Underground Communique #8
Week of June 9th

Happy Paraskavedekatriaphobia Day!

This eighth issue of the Hellgate: London Underground Communique comes to you on none other than Friday the 13th, a day which holds great significance for an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States alone. Due to the combination of the day and number, it is estimated that some $800-900 million in potential commerce is lost and that traffic-related accidents increase substantially. While you mull those figures over, take into account that every year has at least one and at most three Friday the 13ths.

However, for us Hellgaters, the thirteenth has a completely different meaning. Yes, it is on this fateful day in 1307 that the King of France ordered the arrest of more than one hundred of our Templar brethren on charges of heresy, beginning seven years of torture and executions of those captured: a true reason to be wary on this unlucky day. Granted, that event occurred in October and we’re only in June. Still! Be ever-vigilant!

Have a safe Friday the 13th, noble Hellgaters. Your Communique follows.


The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) is LIVE on Test Center!

You read right. After a brief delay due to a bad self-extracting patch, the Test Center server is now playing host to Patch 2 and its veritable mountain of new content. Population on the server is high and players are providing gobs of considerate, constructive feedback on all elements of the major content update.

Want to get in on the action? Follow this link to be taken to download links for the Test Center version of Patch 2. Already enjoying The Abyss Chronicles? Tell us about it! We have “Directed Feedback” threads set up for all of the major additions in the patch, allowing you to make your voice heard. Check them out in the Test Center Discussion subforum.


Teaser Video of The Abyss Chronicles Released

Wondering what unspeakable monsters and powerful weapons await your adventure into the Abyss? Sate your curiosity with this teaser video of The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2). Glimpse new evils, new skills, and new tools to use in conjunction with those new skills against those new evils. Check it out here!

A higher-quality version of the teaser can be found on our YouTube channel or on the HellgateLondon.com front page. A high definition .WMV of the teaser video can be downloaded here from Hellgate: London's HanbitSoft website.


SneakShots #2 Tells All About Trinkets

One of the new additions that The Abyss Chronicles introduces is the Trinket inventory slot. The first trinkets available in Hellgate: London are rings, seven types of them. These items, while coveted, require cleansing using your Transmogrifying Cube before they can be equipped and serve you with all their latent power.


You can learn more about these new items in the second issue of SneakShots, here.


In-Game Mail Purge Plan Announced

As some Hellgaters may have noticed, in-game mail has been hanging around in inboxes past their expiration dates. Some players have hit the inbox size limit for mail with attached items and can’t receive any new attachments as a result. To fix this, we will be activating in-game mail purging on the Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) servers starting next week.

Here is the planned schedule:

• Monday, June 16th: All in-game mail that was sent during the month of April will be purged, regardless of its current “X days left (until expiration)” state.
• Monday, June 23rd: All in-game mail sent before May 15th will be purged, regardless of its current “X days left (until expiration)” state.
• Monday, June 30th: We will turn on automatic purging to match the displayed expiry date in players’ inboxes. Mail which shows “0 days left” will be removed within 24 hours.

If you have any further questions on this topic, please visit this thread.


Exclusive Patch 2 Screenshots and More at GameBanshee

GameBanshee.com has populated their Hellgate: London section with an item database, quest database, and skill database. There are also useful guides for classes and the mini-game in additional to a two-page interview with Flagship Studios’ Director of Technology, Tyler Thompson. In addition, they’ve a six-pack of exclusive screenshots of hot, new Abyss Chronicles content.





Click here to find out more!


Developer Blogs Forum Section Created

With forum activity at a high due to The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) arrival on the Test Center server, our developers have decided to offer small glimpse at our daily tasks and triumphs. The new Developer Blogs subforum is a great place to pull back the curtain a little and see what goes on in our studio, our offices, and sometimes even our heads. These posts provide insights into the development of game elements, how a typical day unfolds, and what food, music, or other entertainment we’ve been consuming lately.

The developers are quite keen to reply to comments so feel free to ask questions in your responses!


