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From the
Zone
February 14, 2000
Asaina al-Arqis read late into the day, poring over ancient texts for some
reference to the gigantic bridgelike structure appearing and disappearing
over the river near Holtburg. At dusk, soon after she'd lit her candle, a
weariness stole over her that could not be explained by the warm spring air,
and she soon bowed her head upon the desk. When she finally awoke much
later, the larger moon had just begun to rise, and by its light, she could
see the dead candle with barely a dimple around its wick. She began to
stretch her arm, then stopped -- the desk was bare where her manuscripts had
been.
Something rasped on the floor behind her,
and she leapt from her chair. A bone-white figure clad in tatters emerged
from the stacks. Its attention was bent over a book in one hand, and in
its other, it held the missing parchments. Heart pounding, she cast about
for escape as it slowly raised its head, to reveal eye sockets like pits
floored with magma. She looked away. A lich! But who, and why?
"The fools in Frore," said the undead
monster, "made a toy of the prism, and now the old magic is loosed; the
suspended war resumes. Many hidden things will return, and the heretic will
kidnap and toy with your people. Reassemble the weapons and fight him,
Asaina al-Arqis. Tonight I let you live."
She understood none of this. "Who is the
heretic?" she asked, but received no answer, and realizing too late that she
should not look up, she stood transfixed by those burning eyes. The horror
of that stare lingered with its afterimage glow as the lich grinned, faded,
and was gone.
*****
Continuing our tradition of rolling out
monthly world-altering events for Asheron's Call, "Shadows of the Past" will
bring many changes to Dereth. Look for new features on the landscape, new
dungeons and quests, major new items, and even a new monster. Spring has
arrived, warm and welcoming, with its flowering plants, drifting motes of
pollen, and impressive new generation of rabbits, but rumors abound that
heroes have gone missing, and Shadow creatures remain on the landscape,
standing impassive as if awaiting a summons, while artifacts from an ancient
war begin ominously to reappear. Look for these developments by the end of
the week. We'll be seeing you in Dereth!
Note: Chris "Stormwaltz" L'Etoile
made the following statement about the event teaser:
JFYI, the piece in the AC Newsletter (and currently on the
Zone) about Asaina and the Lich was not written, read, or approved by anyone
at Turbine. It is factually and contextually inaccurate, and should be
considered non-canonical. Just trying to keep the backstory straight,
- ChrisL
From the
Zone
February 17,
2000
Baby bunnies, drifting motes of pollen, and
new flowering plants have appeared, and sorcerers and workmen across the
land have been creating huge safe havens for public affairs, but nature and
humanity are not the only powers altering the world of Dereth. No one yet
knows the full consequence of the Quest for Frore, where bands of heroes
broke an artifact responsible for the land's killing winter freeze. For a
month, dreadful new Shadow creatures have been stalking the wilderness,
accompanied by floating crystals that launch pyrotechnic attacks. While
searching for guidance in ancient texts, scholars have found mention of
powerful weapons that once defeated the Shadows. But can they be recovered
before the battlefield is set? Already, a vast bridge of volcanic glass has
materialized over the River Prosper; mysterious new catacombs have been
discovered; and weary and bedraggled adventurers report harrowing trials at
the whim of a godlike, invisible being.
"Shadows of the Past" continues our tradition
of advancing the Asheron's Call story through major monthly events.
Characters of all levels will find new mysteries to explore and challenges
to face in the common effort to oppose the massing Shadows. We look forward
to meeting you in Dereth!
(For more information on the latest game
update, please read
Build Notes, February 17, and the new
State of the Code.)
From the
Zone
Build Notes - February
17, 2000
Here are all the tiny little details of the
game update that was made on February 17, 2000. This list is culled from
"check-in" notes submitted by the game developers themselves.
We won't reveal many changes concerning the
Shadows that have advanced upon the land and other story development, as
these include major new opportunities for players to drive the saga forward.
We don't want to take away the fun of discovery. As usual, 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 abilities of items
are not always detailed here.
Detailed Notes for builds 2270-2277:
- Spring has sprung. Pollen drifts, bees
buzz, and bunnies make baby bunnies.
- The damage done by melee weapons -- such
as swords, maces, daggers, spears, and so on -- is now affected more by
the strength of the combatant. Strong warriors will find that they do more
damage per hit than before. This does not affect missile or unarmed
combat. Note that this applies to monsters as well, so be careful when
facing monsters that wield weapons!
- Players using melee weapons have a
slightly faster attack speed than before. This also applies to a small
subset of weapon-wielding monsters.
- Amazing new things to do for all levels of
players, some of them worth many many hours of fun. If only we would tell
you what they are*
- New Meeting Halls, ideal spots for large
groups to gather, have been unveiled near every major town. The scribes
sell books that tell you where they are.
- Anyone want to buy a bridge?
- Loot has been improved for a few monsters.
- Objects contained in corpses will no
longer be deleted by housekeeping (until the corpse rots and they are
dumped out on the ground). This may help fix reports of empty corpses,
though there still may be more to such reports, and we continue to
investigate.
- Mage robes are a bit more useful than they
were. They drain mana more slowly and cast another helpful spell.
- Gharu'ndim robes should now be wearable.
Other errors in mage robe names also fixed.
- Swift Killer spells 2-6 had wrong
descriptions. Spells worked properly, but the text for the spell
description had the old value by which the spell adjusted the item's
speed.
- The range of thrown weapons is now no
longer often displayed as zero. The range now assumes a Strength of 100,
though . . . your mileage may vary.
- All Koujia Sleeves produced by the
treasure system will now be wearable. Unwearable sleeves that have already
been created, however, will remain unwearable. Please don't sell them and
continue the pain; drop them somewhere secluded, or give them to a
collector.
- Explanation text on Urgent Assistance
and Abuse panel has been modified. If your abuse report goes
unanswered, feel free to repeat it every few minutes until you hear from
an Online Team member.
- NPCs are now restricted to moving no more
than five meters when giving an item to someone.
- There was a bug that made lightning
quarrels too easy to make, as compared to other elemental quarrels. They
are now just as difficult to make as their elemental cousins.
- You are less prone to have your ability to
move curtailed by an automatic emote your character does while standing
around.
- Fletchers, start a-whittling . . .
- Typo in success string when making Carol's
Carrot Cheese Soup fixed.
- Double-clicking on parchment in a corpse
should now pick it up, not attempt to write on it.
- MacDugal (Bandit Castle NPC) is wearing a
girth now and his underwear isn't showing anymore.
Developer's Chat
February 3, 2000
+MrQuazarr@Zone>
Hello and welcome to the monthly Asheron's Call Developer's Chat. We will
start off with a few words from the Producer of Asheron's Call, Scott
Herrington, them jump into questions from you the players! Please have
your question pre-typed in notepad and ready to copy and paste when your
time comes. Questions must be limited to 1 question to give the most
people a chance to ask questions. If you ask more then one question, the
developers will only field your first question. So without any further
delay.. Scott, the floor is all yours:
Scotth@Turbine> Hi, and thanks for attending the chat! As was said, I'm
the Turbine producer on AC, Scott Herrington. I'll introduce the rest of
the staff here with me in a minute or two, but I want to say a few things
first. We're trying not to nerf players in this or any future updates. The
changes that we're attempting are just that, 'attempts' at fixing
problems. We don't always get it right, but we're trying. The changes that
we're making hopefully won't upset the balance of the game. We'd rather
boost player's abilities over a few months than go too far one month, and
have to nerf them the following month. With the complexities of a game
like AC, there's always a bunch of things to fix or improve. We prioritize
the problems and the events, so that we address severe problems first, and
then minor ones. Sometimes, we fix the minor stuff just because it can be
done quickly - or by a person who isn't working on another problem. With a
limited staff, allocating the resources to fix problems is the biggest
challenge we face. In the February event, we're trying to help our warrior
players a bit. That's all I can say about it for now, but I think they'll
be happy with the changes. We rely on your feedback to make sure that
we're moving in the right direction with our updates... So keep posting to
the message boards. We do read them - even if we don't post often to them!
