December 1, 2003 [sv1.0.9.2.test]
Welcome!

Welcome to the initial prototype testing of Cog Headquarters (Cog HQ). The first Cog HQ released will be the Sellbot HQ, attached to Daisy Gardens. We are excited to be in the final development stages of this new area of Toontown -- but we have a long way to go, and we are ready for your help! Cog HQ introduces new physics, environments, enemies, story elements, and game play and thus needs great deal of testing. We feel it is close enough to start letting people in to this rough version.

A few things to keep in mind, especially for those new to the test server:

Nothing of what you will see should be considered final.
Balancing will change. Every system may get easier, or harder, and may change several times.
Story elements may be tweaked and rearranged for clarity.
Very little is polished - The interface, sounds, physics, and dialog will all get better over time before final release.
Temporary sound effects - We will integrate final background music and sound effects soon.
Lots of cracks or holes in world - Take screenshots and report. We are still updating all the 3D models to the new physics system.
No CogHQ ToonTasks yet - These will be added over time as we finalize the overall difficulty.
Textures, models, and code are not optimized - Your graphics rendering (frame rate) may be choppier than in other areas of Toontown. The game will be smooth at times and completely unplayable at other times. Please bear with us.
We may not directly respond to each individual bug report, especially if we get numerous copies of the same issue. But rest assured, each and every report is read by developers.
A Brief CogHQ Overview

Toons have been taken hostage by the Cogs! They are being held on the top floor of CogHQ. It is your mission to gang up and rescue them. Getting into CogHQ will not be easy though; their tight security will detect and reject any Toons that enter. You must build a Cog disguise first by recovering Cog parts from their factory. The factory is a 4-player environment with many new game-play elements. You can keep track of your Cog disguise progress with a new page in your Shticker Book.

Once you have your entire Cog disguise built you can enter the Cog HQ lobby dressed as a Cog. The Sellbot Boss is a very busy Cog, so the guard will not allow you to see the Boss unless you have important Cog business, like needing a promotion. You must earn your promotion by fighting Sellbots to collect "merits" around Toontown. Merits are given out after every battle just like Gag experience and are recorded in your Shticker Book as well. The elevator to the top of Cog HQ holds 8 players so when you are ready for your promotion, group up with your friends and head up to battle the Boss.

If you defeat the Sellbot Boss Cog, you will free the hostage Toon who will in turn present you with his "trading card". You can use these cards in battle to call on them for extra assistance in a tough spot. Of course, knowing the Cogs, they will quickly build another Sellbot Boss Cog, so hurry and get your next promotion to rescue another Toon. There are 60 total promotions as you work your way up the corporate ladder.

Summary of What is New

New Physics with jumping ability - now you can hurdle bushes, jump onto crates, and hop over small fences!
New Toon interactions - conveyor belts, stompers, gears, locked doors, switches, pushable crates, platform action.
New Gag, Laff, and Jellybean Barrels - Cogs have stockpiled all the Toon items they have stolen. You can recover them in the factory.
New Cog Factory environment
New Cog Boss enemy
New Pie throwing mode in final phase of Boss Battle
New Cog HQ environment
New Rescued Toons (SOS) system (as tested in previous test releases)
New Rescued Toon Shticker Book page holds up to 8 Toon cards
New Rescued Toon battle interface
New Cog Disguise Shticker Book page
New Cog Merit system with 60 promotion levels
New "Skelecogs" - Sellbots that do not have their final Cog suit built
New "Goons" - Cog worker drones
New street - "Oak Street" off Daisy Gardens playground
New map artwork
New Shticker Book tabs make finding pages faster and easier
Known Issues

There is no reward presentation when you finish a factory, but you should still get the Cog disguise part.
Teleporting to other Toons inside CogHQ will sometimes crash your client.
You may fall through the floor on fishing docks on the streets of Donald's Dock.
You will be able to jump over the fences around fishing docks
If there are textures missing, polygons will show up pure red or white.
Some objects allow you jump through them.
You can jump above the ceiling inside Toon interiors.
Door inside your house may have a large gray square frame.
Jumping on crates is too difficult.
Some visual cracks exist on Oak Street
You can jump over Flippy in the tutorial.
If you enter the game before finishing the Tutorial download your client will crash. Allow the full download to finish before choosing or creating a Toon.
Timing of stompers crushing Goons inside Factory warehouse is off.
Camera control inside Factory warehouse is being worked on.
Boss battle currently crashes out. This will be fixed soon!
Note: A release date has not been finalized.

We appreciate your support in helping make CogHQ great. Hope you have fun, and keep the bug reports coming in. Thanks!
        - The Toontown Development Team