Oddities and KingsIsle's Surprise (Day 2 of Pet Test Realm)

Get ready for a barrage of interesting things I've noticed:

Check this out, pets have the ability to give more than one card, and in my Meowiarty's Krokotillian's case, a very useful one (not sure if this is the same for everyone; depends on the pedigree):

Notice the similarities?  Hint:  These pets were bought with Crowns...

It's somewhat of an Easter Egg by KingsIsle.  Here's what I found from Jacqueline from Wizard101Central: 

Now, time for me to share some more technical discoveries.  You may have noticed the slight nerfs on our pets, especially on the Level 48 ones which used to give us 5% Power Pips but have now been reduced to 4%.  Whether or not KingsIsle truly intends to do this to the Live Realm, I don't know, but I believe we are not at a total loss or disadvantage!  Wait, don't mob rush me just yet...like my Professor says, "Patience..."

This may not have been noticed yesterday due to some bug that was displaying the incorrect boost percentages, but that has been fixed in the recent patch.  Yesterday, my Ice Colossus had an innate +6% Ice Resistance.  I used all my Pet Mana on the dancing game to increase the only Stat it had not maxed out on: Agility.  Agility affects Accuracy, Resist, and Health boosts that pets give.  Look at what happened to his Ice Resist after training him:

How are you sure it's Agility training that affected Jack's resist, and not all that racing you did in the Derby? 

Here's the evidence:

Now for the result:

Let's sit back and think for a bit.  If we could raise 2% Ice Resist by training the Stats that affect Jack's Talent, how much could we raise the fella's resist below?

Going by the logic above, that means Cali (the 7-11 Guardian Dragon of the Heroes Set)  may have the potential of excelling above and beyond the original Gift Card Pet counterpart!!!

And he's got plenty of Agility and Strength (both affecting Resist) to go before he reaches Max.  I'll be training Cali to see what happens to all Talents and Derby skills when he increases in Rank.  If my theory is correct in that raising Rank means a universal increase in the Pet's current abilities, then we should be gaining 5% Power Pips back when our Level 48's hit Epic. However, I'm not making any promises here...

But, there is one thing that seems consistent:  The number of Talents a pet has is based on how many Ranks after Baby he/she is.  Cali is an Adult, which is two ranks after Baby, and he has two Talents.  Jack is an Ancient, and has three.  So, following that pattern, our pets should have four Talents when they hit Epic.

To conclude this post,  here is what happens when your pet is fed something they favor:

Originally, the snack was only supposed to give my Pet +1 to his Agility training, but because he "loved" it, it gave me an additional Stat boost (sadly it wasn't another Agility point, sigh...)

And Edward Icespear, I'm sorry for not remembering what he ate :(

Happy Hunting (for a mate)!

Opening Thoughts of 2010 Pets on Test Realm, Day 2

As I arise from my slumber, a choice came to mind:
What shall I do with this indeterminable time
Before this new Pet System goes to take place
And conquer the Live Realms, giving Wizard' a new face?

Shall I dive furthermore and figure out, or guess, the unknown?
Or shall I increase the number of pets on Live that I own,
Given the fact that access to these creatures
In mature form no longer will be a feature?

And hand-in-hand, the more I farm, the more I'll make;
Gold now feels so vulnerable with the amount it takes
To spawn a new being, a new family member;
Takes me back to when I first played in December.

Or will it be better to take note of Reagents,
To help train and feed the young to become Ancients?
Or become a fact'ry of some Treasure Cards
Such as Beguile, or Satyr, or even Steal Ward?

Oh, KingsIsle, what have you unleashed?
Oh...no pun intended...but we're dealing with a beast.
So many things to do, but these realms are one-way streets
Without a way to transfer accomplished Test feats.

So how exactly would time best be spent?
Oh dang, look at where all the time went!
Time to head off for work now, but I'll be back
With some oddities and other interesting facts

Debriefing of 2010 Pets on Test Realm, Day 1

Alrighty, this will be a major change in my format and presentation of my blogs, but with so much to be explored, asked, and answered, I'll just create a quick and dirty post of my contribution of information for the Wizard101 Community.
Keep in mind though, that because these answers and "guides" are based on what's found in the Test Realm, do not expect them to stay true when the updates move to the Live realms.

 Here is a picture of my very first encounter with a KingsIsle Support staff member:  Ian Emerald.  We met through an interesting situation:  one evening, a random player ran up to Kevin Ironblood (my Death toon) and started begging, asking me to gift him/her a mount.  In addition to declining their request, I explained to them that "people aren't going to give out their hard earned money for free," and "begging is a VERY poor icebreaker."  (I wish I had been on Battleblood, my Thaumaturge, when I wrote that...)  Suddenly a whisper comes onto my screen from Ian, saying "NICE!!!!"  He then mentioned something about rewarding me Crowns, but I rolled my eyes and said something to the effect of "Thanks, but I doubt you'd do that..."  He had a Hero of Unicorn Way badge on, so it was very absurd....but after he said, "Done!" and I checked my Character Page, surely enough the balance was 300 Crowns higher.  A very welcoming and friendly guy, he was patient enough to spend some chat time with me as I asked him some questions about mechanics.