With that said, I'd like to introduce the Turbinites' who come up with the
events, design dungeons, and in general, bust their butts on a monthly
basis to give you new stuff to do! Eri Izawa is the head of the content
team. She oversees all the content people and the general structure of
each event. Without her, we'd all be lost! Chris L'Etoile, many of you
know by his plan file. Often controversial, he's really not nearly as
cranky as his plan suggests. He's responsible for a lot of the writing you
read or hear in the game, as well as the immense Frore quest from
December. David Javier is a recent addition to the content team, and for
some reason, is facinated by the story surrounding Neydissa Castle and
vows to continue that storyline no matter how late he has to work. Jesse
Kurlancheek is also relatively new to the team. He's half-content,
half-programmer, and all... erm... all good. Yeah, that's it. Chris
Foster, the lead designer, couldn't be here tonight. He's on a press tour
in Europe. (yup, that's right, the game's coming out in Europe in March)
If you ask us questions about anything we don't have an answer to, we'll
say "That's Foster's stuff, we don't know anything about that." There may
be a few other Turbinites lurking around who may pop up to answer a
question or two as well. Anyway, enough of my ranting. If any of my fellow
Turbanites have anything to add, do it now. After that, we'll move right
in to getting your questions answered. Guys? Anything to add?
rei@Turbine> TurbInites.
Crowley@turbine> Turbinites, Scott
letoile@turbine> I am too cranky.
rei@Turbine> And Foster is scum for being in Europe
Dave@turbine> HI everyone!
letoile@turbine> And I prefer "Teleturbies."
Scotth@Turbine> Ok, let's move on to the questions....
Scotth@Turbine> enough of the team's friendly banter...
nei@turbine> banter
+MrQuazarr@Zone> GA Araman
Araman_Kain> Hail! I love your guys's work! A few questions however: 1)
What are you doing to improve melee warriors and when can we expect the
change you have hinted on? 2) What's with the shadows on the mainland? It
has made travel/exploration very hard for newbies.
nei@turbine> since we only take one....
nei@turbine> melee it is: right now we've sped up the "sword" and "sword
and shield" animations, so all melee weaps minus unarmed are going to
enjoy some more speed
nei@turbine> we're also tweaking the dmg formula so that it takes into
account your stats with more weight (ie higher str/coord = more dmg)
nei@turbine> done
rei@Turbine> And we'll be monitoring the situation.
rei@Turbine> For any further refinements.
rei@Turbine> done
alecmuzzy> In the world of Dereth, there are two kinds of people. Those
with portal magic, and those who walk. This causes a lot of tension
between those two groups. Are there any plans of introducing gems
enchanted with portal magic - like a Lifestone Recall Gem?
letoile@turbine> Not at present. That would defeat the purpose of them
being so hard to learn and use. They're a mark of distinction -- and darn
handy.
letoile@turbine> done
Sir_Sherwin> Many people seem to be growing bored of the game, mostly
in my opinion because most of the % of people are powerleveling rather
than exploring and/or roleplaying. Are the teleturbies planning on
introducing more quests and adventures into the game
Sir_Sherwin> or planning on pushing quests and roleplaying more than
powerleveling?(i understand you haven't pushed people towards
powerleveling but are you going to try to get people out of that mind set)
Sir_Sherwin> or planning on pushing quests and roleplaying more than
powerleveling?(i understand you haven't pushed people towards
powerleveling but are you going to try to get people out of that mind set)
Sir_Sherwin> Oh and 1 other thing, the healing shortcut bug where you lose
your shortcut key for healing whenever you inscribe an item needs to be
fixed big time..Thanks!
rei@Turbine> Oh my goodness, if I told the team they can't make more
quests and roleplaying opps, they'd rise up and slay me.
nei@turbine> *sharpens the knife*
rei@Turbine> while we can't always put in more quests due to time
restrictions, you can be there're more in the wings, and that we love 'em.
Scotth@Turbine> We've got plans for the "power-levelers",... hehehe....
rei@Turbine> And yes, we prefer RP to powerleveling ourselves (except
maybe nei :-p)
rei@Turbine> done
DiReCtX4> Ok
DiReCtX4> Hail Ken, Dave, and the rest! I have been here since *3:15 PM
EST*...awaiting this momment..and i am still only 4th in line!..Finally!...Ok..heres
my question..not as interesting as the rest..but..its still good! ;o)
DiReCtX4> Whats up so far with Jaraq's little team of happy "scribes"?
What will they -exactly- do? Is it 18+? When will it start? Wait..thats 3
questions...gr...you get what i am trying to ask? Last i heard of it was
on CoD..and from there, nothing more.
DiReCtX4> done
Dave@turbine> speaking for ken
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Jaggo, you're up.
ACJaggo> Greetings all. Thanks for being here to answer questions. Hi
mom! Anyways... my friend and I have been searching on the Frostfell
server for some time now for the Olthoi Queen. He also stated that on
another server someone had a cuirass. Please dispel
Dave@turbine> The team is still in the process of being developed, there
are so many things to do, ti is just taking time
ACJaggo> the fact\foction of the rumors that the queen exists, as well
as Silifi of Crimson Stars, and Brogard's Axe.
Dave@turbine> expect it to come soon....
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Thanks.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> badguy, your question
badguymike> i hope i dont tread into foster's domain here but i think that
a new server of any kind would breathe new life into the ac community, not
that it is particularly in need of revitalizing, but a fresh start would
be very fun imho.
badguymike> can you give any specifics on when you think the current
servers will become saturated and what will happen when they are?
nei@turbine> hold on... we seem to have developed a backlog
rei@Turbine> OK Jaggo's question: We don't necessarily see it as our role
to dispel incorrect rumors.
Scotth@Turbine> I'll take badguymike, while somebody else taks Jaggo
badguymike> new servers imo would be as fun as new quests, even if no
specific mods like race wars or the like are attempted.
rei@Turbine> Jaggo's question 2: On the other hand, if someone DOES find
the queen someplace, let us know....
Scotth@Turbine> We're pretty comfortable witht the performance levels on
the servers with the current crowds.... but once they go up a bit more...
Scotth@Turbine> we'll start looking into opening up more servers.
Scotth@Turbine> No firm time or date as to when they open, it's all about
demand, performance, and game play
Scotth@Turbine> done.
rei@Turbine> (One last note on Jaggo: We DO sometimes dispel rumors,
though. Like the Frost King)
AwkwardDruid> I think one of the best things about AC is the sheer size
of the world, but even DarkTide is starting to feel cramped with camping
of the interesting spots. I'm wondering if and when we might see
additional landmass to explore?
Crowley@turbine> Gradually. We are hard at work. Whoa, deja-vu...
Scotth@Turbine> How about more interesting spots? There's still a lot of
unused property out there!
Crowley@turbine> That too. We're on it all.
rei@Turbine> We're working on adding interesting material wherever we can
cram it (er....)
Scotth@Turbine> We'll be adding content to spread out the crowds a bit
more...
Crowley@turbine> Done
Gooopsta> i have seen a lot of things being auctioned off on web sites.
what is your opinion of people selling their items/accounts on auction
sites like ebay?
cotth@Turbine> Well...
Scotth@Turbine> we really don't care too much for people selling stuff...
Scotth@Turbine> because it's the "easy" way for others to buy their way
into the game
Scotth@Turbine> we hope that people would role play and actually go on the
quests, rather than buy it off ebay.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Spaxillian> What improvements will be made to the client interface?
Specifically, the spellbar is clunky and doesn't help a mage use a wide
range of spells. Perhaps we could see a way to save/load spell bars via
hot keys. =) (Member of Crossroads Consortium) =)
Spaxillian> Wynder made me plug the guild =)
rei@Turbine> Man, is that a Foster question.
rei@Turbine> We're aware of that issue, definitely, but Foster is both
lead designer AND Mr. UI.
rei@Turbine> So we're keeping tabs on it.
rei@Turbine> done.
