Newletter, June 30, 2001

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MAGGIE THE JACKCAT'S IRREGULAR AC NEWS
June 30, 2001 Edition
Brought to you by Maggie the Jackcat of Thistledown
Web Site: www.thejackcat.com/AC
Email: Maggie@thejackcat.com or jackcat@spacestar.net

CONTENTS:

* Crossroads of Dereth Returns! Yay!
* Dark Majesty Expansion Pack
* AC Player Luncheon Approaching Fast!
* AC Sites in the News
* Maggie the Jackcat's Kick-Ass Fabulous Site News

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CROSSROADS OF DERETH RETURNS! YAY!
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"I want my CoD!!!" Who knew just how much we would all miss the demise of a site as the community did when CoD was suddenly gone. No searchable Atlas, no Hall of Lore, no Creature data base, no "Big List", no Quest Guides, no Trade Skills, no Compendium, no Library, no boards, no up-to-the-minute news, no nuttin. Just a big sad "Page not found."

But thanks to our fearless leader, Allen Grey, and a new joint venture with the people at Warcry, Crossroads of Dereth has returned, under new management, and even better than before! Allen and Veritus are back at the helm, and the staff have all returned, frantically working behind the scenes for the last few weeks to get things ready for the launch. The site has been infused with a bunch of new blood, bringing a new level of excitement and energy to the endeavor. The hilarious Kwip, of http://www.neenerneener.net fame, is CoD's newest Columnist! The sanguine Topheron was recruited to head the Library section, and a host of new moderators have joined the staff to keep the boards, once again, one of the best and most intelligent places to discuss our shared pastime: this wonderful game of Asheron's Call!

Welcome Back Crossroads of Dereth! And welcome back Allen Grey! Yay!

*throws confetti*
*pops the champagne*
*sets off fireworks*

The new management was able to secure the xrgaming domains. All bookmarks and links should once again work. You can visit Crossroads of Dereth here: http://cod.xrgaming.net

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AC EXPANSION PACK - DARK MAJESTY
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You've probably heard the news, but just in case.... Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of an expansion pack for Asheron's Call, scheduled for the Christmas Holiday season. From the official press release:

"The Expansion Pack delivers on new additions such as housing and storage, two of the features most requested by our customers. Players will be able to purchase their own homes on designated plots of land, as well as use their residence for secure storage purposes. The Expansion Pack also kicks off the next chapter in the ongoing Asheron's Call storyline by introducing the island of Marae Lassel. Marae Lassel is a sprawling new landmass which will contain new quests, dungeons, and treasures which will all be accessible to all levels of players who purchase the Asheron's Call Expansion Pack. "

You can find out more from the links below:

Links
Press Release:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/dark_majesty.asp
Q&A Jeff Anderson:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/dark_majesty_interview.asp
Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty FAQ:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/dark_majesty_faq.asp

Images
Dark Majesty:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/img/acdm.jpg
Houses pic 1:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/img/ss_dm_b_1.jpg
Houses pic 2:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/img/ss_dm_b_2.jpg

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ACPL APPROACHING FAST!
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The 2nd Annual Asheron's Call Player Luncheon (scheduled for July 14th) is approaching fast! Allen Grey recently announced that there are less than 20 seats left. If you haven't registered yet, do it NOW!! :) The schedule of events is shaping up, with a welcome address by Allen Grey & Nik "Azeraphel" Davidson. Turbine's CEO, Jeff Anderson, has also graciously agreed to speak. Ken Troop will be talking about Designing Asheron's Call and there will be a question and answer session with some of the Turbine staff. And, once again, we'll see a return of the hilarious "Whose Drudge Is It Anyway?" competition. Please consider joining us all in Boston for this fun-filled day!

You can visit the ACPL website here: http://home.mn.rr.com/stinemans/

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AC SITES IN THE NEWS
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AC Radio
http://ac.stratics.com/content/community/radio/radio.shtml
The AC Radio show at AC Stratics is going strong. Scheduled for Sunday nights at 10PM EST, the show has hosted a variety of celebrity AC Callers, including Turbine's own Jason Booth, William Mauritzen, Allan “Orion” Maki and Sean Huxter. Previous shows are available for download at the Stratics link above, along with instructions on how to call in.

Ianstorm
http://www.ianstorm.com/
http://www.ianstorm.com/Worlds/AC/
During CoD's downtime, a new face appeared on the scene: Ianstorm. Their AC section is still getting started, but you'll find news and forums and more. Be sure to visit some of the network's other many resources.

AC Cacophony
http://www.mearcair.com/ac/
More secrets from the portal.dat revealed! Kioshi of Morningthaw has developed a site devoted to the sounds of Asheron's Call. You'll find a list of sounds used in the game provided in mp3 format for easy downloading. There's everything from Ancient Whispers to a Zephir Hit. And, of course, everyone's favorite: the Mite Attack! A very cool site.

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MAGGIE THE JACKCAT'S KICK-ASS FABULOUS AC SITE NEWS!
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First off, I'd just like to take a quick minute to comment on several emails I've received, asking me if the rumors they've heard about my site going down are true. I don't have a clue where this rumor could have started, but no, it's not true. Even though I do work on the CoD staff, my Jackcat site is not affiliated in any way with Warcry or the xrgaming network. CoD going down had no effect on my Jackcat site, whatsoever. Some may have also heard me mention that as my traffic continues to increase, the costs to host the site have also continued to increase. This is true. The site is substantially more expensive to run than when I first made it public. At this time, however, the costs are still manageable and I don't foresee a crisis any time in the near future. The decision to not have boards has helped tremendously in keeping the costs down. (As a side note to all you eBay-ers who are linking to images on my site, please STOP immediately. I pay for that bandwidth.)

Now on to more fun things! Maggie the Jackcat was recently interviewed by the fine folks at Double Gold. Read all about my sex symbol status ;-) and what I like to eat for breakfast here: http://doublegoldrules.tripod.com/intmaggie.htm

Thanks once again to all my visitors and thanks especially for all the cool screens and info you send! And just because I can't keep up with the mail, please don't stop sending it! Th Letters section (which needs updating, I know!) continues to be extremely popular. Let your wit and wisdom shine. :-) Ned Cleversun's Sermons Essays & Tips has received a great reception as well. Look for more of my wonderful vassal's writings soon.

Site stats continue their trend of a steady rise, with between 7500-10000 unique visitor sessions a day.

And, as always, more coming soon! ;-)

See you in the game!

- Maggie the Jackcat
Thistledown

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Copyright 2001 by Maggie the Jackcat. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be used or reproduced or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations.