Around the corner of our L-shaped office, you’ll meet our two level designers, one on each side of the hallway.

To the left, you’ll find Morgan Roberts. His office is a technophile’s wet dream. Two glowing electron tubes and four monitors wash over the room like a futuristic rave club. To get into his office, you’ll need to bypass the fingerprint scanner on his door handle. On the other side is Ben Burkart (known around here as EvilMrFrank). Ben has the privilege of having the comfiest couch at Trendy — a privilege earned by using his own money. My opportunities to speak with Ben are few and far between, but to see him without a warm smile is rare.

With the impending release of Shards 3 on the horizon for PSN US players (May 15), I asked Ben to reminisce about the design process of Aquanos.

Summoner: Abilities and Release Date

The Summoner’s RTS mechanics represent our biggest gameplay evolution to date. Entering Overlord mode, players will gaze down upon the field of battle and move minions like chess pieces. Each minion has a wide variety of stances to defend positions and seek out threats.

While the Summoner cannot wield weapons, he is not without powers.

The first of his abilities is Flash Heal. When activated, the Summoner can send a wave of healing ethereal energy to his trusty minions and to nearby defenses. When in Overlord mode, this power only affects his minions.

The second ability is Phase Shift, which transports him to the Crystalline Dimension and renders him immaterial in the physical world. He’ll be able to move through objects on the battlefield, enemies will not target him nor be able to damage him, and the power does not consume mana. While he can issue orders and use tower-related abilities, his pets can’t attack or collect mana when in this mode. This will be the go-to ability when using Overlord mode.

There was some confusion last week over the use of the word pets. The Summoner can equip two pets (guardians, chickens, etc.). You’ll be able to summon more than two minions.

Experience the next evolution for yourself when the Summoner arrives May 23.

Beta Team Update: 5/9/12

The Dungeon Defenders Map Contest is still ongoing! Maps need to be submitted before June 21. To give you an idea of what kind of zany stuff you can do using the Dungeon Defenders Development Kit, the video portion of the beta team has put together a short video for you!

As you can see, we’ve cultivated a few talented video staff for these kinds of projects. If shooting video of Dungeon Defenders and editing it is something you aspire to do, the team is looking for a few more members. We’re looking for candidates with high-end computers and experience in video recording. If you think you fit the bill, please email us at [email]betatesters@trendyent.com[/email] with the words “video team” in the title! Please include your video experience and computer specifications.

Not much more from the team for you this week. Most of us have spent the week catching up on our ranked accounts playing through the new content on live. Look for our spot next week where we’ll get a chance to tell you a little bit more about… something awesome.

Map Contest Spotlight: The Manor

Starting this week, we’re going to take a look at the work-in-progress maps for our Dungeon Defenders Map Contest. To kick things off, we’re taking a look at The Manor by Wes1180. It’s still in the early stages of development, but we like where it’s going.

Map Name: The Manor

Author: Wes1180

Gametype: Crystal Defense

Player Count: 4 (possibly 6)

Objective: Defend the 3 crystals

Description: “It is a manor and features the main room of the manor and its garden. I have a few screenshots of it so far. It is not yet functional as it does not have the spawns working yet (doing that now) and will put a download up once that is sorted out. When this map is finished I will make a plaque with the names of everyone who has helped on. And I will put it in the map.”

Head on over to Wes1180′s thread to offer your feedback!

If you’re working on a map for the contest, be sure to post about it in our Contest Discussion forum. We’ll be sure to feature your map in an upcoming Digest!

Code Drop Tuesdays

This week, we asked our fans to use the new Freelook Spectator camera to take their best scenic Dungeon Defenders screenshot. Here are the favorites from this week!

Courtesy of @Cubey2019

Courtesy of @ebolloquial

Courtesy of @ElectricE1

Community Calendar

[PS3] Etheria’s Super Events — Protect and Serve

[360] TeamLEGIT Summer Events — First Event

[PS3] Junior Judge Event

If you have an awesome event you’d like to share with the world, click the Add New Event button on the Calendar page. Be sure to include PC, 360 or PS3 in the title of your event, a brief description of the event and the times you’ll be hosting. We might spotlight your event in a future Digest!

Screenshots of the Week

Courtesy of MiniMinhMo

Courtesy of Mathew Ng

Courtesy of MalReynolds

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

In our usual glut of junk mail last week, we received several mysterious packages. Three of them were labeled for three individuals, and the fourth was simply labeled Trendy. Using a time-honored technique known as the Car Key Thrust, we ripped through the tape and peeled back the cardboard flaps. Inside, we found a tin of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and hefty cookie cakes for our gluttonous enjoyment.

Not pictured: the third delicious cake

For knowing the secret to our hearts, and more importantly, for making us feel validated in our efforts, we’d like to give our warmest thanks to Junbao. You truly are the best around. Nothing’s ever going to keep you down. We won’t let it.

Until next time,
Hitmon

Discuss this Digest here!

As I write this, our inner-office chat is debating the worst superhero movie. Batman and Robin? Superman IV? For my money, nothing tops Superhero Movie. Yes, it counts. I’m not having this argument again.

But while we’re focusing on the negatives, a beacon of light shines on the horizon: The Avengers. We didn’t believe the Avengers movie would actually happen when we were working on Dungeon Defenders, so we peppered references to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes throughout Etheria. (Think about it: How likely was it that a string of big-budget movies starring A-list stars would lead into one major crossover movie without falling through? Sadly, not all of the actors made the cut for The Avengers. For shame, Hollywood. For shame.)

Of course, great things are on the horizon for you, fellow Defenders. While we can’t share them all right now, we can take a quick peek into the portal.

Summoner

The Summoner is the next exciting hero class for Dungeon Defenders. He does not use weapons, but he can summon TWO pets to accompany him into battle.

The Summoner can call upon the following creep types (in uber-powered Crystalline variants) for a cost in Defense Units: Orcs, Archers, Warriors, Mages, Spiders and Ogres. These pets can be upgraded and buffed as with any Defense.

In addition to commanding his units on the field, the Summoner can leave the field of battle entirely to enter a full-on RTS mode where he is able to drag-select units and issue them a variety of commands, such as:

- Hold Position Defensive
- Hold Position Aggressive
- Move Defensive
- Move Aggressive
- Attack Target
- Follow Target (Me or any other allied target)

The Summoner has two innovative Hero abilities. What are they? That’s a good question — one that will be answered before the Summoner arrives this month.

Console News Updates

Shards 3 is currently in certification for PSN EU and XBLA, while Shards 3 is still on track to release on May 15 for PSN US fans. Along with Shards 3, the second patch to fix the spider_mismatch error for PSN EU is in certification, too. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

Easter is Over

Photo courtesy of meancat5

Sadly, our egg-celent Easter event has come to an end. While the eggs have stopped dropping, the Squire bunny costume and the Mega Chicken will continue to unlock for those who have the appropriate amount of small and humongous eggs. (24 small eggs and 36 humongous eggs, respectively.) You can still find eggs floating around in player shops should you need a few more to complete your sets!

Costume Contest Winning Hero

Last week, we opened the polls for you to choose which hero would receive a new costume in an upcoming map pack. The votes have been tallied, and the winning hero is — the Apprentice! We’ll make sure the well-costumed mage gets an outfit worthy of the occasion.

Free DunDef for IGN Prime Members

Our friends at IGN are giving away free copies of our game to IGN Prime members. If you’re a Prime member, what are you waiting for? Click here and get your copy today!

Free Stuff from the Wiki

The fantastic people at the Dungeon Defenders Wiki are giving away free DLC codes to people who submit guides! And this isn’t limited to our PC fans. Console users are encouraged to submit guides, too! (Console fans will earn Microsoft Points or PlayStation Network Cards for their efforts.)

If you’ve noticed a gap in the Wiki’s database that you think you could fill, send them a guide and get free stuff! It’s a win-win!

