Time sure flies, doesn’t it? In one blink of an eye, it’s already October! We know it’s a little early for Trick or Treat, but we’ve got a couple of tricks and treats ready for you! New skills, nameplates, and various improvements to the Bots and Spawning system!
If you’ve been catching up on our Devlogs, then you’ve already had a sneak peek of some of the coming changes, but now you get to experience them in full! Read on to see what we’ve got in store and get ready to make your PXD Nights even hotter!
This has been Millie, everyone’s favorite AON spokesperson, and like always, we thank you for your support and hope to see you out there in the fields, Xandat!
New Neutral Skills
The time has come and so has the latest batch of new skills!
Neutral Marksman
Power - Hard Light Spinner
Yo? Yo! Boom!!: Throws a roaming spinner that roams around, chasing and leaping towards the first enemy it detects, exploding and dealing damage in the area.
Cheap, but effective: Bounces off walls and obstacles it collides against, enabling it to navigate into an area
Emphasis on Cheap: Can be destroyed by enemy fire
Neutral Agent
Utility - Caltrops
Lego Minefield: Throws down a circle of caltrops around you that slows and damages enemies who step on them.
Side note: We do not recommend stepping on Legos
Salt The Earth: The area the caltrops fall in expands and contracts based on if you are crouching or jumping
Armory Disclaimer: The Alliance of Nations armory cannot be held responsible for the massive amounts of salt by using this ability in Overcharge, especially when paired with other classes with Area Denial skills, nor do we condone dropping said caltrops within your Smoke Grenades.
Neutral Juggernaut
Power - Homing Missile
I See You: Fires a missile that tracks the closest enemy target, within a certain range, of your crosshair. If no valid target is present, it will instead fire the missile at a straight line.
There You Are: If the missile has not yet locked on to a target, it will then trigger proximity detection and home in on the next enemy that comes within its travel path
I Don’t Blame You: Can be destroyed by enemy fire
Elemental Nameplates
Some of you keen-eyed Xandats might have noticed a curious Juggernaut lurking about recently in our Discord server. Who is this masked enigma? As they say, everything will be revealed in time… AND THAT TIME IS NOW!
We’re releasing a new set of nameplates for each element, and they’re absolutely gorgeous! To get them, simply score a win while using the element of your choice, and you should receive it after the match. Like the other nameplates, you can upgrade them by accomplishing the tasks related to their skill sets while having them equipped. Show off your mastery and you can even get to unlock their grandest form and, who knows, maybe Ysabel might even pay you a compliment!
Alliance of Nation Recruits (Bot System)
The life of an AON Recruit is full of hardship. Rigorous training, a strict schedule, and multiple trips to the infirmary due to repeated Xandat abuse. Due to the latter, we’ve had to improve their training regiment, to hopefully provide them, and you, a better experience in the field. While they may still be potatoes at times, we’re hoping that every advancement is one step closer to turning them into the fries, or chips, of your dreams.
Keep on your toes, however, as we’re still preparing a few more surprises, and who knows? Maybe soon you’ll find that one recruit that can land the crucial potshot on you.
Improvements
More Firing Range Practice: Improved AI accuracy and lethality
While we made sure they won’t headshot you from 200 meters out, they can still prove a challenge if you underestimate them
Previously, the bots prioritized running away should their health drop too low, but will now chase you down should you be on the back foot
Overcharge Spawning
Overcharge has proven to be one of Project Xandata’s most thrilling modes. The exhilaration of breaking the defenders’ lines and stealing their battery, or the rush of adrenaline as you make that mad dash to dock or defend your battery.
We have, however, noted its shortcomings, especially with how fallen players are respawned. Too often would you respawn too far and too late to try and make one last push, or just be a smidge too late to stop them from stealing your battery all because you spawned in a far corner in the map. This has always been a pace-breaker and detrimental to either say, and we say that needs to change now!
We’ve checked up on all the respawn mapping systems for the Overcharge game mode and put a polish on them, as well as some percussive maintenance, to ensure that the attackers always have a chance, and that the defenders will never have too easy of a time.
Disclaimer: While we aimed to fix some of the respawn pain points, there can still be some edge cases where you get unfavorable spawns, especially when factors like enemy and ally placing, map movement, and battery location force you into those locations. We hope, however, to decrease the times these occur to ensure the game’s pace remains ever fun and fast for both sides.
The Rundown
Xandats Together, Strong: Spawn Points near allies will now be prioritized when respawning you
EXCUSE ME I WAS RESPAWNING: Added proximity detection to prevent enemies from spawning on or near the same spot as you
Let’s Try That Again: Increased the chances to use a more middle-ground spawn point for attackers, allowing them to get back into the fight faster. This should also help keep defenders from spawning too near to their battery, creating an infinite backup situation
Mid-Season Update Coming Soon
📢 Attention, Xandats! 📢
The Project Xandata Mid-Season Update comes out on October 5, 2022!
