Spiral Knights - Battle Sprites and other updates

Battle Sprites and other updates

328 replies [Last post]

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 23:00

#201

Likal

About the level-up bonuses

So Nick, about the various bonuses and boons from level-up that you mentioned, how controllable are the factors that decide which stuff your pets get? Will we be able to delevel our sprites to try for a different bonus? (I just foresee whining in the future if the bonuses are random and unchangable.)

Also, thanks for comin' in and addressing player questions. ^_^

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 00:33

#202

Speetz

Why I think this is great.

Many games now (Arcane Legends, bigger MMORPGs) use pets, AL in a very similar manner, yet this seems to be a MUCH more complex system. It sounds great to me!

1. It adds more depth and balancing, possibilities to make up for "clones" or at least allow other styles and suits for PvP. Even if they are PvE only, same thing; more variables allow more creativity. Don't have enough X resist or X def? Use your X pet!

2. CE/crown sink, and another time sink. All of those are good for everybody, including OOO.

3. Something that's not insanely expensive and such and isn't like accessories, which i always feel like I am wasting CR or CE if I were to spend them on (I still don't understand people who put so much RL $$$ into the game to have the UV's and more-so accessories they have unless it's their parents credit card or they are disabled or t home all the time for whatever reason and just enjoy it) This is something that is directly influencing gameplay! YAY!

4. If you aren't happy because now you need to spend more cash/CR/CE, then I would question how much you like this game. I am looking forward to it, as accessories, while neat, are either out of my self-determined price range, or IMO aren't in line with the game and it's art style or story (cat tails... really...?) though I know people love them. I like wings, even though those are just goofy, dragon being even cooler looking. UO did this and many did not like it (as anyone who remembers the Asian expansion; they should have limited the Tokuno dyes to certain armors at the least)

I wanna fight some kind of dragon! The wings thing made me throw this in randomly; at least the lore would make a little more sense... more than SEGA being a maker of accessories in the game world...

Anyway, those are my basic reasons I like this idea and think it will renew my interest in playing more than a couple times a week. Some new missions, monsters and gear, (especially for unfinished lines) will/would too, but this is great! I haven't even read every detail by any means, but have many more personal and some more universal reasons I think this is a positive addition.

Hell, I LOVE Pokemon, so even if it's alramingly like that, cool: Awesome + awesome = uber awesome in my book. :P

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 01:40

#203

Lux-Aurumque

Speculation is Good For Business

Here are my personal thoughts on this fantastic new development:

PREDICTIONS

The first sprite will be free, and any additional sprites will cost a decent sum of currency, but you may have as many of any kind of sprite as you like.
There will be a "sprite slot" open in your equipment for you to toss your sprite into. 1 equipped at a time.
The majority of knights are going to choose the Drakon.
Evolving, powering up, and selecting unique traits for your sprites will cost energy and materials.
The sprites will be allowed in Lockdown.
Sprite items are going to be on the featured auction listing within the week of the release.
The sprites will be released in June.

HOPES

The three sprite actions can be keybound and directed at a particular enemy/knight without being too difficult to use.
The CE price will drop like a stone when the sprites are released.
The sprites will appear next to a knight in Haven.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Seeing videos featuring overpowered knights completing Vanaduke in less than 50 seconds with sprites.
Experimenting with the hopefully broad variety of sprite powers and abilities in many different levels.
Teaching other knights what I've learned about the three different kinds of sprites and learning new techniques.
Having a new goal to pursue in Spiral Knights.

The level difficulty will not be changing anytime soon in terms of how monsters attack. Instead, these sprites will change the way many knights play the game, and in quite a significant way. I feel that this change is one of the few recent releases really worth paying attention to, because it opens a realm of possibilities that the Guildhall expansion and Mission system didn't quite cover. Instead of focusing on what knights do with their appearance and guildhall, Three Rings is changing the gameplay we've gotten so used to, and that's pretty huge.

I haven't tried out the sprites yet in levels. No one has. But I can guarantee, I'll be one of the first knights out there with my little sprite Ticky, showing him how to munch on a Miracloth and leading him through the clockworks, unlocking his potential as we go.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 01:49

#204

Aesn

Lol...

