Chris "Dotanuki" Field has written a new producer's note discussing the changes we can expect to see when Empire Day returns in Update 11. The ceremonies will be held in the same locations as last year, but have been "flushed out with more troops and enhancement" and will be held every 15 minutes. Also, three players will be called out of the crowd at each ceremony instead of just one.

Entertainers and Crafters will have their own specific missions to enjoy, and everyone will be able to put up or tear down propaganda posters, as well as obtain the eight-passenger Tantive IV speeder via Empire Day tokens.

As for Update 12, Field said Engineering Traders will be the primary focus and will receive new droids to craft. You can read his full letter after the jump.

Greetings Forum Fiends,

Each month I find myself writing the Producer Note going, “didn’t I just do one of these?”  Time flies when trying to bust out thrilling new updates for our player base.

I hope everybody has had the opportunity to jump into at least one of the new battlefields released in Update 10.  We’re really proud of these new battlefields and I’m proud of the team for how much hard work they poured into this amazing update.  Particular call outs need to be made to Hanse, Loche, and Teesquared for all their extra dedication to this release.  We hope that all these new battlefields provide an excellent supplement to the open-world PvP that you’ve enjoyed for years now.  I’m personally fond to the capture-the-flag-ish Data Runner battlefield but I’ve always been a big CTF fan since the original Unreal Tournament about a decade ago.

Since my last note we’ve been joined by Draakull, our new Community Relations Manager.  Filling Valara’s position has been a long process but I believe that Draakull has an excellent perspective on community and will bring a lot of great stuff to you folks over the coming months.  To properly assist Draakull in adjusting to his new position we’ll be promptly hazing, er… throwing him in the deep end at Fan Faire in less than a month.  Welcome aboard, Draakull!


“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dotanuki.  That’s all nice but what about the NEW STUFF?”


Up next is Update 11: Empire Day.  As mentioned in my last note, we’re bringing back the Empire Day event from last year and bringing it up to the standards set by our past three events by adding a slew of new rewards and interactive content.  Here is a quick overview of some of the things you can expect in our next update…

Ceremonies
The ceremonies are back in the same locations as last year; Imperials will be gathering in Theed while Rebels will be assembling in Coronet.  The ceremonies themselves have been flushed out with more troops and enhancements and now occur approximately every 15 minutes as opposed to the hourly ceremonies held last year.  Vader/Leia will yet again be calling loyal players out of the crowd and presenting them with a brand new badge/title for 2009.  Instead of just calling one person out of the crowd, as they did last year, they will be calling three players out at each ceremony.  These chosen players must bow before the presenters to receive their reward.

Propaganda
In an effort to draw citizens over to their respective sides, both the Empire and Rebellion need help displaying propaganda posters around Theed and Coronet.  Players will be able to help their faction by posting propaganda on unmarked kiosks throughout the cities.  Players who do this while flagged as Special Forces will receive an additional token bonus for their deeds each time they participate.

Anti-Propaganda
With both factions vying for attention, neither side can simply hope their posters do the job, they must also tear down the posters put up by the opposing faction.  Players can help their faction by tearing down the rival propaganda posted around Theed and Coronet.  Again, players who participate while flagged as Special Forces will receive an additional token bonus for their contribution each time they participate.

Entertainer and Crafter-Specific Missions
Both Entertainers and Crafters will have missions specifically designed for them so that they may add their own unique talents to this year’s Empire Day.  Entertainers will need to go perform for specific groups of soldiers in six different cantinas across the galaxy while crafters will be asked to contribute to their faction’s cause by raiding certain shuttle crash sites for materials and creating needed items.

Rewards
Several new rewards will be added to the event this year.  One item that was alluded to in my last note is the first eight-passenger vehicle available through regular in-game means.  This was requested by Cigaran way back in November of last year and it’s been on my list of things to get in the game since that time.  After much debate as to what speeder to add, Loche decided to go with the Tantive IV speeder that can already be seen in-game.  Players will be able to obtain the one already in-game via Empire Day tokens.  They can then deconstruct it, if they so desire, and have an Engineering Trader craft them an improved version with an alternate texture (see below).

Other rewards include and X-wing Pilot Greeter, a TIE Fighter Pilot Greeter (each with custom VO), and Rebel / Imperial house signs.


“Okay Dotanuki, are you willing to tell us what’s coming after Update 11 or are you going to save that for Fan Faire?”


Sure, what the heck.  Engineering Traders will be pleased to hear that they will be the primary focus of Update 12.  As has been mentioned in the past, this will be the last update to focus primarily on one specific profession.  Details are very minimal right now but I can say that we’re looking into your top issues as well as looking into giving you some new droids to craft.  Loche and I have wanted to get some new droids out to you guys for a while.  The magnaguard has been of particular interest to us.  If everything goes as planned, you’ll be receiving some droids that you may not expect, used in some new and inventive ways.  The team has come up with really neat functionality for some of the droids.  Hopefully we don’t hit any hiccups <fingers crossed>.


“Great news!  Now what about [insert request name here]?”


All details beyond Update 12 will be revealed at Fan Faire.  Actually, I’m finishing up the Fan Faire presentations now and they pretty much reveal the bulk of what we have planned for the remainder of the year; including a couple of major announcements.  While I’m sure the cat will leave the bag long before my July Producer Note, I will be happy to answer questions about all that is revealed at Fan Faire at that time.

Finally, in case anybody missed it, we have revealed that the Fan Faire exclusive item this year is the Dianoga Dumpster.

This item functions exactly like the Deluxe Sarlacc Trash Can and is available exclusively to those players who register for Fan Faire.  Another in-game item available exclusively to Fan Faire attendees is a miniature escape pod house decoration.  This item will only be awarded to players who participate in our LIVE Quest on Saturday, June 27th.

I’m really excited about Fan Faire.  We have a bunch of great information to share.  I hope everybody is very pleasantly surprised by what we have to reveal.

See you there,

-Dotanuki