Announcements - 2007/06 - Evolution

June 2007 - Patch Page

Teaser
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=536

  Evolution

Ardry felt like a fool. He was standing in his Uncle Aliester’s workshop, dressed in a thick suit of padded cloth armor. His uncle circled around him, tightening straps and sealing him in tight. The suit was made up of multiple layers of thick cotton. Underneath he wore two full-body layers of silk, which his uncle had insisted upon. It restricted his movement so much that he could barely bend his arms and he could only move in a waddle. Worst of all, he was sweltering in the early summer heat.

“Tell me again what this suit is supposed to be for?” he asked.

Aliester the Loquacious grinned absently as he fastened the last buckle. “Oh, it’s to protect you, my boy. We’re testing something truly revolutionary here. You’ll be remembered far and wide for your part in scientific progress.”

“I’d like to hope that I’d already be well-remembered for my part in exploring every bloody inch of this island and leaving corpses all over most of it…” Ardry groused, but his words fell on deaf or inattentive ears as his uncle shuffled quickly into the next room.

Ardry watched in anger and some trepidation as Aliester returned with a steaming kettle and a thick paintbrush. He almost gagged when the smell hit him – it smelled like blood and rot and a terrible, repulsive musk. His uncle obviously found the smell unpleasant, too, because he’d returned with a wet cloth mask strapped over his nose and mouth.

“Pwyll’s bones, uncle! What is that awful smell?”

“This?” Aliester’s voice was muffled by the mask. “Oh, this is chum, my boy. Hold on a moment, I must be very precise when I apply it. Don’t want to get any on the floor. Or on myself, for that matter! All your questions will be answered in time, I promise.”

Ardry was confused, as he often was when trying to catch up with his uncle’s wandering attention. The word “chum” meant nothing to him. He tried to ask for clarification, but his uncle shushed him. “Please be still and be quiet, my boy. You don’t want to get this on your bare flesh. It’s quite difficult to wash off!”

Ardry sighed and did his best to ignore the revolting odor as his uncle liberally slopped the dark, foul-smelling muck onto the chest, arms, and legs of the thick cloth armor he was wearing. He put three coats of the pungent goop onto Ardry, taking care never to spill a drop on himself or on the floor around him.

Finally, just when Ardry was beginning to forget what anything smelled like besides the awful chum, his uncle thought to wrap a wet cloth mask around his nose and mouth so that he, too, might have some respite from the overwhelming odor.

Once that was done, Aliester the Loquacious stood back from his nephew with a critical eye. “Hrm… Looks even… looks well secured… I think we’re ready for our field test!” He smiled eagerly, and he had the gleam in his eye that he got only when he was close to a true scientific breakthrough.

“Let’s bring you outside for the field test, Ardry. Won’t have far to walk, just twenty or thirty paces from the front door…”

Aliester stepped into the other room for a moment and came back with a belt pouch strapped to his waist. The sound of clinking bottles accompanied him as he walked. He took his nephew by the wrist, making sure not to touch any part that he’d smeared the chum onto.

“Uncle, I have to ask,” Ardry said as he slowly shuffled along under his uncle’s guidance. “What is this chum stuff made from? I’ve never smelled such a thing.”

Aliester smiled. “My own creation. Quite an ingenious recipe, if I do say so myself. It’s made from mite blood, ground-up shreth livers, scent glands from reedsharks… A lot of ingredients, actually. Very difficult to come by, and doubly difficult to make in useful quantities. Now, here we are.”

His uncle had steered him into a clearing among the trees, a stone’s throw from the front door of his cabin. “Please stand here, Ardry. Stay still. I’ll let you know when it’s okay to move.”

With that, Aliester jogged back towards the cabin, stopping a few feet from the door. He took a glass phial from his belt pouch and held it in his hand, all the while staring intently at his nephew in the offal-smeared cloth armor.

“What is that in your hand, uncle?” Ardry’s tone was desperate with worry.

Aliester brandished the phial and held it up in the air. “This is progress, Ardry! No more will our most potent armor-reducing and vulnerability effects be restricted to the hands of those who have mastered Life Magic! Because, with my expert consultation, the council of sages has found out a way to capture the essence of those magical effects in an alchemical mixture! You will be the first to test out this revolutionary advance in Derethian technology!”

The old man began to wind his arm back like he was going to throw the phial at Ardry. “All you have to do is break the phial on your target…”

Ardry’s eyes went wide and he waved his arms as much as he could to stop his uncle. “Uncle, wait! What’s this chum supposed to do? Your alchemical formula’s not going to catch fire or something when it hits me, is it?”

“Catch fire? Heavens no, my boy. The chum is not alchemically active like the contents of this phial. No, it’s just there to attract reedsharks, you see. Now please, hold still.”

“Reedsharks?” Ardry spun, looking to see if any of the vicious finned predators were on the way already. He could see the bushes rustling in the distance. In the undergrowth not too far away, he thought he saw a fin. Then another. And another.

