Event Teaser - from the Turbine Site, April 10, 2006

Ardry sat cross-legged by the campfire, writing out a letter in the flickering light.

Dearest Uncle Aliester,
My latest sojourn into the islands settled by the Viamontians has turned up a wealth of information. It seems that the rumors of the new Shadowhunter armor are true. There is a master smith of the Alduressa family who has set up his forge not far from Silyun. He has been making significant strides in learning how to infuse the strengths of the crystal shards and shadow fragments into his own suits of armor, much as you and your colleagues did in the days when the Hopeslayer's spawn stalked the land. This Iian di Alduressa has made enough progress, in fact, that he had no need of the advanced notes that you wrote for him. Rest assured that I spent a good long time trying to divine his disposition and intentions, and he does not seem to be an Aluvian-hating, bloodthirsty killer like you feared he might be.

I will be back to the residence soon to bring you my latest collections. It appears that winter has finally broken, though I would still encourage you to leave your windowless basement study to see this for yourself. I would also have you inspect a weapon I found in a chest in the dark valley. It bears runes that I am unable to decipher myself, and it pulses with an alien energy.

I have only one task left: I found a portal gem on the corpse of a powerful Viamontian mage that I encountered in the Halaetan wilds. As soon as I have investigated the gem's destination, I will return.

Your dutiful nephew,

Ardry

He signed his name with a flourish and looked around for the blob of sealing wax. At the edge of the firelight, near his pack, he spied a small, dark shape. Some kind of furred animal, rooting around in his pack... He reached for his sword, afraid that the beast was a Carenzi or some other variety of undersized but vicious animal. The animal moved closer into the firelight, and Ardry sighed with relief when he saw it was a brown baby rabbit.

His relief turned to aggravation, however, when he saw that the rabbit had been gnawing on his stick of sealing wax. "Hey!" he barked at the baby creature. It froze momentarily, then bolted into the night, presumably towards whatever den it had crawled out of. Ardry salvaged the remains of his wax, melted the end, and sealed his letter.

His letter completed, Ardry reached into his pack and pulled out the glowing portal gem that he'd taken from the vanquished Royal Inquisitor. He ran his hands over the cool facets of the gem. He put it down, glancing between it and the warm fire. He picked up the bottle at his side and drained the last few drops of the beer, one of Duke Raoul's fortified brews.

Ardry had made a career out of throwing himself into dangerous situations without seriously considering what dire peril lay ahead of him. He had plunged headlong into portals guarded by Virindi, Tumeroks, Lugians, and more recently into the torture lairs of a mad king's most lethal soldiers. He had become intimately familiar with the taste of dirt in all parts of Dereth, from the charred, chemical tang of the rock in the Obsidian Plains to the smooth, rich loam of the northern highlands. He had awakened in front of a lifestone more often than he had awakened in his own bed. And yet, when he looked at the softly glimmering gem in his hand now, he felt true fear.

Ardry sighed once more and picked up his new sword. He stared into the glowing pattern at the base of the blade, then took a few practice swings with it. He stood up, shouldered his pack on unbending shoulders, and dropped the portal gem on the ground. With one swift motion, he crushed it beneath his boot heel. A portal appeared in front of him. Before he could even hesitate, he threw himself forward.

The wrenching of portal space subsided after a time. Ardry opened his eyes in a dark cavern. He could only make out the dimmest contours of the rock walls around him. The light from the glowing sigil on his sword did little to illuminate his surroundings. The light served only to cast a sickly blue pall on his own hand.

He heard a low shuffling noise. The echoes of the cavern confused his senses, and he spun wildly, looking for the source of the movement. At the far end of the cavern, in a distant patch of darkness deeper than the dark around it, four pairs of purple eyes appeared. He gripped his sword tightly, holding his breath, listening. Seemingly from all around, he heard other things shuffling in to surround him. He heard them suck in the stale air of the cavern and hiss at him.
 

