{"id":995,"date":"2013-04-03T15:38:10","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T21:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bigdamnheroes.org\/?p=995"},"modified":"2013-04-03T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T21:38:10","slug":"april-developer-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bigdamnheroes.org\/?p=995","title":{"rendered":"April Developer Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bryan posted this month’s developer update a little bit ago, over on the MWO forums<\/a>.
\nThere is not a lot of new information in this month’s update.. since the big news (Late Summer Release) was announced via media outlets at GDC\/PAX over the last week or so.<\/p>\n

I was hoping for some additional clarification on the whole Community Warfare uprising (one interview stated that you’d essentially be “paying to play with your friends” in that they were going to require active premium time to be in a Merc unit.\u00c2\u00a0 There has since been clarification that that wasn’t what was meant, but, no additional details yet.<\/p>\n

The biggest thing, is the addition of a new type of purchased ‘Mech.. we’ve already got ‘regular’ ‘Mechs, and Hero ‘Mechs, now we’re getting “Champion” ‘Mechs:<\/p>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve decided to add a new style of Hero BattleMech, one that represents the community \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Champion.\u00c2\u00a0 Similar in nature to the Founder’s BattleMechs, a Champion `Mech is based of an existing variant with a special permanent 5% XP boost and lower \"\" price point.\u00c2\u00a0 Our first Champion\u00c2\u00a0BattleMech will be revealed on April 12th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a nice little give to the community.\u00c2\u00a0 People who missed getting a Founder’s package, and feel that the MC price of Hero ‘Mechs is too high (it is, a little), will have the opportunity to get a ‘mini-hero’ with different bonuses (If that XP boost also applies to GXP, that’ll make it very popular), for less MC.\u00c2\u00a0 It’ll be interesting to see what Champion ‘Mech number one is.<\/p>\n

A LOT of what is mentioned in the April update (new vision modes, Hero Highlander, etc.) was delivered in yesterday’s patch, which could be part of why this update doesn’t feel as ‘beefy’ as March’s.<\/p>\n

Mentioned in the update, is an enhanced team structure.. Bryan provided some pictures of the new features\/look via twitter:<\/p>\n

\"Note<\/a>
Note the two uniquely colored lances<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Not<\/a>
Not the lance information in the top left of the viewport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

While not specifically part of the April update, I asked Bryan yesterday via twitter (after he mentioned how well Heavy Metal was selling), if they would ever release “sales” information on the Hero ‘Mechs, and the popularity..even at a ‘generic’ level (without including actual numbers sold).\u00c2\u00a0 To my surprise.. he responded with some information this morning.<\/p>\n

The most sold Hero ‘Mech, is the Yen-Lo-Wang, which makes sense, since it was the ‘original’ Hero ‘Mech.<\/p>\n

Yesterday’s Heavy Metal, comes in second.. which is impressive after one day of sales!<\/p>\n

3rd Place goes to the Flame… and everything else (Fang, Muromets, X-5, Death’s Knell) is ‘close together’.\u00c2\u00a0 Sounds like Hero ‘Mechs, on the whole, have been very successful for PGI.\u00c2\u00a0 I know there was at least one Highlander (besides mine) in every match I dropped in last night.\u00c2\u00a0 I hope PGI continues to release the Hero version of a ‘Mech, before the regular versions.. it’s a good incentive for ‘early adopters’ to buy.<\/p>\n

Full copy\/paste of the April update after the jump:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Welcome to April!\u00c2\u00a0 Teamplay takes a giant leap forward with the addition of new team structure elements.\u00c2\u00a0 After reviewing the test branch, I’m incredibly excited to get this very important feature into the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Since my last update, PAX East and GDC have come and gone.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We have\u00c2\u00a0announced details about upcoming features like 12 V 12,\u00c2\u00a0Lobby, DirectX\u00c2\u00a011,\u00c2\u00a0UI 2.0 and Community Warfare.\u00c2\u00a0 Along with a launch date of Late Summer 2013!\u00c2\u00a0 This month we see the addition of several new features, consumables, and a new line of BattleMechs called Champions!<\/p>\n

New Content:<\/p>\n