Time’s End Blog for February 29th, 2024
Greetings, fellow Big Time players!
We hope you’ve had a fantastic start to the new year. This year promises to be filled with exciting updates and fresh content, and we can’t wait to share it all with you. Thanks for being part of our community, and let’s make 2024 an amazing year together!
First, let’s dive into a quick recap of what’s been happening lately at Big Time:
- We launched Patch 0.29 (and some hotfixes!) 🎉
- We revealed the contents of the Lunar Mystery Box! 🎁
- We launched the referral leaderboard!
- Placing decorations in your SPACE will now increase the chance of spawning higher rarity cracked hourglasses! ⌛
AMA with Matt Tonks
Here’s the recording of the AMA (Ask Me Anything) session we recently conducted with Matt Tonks, the CTO of Big Time! In this engaging conversation, Matt addresses your questions and offers invaluable insights into the future of the game!
Embracing the Journey of Early Access in Big Time
As Big Time progresses through its Early Access phase, many of you have joined at various points along the way. Some have been with us since the beginning (over a year ago!), others joined during the launch of our economy last fall, and many of you are just starting. With the mix of experiences within our community, we wanted to take a moment to revisit what it means to be part of Early Access and what it entails.
By participating in Early Access, you have access to unique opportunities nobody else has — and many of which will never be seen again! Participation grants early access to digital assets and unprecedented opportunities for profit and ownership in the game’s expanding universe. Big Time stands out as a game where the economy itself is gamified, intentionally designed to place players, rather than traditional economists or marketers, at its core. Its success depends on your active participation, including gameplay, market exploration, min/max strategy development, guild collaboration, and more.
As the game and its economy are in a state of ongoing development, while also evolving in response to their active use and feedback received, it requires us to address challenges and refine the system continuously. This creates a dynamic landscape which can result in both volatility and excitement, offering various strategies for success, whether through crafting, trading, or holding assets. While passive participation is an option, those who immerse themselves more deeply will see their efforts rewarded and will have a significant impact on the game’s development.
However, it’s crucial to understand that participating in this phase also comes with its own set of challenges, as updates not only bring exciting new content and features but also introduce changes and risks inherent to iterative development. These risks can manifest as unexpected bugs, game crashes, and sometimes even losses. Our development strategy, focused on early and frequent content releases, leverages real-time feedback from our community to accelerate the game’s evolution more effectively than working in isolation.
In navigating Early Access, there is a balance between risk and reward within both the game and its evolving economy. Many have found the rewards to significantly outweigh the risks, with each resolved obstacle moving us closer to realizing the ultimate vision for Big Time.
Animation Sneak Peeks
Our Cyber Pirates are ready to rock you out of the battlefield in future updates! Check out these cool animations made by our animation team!
Enemy Design Contest
Thank you to all the talented participants who took part in our Big Time Enemy Design Contest! Your creativity and imagination truly impressed us. After careful consideration, we are excited to announce the winner:
Necrotime: The Monster Who Won’t Let You Fight in Peace
In the vast world of RPGs, there’s always that one enemy who just won’t play fair. Meet Necrotime — a shady character who’s always bringing the dead back and causing chaos wherever it goes.
Abilities: Shadow Resurrection: Necrotime’s party trick? Bringing back elite monsters that you’ve just defeated. But get this: when it brings them back, they only come back with half their health. And here’s the kicker — the color of the smoke around Necrotime decides what kind of shield the revived monster gets. Blue, yellow, or purple — you never know what you’re gonna get.
Aura of Desolation: It’s got this creepy black aura that messes with your attacks, making them less accurate and weaker. Not exactly the kind of friend you’d want at a party.
Death’s Dagger: In a straight-up brawl, Necrotime is deadly with a dagger. Literally. Its dagger attacks are swift and precise, causing deep cuts and leaving you feeling weaker than last week’s leftovers. P.S: He loves dinosaurs… Don’t kill them if you like to play in peace.
Congratulations, Akami! 🎉
In the second place we have:
Avocado Clockie
“The name of this enemy is Avocado Clockie, and we have made it simple and cute to fit in with the Big Time worldview. This avocado is not yet ripe. When it starts to fight, it dances, guards itself when attacked, and sometimes rolls away. When the avocado’s HP gets low, someone brings a seed. Using that seed will restore the HP of all bugs, clockies, etc. near the avocado.”
And the third place is for:
The Queen of Bugs
“When the time is over, she heard the call of her offspring across time and space! Now she has awakened from her long slumber. The queen of the bugs is here, and she is coming to claim everything! Who will be the heroes to face such an enormous task? But I must warn you, future hero: It’s an army of one creature! Capable of spitting acid that can melt the hardest of metals! Whose antennae are capable of attacking from all angles in a wild frenzy! If she finds herself in difficulties, she is capable of expelling a swarm of explosive insects from her tail or calling her most ferocious children! But this is only the beginning…”
Congratulations to our three winners! The winners were chosen by the moderators taking into account creativity, originality, theme and boss mechanics. We’ve also taken into account community reactions.
