Part one of the 18th Alganon Developer Roundtable has been posted in the game's official forums, and it features data designers Hue Henry and Josef Shindler answering a couple of questions from fans. Both of the questions focus on the studies system, which allows players to advance their characters when they're not playing the game.

The first question details how the studies system will help both hardcore and casual players. "A hardcore player who plays twice as much will not be able to match the options of a casual player who has been around twice as long," Shindler said, demonstrating that veterans of the game will have some advantages over newer players.

The second questions provides an outline on how studies work in general. Only one character per account can be studying at a time, and a player can queue multiple studies so one will begin when a previous one has ended. The full Developer Roundtable entry can be found below. Alganon is scheduled to launch Oct. 31.

Question #1 by Alarion: "How does the Studies system help to keep "casuals" from being left behind in progression and/or power?"

Answers: Hue Henry, Data Design: "Players who put in the effort to gain experience and levels deserve the rewards that come with doing so. It is not our intention to eliminate those rewards, but instead to keep players advancing even if they are unable to invest those hours into playing the game. Imagine two players, Hardcore Hank and Casual Carl. Imagine they both have the same goals. Hardcore Hank is able to dedicate his time and energy into playing, and will be able to earn epic items, buff scrolls, crafting recipes, and other rewards through gameplay. Carl, on the other hand, does not have the time to farm these items. Both players, since they have the same goals, undertake the same studies, and advance in their studies at exactly the same rate.

As the two advance through their studies, they both gain powerful rewards and access to items, quests, and other gameplay elements. Hank gains rewards he could not have gained through play alone. Carl gains the same rewards. While most of these rewards are upgrades for both, some of these elements are merely cosmetic for Hardcore Hank; he has already advanced to the same level through gameplay and would be making an equal-swap to the new rewards. For Carl, however, these elements are upgrades, and give him the bonus he needs to step into the fray alongside Hank.

In this way, the studies are rewarding for both, allow Hank to be rewarded for his efforts, but also allow Hank to close the gap and continue to play alongside his friend.

Josef Shindler, Data Design: Although players who choose to improve specific stats (like damage or survivability) can do so, the study system also unlocks additional content when you deeply pursue a subject. There are some pieces of gear that can not be crafted unless you know a specific study. There are items that can not be used until you've studied how to use it. There are quest lines, instances, items, pets, even emotes that can be studied and unlocked. As long as you choose these elements of study, you are guaranteed access to this content when you choose to pursue it. A hardcore player who plays twice as much will not be able to match the options of a casual player who has been around twice as long."


Question #2 by Fervent: "Will we be able to use SMS to do thinks like queuing up Studies while not in game?"

Answers: Hue Henry, Data Design: "At launch, the starting and queuing of studies will be available only in game. We are looking at the possibility of integrating this with the MyAlganon.com site and SMS messaging. However, this opens opportunities for players to completely automate their studies and never log in to the game. While this is good for us financially, (accepting subscriptions of players who don't actually play is good for the pocketbook) we want to do a detailed analysis of how it will affect the "fun factor" before we make an official decision. Fun comes first."

Josef Shindler, Data Design: "Studies have a number of rules and restrictions. This seems like a good question to fill you in on how studies work in general.

• Only one character per account can be studying at a time.
• If the player attempts to begin a study on one character when they are already studying on another, they will be prompted if they want to pause the other character's studies to begin the study on the current character.
• If a study completes on one character and there is nothing in the queue, it will begin to study (if available) the paused/queued study on the last character to have a study updated/added.
• This also applies if the player stops studying on one character and studies are queued on other characters.
• Study completions will be sent to MyAlganon, and can be broadcast via SMS, etc.
• A player can queue multiple studies, so that one study will begin when a previous study has ended."