Editing Announcements - 2000/03 - Darkness Ascendant (section)

== Rollout Article ==

{{Microsoft Zone
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewsdarkness1.asp</nowiki>
 |  Date = March 7, 2000
 | Title = Darkness Ascendant
 |  Text =

For months, floating Crystals and Shadow creatures have held stations in the wilderness, arranged like pieces in a game. Now they have mobilized. Rumored to have emerged from the earth, strange, twisted citadels hover over the land near several towns, and a vast, bat-winged figure is now regularly seen flickering like dark lightning amid the storm clouds. Have Dereth's heroes forced the leaders of the Shadows into some sort of desperate stand, or are these merely the opening moves in some larger and darker conflict?
<br><br>Continuing our commitment to bring you a major new chapter in Dereth's saga every month, we introduce the March event! A relative calm prevails despite the ghastly floating citadels and other omens. Dereth's heroes have managed to extend the reach of civilization, so builders have constructed festival grounds in outlying areas and even a magnificent wedding hall to host the mass ceremonies traditional in the spring. Master Smiths tinkering with crystal fragments and shadow gems have managed to incorporate them into superior suits of armor. Perhaps most significantly, the Asheron's Call developers have embarked on a project to refine the graphics engine, introducing colored lighting effects and amazing new Drudges and Golems. The world of Asheron's Call will come into even sharper focus over the coming months. Thanks for joining us in the adventure!
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For full details on the extensive changes made with this update, see [[Announcements - 2000/03 - Darkness Ascendant#Release Notes|<font color=#FFFFCC>Build Notes, March 2000</font>]], and the new [[Announcements - 2000/03 - Darkness Ascendant#State of the Code|<font color=#FFFFCC>State of the Code</font>]].
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[[File:Spire2.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900> A menacing, spirelike citadel floats over the crater it formed when it erupted from the earth.</font>
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[[File:Lightdark.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900> Side by side, a brazier and a portal showcase the new colored lighting upgrade.</font>
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[[File:Sneak.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>The game now features this revamped model for the common drudge.</font>
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[[File:Olthoidark1.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>Green light reflects from the carapace of an Olthoi.</font>
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[[File:Olthoidark2.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>Here we see similar lighting from all angles.</font>
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[[File:Magmadark.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>The dread magma golem illuminates the hallway as it descends on an adventurer.</font>
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[[File:Obsidiandark.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>The obsidian golem's many fine, sharp edges gleam in the torchlight.</font>
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[[File:Wood1.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>To make a wood golem, the Empyrean had to dismember a tree. Obviously, this does not make the tree happy.</font>
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[[File:Water1.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>The water golem now appears as a translucent, glittering cascade.</font>
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[[File:Sandstone1.jpg|60px]] <font color=#CC9900>When a sandstone golem is on a mission, the drudges tend to hang back and see how things go.</font>
}}