Scotth@Turbine> Quikslilvr, whassup?
rei@Turbine> ?
Binky413> When will more spell and trade skill content be added to the
game? Alchemy, for example, is only useful to one character class and the
cheap draughts that can be made are useless (besides not being able to
make stamina varieties), and War Magic is onl
Binky413> projectile based (no fire walls, etc).
nei@turbine> *grins* real soon now on the trade skill question :)
rei@Turbine> And we're also adding more trade skill content gradually.
rei@Turbine> No new trade skills just yet, though.
letoile@turbine> *pines for more craft skills*
rei@Turbine> So is it confusing to have both nei and rei?
rei@Turbine> You may see some new stuff in Feb!
rei@Turbine> done
Scotth@Turbine> rei =Eri, nei=Jesse... go figure.
rei@Turbine> ?
DA_hOsTiLe_DtH> I'de liek to thank you guys for making a great
game..now for my question.. Ive noticed that there at least 20 small
quests for the newbies at outposts.
DA_hOsTiLe_DtH> And there are not many Quests for the higher *power lvlers*
like myself, or at least i have not seen many. I was wondering if u guys
are planning to put some in soon?
DA_hOsTiLe_DtH> done =)
rei@Turbine> We're definitely adding more quests.
rei@Turbine> The only issue is time. So we're adding them as fast as we
can.
Crowley@turbine> More quests for all levels.
Scotth@Turbine> But to add more high level quests takes a lot longer than
some of the newbie level ones....
rei@Turbine> Hey, you stole my lines.
letoile@turbine> Yeah, Frore took a full month to do right.
Crowley@turbine> Sorry, boss.
Scotth@Turbine> done... I think.
rei@Turbine> yep
letoile@turbine> A Newbie quest we can whip out in three ot four days.
rei@Turbine> Not QUITE.
rei@Turbine> DONE
+MrQuazarr@Zone> OK gang, quick announcement: We have run in a snag where
the limit for this room is only 500. Lots of people are waiting outside to
get in. We need to stop and restart this lobby in order to raise the
limits. How we will do it is this way: WE are going to take questions
through HYDROPONIK When we do the restart, you will lose your place in the
queue.. however! we are righting dow the list from HYDRO on, and I will
pull from that list for the next person so we will not go directly from
the queue.
If we get through that list, we will go back to the queue. Sorry for the
inconvenience
Scotth@Turbine> We're stopping question camping!
+MrQuazarr@Zone> the down time will be about 1-2 minutes
rei@Turbine> Whoa, not yet!
Crowley@turbine> No! Don't leave yet!
+MrQuazarr@Zone> You do not need to leave yet
+MrQuazarr@Zone> we will tell you when
Spirithex> *bows deep* Greetings Turbinites.. How about incorporating
an -Allegiance Name- option? [right below monarch nick] There is -one-
free line in char dolls after all :) thnk you. *vanishes in thin air*
Scotth@Turbine> At the top of the Hour!
+MrQuazarr@Zone> actually
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Right after HYDROPOINK asks his question
rei@Turbine> That's a good idea, and it's another Foster Question.
Scotth@Turbine> Spirithex, thanks for the idea!
rei@Turbine> I think the idea has already been entered over here, if I'm
not mistaken.
Scotth@Turbine> Hopefully you'll see it in an update somewhere down the
line (no promises though)
rei@Turbine> done
Cryingpan> Hello, i would like to know if you plan on making any kind
of banking system like in EverQuest, so that players wouldn't need to make
"mules"
rei@Turbine> The really long-term solution for that is probably a form of
player housing.
rei@Turbine> That's still being discussed, but we have hopes for getting
it in!
Scotth@Turbine> (REMINDER: She said LONG TERM solution. please don't
expect that next week from us. we'll do it as soon as we can)
rei@Turbine> L'Etoile wants to point out he mentioned it in his .plan
page.
letoile@turbine> Look in the Archive (Nov-Dec 1999)
rei@Turbine> Yeah, it's definitely not something we can just add in a week
or something.
rei@Turbine> done.
ChrisHays> Time and time again adventurers carefully struggle to the
bottom of a dungeon, collecting keys, flipping switches, defeating beasts
and generally doing the dungeon the way it was designed...
ChrisHays> Only to find a huge line of people at the bottom, camping the
chest, telling them to "take a number"...
ChrisHays> What specific plans do you have to significantly deter
chest-camping, while preserving the ability for all members of an
adventuring party to equally share in the rewards earned by conquering a
dungeon?
Scotth@Turbine> Yikes....
Scotth@Turbine> Well, it's something that I've been discussing with the
program manager over at MS....
Scotth@Turbine> if we make any kind of mistake in the way we go about
solving it, you guys are going to yell
Scotth@Turbine> like crazy.
Scotth@Turbine> we'd rather take a bit longer to make sure we've got the
best solution possible
rei@Turbine> (Even then, no solution will make everyone happy)
Scotth@Turbine> rather than rush something out that doesn't work, and will
need more work to fix.
Scotth@Turbine> the coders over here are working on a few solutions that I
think will probably work....
Scotth@Turbine> more news as we dream it up.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Crowley@turbine> Props to the weenie team.
fayr> It was my understanding that, during the last update, many of the
magical items for warriors would have lower difficulties. However, one of
my swords has the same difficulty (86) as it did prior to the update.
fayr> Considering how difficult it is to raise a warrior's Arcane Lore, I
was wondering: Was the item just missed, or were previous weapons not
changed? (done)
letoile@turbine> We can change the limits on new items generated by
the treasure system easily...
letoile@turbine> Changing stuff that already exists is a MAJOR job of
work...
rei@Turbine> It's not really possible.
letoile@turbine> done
Skitzophrenia> I have noticed that many items are described as being of
high-quality, good-quality, well-crafted, and so on. Are there any bonuses
for such items besides a higher value?
letoile@turbine> None at all, I fear.
letoile@turbine> That's really all there is to say - done.
rei@Turbine> (Oh, one more note on previous question: this applies to
treasure system stuff only -- because they are unique items.)
IAmMeSoHa> ok... with months update i saw something about trying to
reduce camping.. and i agree it is bad... but with the new update u have
released shadows into the open world... but the problem is resist
everything.. run faster than us.. and kill us easily...
IAmMeSoHa> this has forced me and many of my friends into camping which i
dont like... why release such a terror into the open??? or will we hope to
find out the reason with Feb. event???
Scotth@Turbine> The reason will become clearer over the next few months
Scotth@Turbine> But, I actually kinda like that Dereth has become
dangerous again...
Scotth@Turbine> People are no longer walking around with no fear....
Scotth@Turbine> It's not that tough to avoid them for the most part...
Crowley@turbine> And Shadows are by no means unavoidable. Just be careful
while adventuring...
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Purrpetual> We have seen some preliminary discussion of possible
enhancements to melee fighters to bring them closer to parity with the
power of archers and mages...
Purrpetual> As hybrid warriors (with some spellcasting ability) are
currently known to be fundamentally more powerful than pure melee
fighters, is there anything in these changes that will provide an
incentive to play a non-magic-using warrior over a hybrid?
Scotth@Turbine> Dave J steps up to the plate.....
Scotth@Turbine> with an amazing answer....
rei@Turbine> (drum roll)
Crowley@turbine> Specializing has its perks. I've got a level 18 hybrid,
and can only look with envy at people with similar level to me and much
higher Str and Coord...
Crowley@turbine> Done
letoile@turbine> What, we gave you a great build-up for that? Siddown ya
putz!
_SD_JAGMAN> Hello ?
letoile@turbine> Hi!
_SD_JAGMAN> hi
Scotth@Turbine> (there was a really good hint in there...)
Crowley@turbine> I am sitting!
Scotth@Turbine> Hi
nei@turbine> good question
rei@Turbine> Kids, do I have to break this up?
Scotth@Turbine> what's up Jagman?
