Hello. This is Brown Dust 2 PD Jun-hee Lee.
Did you enjoy the 1.5-Year Anniversary broadcast?
It feels like the things we have to do pile up with every broadcast.
I wonder what those punks at the broadcasting station—oops, I mean the people in the business department—will come up with next.
The latest broadcast for our 1.5-year Anniversary rolled out separately in Japan and Taiwan.
I missed the live broadcast because I was busy preparing for it, so I'll have to watch the replay.
In this Developer Note, we'll deliver the key update details as closely as possible to the actual content.
We'll also walk you through matters we didn't have the chance to discuss in the broadcast.
New Event Pack: Memory's Edge (December 17th)
We invite you to yet another winter Event Pack update for 2024.
The one to take the spotlight this time is "Memory's Edge," set in a cyberpunk universe.
You might remember last year's Event Pack, Nightmare Winter, a scene that also had a near-future backdrop.
In this Event Pack, we took an extra step in our future-oriented approach,
welcoming your journey into a fully-fledged cyberpunk lore.
This year's Event Pack, "Memories Edge," is set roughly a year after "Nightmare Winter,"
albeit in a completely different city. The new journey will unfold in Pandora City.
Morpeah met her doom through Rou's sacrifice in Nightmare Winter.
However, she somehow appeared in the alleys of Pandora City with no recollections of her past.
While lying on the ground unconscious, Loen passes by and rescues her just in time.
From there, Morpeah starts working as a bartender at a pub called Vorpal Rabbit with Loen.
One day, Morpeah hears that Loen's birthday is coming up.
So, she heads to somewhere dangerous to find her birthday present.
She is soon surrounded by cleaners, the menacing beings who lurk on the floors of Sector 4, the city's abandoned area.
Loen hears the news and heads to Sector 4 to rescue Morpeah—
Log in to the game for more!
New Seasonal Event: Goodbye Freedom (December 17th)
It's the winter seasonal event, Goodbye Freedom.
This seasonal event, with its focus on a single concept, will be held over four weeks. It will be divided into two periods, each held for two weeks.
This seasonal event marks the start of changes in story presentation.
A lot of you have mentioned the problem regarding the frequency of the illustration's exposure.
We agreed with the argument that there was no point in having a good illustration if it didn't have a lot of exposure in the game.
So, the presentation of seasonal event stories will take a visual novel format with conversations between the illustrations.
The first part of Goodbye Freedom, opening in the first week, is subtitled Shaded Heart.
The subheading of the second part, opening in the third week, is Overheat, which is also the name of Levia's costume.
This seasonal event, Goodbye Freedom, contains a story that serves as a prequel to the winter event pack, Memories Edge.
Here, you can find out about the past of Levia and Luvencia, the troubleshooters in Memories Edge,
and dig deep into what made them appear in the city.
We hope you enjoy the newly introduced visual novel-style seasonal event story.
Introduction to the Characters
Celebrity Bunny Loen
The first character is Loen, who received a lot of attention for the so-called "Reverse Bunny" costume.
The costume is named Celebrity Bunny and is offered as a new Limited Pickup.
Celebrity Bunny Loen has a skill concept of dealing powerful damage to multiple enemies in a wide area.
Daydream Bunny Morpeah
Next up, we have the star of the popularity contest, Morpeah!
Morpeah is a character who stands on the other side of the spectrum, compared to Eclipse.
So, we decided to name her costume Daydream Bunny, contrasting her looks with the name of Nightmare Bunny.
Her costume has a white color scheme, fitting for its name while standing out from other bunny costumes.
As the Daydream Bunny Morpeah is a costume from the popularity vote, you can obtain 6 copies for free, meaning you can get it fully upgraded.
Daydream Bunny Morpeah has a skill concept of summoning allied creatures, similar to the previous Beach Vacation costume.
Overheat Levia
Here comes Overheat Levia, who is rising up as a troubleshooter.
We gave the name "Overheat" because Levia's prosthetic arm overheats during battle, according to her lore.
Overheat Levia has a skill concept that deals more powerful damage to enemies in a vulnerable state.
Wild Dog Luvencia
Here is Luvencia, another troubleshooter who forms a duo with Levia.
Appearing as a top-notch problem solver, Luvencia over here is also an incredible battle enthusiast.