Defenders Store Update

Photo courtesy of Melvin0108

The lovely Maydie has once again updated the Defenders Store! Now you can search the site for Accessories and Aquanos items. Head on over and complete the look.

Beta Team Update: 5/2/12

After each Shard release, there is often a small calm in the storm that is beta testing. Our relative calm has been filled with reporting bugs from the past and creating the video for the map contest.

Recently, some of the backlog of game-related issues has been worked on. One of the best places you can comment on these issues is this forum: Report a Game Issue. It’s intended for definitive issues like mapping/geometry issues. Please don’t forget it’s there!

Currently, there is a mapping contest going on, and the grand prize winner can bring home $1,000 plus the bragging rights of having their map touched up by and released as DLC to players of Dungeon Defenders. We’ve been watching things develop over the last few weeks, and it’s not at all too late to get in on the action. Don’t forget that anything goes when you’re using the DDDK. We encourage anyone and everyone with a good idea to share, a creative notion to pursue, or just a downright silly map that they think will be a lot of fun to go ahead and enter. The deadline is in about six weeks, so while it’s steadily getting closer, don’t let that dissuade you from throwing your entry in.

The suggestion topics for the upcoming weeks will be focusing on Aquanos. As a Shard has many parts to it, we’ll focus on topics bit by bit. This week, we want to know what you think about the map, the boss, and the challenge. (In following weeks, we’ll want feedback on Sharken and Survival, so please hold those for the appropriate week!) PM suggestions to “Official Beta Test Group” using the words AQUA MAP in the title.

Code Drop Tuesdays

This week, we asked our fans on Twitter to sing us a song about Dungeon Defenders. These three brave souls below won our game and every DLC available so far, along with our hearts.

Be sure to follow our Twitter for a new contest next Tuesday!

Community Calendar

[PC] Map Testing — The Undercroft

Date: May 4
Host: Immortal-D
Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Description: I’d like to see what a full group can do against our first contest entry. Server name will be “Contest Maps,” and you can download here: http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?57854-WIP-MAP-The-Forsaken-Undercroft. Hope to see you all there!

[PSN] Etheria’s Super Events — High Five for Bowling

Dates: May 4 to May 6
Hosts: Classic22 (event coordinator), CaptBoxershorts, TitoDaddy, Raknar2011, Flaming_cows, Thedarkcrucible, Uprisinq, Gashen-Sai, Deathdealer1877, xNoxONEx
Description:
- Squires only (you can switch between DPS and Tower based squires as much as you like)
- Ogre Crush
- Difficulty: Hard
- Bowling Ball turrets only (host can place bouncers/blockades to fill DU)
- You must complete the map to be rewarded
- You can DPS the ogres
- Level 1 High Fives are the only weapon allowed
- Teamwork will be needed
- Use of Pets is encouraged
Link to Sign-Up Thread: http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?58334-PSN-Etheria-s-Super-Events-Sign-Up-Here

If you have an awesome event you’d like to share with the world, click the Add New Event button on the Calendar page. Be sure to include PC, 360 or PS3 in the title of your event, a brief description of the event and the times you’ll be hosting. We might spotlight your event in a future Digest!

Screenshots of the Week

Photo courtesy of Darth [SW]

Photo courtesy of The Angel Havoc

Photo courtesy of Pugnacious

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

Keep an eye out for our next Meet the Team later this week. This time, TrendyGator will be focusing on our lead level designer, Morgan Roberts. Next week, we’re going to start spotlighting some of the work-in-progress maps for the Dungeon Defenders Map Contest. The entries posted so far are really promising! If you’re working on a map and you’d like to see it in our Digests, be sure to post it in the Contest forum!

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

Discuss this Digest here!

Until yesterday.

Rows of caffeinated beverages. Boxes of ice cream treats. For one day, the people in a small gaming studio in Gainesville, Florida, found peace on Earth.

And so Fridge Day was formed. But the people agreed Fridge Day was too important to be experienced only once a year. It shall become a regular event, helping to achieve high employee satisfaction and reduce the number of inner-office Nerf injuries.

As we enjoy our regular day of treats, soon, you will be, too.

Aquanos Awaits

Coming out tomorrow on Steam (console news below), our third Shards is shaping up to be our best Shards release yet! But as you stand before the Great Sea, we want you to be prepared for what awaits you in the murky depths.

Twelve waves. Three crystals. Set up and survive the onslaught of Sharken and Fish-Wyverns to reach the new boss, the Kraken. There are troves of treasure to be found under the sea, including new loot…

…and a new costume (and pet!)

The third Shards challenge mission, Riddle of the Deep, will require teamwork in order to succeed. It’s up to the puzzle solver, a randomly chosen defender, to enter the portal in the middle of the map and solve the puzzle to stop the water from rising.

For our PC fans, we’re introducing the Shipwreck Ruins Monsterfest. Grab seven friends and fend off waves of enemies before the time runs out. Keep an eye out for the Fish Wyverns!

Curious to see how everything looks in-game and in motion? Our beta team has put together an in-depth video of the next Shards! Take a look:

Console News

Good news, PSN US fans! Shards Part 3 will be coming out May 15. We’ll keep everyone updated as we hear back about the PSN EU and XBLA release dates.

This Thursday, Shards Part 2 is coming out on XBLA with the new console patch. You should be able to fire up your 360s sometime in the early afternoon EST and experience the new content for yourself.

Accessories

Along with the Shards PC release, our new accessory system comes out tomorrow! There are 62 accessories scattered throughout the game for you to discover.

Masks, Bracers, and Brooches are usable by everyone and boost your stats. They come in a variety of randomized colors. You can equip one of each, and upgrade and sell them. They are all pretty rare, but there are extremely rare versions that you might only find on the hardest difficulties under lucky conditions.

Shields are only usable by Squire and Countess, and they add Damage Resistance Percentages in addition to having stat boosts.

More accessory styles will be added in the future. Collect them all to fully customize your team of heroes!

Vote for the Next Costume!

We’re putting the next costume to a vote. Help us choose which hero will receive a new skin in an upcoming map pack! You can vote on the poll here and on our Facebook poll. You have until this Friday at 7 p.m. EST to vote!

Beta Team Update: 4/25/12

While dusting off our hands from a very successful feature release (the ability to load-up survival from any wave!), we received another HUGE testing task — Shards 3! Kraken, Sharken and Riddles, oh my!

Aquanos is by far the most beautiful map released so far. The art style is great, there is a variety of sea animals you can pet for mana and the portals look awesome. The Riddle of the Deep Challenge also gives additional depth to an already brilliantly laid out map.

What everyone really wants to hear about are the Sharken, right? Just like the previous Nightmare monsters, players are going to have to adjust their strategies accordingly. We like to think of them as Running Backs. Once they start charging, they don’t stop until they get to their goal (your crystal). So you gotta hit them early and hit them hard!

Given our recent testing adventures, we still have some backlog in the inbox! If you haven’t received a reply, it doesn’t mean we don’t like you, it just means we were a little busy! We’ll certainly be sending you a reply. We normally do two week topics, and we have a solid idea what next weeks topic is. So, we’ll be extending the Series EV topic a little more! PM suggestions to “Official Beta Test Group” using the words SERIES EV in the title.

Running around with a turret attached to your head can put a real kink in your neck!

We also hope that you enjoy our latest installment of the Dungeon Defenders Beta Team Sneak Peek! We are looking for more people to contribute specifically to our video projects, so if you’ve got a high-end computer, experience recording video and think you can serve as a cameraman for us, please email us at [email]betatesters@trendyent.com[/email] with the words “video team” in the title! We’d love to get about 5-6 new members, so if you feel you’re up to the job, then throw your hat….. I mean mask, into the ring!

Meet the Team: Alex Fundora (Lead Animator)

In the first part of our new Meet the Team series, community intern, Matt (known around these parts as TrendyGator), interviewed Alex Fundora, lead animator at Trendy Entertainment, to discuss his job, how he began working in the video game industry and more. Check it out!