RoBz26> guess i should go...
RoBz26> I would like to ask you guys about rank required items. I was a
Reeve in beta but went Solo in retail. So now I am 'Robz', lvl 26 with no
vassals and no patron. I know that getting to a high rank is an
achievement, so there SHOULD be items only useable
RoBz26> by those people - I also feel the amount of items is a small, good
number. My complaint is: Why was Tremblant's Ivory Staff, a quest item,
made for rank 4+ only?! If I did the quest I should use the item without
having followers! So my question is:
RoBz26> Will there be more, quest items or things like houses that are
rank only? (Houses for having ranks is only a rumor) And think about
adding something that we without an allegience can use. If it's a Yes,
then I guess I have to start baiting followers with
RoBz26> my kewl loot(tm). I hope the answer is a No, because I don't see
why I MUST have followers to experience the fullness of Asheron's Call,
the best game I've played, BTW.
RoBz26> Very sorry for the long question, but I feel that my posts at
Message Boards and NG's and email to comments@asheronscall.com go
unnoticed, so it's better to ask live =)
RoBz26> There - Done =)
letoile@turbine> ONe question only, m'man. :)
letoile@turbine> To answer the thing on the staff...
letoile@turbine> For one thing, the guy who wielded it was a knight - a
noble himself...
letoile@turbine> ...for another, we figured that Frore would be unbeatable
without a concerted effort...
letoile@turbine> ...That players with allegiances would rally to go in and
beat the dungeon...
Scotth@Turbine> And we do actually read the boards, so even though we may
not post there often, we know what's going on...
letoile@turbine> ...and hence that a level restriction was appropriate for
the item's backstory-genesis and the dungeon's difficulty and design
intent.
letoile@turbine> done
EBnow> Why do you need to be a damn mage to be good in this game , I am
a unarmed/bow fighter lv 18 currently on the darktide server , i never
played on any other server , I dont attand to use magic at all , any
attempts at making special techniques only very
EBnow> skilled melee/ranged fighters can use and have?
Scotth@Turbine> whoops, sorry
Scotth@Turbine> thought one of the others was going to answer rei@Turbine>
Oh ... I should add that Pierson has visions of cool combat things to do
down the road.
Scotth@Turbine> the improvements to combat should help you out a bit.
Scotth@Turbine> we're trying to make each character class have their
weaknesses and strengths even out... rei@Turbine> It's a continuing
balance issue that we're aware of. However, magic items will still tend to
confer an advantage over non-magic items.
Scotth@Turbine> archers, on darktide can really do some major damage
Scotth@Turbine> done
HYDROPONIKRONIK> Is the Silifi of Crimson Stars just a fairy tale that
is taking up space on page 49 of the Instruction Manual or will this thing
actually ever be implemented? Rumors of Bael'Zharon being
released/surfacing is talked about... :)
Scotth@Turbine> Well
Scotth@Turbine> the silifi right now hasn't been discovered...
Scotth@Turbine> for a very good reason.....
Scotth@Turbine> which would give away some of the future story of the game
if I told you why....
Scotth@Turbine> as for the rumors....
Scotth@Turbine> yeah, I've heard those too.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> OK Gang.... we are going to restart this lobby now. We
have the queue written down and when we come back, we will go from that
first, then to the newly formed queue. I will call out who is next so you
can have your question ready. When we return in about 5 minutes we will
stat with Grimaud. Sorry for the inconvenience... Be Back soon... Run out
to the lobby and buy a soda ;-) OK Grim, your up
Grimaud> Hi, I just want to say thanks for the great game. The only
problem I have is it is too adicting! Mr. L'Etoile, I really enjoy reading
your plan site. Keep up the great work.
Grimaud> Well, my question is are you/could you impliment a place where
you could fight other characters without the danger of losing something or
where you don't have to go full time PK to fight other players? Possibly a
type of arena?
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Next PaladinOSU followed by HeIIgo
Grimaud> done
Scotth@Turbine> I've got this one...
Scotth@Turbine> Grimaud... you're reading our minds
Crowley@turbine> Good question, Grim.
Scotth@Turbine> that's something that the design and content team have
been disucssing with the programmers
Scotth@Turbine> and I've been discussing it with MS... so....
letoile@turbine> (discussing = badgering)
Scotth@Turbine> hopefully, we'll be able to find the time and allocate the
manpower to get combat arenas in at some future point
Scotth@Turbine> the plans have been in the works, so it's just a matter of
the time, really.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
PaladinOSU> Man you scared me for a little MrQuazarr, I've been here
since 5 EST. ;) I'm glad I made it back in time...
PaladinOSU> Ok, I have been playing since beta2 and I still love the game.
Just wondering are you planning to remove the new armor types after this
event? I didn't have the chance to get my own Matty Robe, and I don't want
to lose out on stuff again. [DONE]
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Paladin up, Akye next
Scotth@Turbine> L'Etoile is feverishly typing his reply....
letoile@turbine> The new armor will stay for all time. Unlike the Hoary
Robes (a limited-time quest item), they're in for the duration. Don't fret
about getting it immediately.
letoile@turbine> done, methinks...
rei@Turbine> There WILL BE some armor that is limited-time-only
rei@Turbine> Later.
Scotth@Turbine> and some stuff may reappear from time to time.....
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Akye> Ok, in the Sybex book, AND THE MANUAL, it is emphasized that
coordination affects dagger damage, not Strength...
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Ayke up
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Kommander0 next
Akye> But this is not so, Strength affects damage, not coord...
Akye> When is turbine either going to a) fix it or b) admit they totally
misinformed everyone and wasted alot of our time.
Akye> done, cant ask my thrown weapons Q
nei@turbine> guess what? it's B. the formula has a bug right now
nei@turbine> STR should NOT be affecting dagger, but it is right now.
Scotth@Turbine> (and we're doing some fixes to thrown weapons in the next
month or so...)
nei@turbine> done *wave to akye on irc*
Kommander0> Hello Turbine, you have done a great job, my question is
about generation how its works, To the point of Loot on monsters to what
monster spawns to the point of why that Tumerok gets A Bow and the other
gets a sword? hows this work ?
+MrQuazarr@Zone> EnviroWallace is up next
Scotth@Turbine> Figuring out who's best suited to answer the question....
rei@Turbine> I'm a little confused by the question, but monsters have a
somewhat random selection of loot and equipment they carry.
rei@Turbine> Different monsters wield different weapons, depending on
their tastes and aesthetics.
rei@Turbine> What items they have left on them when you nuke them thus
depends on the monster.
rei@Turbine> done?
_EnviroWallace_> My frind on AOL (he HAX!) sez U can DUPE and HAX on
AC?????! HOW?$! ???? If U tel me i sware I wwont do it cuz Im kewl OK? i
will treade som pron or my warezz versin of JILL OF THE JUNGLE PLZ????
d00dz?
+MrQuazarr@Zone> HeIIgo next
nei@turbine> LOL
Dave@turbine> heh
Scotth@Turbine> ummmm.... yeah.
letoile@turbine> *falls down laughing*
nei@turbine> d00d, j00 cann0t h@x0r AC
Crowley@turbine> *rofl*
Scotth@Turbine> next.
nei@turbine> (though if your friend does, please have him drop us a line)
rei@Turbine> done.
nei@turbine> done
_EnviroWallace_> =P
letoile@turbine> Speak the queen's English, man. :)
Dave@turbine> I like jill of the jungle... darn
heIIgo> after the mages rebalance, what kind of boost can we expect for
archers in the balanceing effert?
Scotth@Turbine> We'll take one character class at a time....
Scotth@Turbine> so, for this month, we're looking at melee
Scotth@Turbine> then we'll see how that plays out....
heIIgo> so archers arnt even getting a thought right now?
Scotth@Turbine> and then make adjustments to them, or start looking at the
other character classes...