If Levia is the brain of the duo, then Luvencia could be considered the heart.
Wild Dog Luvencia has a skill concept that deals more powerful damage depending on the number of chains applied to the enemy.
???
Last but not least, many of you have been dying to see who this is because we never released any information.
She won't be a playable character.
However, she will be associated with Loen and is set to appear as a key figure in the seasonal event story.
Next, we have details regarding the pickup for December.
Fiend Hunter
In the first week of the two-part seasonal event, a rerun fiend will appear. In the third week, a new fiend will make its debut.
[Rerun] Fiend Hunter: Talos (Wind)
Fiend from Goodbye Freedom - Shaded Heart (December 17th)
Talos reappears with the Wind attribute.
The higher chains you stack up on the fiend, the more damage you can deal.
[New] Fiend Hunter: Modified Human TYPE-B01 (Light)
Fiend from Goodbye Freedom - Overheat (January 2nd)
The Modified Human TYPE-B01 is a Light attribute fiend.
It has relatively simple patterns, but it features a skill that deals significant damage during battle.
Mini-Game: Pandora Escape
The future direction I mentioned earlier, was about creating content that would be fun, despite not being mandatory.
I believe this mini-game will be the first example of that.
Let me introduce you to Pandora Escape.
Pandora Escape is a survival action roguelike Mini-game.
When you start the game, you'll engage in battle with swarming enemies.
Each stage lasts about 5 to 10 minutes, and as the player, you clear the stages as you progress.
You will obtain skills and develop your character to challenge the final boss in battle.
Within the stage, you can obtain currency exclusive to Pandora Escape.
You can use this currency to upgrade your character's stats to face even stronger enemies.
After getting to the third week, a character with a different play style, Luvencia, will be added, and the challenge mode will be activated.
In the challenge mode, you can compete with other players' records by defeating as many monsters as possible.
The in-game currency is not provided as a gameplay reward. However, you can obtain My Room furniture by clearing certain stages.
New Content: Glupy Diner
Next, let me walk you through the Glupy Diner, a restaurant management feature where you can interact with characters.
It will be added as a new pack containing various features, so let me give you the details, one by one.
Glupy Diner: Restaurant Part
First, we have the restaurant.
When you first enter the restaurant, you'll notice that many facilities are locked, giving it an empty feel.
You must use the initially provided currency to open the locked facilities in the restaurant and assign part-time characters.
By making the restaurant grow that way, you can level up and enjoy the benefit of increased settlement rewards from running the restaurant.
Settlement rewards can accumulate for up to 24 hours. Based on the predetermined reward production rate according to the restaurant's level, you can receive rewards proportional to the amount of idle time.
We expect players to take around 100 days to reach the final level.
After fully developing all elements in the restaurant, you can no longer make your restaurant grow.
However, you can continue to receive Gold and Refining Powder as settlement rewards.
The restaurant follows a linear growth structure and does not include any additional decorative elements.
Aspects related to decoration are planned to be reviewed in the future.
In this Glupy Diner session, we hope you enjoy playing with a focus on the fun of steady daily growth.
Glupy Diner: Regular Guests, Fated Guests
The second feature is the visit of special guests.
There are two types of special guests: regular and fated. Also, some of the costumes you own will come to the restaurant.
Upon the visit of a regular guest, you will receive a Magic Crystal item that matches the property of the costume as a visit reward.
If you receive visit rewards from the same costume a set number of times, you can fill out the Regular Note and obtain Dia.
Nevertheless, you shouldn't forget the fated guests, as they are even more important.
Fated guests visit the restaurant with various stories, and touching them triggers a dialogue event.
The dialogue event is conducted in a visual novel style with illustrated conversations.
As the master of the restaurant, the player engages in first-person dialogue with characters visiting as fated guests.
Once the dialogue event is completed, you can obtain contact information.
After obtaining their contact, you can interact with those characters through a messenger called Glutalk
and continue the conversation.
The story of Glupy Diner is presented from a first-person perspective,
which was a new challenge for the story team as well.
A lot of thought and effort went into implementing the natural first-person perspective.
To achieve this, we utilized the parallel world concept of Brown Dust 2.
Within the Glupy Diner Pack, players are set to identify themselves as the "Master."