Code Drop Tuesdays

This week, we asked our fans on our Twitter to submit a photo of their heroes for a chance to win a Series EV Steam code. Here are this week’s winners:

Courtesy of @azuvidexus

Courtesy of @AZNguyen

Courtesy of @DakotaJehle

We hope you have a song in your heart for next Tuesday’s contest.

Community Calendar

[360] Robot Wars

Date: 5/1/12
Host: Dredd
Description: Tuesday’s event is called “aBOTination”. It will take place in the “Throne Room” on Insane. The only defenses a player can use are blockades (Spike blockades and Magic barriers.) Players can attack throughout the match except when the boss appears. When the Boss appears, players cannot attack at all, but they can place down attack towers (attack towers can only be placed when the Boss appears). Also, pets can attack. Robot pets only (Steam robot, Laser robot and Gemini).
Link to Thread: http://forums.trendyent.com/showthread.php?54351-360-quot-The-Robot-Wars-quot-Events!

[PC] Test Your Might (Skill-based PvP)

Date: 4/27/12
Host: Immortal-D
Description: Friday night, I will be hosting various PvP maps. The catch is you fight naked. I will give loots and tokens to the winners, and maybe a special prize for whomever can kill me the most. Server name will be “Calendar Party.” All are welcome, hope to see you there!

If you have an awesome event you’d like to share with the world, click the Add New Event button on the Calendar page. Be sure to include PC, 360 or PS3 in the title of your event, a brief description of the event and the times you’ll be hosting. We might spotlight your event in a future Digest!

Screenshots of the Week

There were too many good screenshots, so I broke down and included five this week. Keep up the great work, gang!

Photo courtesy of Mathew Ng

Photo courtesy of Wrathofgods

Photo courtesy of Levijatan

Photo courtesy of dr_rivan

Photo courtesy of Darkie

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

Featured Mod: Metal Sonic

On our forums, Kingoftheboos has kept us updated on a Metal Sonic model for the Monk that he’s been working on. The latest update was posted yesterday, which you can see below.

We can’t wait to see your next update!

And to everyone who is working on a map for our Dungeon Defenders Map Contest, be sure to show off your work-in-progress maps here!

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

We’ve seen our community raise mountains, sow gardens and make childhood daydreams come true. We’ve tried to spotlight your maps in our Digests, but for every gem we show here, many go undiscovered.

Now, we’re offering a platform to show your talent to the world.

And you might walk away $1,000 richer.

Introducing our first ever Dungeon Defenders Map Contest! We’re looking for the best original PvE map to put into our Ranked mode.

We’re asking people of all experiences to give it a shot. If you’ve never used our development kit, you can download it for free on the Steam marketplace. If you’re looking for a beginner’s tutorial, our kind and gracious leader Jeremy has written a handy how-to guide.

Here’s the full breakdown of the prizes:

1st place: Map inclusion into Dungeon Defenders for everyone to see/play, available in Ranked mode, $1,000 prize and a DunDef prize pack (TBD)
2nd place: $500 and a DunDef prize pack (TBD)
3rd place: $250 and a DunDef prize pack (TBD)
4th place: DunDef prize pack (TBD)

For full contest rules and submission guidelines, head on over to our new Map Contest subforum. While you’re there, you can post your work-in-progress maps! Invite people to comment on your newest iterations and let people test it before your final submission.

You have from this day until June 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST to make your map and submit it to us.

Console Patch/DLC Updates

PSN EU fans, the wait is over! The second Shards DLC and console patch came out yesterday. Be sure to turn on your consoles and download the newest content! (If you need a reminder on what’s included in the patch, check out this thread.)

Our XBLA patch and DLC are still in Microsoft’s certification process. Yesterday, it passed half of its certification (Compliance Testing). It now enters Functional Testing, which should complete this week or early next week and thus get us a release date (we’ll make sure it’s released ASAP when that happens). In short, we hope to have the definitive word on it in next week’s Digest.

The PSN US patch, which includes the fix for the spider mismatch error and some preparatory work for Shards 3, is in Sony’s QA at this time. We’ve heard that you should have it within a week.

Speaking of Shards 3…

Shards 3 Release Date

It’s time to roll back the curtain. The next Shards will arrive on Steam on April 26! (No word yet on the release date for consoles.) Experience the next chapter of our heroes’ journey. Discover exciting loot on our new campaign map, Aquanos. Solve the Riddle of the Deep. Join together for a new PC Uber Monster Fest! Defeat your friends, enemies and frenemies in a watery PvP arena. And go head-to-head against the new boss, the Kraken!

Express Yourself

Starting with Shards Part 3, accessory items will be making their way into Dungeon Defenders on Steam. These rare drops will boost your stats to a small extent. All classes can equip masks, but there will be class-specific accessories: Squire/Countess can equip Shields, Hunter/Huntress can equip Bracers and Adept/Apprentice can equip Hat Brooches. Collect them, trade them and use them to distinguish yourself among the legends of Etheria!

New Reward: Jetpack Bounty Hunter

By popular demand, we’ve added a Jetpacking version of the Bounty Hunter costume! To get it, you’ll need to earn the Transcendent Survivalist Achievement — an incredible long-term challenge for even the most hardened Defender. But those brave souls who earn the Jetpack Bounty Hunter will be able to show off their tremendous singular achievement in style!

Community Calendar/New Events Subforum

Now there’s a convenient place to see and share community events! The Community Calendar is your one-stop destination to advertise your Dungeon Defenders live streams, giveaways, PvP events and more. We might even pick some of them to spotlight in upcoming Digests.

If you have an awesome event you’d like to share with the world, click the Add New Event button on the calendar page. Be sure to include PC, 360 or PS3 in the title of your event, and include a link to your event discussion thread in the description of the event. Each event will be moderated to keep the calendar spam-free.

We’ve also created an events subforum to discuss your events. No more digging through stacks of forum threads! There’s also an off-topic events subforum so you and your fellow Defenders can team up and play other games, too! (Remember, the calendar is only for Dungeon Defenders-releated events.)

Need an example for an event? How about one that’s happening this week…

[PC Event] Hitmon’s Battle Royale

Join me and a few of my co-people in competitive tower defense battle this Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST. You must sign up for the event in this thread before 4 p.m. EST on Friday. Please provide a link to your Steam profile!

We’ll be inviting four people per lobby — two teams of two with a Trendy representative on each side.

Prizes: Each member of the winning team will get (2) 400m Mana Tokens.

We’ll update our event thread with the Steam IDs from which you’ll be receiving invites.

You’ll also want to bookmark this Google Doc. This is where we’ll keep a list of the people waiting to be invited. In order to promote fairness, we’ll be choosing names at random. You can also keep tabs on whether or not you’ve been invited.

On Twitter

Every Tuesday, we giveaway Steam codes to lucky fans on our Twitter page. This week, I asked people to draw their favorite hero from Dungeon Defenders to win a copy of the New Heroes DLC. Here’s the catch: They could only use MS Paint or Paintbrush. These were our winners this week:

Courtesy of @theninjaben

Courtesy of @CipeTheEpic

Courtesy of @draykho

And here are the honorable mentions:

Courtesy of @A7X_Victim

Courtesy of @TonyXEnd

Be sure to follow our Twitter for giveaways and up-to-the-minute news!

Meet the Team

We’re going to start up a new series later this week. One of our community interns, Matt (TrendyGator), will be interviewing members of our team to discuss their contributions to the game and how they broke into the industry. Let us know if this is something that interests you!

Beta Team Non-update

We’re giving the beta team a pass on this week’s digest. This is the perfect moment to say how grateful we are for all of their hard work. Their dedication to help make our products stronger is humbling and inspiring. Keep up the great work!

Screenshots of the Week

This week’s screenshots of the week are brought to you by the letter A for Awesome.

Photo courtesy of Armadillo of Dune

Photo courtesy of Dr_Rivan

Photo courtesy of Chris the Ranger

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

We end this week with another callout to Czokalapik’s Defense Layout, which now has its own sexy URL: ddplanner.com! Along with its new domain identity, the planner added Steam login integration to associate layouts with logins. Check it out!

