Editing Announcements - 2002/04 - Betrayal (section)

== State of the Code ==

{{Microsoft Zone
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewscodestate1.asp</nowiki>
 |  Date = April 11, 2002
 | Title = State of the Code
 |  Text =
This is the latest installment of a frequently updated series of reports on The State of the Code for Asheron's Call. In this report, we keep players informed as to the state of some of the more technical aspects of AC, particularly bugs we are working on and technical limitations of which you should be aware. Look at the News page on the Zone for other articles about recent additions and changes to Asheron's Call.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I have noticed when I go into the Residential Quarters there is quite a bit of lag and sometimes I even get disconnected. Is there something going on?'''</font>
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With the introduction of Residential Quarters, we have seen some performance issues, such as an increase in lag reports and server disconnects. We are working on this situation and hope to have a fix soon. Additionally, we have decided to temporarily suspend additional Residential Quarters and landscape housing for the month of May. Instead, we will take this time to evaluate the system and identify ways to resolve these performance issues. We apologize for the inconvenience and we will keep you up to date on our progress for fixing the current situation.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''State of the Code Archive'''</font>
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''Below are items from previous State of the Code articles. Some items have been retired from the archive below because we believe they have been fixed. If they turn out not to have been fixed, we will revive those items.''
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''@houses available'''</font>
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For the @houses available command to know of a house, the landblock containing that house has to have been visited by a player at some point. This only needs to happen once for the @houses available command to be aware of the house.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Queen's Quest Dungeons'''</font>
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One item left out of the [[Announcements - 2002/03 - Persuasion#Release Notes|<font color=#FFFFCC>
Developer's Notes</font>]] is that players will no longer be able to log in to dungeons associated with the Queen's Quest. This is to reduce the level of grieving that exists in the quest by players logging out and back in, to "jump" the quest (or prevent people from finishing it). When you attempt to log in to any of the following dungeons, you will find yourself back at your Lifestone instead:
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:* North Damn Hive
:* Elyrii Hive
:* East Dam Hive
:* Central Hive (Queen)
:* Tiny Hive
:* Small Hive
:* New Hive
:* Simple Hive
:* Shallow Hive
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Duplicate Covenant Crystals'''</font>
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If you see a house that has two Covenant Crystals outside of the residence, one indicating that the house is sold, one indicating that it is still open for purchase, then do not attempt to purchase the house.
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Your purchase will fail, and the purchase price will be lost.
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These types of houses are owned. We hope to have removed these "duplicate" Covenant Crystals by April.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Monday, February 18, 10:30 AM PST'''</font>
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A new client was made available to fix the "No Logon Server" issue that has been affecting the Windows 9x platform for some of our players. You should no longer be experiencing this problem.
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We are aware of a problem that results in players getting an error when going through quest portals and receiving a message that they have solved the quest too long ago. We will be fixing this problem Tuesday morning. Watch the <font color=#FFFFCC>
State of the Network</font> for details on the time.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''February 15, 10:30 AM PST: Update to the "No Logon Server Available" error:'''</font>
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At this time, we still do not have an ETA on a fix to this problem. We have teams engaged on the problem but have still not identified what the cause of this problem to be. We apologize for the continued inconvenience. More details here as we get them.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''We are currently working on fixing two bugs that were introduced with the February update:'''</font>
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:* Players getting "No Logon Server Available" errors when they try to log on. We are investigating the cause of this and will update here when we have more information and an ETA for a fix.
:* Some portals (mostly quest portals) are giving an error that you have solved this quest too long ago and not allowing you to use them. We are working on a fix for this bug right now and will have it updated soon.
