Announcements - 2005/09 - Under Cover of Night
September 2005 - Patch Page
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Live Events
Viamontians Raid Dereth!
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=391
Viamontians Raid Dereth!
It was a calm day on the island of Marae Lassel. The sky was blue and everything pointed to it being another beautiful day in Dereth. But this was not going to be an ordinary day, as we would soon find out. The sentries that patrol the many towns are used to running into danger, but they are also used to long periods of time where they see nothing unusual. So when one of them spotted what looked like a small army outside of Greenspire let by a Scout Commander, he was surprised but prepared. The sentry quickly went to sound the call for all warriors to come, but as he did there was a sinking feeling in his gut. It was no secret that King Varicci II wanted to expand his lands, but to be so bold as to approach one of the Queen's towns? He wouldn't dare, would he?
The sentry quickly ran to sound the alarm, but he was spotted by the approaching enemy and he knew that there was not much time to warn the town of the impending assault. The only warning the town would have of the approaching danger was that alarm and the sentry knew he had to get the warning out as fast as he could, no matter the cost. Before he reached the alarm, the Viamontian Scout Commander quickly sent his brave soul to the lifestone.
The Sentry recovered as quickly as he could at the nearby lifestone and made his way to the alarm. Even as he sounded the call he felt another stabbing pain. He looked down to a Viamontian axe buried deep in his side. Even through all of the pain, his only thought was the fear that he would be too late to save anyone.
The call finally went out in the early afternoon, a call that had not sounded in quite some time. In fact, it had been so long since the call to arms had been sounded that many were either not prepared or in disbelief when they heard it. The shock quickly wore off as the brave warriors of Dereth gathered up their armor and weapons and headed to the small town of Greenspire, not knowing what was in store for them as they rushed into battle. What foe had decided to once again try to take on the people of Dereth?
When the first warrior stepped out of portal space, he could not believe what he saw. He barely had time to think about it as he was quickly struck down by one of the many Viamontian Knights waiting there. Soon the warriors of Dereth were arriving from all directions and the Viamontian Scout Commander quickly realized this was not going to be a victorious day for his King.
Many of Dereth's finest warriors rushed into battle to stop this group of Viamontian's before they advanced into the town. It was a long and bloody battle that seemed to last forever. Just as it seemed that all hope was lost, the people of Dereth stood strong in the face of danger. In the end, the brave people of Dereth once again stopped the onslaught of an outside force threatening their lands. Is this the last we will see of these Viamontian scouting parties? Why are they here? What are their intentions?
Golem Madness and Sewer Troubles!
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=392
Mini Golems raid Ayan Baqur!
A rather large group of Tiny Golems stampeded their way through Ayan Baqur last night. What started out as laughter soon turned into screams of terror when the players realized these cute little creatures meant business.
Below is an excerpt from the chat log that were collected during this raid.
Endar Zael says, "aww those little golems are so cute!"
Small Golem says, "Blood!"
Realm of Darkness says, "save me"
Lodwicke says, "OMG"
Scathe says, "OH MY GOD ILL SAVE YOU GUYS"
Small Golem says, "Blood!"
Scathe says, "DONT MOVE, YOU GOT ONE RIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDER"
Small Golem says, "Blood!"
Scathe says, "DIE
Small Golem says, "Bloo-ACK!"
General Heredia says, "that was hilarious"
Realm of Darkness says, "lmao"
Realm of Darkness says, "debuffing"
Realm of Darkness says, "a tiny golem"
What started off as a group of Tiny Golems soon turned into an all out Golem war!
Lodwicke says, "MORE"
Lodwicke says, "ATTACK"
General Heredia says, "AHHHHHH"
Lodwicke says, "hold the line"
The thunder of Small Magma Golem crushing Slims new guy is followed by the deafening silence of death!
Lodwicke suffers a frozen fate at the hands of Sapphire Golem!
The thunder of Sapphire Golem crushing Big bug is followed by the deafening silence of death!
Big bug says, "got hit for 400+"
The Sapphire Golems were quickly dispatched however that was not the end of it.
Tiereal's body is shattered by Crystal Golem Imperator's attack!