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

Discuss this Digest here!

And just like that, PAX East is over.

We hope everyone who came out to the booth had a fantastic time! Seeing our fans tackle the new content was a blast. Shards 3 is still a little ways from release, so hopefully you enjoyed the sneak peek. Thanks to everyone, both new fans and old, who stopped by, picked up a controller and played our game. Your enthusiasm for the game was infectious. It was my first time meeting some of you in person, and it’s an experience I won’t soon forget.

While at the expo, we got the chance to eat lunch with some of our fans. Talking with eveyone over steaks, burgers and DunDef secrets was a delight! We hope they had as much fun as we did, and we look forward to meeting more of you at future events.

While Shards Part 3 was in the spotlight at the booth, we had some other goodies hidden for people to find. (Console fans, you can skip ahead to the Console Updates section of the digest.)

New Mission: City in the Cliffs

A few eagle-eyed fans at PAX spotted this content embedded in the menus. Introducing City in the Cliffs, a new map coming to Dungeon Defenders this week!

This isolated Moraggan outpost has now become a warzone as the horde lays siege to its Eternia Crystals. City in the Cliffs is a full Campaign map that supports Survival, Mix and Pure Strategy Mode. Included with the map is the “Über Death From Above” challenge. And the best part? All of the above modes and missions support up to six Defenders! Rewards include a brand new Djinnlet Pet, four new weapons and… the new male costume for Series EV, the Bounty Hunter!

City in the Cliffs will release this Friday for $1.99 on the Steam marketplace!

New Hero Reveal: Summoner

We reveal the next Hero to join your ranks, the Summoner! This visitor from beyond the crystalline void can raise and command an army to fight for him, RTS-style. He also has a formidable command of Pets, along with other special capabilities. More details in coming Digests!

Console Updates

On Tuesday, our PSN US fans downloaded the first console patch and second Shards DLC for Dungeon Defenders. After the patch installed, they were treated to higher weapon and gear upgrades, improved balance, a higher mana cap, greater Item Box inventory space and more!

For our PSN EU fans, we’ve just heard back from SCEE, and it looks like you’ll be able to download the patch and Shards Part 2 DLC on April 18! The patch will release earlier in the day than the DLC to give everyone a chance to update before it’s released. As for our XBLA fans, we haven’t heard from our publisher as to when you can get your hands on this fresh content. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we’ll keep you updated as soon as we have the updated date.

There was an unforeseen glitch with the PSN US patch that has hindered players from joining other lobbies. The dev team has checked, and this issue is not present in the XBLA and PSN SCEE versions. If you have encountered an error message regarding a Spider Mismatch issue, we are submitting a patch to fix the issue. The patch will also ready the game for some of the Eternia Shards 3 content.

To help XBLA players with the wait, Dredd has decided to host additional events! His first event will begin tomorrow. Check out his thread for more information!

Street Sharks

Of course, the main attraction at PAX was Shards Part 3. Not only did we have the new map and mission playable, but all of the other DLC goodies were in the PAX build, including the new enemy — Sharkmen.

PAX attendees experienced first-hand the terror of these ruthless sea creatures. Just when you think you have the perfect setup, the Sharkmen charge the playing field (literally). It’s up to your heroes’ might and magic to stop them from pushing aside your defenses and bolting straight to your crystals. Fend them off, and you may survive to see the new boss.

Defender’s Armory – A New Dungeon Defenders Mobile App

Once again, we’re constantly surprise at just how dedicated our fans are. Developed by Zulaxia (Random Icon) in cooperation with the Defender’s Store, Defender’s Armory is the first mobile application for the Steam version of Dungeon Defenders and, we’re told, will eventually host a slew of tools for our game!

The tool available now in the app is the Loot Chest. The Loot Chest lets you browse the endless piles of equipment and pets on sale by your fellow players.

Features:

- Browse, filter and sort the hundreds of thousands of items listed for sale on TrendyNet
- View item stats as any class. No need to try to remember which stat is which on each of your characters.

Coming soon:

- “Watch for similar” option on items. Like the particular stats on an item, but wish they were higher? This is for you.
- Inventory system. Store what each of your characters is using, making it much easier to find those upgrades.
- “Scan for upgrades” option. One hit wonder to look for item upgrades for any or all of your characters at once.

You can find the app here for $1.99!

Note: This is not an official Trendy product, though that doesn’t stop it from being awesome.

(NSFW) Derpy Defenders

Since this is NSFW we won’t embed it here, but if you’re of age we highly suggest you follow this link. This is a teaser for Bag Boyz new machinima series, Derpy Defenders. We think it’s pretty awesome, even if it’s not safe for (your) work.

And… now we can never listen to those sound effects in the same way again.

TV Tropes

They really nailed some of these on the head here. Pmasher’s favorite:

“Demonic Spiders: Used to be Dark Elf Warriors, but now clearly replaced by actual spiders, which will web-stun you, then bite you to death. (or web-stun your towers, then bite them to death)”

Hitmonchan’s favorite:

“Ms. Fanservice: The Huntress comes complete with a bared midriff, a rump-shaking dance, a hint of Jiggle Physics, and a dangerously low miniskirt.” Sorry, @DannyAraya!

What are your favorites? If you have more, feel free to add them!

Beta Team Update: 4/11/12

It’s been a busy week for the beta testers! We’ve chased down Easter eggs, tested the new map (no, not *that* map), fought a spider queen every wave (this feature was removed), and gone through the lengthy process of verifying the huge 7.27 patch! The survival change everyone is looking forward to required additional testing and has been moved back. (The upcoming patch notes are located here.)

Thank you to everyone who applied for our beta team over the weekend. We’ve gotten plenty of candidates, and we’ll be reviewing each email received. It will take us quite some time given the volume we received, so please be patient!

We’ve also had a bit of backlog on our inbox, and for that we apologize. If you haven’t received a reply, it doesn’t mean we don’t like you, it just means we were a little busy! We’ll certainly be sending you a reply. As mentioned last week, the current community suggestions topic is a review of the Series EV. PM suggestions to “Official Beta Test Group” using the words SERIES EV in the title.

What nightmares are made of.

Screenshots of the Week

Check out this week’s screenshots!

Photos courtesy of Jowblob

Photo courtesy of cynobyte

Photo courtesy of the_evil_zombie_clown

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

We end this week’s digest with a look at Binarity Lab, a phenomenal fan-made map from TrookLue. (And if you like making maps, be sure to check back for next week’s digest. That’s all I can say for now.)

Map Name: “Binarity Lab” (Version 1 + 2)

Author: TrookLue

Gametype: Endless PvE CoreDefense

Players: 1-4

Objective: “Sit down, and relax *jking, i created the map as a warm-up-exercise, before i started the ‘real work,’ wich makes me busy right now. This means, there are many incompleted things in this map and the objective is more to jump in and take a look at some cool stuff, instead of awaiting a great new challange. I wont change anything, as long as i didn’t finish my actual project, for quite a while (…at least. Its a damn big and detailed map).

Sry, but feel free to use/change/modify or whatever u would like to do with it. As Trendy shared their stuff with us, i will also share mine. So far, thx for the great feedback @all!”

Download link: Trook’s Binarity Labs

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

(A special thanks to GearsGator, pmasher and Augi for the PAX photos!)

Discuss this Digest here!

I was among my people.

With more than 60,000 people present, PAX Prime focused on video games, tabletop games and the people who make them. Now its sister convention, PAX East 2012, is a few short days away.

And as luck would have it, we’re going to be there.

Trendy Entertainment is going to be living large at Booth 808 (Reverb Publishing). Joining me at the Reverb booth is our marketing director, Philip (pmasher), and one of our faithful interns, Matt (GearsGator). If you stop by, we’ll have some free codes for our recently announced Penny Arcade skins! (Available for purchase this Friday on the Steam marketplace.) Play as Tycho, Annarchy, Jim Darkmagic and Cardboard Tube Samurai from the popular online comic strip.

