News comes from the official website of two new patches. One for the live servers one for the test center.
The Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) servers will be updating to Patch 1.3d tomorrow, July 9th. The Shulgoth (US) server will be taken down at 10:00 AM PT and the Sydonai (EU) server will be taken down at 8:00 PM PT (0300 July 10th GMT). The estimated downtime for both updates is about one hour.
Both servers will resume normal service after the update. Patch notes for Patch 1.3d are available here.
The test center is also being updated:
The Test Center server will be undergoing database maintenance and updating to Build 4 of The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM PT. The downtime will be about five hours. The server is estimated to resume normal service at 3:00 PM PT.
Patch notes for Patch 2 Build 4 will be published shortly after the update.
– Scapes
This just in off the front page of the offiial Hellgate London website:
This third installment of SneakShots comes from our art department in the form of a high-resolution wallpaper of the new Abyss Chronicles splash image. The wallpaper features a Cabalist in Darkform, a new Summoner skill in Patch 2. Additionally, the transformed Summoner is sporting new armor and focus items found only in the Abyss laid out behind him.
Darkform is one of eighteen new unique skills, three per class, learned through the acquisition of mysterious items found in the Abyss. The Summoner’s new skills are as follow:
Darkform (Level 10): Using this skill transforms the Summoner into a demonic being, exchanging the use of weapons for vicious claws. This skill also passively allows the use of dual focus items.
Dark Lord (Level 15): This skill passively grants a chance on successful attacks to summon up to 3 Shadow Minions to aid the Summoner.
Dark Offering (Level 20): Using this skill sacrifices a Shadow Minion to unleash a powerful attack against all enemies within range.
To find out more about what new features The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) brings, check out the latest Test Center patch notes on the forums here. Care to explore the Abyss before it comes to the live servers? Click here to download the standalone Test Center patch!
Scapes announced they will perform an in-game mail purge tomorrow, so be sure to get your attached items before the purge kick off
Tomorrow, June 18th, we will start the in-game mail purge schedule laid out in this thread. At 9:00 AM PT (0400 GMT), mail that is more than 60 days old (received during the month of April) will be removed from characters’ inboxes. These pieces of mail display “0 days remaining (until expiration)”. This purge will occur on both the Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) servers.
Please be sure to check your in-game inbox for such mail and collect any attached items and/or Palladium.
UPDATE:
Players have reported that some of their in-game mail has attached items which have no icon and cannot be collected from the mail. These “blank” attachments are due to the in-game mail database issues experienced before May 21st when we revised the in-game mail system in Patch 1.3b. The attached items have either already been collected or these items were lost in April when the problems with the mail database occurred and cannot be retrieved. All in-game mail that is more than 60 days old will be purged tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM PT and will include mail that has these “blank” attachments.
We encourage all players who have mail which shows “0 days remaining” to collect any attached items and Palladium immediately.
Yes, we normally split up news posts into lots of bits, but I am busy today so it’s going to be one big news post!
First is the MAJOR news for most of you, which is the fact that patch 2 is coming to Test Center on Monday. The file is going to be a stand alone patch at a massive size of 1.3 gigs!
The Abyss Chronicles boasts a long list of new features and fixes and as such has required a long internal testing process. The studio is currently in a “bug squashing” stage with regards to the major content update meaning that development of Patch 2 is complete and we are now working on cleaning it up and making it pretty (and balanced). As part of the path of all our patches, the Abyss Chronicles will first be enjoying a good stay on our Test Center server where it can be poked and prodded and picked at by you, our thorough Hellgaters and brave test subjects.
The Abyss Chronicles is slated for Test Center launch this coming Monday, June 9th. The update will be applied via a standalone patch (1.3 gigabytes). We will have more information on this big move first thing next week.
– Scapes
Second is the news that Patch 1.3d has hit the test center today. The patch notes are the following:
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 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 for this to apply.)
The rate at which Rank experience is gained has been rebalanced.
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.
Fixed a bug where character options would change as a result of minimizing the character options tab.
Third is the new post on the forums by Tyler Thompson, which is of a thread that’s going to act like a blog of his. So follow i regularly!
Today, I also fixed a bug with ragdolls floating in the air. I caught up on about 50 company e-mails and reassigned several bugs. I met with HR to talk about a few issues. I prepared plans for what the UI SCRUM group will work on next - mostly cribbing from our Team Advocate’s suggestions for guilds, some auction house and e-mail features.
Then I spent a couple hours running around to see whether Patch 2.0 was ready for Test Center. I worked with Matt who was gathering the notes, got them passed to Evan to write them up, checked with Alan who was finishing up his to design changes, checked with QA about the bugs in the latest build, met with some engineers to make sure that they didn’t have concerns about the state of their features, and wrote an e-mail to just about everyone to make sure none of them knew of an issue that would block it.
Afterwards, I met with the team doing Auction House and Guild Features to talk about how long it will take to do their features.
Then I made a big decision about Patch 2.0 and Test Center, but I’ll leave info that to Scapes.
Lastly, is the new Undeground Communique #7, which this time talks of the three patch 1.3c, 1.3d and 2. The news of (most) transfers being complete and (most) items being transferred with the characters (Check your characters for if they worked before Patch 2 hits TC), new ATI drivers that fix issues in Vista as well as the new Sneak Shots about Patch 2 next week being about Trinkets!