Meanwhile, the existing main story maintains a third-person observer perspective.
We don't plan to introduce the costumes of characters appearing in the main story as fated guests.
The characters appearing as fated guests will feature costumes with a parallel world concept.
Initially, you'll get Nebris, the new employee who appeared in Character Pack 7.
After her, the Morpeah and Loen Bunny Girl series will be updated sequentially.
We wanted to add many characters at once, but it wasn't easy to prepare high-quality stories for them.
So, we've decided to focus a bit more on quality rather than quantity for now.
It seems that implementing a large number of updates at once will continue to be challenging.
Nevertheless, we plan to consistently present them one by one while maintaining our high-quality standards.
It's quite unfortunate we had to drop out voiceovers due to schedule constraints.
We plan to add them one by one in the future, so please stay tuned for a bit longer.
Fated Guest: Special Interaction
The next feature I'd like to tell you is the special interaction.
Using Glutalk, as mentioned above, you can open a meeting event with a fated guest after obtaining their contact.
The meeting event can be conducted up to 3 times a day, and the used count is replenished daily.
Participating in the meeting event increases Affinity by 1 and allows you to obtain certain rewards. Affinity can be increased up to a maximum of 10.
The first meeting event at the restaurant is not deducted from your event count, allowing you to increase Affinity to 10 within 3 days.
When you increase Affinity to 10, you obtain a special interaction that can be registered on the home screen.
This is likely to be the update that many of you will enjoy the most.
On December 17th, Nebris will appear as a fated guest.
Moreover, on January 2nd, Morpeah and Loen will appear as fated guests.
One of the costumes you own will randomly appear as a fated guest; however, the costume will not appear if you obtained its contact.
Therefore, if 3 fated guests have been updated, you can obtain the contact for all fated guests over 3 days.
Japanese Voiceover Update
The full Japanese voiceovers for Character Packs 1 through 5 will finally be updated.
We can now say that all Packs are fully dubbed in Japanese and Korean.
We sincerely apologize to the players who enjoy the game with Japanese voiceovers for the delay.
Partial Modifications to Existing Story
With the Glupy Diner update, a first-person romance story has been added, leading to modifications to some parts of the existing story.
Some players mentioned that certain couple-pairing settings or scenes where a specific female character shows excessive interest in another male character in some plots hindered their immersion.
We agree with this feedback and intend to improve the relevant content.
In this update, modifications will be made to the part of the Mirror Wars involving the reunion between Jusfia (Justia) and Galrey (Gray).
Also, we have plans to revise the scene where Scheherazade and Elise make advances towards Agent Aaron, in time for the re-release of Summer Knight.
In Brown Dust 2, couple-pairing itself is not entirely ruled out.
However, we plan to handle character dialogue and actions more carefully in the future to avoid undermining their original charm or disrupting immersion.
We sincerely apologize to the players who may have felt discomfort, stemming from their love for our character. We will do our best to handle emotional expressions with more care.
Existing Character Balance Adjustments & Increase in HP Ratio Skills' Cap
A total of 12 ★5 costumes will be buffed to fulfill their originally intended roles.
The existing roles will remain unchanged, and the skill effects will not be altered.
The balance of costumes released a long time ago may require performance-related adjustments.
We will continue to monitor and pay attention to this matter.
Moreover, the HP cap applied to HP-ratio skills will increase from 20,000 to 30,000.
The buffed costumes and the content of their enhancements are as follows.
1. Anastasia - Gentle Maid
- Increase in Crit DMG buff stats
2. Anastasia - Fire Graffiti
- Increase in Crit DMG buff stats, cooldown reduction
3. Elise - Lovely Lady
- Increase in DMG
4. Elise - Code Name O
- Increase in DMG
5. Angelica - Neon Savior
- DOT DMG can stack; increase in HP ratio cap
6. Angelica - Pool Party
Increase in HP ratio cap
7. Angelica - The Fallen
- Increase in DMG and HP ratio cap
8. Glacia - Disciplinary Committee
- Decrease in cooldown, increase in DMG
9. Seir - Demon's Daughter
- Decrease in SP consumption
10. Ventana - Snow White
- Increase in Conditional DMG
11. Olstein - Sage of Blue Clouds
- Increase in hit counts for multi-hit attacks
12. Lecliss - Killer Doll
- Decrease in SP consumption
Skill Cutscene Modification Plans
In a previous Developer Note, we mentioned the modification plan for existing skill cutscenes.
