Note: This issue is archived from a previous version of the V&H website. It may be missing images or content.
The Headline
Sugarsweet Summit has arrived!
With its rolling pink hills, where lollipops sprout from the ground, its candied lakes, and purple skies of floating hearts, was there ever an event zone quite as cheerful and pleasant as that of Sugarsweet Summit?
It’s that time of year again! Cupid has darted into Villagers & Heroes and, arrows flying, has delivered the sweetest valentine of all – a delicious land full of treats and goodies where friends of all levels can come together and tackle such lusciously evil beasts as Sour Patch Eater, Jelly Bean, Fizzler, Tootsie, and more! Sweet danger, lengthy quests, and wonderful times await!
And what enchanted, heart-filled land would be complete without the thundering gallop or elegant trotting of….wait for it…..unicorns! That’s right, this year we have introduced a trio of magical horned mounts that even the most cynical will have their eyes upon: The Sugarsweet Unicorn, the Starfire Unicorn, and the very regal and austere, Dread Unicorn!
Unlike past event zones, to mix things up a bit, these unique unicorn mounts are only found in the item shop and cannot be earned in-game. However, for those who enjoy looking fabulously attired and appreciate putting in a little effort, the Sugarsweet event zone is featuring a brand new outfit that all players can earn for free: the Sugarsweet Enchantress Gnogpack!
Both in the shop and in the event zone, we’ve also brought back an array of popular Sugarsweet favorites which range from toys, weapons, hats, and more, not to mention several other fantastic brand new outfits. Have a look!
But most of all, Everyone, please join in the fun of this wonderful event zone where new friends can always be made, thrilling battles can be fought, and delightful rewards await all those who enter!
Fan Works
From Sighfrid’s Easel
Thank you, as always, to the absolutely amazing, Sighfrid of EU 1! Have a look at his wonderful rendition of one of our favorite Elder Bosses we love to hate.
WHAT’S NEW
French language & new quest icons
The Sugarsweet Build has of course injected great fun and lively color into V&H, but did you know that Patch 3.26.4 also has a variety of other new improvements and features in it as well? Like what, you ask?
For starters, how about FRENCH!! All of Villagers & Heroes is now available to be played in the French language! After several months of hard work and fine-tuning, we now have an auto-translating program implemented into the game, which will allow us, from here on out, to continue adding more and more languages from around the world into V&H. French is now live! This particular build marks the beginning of what we hope will be a whole new global era for this little indie game!
What else is new with Patch 3.26.4? In addition to a slew of bug fixes, we have also completely updated and improved the quest icons on the maps and above the heads of NPC’s in the game.
To prepare you all for this change, our graphic artist, Ivar, is here to provide, not only a few more details, but also some visual examples of exactly what you can expect from now on when logging into the game.
From Ivar:
The old quest icons were confusing in many ways – in some places main
and side quests used different icons and in some places they were the
same, the color scheme did not communicate things well, and overall they
did not look very crisp.
The new icons bring a clear structure and color scheme to the icons – main quest icons are purple and ornate, and side quest icons are yellow and simple. They use the same order – ! for new quests, ? for continuing quests, and a star for completing quests. The “quest in progress” icon, for when NPC is part of a quest but have no new directions for you, was also changed to match the continue icon.
Interview
V&H Player: GoGoGadgetGo
Player: GoGoGadgetGo
Server: EU 1
Class: Warrior
How long have you been playing Villagers & Heroes for? What first drew you to the game, and what is it that keeps you playing now? I began playing almost 6 years ago. I was invited to beta test of the game thru Facebook and started playing when the game was still on browser. I am not quite sure what has kept me playing this long. I would think that I have invested a lot of time to the game so I kind of wanted to see it thru, where it will develop over time. I was always very interested to see the Village vs Village concept come thru. Especially the monster ranching, sounded pretty awesome idea. So still hoping that will come reality one day in future.
V&H is truly an international game, with players spread all around the globe, and we are always interested in learning more about where the members of our V&H family reside. If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell us a little about where you are from? I am from Lappeenranta, Finland. Small town on Russian border in south-east part of Finland.
Do you consider yourself to be a ‘gamer?’ What were some of your favorite games growing up? How about now? What characteristics do you look for when evaluating a new game to play? I think I am a gamer. I started my gaming career with Commodore 64. Remember getting thru a lot of joysticks playing Decathlon. Also loved Giana Sisters, H.E.R.O. and Barbarian on it. My first bought game was Ultima 8 for pc back in 1993. Since then, I fell in love with story driven RPGs and stayed with them since. Recent years gone, with Fallout series and Mass Effect series. Just pre ordered Mass Effect Andromeda for my ps4.