+MrQuazarr@Zone> MrHitman7 next
Scotth@Turbine> we'd rather take one at a time than try to tweak everyone
and hope it works out.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
mrhitman7> Have you thought about a player loot list? like /loot rei@Turbine>
(Imagine the chaos of changing everything at once)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Bytenator next
rei@Turbine> If you mean allowing friends to loot your corpse
rei@Turbine> it's ultimately a kind of Foster question. However, I know it
has been requested many times, so we are very aware of it.
rei@Turbine> There are a lot of these neato features that we'd love to get
in... we just can't do them all at once.
rei@Turbine> (I hope that was the question)
rei@Turbine> done
Bytenator> Do you have any suggestions for a quest a level 12 mage can
take on? (and don't say green mire, I already done that)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> BriOmega next
letoile@turbine> Hang on, we're con-fabbing. :)
nei@turbine> Let's see... there's the dagger of tikola (might be a little
tough)
nei@turbine> there's also bandit castle/neydissa
rei@Turbine> I don't know if these are solo-able.
nei@turbine> done
BriOmega> Hi there..long time, first time :0P My question regards new
skills being added. Has there been discussion as to how new skills will be
implemented and how players can get them?. . .
BriOmega> Perhaps increasing the amount of skill points you can gain at
higher levels? or as i once suggested on Crossroads, perhaps adding quests
for skills? done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Next Buffy_Becca
rei@Turbine> Yes, there has been discussion of how to add new skills.
nei@turbine> LOTS of it ...
rei@Turbine> Last time we had the discussion it was not actually resolved.
letoile@turbine> We were distracted by something shiny.
rei@Turbine> Quests for skills is something we like, though we're not sure
how it could fit in.
rei@Turbine> (hits L'Etoile)
rei@Turbine> doe
rei@Turbine> Doh
rei@Turbine> done
letoile@turbine> (hits Rei back)
Buffy_Becca> what are and where did the Virindi come from? ((nerf jayna
= ))
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Next up Allen_xrgaming
rei@Turbine> They come from France
nei@turbine> They come from France!
Scotth@Turbine> They come from France.
letoile@turbine> They come from France.
Dave@turbine> france
Crowley@turbine> They come from France.
rei@Turbine> done
Scotth@Turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Buffy?
Crowley@turbine> Thank you for your question, fellow human.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> OK, moving on
allen_xrgaming> Hey all. :) While I really appreciate the lengths that
the team has gone through, I'm wondering what smaller things are being
done to make the story more alive from day to day. Sorty of mini- events
that are not announced and just happen.
Scotth@Turbine> Allen, thanks for the q.
rei@Turbine> We hope to continue adding little bits of content tweaks and
changes as time goes on (and as time allows ... that's always our biggest
issue)....
Scotth@Turbine> One of the things that we've tried to do is populate the
world with big stuff that everyone knows about....
Crowley@turbine> I know I'd love to add in ongoing content, evolving
quests that change from event to event. But it's all an issue of time and
resources...
Scotth@Turbine> while slipping in some smaller things.
rei@Turbine> Also, we're hoping to facilitate more player-run events down
the road....
+MrQuazarr@Zone> _skidoo23 next
+MrQuazarr@Zone> followed by DeLT
rei@Turbine> I know that's vague but we do like slipping in the details
when we can.
Scotth@Turbine> As our processes get smoothed out, you'll start seeing
some smaller stuff slide in there.
Scotth@Turbine> done.
rei@Turbine> done
Crowley@turbine> Like colored packs.
letoile@turbine> I wish I could clone myself. :(
skidoo23> So far there are quest weapons for just about all types, but
any plans for unarmed, xbow ones or lower level quest weapons?(better than
random ones, unlike SOLL) btw archers do not need boosting they are way
overpowered as it is at high lev
+MrQuazarr@Zone> DeLT next
Scotth@Turbine> What, somebody admittng their character class is
overpowered?
nei@turbine> the quick answer: yes, yes, yes... yes to all the items :)
Scotth@Turbine> done
Crowley@turbine> Look for a funky new unarmed quest soon...
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Rukes next
DeLT> Hey Sean, we(yes, we) miss you in chat =) You should really join
us on IRC; Jesse can tell you which server...
DeLT> Looking further down the road, is there going to be something
introduced in the way of War Magic spells to help war mages who currently
have a capped maximum damage?...
DeLT> That is, at level 85, a mage will no longer be the class doing the
damage which makes it not worth long term since they have so much working
against them.
letoile@turbine> (Sean sez Hi back :)
rei@Turbine> I believe that we have some ideas upcoming, but Foster is the
guy who knows all.
rei@Turbine> And he's off on a different continent, the scum.
nei@turbine> right now, i have a list of "spells" on the whiteboard behind
me... war/life/creature and more... so it's on the proverbial plate, i
reckon
Scotth@Turbine> done?
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Blasto65 next
rei@Turbine> Yeah....
Rukes> Most of my freinds have been playing almost non stop, and
exploring everything pretty quicky. Most of them have stopped playing AC
because they feel like they have done everything...
Rukes> What do you have planned to keep those addicted people from jumping
ship, besides huge monthly events?
Scotth@Turbine> I've got it....
Scotth@Turbine> Well, I can't go into a bunch of details
Scotth@Turbine> But I will say that we're going to be giving away features
Scotth@Turbine> that other companies would probably charge you for....
Scotth@Turbine> wait a month or two, and you'll see what I mean.
Scotth@Turbine> done
blasto65> You have done a great job. I'v heard that there is going to
be horses and guild houses is that true and if so how long before we would
see it ?????
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Genjuro_1 next
Scotth@Turbine> Nope, only guild horses.
Scotth@Turbine> :)
Dave@turbine> heh
rei@Turbine> Horses that have doors that you walk into. Immobile, even.
Scotth@Turbine> Houses, horses, and ..... other stuff...
rei@Turbine> I think we've said that houses are something we're seriously
looking into. I don't think we've said anything about horses....
Scotth@Turbine> maybe little ponies....
Scotth@Turbine> Check out L'Etoile's plan file to see how much work would
go into doing something like that...
Scotth@Turbine> he broke it down really well and explained all the aspects
of putting in something as "simple" as horses..
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Genjuro_1> Question--- Can you make/is there any plans to add: weapons
that cast offensive spells on monsters/pc's during combat for example a
sword that casts slowness other on its target (the npc/player) or other
spells that are "offensive" and if not why?
Genjuro_1> not question -- I know alot of people will hate me for this but
you really need to raise the lore and or stat req's on higher level magic
items and perhaps lower the mana use rate a bit to comp.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Archemist will be next.
Scotth@Turbine> Part of that answer would lie in tech needed....
Scotth@Turbine> and another part would lie in the design/balance issues
that would raise.
Scotth@Turbine> creating new weapon types - with extra magic benefits is a
really tricky proposition.
rei@Turbine> I don't think there are any plans right now. (I think that
answers the question). But we are always looking at suggestions.
Scotth@Turbine> Don't think we won't, but we don't have any plans for that
at the moment. Good suggestion though, and thanks for the last bit too...
Scotth@Turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> ARchmage_Shark will be next
Archemist> First Off Great Game, can't wait for melee fighters to get
their day in the sun, someday. Now, my question, "The armors greaves,
gloves, and boots, have me confused. Can one wear greaves (to protect
upper AND lower legs -- there IS NO upper leg armor)....