Teeheehee...
My plans until the update...
Part one:
Vans run galore...
800ish k

Part two:
More vana runs...

Part three:
Lots of cr-beast sprite :D

Sword

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 03:28

#205

Merethif

@Lady-Clockwise "There will

@Lady-Clockwise
"There will be a "sprite slot" open in your equipment for you to toss your sprite into. 1 equipped at a time."

I suppose that slot will be opened temporary (like Trinket Slot Upgrade or Weapon Slot Upgrade ). Player probably gets one Sprite Upgrade Slot after those Sprite missions (or not). When it expires she/he will have to purchase another one. I expect prize would be approximately 350 energy.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 04:33

#206

Batca

i got some questions too.i heard so many times what drakon can do.
1.what can the maskeraith do?!
2.what can that sort of cat do?!

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 04:50

#207

Merethif

@Batca, As far as we know,

@Batca,
As far as we know, Seraphynx (sort of cat) defends party. We can only guess how exactly it work, but I suppose it's similar to Guardian Shield aura.
Maskeraith uses its toxic powers to debilitate enemies. I guess it works similar to Recon's Disruption Field and apply Death Mark on any monsters within range.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 08:25

#208

Gkku

@Merethif:

"I suppose that slot will be opened temporary"

Nick on sprite slots earlier in the thread:
"Sprites will be equipped similarly to how other equip-able items are implemented. Once you complete the rank missions dedicated to introducing them, you will be able to equip one."

On another note, I don't understand why people think this is gonna be a CE sink.
CE isn't even mentioned in the post. So far, it's at most a material sink.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 09:16

#209

Guardian-Ceal

WELP

I'll prolly get a Maskeraith since (As Nick Said earlier in this thread) He'll be the one to most likely get Piercing/Shadow, since I have no need for Elemental, but quite a need for Piercing (No guns that deal Piercing let you move at the same time @_@) plus his ability seems useful.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 10:47

#210

Sentinel-Signal

....As an afterthought-

I was just thinking that it would make sense if there was some sort of expansion mission thing like the Crimson Hammer Operation to get exclusive sprites. I also have a few questions and ideas...

1. I know that we control when our sprites attack via a key linked w/ the move, but is this spam-able? There must be a rate of which we can use the moves(like a cool-down, etc.)
2. What happens when our knight dies? Will our battle sprite temporarily disappear or can we still command them after death(im assuming they will just temporarily disappear)?
3. Maybe we could use boss tokens to exchange for pets? That would be cool, but I understand if we have to use a lot of tokens for them xD
4. Maybe have events that include special mission-earned tokens also hold vendors for special pets(of course, the pets should be very expensive in tokens)?
5. Do we level up these sprites by the heat system or another system altogether(besides feeding them mats. and such to evolve, etc.)?
I'm looking forward to:
1. Having a new objective in SK
2. Watching a teaser/trailer/spoiler before it's released, lol. I really want to see these guys in action xD

By the way: Thanks for adding battle sprites to Spiral Knights! They're a really nice touch plus they give it a nice additional (MMO)RPG feel!

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 12:03

#211

Mzculet

Make the ce Price rise.

Make the ce Price rise.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 13:30

#212

Heavy-Duty

...

Suggestions attackers say no.
Admins say yes.

I guess I'm late, but might as well join the party!

If I choose Drakon, his name will be Rash!
If I choose Seraphinx, her name will be Joy!
If I choose Maskeraith, its name will be Spite!
:D

I actually am thinking of getting either Maskeraith (Mask and Wraith) or Seraphinx (Seraphim and Sphinx) over Drakon (Drake and Dragon).
Mixture of words for names, getting starters in a laboratory, collecting them all...

Maskeraith looks like a goat. Seraphinx looks like Mew. Drakon... is a gun puppy with wings.

Just a few thoughts. :D

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 13:38

#213

Eltia

Cooperstown, ND

First three (basic) BS should be F2P.

Then OOO can release P2P exclusive Sprites that either bundled with bigger energy package (like Guardian Packs) or make another DLC with a Boss. You have to defeat the Boss to rescue the new BS.