As a V&H veteran who has watched this game go through many changes over the years, what have some of the highlights been for you? What feature(s) would you most like to see added to the game in the future? All level cap raises have been an event for me. I am a speed freak when it comes to getting levels. I love to challenge myself every time to get to cap as fast as possible. Especially, I loved Traven region when it was introduced. Reborn was also quite an interesting patch for me as I really got to do A LOT of levels in a very small period of time. I still hope for Village vs Village like I mentioned before. Also expecting a lot from the new combat system. And looking forward to the new repeatable content.
In your opinion, how has the V&H Android launch been so far on EU 1? (Are you noticing a difference on the server? More players? New villages? What sort of feedback do your hear most often from mobile players?) I haven’t personally seen a huge change after Android launch. What feedback I am hearing from Android players is very positive. Personally, I haven’t been able to test out the game yet on Android.
When you are not playing Villagers & Heroes, what other activities do you enjoy? I am a father of 3, so my time goes with my awesome children. In winter time, we ice skate a lot as we live next to an ice rink. Then when I have that small portion of the day for myself, I relax watching movies and playing games.
It’s Sugarsweet time in V&H, which means an event zone question is inevitable. What’s your favorite event zone in the game? If you could add a new event zone to V&H, what would it be and/or look like? Events are my cryptonite. Recent times, I have been successfully evading all of them. I am not a dress up fan and as I am capped not in need of boosts, so been little use for me to participate in the events. My favorite event by far has been the eastern egg hunt that happens in normal maps. If any events are added, I would hope them to be small events over a small period of time and maybe happen in normal maps. More part of everyday gameplay. Like hunts for strange monsters or defend the village type of events.
Is there any song that, when it comes on, you can’t stop yourself from uncontrollably humming to or singing aloud to? If so, what is it? I can’t stop myself from humming, period. lol. I sing along with anything I hear from Radio. Or if no radio around, I just hum constantly whatever comes to mind. It’s my way of concentrating to things. When it comes to music, I listen effortlessly, anything. From classical to death metal.
How often does your warrior toon change outfits? Weekly? Monthly? Almost never? Specifically, what is your toon wearing right now? ? I hardly ever change my outfits. Currently my combat armor is blue lol. No idea what the outfit is called. As a gathering outfit, I have Mystic Troupers outfit from Darrig chests.
If you were tasked to make a ‘How To Video’ about any aspect in Villagers & Heroes, what would it be of? I would most likely make something combat related. Maybe guides to maps on how to do the bounties in the most efficient way.
Contest
The Sugary Scribbler Caption Contest!
The Sneaky Scribbler enjoys keeping everyone on their toes, and has another caption contest for you all!
The rules are simple: just write an amusing caption for the image pictured below. No limit to the number of entries. Great Prizes! But most of all, it’s always hilarious to read what you all come up with. Have fun, and get to it!
Please visit our forums here to participate.
The Sneaky Scribbler
You Said It:
When you have finished with Pinbone:
“Too much gold? Let Copperscale Gold Disposal take care of all your gold disposal needs!” –AngelinaCopperscale (US2)
Naked Crafting:
“Um I think I accidentally destroyed my clothes trying to make more.” –here4u (US2)
When Good Devs Go Bad:
“I think I’ll draw it out today. 😛 Make them agonize for several more hours. –Sarah Otter
Control, Alt, Bend Over (US1):
Irianna: Maybe practice on your friends and see if you have any issues. If you do, please send a bung report.
Fion: Bung report? How do we send those?
What happens in Sugarsweet, stays in Sugarsweet:
“Some people can’t cope unless they have a naughty corner to go to.” –Scarlet Night (US1)
On popularity:
“Wow, I am even a dork in the gaming world and don’t get invited places. Bummer.” –Oober31 (US2)
On poop hats:
“I wear bad hair as a badge of honor.” –Damon Otter
Behind The Scenes
Event Dreams
Have you ever wondered what the Otters personally think about event zones, or maybe what each individual Otter would most like to see as an event zone in Villagers & Heroes? Well, wonder no more!
Please note: the following ideas are not actually going to be implemented into the game, but are the fun, creative musings of imaginative people who always have an array of colorful thoughts rolling around in their heads.
From Diet:
I’ve always wanted to do an Alice in Wonderland themed event zone, I think it would be the perfect theme.
There would be places in the zone you could only get to if you were very large, and places you could only get to if you were very small. There could be tea parties, puzzles, chessboards, playing cards, painted rose trees, scary duchess bosses, and more. Plus, all of the crazy and cool outfits, pets, and mounts that our artists could come up with!
I’ve always found the world of Lewis Carol to be very enchanting and mystifying, but in a sort of off-the-wall sort of way. Which I think would make it a great fit for Villagers and Heroes. Plus, since the work is now under Public Domain, we could use actual images and text from the original books. I think it would be awesome.