Endar Zael says, "respawn"
Arcainis says, "holy smokes"
After calling for reinforcements the Defenders of Ayan were able to destroy the Crystal Golem Imperator and saved the day!
I believe Endar Zael said it best.
Endar Zael says, "the bigger they are the harder they fall!"
Meeting hall sewers back up!
Without warning, the sewers in the meeting halls have been backing up recently. This has been forcing the many creatures that dwell in them to come out into the halls. What began as a rat or two has become a full blown problem. The local sentries are in need of your help in keeping the halls clear of these creatures and safe for all to use.
The first time this happened, the brave "Fit to Fight" came in and helped clear out this problem. He was rewarded with Dereth's first ever title of "Sanitation Engineer". He was also rewarded with a few items of appreciation and of course, the Queen's gratitude.
The cause of this problem has yet to be determined, but know that we are currently investigating why this is happening and what we can do to stop the creatures from coming into our meeting halls.
We ask that all residents of Dereth please keep a watchful eye on the many meeting halls in the towns to make sure they stay clear for all to use and enjoy.
Galvanic Surge!
Related topics: Galvanic Armor
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=395
Galvanic Surge!
The brave warriors of Frostfell were met with an unexpected event Thursday evening. Unpredictable voltaic energies erupted from the mountains surrounding the ruins of the Essence of Artifice. As adventurers rushed to investigate, they were met with a legion of Lightning Elementals, Diamond Golem Suzerains, Avalanches and Blizzards. What caused this sudden welling of energy? A massive chunk of Crystalized Galvanic Mana, crackling with energy, was summoning powerful elemental minions. As adventurers rush in to cap the flow of energy, a being the likes of which have never been seen before in Dereth sparked to life before their very eyes – the Galvanic Knight!
After a long and harrowing battle, Mustafah ibn-Jabair and his fellow warriors felled the knight. Shortly after the defeat of its guardians, the Crystalized Galvanic Mana soon shattered and the flow of energy ceased.
For his efforts in defeating the Galvanic Knight, Mustafah received the Galvanic Armor! All who participated in the defeat of the knight and the mana crystal received a large helping of experience.
The Galvanic Armor Set consists of the following pieces of armor:
| Name | Covers |
|---|---|
| Galvanic Wreath | Head |
| Galvanic Arms | Arms |
| Galvanic Vest | Chest |
| Galvanic Belt | Abdomen |
| Galvanic Leggings | Legs |
| Galvanic Grips | Hands |
| Galvanic Kickers | Feet |
The Galvanic Armor Set consists of the following properties:
| Armor Properties | Armor Level |
|---|---|
| 260 | |
| Protection v Bludgeoning | 1.0 |
| Protection v Piercing | 1.0 |
| Protection v Slashing | 1.0 |
| Protection v Acid | 0.0 |
| Protection v Cold | 1.0 |
| Protection v Electric | 2.0 |
| Protection v Fire | 1.0 |
| Special Properties | Magic Defense Imbue (+1 magic defense, each piece)
Tinkerable (10 times) Always Drops on Death |
March of the Penguins and Ask and You Shall Receive!
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=393
March of the Penguins and Ask and you shall receive!
March of the Penguins?
Players where surprised today to discover a small colony of penguins near the Ayan Baqur lifestone. These innocent creatures surely must have lost there way and somehow ended up in this desert town.
Exhausted and dehydrated the colony of penguins wandered unknowingly into Ayan. Local players were baffled by the arrival of penguins. What would these creatures be doing all the way out here? Players pondered this notion for a moment and then quickly dispatched the tiny birds.
Some where sad to see them die while others thought it best to put them "out of their misery", and there were even a select few who aughed about killing these creatures.
Never fear dear reader for their deaths did not go unnoticed.
No sooner did the last bird die when another larger colony of UBER Penguins appeared over the horizon. The battle that followed was by far one of the most intense Ayan as seen in years. Who would have thought penguins could be so... Uber!?
"Kill me if you can!"
Darktide players have been given a rare treat indeed. They finally get to do something they have wanted to do for YEARS!
