Announcements - 2001/07 - Lost in the New Horizon
July 2001 - Patch Page
Original Link (now dead) - http://classic.zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/julyteaser.asp
Lost in the New Horizon
July 6, 2001
Martine grinned as the last of the mages fell before the onslaught of the Rifts' attack. He had been following the party for quite some time, a group of Life wizards that had been much too pleased with their recent advancement in spell research.
Apparently the new spells had not been quite enough. He looked at the blood-stained clothes of the mages. Such new colors the Isparians sported these days. A little morbid but appropriate, given the circumstances.
He wished he had time to explore this new island. So much death and destruction. His spies had reported that there was unrest amongst certain groups of the Isparians, looking for more and more adventure. He remembered a time when he too, thought that he needed a new frontier, a new area for exploration. He had gotten what he had wished for. He anticipated a similar amount of pain in store for these little humans.
If only he had free time, he could pick and choose at how best to sow the seeds of chaos. His old Virindi chums here had actually assembled a sizable force, and he didn't know whether the Isparians would be up to the challenge. Martine's plans since killing Alayne had not gone exactly as intended. A new Singularity here on Auberean would not make those plans any easier to accomplish.
And on another front, his old Exploration Society friends had had the audacity to keep on going. Struggling and pathetic, yes, but still surviving. And still helping people. Information and order disseminated to the new Ispar arrivals. No, no, no, this would not do.
But, as he reminded himself, if he had free time, which he most assuredly did not, it would take many months before his plans reached fruition. If he did not ensure their success, then none of the rest would matter.
Martine smiled once more at the broken bodies as he portaled back to his sanctuary. Feazh Zhapaj, indeed.
Unlike any other gaming experience, the world of Asheron's Call continues to evolve. Last month, the citizens of Dereth fought back against the invading Virindi, defeating the Inculcator and freeing the captured town of Ayan Baqur. One can only wonder what additions -- and what dangers -- will be appear with the opening of our July event, “Lost in the New Horizon.”
Be sure to continue your part in this incredible ongoing story, and we'll see you in Dereth!
Rollout Article
Original Link (now dead) - http://classic.zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/julyrollout.asp
Lost in the New Horizon
July 11, 2001
The dog days of Derethian summer have arrived. Temperatures rise ever higher, leaving those who wander the wilds sweltering in their heavy armor and thick robes. With the approach of Summer Solstice, the deadly Virindi accelerate their campaign against the residents of Dereth.
With the defeat of the Inculcator, their stranglehold on Ayan Baqur was broken and the beleaguered townsfolk returned. Yet only a fool would believe the Virindi so readily defeated. Surely they plan to strike again, to retaliate with powerful new servants and weapons. The question is where and when. Once again, the legions of Ispar must venture forth to stem the tides of war.
Rumors spread like wildfire of a strange new land, shrouded in mystery and swarming with never-before-seen foes. Perhaps those willing to risk life and limb can find a chance to defeat the intractable foe on this strange new land... Or perhaps it will prove but a short route to a violent and unpleasant demise.
Even in the darkest times, there has always been good news for the citizens of Dereth. Travelers of late have returned to the towns of Osteth garbed in regal new colors, and bearing weapons of devastating power. The Consortium of Archmages has finally discerned the location of the final Essence, completing the seventh circle of the Arcane. One can only hope these developments have come in time to stave off the advance of the Virindi.
Following is a list of the most interesting additions made to the game this update. However, please note that not everything has been included -- that would spoil the fun of finding out all manner of things added or changed! As usual, though, the town criers, barkeeps, and scribes may know the latest news. Also, the trades of crafting and selling are always in flux, so changes to prices and features are not always listed here in their entirety.
Highlights include:
- Several new and deadly adversaries have appeared to oppose the heroes of Dereth.
- As the seasons of Dereth shift, so does the crop of dye plants. Some may be found in the most unlikely places.
- The battle with the Virindi continues as they look to strike back for the loss of Ayan Baqur.
- To help combat the new and more deadly foes, powerful new magic surges across the land and the seventh circle of the arcane is completed.
- New publications spread knowledge and information among the new arrivals to the mysterious land of Dereth.
- The Bestower's Guild has expanded its selection of titles for those who have truly mastered their craft, as well as adding distinctive garb for some.
The heat of summer has claimed Dereth and our continuing saga unfolds to reveal the further machinations of the Virindi. In order to learn the full scope of July's event, “Lost in the New Horizon,” be sure to read the Developer's Notes for July. Continue your part in this incredible ongoing story, and we'll see you in Dereth!
Release Notes
Original Link (now dead) - http://classic.zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/julybuild.asp
Developer's Notes
July 11, 2001
Here are just some of the additions made in the July 11 game update, “Lost in the New Horizon.” The following list is comprised of detailed notes straight from the developers themselves. For a summary of things of most interest, be sure to consult the official event article, Lost in the New Horizon.
Detailed Notes for Build 2551 (July 2001):
Miscellaneous Improvements:
- Level 7 Life Magic is in.
- Advanced titles for Guild of Bestowers are in. Bestowers also give hats for advanced titles in Alchemy, Cooking and Fletching. Really, we mean it this time.
- New summer dye colors available. Winter (!) dye plants removed from landscape.
Minor Details:
- Component buyer values can now be changed while the vendor is open, and take effect immediately (though it won't remove items from your buy list that are already there).
- Component buyer "not enough ... " error message cleaned up a little -- players can raise the number of components they want in the F6 panel and not confuse it.
- Essence of Enchantment now grants Weapon Ignorance 7.
- Upped the Spellcraft on Lightning Streak 6 traps. Better pull out the shockproof undies you put away when you outgrew Ash Gromnies?
- Changed Quiddity Orb quest timers to seven days.
- Fixed some instances where Bestowers' Guild puzzle pieces were showing up as blue casino tokens where they SHOULD have shown up as small orange orbs.
- Shadow Fragments and Crystal Fragments now have unique icons, for easier differentiation of the various types, and to cut down the possibility of bait-and-switch trading scams.
- Koujia armor should now sort properly with the white undies. When the undies changed to white, the new color was bleeding through improperly, ruining some people's ensembles.
- Ayan Baqur is now (mostly) back to normal.
- Mud Golems were dropping Muddy Towels 100% of the time due to a small typo in the % chance of not dropping Pyreal Motes. Now they should drop towels at the same rate as Water Golems.
Letter to the Players
Original Link (now dead) - http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEletterjuly.asp
Letter to the Players
July 6, 2001
As part of the June update, we attempted to put in a change that would allow us to detect the use of speed-altering programs to alter a player's game. As a result of this change however, we had an unexpected bug that made the servers crash. We immediately removed that change to allow the players to continue playing while we examined what was wrong and how we could re-introduce this detection functionality.
We have been working on improvements to this functionality, but we wanted to feel certain that when we did re-introduce this functionality, it would not result in the same downtime we saw the first time. We feel the players have suffered enough downtime as a result of speed-altering programs. In order to ensure the stability of this patch, we are devoting extra time and resources to it, and so it will not be part of the July update.
We are happy to announce that July will be content heavy and you will see the next chapter in our ongoing storyline. Lots of exciting quests will be introduced in July as well.
We are committed however to bringing an end to the use of speed altering programs in Asheron's Call and may at any time, without notice, re-introduce the detection functionality into the game. At that point, just as before, we will be taking swift action against players who use these programs.
We thank you for your patience while we work on the problem. We hope you all enjoy the July update.
Thank you,
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