Yes, you’ll be able to get an awesome cardboard tube to use with your Cardboard Tube Samurai.

Plus, we’ll have some new content for you to dip your toes in.

Play the Third Shards DLC at PAX!

If you stop by our booth, you’ll be one of the first people outside of the studio to witness the next chapter of our heroes’ journey! We’ll have four stations set up to let you explore the lost city of Aquanos. Within the shrouded dome, brave a new boss battle, experience a new mission scenario and fight a dreadful new enemy.

PC Easter Event

Easter is approaching, and it wouldn’t be a proper holiday without a DunDef special event! Starting this Friday, we’re hosting a Dungeon Defenders Easter Egg Hunt! Eggs will be hidden throughout the game, and it’s up to you to discover how and where to find (or trade for) them!

What’s your reward for this hunt? Meet the Squire bunny!

You’ll have two weeks to find the eggs. (And between you and me, if you hunt down Mega Eggs, you’ll be in for an extra surprise. But I didn’t tell you that.)

Complete the Look

Accessorize your hero and stand out from the crowd. Don’t listen to Tyler. You are a beautiful and unique snowflake. While the full details of the system will be revealed in the coming weeks, we’ll go ahead and point out that they’re not purely cosmetic and that you will be able to acquire them throughout the main game.

Series EV’s New Costume

Since the first time you laid waste to the Old Ones’ minions as Series EV, you’ve been asking for a male costume. So for our male chauvinist EV fans, this one’s for you.

Get your intergalactic badass on with the new ‘Bounty Hunter’ skin. This costume will be available in a new content pack next week. We’ll have more details then.

ViciousXUSMC’s Series video

Beta Team Update: 4/3/12

Hey, guys!

Last week we got very few responses regarding how PvP should/could be revamped. As Hitmonchan said before, the amount of feedback given will determine the resources allocated to PvP. If you’d like to see Trendy focus on PvP in the future, please post your criticism and feedback in the PvP forums. If you’d like to see balanced loadouts or new forms of PvP gameplay, let them know! Trendy is keeping an eye on the forum, and if nobody posts there, they might pass on allocating more resources to PvP balancing and that sort of thing. You have a direct involvement in the future of DunDef. Don’t let it go to waste.

With that said, I’m switching our weekly topic over to a review of the Series EV. If you’ve got a suggestion for DunDef’s newest hero, please send it to the Official Beta Test Group account. We’ll gather your responses and send them to the dev team for review.

I’m also announcing that we’re looking for the following: 2-3 people interested in contributing to our video project and 3-4 new testers (PC preferred) with some kind of IT/UDK/QA experience. Please submit all inquiries of interest to [email]Betatesters@trendyent.com[/email].

Best Regards,
The Beta Team

Screenshots of the Week

Take a look at this week’s community screenshots!

Courtesy of camerontheaussie

Courtesy of Jowblob

Courtesy of Arroyo

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

We end this week’s Digest with some sad news. Long-time Trendy employee Rob “DMFlex” Godwin is leaving our flock for other pastures. You might remember him from the Trendy Testers videos during the pre-launch media blitz. We’re going to miss you, buddy.

In his stead, former Trendy employee Marc “Tsuda” Singer will be rejoining us! We can’t talk about what he’s working on at this moment, but we’re glad to have him back.

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

Discuss this Digest here!

Almost.

Let’s do this. Drink up!

Prepare Yourself for the Series EV

Rising from the depths of beta testing (…or Sky City!), the Series EV is almost here. Extendable defenses, tower buffs, projectile reflects — these elements are going to revamp strategies across the board.

Earlier today, Joystiq revealed the official trailer for the EV. If you haven’t seen it, check it out:

There were two large, unanswered questions about Series EV from last week: What are her abilities? And what weapons does she use?

Series EV has two abilities: Holographic Decoy and Proton Charge Blast. Decoy projects a holographic replica that will attract and confuse enemies before detonating in their faces.

Series can also consume massive amounts of mana to unleash a destructive Proton Charge Blast — the more mana you ingest, the longer the blast will last. (Check out last week’s Digest for more information on her defenses!)

Series EV absorbs both Apprentice staffs and Huntress bows/guns in her A.R.C., switching between the two on the fly. For Hero Info purposes, she’s a dual-wielding class. She can carry two App Staffs, two Huntress weapons or one of each. And yes, she can put a Portal Gun in her memory bank and keep its portals open while she uses another weapon!

Remember, the Series EV comes out tomorrow on Steam for $3.99. For one week only, you can pick her up on sale for $2.99!

Series Sneak Peek

If you’d like to get a sneak peek of the Series EV in action, our beta testers have put together an in-depth video looking at her defenses and abilities. Take a look:

http://www.twitch.tv/cr4zyb4st4rd

http://www.own3d.tv/Alhanalem#/live/168552

http://www.own3d.tv/live/1591

http://www.own3d.tv/live/270809/Dr._Who

http://www.twitch.tv/icearrow2

Karathiki Competitive Tower Defense

For some time, many in the community have felt that PvP isn’t relevant in Dungeon Defenders. Those words sting, but like everything else, we use them to help make our game better.

Today, we’re proud to introduce the first attempt at a revamped PvP in Dungeon Defenders: Competitive Tower Defense! Compete with up to 6 heroes in the Karathiki Jungles to decide which team can defend the longest against an onslaught of powerful mobs. Gain the upper hand by strategically summoning an Ogre Rush to overwhelm the enemy team at the most opportune time. Two teams enter, one team leaves!

It’s important to note that this is the bare bones of a new PvP mode, complementing the existing CTF and Deathmatch modes. We’re using this opportunity to see if there’s enough community feedback to support continuing in this direction. So if you like the mode or you would like to offer ways to improve it, please do so. The more people who participate, the more we’re willing to put into the mode. So if you’d like to see more “competitive tower defense” in this vein, let your voices be heard!

Console Release Date Update

XBLA console fans, we’ve just heard from our publisher that the XBLA console patch and DLC are going to remain in certification for just a bit longer than expected. That means it’ll be coming out a week or so later than expected. As soon as we get confirmation of the new date, we’ll let you know. The PSN patch and DLC will still be coming out on April 10. We’re sorry about the inconvenience.

In other console news, we’ve submitted the PSN EU patch and DLC for certification. We’ll have more news on that as it develops.

PAX East

Booth babes need not apply. I’ve got this covered.

I’ve picked out the perfect man-kini for our booth at PAX East. I spent hours finding the snuggest fit with the most lift. And it’s leopard print. I’ve always thought of myself as a wildcat on the prowl.

Yes, Trendy Entertainment is going to be at PAX East. And we’re not just wayward ruffians this time. We’re going to have a booth on the main floor of the expo! Located at Booth 808 (our Kanye-approved digs), we’re going to be handing out free swag and letting you get hands-on with future content. Did I say swag? I did, indeed. And it’s not T-shirts. We’ll have more news on what it is next week!

Beta Team Update: 3/28/12

Two EVs sitting in a tree… K-I-L-L-I-N-G…

Oh, hi there! We’ve been having a blast testing the EV and the new competitive tower defense mode. One thing working with Trendy has shown consistently: When they get a great idea, they just go ahead and do it!

Series EV is the first character with new towers and as a result we’re getting the opportunity to try old maps in new ways. We were able to solo the campaign on her, though, as you might expect, wyverns proved a bit of a challenge. We’ve also been testing her out endgame. From our reports there, she is certainly good enough to base your defenses around her towers in the world of djinn and spiders.

The competitive tower defense is pretty solid. The mode is going to be released as a “beta.” To that end, we’ll be looking to the community for suggestions about the mode. This week’s suggestion topic is, “What would you like to see in the new mode to make it enjoyable and addictive?” PM suggestions to “Official Beta Test Group” using the words COMPETITIVE TD SUGGESTIONS in the title. (Please remember that off-topic suggestions will be ignored.)