Yes folk's players on Darktide will now be able to PK a member of the Turbine Live Event Staff. At random times a member of the Live Event Staff will log in and engage these fearsome PK players in battle. Who will win? Who will rule the day? Who will reign supreme!? Only time will tell.
So with that said I leave you with these simple words "Kill me if you can!"
Ask and you shall receive!
Last night, players on Frostfell were given an opportunity to request creature spawns. There was much shouting for "BZ" however once they realized that he was not a realistic request they settled on others. Soon things were in full swing as players cried out for all sorts of things.
These brave players wanted everything; from cows and snowmen all the way up to Obliterators and Tremendous Monougas. As soon as one spawn dropped they were ready for more!
Special thanks to the following players for helping to make this an enjoyable event;
Kitty Mrrow for her good sportsmanship; she may only be level 37 but she never ran away from the onslaught of creatures.
Uber Penguin slays Kitty Mrrow viciously enough to impart death several times over!
She walked away with 40% vitae and the new title of "Vitae Vixen!"
A Clockwork Mage who made a simple request that was gladly granted.
A Clockwork Mage says, "how about spawn something i can kill over near me...."
He successfully killed the mob of black and brown cows and was given the new title of "Cow Killer!"
And a HUGE Thank You to Frostfell for making this a very successful event. I hope you all had as much fun as I did and I can't wait to try this out on the other worlds.
Dereth Trivia and Mr. P
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=402
Dereth Trivia and Mr. P
Dereth Trivia Challenge!
Put your thinking caps on and get ready to flex your brains!
Throughout the week we will be hitting all 9 worlds and asking all sorts of Dereth Trivia questions. It will be based on anything and everything; from cooking and tinkering all the way up to Advanced Lore.
We were able to test this event out tonight on Thistledown and it was a huge success. Contestants walked away with some neat prizes and a select few won the much sought after "Thinking Cap".
Are you up to the challenge? Do you have what it takes?
Stay tuned and find out!
Who is Mr. P?
For those of you who came out to the Un-inscription events this past weekend, you had a chance to meet Mr. P.
Who is he?
Mr. P is my little penguin friend that follows me around and helps me with the different Live Events that go on. He is a real crowd pleaser and is very good at entertaining everyone so that I have time to help those who need me.
Players should know that Mr. P isn't like other penguins. He is a peaceful, fun loving, very forgetful little guy with a real sweet tooth. He especially likes receiving sweets from people. Illiana the Red was nice enough to share a dark chocolate bar with him and was rewarded with a special title.
So, if you happen to see him don't be afraid to say hi. Mr. P loves making new friends.
Until next time...
Thanks for stopping by Dereth.
PK Fun and Titles Galore!
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=403
PK Fun and Titles Galore!
PK Fun and Titles Galore
This week in Dereth a new twist was added into our live events. With all the monster killing going on we decided to join in on the fun and excitement. Throughout Darktide, we have been showing up and daring players to Kill Us if You Can! Many have tried, and a few succeeded, but we will not let this stop us. If you see one of us appear suddenly, don't be surprised if you suddenly feel the sting of a Weeping weapon in your side!
Along with our PK and killing events, we have thrown in some fun with rewarding some players with unique titles. Some players get a title for being the best at killing a certain creature. While others get a title for well, being the bait. And others have gotten a title for just being themselves.
No matter what the reason for a title was, you can be assured that fun was had by all. Stay tuned for more updates and fun from the many live events we will be continuing to run.
Who is Mr. P?
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=404
Who is Mr. P?
Who exactly is Mr. P and where did he come from? Why did he decide to start showing up now?
As some of you may already know, we have a new member of our live events staff. It's Mr. P! Now Mr. P is not an ordinary staffer though, he is after all, a Penguin. It was a strange sight at first seeing him show up at events looking to help in hopes of scoring some goodies from the nice folks of Dereth.
Once we got used to him though, it made us wonder how we ever got along without him. He sometimes even brings a friend along. Well luckily for us we don't have to worry about Mr. P going anywhere. It looks like he will be sticking around for a while.