So Remember Hellgaters…

If any Templars see a mean old King of France trying to serve you a warrant for your arrest on charges of heresy, cast Sprint in the opposite direction and quickly. This goes for Cabalists and Hunters too. Be safe this Friday the 13th, in-game and out.

Remember the dead! Fight for the living!
-- Scapes

Underground Communique #7
Week of June 2nd

But First, A Word From Our Sponsors

This seventh issue of the Hellgate: London Underground Communique is brought to you by the War Drive for a Better Tomorrow Through a Tougher Today. Your kind and generous donations to this most noble of funds have no only yielded this installment of the Underground Communique but also helped produce the second lesson of the SAFE Video Series, "Humans and Zombies". Even if you already can differentiate between the heroic survivors of humanity and the reanimated undead when out and about, be certain to fortify your knowledge by partaking of this educational video.

Also available in this Underground Communique are new patch notes for Patch 1.3c and 1.3d, an announcement on Test Center transfers, and an update about the Abyss Chronicles' progression from development to "bug stomping mode".


Hellgate: London Patch 1.3c Now Live

After a brief stay on the Test Center server, Patch 1.3c has launched. This interim patch fixes a number of German and Italian translation errors and introduces some new in-game messaging.

When joining parties, players will sometimes now be presented with a new in-game messaging which informs them that they must abandon their game instance. If a player chooses to abandon their instance, they will be warped back to town, and their town portals will be closed. This fixes a bug which could cause players to end up in the wrong game instance.

Patch notes for 1.3c can be found here.


Test Center Updated to Hellgate: London Patch 1.3d

Updated yesterday afternoon, the Test Center server is presently playing host to Patch 1.3d, the presumptive final iteration of the 1.3 line. This patch introduces a few significant adjustments to gameplay, character creation, and one vendor NPC in particular. Players can now create Elite Mode characters (and subscribers can create Hardcore Mode characters) if their account has a character that reaches level 20 or above. The update also fixes a PRD bug and a character options issue.

Patch notes for 1.3d can be found here.


Test Center Transfer Complete

We received thousands of requests from players wishing to transfer their characters to the Test Center server in order to have up-to-date versions of their characters to participate in testing. The characters have finished copying from both the Shulgoth (US) and Sydonai (EU) servers and are now available on Test Center.

Players may find that some of their characters' equipment is missing. This occurred if the identical item was in the possession of another character on Test Center via trade, in-game mail, or shared stash. The item wasn't copied over in order to prevent item duplication. Players are encouraged to log into Test Center and determine which items are missing due to this before the server is updated to Patch 2, the Abyss Chronicles.


The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2) Coming to Test Center on Monday

The Abyss Chronicles boasts a long list of new features and fixes and as such has required a long internal testing process. The studio is currently in a “bug squashing” stage with regards to the major content update meaning that development of Patch 2 is complete and we are now working on cleaning it up and making it pretty (and balanced). As part of the path of all our patches, the Abyss Chronicles will first be enjoying a good stay on our Test Center server where it can be poked and prodded and picked at by you, our thorough Hellgaters and brave test subjects.

The Abyss Chronicles is slated for Test Center launch this coming Monday, June 9th. The update will be applied via a standalone patch (1.3 gigabytes). We will have more information on this big move first thing next week.


ATI Catalyst 8.5 Fixes Hellgate: London Display Issue

Released late last month, the latest version of ATI’s Catalyst driver suite has solved a flickering problem experienced by Windows Vista users. From their release notes for Catalyst 8.5, “flickering is no longer noticed when quitting and then relaunching [Hellgate: London] when the in-game settings are set to their maximum levels.” ATI users can find the latest update here. The full release notes are available here.


