, the merit point system wouldn’t become obsolete. Merit points would always become the main transaction currency between players and the academy for players to get spell models and other services cheaply. It would also become possible to convert merit points to other currencies, with a ratio that was still fair but obviously benefited the academy.
“The next topic we’re gonna address is another highly anticipated economic feature. Say goodbye to sulking in the corners of not being able to waste money in the game, no more moving bricks in real life because you can’t earn money in the game. Lo and behold as we’ll introduce real money to the in-game money exchange platform! Yes, you heard that right! You can now use your real money to trade for in-game money and vice versa.”
“I bet you’re so excited, happy, and feeling crazy, so much so that you can’t stop jumping on your chair. Naturally, this trade is designed to operate like a real-world exchange platform, with us serving merely as the facilitator for these transactions. However, please note that this feature is still in its prototype phase and won’t be fully operational immediately.”
“To ensure security and authenticity, this exchange can only be accessed through the gaming capsule, which helps prevent any fraudulent activities. We urge you to adhere to the rules, as we will not be responsible for actions taken outside the guidelines of the platform. We trust our players to use this new feature responsibly and wisely.”
Considering that the fee for every transaction was 5 percent, it wasn’t low enough that it was not worth it and not high enough that players would consider using pirate sites to do the transaction because of the practically impossible difficulty. On top of that, each transaction was bound to the buyer’s and the seller’s accounts, making it impossible to scam the other party. This was a win-win situation for everyone, except for scammers.
Scammers should just go extinct (not including Victor, of course).