Since it is scheduled to take place in the first quarter following the 1.5-year anniversary update,
we would like to inform the anticipating players in advance about the direction of the changes.
As for Piercing Magic Bow Eleaneer, we will improve the presentation by adding a background or removing the doll, among other enhancements.
We also hope to enlarge her standing illustration's chest area to align her figure with the skill cutscene.
Another aim is to adjust Night of Envy Levia's cutscene and deal with Levia's body shape matching issue.
We plan to adjust and match the standing illustration.
For Seal Snatcher Luvencia, we will adjust the presentation aspects of her side glances and camera movements.
Furthermore, Dancing Snowflake Yumi from Senran Kagura is also scheduled to be adjusted.
We will make changes to the area and details of her underwear, which many players have pointed out.
The modifications for Yumi were somewhat demanding requests after the collaboration contract ended.
However, thanks to the business department's candid explanation of our circumstances, the IP holder also accepted our request.
Of course, we need to go through an additional review process, so it may take some time. We appreciate your patience.
Addition of Existing Characters' Cutscenes
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Lovely Lady Elise |
Killer Doll Lecliss |
Great Witch Celia |
Code Name A Rafina |
The following are our answers based on the questions frequently asked by many of you during the survey directed at the developers.
We have also included additional questions and answers that could not be addressed during the broadcast due to time constraints.
Here are the unedited answers provided directly by each person in charge.
Regarding Character Design
Q1. Will we get to see characters with more diverse body types (e.g. petite, young, etc.) in the future?
[Currently, characters with voluptuous physiques tend to be prioritized]
Oven: We recognize that body type is a significant factor in establishing a character's identity.
We'll try to meet our players' expectations by ensuring characters of various age groups have their own unique charm.
Q2. Can you emphasize a more subtle appeal rather than an overtly revealing one?
Oven: Our art team genuinely appreciates the charm of subtle appeals. However, we understand that the recent focus on visually prominent features might not resonate with everyone. We'll do our best to strike a fine balance by incorporating feedback from our players.
Q3. Will you address the discrepancies between character illustrations and cutscenes?
Oven: We understand the frustration of players who think, 'This isn't how my character looks.'
Starting with recent revisions, we will thoroughly review the designs to ensure consistency of body shape or overall look across illustrations and cutscenes.
Q4. Can you let us adjust skill cutscenes more freely and have more character interactions?
[Functions like speed adjustment, zoom, rotation, and other various actions and interactive features]
Seong-hyun Han (Origami): For the 1.5-Year Anniversary, we'll first introduce a zoom-in/out feature for interaction cutscenes.
After that, we plan to extend this feature to standard skill cutscenes and standing illustrations.
Regarding Maps
Q1. Will there be additional content or various interactions utilizing existing maps? [The maps are beautifully designed, but feel underutilized as they're not revisited or reused]
Jayden: I completely agree with you! We previously held an event where players collected Event Coins across maps, but the forced exploration felt tedious, so we passed on similar ideas afterward. However, we've noticed that some players miss such events, so we're considering alternate approaches.
I'll think about ways to incorporate map-based content that isn't boring, but fun and engaging for repeated play!
Q2. Are there plans to add maps with diverse themes, new events, or adventure elements (e.g. floating islands, underwater cities, etc.)?
Jayden: While Character and Event Packs have featured a variety of settings,
updates in the first half of next year will mostly focus on advancing the main story. As such, the focus will shift to fantasy-themed settings!
We're committed to delivering stunning and memorable settings unique to BD2.
Q3. What's the status of My Room, and when will it be improved (or prioritized)?
Jayden: For now, we hope you enjoy the recently added Glupy Diner. As for updates to My Room, we'll review the schedule in the first half of next year.
Regarding Story
Q1. The update cycle for new packs feels slow, and the story progression is sluggish. Can updates be made more consistently?
Jong-won Seo: I think the overall progression of the story feels fast within the grand scheme,
But we understand that the slow update schedule can make the pacing feel frustrating.
We're committed to consistently delivering updates with engaging stories, so please stay tuned.