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=399
UNDER COVER OF NIGHT
Two youths perched on the top of a ridge. Though they were young, not yet fully grown, they had the broad shoulders and thick limbs of Aluvian mountain folk. The bows they clutched in trembling hands were huge and thick, requiring enormous strength to pull properly. They were crouched down, trying to remain hidden behind a rock formation, and spying on a gathering of warriors in the valley far below.
"They didn't find our trail," said the younger one, Matthias, with obvious relief.
"See, I told you," said his brother, Jedeth. "We've been hunting Gromnies and Siraluun in these parts for years, we got the advantage on these big, clanking brutes. They don't know their way around our land. Especially not at dusk, when there's not that much light and a body's eyes haven't adjusted to the dark yet."
Matthias, now more calm, turned contemplative. "You ever seen any man that big?" he asked, as they watched the squad of monstrous Viamontian Knights on the valley floor, standing around the corpses of two of their friends. Red-fletched arrows perforated the chests of the two fallen Knights.
"Papa used to talk about how tough it was to fight Ferran Knights, in the Viamontian Wars back home on Ispar. But they were just men, same size as us. And Count Tenera, when he told us that these new Knights weren't Ferrans, but worse, and ten feet tall... Well, it's one thing to hear it, and another thing to see it. And to have to shoot at it while it's waving a sword as big as you are." He paused, and looked at his younger brother. "I won't lie to you, Matty, I felt a powerful fear when we sprung that trap. My hands were shaking when we attacked. Still are shaking. It's lucky we got them both."
Matthias put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "I was scared too, Jed. But we did good. The plan worked. And we'll only keep getting better, as we get in more practice killing them Knights."
Down below, a smaller figure had joined the armored brutes. He, too, was armored, but of normal human size, and issuing orders to the great soldiers. He was clearly some kind of officer among these Viamontian invaders.
Jedeth pointed. "Look, there, a guy our size, in armor. What'd Tenera tell us about them?"
"He said they were the magic types," said Matthias. "That we'd better make the first shot count, because they could hit us from far away."
"Yeah, that's what I thought I remembered," said Jedeth. "This one may be more clever than them others, but he isn't that smart. He's not wearing a helmet." He drew another red-fletched arrow from his quiver. This one, however, had the word "Carenzi" painted on the shaft, in vivid red letters to match the fletching.
Matthias drew a similar arrow from his quiver. Both brothers moved quietly from their spying position behind the rock formation to a low crouch on either side of it. With great care, each nocked an arrow. "On three," Jedeth whispered.
They lifted their bows, pulled the strings slowly back as the thick wooden weapons creaked softly, and then aimed. "One... two... three."
Two soft twangs went off, and a heartbeat later, the Viamontian mage had two quivering arrows sprouting from his forehead. He toppled stiffly to the ground. The cluster of warriors looked up at where the arrows must have come from, but only saw rocks and empty ridgeline. Three of them broke from the formation and charged up the ridge at terrifying speed, but by the time they reached the rock formation, there was no sign of the brothers' passing.
King Varicci II stepped over the armored bulk of a dead Viamontian Knight and looked down on the dead mage. He bent to yank one of the arrows out of the corpse's forehead. He turned the bloodstained arrow over in his hands and saw the word painted on the shaft.
"Carenzi," he read. Varicci turned to his companion, Commander Enrico di Bellenesse. "What is this Carenzi?" he asked.
Enrico glanced at the arrow. "A small animal... like a badger from Ispar, but terribly ferocious. They are common on this island. It seems the local resistance has taken them as some sort of symbol. A cache of weapons recently went missing from a storeroom. There was similar writing on the storeroom's broken door."
"The people of the towns have come to their senses and are cooperating, but these Carenzi..." The King's face twisted in disgust. "They are probably Aluvian gutterfolk, again unable to accept conquest by Viamont. They are beasts, Enrico. You will have to kill every one of them."
Enrico nodded stiffly. "Yes, Majesty. It will be done."
The King put his hand on Enrico's armored shoulder and regarded the soldier with a cool and appraising eye. "We must have a quick pacification of this island so we can dispatch forces to the new land, Enrico. I cannot have these Carenzi rebels bleeding off my soldiers one and two at a time, not when there is such a pressing need to investigate this place called Vissidal."
