The first non-beta release version of Median 2006, aptly numbered 1.12 (!), is out!
(In case you were wondering, it seems many people download whichever mod has the highest version number. Several people managed to 'downdate' their Median 2006 beta installation by overwriting it with Median 2 Special Edition and then complained that their characters no longer worked! So, I skipped over M2SE's version 1.06, avoiding the confusing version numbers 1.09 to 1.11, and released Median 2006 as 1.12)
So why should I download this? Is it the same as M2 or M2SE?
A: Not entirely. It is a logical evolution, but not the same thing. For starters, the three class-specific innates per class in M2 and M2SE tended to suck and add very little to the class, forcing everyone to rely on learnable skills alone and giving rise to the complaint that 'all classes are the same'. This is no longer the case in M2006. There are now five innates per class, all of them useful (yes, even Ghost Arrow is now useful). Examples:
Fortress (bar)
Summons a ring of spirit towers around the caster, which for the next 10 seconds shoot arrows at nearby enemies doing 1/2 of your normal attack damage.
Lionheart (pal)
Toggleable buff that gives you a large damage and defense bonus, but also slows you down. If you invest in Star Power, anyone who manages to attack you will be struck blind.
Bloody Mary (asn)
Buffs self or a party member, giving a percentage bonus to vitality when the wearer drinks a health potion. The bonus lasts for the duration of the potion (6-10 seconds).
The learnable skills are the same for the most part, but rebalanced and fit into an actual skill tree as opposed to being available at level 1. This should improve replayability, and I did some theorycraft to make sure that low level skills are just as viable as high level skills, and that Normal doesn't turn into a boring struggle just because you're saving up all your points. It should also be less overwhelming for newbie players (who in M2SE were greeted by 36 available options at their first level-up).
There are many more crafting options in the form of 'professions', which (usually) unlock hidden cube recipes. You can select one profession at level 30, but only one. Professions include Runemaster, which allows you to upgrade single runes by putting them in the cube and hitting transmute; Priest, which unlocks cube recipes to generate charm-like 'books' with magical bonuses including oskills; and Witch, which enables you to cube runes into 'elixirs' which give a temporary but large bonus to attributes, skill levels or magic find, or clear all skill timers.
The mod is (even) more polished than its predecessors, in terms of balance, AI and difficulty (it had better be, after all that work!).
Median 2006 for victory!
(insert sound of trumpets)