We received a lot of awesome submissions, but we’d like to highlight the following ones for their exceptional creativity:
Devour Fauna
“Chases you and devour you inside it’s mouth for 5 seconds. Takes half of your HP.”
Bones
“He is rather quick and shoots flaming skulls at his enemies from his mage staff. When he loses power and dies, he crumbles to the ground.”
Uzamat
“A shadow demon, wielding ancient dark magic from a long-forgotten realm, possesses formidable skills. With “The Calling,” it can recruit an ally to fight for it briefly. “Regen” allows it to heal while clinging to the ceiling, scattering eggs across the ground to hatch minions. When taking sufficient damage, it can unleash a devastating plasma beam from its chest, potentially stunning or poisoning foes. Additionally, it could add a playful yet disruptive element by grabbing and toying with characters, trolling the opposing team.”
Anubitek, the Serpent of the Shifting Sands
“It’s a legendary adversary that haunts the dunes of the ancient Egyptian-themed maps. Bearing the sacred markings of Egyptian deities, this cobra’s sleek, indigo scales shimmer with mystical glyphs that pulse with an otherworldly glow. Anubitek’s expanded hood is adorned with luminescent patterns that intimidate those who dare to approach.”
Vinegra
“A vine-like creature that can grow and stretch. It has a green and purple body, leaves, and thorns. It is very flexible and adaptive, but also aggressive and invasive. Skills: Grow to make her and friends around her stronger, Wrap to catch enermies and pull them to her, Consume to drain HP from enermy”
Chronospecter
“The Chronospecter is a haunting fusion of ethereal and mechanical elements. Its form is reminiscent of a dementor, draped in tattered, shadowy robes that billow as if caught in an eternal tempest. However, upon closer inspection, you realize that its “robes” are actually interwoven nanofibers, shifting and pulsating with otherworldly energy. Its face, obscured by a featureless metallic mask, glows with faint, pulsing runes.”
White Rabbit Chronomorph
“A nightmarish enemy that will send shivers down your spine. Towering over the game landscape with its long, slender legs, this dark and evil creature takes the form of a grotesque, white rabbit monster. Its skeletal frame is adorned with ominous, bloody gears, reminiscent of a twisted, macabre clockwork. The creature’s pocket watches intricately crafted with metal gears, serve as symbols of its mastery over time. This formidable foe possesses an uncanny ability to manipulate time, making it a relentless adversary. As it moves with an unsettling grace, the metal gears embedded in its limbs grind ominously, creating an eerie soundtrack to your impending doom.”
Scrap Monkey
“The small, agile monkey-like creature is composed entirely of discarded mechanical parts and gears, adorned with rusty metal plating and emitting steam vents from its joints. It moves swiftly with screeching metallic sounds, showcasing its formidable skills: “Claws” for basic melee attacks, “Steam Burst” to temporarily blind attackers with a burst of steam, and “Scrap Throw” to pelt enemies with small pieces of metal from a distance.”
Abyssal Guard
“Protects the dimensions from those that would abuse it. Skills: Summoner: Can summon enemies through rifts. Shadow Step: Can teleport, similar to blink. Roar: Disorients and staggers. Rift: Can send you through a rift while fighting, changing your environment and putting you in danger”
Gorgomycron
“In the deepest, forgotten caverns, where even the light of the surface dares not enter, evolution has birthed a creature as magnificent as it is terrifying: Gorgomycron. Arising from a strange mutation between ancient fungi and carnelian crystals, this titan of the dark reigns as the absolute master. With its gem-incrusted shell and fungal flesh, it embodies the raw force of nature and its adaptive prowess. The spores that emanate from its protrusions create a deadly halo around it, while its crystalline claws can slice through rock as easily as flesh.”
Frostbound Goliath
“The Frostbound Goliath is a towering behemoth, a futuristic evolution of the legendary snow yeti. Its massive form is encased in icy blue fur, shimmering with an otherworldly frost. The creature’s eyes glow an eerie shade of arctic blue, reflecting its cold and relentless nature. Clutched in one hand is a colossal frozen hammer, capable of delivering bone-chilling blows, while the other grasps a shield adorned with intricate clockwork gears, serving as both protection and a conduit for temporal manipulation.”
Ethereal Stalker
“In the twilight realms of Time’s End, the Ethereal Stalkers are revered as guardians of ancient technology. Born from the cosmic convergence of bioluminescence and metal, these creatures are the silent watchers over the sprawling cities of Time’s End. With intelligence that rivals the greatest minds of the realm, they remain hidden in plain sight, their presence only revealed by the soft glow of their stripes as dusk falls.”