"I have not heard much of Vissidal, Majesty, since I have been so occupied with the campaign on this island. What has happened?"
"It is an island that apparently has risen from the deeps of the ocean. We don't know what buried it, or what caused it to come to the surface again. But there is good reason to believe that at least some of the knowledge I seek is to be found there."
"May I ask, Majesty, what knowledge you seek on that distant island?"
Rollout Article
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=401
SEPTEMBER 2005 ROLLOUT ARTICLE
Ardry stepped out of the woods to behold the great stone battlements of the bandit chief MacDugal's fortress. He had a passing acquaintance with the inhabitants of the castle, and stopped by occasionally, when he was ranging in the area and needed to restock supplies. He approached and greeted the man who sat, trembling, by the front gate.
"What news, Karwin?" he called.
Karwin scrambled to his feet. "Got any beer? They stole my beer. It stole my beer. Darned thing, never thought to see another one again..."
Ardry held up his hands to slow Karwin's feverish speech.
"What? Who stole your beer?"
"A little green thing. Looked like... Well, Mosswarty. Very suspiciously Mosswarty. But blue! Like the sea..."
"A Mosswart stole your beer?" Ardry had heard many tall claims from Karwin before.
"It wasn't a proper Mosswart, but that's right enough. He said he was from an island to the northeast. And he smelled like the sea! The sea, and beer. Which he stole. The beer that is, not the sea." Karwin nodded very enthusiastically to punctuate his point.
"Karwin, there's no island to the northeast. There is only the ancient foundry island, north by northwest of here."
Karwin ignored him and pressed on with his story. "He smelled of the sea, and of beer, and he said that his god, who he named Angry Grandfather, wanted him to search all over for beer and come back to their island in the northeast!"
"Karwin, I am telling you, there is only the island of Aerlinthe, north by northwest..." He was interrupted by Karwin's furious babble.
"Didn't you feel the rumble? Didn't it make you stumble? Nights ago, who remembers when? But something has come up which once was deep! And before that, it was up again! To get there, you must pass the Watchers and go underneath the Leviathan!"
Ardry shook his head. "I'm heading in to resupply, Karwin. I'll bring you some food on my way out." He did remember the shaking of the earth, just three nights past. He'd assumed that it had been another eruption on Aerlinthe, but he tried to remember the sensations of that night as best he could... And now, to think about it, the rolling waves of tremors had seemed to come from the northeast...
An hour later, Ardry stood on the shore northeast of Macdugal's castle, his pack bulging with fresh supplies. He looked out over the sea, and sighed. "That lunatic was right after all."
*****
Welcome to the September 2005 Event, Under Cover of Night! We are very excited about this event. There are some great improvements, and some really unique adventures.
Release Notes
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=400
SEPTEMBER 2005 DEVELOPERS' NOTES
New Content and Functionality
- AC finally gets global chat channels.
- Players will now be able to have multiple chat windows.
- Players can now set an AFK message. This function can be explored by typing @help AFK.
- The first of several High Yield hunting landscape islands appears.
- A new creature appears on Dereth!
- Crowns receive some love.
- Hats, Shoes, and Gloves also receive some love.
- Elemental wands can now be tinkered to increase their damage multiplier.
- Several trophy items that had lost their original art and display can be handed into one of 4 new NPC's in exchange for brand new versions of these items.
Miscellaneous Changes and Improvements
- The Path of the Blind and Egg Orchard hunting dungeons have been duplicated.
- The three monster plant spells from the August event say that they buff your secondary attribute
regen rates for 25%. But in actuality, they buff you for 30%. This has been fixed and is now buffing at the 25% as intended.
- The Salvagers Helm had the description that it was dyeable, but it was not. This has been fixed and the helmet can now be dyed.
- Some of the skill task NPC's would give the quest's to players who were not able to complete the quests. This has been fixed. You must now be the proper level to get these quests.
- The fellowship spell Endless Well was causing players to receive double damage from acid attacks. This has been fixed and will no longer affect the damage you take from acid attacks.