Hellgate: London Patch 1.3 Trailer Now Showing at a Website Near You

Informative, funny, and just a little bit macabre is certainly one way to describe Hellgate: London’s Patch 1.3 trailer entitled “The SAFE Video Series - Lesson Two: Humans and Zombies”. This bit of machinima serves to outline a few of the new features that Patch 1.3 introduces including the War Drive Donation System, Premium Item Merchant Ko, and an expressive collection of performable character emotes, all while extolling the importance of being able to differentiate your fellow man from the walking dead.

Be ever-vigilant! Educate yourself! And watch the trailer here.


SneakShots’ Second Installment Sneaks to Next Week

SneakShots, our new article which offers screenshots of upcoming ongoing content, never-before-seen, will be focusing on the subject of “trinkets” in its next installment. This new inventory slot was outlined briefly in the Lowdown on Patch 2.0 and 2.1 article, posted last week. The first type of trinkets will drop as Cursed rings which can be cleaned up through the Transmogrifier Cube. These items will mostly drop in the Abyss levels, but they can be found elsewhere too. These items are tradable and can be used by all players.

Be sure to keep an eye out this coming Monday for images of the new inventory slot, sample rings, and a more detailed description of the types available!


The Days Are Just Packed

“Busy” is certainly the word of choice these days at Flagship Studios. “Nonstop” is a popular one, too. Mind you, these are not complaints, they’re proud statements. The Hellgate: London universe is expanding rapidly and we are very glad to have you all be a part of it.

Be well, Templars, Cabalists, and Hunters. And good hunting to you all.
-- Scapes

Underground Communique #6
Week of May 28th

Back in Black

Back in black, I hit the sack,
I've been too long, I'm glad to be back.

Very glad to be back! Got a monster Underground Communique this week including the introduction of a new feature called "SneakShots", screenshots of upcoming Hellgate: London content. As mentioned in the previous installment of this article, Community Manager Scapes went touring the far east two weeks ago where he met some not-so-tame deer in Nara and got happily lost exploring the gamer mecca that is Akihabara. To kick off this first Underground Communique since returning, here is a small souvenir from Tōdai-ji in Japan for all Hellgaters out there.


These tiles are purchased by visitors to replace worn ones on the temple's roof. A quick disclaimer: drawing the Hellgate: London logo with a calligraphy brush is damn hard.


Live Servers Updated to Patch 1.3b

Hot on the heels of Patch 1.3a comes 1.3b which addresses many of the remaining issues experienced with Patch 1.3. In addition to in-game mail system improvements and fixes for pesky bugs, a small change was made to Engineer class' calldown skills in that they share a cooldown timer. Full patch notes for this update can be found here.

Patch 1.3b also put an end to nightly server restarts that began earlier this month after 1.3a launched on the live servers. The restarts were an effort to prevent server instability.

One additional change worth mentioning is a decrease to the War Drive Donation goal. After monitoring player habits for a week, the target sum has been adjusted to two million palladium. When this donation goal is met, a random buff is bestowed upon all players on the server at that time which lasts for 30 minutes. More on this topic here.


Lowdown on Upcoming Updates, Round Two

Dedicated Hellgaters will remember how we laid out a content summary of what was being slated for Patch 1.2, 1.3, and 2.0 here. A new pair of content summaries have been published for the Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2.0) and the subsequent Patch 2.1.

Click here to find out more!


SneakShots: The Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2)

This first installment of SneakShots focuses on the looming Abyss Chronicles content update. With scores of new features, it was strenuous to single out a solitary seven screens to share. These selections should serve to stimulate speculation.


Alliteration achieved, anticipate away: click here to see all the images.


6500+ Characters Transferred to Test Center

A massive invasion force of thousands of brave champions of humanity is taking place. However, their target is not a demon stronghold nor a temporal rift into the hot place. No, it is our Test Center server which will soon play host to the Abyss Chronicles (Patch 2). Players submitted transfer requests so they would be able to sample and test the new content provided by this major update with the latest iteration of their characters. We will announce when the transfer process has completed.

On a related note, Test Center updated to Patch 1.3c yesterday, an update which introduces some changes to the back-end of the game and does not affect the end-user. Players on Test Center are encouraged to focus their time in Moloch's realm in this build.