Sounds like a good plan (from OOO's perspective) and better than reselling recolored accessories or costumes. I'm more inclined to bundle new Sprites, new Boss and and elevator pass in a DLC. By diversifying contents that people can buy in a package, the promotion will appeal to a broader base of customers (include people who have over 90 thousands CE) and people will find their money are better spent.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 14:04

#214

Softhead

Could you trade them?

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 14:28

#215

Merethif

@Gkku, But that doesn't mean

@Gkku,
But that doesn't mean that slot will be permanent. I think "other equip-able items" may as well refer to Trinkets and Modules. And I know you get one Sprite as a mission rewards, but likewise you gain various Trinkets as a mission rewards, but that doesn't mean you don't need a slot upgrade to equip them. Of course I may be totally wrong, these are just my assumptions.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 16:10

#216

Gesalt

There needs to be a reliable

There needs to be a reliable chance that they [or, at the very least, the items they equip] drop in Arcade dungeons. It would be a nice addition; for a dungeon crawler, there's not enough useful random item drops that aren't "lottery rare" for its namesake.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 16:22

#217

Sentinel-Zx

My thoughts

How I think of Battle Sprites is mostly good than bad.

Pros:
Help in combat against the clockworks creepy creatures.
Nice little pet to have
Party buff/monster debuff
Something else to pay attention to instead of weapons and armors
Attack by pressing a key so they don't automatically attack and steal you kills

Cons:
Could become an issue in lockdown like pulsar spamming and auto aim (possible chance)
You are losing materials to them unless you don't care about your materials

I could never hate a battle sprite unless it kills me. I'm happy of hearing that there are more of these things comming out later on.

Sun, 01/13/2013 - 22:16

#218

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

I have a sprite idea!

What? You want to know what it is? I can't say! I've not even started the suggestions thread!

Okay, it's called the Twisturbine. That's all I'm saying. Crosses arms.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 07:44

#219

Drestroy

Maskeraith

Maskeraith is my choice...but i think its a bad idea that you have to press a key instead of the pet attacking by its self. And will the sprites match your knights personal color or will they be... 1. Choosable. 2. Or keep the same colors as in the preview. Thanks.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 09:00

#220

Eltia

Cooperstown, ND

An auto combat option would be nice for some routine abilities. e.g. recovery, status attacks.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 09:51

#221

Drestroy

Yeah

Yeah and another thing is what happens if you dont feed your sprite mats? Nick said your sprite will never leave your side unless you want him to.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 10:26

#222

Merethif

@Drestroy

Nick said:
"Players can feed materials to the Sprites for faster leveling and control the abilities they develop."

That means that without feeding Sprite will be levelling in regular pace.
Also by feeding different materials you will most likely be able to influence "ability path". Probably without feeding, Sprite will develop abilities from their default path.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 10:48

#223

Eltia

Cooperstown, ND

I'm guessing you can "upgrade" your BS using mats (and could involve CR and CE in the process). In another words, you upgrade your BS like a weapon. Or you can just heat it (time to save up on those heat amplifier).

Let's also not discard the possibility that some abilities can only be unlocked using certain mats. e.g. Seerus mask fragments.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 11:05

#224

Fehzor

Why yes, I will be creating sprites fed nothing but shadow lair, guild hall boss, and seerus materials.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 11:18

#225

Alpha-Stevo

@Fehzor

A premium diet! Can't say my seraphynx would be getting the same.

All it'll be able to eat are chunks of driftwood and scrap metal. A diet that's high on iron and carbon, perfect for defenses(but bad in taste)!

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 05:47

#226

Samobscmed

sprites..

yes we will all get starter sprits but what about other sprits that come after? they will probably be powerfull. I hope there wont be some expasion mission... Hate the thing with hammer only one who pays money can get it and thats lame :(

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 13:39

#227

Ghost-Of-Manlet

Gotta catch all 151 Pokemons.

Will it be possible to have all 3 Starter Pokemon or is each player only allowed 1 of the 3 Starters?

Soz in advance if this has already been asked/answered.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 15:47

#228

Eltia

Cooperstown, ND

Nick said somewhere along the line of you can get one BS after completing the related rank missions. Then there will be other ways to get more.

My guess? You get one free BS and then you can buy the other two at the Garrison Lab.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 17:46

#229

Gkku

@Manlette:

I think only one.