- Several areas in the landscape that would cause players to get stuck have been fixed.
- The Aviators cap is now dyeable.
- The number of players allowed on the squelch list has been changed from 32 to 64.
- A new splash screen has been added for this month's event.
- The XP rewards for all Island kill tasks and all the kill tasks implemented in the August event have been changed to no share.
Minor Details
- Pyreal target Drudges are now tall enough to be hit by High Attacks.
- Several small text errors have been fixed.
Letter to the Players
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=396
September 2005 Letter to the Players
Welcome to the September Letter to the Players! We've got quite a large event in store for all of you this month. The September Event, "Under Cover of Night" marks some dangerous times for the Dereth, but also includes some new improvements players can use to defeat their adversaries. This event is currently scheduled for Wednesday, September 21st.
COMING SOON
(These are the items we plan to implement for the September Event)
SKILL SELLBACK GEMS: IMPORTANT!
All skill sellback gems in players inventories will be removed when the September event goes live. Any gems picked up after the September event goes live will be on the original 14 day timer.
GLOBAL CHAT
Global Chat marks a significant upgrade to Asheron Call's chat system. The Global Chat systemwill include four new chat channels General, Trade, Looking For Group, and Roleplay.
General
The General channel is an all-purpose channel that allows all players of Asheron's Call to chat with each other about any aspect of Asheron's Call.
Trade
The Trade channel exists specifically for players to advertise their wares to each other and to arrange trades.
Looking For Group
This channel exists specifically to help players find others to join them for in-game activities.
Roleplay
The Roleplay channel allows players who enjoy roleplaying their characters a place to chat in-character, arrange roleplaying activities, and meet likeminded individuals. Note that this channel does not receive any special enforcement.
Joining and Leaving the Channel
All channels can be joined and/or left in one of two ways:
Through a checkbox in the Character Settings tab of the Options UI Panel. Note that this change takes effect as soon as the checkbox is used; the Apply button does not need to be pressed before this change takes effect.
Through a text command:
/join
/leave
The text command is just a shortcut to the UI checkbox, and it sets the checkbox as appropriate. The player will see a confirmation message in their chat area when they have entered or left a channel that looks like this:
You have [joinedleft] the [tag] channel.
See the Global Chat Channel Summary below for channel names and tags.
Players are automatically joined to any channels that they have checked when they login, and they will also see the join messages on login.
Talking in the Channel
Players can prefix any text they wish to send to the channel with the command symbol (/ or @) and the channel name. For instance, the following will send the message to the trade channel.
@ct I have Elysa's Crystal that I'm willing to trade for 4 MMDs!
In addition, players can also set their Chat Bar menu so that everything they type without a prefix automatically goes to the selected channel.
You may also join or leave a channel by selecting it from your Character Options panel, under Chat.
Note that players can only send text to a channel if they are currently listening to it. Players who attempt to send text to a channel that they are not listening to will see the message:
You may not speak on that channel because you are not currently listening to it.
When a player receives text from a global channel, that text will be prefixed by a channel tag (detailed below) and the name of the character who sent the text. For instance, other players listening to the trade channel when I sent the text above will see:
[Trade] Mor'gan says, "I have Elysa's Crystal that I'm willing to trade for 4 MMDs!"
All global channels will display in the same text color: a kind of blue-grey.
Squelching
Squelching rules apply to text in global chat channels in the same way that they apply to text sent in open local chat ("says"). That is, if I have a character is explicitly squelched, I will never see anything that that character says. If I have the character's account squelched, I will not see things that other characters on that account say as well.
We will also be increasing the maximum characters/accounts that can be squelched at once from 32 to 64.
