After many months, we're finally ready to release our biggest update to date; Divergence Online "Zero Four Zero". Originally slated as version 0.5.0, we decided to go ahead and release a series of individual patches incrementally adding all of "the big new content" into the game bit-by-bit, to address any and all new bugs as they arrive.
Therefore we're beginning the process with version 0.4.0 herein referred to as "Zero Four Zero" for your viewing pleasure.
And so, without further ado; All the new sex!
PVE Arrives on Rook!
Our most-desired feature by a large margin has always been the prevalent outcry of "what could be if", coming to us in the form of, "Man, if this game only had some PVE!".
Taking place on an alien moon teeming with life, it's always been our goal to bring living, fighting creatures to the world's surface. As with anything though, when making an genuine MMORPG with just two people, things take time. Add onto that our policy of doing things the right way instead of the quick/cheap way, and yeah.
Lifeforms of Rook run a huge gambit of sizes and demeanors; From the meek scavenger creatures, to huge "Raid-Boss Encounter"-style desert dragons. PVE'ing in Divergence can be as small as hunting wild game, running for your life from predators, or even taking on legendary creatures requiring a dozen or more players to take down, such as our new world raid boss encounter.
Creature Harvesting
Players trained in Scout and (it's advanced version) Ranger can harvest raw materials from dead creatures in the form of Meat, Hide, or Bone. Each material serves different purposes, such as meat being used for pharmaceuticals and food, bone being fashioned into weapons and hide being a primary component in rustic clothing. The size and complexity of the creature Scouts and Rangers can harvest from is determined by their creature harvesting skill modifier, improved through unlocking skill boxes in both Scout and Ranger, as is the quantity of resources you get from a creature.
Cybernetics Profession
Finally, synthetic players can craft bodies for themselves more powerful than those little punk bitch android chassis! We've "almost completely" got our shit together with synthetics crafting and will be releasing the ability to craft and repair both the Markhaus Mk.4 Combat Synthetic chassis, as well as both Military-Synthetic chassis for players to craft through our new, and even more advanced than the original, crafting system.
Wood Harvesting / Choppable Trees!
You asked for it. We listened. Divergence now has both choppable trees, and the ability to craft a multitude of new items with gathered wood. Not only have we added tree chopping, but we've pushed it even further than any other survival-style game of today;
1. Virtually every single tree in the entire game world is now it's own entity and able to be chopped down.
2. Not only are trees choppable, but every species of tree additionally yields both different types of wood and in different quantities based on its size!
3. Each species of tree yields wood with unique stats and "toughness", allowing you to seek out and collect the strongest woods available for your structures. Bir wood might be good in a pinch to build a wall, but if you want a nearly-indestructible wooden fortress, build with Malkavian pine! The stronger the wood, the rarer the species.
4. Trees fall over when chopped down (and the animation looks like shit but so what? Seriously, we're two damn people, come'on!) and remain felled for anywhere between one hour and a month depending on the rarity of their species.
All New Armors + Resistances
With the introduction of the Armorsmithing profession through our staged release, we'll finally be adding the crafting of true armor into the game with resistances to common damage types based on the armor itself, the skill of the crafter and the quality of components they put into their work. The accessible armors (in addition to the existing DC armor) will be:
VRTek Spec-Ops
VRTek Reconnaisance Suit
Omicron Light Field Armor
Omicron "Infinity" Armor
New Vindicator Tier-2 "VK Mark 2" Suit for Vindicator Players
For too long have our veli players been afraid to log in out of fear of losing their ass due to being stuck with the Tier-1 Suit. Through our staged release, we'll be adding the Tier-2 Vindicator suit as a craftable schematic but come prepared, because the components are rare and (as with their ThetaBlade Weapons) will required some incredibly dangerously-acquired components. The New Tier-2 Suit increases the combat effectiveness of Vindicator players by at least 25% over the Tier-1 suit.
New Vindicator and Verrator Theta-Blade
Finally our Veli (and humanoid psychic) players will have a chance to craft their very first ThetaBlade, complete with a multidimensional omnispace microreciprocative blade called forth to the hilt the moment the weapon is activated. These weapons epitomize lethality in the hands of a Veli warrior and require sophisticated materials to assemble guarded by the deadliest creatures to inhabit Rook.
Sim-Zone "Survival" Region
We've had a lot of players pull us aside and tell us what a disservice we're doing the world not adding "survival"-style features into our game, especially considering the MMO climate of today. Seeing as SWG wasn't Survival, it wasn't something we imagined people would want, but you asked for it, so we decided that it would indeed be a part of Divergence: Online
Being a part of a community of survivors on an alien world, your character him, her, or itself need entertainment as much as regular jackoffs, so ATC Drones have begun construction of Rooks own "ongoing reality show" called "The Simzone".
"The Simzone" is a region set aside on Rook's surface where ATC drones create settings, fabricated out of ferrocrete, reminiscent of early 21st-century urban environments on Earth in a state of abandonment; A sort of "ongoing Kill-House" if you will, where both native and non-native inhabitants of Rook can enter-into and compete for scavenging swag whenever they like. Since all structures and items within the Simzone are fabricated out of ferrocrete, ATC drones can construct not just buildings and static objects, but even fully-functional weapons and devices, randomly (and occasionally non-randomly) scattered about the landscape as unique weapons and items found during that time in Earth's history, such as automobiles, assault rifles and weapons.
Keep in mind though that life doesn't like to be shut-out, especially in it's own backyard, so while you may encounter hostile entities roaming these wastelands in the form of humanoids infected with the Verrator virus, Rook's native wildlife will also find their way into the zone, lurking in the shadows and awaiting a chance to pounce on you while you reach for that can of creamed corn.
Both Hunger and Thirst will also be new features in Divergence, done in a way that rewards hunters and survivalists, yet doesn't punish crafters of those who simply do not wish to partake.
Vast Streaming and Loading Improvements
Several-minute loading screens are officially a thing of the past in Divergence thanks to a completely redesigned planetary synchonization system that now streams all data to your game client in a compressed state. What was once a minute-long wait time to get to the login screen from game-launch has been squashed to "so fast it basically doesn't even show our disclaimed screen anymore".
All this and more coming over the next couple weeks. While we're still far from ready, and in fact only just under halfway there, with your continued support we know we can take this game to launch. Stay tuned for more in-depth info about these and upcoming near-release features in the days to come.
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