The Chronicles of Masteria [UPDATED 7/22/08]

 NxProse Post

Ok, so let's get this party started.

So, shortly after NLC launched, we all were discussing the concept for the next area of Masteria. Many directions to choose from, along with the exact path we wanted the stories to take. Eventually, we agreed that one area would be the best starting point for the epic tale you're about to experience. You've had a fair bit of story to go along with the debut of NLC, and now we're taking it to the next level. As many of you are aware, Masteria is lightly themed around Hollywood. In this tradition, it's mainly meant by focused storylines--the overall story of Masteria, the NPC origins, the Haunted House, the iTCG extra info, etc. A lot of what's been seen over the past few months has been build-up, now you'll get some payoff.

...when you do the quests of course. All 100+ pages of them. =)

We've examined NLC, culled the feedback, and went through a fairly lengthy process to design the best possible expansion we could think of. So, we're proud to welcome you to the first expansion in the Chronicles of Masteria, Crimsonwood Keep. The symbol you're looking at up there is the official seal. This should give a few indications as well...

Of course there's more to it than meets the eye...

Let's peel back the curtain a bit more, here's one of the new NPCs:


“This is me being nice. If I were being rude, I’d greet you with something much sharper than my tongue.”



And that's all for now...


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"...we’ve received plenty of reports of a very weird…thing…out there in the forest...tough enough to stomp 160 Heros, 100 Nightlords, 80 Arch Mages, 190 Paladins, 90 Bowmasters, 110 Marksmen, 50 Shadowers...pretty much everyone we sent after it..."



- Lita Lawless
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"“You’ll have to pass a lot of tests, a lot of running and climbing ropes and jumping on posts, and then some more running! Hoof! Just thinking about all that makes me sweat!”

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"The second thing you’ll need is an ancient, mystic Shadowknight artifact called a Tao. The method for their creation has been lost to time, but we Raven Ninjas still know how to use their power." - Fiona, Raven Ninja Weaponsmith



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"I taught countless mages during my heyday—from talented ones like Rafael, master of the mind; not so talented ones, like that bunch of ruffians who thought a staff was a walking stick; and the odd, most notably LeFay, who was in touch with a kind of chaos magic..." - Ridley



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"In his last letter, Jack wrote that after weeks of wandering in circles in the haunted Phantom Forest, he’d made it to the base of Crimsonwood Mountain, and was standing in the fabled Valley of Heroes! But this last letter was dated a few months ago, and frankly, I’m beginning to get a little worried..." - John Barricade

NxProse official post

New contents of the patch:
Count down till the patch starts

GREAT NEWS!

At E3, MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh dropped by the studios of Nexon America, the makers of MapleStory, to talk about that game's success and the most recent content update.

 Click here to see the post from MMORPG.com!

Founded in 2005, Nexon America’s first launched title was the very popular MapleStory, which is recognized as the most successful Korean MMORPG to be ported to the US market. MapleStory boasts 72+ million users worldwide and in the US alone, it gained over 2 million registered users in the first year. MapleStory is a free to play game that monetizes by micro-transactions. You can buy consumables as well as cosmetic items and one of the most popular items in their item mall is a 2x XP card. Yes, some people just love that leveling treadmill!
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Nexon America is in Los Angeles, and they were kind enough to invite me to meet with them at their studio. I first met with Nexon America’s Director of Games Operations, Min Kim at the Ion Conference where he was on a panel moderated by Jason Wonacott titled: Creating a Global Marketplace for MMOGs: Can East and West Really Play Together? MapleStory is THE game that made Western game developers take a second look at a business model other than the monthly subscription. With some one on one time during E3, I was able to ask the question I’ve always wanted to ask. Why is the game called MapleStory? Both Min and Product Coordinator, Shaun Byrd had different stories.

“Back in the mists of time…” started Min, “Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far… oops, wrong story…” said Shaun. After we stopped laughing, the truth came out. Nobody really knows. The favorite reasons for the name lies between someone liking the Maple Leaf and the availability of the domain. Although Shaun assured me that in the lore, there really is a Tree of Life that is the Center of the Universe, and that the American team has put in items such as maple syrup and maple leaves.