Exclusive Teaser Pics! (click to enlarge)
Maggie's	Vault
Warcry	Mystics

Rollout Article - from the Turbine Site, April 13, 2006

Count Dardante sat cross-legged in a dark chamber, waiting. Nodes of magical energy glimmered on the walls high over his head, casting a faint purple glow through the room. The air was heavy with a fetid, swampy odor. The room was not notably cold, but goose prickles arose on his flesh, he who had summoned and bound a thousand spirits before.

The latest summoned spirit, bound into a body of animated flesh in this chamber halfway between worlds, shuffled forward from its shadowed den. It didn't come fully into Dardante's vision, but remained a slowly swaying silhouette. The thing's eyes were bound and covered, but Dardante could feel the ancient malevolence in its gaze. The mage and the spirit regarded each other for long, breathless moments. The waiting turned into a contest of wills. Finally, patience exhausted, Dardante spoke first, and he could sense the spirit's self-satisfaction even in this minor victory.

"Let us speak again of the Black Spear of the Kemeroi," he said, knowing that the very word "Kemeroi" would anger the bound spirit.

The words of an ancient language echoed in Dardante's mind in response: "We have spoken of this more times than I care to remember, wizardling. If you want to know more of those profane leeches on the body of Creation, summon one of them, if you dare."

Dardante smiled. "I dare more than you know, but I am not as foolish as that, meat puppet."

"No, your foolishness takes other forms," the spirit agreed, almost amiably. "But that is an interesting choice of insult. You have treated with the Cloaked Wind... more foul parasites who nibble away at the life essence of others. Truly, like seeks like."

"Believe it or not, I did not bind you here just to exchange insults."

"You bound me here for a futile purpose. I cannot tell you all that you wish to know about the source of the Black Spear's power. To learn more than what I have told you, you must treat with the Shadow, and not with my kind."

"Your kind fought endless wars against the Living Shadow. How better to learn of them than to interrogate their ancient enemies?"

"There are other mortals in your realm who know much of Grael. They openly seek to bring him back, but they are mistaken in many of their beliefs. They believe him imprisoned, when he is merely... asleep."

"They believe him imprisoned because of an elaborate ruse, meant to misdirect their efforts."

"I know of the ruse. It amused me, to see the blind poking their fingers in the eyes of the blind."

"I want information, not mockery, spirit. Or do I have to subject your corpse-prison to further indignities?" Dardante knew that being forced to inhabit a shell of dead flesh was a hideous torment to these spirits, and even worse to be tortured in that shell and subjected to long-forgotten sensations of physical pain.

"I mean that your clever wizardling servants may have distracted the cult, but you are still no closer to the truth than they, and there are things they know that you do not."

"How could that be so? They are a band of overreaching sellswords and hedge wizards, loathed and hunted by their own kind, while my explorations have been backed by the strength of a kingdom. Do not lie to me again," Dardante cautioned. He had caught the spirit in a lie once before, and he had tortured it for three days in retribution. Not for the first time, he ground his teeth together in frustration that his binding magic was not strong enough to use the voice of command on a spirit this powerful.

"They know what you do not because they have given much of themselves to their quest. They have plunged into the water to find that which they seek, while you and your King would stand on the shore and peer through the waves, hoping to catch a glimpse of it."

"Are all of your kind given to such tiresome metaphors?"

The bound spirit's dry husk of a body shook with mocking laughter. "I find it amusing that you and your King have immersed yourselves so thoroughly in the teachings of my people and the trappings of our power, but you failed to absorb any of our knowledge."

"Explain what you mean, spirit," Dardante said, through clenched teeth.

"You are a fool. You seek great power but you will not take what risks are necessary to grasp such power. You must... sacrifice. My people knew this. We knew it in our bones, and we gave the sweetest portions of our bounty to those who gave us power. You seek only to steal. To take without giving, to make a dishonest bargain. You may treat with other mortals in this way, but the Wheel of All Things does not haggle." The spirit paused for dramatic effect. "Nor do the Kemeroi. The Black Spear found this out, to his own everlasting regret."

Dardante snorted in contempt. "Spare me the moralizing, spirit. Your kind died out when the Kemeroi overpowered your tentacled gods. I need no lessons in the taking of power from a race of failed swamp wizards. I have summoned you, bound you, and extracted knowledge from you, without sacrificing anything to you."

