MapleStory's 0.56 patch has gone live! The patch's additions are impressively robust; they include a new region and town, guild alliance support, windowed mode support, auto-inventory sorting, macros, and extra party search features.

The new area is called Ariant. You'll find it on the continent of Ossyria. Apparently it's some kind of Arabian Nights-esque desert setting (summer, desert; they're both hot -- get it?). A whole slew of new quests, NPCs, monsters, and items have been introduced as well. Of course, the shop has been updated, too. A special event begins with this patch -- summer-themed items like surfboards will drop throughout the season.

Dude, that's like totally rad! Um, sorry. You're right; that was uncalled for.