Archemist> and Non or low AL (magic stat boost only) gloves and boots to
protect against attack (creatures dont target hands/feet and greaves cover
whole leg?)?
nei@turbine> without any base AL, an item will offer no protection
nei@turbine> however, if you cast spells on a shirt/pants/something, it's
possible to wear armor over that and enjoy the double layering
nei@turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Tafflehos will be next
Archmage_Shark> How does a weapon skill amount effect "chance to
hit,damage,speed, or a combonation" Does strength, coordination, and
quickness effect anything besides the total for other stats? If this is in
the manual what page, I didn't and don't plan on reading it ;)
Scotth@Turbine> Well, if you're not going to read it, it's on page 12
Scotth@Turbine> :)
nei@turbine> weapon skill affects your chance to hit
nei@turbine> quick affects speed, str/coord affect dmg
nei@turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Tafflehos will be next
Archmage_Shark> How does a weapon skill amount effect "chance to
hit,damage,speed, or a combonation" Does strength, coordination, and
quickness effect anything besides the total for other stats? If this is in
the manual what page, I didn't and don't plan on reading it ;)
Scotth@Turbine> Well, if you're not going to read it, it's on page 12
Scotth@Turbine> :)
nei@turbine> weapon skill affects your chance to hit
nei@turbine> quick affects speed, str/coord affect dmg
nei@turbine> done
Tafflehos> Hail Turbinites. Tasslehof Windrunner of the Lost Order of
Akalabeth (Http://www.lostorder.com ) here. Are we going to be allowed to
purchase extra Accounts without having to buy Another copy of the game
itself? How soon Can we expect to see this? ...
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Shadowtiger will be next
Tafflehos> and many thanks for the great stuff in the Events ;) keep it
coming :)
rei@Turbine> Thanks :)
Scotth@Turbine> Tass, thanks for the question.
Scotth@Turbine> That's a discussion more for MS than Turbine, but now that
you've brought it up, I'm sure that we'll be able to at least start soem
discussion on the matter
Scotth@Turbine> Why do you want an extra account?
Scotth@Turbine> Run out of mule slots? :)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> It will be something that we consider at a later date. No
immediate plans however.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Zotar99 will be next
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Shadow?
Zotar99> Specialization does not appear to be worth the skill points it
costs - are you looking at improving it, possibly by flattening its curve
vs trained so the gap grows at higher skill levels? (perhaps from 15
points at level 20 to 30 points at level 30-40?)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Merlin071 next
Scotth@Turbine> hold on, concocting an answer now..
rei@Turbine> Actually, there some stuff we want to do with the skill costs
in general.
rei@Turbine> I'm not sure when we will be able to address it, BUT I
definitely want to see changes made to skill costs, especially at higher
levels.
rei@Turbine> Specialized skills would be included in that.
rei@Turbine> done
Scotth@Turbine> If it's on Eri's "I want this feature" list, odds are
it'll probably get done at some point... sooner rather than later if I
know how persistant she is...
Merlin071> Greetings! Great work on the game guys. :) I haven't played
a game so much since my days of the Atari 2600. I was wondering if you
have plans for a better spell interface? The one in place now is rather
cumbersome and I am forever switching spells for....
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Baalpon will be next
Merlin071> 1-9 hot keys. I have all 4 schools of magic and it can be
frustrating hunting for a spell with the clunky scroll bar (even when it
didn't do the hokey pokey, 4 steps forward 3 steps back)
rei@Turbine> Hey, I think I've seen this question many times today.
rei@Turbine> So it's on the radar screen. Again, Foster is not only lead
designer but Mr. UI, so I can't really speak for him.
Scotth@Turbine> But, if something like this comes up a lot, you can be
assured we'll look into making improvements
Scotth@Turbine> done
BaalPon> Love the game, and your interest in the players, great job.
Thank you all. Here's the question...
BaalPon> Most item's diff's are lowered when there is a heritage
restriction, why don't magic wands, staves, and orbs have these
restrictions? Seems it would be fair, warriors are often frustrated to
find weapons they can't use, but not us mages. ga
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Silverion next
nei@turbine> pierson would be the person to ask on that one... but...
Scotth@Turbine> don't say it!f
nei@turbine> casting items often can have rank requirements, so that can
lower the diff on them significantly
nei@turbine> done
Silverion> *bows to turbinites* This game is like a sand in desert more
you try to hold in your hands faster it slips out *he makes strange moves
trying to hold his turban in place but it looks like it's moving?* My
good's ... We desert people wish to unders
Silverion> *hold a turban with both hands* Actual rank sistem is best used
only if you have ONLY 2 followers and they only 2 followers and so on so
at and you gain ranks fast .... but this have serious disadvantages as
every person in piramid is limited to only 4 d
Silverion> finaly menaged to sit on his turban* ... but a question is how
exactly work a sistem of loyality and leadership ... how much experience
is worth this 100 points more in loyality ... and how much exp is passed
from a ones vasals vasal to him? from 1000
Silverion> *turban makes a quick turn .. silverion falls in turban hole?
(sound from "hole" ) "oppsss this exploration of new continent make me
losing concentration ... maybe it's not time yet to be tere master I WAS
TALKING YOU .....*
Scotth@Turbine> Sorry, but we don't have the huge charts here in front of
us
Scotth@Turbine> with the exact numbers you're looking for.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Erenon will be next
Scotth@Turbine> AC has about a zillion different tables and charts
associated with every facet of the game
rei@Turbine> Don't forget equations.
Scotth@Turbine> and there are a lot of things to keep track of (which is
why we write 'em down)
Scotth@Turbine> So.... sorry.... we don't have the answer to your
question... ummm, interesting question though....
Scotth@Turbine> done.
Erenon> Is there or will there be a way to create 'add-ins' to interact
with the AC front end (via COM)? For example, someone could write an
add-in to retrieve the spells the currently logged in character...
Erenon> has learned, inventory, vassals, etc. (shameless plug) Hire Eric
Heikkila [Turbinite-wannabe, Programmer & AC addict] ;) Thanks! ga
Dave@turbine> www.turbinejobs.co
nei@turbine> there's no supported way to do this, but if you can, more
power to you
Dave@turbine> .com
Scotth@Turbine> How do you think Jesse got hired?
Scotth@Turbine> done.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Arty you are up
Crowley@turbine> Some of us are still trying to figure that one out,
Scott.
ArtyD> First of all i copyed all of the first chat and will continue to
record all of this. My question is based upon Magic items. Where do they
come from, or can we make items eventually? fyi all others, i intend to
email this chat to stratics. more to say...
Scotth@Turbine> YEOW!
rei@Turbine> Yay, our words are chiseled into eternity.
ArtyD> when i started loging this i expected this to be a pain in the
neck, since then my oppinion has considerably lowered.
Dave@turbine> the chat will be available to all
+MrQuazarr@Zone> On the zone tomorrow ;-)
rei@Turbine> I don't think there are currently plans to make permanently
enchanted items. That said, Mr. Magic (Pierson that is) isn't here, and I
know he has nefarious plans and ideas up his sleeve.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Ferrier13 will be next
rei@Turbine> done for me.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Tportman will be next
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Ferrier?
Scotth@Turbine> What's your question?
tportman> great game! Too addicting though, carefull or you'll get a
surgeon general warning or some class action lawsuits... Oh and the
classes are balanced, the warriors/archers can fight without even lifting
a mouse... enough rant. Easy question/sugg.: tportman> Re: the recent
increase in portal storms at Fort Tethana (a bad place to get portaled
stormed away): It seems that low lvl players are in abundance at the fort.
Since it is improbable that they ran to Teth we know that they were
portaled in tportman> via players tied to the exit of a nearby dungeon.
that has a lvl restriction on it's entrance of lvl18+. If lvl18+
restrictions were placed on the exit, that could reduce the number of low
lvl's at teth, thereby reducing the frequency of the portal storms
tportman> at the fort. can you do this? please? Also, ditto's on the
spellbar tweeking, it needs to be done badly! and Why can't foster join
the chat from Europe? this is the internet, right?. Great game
BTW.+MrQuazarr@Zone> Sonicsmit will be next
Scotth@Turbine> Foster issue: I think he's sleeping at the moment.
Crowley@turbine> It's probably about 3 AM where Foster is now.
Scotth@Turbine> Protals storm question....
rei@Turbine> We are trying to be careful in where we put in portal
restrictions. I don't know if the number of low levels is so much the
problem as the crowding at Teth....
rei@Turbine> We have plans for trying to relieve crowding at Teth when we
get a chance. Nei can tell you about it if I'd let him.
rei@Turbine> Which I won't if it comes to certain details.
rei@Turbine> French details.
rei@Turbine> Hope that answered the question.... done
sonicsmit> Hi guys! good game... but needs a lot of improvements...
sonicsmit> My question is simple: What do you guys plan on doing to
improve the lack of role-playing? The team may be made up of RPers, but it
still doesn't fix the game, and as new mmoRPgs come out, Dereth may end up
filled with powergamers... thanks!