So, today was my lucky day....Pet Test Realm comes out...New Arena pets are available, I was overjoyed.  As I entered the Test Realm's Pet Hatchery for the second time, I noticed the familiar toon that entered the door at the same time as me...and a brush of the words "Ian" and "Emerald."  Upon entering, I had to shout out his name, and there was our second meeting!  (you can watch this on the post below, with the Livestream video).

Ian was generous enough to spend about 40-45 minutes answering my questions here and there, and now I present to you with what I have learned:

• Pets are meant to act randomly in battle.  
• When I asked him why this wouldn't be considered a negative trait to have, especially for PVP (in which many players, including me, emphasize the importance of skill over luck), and if this randomness was more of a burden than a gift (a pet popping your Feint or class-biased Trap), his (brilliant) answer was this:  "It's similar to real life, where pets can be a hassle, like dogs barking at anyone, etc.  But we still take care of them."
• Thus, our game and playstyles in Wizard101 will not only change, but will move into a different dimension.
  
  
• You may be happy or unhappy with the changes going on, but it has all been considered as an issue of balance.
• Keep in mind, we haven't seen everything just yet.  There is Celestia to be released; imagine the frustration or joy we'll feel from those...it might offset, increase, or decrease our satisfaction towards these updates.  Also, it's only been one day of the Test Realm...there's that awesome Bug Report function at the top right of the screen, where we can submit our feedback through:

• We know KingsIsle is a great listener as a Company...heck, believe it or not, Ian had to AFK a few times to get some of my questions answered from other developers!
• If there are changes needed to be made based on a universal agreement between players, KI will get to it...but remember to keep in mind about my blog "KingsIsle's Smart Move."  There will be very rational reasons to why the Company will or will not follow our wishes.  We don't know everything they're doing, but we'll find out eventually, as always.
  
  
• UPDATED (4/30/10)
  The longer you have had your pet in your possession, whether it's on a main, an alternate, or in the (Shared) Bank, the stronger potential it will have, when updates arrive to the Live Realm.
• I checked into my two Pixie pets from Smogger, and sure enough, the one I received first has an additional innate ability (can cast a Life damage spell).  Both were actively equipped on two of my alternates.
•  The Blue Cyclops we receive from Penny, for me and David Titanrider, were still Babies.  I speculate that if we raised them to Adult, then compared them to an Adult Blue Cyclops that was obtained tomorrow, David's and mine will outdo the new one (going back to the difference between Pixies above)

Unfortunately, priorities on both our ends cut us off from there....there was a titanic amount of inquiries I had shooting off in my mind.  Inevitably, I'll be sure to investigate more with his help another time!  Thanks Ian Emerald!

Now, here's a simple visual guide I created...I don't know about anyone else, but I was extremely distracted by the debut of this Test Realm so I never really got to absorbing the textual information provided by the numerous new icons about Pet Stats and how they affect our wizards and the Derby.  Hopefully this will ease the overwhelming overload of words:

I didn't include "Power" because the description was very vague... "Some statistics"   But it increases your Morale's limit!

Happy Hunting (for a mate...)!

Livestream of Initial Step into Pet Test Realm

Streamed my adventures live for this morning...I reconnected with a KingsIsle Support staff member I met awhile ago through a funny incident, and was able to have him answer a couple of Pet mechanics questions!

Our meeting is in the Pet Hatchery, towards the end of the stream.  When I get back tonight, I'll try to extract the questions from the video into text form here so time isn't wasted on aiming for the right section.  Until then, enjoy, and Happy Mating!

Update: Click here to get a bigger view

kevinbattleblood on livestream.com. 

The Magic of Wizard101 / Pet System Analysis

It started as a single drop.  Then a small trickle.  Suddenly, the side of Hoover Dam blasted forward, raining rubble and hundreds of gallons of water.  Those caught in the blast could only stare at the massive rush of debris and foam as they are carried away.

That is just a brief description of the players' responses to Wizard101's news update today.  Zeus bless Wednesday, April 28th, 2010.

Twitter, Blogger, Wizard101Central, and surely Facebook (I haven't checked myself, but it follows that pattern) exploded with posts in relation to the released pictures and information regarding the first of this year's greatest changes to the game.  Everyone was mutually excited, and even as I write this, I am discussing with a few friends about the possibilities that will soon open up.

While sitting at work, my phone begins rumbling endlessly as Twitter and blog feeds poured in.  I pick it up and learn I've received 3...no, 4....wait, 7 new messages.  The first message, a Tweet from Heather Emeraldflame.  Something about a pet ad.  Then another from Amber Rosepetal.  I go to check my Blogger Dashboard to find out if there is any lengthier written description on this spurt of news.  Four blogs, one each from Heather, Amber, and Cassandra mentioned earlier, and one from AutumnalDusk.  My heart jumps, and I'm clicking away to read more.