From Liam:
“With the waning of each year, the castle Ramparts (an ancient bastion of Mallok’s might in times past, now reclaimed by the citizens of Thorncrest) mysteriously waxes in dark power. Heroes and villagers alike must gather to raze its gates, disperse its foul interlopers, and repair the damage wrought to its rightful inhabitants!”
In Ramparts, crafting is integral! Waves of enemies will overwhelm the mightiest parties unless you can repair and fortify the walls and towers leading to the castle, and smash the forts and portcullises defending it. As you push forward day after day, more and more powerful bounties will be unlocked, daily quests will appear, and optional crafting projects will open, all promising unique armor and other rewards to the persistent.
Surely with concentrated effort and the cooperation of heroes and villagers, you will break through every challenge and face the inmost evil, the Living Ritual itself!
From Sarah:
I love Greek myths and ancient Greece, so I’d like a sprawling zone which has it all – a majestic palace in the sky atop Mt Olympus, where sit Zeus and the gods, who look down upon a colorful world of valleys and rivers, labyrinths and chariots, harpies and centaurs, walled cities and magnificent temples.
Players, clad in togas or wearing snake-headed Medusa outfits, would do battle with the likes of a demonic Plato in his cave, or a raging King Midas whose golden touch kills all, or vengeful Medea, flanked by her ghostly children. (Always beware of ghostly children.)
Quests would include building the Trojan horse piece by piece, attempting to steal fire from the gods, and searching for the missing lid to Pandora’s box.
From Ivar:
I’d like to see an event zone that really embraces the fact that event zones are temporary:
Year Of The Falling Stars
One day, a mystical star fell from the heavens, with the promise of
wealth and destruction alike. Adventurers from across the realms sought
its danger and riches, but soon the downed star had vanished as quickly
as it appeared. Rumors spread of more falling stars in the sky, however,
and the people of the Seven Realms waited in yearning…
The Year Of The Falling Stars is an event spanning an entire year – but not all at once! In week-long “falling star” mini-events, a magical star crashes down in a zone somewhere in the game – but in a different zone each time. These mini-events are not regular, but happen at random across the year. When a star has struck down in a zone, it lasts for a week and then vanishes as suddenly as it arrived. The mini-event itself is double-faceted: the star, inside a glowing crater, transforms the zone it landed in and have you fight celestial variants of its regular enemies along with special rewards – but you can also enter the crater and the star itself for the main part of the event. The inside of the star is a glowing, sparkling landscape of celestial wonders, the ground appears made of pure light, and mystical constellations can be seen both above and underneath you. Each falling star holds a different clue to why they fell in the first place…
Just a single of these mini-events yields great rewards, but the more falling stars you enter and complete all tasks within, the greater the final spoils at the end of the year-long event. Since each falling star crashes into a different zone and have different enemies and rewards, every time a star is falling is a sign of something new happening. In a grand finale, a star crashes into Ardent City itself, with the conclusion of the storyline deep within…
From Damon:
King Leo has been asleep for two weeks, and no one is able to wake him up. A royal summons goes out across the realm -if some brave hero can rouse him from his dark slumber, then royal golden rewards will be given – even a royal betrothal to the princess or the dauphin.
The brave hero can enter the royal bed chamber. King Leo can be seen sleeping in his bed. The room, however, is ringed with shadow, mists, and dark magicks. Faint cackling whispers can be heard…
And above Leo can be seen a shadowy portal… a view into the nightmare that plagues him. The hero can step through this nightmare portal into…
A crazy zone… on the ground can be seen a grid pattern, but all warped and distorted, like a checkerboard. As the hero makes his or her way into this reality, all the monsters are chess pieces. The hero must battle the sub-bosses- bishops, knights, and rooks. The main bosses in the zone are the King and the Queen, who fight together as a pair.
If the hero can collect all 16 pieces, then the mastermind appears – a dark shadow of Mallok, who although his body was destroyed by the Legendary Four, his disembodied spirit had drifted through the ether until at last, he discovered if he could haunt a powerful leader’s mind, he could eventually possess him, and seize his body. And so, the hero must in the end, defeat this dark shadow of Mallok to save the realm once again…
Mallok, by the way, among his many great talents, was a powerful chess player, who while still alive, would challenge the greatest heroes of the time a battle of wits on the chessboard, with the promise that if they prevailed, then he would leave the realms in peace. And although Mallok was a great player, he left nothing to chance, and while playing he would secretly weave mind-numbing spells on his opponent, so that they would commit blunders during the game.
And at last when would unleash a great combination on the board to checkmate his beleaguered opponent, he would seize their souls, and consume all their power, leaving them dead. Many of his greatest spells were woven from the combinations he unleashed on the chess board– and now, at last, Mallok has found a way to return to the mortal plane, and finish his goal of bringing the seven realms under his spell, at the end of all things.