Series EV plays non-traditional games like TOE-TAC-TIC. It’s O’s move.

Screenshots of the Week

There were a ton of fantastic entries to choose from this week. I’m loving the more scenery-focused photos I’ve been getting. Keep up the great work!

Courtesy of Aarowned

Courtesy of Regnak and Owczareck

Courtesy of Jumpy George

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

Czokalapik’s Layout Planner

We end this week with a handy new tool for creating layouts for strategies. Similar to the Cubicle Ninja page that some of you are accustomed to, this rapidly updated layout planner will be incorporating the Series EV defenses soon. Easy to use and easy to share, definitely check out this planner if you’re looking to share your strategies.

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

Discuss this Digest here!

I hadn’t heard it in months, but all the familiar signs are there: the repetition of vocal sounds, the strange way it falters and dies at the end. From the high pitch and echo, I’d say it sounds like kids. Why would there be kids in the desert?

I stopped and scanned the horizon. There it is. A village. Or at least a dark, wavering mass that looks like a village. That must be where it came from.

I might find other people there. Perhaps the parents of the children. Or more of those vile Djinns. Either way, it beats getting my joints sandblasted in this wasteland.

As I walk closer, I detect shapes moving toward me. Indistinct at first, their features stabilize. One person is wearing a large hat. Another one has a rather flat head.

My brain buzzed. I found them! And here in the desert of all places.

I walk slowly to prevent unwanted aggression. I expected this journey to last longer. They’ve been gone for almost a year, and now I find them on a random chance in the desert. The odds of such an occurrence is a fraction of a percent.

Laughter again. This time it’s closer than the last. That’s peculiar.

And something looks wrong. These people seem shorter than the picture in my brain.

Is this not them after all?

As the five of us emerged from the desert’s veil, I was confused. Their attire and features were similar, but they were kids. Pre-teens at the oldest.

What sorcery does this desert hold? The realms of magic are unpredictable. Incalculable. The stuff that haunts my hibernation times.

I looked down. The kids gave me a collective cold look. They’re tainted with the reality of battle. Now I was sure of my unsupported conclusion. These four must be their kids.

The Knight’s child stepped forward.

“Who are you?” he asked. Who? That’s an interesting question. I’ve never been asked that before.

“I am Series EV,” I answered. “I have traveled many miles to be here. I have been looking for you.”

Not entirely true, but close enough.

The group glanced at each other, no doubt questioning the validity of my statement. Smart kids. The young Apprentice kept staring at me, like he was fearful to take his eyes off me.

“I mean you no harm,” I replied. “Please, let me tell you more about myself.”

Series EV

Built for the military and recommissioned for civilian protection, the Series EV has a host of defensive capabilities. Have an arms cache in a narrow hallway or a large entryway to cover? No worries! The EV uses nodes to create adjustable Proton Beams and Physical Beams to suit the needs of the space. Just remember: the longer the defensive line, the more units it costs!

Sometimes the foe is cowardly. Hiding behind their more ferocious peers, they’ll shoot at you from afar. Fear no more! Lay down a Projectile Reflect wall, and watch as their attacks come flying right back at them. Brilliant!

Other times, the enemy is too large to be brought down by beams and energy walls alone. Plant a Shock Beam to stun it, and then, using your Assimilable Ranged Cannon (A.R.C.), blast the little guy to oblivion.

And if someone’s towers need a boost, plant a Tower Buff Beam to shoot ‘em with energy and make them stronger.

So when can you get your hands on a Series EV? The street date is March 29. The estimated retail value is $3.99, but for one week only, it’ll be on sale for $2.99!

Welcome to the Jungle

We have a surprise for you this week.

If you paid attention to our Barbarian trailer, you’ll have noticed an unrevealed map. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain.

Venture into the ancient ruins of the Karathiki Jungles to discover Dungeon Defenders first 6-player co-op map, the Amazon Barbarian tribe and a new challenge — Rumble in the Jungle, the successor to our War of the Djinns challenge. Converted Djinns will be sent to nearby tiki lamps, and each successive wave will require more converted Djinns to proceed.

Be warned: From what our beta testers tell us, this jungle is no pushover.

Of course, that’s not all that awaits you in the jungle.

The Amazon Barbarian outfit and Monkey familiar come with the pack, too!

If you own the Eternia Shards Complete DLC, you can unlock this content for free on Friday. This will be available the same day as a standalone purchase for $1.99.

At the Penny Arcade

As you may have gathered from Twitter, we’re hitting the road again. This time, we’re going to the city of Boston, home of the Celtics, baked beans and patriot/beer icon Samuel Adams. We’re going to be there Easter weekend, which we hear is also conveniently the days a certain expo will be there. And by certain expo, I mean PAX East. Sometimes I like to throw subtly out the window.

Why are we going to be there? We’ll roll out those details as we get closer to April 6.

Meet our Esteemed Composer

Some of you have asked me on Twitter and Facebook about our elusive composer, Afshin Toufighian. I’ve managed to track him down to answer a few questions for you. Enjoy!

How did you get into music?

I started playing the piano around age 9. I started mostly on Classical music, playing composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. I became fascinated by the tonalities of their music and soon decided to try a hand at composition myself. I went through school studying music and having a blast because I knew I was doing what I really loved.

How did you get involved with Dungeon Defenders and Trendy?

Well I’ve had a working relationship with our brilliant director, Jeremy Stieglitz, for several years. We started back in 2005 on Monster Madness and have continued working on games together ever since.

I was working in Los Angeles at the time, and wanted to branch out a little bit and get into games. It only made sense to start getting into that field because I knew I had a passion for games and felt I wasn’t doing much on that side. So one day as I was looking through the web at some different game companies to see what was out there, Artificial Studios (the company Jeremy was running at the time) caught my eye, and I immediately sent out a few samples of my music to see if there was any interest in collaboration. The answer was yes, and the rest is history.

What were you doing in Los Angeles before that?

I was doing some freelance work on short films, performing music, working with various film composers (William Goldstein, Ron Jones from the Family Guy), as well as teaching music, building studios, and going around ‘climbing the ladder’ as they say.

Can you describe your planning and creation process for the Dungeon Defenders soundtrack?

Sure. The thematic or musical idea most usually starts on the piano. After viewing some visual content, whatever is available, whether still images or motion picture, I get the basic idea and get the ‘juices’ flowing. I sketch out the basic idea roughly within a few minutes. That’s the fun part. But then comes the long and hard part of actually composing and orchestrating all the details. It’s like painting a picture and trying to decide what colors to use basically. I do all of this in Steinberg Cubase, my audio software, along with tons of audio plugins and instruments. The editing, tweaking, mixing, and mastering process comes after that – that’s where I polish it up and make it shine a bit more.

The combat phase of the game lasts considerably longer than the build phase. Is your process different for combat phase music?

Well, the composition process … is the same for both build up and combat phases, but the combat phase usually requires more time and attention to create, due to its greater intensity than the build phase. It needs to give that extra punch so that you feel you’re in the middle of the action, more instruments need to be used, and the music is usually faster which means more bars of music need to be written. It’s a fun challenge.

Well Jeremy mentioned to me the idea that the music in the level should be more in the direction, for example, of the soundtrack from the film “Gladiator,” which is a fantastic piece of work. Coupled with the beautiful visuals the art guys at Trendy came up with, it didn’t take long for my head to explode with imagination for what to write for this DLC. I really wanted to use some traditional Middle Eastern instruments in this segment of the game. You’ll hear instruments like the Duduk, Oud, Ney, and Zourna. I then tied those in with the traditional orchestral instruments to complete the picture, a mix of Eastern and Western tonalities, I guess you could say.

What was the most challenging part of making the Moraggo tracks? Did you run into any unique issues?

Nothing particularly challenging or different on this one… I don’t think… I mean as far as the music, Middle Eastern tones make up a different scale than Western tones. So I just had to be careful enough to make it sound true to that genre.

Do you use live instruments? And if so, do you play them all, or do you get other people to help out?