Q2. Can we see more backstories for the main characters (Lathel, Gray, Schera, etc.) and less prominent characters?
[Further exploring the personalities of characters with backgrounds, event stories, and more]
Jong-won Seo: Trying to achieve this through the main story will be difficult.
But we aim to delve into their characters through other storytelling content.
Q3. Frequent battles during the story break the immersion. Can the balance between story and combat be improved?
Jong-won Seo: This is a multifaceted issue.
In addition to frequent battles, the increased difficulty has also made combat more time-consuming, disrupting immersion.
We're carefully considering how to better balance battle frequency, and changes will be implemented soon.
Q4. The story feels predictable. Can we expect twists that break away from typical tropes?
[Need for unpredictable twists and suspenseful plot development]
Jae-kyung Kim: We're eager to deliver on that. Please stay tuned to see what we have in store for you in the future.
Q5. Can there be opportunities for players to directly influence the story?
[Dialogue choices, for instance (even if there are no branching paths)]
Jae-kyung Kim: We acknowledge that the use of dialogue choices hasn't been as impactful as it could be.
While we can't make any promises, we're actively considering how to enhance the player experience via meaningful choices.
Q6. Can deeper backstories and interactions be included to provide a richer narrative experience?
Jong-won Seo: There are limits to how much story content can be included in a single pack, and prioritizing story progression
has made allocating text space for background details a challenge.
That said, we believe this shouldn't be an excuse for the lack of deep narrative or backstories.
We will work hard to find ways to present stories that satisfy our players.
Regarding Sound
Q1. Can the variety of voice lines for each character be expanded?
[e.g. increasing the number of voice lines from 4 to 7 or 8]
Sang-woo Shin: As the game continues to emphasize interactions with characters, we believe the variety of voice lines will naturally increase.
Thank you for your feedback, and we'll actively consider implementing these ideas.
Q2. The background music is great but can be repetitive due to the limited selection. Can more background music be added?
[e.g. adding a new battle theme]
Sang-woo Shin: Since the battle theme is a common one unlike the variety of background music, it can feel repetitive.
We're actively considering adding more battle themes, not only for event packs but also for regular packs.
Your appreciation of our music greatly motivates us. Thank you very much.
Q3. The soundtrack is so good. Can more genres (e.g. ballads, rock, etc.) be included?
Sang-woo Shin: We think a wide range of genres, from traditional Korean music to cyberpunk pop, is already well-represented.
However, remixing popular OSTs into other styles, like a ballad version of a beloved track, is an intriguing idea.
If there's a strong motivation, like there was for the jazz version of "Nightmare Winter" we'll actively consider it.
Q4. Can the lobby music selection be expanded? (Adding tracks like White Reaper as lobby music.)
Sang-woo Shin: We're aware this has been a frequent request. Most unavailable songs have been translated.
Currently, some unreleased tracks, like the Japanese version of White Reaper, aren't accessible to Korean-language players due to localization specifications. If there is strong demand, we'll actively consider implementing this feature.
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Q5. Would it be possible to create individual character theme songs to enhance immersion and individuality?
[Character-specific themes or tracks related to their backstories for immersion.]
Sang-woo Shin: We recognize the value of character theme songs, especially for upcoming game modes.
While essential BGMs are our current priority, we're optimistic about creating these themes in the future,
thanks to the dedication of our passionate composers.
Regarding Battles
Q1. The game (battle) difficulty feels excessively high. Is it possible to add beginner-friendly tutorials or guides?
Hyun-mu Seo: We recognize that the unfamiliar battle style can feel overwhelming for new players, especially in the early stages.
Battle terminology also contributes to this perceived difficulty, so we plan to actively use tooltips
to make learning these terms as simple and accessible as possible.
For example, we'll simplify explanations for systems like the Chain system.
(Hitting once builds 1 chain, each chain increases damage by 10%, chains reset at the end of the turn, etc.)
Q2. There seems to be an over-reliance on specific characters, leading to balance issues and limiting diversity. Will there be solutions for this? [Character use is limited, hopes for improvement as this decreases the game's variety.]
For characters like buffers and debuffers that are heavily relied upon, we plan to increase reruns of these costumes, at least for the sake of new players,
and boost their availability in sales even more frequently than other costumes.