It's gonna be a hefty one! Watch out for major updates on SKILLS, BOTS, NAMEPLATES, and MORE!
We have exciting streamers joining the action for tomorrow's PXD Night! 💥
Do the Femme Fatale challenge; Get into a match with Maggiekarp or Ling2x and have a chance to win X-Diamonds 💎
How to join: - Play Project Xandata during PXD Nights on September 30, starting 8PM GMT+8 (SEA) ⏰ - If you get a match with Maggiekarp or Ling2x, just take a clip/screenshot. - Post your clip on Discord or on social media with the hashtags #PXDFemmeFatale #PXDNights #ProjectXandata - 5 Xandats will win up to 300 X-Diamonds 💎💎 - Winners will be announced on our socials.
Two months in EA S01 and we are always grateful for your support! We got your feedback from the launch of our first dev log, and we’re so glad you are enjoying these mini updates.
This time, we wanna tell you about a feature we introduced last July that many of you may have had the pleasure of shooting – the bots!!!
The bots, also called the Alliance of Nation Recruits, are AI-controlled players that you can fight in matches, alongside actual human-controlled players. Before this feature was released, we struggled with long queue times. Plus, new players found themselves matching against experienced Xandats, and essentially got pulverized seconds after they spawn. Sooo yeah, that’s frustrating.
The bots helped ensure that you always have matches to join and enemies to fight against. They also gave new players a way to familiarize themselves with the game without the pressure of having to play against waaaay more experienced players.
So without further ado, allow us to introduce Capt. Monkey, Agent Muddy, ElbowGrease, and company!! 🤖
In their initial iteration, the bots could fill-in for games with extra slots and replace players that leave mid-match. This helped speed up queue times and so new players can enjoy the game even when they play outside PXD Nights.
As for gameplay, the bots could perform the objectives... to the best of their abilities. In the first week of their release, you might have noticed that they were a biiiit too nice. Okay, fine. They DIDN'T SHOOT. So if you happened to play that week and you managed to hoard XP, you're welcome.
Unfortunately (for you), this didn’t last very long. Our patch last August improved the bots’ POTATOS: Positional Orientation, Target Acquisition, and Tactical Objective Support. 🥔 They can now reign chaos and bring destruction to you and your allies mwahaha ☠️
We also tweaked how the bots navigated across different maps, making them more aware of their layout and their surroundings. This prevents them from running up against walls and lets them sneak up on their enemies. Finally, we adjusted how they performed in fulfilling game objectives for Corruption, Overcharge and Skirmish. We're pretty happy with how the bots are doing in the game right now. We feel a little bit of joy when we see them sneak up on their enemies, dart across the maps, and land their shots. But we're also still continuously working on ways to make them better.
The elements that the bots can use are currently fixed per class: Shadow Agent, Lightning Marksman, and Water Juggernaut. It would be nice to add versions of bots with different skills and weapon loadouts and with better aiming capabilities. It would also be interesting to have bots actually work together as a team, coordinating as they execute objectives. This would make them more thrilling to play with – better allies and more challenging enemies.
And that’s about it for Developers Log #2. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news! 👀
Mark your calendars as we release the mid-season patch on October 5, 2022 because it’s gonna be a meaty one.
The patch will include the third batch of neutral skills, improvements to the Overcharge respawn, elemental nameplates, and –you guessed it –additional abilities for our little bot friends. 🦾
As always, thank you for your support! In the meantime, have fun, get sweaty, and we hope to catch you on our weekly PXD Nights!
Catch you later for PXD Nights: Most Wanted 💥🔫 Eliminate these Xandats in the game and win up to 💎 600 X-Diamonds 💎
How to join: - Play Project Xandata during PXD Nights on September 23, starting 8PM GMT+8 (SEA) // 12PM PST (NA/EU) ⏰ - If you get a match against anyone from the Most Wanted list, eliminate them and make sure to clip your win (video/screenshot). - The clip must show your name eliminating anyone from the Most Wanted list ❌ - Post your clip on your socials with the hashtags #PXDNights #PXDMostWanted #ProjectXandata - Submission of entries is until September 25. - Up to 5 Xandats will win up to 600 X-Diamonds. - Winners will be announced on our socials.
Be part of the Xandat community and join the official PXD Discord server
PXD Nights: Best Buddy
Join us for another PXD Night! Today's challenge is BEST BUDDY 🧑🤝🧑. Assist your teammates in battle and get rewarded.
How to join:
Do 10 or more assists in the game.
The more assists, the higher the chance to win 300 X-Diamonds 💎
At the end of the match, record a clip/screenshot of the podium showing your number of assists.