“We just like to confuse people,” Min quipped, tongue in cheek. “We call Shaun a Product Coordinator – that’s equivalent to Producer in other game companies.”

MapleStory is targeted at the teen market, but in Taiwan it attracted the elementary market, and in the US, it resonates with the older teen crowd. Their main demographic is 17 – 18 year olds. I’ve asked Min before why MapleStory was so popular in the US when so many Korean MMOGs have failed. He often laughs and says he doesn’t know, but the more he elaborates, the more information we receive. When it was launched in 2005, there were few competing products. Then, also, they had Nexon America and a localization team. MapleStory is whimsical, fantastic and very much about Pop Culture. In America, that’s American Pop Culture.

“MapleStory was created as the ultimate avatar customization game,” said Min, “and the fact that it’s free to play really had something to do with it.” True enough, most teens have little disposable income, but plenty of time. MapleStory’s financial success can be firmly pinned on the launch of the pre-paid card in 2007. In keeping with their motto that they are a service company, MapleStory is heavy with live events, quests, content releases and special events are created around special days such as Valentine’s day, Halloween, Saint Patrick’s day, 4th of July and the like. For the launch of the pre-paid card, there were two in-game quests that showed players where the cards were available. Seven Elevens and Target department stores were created for those quests.

Shaun was pleased to tell me more about the content release scheduled for early August. The latest Masteria expansion was specifically created by the American Team for the US market. In it, players will find icons of American Pop Culture such as Bigfoot and a Trading Card Game and they all have been “MapleStory-sized.” That is to say, they all maintain the cute, pixel art look and feel of MapleStory characters. There are three new areas that will be available to play in:

Phantom Forest is a 45+ level area which is haunted. There, players will find a Haunted House, Headless Horsemen and Elder Wraiths among other monsters, and may encounter the boss, Big Foot. Shaun described the forest as a “Forest of Illusion like Super Mario world.”

Phantom Forest leads to Crimsonwood Mountains that is a 70+ level area. The first area you must navigate is the Valley of Heroes where huge living pillars of stone known as Menhirs roam. These critters cannot be killed and players must use their timing and jumping skills in true platformer style to get through them. Players will encounter six new enemy types here, and find a number of caves which are actually solo-able dungeons. Finally, they encounter level 120 Guardians which guard the way to the next area.

Crimsonwood Keep is the ruins of what was once a great thriving Keep where the finest Masterian heroes trained and learned their trade. Another level 70+ area and a massive map.

In total, there are 31 new maps, 11 new enemies and new weapons – many which will be player created, and 12 epic quests, each with many steps and mini goals.

“We developed this here, for the US Market,” said Shaun “and the global MapleStory locations may choose to pick it up or not, since every location crates content for their specific market.”

One successful feature created in the US was the Wedding system. It proved so popular that globally, many countries have picked it up, then tweaked and localized it for their market. The upcoming patch is the first major content release that is entirely created by the US team and they are justifiably pleased and excited.

Finally, something that many players will probably appreciate, MapleStory’s “Naughty Word Filter” is being revised to be smarter so that entire words will not be “blipped” out just because they contain several letters which may be a “naughty word.” Can almost 6 million users (in the US) be wrong? It’s fun, it’s a grind, it’s a cutesy 2-D side scroller with a very distinctive art direction and it’s free to play.

Here's the full screen:


All the information of CK is on the above post.I'll list them:

Phantom Forest
-Is a level 45+++ Area
-Where Headless Horsemen and Elder Wraiths spawns
-There's other monsters there...not just the Wraiths
-There's a boss called Big Foot

Crimsonwood Mountains
-Is a level 70+++ Area.
-There's a few areas in Crimsonwood.Starting from Valley of Heroes.
-There's a jump quest there(Valley of Heroes)
-Players will encounter 6 new enemies on Valley of Heroes
-There's level 120 Guardians,which guard the way to the next area.(Valley of Heroes)
-There are a total of:
-31 Maps
-11 new enemies
-There's a new weapons,which MANY will be player created.
-There's a total of 12 quests,with many steps
-Solo-able dungeons.

Click here if you wanna see the post in MMORPG.com

Yes, there is a patch on the 30th. We've run out of possible cash shop items according to NXWatch

30th July is on next Wednesday.
Looking the latest patches,you can see :

Version:0.58
Date: 9/7/2008(Wednesday...)