While we've introduced alternative characters and costumes with similar roles, we're also considering additional releases to address this issue.
For collaboration characters, which are harder to rerun, we're exploring the possibility of introducing costumes with nearly identical roles after some time has passed.
Q3. The same character types and performances are being repeated. Can we expect new skills, battle styles, or mechanics?
Hyun-mu Seo: We'll address characters and battle mechanics separately.
For characters, we aim to design new ones with innovative skills.
Our goal is for new characters to feel exciting both visually and in terms of gameplay, sparking curiosity about how to utilize them effectively.
Regarding new battle mechanics, compared to the current standard battles,
content like Fiend Hunter, Guild Raids, and Tower of Salvation uses unique rules that create opportunities for specific characters to excel.
We'll continue adding new content with its own rules to ensure varied combat experiences and character utility.
Q4. The costume enhancement system and character/equipment growth systems feel complicated. Can they be simplified?
[Problems with changing character drag order, gear, and UI controls]
Hyun-mu Seo: While the costume enhancement system might feel unfamiliar at first, we believe it becomes manageable with some practice.
However, when it comes to aspects like character and equipment growth, we understand that as growth elements increase, the system can feel progressively more complex and unfamiliar.
We'll review these systems for potential improvements, especially refinement.
Q5. The interface (UI) could use improvement. Will there be updates?
[For example, changing character locations during battle, more intuitive displays of buffs and debuffs, etc.]
Hyun-mu Seo: There are frequent updates to the UI.
The unique rules of our combat system may contribute to the perception of complexity, as there are few direct references or existing frameworks to draw from.
Still, instead of relying on players to "get used to it," our team constantly approaches UI design from a new player's perspective, prioritizing ease and intuitiveness. We appreciate the feedback and encourage you to keep sharing your thoughts.
Management + Monetization
Q1. The game's advertising and promotional strategy should be improved.
[The game is not well known and needs more active marketing, especially in Japan.]
Jong-ho Kim: As someone in charge of business operations, I deeply apologize. It took some time to establish a unique advertising, promotion strategy, and style for BD2.
However, starting with the 1.5-Year anniversary, we plan to focus our advertising and promotional activities around major updates like anniversary updates.
Currently, various operations are being prepared and implemented, focusing on four key regions: Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.
We are actively preparing to participate in offline events representing each region.
As mentioned earlier in Part 1, we participated in this year's AGF in Korea. In Japan, we plan to meet and engage with users at Comiket at the end of December.
In Taiwan, we aim to promote the game at the Taipei Game Show in January. In the United States, we are working on plans to meet users offline around next summer.
In addition, we are preparing marketing activities involving various influencers and online platforms. We hope you continue to take an interest in and support our efforts moving forward.
Q2. There's a high demand for new collaborations, but also collab reruns. Will these be available?
[For the players feeling disappointed that they can't obtain some characters.]
Jong-ho Kim: This is difficult to decide based on just the business side of things.
Collaborations involve discussions between companies and diverse opinions from the community.
The biggest issue seems to be the unique mechanics of collab characters, which often provide significant advantages in certain content.
We aim to address this soon moving forward.
Q3. It would be nice to have more cost-effective packages.
[Improving satisfaction by providing a variety of events would also be good.]
[Demand for products that are not directly tied to performance.]
Jong-ho Kim: We appreciate requests for more packages. However, we approach this cautiously.
Some players may find the current number of packages too small, while others think it's sufficient. Right now I think we have achieved an appropriate balance.
I believe that as the number of packages increases, the distinction between them diminishes, and it may give the impression of pushing too hard for spending, which can lead to fatigue.
For now, we're maintaining a balanced approach,
but plan to introduce exciting packages during special and awaited updates like anniversaries or seasonal events.
For the 1.5-Year Anniversary, we've prepared packages with unique features and purposes, so please take a look.
Q4. Frequent character releases make monetization feel overwhelming, and the draw rates are too low.
[Frequent character releases are affecting the balance of the game.]
Jong-ho Kim: The concern may stem less from release frequency or rates and more from the effort, time, or money required to acquire characters.
Characters are the core interest of our game, and we've noticed a drop in engagement during weeks without new character releases.
While our draw rates are competitive compared to other games and we offer many free draws,
criticism likely arises due to factors like balance, skill design, lack of meaningful interactions, and attachment to the characters.