He felt an impact on his back and heard the soft tinkling sound of breaking glass. A grey mist washed over him as the alchemical bomb broke on his back and released its contents. He felt a familiar sinking sensation, the same kind he was used to feeling when he’d been hit with the Imperil spell by a hostile mage.

“You moved!” his uncle called out, accusingly. “I asked you not to move, Ardry! But no matter, I managed to hit you anyway, and now you can move as much as you like…”

Ardry wasn’t paying attention. All he could hear was the throaty rumbling bark of reedsharks on the hunt and closing fast.

Rollout Article
''Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=537

  July 2007 Rollout Article 

Borelean, prince of New Aluvia and leader of the Whispering Blade, turned back to view the tactical map which had caused such consternation of late.

A map of the island of Dereth had been unrolled upon the table, depicting the land from the rain forests of the Vesayens to the cold Viamontian strongholds of Marae Lassel and the Halaetans, and from the tainted wildernesses of Vissidalthe Dark Isle to the strange formation known as the Singularity Caul. Borelean pointed at markers that had been placed at various points upon the map.

“Cragstone… the Vesayens… the Direlands… Tusker Island… and the Olthoi infestation in the northeast. What in the name of all that is good is the connection?” he asked the room at large, frustration in his voice.

“I do not know, but perhaps the more compelling question is how our enemy has the resources and power to undertake actions in all of these different places,” responded a slender, black-haired young Sho woman clad in white robes.

Borelean ran his hand through his sandy brown hair. While it was held back by a circlet, his hair’s natural inclination was to flop forward towards his eyes, further irritating him. Still, he had learned enough about leadership to refrain from unleashing his impatience and impetuosity upon those who sat in attendance to advise him.

The first of his companions was Hoshino Kei, whom he knew primarily from studying with Harlune and from the subsequent creation of the portal to Bur. Kei’s eyes were careful to obscure any emotions she felt about the situation, and her motions guarded. Borelean had asked her to be present as a second opinion should higher magics be involved… and because he did not wish to involve any of his mother Queen Elysa’s own magical advisors.

The second was his colleague and occasional rival, Adso. HWhile he was never certain that he could fully trust this shadowy blondfair-haired man with the shadowy reputation, knowing precisely who his master was. However, he also respected Adso’s insight, and he could not see a way that their master would benefit from this new enemy gaining influence over Dereth. Adso had seen much of the activity within Dereth, and he could be trusted to be discreet.

The last was a pessimistic scout by the name of Ardry the Dubious. It was said that he ended up at his lifestone more often than one normally should, and yet still managed to be as well-informed as anyone about the goings-on in Dereth. While normally reports came through Aliester the Loquacious, in this case Borelean desired a personal appearance by the one who had seemed to suffer so much in the name of New Aluvia. Ardry and Adso had exchanged pointed looks, and Borelean could sense the rivalry in the air, but he had no time for such foolishness at this meeting.

“You’re right, Kei,” Borelean acknowledged, allowing a small amount of praise to overcome his grudging acceptance of her superior analysis. In the time they had spent studying together, the prince had grown to admire the sorceress’s ability to assess a situation and efficiently work towards a solution. Borelean glanced toward Adso and Ardry and continued, “Tell me more about the resources and power of our enemy.”

“Those whom I’ve encountered have proven more organized and more strategically savvy than before,” Ardry contributed, “It’s as if the traditionally disorganized monsters of the land all decided that they would be more effective unifying under strong leaders…well, all but the Banderlings. The leaders are exhibiting increased intelligence and skill beyond their previously known capabilities. The sorts of modification alteration exhibited so far, and the experimental logs that have been retrieved, resemble what the Virindi have done in the past.”

Adso coolly nodded, then added, “My encounter with the Tanada also implies Virindi involvement. I think that the answer may lie in portal space.”

“Portal space?” Ardry asked, “That’s an awfully large place to look.”

Borelean tapped his finger pensively upon the map. The others in the room remained silent for a moment, awaiting the prince’s forthcoming comment. Finally, Borelean spoke in a quiet, assured tone.

“The opening of the portal to Bur taught me something about the intricacies of portal space. It is a difficult place to understand – its spatial presence does not work in the same way as the world we know. It cannot be navigated easily, except in certain very stable pocketss, generally created by the Virindi or some other powerful portal mage. I wouldn’t know how to find anything without some clear anchor to start from,” Borelean quietly said, sounding defeated.

“We may have an anchor,” Hoshino Kei answered, “Do you recall the reports about the Monougas being held in the cavern in the Direlands?”

“Yes, but I do not see how you mean it.”

“I do, Borelean,” Adso commented, “The Monougas in that cavern are not always there. They are portalled in from some other location.”

Comprehension dawned in Borelean’s eyes. “So, then, you ask if I can trace this portal back? I can try,” he said, punctuating his statement with an emphatic gesture towards the Direlands on the map. He looked at the three gathered with him in the room.