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Kakori Next
letoile@turbine> We're going to replace all the players with actors. ;P
letoile@turbine> Seriously, there's only so much we can do on our end.
rei@Turbine> I think the best approach is to continue to add to backstory
and other story elements that encourage RP.
letoile@turbine> Most of it is up to the individual player - we can't
force you to roleplay.
rei@Turbine> We do prefer RPers of course, but as letoile said, we can't
and in fact don't WANT to force modes of play in AC.
rei@Turbine> But you can bet that people here are dedicated to story. I
got yelled at today for an idea that letoile thought didn't fit the
backstory :)
rei@Turbine> done
Kakori> Well two people have already requested more "newbie-like quests
but for higher levels", so let me ask another one: Any chance of getting
more of the lore or history from Ispar placed in Dereth libraries or for
sale in shops? I know...
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Geniusclown is next
Kakori> I know it's a little thing, and needn't be addressed, but for
content's sake this is yet another way to add richness to the world and
expand the cool fiction in AC. It also involves close to zero-coding, just
filling in books.
Dave@turbine> HI Kakori, great job on the Recipe....
+MrQuazarr@Zone> We have 5 minutes left gang.
letoile@turbine> Hi Kakori. :)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Just a few more questions.
Kakori> I love the stories Chris does on the Zone, by the way. Im done
Kakori> Hi!
Kakori> ^^/
nei@turbine> man, that carrot cake sure is good
Scotth@Turbine> Dave, coming up with an answer.....
Scotth@Turbine> really soon....
rei@Turbine> Kakori (I still remember your contest entry), trust me, we
want to add more stories to the libraries.
Crowley@turbine> We're constantly developing new backstory. Good lord, the
oodles of backstory we're working on here... Just wait for more events,
you'll see more backstory.
Crowley@turbine> Done
rei@Turbine> There's really a LOT of stuff we want to put in.
+MrQuazarr@Zone> GA Genius
rei@Turbine> (done)
letoile@turbine> Writing backstory has pretty much become my sole job
lately. ;)
letoile@turbine> done as well
geniusclown> I've found 2 exceptional things about being a Vegabond,
but we're still ~severely~ underbalanced (masters of stealth, my butt!) to
the point that I haven't seen even 1 other actual Vegabond in Leafcull. In
"Spin from Turbine", Foster acknowledged this.
geniusclown> (...this kinda ties in with all the complaints/suggestions
and such about non-magic users and perks of playing a class rather than
hybrid Adventurer...)
geniusclown> What can we expect for Vegabonds, and when? If the answer is
"Foster question" answer this: how many "special abilities" do Vegabonds
currently have that no one else does? (just asking for a number, not
specifics)
+MrQuazarr@Zone> Ginx13 next
letoile@turbine> As a fellow vegetarian vagabond, let me assure you that
getting some real thiefy-skills in is something I want badly to see...
Scotth@Turbine> L'Etoile is cooking up a reply (thought + keyboard)
Crowley@turbine> L'Etoile's typing out a response now...
Crowley@turbine> Oops.
Scotth@Turbine> more lockpicking!
Scotth@Turbine> still typing....
letoile@turbine> But you should be aware that we really don't have any
skills that are class-only; we're not that sort of game. Vagabonds start
off with Lockpick right now...
letoile@turbine> ...and Deception, that most useful of skills...
Scotth@Turbine> (for now)
letoile@turbine> ...but I'd like to see "sneaking" and possibly
"backstabbing," myself. :)
rei@Turbine> Yeah, I would too.
Dave@turbine> me too
letoile@turbine> No plans on when or how - that's also a Foster question.
nei@turbine> i wouldn't - vagabonds would be a powerclass
letoile@turbine> Bite me, Nei!
letoile@turbine> ;P
letoile@turbine> done
Scotth@Turbine> as you can see, there's some dissention in the ranks about
vagabonds....
rei@Turbine> Next, before we get into a biting contest.
Scotth@Turbine> done
Ginx13> how ironic that the last question was about theives...
Ginx13> Theivery in the form of taking items while muling and while
trading is a big problem. The house situation will obviously help the
muling problem, but I suggest a trade window like the shop window that can
be opened between players to view trade items
rei@Turbine> Ahhh yes Secure Trade!
Ginx13> I'd also like to know if you care about this happening
Dave@turbine> I got this
Dave@turbine> The problem is a large one as we see it, but it can only
really be solved by education in the short term
Dave@turbine> don't trade with people you do not trust
Dave@turbine> use a 3rd party if need be....read the message boards, be
aware of scams....
Dave@turbine> we cannot help you if you agree to a trade and get burned
Dave@turbine> educate yourself, and you should be fine....be a wise
consumer
Dave@turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> And our last question of the night belongs to Jmcginley1
jmcginley1> Why doesn't armor effect the damage dealt by a spell?
Whirling Blade...
jmcginley1> for example is a huge blade shot at you chest. Shouldn't armor
help lessen the damage from that attack?
rei@Turbine> That is a very old issue, actually, and one we've struggled
with quite a bit.
rei@Turbine> (Really)
rei@Turbine> But at this point to change it would be to greatly nerf
magic, and we're pretty sure that this is probably not a good idea.
rei@Turbine> And despite the cries of "nerf magic," we have to be very
careful on issues like that :)
rei@Turbine> done
+MrQuazarr@Zone> I would like to thank everyone for coming to the Chat
this evening. Thanks everyone at Turbine for spending a few hours with us!
Scotth@Turbine> Thanks to all of you as well!!!!
Scotth@Turbine> Good night!
Crowley@turbine> Hey, props to DanteGabriel!
nei@turbine> nighters
Dave@turbine> Thanks everyone
letoile@turbine> See ya'll around.
rei@Turbine> Thanks all
nei@turbine> *ponders degenerating into chaos*
rei@Turbine> *knows self is degenerating into chaos *
Crowley@turbine> *waves to the charming person logged on as DanteGabriel*
rei@Turbine> *sigh*
letoile@turbine> Crowley, stop hitting on the players!
nei@turbine> *waves to the silly folk on irc*
Crowley@turbine> She doesn't look like Shirley Manson, either, Letoile.
rei@Turbine> I thought she did.
letoile@turbine> A goth Shirley Manson.
rei@Turbine> (Hearsay)
Annals of Dereth
The Asheron's Call Newsletter -
February 2000 (#3)
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Annals
of Dereth
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|
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In this issue:
1 -- OUR SAGA THUS FAR . . .
2 -- MAJOR EVENTS
CHAT WITH TURBINE GAME DEVELOPERS
EVENT PAGE
3 -- COMMUNITY HERALD
ALLEGIANCE NEWS
NOTEWORTHY SITES
PORTAL SPACED (HUMOR)
GREAT REVIEWS
ADVOCATES WANTED |
Play it on the Zone!
http://zone.msn.com/asheronscall |
Welcome to the Annals of Dereth, the
newsletter for the Asheron's Call online role-playing game! We bring
you this bulletin every month to give you a wide view on Dereth's evolving
community, events, and features.
1 --
OUR SAGA THUS FAR...
Dereth's heroes have defeated the undead
necromancers and shattered the ominous floating crystal with which they
drained the world's heat. Congratulations to Abrim of Morningthaw and his
intrepid band, who submitted the winning story about this quest.
Their tale
has been immortalized in the Story of Frore book, now available from many
vendors throughout Dereth. And while you're out purchasing tomes of lore, be
sure to secure a copy of the valuable recipe collection that features the
names of the cooking contest winners.
As a result of our heroes' successful venture into Frore, the snow has
started to pull back from the lowlands, and the snowmen have grown scarce.