We're committed to improving satisfaction by enhancing character designs and interaction opportunities
while using events and various items to allow strategic methods for obtaining and enjoying characters.
Q5. Can there be more international payment methods? [PayPal, Alipay, WeChat Pay, etc.]
Jong-ho Kim: We're actively working on this, but due to the sensitive nature of payment systems, progress has been slow.
Our goal is to add additional payment methods by the Second Anniversary.
Q6. There are regional price disparities. Can they be altered? [About high prices in Brazil.]
Jong-ho Kim: Product prices are automatically assigned based on platform-determined pricing tiers and local exchange rates.
In regions with significant exchange rate fluctuations, we manually adjust prices,
but the rates often change faster than we can react. We'll monitor these discrepancies more closely moving forward.
Q7. Is it possible to consider global shipping for merch, expanding global distribution networks, and reducing shipping costs?
[Not started yet, but announced global sales, concerns about shipping fees.]
Jong-ho Kim: For the 1.5-Year Anniversary, goods are produced in Korea and shipped globally through the manufacturer's distribution network, which incurs shipping fees.
As we gain experience, we plan to partner with local manufacturers for local production and delivery, reducing costs and ensuring smoother global distribution.
Regarding Programming Issues (Bugs)
Q1. App crash problem - There are frequent app crashes during specific parts of the game. Can this be fixed?
[Particularly in Evil Castle, Guild Raids, Fiend Hunter, Tower of Salvation, etc.]
Kyeong-min Seo: We are continuously monitoring the system and addressing abnormal situations to enhance app stability.
As the game evolves with additional content and increased scale, optimizing memory usage and performance remains a top priority.
Q2. Will you fix optimization issues such as bugs and mobile performance concerns?
[Long loading times, errors when using specific skills.] [Overheating, battery drain, frame drops in high-spec devices.]
Kyeong-min Seo: We've made significant efforts to minimize unnecessary loading times and improve transitions since before launch.
However, as content has grown, resource demands have naturally increased, leading to longer loading times, which is something we are actively working to optimize.
Regarding skill-related errors and abnormal battle judgments, we recognize that the verification process for ensuring a clean gaming environment has inadvertently caused inconveniences, for which we apologize.
We are currently improving the battle engine to deliver a more stable battle experience.
For high-performance devices experiencing overheating and frame drops, we are aware of the issues
and are working on optimizations to provide clear graphics while minimizing heat generation.
Q3. There are many new bugs after each update. A perfect fix is difficult, but why does this happen so often?
[Post-update bugs cause issues with trust in quality management.]
[QA doesn't seem sufficient overall and gives a negative impression of the game.]
Kyeong-min Seo: Our eagerness to deliver new and exciting content as quickly as possible sometimes results in less-than-perfect updates.
While all updates go through QA for balancing and bug checks, we acknowledge that they have not always been flawless.
Moving forward, we are committed to not only delivering engaging content but also significantly improving stability to ensure a smoother gaming experience for everyone.
Game Direction & Miscellaneous
Q1. Are there plans to enhance individual character narratives and introduce systems like affinity or interactions?
Jun-hee Lee: We are preparing two key improvements to strengthen character development.
First, we aim to highlight the characters' charms more effectively in the main story.
While character packs and seasonal event stories have showcased various sides of characters,
frequent shifts in world-building have hindered narrative depth.
To address this, starting in February next year, we plan to consistently update the main story packs and base seasonal event stories on the main narrative.
Previously, the story often followed a very traditional, goal-driven, male-centric "hero's journey" format,
but we've recognized the lack of focus on the characters' everyday lives.
To fill this gap, we will actively utilize the Glupy Diner's Fated Guest System to enhance character interactions and portray detailed slice-of-life stories.
Q2. What is going to happen with collab events?
Jun-hee Lee: There have been many opinions in each region regarding collaboration events.
Some suggest limiting them to once a year or less, while others want more frequent collaborations with popular IPs.
Notably, user feedback about treating the number of collaborations like a mandatory task stood out to us.
We agree. Setting a fixed number of collaborations is a business-oriented decision, but what truly matters is whether the event is enjoyable and well-received by players.
Deciding in advance policies like "no collaborations ever," "only one per year," or "more than two annually" reflects a purely business-driven perspective.