As nick said on the first page;
"You will ultimately be able to own and raise more than one sprite, though your first selection is an important one".

Judging by that, I'd assume he's saying there will obviously be more sprites added down the road, but perhaps until then the only battle sprite you can get will be your first.

If you could get them all, it wouldn't be as interesting anymore. It turns a thought-provoking question ("Which starter do you think best compliments your play style?") into something that would easily take seconds to answer ("Which starters can you live without for now?").

EDIT: Welp, suppose I'm wrong. I at least hope it isn't derpishly easy to get all 3.

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 15:56

#230

Mzculet

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 16:46

#231

Ouragonos

Ranks point and pets ?

Is rank points will influe on something like number of pets or it's still useless ?

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 16:59

#232

Sentinel-Zx

Weird

Just noticed the three starter sprites are similar to the first ever 3 starter pokemons. Drakon(red fire reptile)-> charmander, seraphynx(blue thingy)-> squirtle, and maskeraith(green poison)-> bulbasaur. Bet it has nothing to do with pokemon.

Wonder if I keep feeding a drakon celestial ore?

Holy Dragon of the Heavens!!! Fire light beam!

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 17:03

#233

Nick

Developer

Regardless of which of the

Regardless of which of the starter sprites you choose to keep in the rank mission, there will be some means of acquiring the others.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 17:15

#234

Generic-Bush

Nick, Give bushes pipes for valentines day, Show us some love ._.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 22:34

#235

Mzculet

Bad bush!

Smoking is bad for for lungs! And also burns bushes....

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 05:45

#236

Samobscmed

-.-

what means Nick? paying $ for expasion?

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 09:28

#237

Zaderules

With battle sprites coming along, I am assuming the work on the Core will come soon too. I HOPE battle sprites will help us in our upcoming battle in the Core against.... someone.... or something....

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 12:31

#238

Goldeneman

@Nick

As we know we have to do a mission to get the battle sprites. But I have this question. Will you have to pay to unlock the mission?

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 13:27

#239

Aumir

@Goldeneman + My own questions

It was stated already that those missions will be of the "rank" category - and so "obligated" to do. What I wonder about is... they won't give rank experience, I suppose? It is likely easy to fit somewhere in there.

My question about this matter is... no, are two:

1 - Will we be able to see the full branching paths a pet can have when released, so we don't have to experiment to inform the community ourselves, be it ingame or elsewhere? It would make sense for the Lab to have that info for us.

2 - Will we be able to reset a pet back to its initial state somehow, or reduce its "rank"? Of course, it may need some CE or an item that costs that most likely, but I dunno... after all it is in the Lab, so it could be done, I suppose...? May the free alternative be feed the pet with different materials...?

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 14:00

#240

Xenonguard

Phoenix's Nightmare (Cocktail)

Want to make your Drakon grow up healthy? Why not feed it the all new Phoenix's Nightmare cocktail!

1. Fill a hollowed out Grim Totem with 2 magnums of Volt Oil

2.Squeeze out the juice of 4 Forbidden Fruit, but do not let the seeds into the cocktail as they are extremely poisonous.

3. Release a flame soul into the container.

4. Add 4 bars worth of liquified shadow steel and 1 Unstable Core.

5. Finish off with a pinch of Gremlonium. Serve shaken, not stirred.

[WARNING]Do not let your pet Drakon drink more than one Totem's worth a day, else it will spontaneously combust.

Tue, 01/15/2013 - 14:26

#241

Fehzor

You know what'd be awesome? A guild hatchery of some sort.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 03:13

#242

Xxpapaya

The papaya giggles

@Fehzor
That would be nice (^.^) (I could steal everyone's Sprite Eggs >:D)

@Unstable-Ordinance
Yeah...............I'm not gonna let him drink any at all XD

@Samobscmed
Hopefully not >.>

@Night-Rove, Generic-Bush
Well, Nick doesn't have lungs (^.^) (not meant offensively, but seerusly, Jelly Cubes don't have lungs............)
As for bushes............yeah!Save the bushes!!! Papayas grow on them!(no they don't :P Strawberries do)

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 10:49

#243

Ianeira

paying $ for expasion?