Version:0.53
Date: 2/4/2008(Wednesday...)

Version:0.52
Date: 19/3/2008(Wednesday...)

So,i hope the patch will be on next Wednesday @.@

Ten Ton Hamster Information about the patch:

Around August 5th, Maple Story plans on having a huge patch to the game. They are adding all new content which will continue the story of the continent of Masteria and New Leaf City. There will be new quests, weapons, monsters, and much more! We got a chance to have a quick Q&A with Nexon's Product Coordinator Sheloman Byrd. Read below to get the scoop! (PS...don't forget to follow our link to the exclusive Screenshots they sent us as well!)
Interviewer: Padma "LadyLotus" Fuller, Editor/Site Lead
Interviewee: Sheloman Byrd, Product Coordinator



1. What can players expect to find in the recent patch with Maple Story?
The upcoming patch is something we're all excited about at Nexon America. We're delivering the next chapter in the story of the continent of Masteria and New Leaf City, which were two new areas added to MapleStory last summer. The area is expanding in every way possible—new quests, new weapons, new monsters, new maps and plenty of surprises. In addition to that, we're working on adding some additional platforming features, as well as the first round of Master Monsters, new bosses that provide a challenge for a wide range of levels.



2. Will there be specific updates to loot and items for players to use and enjoy?
Absolutely. Players will be able to craft new weapons, which we are thrilled to add to our game. Some of the new weapons have variations, depending on what the player wants as well. We're very confident players will like the weapons. Our design team and concept artists did a fantastic job.



3. Each time a company release a patch into a game it can changes things drastically. What impact do you expect to see in the Maple World?
Well, the changes affect the Maple World in some way, be it the items you'll receive from quests, having an additional goal to shoot for when battling bosses, crafting new weapons, exploring the areas, experiencing a different way of battling monsters or navigating new areas. Last year, New Leaf City re-energized the economy in terms of training and making items more available. Our players continue to enjoy the benefits of that update, so now we're adding some re-playability to the area and different portions of the game as well, for mid-level and high-level players.



4. Do you have anything planned out for autumn? Can we expect to see another patch sometime before 2009?
We patch almost every month and it's always something new. We've updated a ton of new stuff this year, from user interface features to content for every level, 1 to 200. We have plenty of tricks left up our sleeve, including a few things that will require a bit more strategy and teamwork to overcome. For our high-level players especially, what we're working on will be a true challenge. It won't be with this upcoming patch, but it will be soon.



5. What is the development team's favorite part in adding content to the game? Is it fun to watch the player reactions?
Oh yes. When New Leaf City released last year, one of our favorite moments was players asking us about the Warrior's Throne (a big, blue lounge chair given upon finishing all New Leaf City quests), as well as watching players traverse the new hunting grounds and figure out the secrets buried within the maps. Our favorite part about adding content to the game is our players enjoying it (we hope!). We haven't always done the best job of communicating how important our players are, so we've really trying to make sure they know we care about them. Without our players, there is no MapleStory. Laughing with friends in the game, attending a wedding or getting married, the agony of blowing up a high-level equip with a dark scroll, triumphing over a boss—these are the type of experiences that you remember. We're happy that they've chosen our game to have those experiences in and be a part of it.



6. Overall, can you tell us some of Nexon's plans for the upcoming months going into next year?
Sure. Players can look forward to at least one new Party Quest, plenty of new bosses, and a few other things that will debut in MapleStory Global. The year isn't over, and we've got plenty left in the tank to finish with a bang.


Source (Ten Ton Hamster)


Info about the patch:

[SIZE=2]-The patch must be before the release of iTCG Set,and it will happen next week.Since new items will come with the iTCG,there must be a patch,or the codes will not work.