Post on Discord or on social media with the hashtags #PXDBestBuddy #PXDNights #ProjectXandata
At the end of the event, up to 5 Xandats will be chosen. Winners will be posted on September 19.
Get a chance to win 💎 300 X-Diamonds 💎 by joining tomorrow's PXD Night! Execute your longest elimination streak to get the "Can't Stop Won't Stop" title! 💪 (Minimum of 5 Kills to activate the title)
Take a clip/screenshot on the podium and share it with us on Discord or social media with the hashtags #PXDNights #CantStopWontStop #ProjectXandata
See you in-game, Xandats! Queue up starting 8PM GMT+8 (SEA) // 12PM PST (NA/EU).
Developers Log #1: New Neutral Skills
Yooo Xandats!
We know you’ve been curious about the behind-the-scenes of Project Xandata. Well, we’ve been cooking up a bunch of new features since the EA Season 1 launch and we’re here to deliver more updates on what’s been happening! 👀
Today, we bring you Developers Log, where we will be updating you regularly on what’s coming in the game!
For Developers Log #1, we’re excited to share that we’re working on the next batch of Neutral Skills! Here are some things to look out for: ___________________________________________________________________
Starting it off with a new Marksman Neutral Power Skill, a skill that will allow you to send out a roving hard light bomb that bounces against walls and surfaces. Once it detects an enemy, it will launch itself towards the target before going KABOOM! 💣
This was a fun little concept that started from an explosive RC car bomb, until we decided to turn it into a throwable object to fit with the Marksman’s kit. It was a pretty straightforward plan. A bomb on wheels that bounces off walls? Nothing fancy, nothing complicated — until we hit a snag with some of the maps. Our level designers were incredibly detailed with the floor and had literal road bumps for our bouncy little friend.
After a few discussions, we arrived at the final model: the Yoyo. This really made it stand out and have its own personality. The mechanics didn’t change much from conception, except now it climbs over the little road bumps to increase its horror value. 😈 ___________________________________________________________________
Next up, is a new Agent Neutral Utility Skill that will help get rid of enemies hot on your tail. This skill allows you to throw sharp spikes that when triggered, slows your enemies as you make your getaway. 🏃♂️
Ever stepped on a LEGO? Yeah well, Xandat armor won’t help you there either. These sharp, pointy objects are designed to get enemies off your back. Or, if you’re feeling creative, use it during combat to gain advantage on your enemies.
FUN FACT! Did you know that these spikes used to deal increased damage if you jump or slid into them? Yeah, that was pretty brutal.
Don’t get us started on how many of these were dropped in the original plan. A 3-stack of Fire Juggernauts in Overcharge was nothing when playing against this skill. FOUR seconds of slow damage that BUMPED UP when you jump/slid into them?!! Yep. Literal hell.
We also considered having a bleed effect when you move from your position. But ultimately, we decided to scale everything back (the damage and the slow) to make it more apt as a minor inconvenience being a Utility Skill.
These are just some of the things we need to consider when adding or balancing things in-game: Would they add more skill, fun, and another layer of playstyle, or would they just be downright useless, annoying, or overpowered?
Each skill we make complements a specific playstyle. In this case, this skill shouldn’t eliminate the opponent but rather maim or inconvenience a pursuer.
Last but not least, a new Juggernaut Neutral Power Skill that fires a missile that follows a targeted enemy with deadly precision! 🎯
Hooboy. If there was a skill that gave our QA team headaches, it was this one. A missile that could avoid obstacles and turn corners until it got destroyed or destroyed its target. It looks pretty good on paper. Sounds simple, right? Hahaha… NOPE.
From locking onto already-dead players to not dealing any damage at all, this skill has had one helluva long development story behind it–and it ain't over yet.
The skill does the funniest and frustrating things in-game. It’s as if its homing AI has made it sentient to haunt us. Not to mention, it still follows funny paths while homing in on the player. There’s A LOT of work to be done for this skill but that’s also one of the joys of game development.
From skittering up and down walls, to appearing in one place, then suddenly exploding in another, we’ve had no shortages of trouble with this missile.
We still see the potential in it, that’s why we’re continuing to hammer it to stability. There’s just some things that become a labor of love sometimes… or a labor of “I swear if you bump into that wall again I’ll 🤬🤣
Show off your flawless kills on tonight's PXD Nights 🔫 Earn a Flawless badge by eliminating 3 enemies without taking damage!
Some tips to pull this off:
Drop BFK to all enemies
Use Fist of Bathala
Use Missile Storm
Malandoq Bolt to your enemies
(git gud)
Win 300 X-Diamonds by taking a screenshot/clip of your execution. Post it on Discord or on social media with the hashtags #PXDFlawless #PXDNights #ProjectXandata
