Announcements - 2002/10 - Festivus

Event Teaser
''Material retrieved from original Zone caches available at http://web.archive.org.

''Original Link (now dead) - http://microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC1/teaser1002.htm?nc=1



 October Teaser 

Festivus

"Wilomine, another ale!" Caebyrn bellowed as he leaned over the bar.

"Patience, patience," Wilomine replied from the back of the tavern. "It's coming."

"Telling the tale of how I beat Gaerlan is tiring work!" Caebyrn bellowed back, then turned back to face the crowded bar. "Now, where was I?"

"Something about riddles," said a voice from one of the tables.

"Right, right, the Tribunal. So, the Tribunal posed a riddle to each of us. Of course, I had no problems."

A voice in the back of the room snickered, "Only because someone gave you the answer."

"You know Earnbil, if I were another man, I might have to take you to task for that comment," Caebyrn paused to reach around and pick up the pint of ale Wilomine had placed on the bar behind him. "Anyway, after I answered the Tribunal's riddle, it transported me into this long hallway. At the end there was this barred door; couldn't see any way through other than beating on it with my axe."

Caebyrn paused again and took a sip of his ale. "Then I heard the rumbling. I turned around and this huge ball of fire was rolling toward me. I just barely dodged it in time, only to see another roll out of the alcove next me. It was pretty close there."

"After a few of us beat on that door for a bit, it finally caved in and we made it through the other trials in the Citadel. We found that item that Asheron wanted. I gave it to him and then he sent us off to face Gaerlan."

"What's he like?" came a voice.

"Gaerlan?" Caebyrn took another drink of his ale. "He's a dolt."

"No, no. Asheron," came the same voice.

"Oh him. Seems like a nice fellow. I invited him by for an ale... Surprised he didn't show up," replied Caebyrn. "So, as I was saying, there we were, facing Gaerlan. He was muttering insults at us, swinging this huge flaming sword. People were falling down dead before him left and right. I barely dodged one of his swings."

"And probably soiled your armor in the process," called out the voice in the back, accompanied by a few snickers.

"Earnbil, if you don't shut that mouth of yours, I'll tell everyone about that time a Reedshark snuck up and bit your-" Caebyrn cut himself short. "Well there are ladies in the room."

"So," Caebyrn said, looking back at the crowded tavern, "Gaerlan is swinging that sword, summoning creatures, casting spells. Just about everyone around me is cut down by him, when I finally land my axe on him and he starts to fall. Then, just before he hits the ground--and this is something I'll never forget--Nuhmudira appears."

A few mutters of surprise were heard from the table, and Caebyrn continued, "Aye, I know! So Nuhmudira appears and suspends Gaerlan's body in the air. She goes on to say about how he tried to condemn her to an eternity of torment, or some such. Then she creates this filactrum... thallicum... phillatree..."

"Phylactery?" came from a table near Caebyrn.

With a snap of his fingers, Caebyrn continued, "That's it. So this phylactery grows up from the ground and Gaerlan's body disappears. I look into the thing and see Gaerlan floating around in it. I'll tell ya, he didn't look happy. Then when I touch the thing, a shield extrudes from its surface and I grab it."

A low noise of disgust was heard from some in the room.

"Aye, it was rather unnerving." He paused to take another drink of his ale. "But, I have to say, the shield is respectable. I carried it when I defeated the Harbinger-"

The room erupted in laughter.

"Psssh, if you don't believe me, that's fine." Caebyrn tilted back his head and finished his ale. "Queen Elysa's thanks was more than enough reward."

Wilomine appeared behind Caebyrn and picked up the now-empty pint. "Ok, ok, Champion of Dereth, now that you've saved us all, what are you going to do?"

"Me?" Caebyrn replied, "I'm going to the Festival Grounds!"

Roll Out Article
''Material retrieved from original Zone caches available at http://web.archive.org.

''Original Link (now dead) - http://microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC1/event1002.htm?nc=1



 October Event 

Festivus

With Gaerlan defeated, the heroes of Dereth now enjoy calm and reflect on the dramatic changes they have seen in the last few months. Many are amazed when they think of the world as it was before. Martine, who had caused so much trouble, has redeemed himself and is now gone. Their Queen has stepped forward and taken a much more active role in the affairs of her people, something she had not done for years. Even the races formerly at odds have reached an accord unimaginable just a few months before.

Beyond these most obvious changes seen in the world, daily lives have been transformed. Cumbersome packs of spell components are gone, replaced by magical Foci. Weapons and equipment now possess power that was unknown before. And scrolls that all can easily comprehend have replaced the study of the arcane that consumed the time of so many. Although the people of Dereth know this peace will not last long, never before have they been so prepared to face the challenges that lie ahead.

In honor of this, the festival season promises to be especially notable. The various mask makers have kept their festival tradition and are providing new wares for everyone to enjoy. Many will find that they can use the needed respite to hone their crafting skills, taking advantage of the master crafters found outside of Glenden Woods.