"My kind are not as dead as you would like to think. And your sacrifice has yet to come, meat puppet," the spirit said, as the animated corpse rattled with laughter once more.

Dev Notes - from the Turbine Site, April 13, 2006

New Content and Functionality

• The Viamontian version of Shadowhunter Armor will be available this month. It will be made in the same way that the other versions were made in the past. Make sure to start collecting your Shards now!
   
• There have been reports of some strange gems dropping off of members of the Raven Hand and Shadow Virindi. The reports so far are that these gems lead to some new and exciting places.
   
• Some adventurers have been reporting also finding a gem on the corpse of the infamous White Rabbit. The way the story goes is that these gems may lead to the lair of a younger member of the White Rabbit family.
   
• Ciandra is reporting that the Essences of Magic are on the move again. Make sure to have a conversation with her about what she thinks is going on.
   
• Spring is here. That means the snow is gone and the magic of life has returned to Dereth. The baby creatures have returned and the trees and flowers are blooming again.
   
• There is a new character option called Confirm Use of Rare Gems. It can be toggled in the character options panel or mapped to a key and has appropriate tool tips. This option is on by default for new characters, but off for existing characters to match existing behavior.
  
  When on, this option causes the use of a rare volatile gem to trigger a confirmation dialog, pressing yes goes ahead and uses the gem; pressing no aborts and does not use the gem. When the option is off, the gem is used immediately.

Miscellaneous Changes and Improvements

• Worn Old Missile weapons had the wrong wield requirements on them. The missile weapons in the higher bracket were intended to have a wield requirement of 315. However, they ended up with a wield requirement of 350, which makes them rather useless to the players who were finding them. This has been fixed.
   
• The Books of Salt and Ash will now tell players how long they must wait to pick up a new set of pages when players try to use them before the timer is up.
   
• A problem where the Mountain Keep portal would not spawn has been fixed. The portal should now spawn without a problem.
   
• Ulgrim the Unappreciated has finally removed his Ursuin costume. With the coming of the warmer months he decided it was time to get out of that hot costume.
   
• Several typos have been fixed on NPC's.

April Letter to the Players - from the Turbine Site, April 10, 2006

Hi there and welcome to the April 2006 edition of the Letter to the Players. This month marks the beginning of the spring season in Dereth. You can hear the playful romping of baby Shreths and Bunnies. The sights and smells of springtime in Dereth have never been so abundant. The snow has melted, trees and flowers are in bloom, and butterflies are floating blissfully through the air.

Spring has also brought about the appearances of some familiar faces in some not so familiar places. Rumors of portal gems dropping off certain creatures that lead to places, not yet discovered on Dereth have been spreading about the land. Where do these gems lead to and what brought about their discovery?

As we settle into spring, a dark shadow has been cast on the hearts of some of the land's more devious souls. As we speak, plans are being made and tasks are being carried out that will change the face of things to come. Who is the force behind these dark intentions, and do they realize the consequences of their actions?

Let's find out what is new in Dereth this month!

New Weapons and Functionality
As many of you may remember the early days of Asheron's Call, there were a lot of restrictions on what we could and could not do. A lot of these restrictions were based on the level of tech we had at the time, and others were based on other factors. Well as you all now know, the times have changed quite a bit, and what was once not possible, now is. Even though Asheron's Call has been around for a long time, we are constantly able to make changes and improvement s to the game engine. These changes will continue to allow us to make constant improvements to the game that were at one time, not possible.

The above mentioned changes to the game have opened the door for us to introduce an entirely new suite of weapons to Dereth. These weapons are using an entirely new treasure tech that will allow us to continue to do more exciting new content in the future. The weapons are generated in certain chests that randomly spawn on the landscape, and will be identifiable by the runes that will clearly be seen on the weapons when equipped. These weapons will also have the cast on strike ability found on the Spinning Staff. As of right now, the first release of these weapons will be intended for characters around level 100 range. In future months the other tiers of these weapons will be released in the same manner.