Asking players about the frequency of collaborations without knowing the details of the events was the wrong approach.
Collaboration events should primarily bring excitement and anticipation by integrating beloved anime or game characters into the world of BD2, creating new stories for players to enjoy.
Thus, the priority should not be on setting the number of collaborations in advance, but rather on ensuring that players genuinely enjoy and appreciate the event.
We also deeply understand the feedback emphasizing the need to strengthen the game's original story and characters.
Ensuring that new players who join after a collaboration event don't feel excluded
because they cannot permanently obtain certain characters is another critical concern for us.
We recognize these concerns and will prioritize the player experience as we move forward.
We will continue to carefully evaluate collaboration events to deliver experiences that players will truly welcome and enjoy.
Q3. It's great that this is a game free-to-play users can enjoy, but there should still be a clear distinction between free-to-play and paying users. Could more rewards be provided for paying users? [The structure of the game being enjoyable for free-to-play users is positive.] [Paying users hope for more prestigious rewards.]
Jun-hee Lee: What paying users want is differentiation in terms of honor.
This aligns with the direction mentioned in previous developer notes. Rather than simply widening the gap in ordinary rewards, we believe it is more appropriate to provide a variety of honor-based rewards.
For example, awarding guild marks to top-ranking guilds in Guild Raids or erecting statues in the Guild HQ from Story Pack 3 are some ideas we are considering. This will be implemented soon.
Q4. It would be good to have improvements to tutorials and growth support policies using resource distribution for new users.
Jun-hee Lee: We recognize that new users continue to face difficulties with tutorials and convenience.
We plan to systematically address these issues and make continuous improvements.
Additionally, for users who feel a lack of growth resources, we aim to continue providing large amounts of resources through anniversary events like the recent one.
We are also exploring ways to increase the availability of growth resources on a regular basis,
ensuring balanced support that satisfies not only new users but also existing users.
Q5. Please enhance the depth of battles and introduce new battle mechanics for more strategic fun. While fan service is important, focusing on the basics is essential.
Jun-hee Lee: There are many considerations regarding the direction of new content.
We have received a lot of feedback about the fatigue caused by the recently updated Tower of Salvation and Guild Raid.
For now, the 1.5-Year anniversary update and the updates planned for the first quarter of next year are primarily focused on character and story content.
We do not currently have plans to add challenging new battle content.
However, we agree that the strategic draw of battles must continue to be refined.
We will work on polishing future new fiends or Guild Raid content to provide fresh and engaging experiences.
Q6. Season events and content like Fiend Hunter feel repetitive and boring. Are there any plans to address this with new mini-games or events?
Jun-hee Lee: We have received a lot of feedback about the frequent recurrence of seasonal events.
Starting with this winter's seasonal event, we plan to introduce new seasonal events divided into A and B, alternating every two weeks, without repeats whenever possible.
We have also attempted changes in the content of seasonal events.
Instead of the somewhat monotonous mini-games from before, we aim to offer more substantial and engaging mini-games.
Additionally, we are incorporating visual novel-style illustrated dialogue in story presentations and expanding the story's scope.
Through these various changes, we aim to prepare more polished and high-quality seasonal events.
That is it for today.
While preparing for the Half-Year and 1-Year Anniversary updates, we realized our shortcomings and made improvements.
For the 1.5-Year Anniversary, we've filled our event to the brim with content, surpassing the load of all past anniversary events.
We are both excited and anxious about whether you will enjoy what we have in store for you.
We hope all the players who have been waiting will enjoy this event.
However, one regret is that the improvements in user convenience requested by many players were somewhat lacking in this update.
In this regard, we will make steady improvements starting with updates in the first quarter of 2025.
Also, the feedback asking us to add depth to the main story resonated with us as well.
Starting with Story Pack 15 in February next year, we are planning updates centered around Story Packs throughout the first half of the year.
BrownDust2 has always grown thanks to the massive interest and support from its players.
We will continue to do our best to repay you with an even better experience.
With that, we will wrap up today's notes with a gift.
[Developer Notes Gifts]
- Dia x600
- 40 Cooked Rice
※ You can collect Developer Notes Gifts from your Mailbox until December 16th, 2024 (Monday).
Thank you.
