HaloSphere 2.1 Update Info !!

[Replica]

Psy and I have been working on a pretty big update to the game that should be ready to roll out around Christmas. I can't nail an exact date, but it should be ready before the end of the year. The graphic above hightlights the big changes that are imminent, but there will also be a lot of little improvements and changes all over the game.

Here's a run-down of the big changes:

Class System
This system provides a lot of different classes or jobs that you can select and build up. Each class will help you in different ways as you level it up and progress through the game. The final class list will be detailed once the update is closer to launching, but to give you an example you might select the class 'Commando' and it would give you a boost to Attack, based on the level of the class. Classes earn exp and level up on their own. You'll be able to select up to 3 classes to work on at once if you're high enough in level and skill.

Forge
Forge is the new item creation system being built in. You will earn components as you play battles. These components will be used to create new items that you otherwise would not be able to get. The new items up front will be collectibles, but down the road this system will lead to new items, buildings and equipment.

HP System
To give the game a new twist, we've added in an HP system. HP stands for Hit-Points, the amount of which is determined by your level and high skill. As you battle, for every kill your opponent gets on you in the game, you'll lose 1 HP. So if you win a match 15-7, you'll still lose 7 HP. When your HP runs out, you die and end up in the Infirmary. When you are dead, you can't fight anymore until you respawn, which you can do yourself or another player can respawn you, but there is a cost to respawn. HP also brings in the notion of kills and deaths per player. There will be achievements tied to this.

Referral System
All players will have a referral code that they can give to other people to put in when they register. If people you refer dive in and start playing the game, you can get some achievements.

New Themes for Supporters
Kegonomics has been busy again getting a set of themes ready for this update.

Twitter Integration
You'll be able to tie in a twitter account to your account here. Whenever you rank up, get an achievement or other things, it will auto-tweet it to your followers. This is a cool way to share the game with friends.

Other New Things
- Quite a few changes have been made to player profiles to include info on Classes, HP, Defeats, etc
- New Leaderboards have been added related to the new systems mentioned above
- Cosmetic changes and improvements all over

So that's the highlights of the update coming very soon! I'm pumped to get it done and out to you guys, and I hope you enjoy it all!

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I'm freaking excited
What's your opinion ?

[AveryChu]

Cool thanks for posting.

[Replica]

Cool thanks for posting.

No problem Avery, The thing I'm most excited about now is HP , I think that's really going to get interesting. people helping each other to spawn and a chance to die, hmmm never expected that

[AveryChu]

Yeah I think I will become more interested in HS with these updates.

[CELESTIAL FEAR]

i like them all except the HP one

[AveryChu]

Yeah I agree, I liked it better without that.

[HC DarKStorm]

i like them all except the HP one

I think there are many who feel this way

[Area FiftyFun]

I have a question about the Forge. The "components" that we get from battles, do they take up item space in our inventory? The HP system sounds weird, especially for the lower level people who will die a lot.

[HC DarKStorm]

I'm not really sure about the forge items, but I would imagine so....esp since it seems early on will be collectibles

[CELESTIAL FEAR]

I'm not really sure about the forge items, but I would imagine so....esp since it seems early on will be collectibles

I actually like the forging idea i dont know why but i just like the idea of having to earn items to make something it makes me wanna play more

[CAT4]

I can see the HP system acting as a distributor to help move the majority of the crowd to higher skill levels by discouraging de-ranking. The amount of times you die in a battle seem really random to me, in which luck may play a role here [this has been fixed]. What Im hoping for is you can pay something else (like stam and energy) instead of paying cash to respawn.


And... How does the HP system mix with clan battles? I sure love making my teammates die without their consent. If anything, the HP is probably going to be over 9000!!!

[smooftastic]

I think this update is going to bring a lot of people back. It will probably help move people to the appropriate skills as someone mentioned before. I really feel like it is bringing a lot of RPG elements into it which will be great.

[HC DarKStorm]

I sure hope you guys are right, b/c as of right now I am getting tired of seeing the same old faces

[Silent Suicides]

i like them all except the HP one

X2

The HP idea sounds lie it'll just slow down the game even more. Everything else looks fine, although I am hoping that there's a massive update on clans that just hasn't been announced yet.

[HC Faceless]

I'm loving how the new update looks, but I will be withholding judgment on the HP system until further information has been released. As of right now, I just don't think there is enough data to decide whether I like it or not. Here's a list of the pluses and minuses I've seen stated in the chat box, and my thoughts on it.

What many feel the HP system has going against it
1. It will slow down gameplay across the board.
2. New players will be screwed over by it, because they will not have much HP, they won't have many credits to pay for revival, and won't have any friends who are willing to lay down the cR to revive them.
3. The HP system seems like even further punishment for players while they are deranking, which only adds to the frustration of already wasting a bunch of stamina on losses.
4. Will lead to the top players having to revive everyone else in order to keep the game moving, so that they can continue to get wins. If the lowest players are not revived, it will set off an upward-moving chain reaction.

What some feel the HP system has going for it
1. Will help to decrease macro/ghost mouse usage.
2. Will provide an added level of strategy to the game.
3. Firestream has begun adjusting final scores to more closely reflect the strength of the players involved in the battle, so the final scores are no longer completely random.
4. Will force stronger players upwards in skill by discouraging deranking.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In light of all that, I still think there are things that aren't being considered.

For instance, the amount of HP that each player is granted will have a significant impact on the success of the system. If we're talking +/- 100 HP, there could be a problem. If we're talking +/- 1000 HP, then it's a very different story. There could also be HP-producing buildings added for even MORE strategy, as well as HP items (similar to the good ol' Potion/Super Potion/Hyper Potion from the Pokemon games) that are available at the item shop (hopefully without a steadily increasing price) and can be found after solo wins.

Additionally, we do not know what the cost of reviving oneself or someone else will be. Revival might also require something that is available for purchase at the item shop, or could also be picked up in item drops. Perhaps there will even be a "Revival Bank" that each player has, not unlike the Stamina meter or Energy meter. This could be outfitted with the ability to increase max revivals with new territory buildings, and could refill in a similar way to stamina or energy.

Obviously we are bound to begin forming opinions with any sort update announcement, but right now I think there just isn't enough information to pick one side or the other.

[dean the her0]

i was just about to say that

[Brad1759]

My Biggest worry is that will carry on punishing players with other commitments.

I spend as much time as most people on the sphere, just that its all crammed in at the end of the day. Problem is while im at work (or asleep) I dont have the luxury of being able to check the game or collect ect. As a result this update will just aid those people who can come on to click collect every hour on their terrs. They can check their health is not too low, win a couple of games and then disappear again.

Im not online for two long periods of the day and cant check my health. I put just as much commitment into the game as everyone else and it is frustrating that those with the luxury of having to just appear online for 2 minutes every hour keep getting advantages.


Hopefully im concerned over nothing. We know very little yet, but the vibe im getting is that HP wont benefit my style of play at all.

[AveryChu]

If we could create our own weapons using forge then that would be awesome.

[HC DarKStorm]

As of right now the HP system is my only concern, but I will wait to judge any further until I see the update in action.....

[AveryChu]

Hopefully the other changes will offset the HP one.