User Interface Improvements
Another change made this month was based on feedback from you, the players. As we have continued to increase the functionality if the Asheron's Call User Interface, we have been able to add more control, so that you the players would have more choices. We learn more about the capabilities of the Engine, and more specifically the UI every day.

Previously, when a player used a Rare gem, there was no confirmation that gem was used, or about to be used. This month, there is a new character option called Confirm Use of Rare Gems. It can be toggled in the character options panel, or mapped to a key, and has appropriate tool tips. This option is on by default for new characters, but off for existing characters to match existing behavior.

When on, this option causes the use of a rare volatile gem to trigger a confirmation dialog, pressing yes goes ahead and uses the gem; pressing no aborts and does not use the gem. When the option is off, the gem is used immediately.

In Concept
These are game changes that we are thinking about for upcoming events. We cannot guarantee when or even if these changes will be added to the game, as scheduling and priorities can change. These changes are in addition to the new quests, dungeons, and items we will be adding to the game. Each month we will be discussing one new in concept topic, in order to give you as much information about the item that we can.

Allegiance Improvements
In the coming months we will be implementing many of the improvements to the allegiance system that you the players have been asking for. One of the first changes players will see is the ability to change the name, or give a custom name to their allegiance.

Allegiance Officers are another part of the allegiance system that has needed some love. So we gave them some. For the new allegiance system there will be three levels of officers below the monarch. Each level of officer will have different powers and restrictions. Players will also be able to customize the title given to each level of officer. In addition, players will also be able to customize the allegiance titles.

The final allegiance improvement we are looking at is the ability to lock an allegiance. Meaning, the monarch of the allegiance or an officer with the appropriate permissions may lock or unlock the allegiance from accepting new Vassals.

As we get closer to implementing these features, we will be giving more detailed descriptions of what players will and will not be able to do. The information listed above is just a rough outline of the plans we have for allegiance improvements.

So there are just some of the things we have in store for Asheron's Call in April and beyond. Please remember that along with everything listed here, there are several new quests and exciting things going into the game for the April event.

Dev Chat - hosted by The Vault, April 18, 2006

<@Paraduck> Hey everyone, sorry for the delay.
<@Paraduck> Welcome to tonight’s dev chat! We hope everyone is enjoying the April update and had a relaxing weekend. In case you miss some of the chat, a complete transcript will be posted on ACVault after the chat.
<@Paraduck> I'm sure many of you some great questions, so let’s get right into things. Frelorn, care to start the introductions?
<+Frelorn> Hi there everyone. Tonight we have Crowley, Kintani, Spiderbot, better know as Speed, and of course me
<@Paraduck> Up first are three questions that were submitted shortly after the chat announcement was made. After these three questions, we'll start going down the list of those of you who PM'd me before the chat.
<@Paraduck> First up...

<@Paraduck> Heather R.: I asked a while back if it would be possible for Rares (gems particularly) to be turned in for some sort of alternative reward such as xp. It was mentioned that this idea would be discussed, but I've heard nothing about it since. Was the idea considered, and are there any plans for something like this?

<+Frelorn> Crowley is gonna get this one
<+AC1Crowley> We talked about that here, yes... It's a good idea, it would just take a long time to implement because of the large number of Rare gems there are
<+AC1Crowley> so it's something we'd like to do, ideally with some kind of a turn-in timer to prevent XP abuse
<+AC1Crowley> just a question of when we'll have time in the dev cycle to do it -- but it's in the plans

<@Paraduck> OK, for our second question...
<@Paraduck> Mark: Will Turbine ever get serious about dealing with the terrible problems in chat and constant verbal abuse that gets flung around daily?

<+Frelorn> Well I guess I will take this one...
<+Frelorn> Our customer service reps are doing the best that they can. As much as we would like it, they cannot be everywhere at once.
<+Frelorn> We are working on some alternative ways we can better enforce the CoC. And as always we are open to new ideas.

<@Paraduck> And our last pre-selected question...
<@Paraduck> Brandon W.: How long will it take to implement something for PKs to fight over?