I honestly have never been so excited about a game update before, even when there were constant changes to a game I used to play in league gaming.  This is the first game where I've witnessed first-hand such a magnitude of a reaction from a community as soon as something hits the public...everyone is sharing information faster and broader than Wikipedia could ever cover efficiently.  Even though I was surrounded by gray, fabric walls in my cubicle, I could imagine the hundreds...maybe thousands...of players who were experiencing joy at the same time.  I felt like everyone was standing up at some point, and we were all shouting or pumping our fists to the roof in our minds.  What an influence, KingsIsle...well done!

Now, onto some serious business!  What we see and what we may expect to come:

The video that was released along with the news confirms that the pets in-game will look like creatures we've seen before, but much smaller.  For example, there is Crusher from Marleybone, that is shown being controlled, and the Skeletal Warrior (time to free Friendly!) in the picture describing that pets can be "unleashed in your Castles and Homes."  I've included a transcript of the mini-movie below:

"Adventure awaits you in the Pet Park.  Challenge your pets against others in the new Racing Game!  Train and care for your pets.  Power them up, and they will power you up!  Combine pets, to mix and match powers...the possibilities are endless!  Grow your pet to the ultimate Wizard101 power!..."

--KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.

Here's a transcript from a commercial on YouTube that Cassandra Griffindreamer was so kind to share with me:

"Now in Wizard101 you can collect and display hundreds of pets, call them to you, or send them away...even have a dance pet party....your Castle has never been so alive.

Power up your pets in mini-games.  See them grow from Egg to powerful, ancient pets.  As your pets become more powerful, you become more powerful.  Use pets as allies in magical duels.  Their powers become your powers.

Grow your pet skills in the new race course.  Race your pets against other wizards' pets.  Watch their derby skills grow as you train them.

Now you can combine two pets to hatch MILLIONS of possibilities.  Each pet has the potential for thousands of skills that manifest as they grow.  Collect all your pets now, so you can hatch all new pets."

1. Set your pets free to roam your Castles & Lands.
2. Get your pets some exercise in the Derby.
3. Buy or craft them treats to make them happy.
4. Let them have some fun in the Mini-Games.
5. Create new pets with the magic of Hatching.
6. Watch as your pets cast their own spells in battle.

--KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.

 "Pet Park."  So there's a large hangout place for all our little companions to strut around in (and for us to follow their lead).  The idea of an "adventure" in there though...figurative speech, or are there puzzles or quests to solve?

"Racing Game."  "Grow...pet skills in the race course."     Well, kind of what I hoped not to expect...Runes of Magic already has their own derby, and there were some issues with different lag and delay affecting the true results displayed on each player's screen.  For example, someone seeing that they passed the finish line first yet ended up ranked as 2nd or 3rd is bound to quit playing after a few instances, especially if the prize for winning is decent enough to aim for.  And apparently they will become more talented the more they race or train in minigames?  So instead of PVP, people will now pour all their time into racing...

"Power them up, and they will power you up."  "Power up your pets in minigames."  "Watch as your pets cast their own spells in battle."  "...potential for thousands of skills that manifest as they grow."  Wait, hold on, what?  "THOUSANDS of skills?"  There's not even that many spells in Wizard101 combined, even including Natural Attacks like some minions and monsters have!  But, what could that mean?  Will we actually get to see a Lava Kraken attacking our enemy instead, without a Beguile?  Does it mean our existing spells will be fabricated into other classes, such as a Bone Wyvern, or a Storm Colossus?  And, will be able to control our pets?  I'm somewhat disappointed that the clips they use during the announcement for this feature was a Pixie healing a wizard.  Also, a tad worried about the Pet system...would they be implemented into PVP, and if so, how much skill will actually be involved if we cannot control our Pets?  And if we can control them, does that mean a greater disadvantage for the person going second (two spells in the same turn, without a minion)?  And these skills...will our pets add to what they know, like wizards, or will spells be replaced?  What happens to pets that were bought with Gift Cards that give spells?  Will they be lost in the mating process?

These are just a "few" of the mechanical questions in regards to what makes the game really enjoyable.  KingsIsle has done a great job thus far (as I've mentioned many times), but with so many new features at the same time, I fear that somewhere in all of this, a shark has been jumped.  I do not doubt they will once again surprise all of us in terms of how well they control a new system or expansion, but the tinkering and clanking behind the scenes seems complex.  After the Wing Mount bug, which was a serious deal for those who were guilty or "innocent" that used it, I can't imagine how many holes we'll find with this flood of functions, and the steps needed to cover every single area from Pets in battle, Pets in race, and Pets at home. 

However, I do see an update that I'm positive about, that they didn't mention directly in their ads:  different appearances of pets.  In the commercial on the official Wizard101 site, it seems like all the pets were just clones of our spells or monsters.  But, take a look at this snapshot from the YouTube video:

In the red circles, notice the three different Ninja Pigs, differently colored.  Then look at the yellow circle, where that Cyclops (with yellow skin and a beard and hair!!!).  So here's a new question:  are the Pigs different models, or are they the same and just differently colored?  But at least this screen answers the "MILLIONS" of combinations part...I mean, facial hair for a Cyclops!!  Who would have thought??

Thanks for your time!

Happy hunting!