Global Chat Channel Summary
| Channel | Default | Checkbox Text | Tool Tip | Name | Tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | On | Listen to General Chat. | When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global General chat channel. This channel is for general discussions about Asheron's Call. | general, cg | [General] |
| Trade | On | Listen to Trade Chat. | When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Trade chat channel. This channel is for arranging in-game trades with other players. | trade, ct | [Trade] |
| LFG | On | Listen to LFG Chat. | When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Looking For Group chat channel. This channel helps you find other players to adventure with. | lfg, clfg | [LFG] |
| Roleplay | Off | Listen to Roleplay Chat. | When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Roleplay chat channel. This channel is for in-character roleplaying and for discussions about roleplaying in Asheron's Call. | roleplay, crp | [Roleplay] |
Chat Windows
We are also adding some new functionality to the chat window to help players better manage the new chat channels. This new functionality can best be described as: extra floating chat windows and filtering the text that displays in those windows.
In short, we are adding four buttons to the resize bar of the current (main) chat window. Clicking on each of these buttons will toggle a floating chat window that can be dragged around the 3D area and resized at will. The size and position of each window will be saved for each character. The floating chat windows are translucent; in normal circumstances, items can be selected through the window, and hovering the mouse over the chat window will darken it and cause it to intercept mouse clicks.
By default, all text types are displayed in the main chat window and no chat types are displayed in the floating windows. The player can, however, open the new Chat tab in the Options panel to select which types of chat display in which windows. Players may choose to display the following types of text in any (or no) windows:
-Area Chat (@say, @emote)
-Private Chat (@tell)
-Fellowship
-Allegiance (includes Allegiance Broadcast)
-General
-Trade
-LFG
-Roleplay
-Combat (not including magic)
-Magic
Gameplay (includes Recall, Craft, Advancement, Housing and System Messages, etc anything which is not communication from another player or Combat/Magic)
The Gameplay category will always display in the main window (unless individual components are filtered by the @filter command). In this way we guarantee that you cannot accidentally miss important system messages more easily than they can now. The Gameplay category can be turned on or off in the floating windows, however.
Note that this functionality is in addition to the existing text filtering capabilities. The UI does not replace the @filter command, because we do not want to remove functionality that many of you rely on. In addition, @filter allows players to filter out subtypes within the "Other" category.
In addition, players can also adjust the active and inactive opacity of the floating chat windows in the new Chat options tab (although note that this slider controls all four floating windows at once; it is not a window-by-window control).
Expanded Chat Commands
In an effort to make the chat system more user-friendly, we are adding a number of new commands for existing chat types that mimic other games. We have added an @w command that maps to private chat (@tell). Note that all of these new and existing commands will be listed by the @help command.
And, to make the system less confusing, we consolidated the format of communication in several channels to better indicate to players how they can respond. The following table illustrates these changes.
Chat Commands Summary
| Channel | Existing Commands | Additional Commands | Old Tag or Format | New Tag or Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area Chat | say | s | From: You say, "" To: Name says, "" |
No Change |
| Private Chat | tell, t (reply, r, rp, retell, rt) |
send, whisper, w | From: You tell Name, "" To: Name tells you, "" |
No Change |
| Fellowship | f | fellows, fellow, group, g, party | From: You say to your Fellowship, "" To: Name says to your fellowship, "" |
From: [Fellowship] You say, "" To: [Fellowship] Name says, "" |
| Allegiance | a | guild, gu | [Allegiance] Name says, "" | No Change |
| Allegiance Broadcast | allegiance broadcast | ab | From: You say to your Allegiance, "" To: Your allegiance speaker Name says to you, "" |
From: [Allegiance Broadcast] You say, "" To: [Allegiance Broadcast] Name says, "" |
| Monarch | m (mr) |
monarch | From: You say to your Monarch, "" To: Your follower Name says to you, "" |
No Change |
| Patron | p (pr) | patron | From: You say to your Patron, "" To: Your vassal Name says to you, "" |
No Change |
| Vassals | v | vassals, vassal | From: You say to your Vassals, "" To: Your patron Name says to you, "" |
No Change |
| Co-Vassals | c | co-vassals, covassals, covassal | From: You say to your Co-Vassals, "" To: Your co-vassal Name says to you, "" |
From: [Co-Vassals] You say, "" To: [Co-Vassals] Name says, "" |
Click Name to Tell
This feature makes communication easier for players. Players will be able to click on the name of another player when that name appears in the chat window as the originator of communication, and the following will happen:
The chat entry bar will gain focus
The text "@tell , " will appear in the chat entry bar (minus quotes).