<+Frelorn> Here is another one for Crowley
<+AC1Crowley> that depends on what we decide it will be ;)
<+AC1Crowley> one proposal we had was something relatively simple -- for PKs to drop "heads" or other trophies on death
<+AC1Crowley> but there are more complex proposals on hand too, close in some ways to the land control system we were talking about
<+AC1Crowley> unfortunately I can't put a date on when you can expect to have something to fight over
<+AC1Crowley> but we'll engage in the same kind of dialog that we did for the PK rebalancing when we try to implement solutions

<@Paraduck> Nice. Up first is Raui.
<@Paraduck> go ahead. :)
<+Raui> Alright.
<+Raui> My question was directed towards Server Lag versus Player Population.
<+Raui> Its more than obvious that, as the player base is somewhat flattening out, the lag issues that are apparently on the server-side of white worlds (Mt, Vt, ect) are not going down.
<+Raui> You'd think that, with the decrease in clients connected, the lag would be playable but often it isn't.
<+Raui> My question, primarily, is..
<+Raui> Is there a more perminant lag fix coming or is what we have what we will always have?

<+Frelorn> I will hand this one over to Lupus_Argenteus who has just joined us.
<+lupus_argenteus> Well, you have bear in mind that there are several different types of lag. Some we cannot fix because we have no control over the Internet pipes between your clients and our servers.
<+lupus_argenteus> Some lag is not actually latency, but due to graphics performance. We would like to improve that as time and resources allow.
<+lupus_argenteus> And in some rare circumstances, our servers have had problems. Darktide would be an example of this.
<+lupus_argenteus> Generally, most users who have problems with lag would fit into the second category I mentioned.
<+lupus_argenteus> I would urge those users who have lag to verify they are using up-to-date drivers for their system, which will alleviate some problems.
<+lupus_argenteus> Also, ensure your machine is clear of spyware, adware, and viruses.

<@Paraduck> Up next is Elrihm
<@Paraduck> go ahead. :)

<+Elrihm> Woo.
<+AC1Crowley> thank you for your question, next! ;)
<+Frelorn> hehe
<+Elrihm> Ok, this is about the NPC you talk to for the Noble Armor in the Burun King's quests.
<+Elrihm> When's Guard Devon going to take off the bra?

<+Frelorn> ummm...
<+AC1Crowley> ha ha, I have this bug
* @Sheyla giggles
<+Kintani> Whoa.
<+AC1Crowley> I mean the bug is assigned to me
<+lupus_argenteus> You'd think this was an easy fix.
<+AC1Crowley> not that I wear a bra to work or anything
<+lupus_argenteus> :-)
<+Spiderbot> He does
<+AC1Crowley> we'll try to get it in for May
<+Turbine_Django> yeah, he does.
<+Frelorn> no comment
<+AC1Crowley> it's frelorn's bra!
<+Frelorn> So!
<+lupus_argenteus> Sure, changing the subject...

<@Paraduck> Haha. A little humor is always good. :) Crilen is up next.
<+Crilen> Due to the lack of Player Killers on White servers, could they perhaps add some kind of bonus for being a player killer on a white server to increase the red population? Also, is there a way where fans can create artwork and 3D models for Turbine to use in the game? I would like to help. Even if I didn't know what they were for at the time, it would be fun to make things and see them put to use.

<+AC1Crowley> Crilen, we'll answer your first question, about PKs on white servers
<+AC1Crowley> the first thing we have to consider is that any mechanic we put in for the white worlds -could- be exploited if not implemented properly because people can change back to NPK on white worlds
<+AC1Crowley> it's not a question we've spent a lot of time on, to be honest
<+AC1Crowley> but it's a good question, and we can start trying to think about incentivizing players on white worlds to go red
<+AC1Crowley> maybe we can do something cool with the PK arenas
<+AC1Crowley> put some stuff in PK-only dungeons, that sort of thing
<+AC1Crowley> though sometimes people get upset if we put goodies in places that only PKs can get to, because they feel like they're being pushed to go PK
<+AC1Crowley> anyway, like I said, good question, food for thought, and thanks :)

<@Paraduck> Go ahead KGB
<+Kgb__Agent> When are you going to fix the mage animation hacks?? I am sick of not being able to see a mages spells when I am fighting them.