Scapes has posted a few bits of news on the official forums regarding patches. First is the news of patch 1.3c coming to the live servers tomorrow.
Hellgate: London Patch 1.3c will be live on the Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) servers tomorrow. This is the same build of Patch 1.3c that is currently on Test Center. The Shulgoth (US) server will update tomorrow, June 3rd, at 6:00 AM PDT. The Sydonai (EU) server will update later tomorrow at 8:00 PM PDT (0300 GMT). The downtime for each server will be about one hour.
Patch notes for Patch 1.3c will be available tomorrow after the launch.
– Scapes
There presently isn’t an ETA for when the Abyss Chronicles will be live on the Test Center server. An announcement will be made when there is one to share.
– Scapes
A number of sites have been reporting this new trailer from FSS for a few days now. It’s a trailer for the now few week’s old 1.3 Patch, however the trailer is quiet humorous and worth a watch!
Scapes is back from Japan with updates! First he brings us a new communique, number 6, which talks of his trip and various news we’ve already reported on. To add, there is also the first of many previews of Abyss Chronicles in screenshot form!
Welcome, Hellgaters, to the first installment of SneakShots. This article will offer a collection of images of upcoming Hellgate: London content composed and captured by yours truly. However, you didn’t navigate to this thread to read me prattle on: feast your eyes on this fine selection of pictures from the Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2).
That last fellow, he wouldn’t let me leave without taking his picture. He was very insistent. — Scapes
Been sick lately so haven’t had time to post much. But better now so time for news posting!
The official site is reporting news that Nightly Server restarts have now finished.
With the launch of Patch 1.3b on the live servers, nightly restarts of the live servers have ceased as of May 20th. The restarts were an effort to prevent server instability brought about by Patch 1.3.
Thanks for your patience!
The patch notes for the new patch are also up on the forums and are as follows:
General
In-game mail has been updated for speedier service.
The donation reward armor bonus (Ares’ Bane) now applies bonuses to shields.
The donation announcement now displays the percentage needed to complete the war drive when a donation is made. Donations of 100,000 Palladium or more also announce the name of the character who made the donation.
Subscribers on the Sydonai (EU) server now get full subscriber benefits on the Test Center server.
Skills
Engineers now have a 12-second shared cooldown time on the Smackdown, Shock and Awe, and Napalm Strike calldown skills.
Fixes
Fixed equipped weapon mods being lost in Shared Stash.
Fixed a bug where you could see other characters’ attributes under certain conditions.
Fixed non-subscribers (who were once subscribers) being able to party portal to a subscriber only area.
The donation announcement now says “Palladium” instead of “gold”.
Russian clients should no longer crash on certain donation announcements.
Sammy, a side quest NPC in St. Paul’s Station, is no longer subscriber-only.
Fixed the /wave emote.
Fixed items sometimes getting lost when sent via email.
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.
The official forums have been updated with news of Patch 2.0 and Patch 2.1 and while detailed patch notes are not provided, the general summary and some hints are there:
Discover that which awaits you in the Abyss, brave Hellgaters! The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) is rapidly taking shape and form and we’re ready to share some of its most exciting offerings with you. As Hellgate: London’s second major content update, the Abyss Chronicles boasts an impressive and lengthy list of new features including a major class rebalance, new environments, new enemies, new skills, new bosses, and new inventory slots . Then there’s the Consignment House, Attribute Respec Vendor, item linking, achievement rewards, and lots more. Suffice to say, the Abyss Chronicle is big. Very big.
Plans are already underway for the patches beyond the Abyss Chronicles. A small content summary for Patch 2.1 has been included as well. This update will open up an entirely new side to Hellgate: London in the form of ranked player versus player (PvP) gameplay. Originally slated for release with the Abyss Chronicles, the decision to release new PvP content as part of a supplemental patch was brought about by a desire to introduce five cohesive elements of PvP in a single update: ranking, matchmaking, rewards, achievements, and Capture The Flag. Together, these features will provide a robust PvP experience within the Hellgate: London universe.
We are hoping to get a Patch 2.0 build into Test Center next week, but we will see what happens.
The Test Center is being updated with patch 1.3b as posted on the forums:
Scapes is off to Japan! (I saw him wheeling his little bag around )
Here’s what’s goin on:
- Royal Mail has been updated for speedier service.
- Fixed mods being lost in Shared Stash.
- Fixed a bug where you could see a players attributes under certain conditions.
- The donation reward armor bouns (Ares’ Bane) applies bonuses to shields.
- Fixed donation text misspelling of Palladium
- Russian clients should no longer crash on certain donation announcements.
- Engineers now have a 12 second shared cooldown on calldown skills: Smackdown, Shock and Awe, Naplam Strike.
Update is scheduled for 1:30 PM PST/8:30 PM GMT. Outage should be less than an hour.
Hellgate Guru was founded in mid-2005 and has ever since been one of the most popular fan sites and forums devoted to Hellgate: London, catering to a wide range of interests, as well as having a dedicated team of staff members who keep the website full of constant updates, news and generate activity and hype around the game. More