Junior Game Designer Hired, New Summoner Team Advocate Sought

The original Summoner Team Advocate, MattN, has been hired as a Junior Game Designer here at Flagship Studios. Congrats and welcome, Matt! As such, the Summoner Team Advocate position is open and available for new Summoner aficionados to apply for. Additionally, the Guardian Team Advocate position is also available.

The goal of our Team Advocate Program is to amass the feedback, knowledge, and play experience of our community to better ensure that every aspect of Hellgate: London is as enjoyable as possible. Team Advocates are players that volunteer their free time to assist the Hellgate: London development team by providing testing, compilations of player feedback, general feedback on proposed changes, and new ideas on ways to improve their area of the game. Team Advocates also have a secondary mission of helping to keep the player base informed on Flagship Studios' positions on issues related to their topics.

Click here to find out more about the Team Advocate Program.


HellgateLondon.com's Forums Now Available to Public

Visitors to HellgateLondon.com may now browse the official Hellgate: London forums, previously only viewable by logging into an account. All sections of the boards are available, as is the search function and Dev Tracker. However, you must sign in to an account in order to be able to post to the forums.

Click here to go to the official Hellgate: London forums. To our new visitors: welcome!


Back in the Saddle Again

And here, in the end of the Underground Communique, I selfishly take the opportunity to thank folks for the well-wishing I received on the forums (and on some media sites) with regards to my vacation in Japan. Good to be there. Glad to be back.

As always, good hunting, Hellgaters.
-- Scapes

Underground Communique #5
Week of May 5th

Return of the Mack

Hooray for references to 90s music. Welcome, Hellgaters, to the fifth installment of your Underground Communique. This issue comes after skipping a week due to the nonstop updates brought about by the launch of Patch 1.3 and its subsequent fixes. In the interest of producing a fresh and accurate newsletter, it was decided to hold off until the dust settled before writing this one. Recent events include the launch of Patch 1.3a, the recovery of more than 7000 in-game mails, Max Schaefer discussing the Action RPG genre, and then some. Read on!


Max Schaefer Speaks About the Action RPG Genre on IGN.com

IGN.com's RPG Vault has started a new series of articles titled RPG Vault Focus in an attempt to capture the candid and informal nature of conversations with game developers experienced at conventions and expositions. The inaugural article focused on the Action RPG genre and invited Max Schaefer, Flagship Studios' COO and co-founder, to speak on the subject.

What is an RPG? Taken literally, it simply refers to a game in which you play the role of one or more characters. But in practice, I think the term means different things to different people, and from my experience in making them, it's a topic of considerable passion for many gamers. At times, it can resemble a religious war. I was fortunate enough to work on all the games in the Diablo series, a title that is today most commonly considered an action RPG. The arguments about how to classify it were strangely heated, with some people insisting that it was a full-fledged RPG, and others who refused to accept that it was an action RPG... or even that such a category was valid.

The full article can be found here and also polls Gas Powered Games' Steve Bauman about the genre as well.


Patch 1.3 Patched

Patch 1.3 introduced some hotly-desired features including emotes, shared stash, the ability to inspect other players, a Premium Item Merchant, a Donation system, and the new Ranks and Expertise system. However, some widely-experienced bugs cropped up shortly after the patch reached the live servers. One of most prevalent bugs caused players to lose experience earned towards Ranks when leaving a party. Another caused weapon mods to become "unequipped" when the modded weapon was loaded into the game. A third major issue that many users reported was that in-game mail was not being received and items attached were being lost.

The following Monday, Patch 1.3a was released, solving the majority of these and other issues players were experiencing. This patch fixed the main causes of Rank experience loss and weapon mods unequipping themselves. In addition, it reduced the Donation goal and adjusted the Buddy List font size for readability. Tracking code was added to in-game mail in order to help determine the cause of in-game mail system lag: the source of the problem.