Due to the efficiency required on scoring the soundtrack for Dungeon Defenders and also often because of the time constraints, I took the approach of scoring with virtual instruments. I think it was mainly a practical decision. In a sense, however, the virtual instruments I used were, in fact, recorded live, but I’ve tweaked them up here and there with midi programming. So they get their “live” sound, but just programmed into the sequencer in a ‘non-live’ way.

It is my hope, however, that soon we’ll hear more actual live performers on the soundtracks.

What’s your favorite track you’ve written for Dungeon Defenders?

Probably Mistymire Build Phase, because I think it draws on my early influences from the music of Zelda and Final Fantasy, two games I loved playing endlessly when I was a child.

I’m a big fan of many things written by Nubuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) and Koji Kondo (Zelda), as well as film composers such as John Williams and Danny Elfman. These guys helped stretch my imagination of what can be explored on the harmonic spectrum. I think my brain rewired itself and grew a little larger after hearing what these guys did.

The Valentine’s Day DLC music is a marked departure from what we’ve come to expect from the soundtrack. What was your inspiration for that piece?

Yeah, I wanted to change the pace a little with that one because everything up until then was pretty much orchestral. I’m actually a pretty big fan of electronic music and thought I could try something out for that particular DLC. I don’t know, I think those pretty pink fluffy clouds sparked that idea for me.

What electronic bands/musicians are you into right now?

Well I like a mixture of stuff… Tiesto, Bjork, Matmos, I loved Aphex Twin back in the day, and there’s this new kid on the block by the name of Madeon who does some truly excellent stuff.

Do you have anything special in mind for Quest for Lost Eternia Shards Part 3?

Oh yes. I’d rather keep it in the bag for now, but I can’t wait for you to hear what’s coming up for it. I’m taking somewhat of a different approach on this one. I hope it doesn’t get too outside-the-box, but maybe that’s a good thing. I am using some more piano on these tracks, which seems to blend really beautifully with some of the other instruments. I’m looking forward to contributing the soundtrack to this beautiful new DLC.

That sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to hear it! Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you too, Josh.

If you’d like to hear Afshin’s work (including Dungeon Defenders), check out his Bandcamp page!

Beta Team Update: 3/21/12

Release week, when all Trendy and our work is shown to the public! It was quite a week and spurred a lot of discussion on the forums. Our team coordinator, Skott, shared some insights into the beta testing process here.

Here are some additional thoughts the team wanted to share: “We approach new content with the assumption that it’s going to be hard, but possible. With the Djinn, we got exactly what we expected. At the start they totally kicked our butts. But, as a team we never give up. We took our unworkable strategies and changed them. We started working more on playing multiplayer. And in the end, we found strategies that worked. We managed to do the vast majority of the NM content with the kind of gear you find in HC NM Endless Spires. It was quite a rush!“

Here is a short list of the most commonly suggested items that we received on our focus topic regarding Endgame Variety:

1. Only one map – The only realistic place to advance in the game was Mistymire. With the addition of Moraggo, this changes some. Additional maps are definitely in the works, but a few enterprising suggestioneers mentioned the idea of making some/all campaign maps work more like Misty.

2. Only one mode – Another frequent point is that survival is the only way to progress. Most of them mentioned adding armor as rewards to challenges as a solution. Additionally, campaign map rewards could include armor.

3. Make more towers/classes viable in Nightmare – For many endgamers, shoring up the weaknesses of certain towers and classes would help spur a bit more creativity in layouts.

Thanks again to each person who responded!

Reflective walls are awesome. Wait, what does #3 do?!

Screenshots of the Week

Check out this week’s screenshots!

Courtesy of Renendaru

Courtesy of The Fire Chief

Courtesy of ada309

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

Ode to the Monk

Closing out this week is a video from one of our community veterans, Junbao. His monk pride is known far and wide around these parts, and to show it to everyone else, he’s put together this wicked tribute to the kid who won’t let anything get in his way.

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

Discuss this Digest here!

Around every corner in San Francisco stood a new face to meet or a new place to be. It’s exactly as Jack described in “On the Road” — thick plumes of fog, giant hills and a ceaseless, pulsing desire to be everything to everyone. From the spring scent of the Golden Gate Park to the smoke and bass of the nightlife, even the most reserved person would succumb to the city’s advances.

As the company booths packed up and headed home one by one, so did we. But back in the office, we haven’t missed a beat. Everyone is prepping for the incoming content drop.

So gear up, soldier. We’re dropping in hot.

Dungeon Defenders Steam Free Weekend (Mac & PC!)

Play Dungeon Defenders for free from Thursday (3/15) at 10 a.m. PST to Sunday (3/18) 1 p.m. PST! And you can save 50% on the game and all DLC except the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards DLCs.

Grab your friends and spread the word!

Welcome to Moraggo

The Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards Part II will be available tomorrow on the Steam marketplace (console fans, look below). For $3.99 (or free if you’ve purchased the Shards Complete Pack), you’ll gain access to a new boss, missions, weapons, pets, skins (PC only), music, cut-scenes, and more. Our beta team has put its nose to the grindstone to ensure that this will be the strongest and most polished DLC release yet. (Great work, gang!)

Of course, we might be biased there. You’ll be able to see for yourself sometime tomorrow. (If you have the Shards Complete DLC, you can get it right now!) We’ll post about it on our forums, Facebook and Twitter when it goes live.

Mac Fans, Are you Ready?

Of course, also hitting the Steam marketplace tomorrow is Dungeon Defenders Mac. If you own the game on PC, you can pick up the Mac version for free. Any DLC you previously own on the PC version will transfer over, too! Otherwise, you can grab a copy for $14.99. Of course, from tomorrow until Sunday you’ll be able to try the game for free or grab a copy (and all the DLC) for 50% off as part of our Steam Free Weekend! Hopefully this will help somewhat for the long wait! Our upcoming PC patch (which we’ll get to later) contains some pretty major technical revisions to allow PC/Mac cross-platform play. We’ve tested it internally and with the beta team, but we haven’t been able to properly test it with a large population. So tonight, we’re going to open up the Mac beta to everyone who owns DunDef PC so you can help test it before its big debut tomorrow.

That said, as with any major release, be prepared for some technical issues tomorrow. Or not. Everything could go all roses and unicorns, and I’ll get to sit back and sip top-shelf margs and everyone’s happy. A man can dream.

Console Patch/DLC Release Date

From social media to the forums, our console fans have begged for updates on the console patch and the Shards DLC. We’re pleased to announce that you will be able to rip through the new content on April 10 for PS3 and April 11 for XBLA.

Why will you have to wait until April? We’ve been very open about the console patch and DLC submission process — more so than most companies. There’s more to being released on the store besides passing quality assurance. The console companies also dictate the timing and release of DLC (and, since the patch contains delicate DLC matters, the patch, too).

Lucky Community Costume Pack

Last week, we revealed the first concept pieces for our community DLC skins. From what little I understand of game development, our art team made blood sacrifices to the development gods to transform concept into content. (If that’s not true, someone needs to explain the blood-stained carpets in the art room.) Here’s your first look at both the 3D concept models and the in-game models!

Note: We’ll update this post when we finish the Barbarian.

As luck would have it (yeah, I went there), the Lucky Community Costume Pack will be available this Friday for free for a limited time (2 weeks).

PC Patch 7.20 (It’s Beefy!)