<+Frelorn> Well we have attempted to put fixes in, in the past with not so great results. That being said, we have had several people look into what we could do to improve the mechanics that allow what some people refer to as hacks.
<+Frelorn> At this point we are more focused on moving forward, but we are always trying to improve things like this along the way.
<+Frelorn> We have found that alot of players tend to like the way the mechanics work and would be very upset if we changed things at this point in the game.

<@Paraduck> Just as a reminder, please only ask one question per person. Thanks! :)
<@Paraduck> Up next is Fzzt.

<+Fzzt> What's the current make-up of the live team. I know you all wear many hats but who mainly does what?


<+Frelorn> As a rule we have never given the size or direct make-up of the team.
<+Frelorn> The smaller size of the team has made it so we all have more generalized jobs with AC, rather than specific titles.

<@Paraduck> Go ahead cezuium
<@Paraduck> Er, cezium. Sorry!
<+cezium> Will turbine work on adding high level hunting grounds that could be more friendly to mage players and not as time consuming for a single kill?


<+Kintani> We are planning on adding more High-Level hunting areas in the coming months...
<+Kintani> ... and are working to balance those new areas to be challenging but balanced for both casters and melees.

<@Paraduck> Celeste is up next.
* @Paraduck pokes Celeste
* +Kintani pokes Celeste as well
<+Celeste> Sec..
<+Celeste> My question is, while the system you're currently implementing, starting with the Princely Runed weapons, looks quite nice, will it continue further and perhaps add other 'halfway items'? In other words, have you considered adding similar items for armour, potions/kits, and other such items found as Rares, and not just for weapons?

<+Spiderbot> The short answer is yes. We are going to be adding more levels of the Runed weapons and other interesting armors and weapons.
<+Turbine_Django> We've had quite a few fun ideas for this...
<+Spiderbot> We are thinking of creative ways to exploit our new weapon and armor systems and the idea of 1/2 way items is interesting and we will look into it. thanks!

<@Paraduck> Up next is cG^dub
<+cG^dub> I was wondering will we see name changes or maybe face changes in the near future?

<+Frelorn> As far as name changes fo, we are hesitant to do this, as it opens the door for people to grief and be general bad people, and with a change of names all is forgotten. So we dont have any plans for this right now, no.
<+lupus_argenteus> The tech behind face changes is tricky. We actually can't change our own faces as admins - the game just wasn't designed for it. We'll continue researching faces, but for now we cannot do it.

<@Paraduck> Go ahead, Kratos
<+Kratos_DT> Recently, Darktide lag has spiked. I say Darktide because I can connect on other worlds fine, friends across the country can as well, but still have issues on Darktide. With less than half the amount of players logged in during peak times we're seeing more than triple the amount of lag there was 2-3years ago, and we had twice the amount of players! What Gives?
<+Kratos_DT> Are there any ideas on what's creating this lag? Are any attempts going to be made to fix it (soon)? I've been playing for a LONG time, and when you freeze for almost a minute going into new content, such as Sanamar, then you are suddenly standing at your lifestone with no idea what happened. I know a lot of players who have gotten frustrated to the point of playing another, newer game, just because of the lag!
<+Kratos_DT> :-)


<@Paraduck> I see two questions! Cheats!
<@Paraduck> ;)
<@Paraduck> And this question has already been answered. Sorry!
<@Paraduck> Please be sure that you're asking a question that hasn't already been asked tonight.
<@Paraduck> Up next is Lyc.

<@Lyc> Thanks for your time and effort Devs. Love AC and will play till I can't. :)
<@Lyc> I was wondering if you could look at some of the older timers while on a quest. When I take a group to get, say, the focus stone, it can take hours depending on group size. That is not as bad as some, think its a 5 min timer for the respawn. there are some that are 15 minutes or more. Some quests are great with the "boss" monster dropping multiple items.

