A couple new things that I’m going to combine into one post. The first is a new notice titled Apology for Inadequate User Advisory Group Operation. For context, basically what happened was that a member of the advisory group used an image of someone else looting a hard boss item when they shouldn’t have, and that person threatened to sue them for defamation. The advisory group member said they didn’t have money to pay for that but the other person asked where they got money to open Royal Style Coupons, and the advisory group member broke their NDA to say that they get 500k NX every month. This led Inven users to rage about how they’re getting paid to do (presumably) nothing. Lots of drama. The second thing is a new patch on KMST, testing for the 64-bit client again. This time, they released a longer notice talking about their decision to switch and how it will affect players. It seems that we will be getting it in the official servers within the next few months! Apology for Inadequate User Advisory Group Operation Hello, this is MapleStory. We apologize for any frustration caused by inadequate notices about the user advisory group’s activity. When preparing for the customer conference on April 11, we decided that MapleStory could go in a better direction if we received more in-depth opinions from the users’ point of view, so we started the user advisory group. Through this, we expected it to be an opportunity for positive changes to the game, not only by receiving the opinions of players which the development team had been looking at but also the advice from individual members of the user advisory group. However, contrary to our intentions, we disappointed players by not sharing enough information about our ongoing activity during the operation process. All of us at the development team are to blame for this. 1. We should have quickly informed you about the user advisory group’s activities, but we didn’t. When we began the user advisory group, we promised to give ‘announcements as soon as possible’, but we apologize for the delay. We were planning to release a notice about the 1st discussion with the user advisory group, about the topics of 1) boss reward reorganization, 2) discussion board reorganization, and 3) character growth reorganization, after July 26 when the discussion board’s topics would be finished. Since the topics on the discussion board are the same as what we discussed with the user advisory group, we thought that if we released the user advisory group’s opinions first, they would affect the opinions given through the discussion board. We will summarize the opinions from the 1st discussion with the user advisory group together with the opinions from the discussion board and release a notice on the homepage by July 30 with developer comments for each opinion. 2. We did not inform you in advance about the predetermined activity fund given to the user advisory group. We thought that it was appropriate to provide an activity fund to the 8 members of the user advisory group who put in a lot of time and effort while carrying out their activities. However, we apologize that we did not inform you about this in advance when the user advisory group began. 3. The base settings of the user advisory group were insufficient. There were many shortcomings for our 1st advisory group operation process, and the members of the user advisory group were not able to fully perform their activities as we were still in the process of looking at and adjusting things such as the non-disclosure agreement and recommended activities. Therefore, the user advisory group was left in a poor environment where they did not stand out as an advisory group but as individuals instead. As a result, the user advisory group as an entirety was looked at in a negative way rather than a positive way. Since this also happened as a result of the development team’s inexperienced operation, we will carefully look at and take action on any problematic areas of our operation policy. We bow our heads and apologize for causing any concern to players. 64-Bit Client Testing Advance Notice Hello, this is MapleStory. The testing of the 64-bit client which took place since December 2020 is reaching the final stages. Through testing, we have confirmed positive results such as reduction of game lag and improvements to content loading speed, and are planning to apply it to the official server in September. In this notice, we would like to provide general guidance such as the 64-bit client application background, expected changes, and required specifications. When this update is released to the official server, the 32-bit client will no longer be available and we ask for your understanding that you will be required to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system. 64-Bit Client Application Background 1. 32-Bit Client’s Memory Limit MapleStory’s client program was developed in 32-bit and has a 4GB memory limit. It actually runs with a lower memory limit than that. To overcome this limitation, we use an optimization technique that reads necessary data and loads it into memory, and then releases old data from memory when memory usage reaches a certain limit. However, MapleStory’s updates accumulated over a long period of time have gradually increased the amount of memory required. As a result, despite applying memory optimization techniques, the memory insufficiency is accelerating, increasing the frequency of client lag and abnormal client termination due to frequent data loading. Therefore, we hope to provide a better playing experience by applying the 64-blit client to overcome the 32-bit memory limit. 2. High 64-Bit Operating System Usage Rate A 32-bit client can run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems but a 64-bit client can only run on a 64-bit operating system. Therefore, we have continuously monitored what kinds of operating systems players use and considered the right time to introduce a 64-bit client. As of July 2021, 99.6% of players were using a 64-bit operating system, and in addition, 86.4% of players were using 8GB of RAM or more and would be able to feel the memory limit removal. Therefore, we have decided to apply the 64-bit client to provide a more stable service, knowing that enough players will be able to easily switch to the 64-bit client. Players using 32-bit operating systems will be required to update to a 64-bit operating system. We apologize for this unavoidable inconvenience in order to provide a better service. We ask for your understanding. 64-Bit Client Requirement Specifications 1. Check 64-Bit Operating System This is how you can check if you are currently using 64-bit Windows. [Windows 10] Settings > System > About > Check “64-Bit Operating System” in System Type [Windows 8/8.1] Settings > About PC > Check “64-Bit Operating System” in System Type [Windows 7] Start Menu > Right-click Computer > Properties > Check “64-Bit Operating System” in System Type Players who see “64-Bit Operating System” in System Type can use the 64-bit client without any additional action. 2. Upgrade to a 64-Bit Operating System If you need to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system, you will first have to check if your CPU supports 64-bit operating systems. [Windows 10] Settings > System > About > Check “64-Bit Processor” in System Type [Windows 10 and earlier versions] Start Menu > Accessories > System Tools > System Information > Check if “x64” is included in System Type (If “x86” is included, then it is a 32-bit processor) Players who have 64-bit processors can use the 64-bit client after upgrading their Windows to 64-bit. Players who have 32-bit processors can use the 64-bit client if they upgrade their Windows to 64-bit after replacing their CPU with one that supports 64-bit operating systems. Improvements by Applying the 64-Bit Client On the 64-bit client, the “Maximum memory usage limit” and “Memory-mapped I/O” options have been added, and the following improvements have been made. 1. Reduction of Game Lag In the 32-bit client, the maximum memory usage was about 2GB but in the 64-bit client, it can be set to as much as the amount of RAM installed in the PC. If the maximum memory usage is sufficient, the cases of read data in memory being released and read again are decreased, reducing game lag. In particular, for boss content that required a lot of memory, most of the cache data was deleted to secure memory when entering. After that, the data was loaded into memory again, causing a lot of lag. Again, if the maximum memory usage is sufficient, we expect minimal lag. 2. Improved Content Loading Speed By enabling memory-mapped I/O, you can use additional memory to increase data loading speed. In specific situations and content, we expect even faster loading. 64-Bit Client Application Date The 64-bit client is in testing with the goal of being applied to the official server in September. As the client stability test is the most important, please note that there will be no updated content other than the 64-bit client in the July 22 test world patch. In the future, we will continue to do our best to provide more pleasant playing and new experiences to players. Thank you. Source: Orange Mushroom's Blog