-If you think the Server Maintenance ruined the chances of a patch this week,it didnt.
On [/SIZE]17th June there was a Server Maintenance and on 19th june there was a Patch (v56)

-The set 2 of iTCG was released on 12th Feb(early,but it was),and there was a patch on 13th. o.o'

-The days of week that have most patches is : Wednesday and Tuesday.If the release date of iTCG Set 4 is on 12th(Tuesday),there will be a patch in Tuesday,and the patch will be this week,maybe o.o'

If the release date will be on 13th,there will be a patch on 12th =)

[SIZE=5]Contents of the patch:
[SIZE=3]-Crimsonwood Keep
-Phantom Forest
-11 New Monsters
-31 New Maps
-12 New Quests
-New Items(Including iTCG ones)
-Jump Down
-New curse filter system
-Pet looting filter
-Area Bosses
-Part II of Summer.[/SIZE][SIZE=3]

[/SIZE] [/SIZE] Screenshots

 View Screenshots

 Tenton Hamster interview Screenshots

 Koolk Screenshots

Removed by me ._.

I've seen this, too. Looks great, can't wait for this. (:
We gotta wait for Isaac for more info, then. The logo is interesting...

Coolest looking NPC in Masteria by far. Think i'll be able to use that sword?

Huh,here's another version of it:

Wow, how did you get the photoshopped version of the NPC? Anyway, this new expansion sounds like it's gonna be really big. I can't wait!

[COLOR="Blue"]New weapons...for all classes...the logo says it all...
...
...Welcome GMS to Elemental Staffs and Wands.
Think it was a given =x[/COLOR]

the staff in the logo even looks like an ice element staff

Wow, how did you get the photoshopped version of the NPC? Anyway, this new expansion sounds like it's gonna be really big. I can't wait!

I photoshopped it lol

Lol @ 100+ pages of quest text.
Maybe it was a good idea for Isaac to reserve a 2nd post for space in his Maple's Story topic XD

Lol @ 100+ pages of quest text.
Maybe it was a good idea for Isaac to reserve a 2nd post for space in his Maple's Story topic XD

Heck yes. Wait, how many more days to July 29th? 3 weeks? Nooooooo...
XD

Such a torturous wait

[COLOR="Purple"]Is it just me or does the Staff in this look like the one in that Logo?

[/COLOR]

o.O i just said that... thats an elemental staff, c'ept that one's poison <---Ice

lol sorry. Im a priest so I didnt know =)

[COLOR="Purple"]Is it just me or does the Staff in this look like the one in that Logo?

[/COLOR]

That one's gold. Logo's silver. :f6:

That one's gold. Logo's silver. :f6:

Yea, but I mean the concept or whatnot. Colors are easily changeable. :f6:

Wow.. I can't believe no one noticed this yet:


Notice that gold knuckle in the middle? Pirates are a sure thing!

iono... that might just be a claw, cuz theres no other thief weapon and its supposed to represent the 4 classes like some itcg info said(man that stuff was well written) @your sig im an IsaacGS wannabe =) apparently, there are 4 grandmasters, 1 from each class:Mage, Warrior, Theif and Bowman. there are also 3 known 'Groups': The Stormcasters Knight, who wielded magic and melee, The Windreavers, masters of ranged weaponry who used weapons such as the neva and winkel, and the Bosshunters, who consisted of all 4 classes and well, hunted bosses(isn't it obvious from they're name =P) the mage grandmaster was active in creating the mystic astrolabe and instrument supposedly used to tranport people to and from the crimsonwood keep. that and the antellion, which was shattered into many pieces by john barricade's clumsy assistant. it was supposedly used in teleportation similar to foxwit doors and gear portals

iono... that might just be a claw, cuz theres no other thief weapon and its supposed to represent the 4 classes like some itcg info said(man that stuff was well written) @your sig im an IsaacGS wannabe =)

Then Pirates aren't part of the 4 classes in Crimsonwood Keep? Therefore... No Pirate quests for Masteria!

Wow.. I can't believe no one noticed this yet:

 Spoiler

Notice that gold knuckle in the middle? Pirates are a sure thing!

It was posted in the very first post as a spoiler.:f6:

Then Pirates aren't part of the 4 classes in Crimsonwood Keep? Therefore... No Pirate quests for Masteria!

remember, masteria was a GMS creation from the hairbrained minds of our own nexon dev. team. as we currently do not have pirates, its safe to assume that until we get pirates, nothing in masteria will be pirate related(save maybe for john barricade cuz he's a treasure hunter. pirates like treasure don't they?)