Vast quantities of lost mail were recovered and returned to senders this past week. 4050+ items and 385+ palladium transfers were recovered on the Shulgoth (US) server and 2300+ items and 155+ palladium transfers were recovered on the Sydonai (EU) server. Support is continuing to monitor the servers for lost mail.

Patch 1.3b is currently on Test Center and addresses some of the less immediate issues from Patch 1.3. The patch notes for Patch 1.3a can be found here. The preliminary patch notes for Patch 1.3b can be found here.


Test Center Database Restored

This weekend, a number of players reported that they were being sent straight to the character creation when logging into to our Test Center server. Fearing a character wipe, they came to the forums and found that no intentional wipe had occurred. After some sleuthing, Ping0 was able to use a backup of the Test Center database to restore characters from before the time they started disappearing at about 2:00 AM PDT on Friday morning. They'll be keeping a close on eye Test Center and will be investigating the cause of the database trouble.

For details on the current build on Test Center, check out the latest patch notes.


Sydonai (EU) Subscribers Now Receiving Subscriber Benefits on Test Center

One of the fixes that Patch 1.3b introduces allows players with subscriptions on the Sydonai (EU) server to be able to access subscriber content on the Test Center server, previously limited to Shulgoth (US) subscribers. Special account badges have been made to allow EU subscribers access. In order to gain this badge, you need to create an account on HellgateLondon.com for the Shulgoth (US) server using the registration key used to create your Sydonai (EU) subscription account.

After creating your account, select Test Center from the pull-down menu on the Hellgate: London login screen and enter your account name and password. The client will update to the current Test Center build and after restarting the game and signing in once more, you will be able to access subscriber content on the Test Center server. There is still some content that is not yet working for these subscribers such as Essences but this is slated to be fixed.


April Showers Bring May Flowers...and the Abyss Chronicles

We are most assuredly in the month of May and eager Hellgaters everywhere are itching to hear the latest lowdown on Patch 2, estimated to reach the live servers later this month and Test Center before that time. Titled the "Abyss Chronicles", Patch 2 introduces a laundry list of succulent features. Some of the most enticing offerings include new bosses to test your mettle against, new skills for all classes, new monster types, new weapons for all factions to use on those new monster types, a consignment house, the ability to switch station instances, and lots more. A more thorough detailing of what the Abyss Chronicles will bring is not far off and will be posted along with plans for subsequent patches.


Bon Voyage, Scapes!

Thus, the fifth issue of the Underground Communique comes to a close. A quick note to those who have been asking what I was up to last week that kept me less active than I normally am on the forums: I was capturing footage and editing together a few videos for Hellgate: London and Mythos before departing on a wee vacation. Where am I going? Why, Japan! Kyoto to be precise. Should be immensely fun and I promise to bring back photos and maybe even a souvenir for the forums.

I suppose "Sayonara, Scapes" would have been a more fitting title for this section but I decided against it.
-- Scapes

Underground Communique #4
Week of April 21st

A Good Delay

No doubt Hellgaters who have started anticipating the new issue of Underground Communique each week were left wondering about the fate of this fourth issue. Rest assured, the wait was a good thing. Why? Read on.


Single Player Patch 1.2 Released

After about two weeks in public beta testing, the Single Player Patch 1.2 update is ready to be finally be released. The release candidate published last week has been poked, prodded, and otherwise fully tested and has been retitled sans "beta". Those users who have already applied the release candidate version of this patch need to take no additional action as the update has not changed since.

The reason for the lengthy patch release was due largely in part to an issues players were experiencing where they couldn't make Elite Mode characters. This problem has been fixed and is listed in the compendium that is the Single Player Patch 1.2 notes, available here. The patch can be downloaded from the same link or by loading up Hellgate: London and clicking the Update Available button. Clicking the Details button under Single Player yields the patch notes, clicking Update will apply the patch.


Many thanks to those Hellgaters who helped out by testing preliminary Single Player Patch 1.2 versions!