<+AC1Crowley> that's a very good point about the older timers
<+AC1Crowley> ideally I'd love for us to go back and take a look at some of those older quests and retrofit them so that a group doesn't sit around for hours waiting for a respawn
<+Frelorn> We could start a thread about this on the forums and get a list of the ones players want done the most
<+AC1Crowley> that'd be a good start, and then we can start retrofitting quests over time, starting with the most popular ones

<@Paraduck> Paloma is next.
<+Paloma> Will we see any more epic story arcs, taking place over 3 months, with a beginning, a build, and an epic finish? Or are things like Aerlinthe and Gaerlan and the Hopeslayer things of the past?

<+AC1Crowley> we're in the middle of a story arc right now :)
<+Frelorn> This one is all Crowley...
<+AC1Crowley> part of the problem is that with six and a half years of development, and many content hands having been involved, there are a lot of plot threads that we can't necessarily all pick up and complete
<+AC1Crowley> but we've got big plans for the current Grael and Varicci story arc
<+AC1Crowley> you'll see it building and peaking in the coming months

<@Paraduck> Go ahead, THamior
<+ThamiorLC> What steps are being taken to ensure the longevity of asheron's call? Also, as a statement and not a question, give those who killed the ancient olthoi queen a reward, kthx. <3

<+AC1Crowley> Well, continuing to develop cool new content and addressing old problems (like the allegiance management features we're working on) are a good way to ensure the health of the game
<+AC1Crowley> though I assume this question is more about marketing AC, and making CD keys available online
<+AC1Crowley> all I can say is that we ran into some unforeseen delays with the CD keys, and I apologize for that
<+AC1Crowley> as for marketing -- we're talking about ways to start pulling people back into the game again, especially in light of our recent improvements

<@Paraduck> Kronis is next
<+Kronis_MT> One way I've thought of and heard others talking about to alleviate the problems with this, is to have another global channel for pk chat only.
<+Kronis_MT> If done right, and the pk'ers are allowed to express themselves on this channel, then it could be beneficial to everyone. This might be done by allowing more latitude on the pk line and being more strict on the general line.
<+Kronis_MT> What are your opinions? Is this feasible?

<+Frelorn> As of right now it is not technically possible for us to tie your chat into your status as a pk or non pk.
<+Frelorn> Of course we have said that before about many things, so we won't say never on this.
<+Frelorn> Just for right now it is not something we can do. We are still looking into more options to hel allevaite some of the issues players have with chat.

<@Paraduck> OK. Our last question of the night goes to Robbuo.
<@Paraduck> Robbuo? You there?

<+Robbuo> Hey All, About selling and loot. I was wondering what is being done to make selling faster (ie larger stack sizes or a money bag) and would that be alowed to move fom server to server?
<+lupus_argenteus> We probably won't ever add a money bag dynamic. We are in the process of considering larger stack sizes for pyreal and such, but we are making no promises on that basis quite yet.
<+lupus_argenteus> As for moving items and money from server to server, we have no plans to do this and probably will not in the future.

<+Frelorn> Spiderbot had to run, since we were already running late. He has passed on his thanks to everyone for joining us.

<+lupus_argenteus> Before we end, I wanted to make one announcement. We are currently looking for a new AC1 QA tester.
<+lupus_argenteus> It is an in-house position, so you need to be local to Massachusetts.
<+lupus_argenteus> You can find more details on our website, http://www.turbine.com.
<+lupus_argenteus> Go to the Employment link in the menu bar and you should see it listed. Please be aware we do not compensate for relocation for this position, and it is a contract spot.

<@Paraduck> OK, that's it for the chat. Thanks for coming out and for the great questions. Again, sorry about the delay in getting started.
<@Paraduck> I'll drop the +m shortly and a few of the devs will be sticking around to chat.

<+AC1Crowley> thanks for joining us everyone
<+AC1Crowley> and thanks for sticking with AC
<+lupus_argenteus> I'll be sticking around, folks. Just need to relog.
<+Frelorn> Thank you to everyone for the questions and for joining us. Hopefully we can do again soon. We appreciate all of the support we get from you the players.
<+Kintani> Thanks everyone.