Editing Announcements - 2007/04 - Strange Sightings (section)

== Release Notes ==

{{Turbine 2005
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=525</nowiki>
 | Title = April 2007 Release Notes
 |  Text =
Hello there and welcome to the April 2007 event: Strange Sightings. This is the first of our new style of Release Notes for the monthly updates. This month we are hoping to get some answers about the strange disappearances happening all over Dereth. Who is behind them and why?
<br><br>
Below we will list some of the new things and improvements to the game for the month of April. Please note that not all of the new content going in to the game will be listed on this page.
<br><br>
'''New Content and Updated Functionality'''<br>
* The Graveyard in the Direlands has had some new things added to it. Make sure you check it out when you get a chance. One of these things is Alternate Vendor Currency. This tech allows certain vendors to sell their wares using something other than the traditional currency in game.
* Some members of the Council are getting suspicious of Lord Kresovus. You may want to speak to an agent for the council in Cragstone.
* It appears that there are some Banderling troubles near Ayan Baqur. A royal guard stationed there is seeking out some answers.
* The rest of the baby creatures have shown up on the landscape. This marks the official beginning of the spring season in Dereth.
* The Decorative Repugnant Staff presently counts against the number of hookable casting items in the home. It should not do so, as it is not a hookable caster. This has been fixed for the April event.
* The rate at which Mushrooms spawn in the Bur Catacombs has been increased. It should now be easier for people to collect these little fungi.
* An issue with Ulgrim's Drinking Contest, which could cause some players to not get their reward, has been fixed. If for some reason you do not get your reward, simply beating Ulgrim once more will allow you to get the rewards.
* The quest Digging in the Shadows (given by Melaverre in Sanamar to Viamontian loyalists) had an issue which would not allow players to repeat the quest. This has been fixed and players should now be able to repeat this quest.
* On the Tanada House of Water quest there was an issue with the order in which players turned in their items to complete the quest. If you turned in the amulet before the note, you could not then turn in the amulet to complete the quest. This issue should be resolved for the April event.
<br>
'''Game Discussion'''<br><br>
During this month we wanted to take the opportunity to speak on some of the recent changes that have gone in to the game. More specifically, this month we are going to look at the decision making behind Asheron's recent armor changes courtesy of Kintani, who was one of the driving forces behind Asheron's new look. Think of this as a sneak peek into the development process that many have never seen.
<br><br>
'''Rebuilding Asheron'''<br><br>
From the words of Kintani,
<br><br>
When it came time to reintroduce Asheron into the world, we decided he needed to show some of the changes that came from his time missing from Dereth. After many discussions, we decided the best way to do this was up update his appearance. What would a being of Asheron's power do, if he went through such an ordeal? Would he feel safe anymore, if he now knew there were forces in the world that could capture and contain him for so long?
<br><br>
We figured some changes were in order, so we looked at several options, and brought in some outside help. First off, we had to decide what direction we wanted to go in. Asheron had been captured by forces known to him, but clearly underestimated if they could hold him for so long.  Given that situation, it made logical sense that he would move to increase his own defenses after being freed. Among those changes, creating and wearing armor is a great place to start.
<br><br>
Given Asheron's lineage, it made sense that he would draw on the resources of his late father, Lord Atlan, in designing armor to protect himself. We wanted to keep Asheron looking like Asheron, however, so we decided to create a suit of armor that also suited Asheron's previous choices in appearance. This led to the basic idea of the armored robe. It maintained Asheron's style, while adding in defenses well suited to his present desires. Now that we had a path and an idea, we needed to come up with what it looked like.
<br><br>
To design Asheron's new armored robe, we contracted a very talented artist by the name of Claire Hummel, or "Shoomlah" to those people familiar with her work. She created a robe for Asheron that was a blend of his original robe, and armor pieces styled off of several existing Empyrean armor sets, including the Thaumaturgic Plate and the Auroric Plate armors. With the design set, we set to work rebuilding Asheron for the game world.
<br><br>
Claire created all of the textures used in the present model of Asheron, while I created the 3D objects to use those textures. After a good bit of collaboration and tweaking, the Asheron you now see in home was born.
<br><br>
Last but certainly not least we are proud to present you with the 2007 edition of the Producer's Letter courtesy of our very own beloved Producer Dave "Crowley" Javier.
<br><br>
Hello from Turbine!  It's been a good year for Asheron's Call™, and we're looking forward to more good things in the upcoming year.
<br><br>
Before I discuss our plans for the future, I'd like to review our accomplishments in the last year.
<br>
One of the first things we did last year was to fulfill a promise to the PvP community.  We rebalanced the damage and mechanics of PvP combat to make fights faster, more lethal, and more exciting.  We based our changes on feedback and discussion with PvP players on our boards, and we are pleased with the way things turned out.  Now that we feel good about the way PvP combat works, it's time to focus on another way to improve PvP: giving people something to fight over.  I'll get back to this issue when I discuss future plans.

[[Announcements - 2007/04 - Strange Sightings#Producer's Letter|<font color=#FBFE5B><u>Click here to read the entire letter.</u></font>]]
}}