Multiplayer Patch 1.3 Coming Tomorrow

Patch 1.3 has grown from an intermediary between Patch 1.2 and the Abyss Chronicles to a giant in its own right. With features coming out its ears, this content update is sure to wow and to please. A release candidate of Patch 1.3 is slated for Test Center release later today where it'll receive its final round of testing by QA and Hellgaters. Information on the estimated downtime will be posted before the Test Center server goes down for the update. For those players who sample the release candidate and want to report problems or bugs, please use the Test Center Feedback forum.

After the final Patch 1.3 build spends the night on Test Center, the live servers will be updated around noon tomorrow, barring any unforeseen difficulties. Information on downtimes will be posted to the Server Status page and the forums beforehand. While the final patch notes will be posted tomorrow, ones based off of the Test Center build can be found here.

Patch 1.3 introduces a host of new elements to Hellgate: London, including a Shared Stash system, a Premium Item Merchant, optional chat bubbles, a number of emotes your characters can perform, the abilities to hide your helmet and inspect other characters' equipment, and a Donation Collector NPC who grants global buffs. Additionally, a new set of passive skills called Expertise have been introduced, gained by earning Ranks. For more details, check out the latest patch notes from Test Center.


Team Advocate Program: Guardian Position Available

What is the Team Advocate Program? It's a project operated by Flagship Studios, the goal of which is to amass the feedback, knowledge, and play experience of our community to better ensure that every aspect of Hellgate: London is as enjoyable as possible. Team Advocates are players that volunteer their free time to assist the Hellgate: London development team by providing testing, compilations of player feedback, general feedback on proposed changes, and new ideas on ways to improve their area of the game. Team Advocates also have a secondary mission of helping to keep the player base informed on Flagship Studios' positions on issues related to their topics.

This past week, three more Team Advocate Program positions were filled including PvE, PvP, and Items. One position remains available, the Guardian Team Advocate. Interested in applying? Email us! Please be sure to include the name of the position you are applying for in the subject of your email for quicker consideration (i.e. Guardian Team Advocate Program). Team Advocates will be selected based on many factors outlined on the forums here.


Hellgate: London Official Soundtrack Now on iTunes

When the release of Hellgate: London's official soundtrack was announced a few weeks ago, a number of Hellgaters from foreign lands commented that they were unable to purchase it due to Amazon.com's restrictions. However, the album has now made it to the iTunes Store and is available for purchase using the application.


A number of forumers who had difficulty when purchasing from Amazon.com have reported success using the iTunes Store. The soundtrack is available as direct-download MP3s and tracks can be purchased individually. The Hellgate: London soundtrack is composed by Sonic Mayhem, made up of industry veterans Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan. The album is released under the London Green Studios label.


Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

And so is ending an Underground Communique. The second half of this week should prove just as fast-paced as the first, particularly with Multiplayer Patch 1.3 and Single Player Patch 1.2 freshly released.

Anticipate a trailer for the former soon!
-- Scapes

Underground Communique #3
Week of April 14th

Don't Stop Me Now!

And so begins a new tradition: music-referencing passage titles, this one inspired by just how non-stop this week has been thus far! Welcome to the third installment of the Underground Communique, a weekly news summary about all things Hellgate: London. Things are very fast-paced at Flagship Studios these days - just the way we like it. Here's the latest!


"Reconnaissance Mission" Accomplished!

The Stonehenge-centric screenshot contest that came to a close at the start of April yielded some truly impressive results. After much deliberation, four winning entries were selected, the creme de la creme. The participants received the following "turning in the quest" transmission from the People of Holborn Station:

WOW!

...oh, sorry, that must have been loud: Wow! Wow wow wow! Thank you Hellgaters for these amazing shots of Stonehenge! Just look at these shots! A brave Templar standing proudly over fallen Moloch, a 100-page publication all about the Stonehenge frontier, a fantastically-composed image of warriors on the hunt in the Wilds, and a comprehensive postcard of all the lands we hope one day to visit ourselves! Wait a tic...why is Techsmith 101 holding the magazine sideways...

