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Hello again Maplers!


Eurydice here

One of the things that make massively multiplayer online games so great to work on is that theyre never done. Theres always another feature, another zone, a new class, or a new system to work on. MapleStory is one of the best games in that regard. The MapleStory you play today isnt even close to the game that launched six years ago. In just the past three years that Ive been working on it, the game has acquired updates aplenty, including new zones, new quests, new stories, an unbelievable number of new classes, and, of course, a complete revamp last winter called the Big Bang.


Whats more, the pace of change is only accelerating. Von Leon and the March update added tons of new content and weve got an update coming this summerwhich all you Maplers have a chance to name! Interestingly, as I mentioned in a previous dev blog, one of our goals this year was to patch less, plan more, and put out larger content updates. This month is where that decision has begun to pay off. Since we already have the summer content locked down, this is a great time to take a long look at where MapleStory is now and where it might be going.


Global MapleStory Today


People frequently ask me, How is MapleStory doing? This is always a hard question to answer. MapleStory is a lot of things: a game, a community, a business, just to name a few. We have to consider each of these elements separately in order to assess where MapleStory is now, and think about how each impacts the other when we think about where it could go in the future.


Here are some of the different factors:


Content

Two years ago we launched an aggressive campaign to shorten the amount of time it takes to bring content released in Korean MapleStory to Global MapleStory. When we first launched Global MapleStory, it took nine to 12 months to bring over Korean MapleStory content. The result of that was that there were several pieces of content from the Korean version of the game that couldnt make it into Global MapleStory. As we improved our process, weve cut that time down to three to six months. The result is we are much closer today to being even with Korean MapleStory than we could have imagined back when we started.

Were very happy that the time gap has shrunk because we want our players to have access to as much content as possible, as soon as possible. However, because weve been working on bringing you Korean MapleStory content, weve been unable to focus as much on Global exclusive content. The plans we had for new content have been put on hold or in some cases given to the Korean MapleStory team to develop first. After the summer update, one of our goals will be to work on achieving a better balance between releasing Korean MapleStory content quickly and developing exclusive Global content.


Community

As MapleStory has grown, so has the community. We have some great fan sites, an active forum, and we are closing in on half a million fans on our Facebook page. In the past year, weve worked on enhancing our communications with the community through more events, better messaging (like this dev blog!), and finding more ways for the community to interact with us and the game.


Stability

Were doing much better on game and server stability today than we were in the past. Game downtime is lower than ever and the amount of bugs reported in the live game is down. While we understand it can be frustrating to wait while we resolve issues as they arise, adding the ability to make minor updates to the client files without versioning up has given us a lot more flexibility to fix problems, resulting in less overall down time.


Of course, you cant talk about stability without talking about hacking and botting. The truth about that situation is that while were doing much better today than a year ago, were still not where we need to be. Weve done well combating hacks that damage the stability of our servers, but weve noticed a rise in hacking to harass other players and disrupt game play. We are actively working on new tactics to block this type of hacking as well as developing tools that will allow us to restore players that are damaged by it.


Global MapleStory in the Future


So where does Global MapleStory go from here?


After the introduction of PvP and a true crafting system this summer, MapleStory will be one of the most full-featured MMOs out there. One of the ideas were currently kicking around is adding some classic RPG systems. Wed also like to do more limited-time content like the Visitors, revamp some of our systems like Weddings, and run a lot more events.


Our aspirations arent confined to in-game updates, though. We want to expand the reach of MapleStory as far as possible. One of the ways were doing that is the new MapleStory Adventures game for Facebook, which will be launching soon. Weve got some more MapleStory-inspired mobile games on the way as well. Our plans for the next year include forging connections between the classic MapleStory game and these new incarnations.


Theres also work to be done in improving stability, adding new convenience features, and expanding Global exclusive content. There are a lot of possibilities and were considering all of them. Wed love to hear what youd like to see next, too! Comment in the forums or drop us a suggestion ticket through the website. Next week Ill be travelling to Korea to talk with the other MapleStory developers about future plans. I have a feeling Ill come back with lots of exciting news for you!


Until next time Maplers,

Eurydice
The MapleStory Team

Quote:the amount of bugs reported in the live game is down

Mike Wrote:I honestly can't wait for the crafting system.

Dusk Wrote:prepare for disappoint

It was pretty rushed and the whole thing feels pretty minimal considering what was possible with Maker.

Phoenix Wright Wrote:I'm racking my brain trying to figure out if this is a true statement or not..

Locked Wrote:I love how Eurydice is the only guy at Nexon that has near-perfect grammar and spelling.

Quote:Weve done well combating hacks that damage the stability of our servers, but weve noticed a rise in hacking to harass other players and disrupt game play. We are actively working on new tactics to block this type of hacking as well as developing tools that will allow us to restore players that are damaged by it.

Satellite Wrote:>Game down time lower than ever, less bugs, less hacking

Cool story Nexon. Lets stay in reality though.

Recent Bugs:
DRPQ still glitched
Papulatus still glitched
Bowman based jobs couldnt be made
Weird disconnects
When the game dc.s, whole client freezes
Etc.

Recent hacks:
IRM
Vac hacking
Alliance hack
Etc.

Satellite Wrote:>Game down time lower than ever, less bugs, less hacking

Cool story Nexon. Lets stay in reality though.

Recent Bugs:
DRPQ still glitched-Works fine for me
Papulatus still glitched-This is a new glitch that came out dont act as if pap been glitched forever. We have LHC now if you want to train.
Bowman based jobs couldnt be made-got fix
Weird disconnects-[B]Maple always had this why is this new? You will always dc from maple![/B]
When the game dc.s, whole client freezes-Before when you dc and go back to the login screen you would get "this char is still login" when you wait a minute and try to login again you get dc from the login server and maple closed. Its more convenient imo when you dc the whole game closes now.
Etc.

Recent hacks:
IRM-Havent seen any since patch
Vac hacking-Has been around since maple began why is this new?
Alliance hack-Compared to guild hack in the past this was mild
Etc.