Patch 7.20 just went live! As we mentioned before, there’s some heavy technical changes included in this patch, so if you see any issues please let us know in our Tech Support or Patch forums. Check out the notes:

* Added a super-secret awesome reward for those who earn “Transcendent Challenge Champion”
* Buffed Apprentice Exponential Damage Ramps on Lightning Tower and Magic Missile Tower by ~20%
* Editbox for specifying the Item Costs in the Player Shop now displays numerical commas
* Binding chat key to alphanumeric button no longer interferes with EditBox inputs
* You can now browse into and out-of Item Box/Player Shop folders properly with Gamepad control (though you can not create them with Gamepad control, yet)
* “Hardcore” mode now yields a 50% XP wave-completion earnings boost, regardless of difficulty setting
* Added “Pro” Item Upgrade Mode, where you can simply click an item stat directly to immediately invest all needed funds and upgrade the item rapidly.
* Hardcore Mode is now accessible on all Challenges, and gives better reward items (on Campaign and Challenges) than non-Hardcore
* Nightmare Challenges now also give Insane Achievements
* Spike Blockade width increased by 15%
* Level cap raised to 78, along with new Items and Item Qualities
* Controller users can now press “Y” to export data to Local/Open mode
* Eternia Shards 2 Pack + Hero Outfit
* 5 new Achievements + Trophies
* Cross-platform SteamPlay with Mac
* Fixed issue where Traps would become weaker in various ways if you died in Hardcore mode and your player character disappeared. Also fixes Upgrade Detonation Count decreasing issue with Traps after the player was destroyed (where Upgrading could result in a Det Count decrease).
* Fixed issue where alphabetical keybinding for Chat would result in inability to use that key in edit boxes
* Increased NM Crystal HP by 40%
* Clients can now see the Host’s selected mission name of a mission they don’t own
* Harpoon Turrets now incorporate target leading into their aiming, making them MUCH more effective against Wyverns and also fast-moving enemies
* Buffed Nightmare Damage Pets by 12%

Beta Update: 3/14/12

OMG, it’s here! The team has been anxiously awaiting the day everyone gets to see what
Trendy and the Beta Team have been working on. Fueled by a steady supply of mountain dew and pizza, the team has polished and combed over one of the largest updates to the game so far!

Some comments from the team about the update:

1. “Pro Upgrade mode is way faster than the old upgrade system!”

2. “Djinn add a lot of variety to Nightmare mode. Expect to rethink your layouts!”

3. “When I first made it to wave 30 on Mistymire I thought I was hot stuff, with Moraggo I now retract that statement.”

4. “The super-secret awesome reward for those who earn ‘Transcendent Challenge Champion’ is in fact awesome. Please, only request tips after launch.”

Not your typical pizza delivery service.

On a more serious note, as this is a release week, our testers are in overdrive and so we will not be posting a suggestion for this week. We like to take the time to read and respond to each suggestion that comes across our table, and it wouldn’t be right for us to ask you to submit your thoughts if we couldn’t respond to them in a reasonable amount of time. Expect us to open up suggestions again next week. We apologize for the disappointment and hope you understand. Enjoy the release!

Dungeon Defenders in Soul Caliber (Fan Creation)
Hellcarver posted these fantastic Soul Caliber DunDef creations on our forums earlier in the week. I think everyone in the office had a collective nerdgasm.

Screenshots of the Week

We’re starting to see more creative entries each week. Keep it up!

Courtesy of [G33K] Regnak

Courtesy of Zimmies

Courtesy of Dyles

Until next time,
Hitmonchan

P.S. I’ll just leave this here:

Discuss this Digest here!

This week I have been placed in charge of things due to Hitmon going off to GDC and leaving me with all his work. As I curse his name every hour on the hour, I should at least introduce myself so that you may also curse his name on my behalf. I’m Laura, and I work for Trendy alongside Hitmonchan. I look forward to getting to know our community and bonding. Especially now that the secret of my existence is out and I can no longer be a creeper on the forums. Feel free to send me PMs, promises of food, or a cow.

Now a few words from Hitmonchan:

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GDC!!

Our 2d/3d artist, Jordan Kerbow, in front of our poster

Our Lead Concept Artist, Daniel Araya, on the Iron Throne!

Yesterday was day one of the GDC expo. Booths seemed to disappear into the distance. Walking around was an odd dance of bruised elbows and weight shifting. But the room was filled with some of the most passionate people I’ve met — students trying to find jobs, vendors showing off their pet projects, and developers gauging reactions and reception.

Right near the main focal point, there’s one booth in particular that may interest you the most.

Dungeon Defenders Flash

On display at the Adobe booth is a tech demo that we’re really excited to show. Our dev team has been buzzing up a storm in the office for quite some time, and for good reason — using the power of Adobe Flash (and the tears of many children), the team has made the technically dense code of Dungeon Defenders playable directly from your browser.

This is just a tech demo, albeit a really awesome one. Dungeon Defenders Flash is not a new version of the game that we are courting. It’s just what the name implies — a technical demo showing off an Unreal Engine 3 playable on browsers.

I’ll be back in town next Tuesday, so if you need anything, talk to me on Twitter (@hitmonchan107) or just ask Laura.

Much love,
Hitmonchan

———————————-

He told me to include some more hugs, xoxo’s, and a few hand drawn hearts in there but I figured he can do that when he comes back.

Shards Part II PC Release Date

No more vague hints. The second Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards DLC will be available on the Steam marketplace on March 15. That’s just eight days until you can get your feet in the blistering desert sand. The second Shards DLC will include new weapons, a new campaign level, a new mission, a new enemy (which will be introduced across the board in Nightmare mode, as well), new cinematics and, of course, a new boss.

Who’s the Boss?

No. I’m not talking about Tony Danza, but he does make the magic happen. The newest boss is the Genie King. He rules the arid land alongside his faithful djinns, using any one of his powerful attacks to keep strangers out. He reigns with an iron fis…err… beard? Beware of his minions and keep a sharp eye out for his lamps. He has more tricks up his hat, but why would I want to spoil the surprise?

Console Patch/DLC Update

We’re still awaiting word from Microsoft about the console patch and the DLC. It’s normal and expected for one console manufacturer to pass content while the other is still working on theirs. Imagine giving two professors the same essay to grade. One professor might get you your grade back early, while the other hands it back to you a little while later.

Beta Team Digest: 3/8/12
PC Beta Applications Open! We are looking for 3-4 more people for our PC beta group. Individuals interested in applying should prepare a short description of their IT, QA, map balance/design, and previous CLOSED beta experience. Please email your letters of interest to [email]betatesters@trendyent.com[/email] with the title “PC Beta Applicant”. Applying to this team requires a serious amount of dedication and effort. You must be 18 or older to apply. We will stop accepting applications on Sunday 3/11/2012.

The Mac and PC sides of the team are playing constantly and delivering great feedback on the game. Many of the Mac guys have leveled up and are getting their hands dirty in Moraggo. The PC guys, meanwhile, are busy testing all the challenges on Hardcore. UMF 3.0 with Djinn in the mix is quite a challenge!

Here is a short list of the most commonly suggested items that we received on our focus topic regarding Huntress/Hunter Traps:

1. Inferno Trap – Many people suggested that the visual effects of the Inferno trap should be toned down.

2. Ethereal Spike Trap – Another common concern of our suggestiongineers is the Ethereal Spike Trap. It just doesn’t look good when compared to a Proximity Mine Trap. A few ideas were: Improving its damage, decreasing its DU, and giving it noticeable knockback.

3. Traps in Nightmare – For endgame players and those working towards it, traps are reportedly weak. Most of these players suggested a general buff to trap strength in NM.

Thanks again to each person who responded! The next topic is, “What kind of changes would you like to see to create variety in the end-game?” PM suggestions to “Official Beta Test Group” using the words ENDGAME SUGGESTIONS in the title.

Beta Screenshot of the Week:

Djinn are infamous for their dislike of holidays.

Screenshots of the Week

It’s that time of the Digest where we marvel at the artistic creativity of our community.

Courtesy of [BFG]™manuelle

Courtesy of ada309

Courtesy of A.D.D. Ninja

Have a cool photo you’d like to share? Send it cool to contest[at]trendyent.com with the subject “DunDef Screenshot”! Be sure to include your forum username or Steam username in the email. Our favorites will appear in future Digests!

This is all I have to offer. Feel free to comment and ask questions to your heart’s content and I’ll answer then as quickly as I can!

Hope I did you guys justice!
Laurawantsacow

Discuss this Digest here!