...a centerfold of Desiccator along with its turn-ons and what it looks for in a victim. Well that'll keep Techsmith 101 occupied for a spell. There he goes, running off with it. Not sure if we're going to want it back after he's done with it.

Well, noble champions, you have done this humble station a good turn. The People of Holborn Station would like to provide something additional to fully convey our thanks, Scapes has the details. FOR THE LIVING!

In addition to Hellgate: London posters signed by Flagship Studios employees, the artist of each winning submission will receive a Hellgate: London t-shirt as well. Check out the screenshots here. We're looking forward to setting up and announcing our next community contest, just a little ways out!


Two Weeks, Two Patches, Five New Versions Total

Last week was certainly a busy and productive one. It was the second week in a row that Friday yielded new builds of both the Single Player Patch 1.2 Beta and Test Center Patch 1.3. Additionally, yesterday saw a third new build of the latter uploaded to the Test Center server, increasing the already lengthy patch notes by half.

Single Player Patch 1.2 Beta is on the cusp of completion with just one more bug preventing its ultimate release. A new build is due out later tonight and should address the persistent bug which prevented players from creating Elite Mode characters. An announcement will be made on the forums when this penultimate version is ready for download. As always, please backup your saved Hellgate: London data before installing this patch.


Exercising Our "Evil Eye"

A recent update to our game servers introduced some database software which will allow our gameplay metric system, The Evil Eye, to document a wide assortment of Hellgate: London statistics for the education and edification of our players. Just today we took a "Game Snapshot" for this past week on the Test Center server and generated "Top 5" reports on the game's richest guilds, top average richest guilds, top friended characters, and most popular character classes.

As this was a test run, we culled data from the Test Center rather than the live servers but weekly Game Snapshots are planned and should offer even more tantalizing details about Hellgaters' habits and superlatives. Check out the Top 5 lists yielded here on the forums.


Forum Section Created Solely for Patch Notes

Looking for a bit of Hellgate history? Trying to determine when X rebalance or Y bug fix was first introduced? Look no further than the Patch Notes subforum on the official Hellgate: London forums. This section has been made to house all final release versions of Hellgate: London's patch notes since the game's launch in October 2007. From Patch 0 to Patch 1.2, they're all there. The website's Patches section is also being updated to include this information.


Hellgate: London Celebrates the Most Successful Online Korean Launch in Three Years

San Francisco, CA (April 11th, 2008) - Flagship Studios today announced that its action role-playing game Hellgate: London has become the most successful online video game launch for Korea in the past three years with over 1 million accounts registered within the first two weeks of its open beta test. Hellgate: London is the first online game in over three years to use a monthly subscription business model.

You can read the full press release either on the Flagship Studios website or the Hellgate: London forums.


Hellgate: London's Community Manager Playing Hellgate: London?

It's not as fantastic as it sounds! Scapes, Hellgate: London's Community Manager, can often be found chatting it up with other Hellgaters in Chat-1 on the Shulgoth (US) server using a character of the same name. So stop by, hang out, ask some questions and I'll do my best to answer them and/or crack witticisms in the midst of multitasking any number of other odd tasks. (If I'm a bit slow to reply, you now know why.)

To join Chat-1, enter "/channeljoin chat-1" without the quotation marks into the chat pane. To enter text into the chat channel, enter "/chat" (again, no quotation marks) to set your target channel, then type away.


Well That Was a Long One

I've a feeling this could be the average length of these Underground Communiques. Would seem the format is leveling out some, too. However, if you have suggestions, I'd like to hear them. Click the "Talk About This Story!" link below to be taken to the forum thread where you can post your ideas, grammar corrections, recipes for Seared Carnagor Salad, whathaveyou.

Hope it was an enjoyable read! Take care of yourselves in old London town, Hellgaters!
-- Scapes