The cursor will be at the end of this text, so that the clicking player can immediately continue with a private message to the clicked character.
Note that this system does not currently work in the allegiance, general, trade, looking for group, or roleplay chat channels. We may add this functionality in a future update.
NEW LANDMASS VISSIDAL ISLAND
The new island for September is called Vissidal, or "Summer Palace" in the Falatacot language. It was once a private island retreat for Falatacot royalty and nobility, before catastrophic events sank it to the ocean floor.
Vissidal Island sits off the northeast coast of Dereth. It is shaped like a long continental shelf, and seems to almost echo the shape of the Derethian coast. In general, the island is close to sea level, but it rises up to a ridge shape along most of its northern and eastern coast. The island, recently re-surfacing after untold years under the sea, features flora and fauna never before seen by Dereth mainlanders, including great forests of coral and anemone.
There is one outpost on the island. Located on the western shore of the island, it is populated by a strange group of Mosswart-like creatures who have been taught language, reasoning, and commerce by a mysterious benefactor that the creatures only know as "Angry Grandfather."
Players will need to be a certain level and complete a quest before gaining entry to the island. Those that venture to the island should beware the Remoran!!
TREASURE
Crowns, Hats, Shoes, and Gloves spawn with much higher Armor Level can now be found.
We've changed elemental wands so they can be tinkered to increase their elemental damage multiplier.
Level 7 spells are now available as loot!
In addition, several types of armor will receive modified base protections.
REFURBISHERS
For those who have trophy items that lost their original art and display in a partially broken state after the release of ToD we have created a new NPC that will accept a number of these items and exchange them for a brand new version of the same item. These NPCs can be found in Holtburg, Shoushi, Yaraq, and outside Sanamar.
The Refurbishers will accept the following items:
-Pack Cow
-Pack Drudge
-Golden Gromnie
-Pack Golem
-Pack Grievver
-Pack Idol
-Pack Lugian
-Pack Mosswart
-Velveteen Olthoi
-Pack Scarecrow
-Plush Tusker
-Pack Ursuin
-Pack Virindi
-Mu-miyah Guise
-Mu-miyah body with a Head
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
DUNGEONS
Due to the over crowding of the Path of the Blind hunting dungeon we have created two duplicate Path of the Blind dungeons. In addition, the XP rewards for the Egg Orchard and Dark Design will be adjusted upwards to be comparable to Path of the Blind.
Path of the Blind: Two copies will be made of the original Path of the Blind dungeon. The entrances to these dungeons will be placed on landscape somewhere on the Isle of Ruin
Egg Orchard: Modifications to the Olthoi within will be made so that they are easier to kill. This will bring up the XP over time in line with the Path of the Blind. In addition, we will create two duplicate dungeons similar in design to what will be done with Path of the Blind.
Dark Design: Again the XP earned in this dungeon will be brought more in line with the Path of the We have created versions of the Mosswarts that do not cast and have interspersed these versions among the chain casting versions of the Mosswarts. Also, the chain casting Mosswarts will have their spellbook altered to cast less war spells and debuffs. Base stats will remain the same as they are already fairly easy to kill.
NEW QUESTS
A variety of new quests have been added to the game. Here is just a sampling of what's to come!
Gateway to the Deep - Players level 130 or above can engage in a continent-spanning quest to open the portals to the new island. Once this has been done, the quest serves as an initiation to gain access to the new island. The initial iteration culminates in a group battle against the fearsome creature!
Temple of Xik Minru Level 130 or higher players can help a grieving widow locate her long-lost husband. Xik Minru sounds a little familiar doesn't it?
Enrico's Betrayal - Level 60 or higher players can help the commander of the Viamontian invasion cover up evidence of his various betrayals.
Marae Lassel Kill Tasks - Level 20-80 players can obtain kill tasks involving the Viamontian invasion of Marae Lassel
Well that just about covers everything. But of course there are many more quests and surprises in store for you in this event! We'll be talking about the October Event in the near future.
See you in Dereth!