However, though the Gelidites have been weakened, they have not been
obliterated, and the Frore quest will remain a fixture in the game.
Characters of at least 20th level are encouraged to seek out the underground
city and harass its remaining fiends.
With the retreat of winter, enigmatic shadows and levitating crystal
fragments have appeared in the wilderness. Also, adventurers are now finding
more loot on monsters, including a new kind of armor that's unusually light
and strong. Many sages are trying to make sense of these portents. Shi Kaifu
of AC Stratics, for instance, has compiled the scattered bits of Sudden
Season and Dark Thaw lore into an impressive research paper. While we can
neither confirm nor deny any of his conclusions, we certainly think they're
worth a look:
http://ac.stratics.com/sections/lore/suddenseason.shtml
Finally, as you may know, a group of archmages has collaborated on powerful
new items for defending the land, most notably a set of robes that enhance a
mage's ability in one school of magic by lowering his or her skill in
another. Archmages are notoriously jealous of their secrets, so whatever
news prompted them to cooperate must be dire indeed. We badgered them to
tell us what they fear, but they only reply that February will be an
interesting month. We'll keep you posted.
Sincerely,
Bob Kruger @ the Zone
Asheron's Call Web Site Editor
2 --
MAJOR EVENTS
CHAT WITH TURBINE GAME DEVELOPERS
Join us Thursday, February 3rd, for a chat with Turbine Entertainment,
creators of Asheron's Call. Lead producer Scott Herrington will attend,
along with several members of the content and design team responsible for
the monthly events. We'll be discussing the Dark Thaw scenario, Turbine's
plans for new game features, and anything you'd like to bring up. The chat
will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. Pacific Time in the Zone Theater Chat
Room.
http://www.zone.com/zzzz/auditorium.asp
To get a general idea of the tone and scope of these discussions, and to
save yourself the embarrassment of asking some very old questions, you might
check out the edited transcript of the last developer chat on December 1,
1999:
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewstranscript3.asp
The team looks forward to meeting you on the Zone!
EVENT PAGE
Our event page is gaining momentum slowly but surely. In the last few days,
players on Leafcull organized a major excursion to the Skeleton Castle, and
coinciding with the recent Dark Thaw event, The Chosen allegiance on
Harvestgain held a Winter Thaw Festival, which involved a footrace, a
cooking contest, a "grand" scavenger hunt, a raffle, and some improv comedy.
Remember, when submitting an event or a gathering to be published on our
calendar, please . . .
1. Submit the event at least three days before you intend to run it.
2. Be sure that your event abides by the Code of Conduct and the End User
License Agreement. The License Agreement is included in your game box, and
the Code of Conduct can be found on the following page:
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/tips/ashetipsconduct.asp
3. Do not hold events within towns. You may call people to gather at
outposts, however.
We look forward to promoting your events! The Events page is located at:
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/tournament.asp
3 --
COMMUNITY
HERALD
ALLEGIANCE NEWS
We've had some major upsets among the peerage of Dereth. Our first rank 7
monarch, Kou Ichi Jin-Rai, released his major captains from service and
spent a period of rest and solitude in the hills. He has since returned to
civilization, and is seeking new recruits to the Ichi Kazoko allegiance. You
can find an update in the Allegiance Hall under the heading "Interviews with
Top Monarchs."
Meanwhile, other nobles have rushed to emulate the Sho master's political
achievement. Soon after Ichi's abdication, a Gharu'ndim and Aluvian each
attained the 7th rank. Mushir Fizzle of the Eternal Conclave on Harvestgain
has reigned supreme for two weeks, and at latest report is up to 855
followers, just ahead of the fast-rising Duke Beobalf, whose allegiance on
Frostfell currently tops 810. Already the allegiance system has proven a
fabulous success. We receive links to new allegiance Web pages daily, and
players on every world now have a range of choices when looking to join a
powerful organization.
As far as it's come, however, the allegiance system still has a lot of
untapped potential. Our list of top monarchs represents every world but
Darktide -- a savage frontier where every player has the power to harm every
other. On Darktide, mercenaries thrive on feuds between powerful
adventurers, and outlaws prey freely on the weak. Never has a land been in
such sore need of a wise and good king to dispense justice. Be assured that
if you manage to enforce peace on Darktide, we will honor your achievements
in the Annals!
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/hall.asp
NOTEWORTHY SITES
If you haven't visited any of the fan sites in the Allegiance Hall or the
Related Links pages, you've missed a major element of the Asheron's Call
phenomenon. By browsing the links, you can find the perfect group of people
to adventure with, jokes and humorous anecdotes, player fiction, and even
software utilities to help you conduct magical research and get around in
the world.
This month we'd like to direct your attention to a couple of sites recently
created especially for women AC players.
Women of Harvestgain is a great general-reference site for both male and
female Asheron's Call players, even better for players looking for
comprehensive info on all Harvestgain allegiances, and of course best for
women playing on Harvestgain.
http://tiellan.jakserver.com/wohac/
Women of Asheron's Call is dedicated to building a stronger female community
across all the worlds of Asheron's Call. Highlights include a great news
page, a trading bazaar, and a very active forum.
http://www.crackednuts.net/woac/
Give these sites your support and help them grow!
PORTAL SPACED
After prolonged excursions to Dereth, some of our players are having trouble
adjusting to mundane reality. Check out the following link for a look at the
frivolous side of Asheron's Call:
Asheron's Call Top Ten -- Players' top ten humorous ideas for new game
content in various categories:
http://acvault.ign.com/features/top10/
If you've got links to some humorous AC material, send them to website@asheronscall.com,
and they just might end up in a future issue of this newsletter.
GREAT REVIEWS
The great reviews for Asheron's Call keep pouring in. Game Industry
Newsletter recently honored AC with their Best Overall Game of the Year
award, CNET with their Gamecenter Award for Best RPG of 1999, and Gamesmania
with its Award of Excellence. Gamespot gave AC 8.6 out of 10, just ahead of
Everquest. The list goes on and on, with dozens of accolades by popular
gaming sites. See the following article for more details:
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewsreviews.asp
While we're encouraged and gratified by this great feedback, we want to
stress that in shipping Asheron's Call, we merely set the foundations on
which we'll continue to build. Our flexible content engine allows us not
only to create world-altering monthly events but also to evolve the overall
look and performance of the game. The features that are being praised today
will be even more compelling tomorrow. We're glad to have you with us as we
work to expand this new frontier!
CALLING PROSPECTIVE ADVOCATES
If you own the game, currently play, and are interested in helping your
fellow adventurers as part of the Asheron's Call team, we'd like you to
contact us. The advocates are our first and most valuable help resource for
many new players. See the following article for more information and a link
to an application form:
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/tips/ASHEtipsadvocate.asp
SEND THIS NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND, AND LET
THEM KNOW TO:
PLAY IT ON THE ZONE!
If you have any problems with Asheron's Call or the
Zone, check out our Troubleshooters and Frequently Asked Questions and find
the answer to your problems there.
Troubleshooters:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/games/zone/asheron/tshoot/default.asp
http://support.microsoft.com/support/games/zone/tshoot/default.asp
Play it on the Zone!
http://www.zone.com/asheronscall
You registered to receive this newsletter
on the MSN Gaming Zone. To unsubscribe, do the following:
1. Go to MSN Newsletters:
http://g.msn.com/0NL33946/117
2. Log in with your Zone ID (not your AC character name) and
password.
3. Uncheck the box that's labeled "Send me
the Asheron's Call newsletter every month to: (your e-mail address)."
THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL
PURPOSES ONLY. The information contained in this document represents the
current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date
of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to change in market
conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of
Microsoft and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information
presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS
DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM
INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the
use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to
the following conditions: 1. All text must be copied without modification
and all pages must be included 2. All copies must contain Microsoft's
copyright notice and any other notices provided therein 3. This document may
not be distributed for profit.
c2000 Microsoft, Inc.
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