Samobscmed: what means Nick? paying $ for expasion?
Xxpapaya: @Samobscmed
Hopefully not >.>

As long as Nick won't deny it we just have to assume that pure P2P content will appear along the way. If paying players are not opposed to gaining a significant advantage over F2P just by spending more money, OOO will have no reason not to exploit this mentality. In all likelihood we will see more content, functionality and promotions not available to everyone.

On the other hand, if empty promises ever become a viable currency, every F2P player will be able to swim in expansion missions and premium battle sprites.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 10:19

#244

Eltia

Cooperstown, ND

Regarding the path branching paths of BS' skills. I think ultimately it would still be for the community to find out, publish results while OOO does tweaking in the background. What OOO can make money out of this opportunity, is to give people early access to BS on test server. This way people can make all the mistakes on test server.

There is no reason why BS' skills can't be reset. You end up feeding more mats / CE / CR to it after reset. Why not?

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 15:09

#245

Reginaldkirby

Two questions

Will it be possible for special crossover pets form other SEGA IPs to appear in the future? Not just sonic games but others like Skies of Arcadia or Phantasy Star. (Personally I'd like to see a looper pet.)

Also you mentioned that pets will have up to three skills. Will it be possible for a pet to have 3 active (key pressed) skills? Using a controller, I don't have 3 more available buttons, and i don't want to accidentally create a pet with a skill i couldn't map to it.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 15:27

#246

Pwigy

Useful Questions

I have tons of questions about these amazing new pets :D

- If there are new sprites in the future are they going to be obtained through missions or buying through CE or even Finding rare ones in clockworks

- Can you have two pets fighting at once or only one at a time?

- Will they have something like unique varients that gives extra speed or damage?

- Will you be able to go AFK and allow your pet to defend you or do you have to be there commanding it?

- Will you be able to breed your sprites to get special abilities or something?

- Finally, will pets be able to wear armor or get extra equipment?

Please answer these questions thanks ;)

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 17:54

#247

Neonlighter

Do they last forever?

I was wandering whether they will be like slots that only last for 30days, which in the end would we require CE/CR to buy them again?

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 18:00

#248

Luguiru

After a (stupidly long) while I have compiled a few questions about these Spiralmon/pets/"Battle Sprites" that will probably not be answered for the next couple months because they involve very specific mechanic information:

Do the Spiramon have their own health, meaning they can be defeated in combat, or are they only separate from the knight in having their own abilities? If the latter, why not skip having pets completely and put the effects on equipment when what we have equipped defines what our knights can do already?

Do the Spiralmon abilities have any sort of drawbacks, cooldowns, or risks? For example, if I have the PikaMew/glowy-cat-thing and use a team defense ability, would there be a penalty applied once it wears off or could I spam that defense ability thus making defense based equipment pointless to invest in, which inevitably means combat is no longer about having special equipment setups and instead becomes who has the best pet for whatever situation since we can obtain more than one pet?

If the Spiralmon have their own health and defense as our knights do, meaning they can be defeated in combat, how would we revive them? Same as the knight revival system? Or would there be a completely different system, like a cooldown before the defeated pet can be returned to use or feeding it to restore health?

How would the pets aim with their attacks? Would they fight as a secondary weapon, meaning while swinging a sword or firing a gun or charging a bomb you can use their attacks at the same time?

Can pets move independently of their owner?

Will people be able to play as their pet instead of their knight?

Will people be able to use their pets in a new kind of PvP where they fight with their pets instead of their knights?

Is the leveling system based on the same system we have for equipment, heat?

When you said each pet "has a total of three skills they will ultimately know if they reach max level", does that mean each pet can only know three abilities at a time but can choose different ones, or each pet only has three abilities it can ever know and ranking different ones changes the end result?

There will probably be more added in later. Like tomorrow. Because I want to know more about Spiralmon.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 18:39

#249

Byas

Spiramon actually sounds better than Battle Sprites, you guys should think about adopting it. It would also end the problems with the BS abbreviation. :P

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 21:18

#250

Hawxindanite

Jist wondering

Will there be a new slot for the sprite or we use the trinket slot?

Also if there will be a new slot will it have to bought like the trink slot?

And will battle sprites appear in haven?

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Battle Sprites and other updates