“What is your command, your Highness?” Ardry asked. Adso smirked at the formal address, while Kei looked at Borelean with expectation… and perhaps a touch of admiration.

“I don’t command…I ask. Will you help me?” Borelean spoke in a quiet voice. He placed his hand, palm up, on the map table.

Hoshino Kei was first. She placed her delicate hand upon his, and nodded imperceptibly. “Yes, your Highness,” she said.

Adso followed suit. “I’m not doing anything this afternoon… why not raid a cavern of murderous Drudges?” he slyly quipped.

Ardry murmured thoughtfully, “And perhaps with some skilled companions by my side, I’ll actually not visit my lifestone today.” He placed his hand upon the others’ and nodded.

Borelean allowed himself to smile slightly. “Then it’s settled. Let’s prepare our gear.”

Release Notes
''Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=535

  June 2007 Release Notes

Hello there and welcome to the Release Notes for the June event, Evolution. There have been many strange things happening around Dereth lately and this month is no different. The Monouga’s have been showing up more and more lately, and those darn Drudges seem to be gathering with a purpose. What creatures could be next? We have also seen some changes that favor those learned in the skill of Alchemy. Those folks never cease to amaze us. Let’s see what else is new and exciting this month in Dereth!

New Content and Updated Functionality

 * Alchemy Grenades are being introduced this month. Alchemists meeting the requirements will be able to craft and use these new grenades to aid in hunting. As of right now these new grenades will offer a way for those trained in the art of Alchemy the ability to debuff creatures with spells like Imperil and damage type debuffs. There will be some cost associated with creating these new grenades based on the power of the grenade the person is trying to craft. In addition, once the grenades are wielded they will grant the user a substantial bonus to their thrown weapon skill. To learn more about these new found skill, players are encouraged to travel to Xarabydun.
 * Colosseum boss fights have been added this month! Players who have achieved certain goals in the Colosseum will be able to enter these fights for fame and fortune! Ok well maybe not fame and fortune, but there will certainly be some nice rewards including bragging rights for completing certain tasks in the Colosseum. Players may enter these fights by using the proper Champion Statue in the main hallway of the Colosseum staging area.
 * The Saving Asheron boss fights have been updated, the phases should now run in a more user friendly order.
 * Jarvis Hammerstone would overwrite the Drudge kill task if a player took more than fourteen days to complete it. This has been fixed and he will no longer overwrite the task.
 * Spectral Arrows, Bolts and Atlatl Darts now have a burden of 1 per piece. They previously had no burden.
 * The Spectral Bolts and Darts now show their proper name, instead of all being called arrows.
 * The pickup timer on the Pages of Salt and Ash has been reduced to 24 hours.
 * A bug that was causing the Salvaging Forges in the towns to not work has been fixed and they should now work properly.
 * Players will now be informed of what and how many items are taken from them when an NPC uses a take item command.
 * Monsters/NPCs are now able to cast spells on themselves in response to player actions (critical hit, upon hitting a specific level of health, on resisting a spell, etc.) so be careful!
 * You may now ivory your Baby Bunny Booty orb
 * The Plan (Drudge Painting) is now a wall hookable item instead of a floor hookable item.
 * Ulgrim, in a drunken haze, sometimes thought he’d given a Mystical Mug to players he hadn’t. His memory has cleared a bit and he should now remember who he has and hasn’t given a Mystical Mug to from now on. If you should have received a Mystical Mug and didn’t in the past he’ll still not give you one, please contact in game support about this issue.
 * Due to issues in Drudge mass production methods Drudge Balloons are no longer as sturdy or maneuverable as they once were. They’re now easier to hit with Magic and Missile weapons and have less health.
 * Farmer Kao is no longer certain that he wants his chewed up shovel, so he’ll ask you if you want to keep it… maybe someone else can make use of it.
 * You are now able to gain access to the portal in the Drudge Fort outside of Cragstone, it’s time to take it to the Drudges!

Game Discussion
We would like to take this opportunity to discuss a new Live Event feature that was brought up not too long ago. During a large portion of our Live Events the person running the event will place a large number of rewards on the ground. In theory, if everyone was nice, this would not be an issue and everyone would happily pick up their reward and move on. We of course know this is not the case and sometimes certain people will try to pick up as many as they can with no regard for others. This leads to bad feelings for most involved and may even discourage some from participating in these events in the future.

The idea we have proposed is for live event rewards to become tokens. Depending on the event, the person running the event would place these tokens on the ground for players to pick up just as events were done before. The change this time would be the tokens will have a timer on being picked up. That means each player would get one reward per event instead of a few fast players hoarding as many as they can pick up. This way we can ensure that everyone gets a reward and the greedy people do not get more than they should. Once players have their tokens they would then go to a special NPC and use the token as currency to buy one of the many rewards that NPC would have on them. We feel this will help out everyone in the long run and make the live event experience more enjoyable for all those involved.

This is still in the loose development stage right now, but we think this is definitely a step in the right direction.

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

Brief Description
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