Time Lord
“He sticks his sword into the ground and slows down time in a radius of several meters, everyone inside is slowed down. He has the power to turn back time to restore lost health if he is not stopped in time, if he succeeds in turning back time he becomes stronger, hits much harder and it’s harder to kill.”
Mega Spider Bot Clockie
“He strikes with his front legs, knocking you back and leaving you staggered, with a slow recovery time. Caution is advised against this attack. Utilizing a flame or freeze thrower, he inflicts fire or frost damage respectively, with fire causing lingering damage and frost slowing movement. When at a distance, he deploys a missile launcher, making escape difficult, especially for Chronomancers who are not immune to his missile barrage. He is one of the fastest enemies in the game, requiring constant use of speed boosters to evade. Adjacent to him is a Mega Clockie for size comparison.”
Shedralax
“It’s a mysterious creature resembling giant centipedes, measuring about ten meters in length. Its skin is covered with iridescent floral bodies in various colors. It has two large, shiny purple eyes and a mouth full of sharp, saw-like teeth. The colors of its body change based on its mood and level of anger. Shedralax has the ability to control the ferocious fish that inhabit the lakes and rivers of its habitat, summoning them to attack enemies. It possesses incredible biting force and physical strenght.”
Obisidian Raptor
“A raptor that has evolved overtime to protect his weak spots by growing rocks on his body and sharpened his fangs by obsidian and made his tail into a blade.”
Gilded Timeweaver
“In records of the ages, there exists a monarch known as the Gilded Timeweaver. His once regal stature now bowed by the weight of centuries, he bears armor adorned with ancient glyphs and trinkets, each telling a story of epochs long past. Despite the frailty of his mortal form, the Gilded Timeweaver possesses a formidable arsenal of magical powers.”
Time Angler Snatch
“This enemy can be found along coastlines and in marshlands. It possesses the ability to steal time and resembles a melted anglerfish in appearance, but with aspects reminiscent of a Time Warden. When it opens its mouth, there is a swirling portal reminiscent of a town portal inside. Its movements are slow and sluggish, but its plump body mitigates physical attacks surprisingly well. At higher levels, its colors vary by tier similar to a Time Warden.”
QAKAR KING
“The cursed king, punished for disrespecting the burial rites of ancient Egyptians, QAKAR is sent from the world of the dead, his body incomplete. He possesses the following characteristics and skills: The Golden Prison-cell, capable of ensnaring all players within a golden pyramid ceiling death cell enclosed by iron fences, while a large group of pharaonic mummies emerge from the ground. Additionally, he wields the Earthquake Hammer, inflicting great damage and inducing a sense of horror; some players may experience a temporary earthquake effect, slowing their movement for several seconds.”
Celestial Harbinger
“The Celestial Harbinger is a towering entity, an amalgam of celestial phenomena and ancient armor. It appears as a knightly figure, but its body is composed of the cosmos itself, with stars and nebulae swirling within its form. Its armor, ethereal and ornate, seems to be forged from the very essence of the night sky, providing an awe-inspiring yet intimidating presence. Its eyes are like twin stars, casting a piercing light that illuminates the darkness.”
The Way of Life
“This creature is on the brink of death. When it passes by, it spawns a cleaner that consumes bodies left in a dungeon. It acts as a neutral force, driven by an insatiable hunger and possessing a greedy snout filled with sharp teeth on its upper body. Resembling a giant sea snake, it can attack in all directions, utilizing intense tail strikes. It ensnares its prey with countless teeth, binding them with its serpentine body before consuming them with its fearsome snout. Preferring warm climates and high humidity, it is the most formidable adversary that unlucky timekeepers may encounter.”
Dreaming Butterfly
“A butterfly dreaming while eating other people’s dreams without being able to fly up. It crawls on the floor and attacks with its mouth in the middle of its face. It likes dark places, so it has a habit of hiding in the shadows. It evolves into caterpillars, pupa, and adult stages. It rushes in, bites, and attacks like a dog. It sprinkle poison from the wings on its head and it wields its pointed tail to attack.”
Quimio Giant Snake
“A giant snake modified with robotic parts to amplify its strength and poisonous attacks, in addition to having cannons on its body for ranged attacks.”
TimeSaurus Queen
“This ancestral creature is the queen of the earth, it is a mixture between insects and dinosaurs. Thanks to being the queen of the earth she has developed wings so she can conquer the skies of Bigtime.”
And a bonus inspired in one of our beloved mods:
ElectriColo the Devious Zapper (he will ban you from game if he kills you)
Thank you so much to everyone who participated and thank you again for joining us in this blog edition!
See you in the future!
Yvonne, Head of Player Experience