Yet the season is marred by new dangers, some found on the twisted landscape of the Obsidian Plains, while others are found much closer to home...

Just a few of the changes made in October are noted below. To learn more of what is happening in Dereth, make sure you talk with town criers, barkeeps, and scribes!

Highlights Include:


 * New and enhanced tinkering effects!
 * Mana Conversion provides even more benefits for mages!
 * New regalia for the festival season!

The Developer's Notes for October  and the  Letter to the Players  contain even more details about the Festivus event. Join us as the saga of Asheron's Call continues, and we'll see you in Dereth!

Build Notes
''Material retrieved from original Zone caches available at http://web.archive.org.

''Original Link (now dead) - http://microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC1/devnotes1002.htm?nc=1



 October Dev Notes 

Thank you for your continued feedback and bug reports. They are a valuable tool in our pursuit of making the world of Dereth a stable and fun place to play. Please submit any such bug reports to http://bugs.zone.com.

New Functionality and Content


 * With Gaerlan defeated, the people of Dereth can devote themselves to enjoying the festival season!
 * Hollow and Phantom missile weapons make their debut. Get out your Hollow armor!
 * Three new Tinkering effects have been added, including the unique Ivory Tinkering. See the Letter to the Players  for more details.
 * Mana Conversion now provides additional benefits as the character's skill increases. To complement this change, the treasure system will now be generating casting wands that provide a percentage bonus to mana conversion.
 * The benefits of skill specialization have been increased. For more details, please see our previous Letter to the Players  regarding this change.
 * An additional 500 Residential Quarters are available for purchase and can be found in the towns of Khayyaban, Lin, and Samsur.

Miscellaneous Improvements and Changes


 * Gaerlan's fallen citadel has been modified, and players will find the quest easier to start. However, beware--some of the Citadel's challenges have been made more difficult! For more details on the changes, see this month's Letter to the Players.
 * Specialists in the field of crafting have founded a small community near Glenden Woods and have opened their doors to those who seek to enhance their trade skills.
 * The mask makers have expanded their abilities and are offering a host of new items.
 * Banderlings had been pestering us for an upgrade to their appearance. Well, they finally got it!
 * The Player Killer delayed logoff has been enhanced and changed. Player Killer characters will now log off normally unless another player has attacked them within the last two minutes. If a Player Killer character has been attacked, he/she will still go through the 20-second log off timer. In addition, if a Player Killer has been attacked in the last 20 seconds, he/she will be unable to use any portal or recall spell; however, the Player Killer will be able to use these again normally after the 20 seconds have passed.
 * Last month, a bug appeared that prevented hooks and storage chests in housing dungeons from being updated with the new homeowner information. This bug has been corrected. Any housing dungeon that was affected should now have the correct homeowner information.
 * Level 126 characters that had previously reached the maximum amount of experience possible in their level will find that they can now earn 8 million more experience points in that level. This is the result of removing the previously unreachable level 127 from the experience table. Players should see no effects on the amount of experience these characters can apply to their skills.
 * In the past, spells native to a casting implement--such as Heal Other 6 on the Healer's Heart-were not checked by the common spell--casting error routines. This omission allowed these spells to be cast in a number of unintended ways. We've corrected this imbalance, and the spells cast by wands and orbs now go through the same checks those found in your spell book do.
 * A host of existing Tinkering effects have been enhanced to be more effective. However, these enhanced effects are not retroactive, so existing Tinkered objects will not display these new, more pronounced effects. See the Letter to the Players  for more information.

Minor Details


 * Through the use of certain quest items, characters had been able to raise their specialized skills above the maximum level allowed. We have corrected this bug. For more details on this fix, please see our previous Letter to the Players.
 * A few of the quest rewards given out by Gaerlan's Phylactery have been modified and enhanced. The <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players  has more information.
 * Scarecrows and Pumpkins dot the landscape again.
 * The Aun Tumeroks of Marae Lassel have stumbled across a new Olthoi Hive.
 * A few trophy items can now be dyed. These items are old style Olthoi helms, new style Olthoi Helms, old style Mattekar Coats and Armoredillo Hide shirts. In the future, more trophy items may receive this upgrade.
 * Weapon damage is now displayed to two decimal places. This will allow a better display of the effects of Tinkering on these items.
 * Creatures will no longer drop components such as herbs, powders, and tapers as treasure. In place of these components, they will drop scarabs. It should be noted that those creatures that dropped as treasure component peas (of various kinds), still do so.
 * Items that cannot be enchanted by Item Magic will now display this property when examined.
 * We've corrected an error that prevented fire staves from being Tinkered. Players should now be able to improve these items.
 * Female allegiance titles are being displayed properly again. You can be a Duchess again!
 * The town of Xarabydun is more accessible to players of all levels.
 * The people of Dereth are evolving--they have thumbs now!