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We hope to fix both of these bugs at the same time. Check back here for more updates on the timeframe for the fixes.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When running around in certain areas, I notice that I am getting extreme lag. Where is all this lag coming from?'''</font>
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Actually, the "lag" you are experiencing is an increase in CPU utilization, not network (or internet) lag. This is happening largely around three areas: Hebian-to, Shoushi and Arwic (up to the Abandoned Mines). There are a few isolated cases of it elsewhere in Dereth as well. We will have a fix for this in February. If this slowdown should cause you to be unable to log in, feel free to use "urgent assistance" to page an admin, and someone will come move you to a safe location to log in.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Mansions and Monarchy Restrictions'''</font>
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The Mansions released in December and January did not have the appropriate Monarch and Rank 6 purchase restrictions that Mansions are supposed to have. These will be fixed in February. However, when maintenance is due, the Mansion automatically checks for Monarch and Rank status of the owner, and the owner loses the Mansion if these requirements are not met. If you purchased a Mansion without being a Monarch and at least Rank 6, and you are not a Monarch and at least Rank 6 when the Mansion's maintenance period next becomes due, then you will lose that Mansion.
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Also, Mansions sold in January have an incorrect purchase price. If any of these Mansions go back on the market after the February event, they will have a different and updated purchase price.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''A Missing Cottage'''</font>
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There is a Cottage located at 40.1N 63.5E. While the Covenant Crystal is active, there is no "House" object actually present to be purchased. All purchase attempts on this Cottage will result in the purchaser losing his or her money, and no Cottage being purchased. This will be fixed in February.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''How can I complete the Elysa's Favor quest?'''</font>
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There is currently a bug in the Elysa's Favor quest where characters starting at Holtburg will not be able to complete the quest by following the instructions of the NPC. Starting the quest in Yaraq or Shoushi, and following it from there should allow one to finish the quest successfully. This should be fixed in the next update.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''My covenant crystal on my Mansion is not active. I cannot pay rent. Am I going to lose my Mansion?'''</font>
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We have discovered a bug where ten Mansions that were purchased in December (in each world), do not have active covenant crystals. We will have this fixed in February; in addition, we will be paying the rent for this month on those ten Mansions so you will not lose anything. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Item loss in housing'''</font>
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When a server crashes, there still exists a risk that items kept in storage and on hooks in houses located on that server can be erased permanently. We are investigating this bug, and will update you as soon as we know more. At this point we cannot guarantee items' security in housing storage.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Specific problems with hooks'''</font>
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We have been receiving various and scattered reports of isolated hook problems. Please keep in mind that when you place 25 items in your house, your hooks will "disappear" to signify that you cannot place more items (if you wish to see your hooks, type @house hooks on, but you still won't be able to use one until you use less than 25 hooks). However, if you have a problem with your hooks independent of this, please contact an in-game support admin.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Generator issues'''</font>
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While not an exact repeat of earlier generator issues, we have seen numerous and verified reports of certain NPCs, monsters, and items not appearing in dungeons or on the landscape due to malfunctioning generators. We are currently investigating this issue.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Portals missing'''</font>
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Separate from the generator issue, we have received reports of known portals not appearing on the landscape.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Client crashing bug when switching characters'''</font>
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If you experience this bug, turn off your default radar coordinates, which should solve the problem. We are working on a more permanent fix.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I was just booted for "use of speed altering programs". When did you start doing this?'''</font>
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Effective immediately, players who are detected using speed altering programs will be temporarily removed from Asheron's Call. Repeated use of these programs may result in permanent removal from the game. If you have been detected and feel there might be a mistake, please submit a report here and we will investigate.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I give a Town Crier money, he is not giving me any information. Does the cat have his tongue?'''</font>
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There is actually a bug this month preventing the Town Criers from saying anything when given money. They should be back to their talkative selves next month.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I was disconnected from the game, and when I returned all my items in my house were gone. Where did they go?'''</font>
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We have identified a very rare bug where, in some server crashes, you could lose items in your house. We are treating this bug with the highest priority and are working on a fix. Right now, however, we are not certain what is causing this phenomenon. We suggest that homeowners use extreme caution when using hooks and secure storage until we are able to isolate and fix this bug. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I go to subscribe to Asheron's Call Dark Majesty, I do not see a field that allows me to enter my coupon number. Did you forget to make this field?'''</font>
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When you are at the subscription area on AC Zone and are prompted to enter your Zone ID and Password, you want to make sure that the game you are subscribing to is "Asheron's Call Dark Majesty," not "Asheron's Call."
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I have purchased a house, but every time I log in with my alternate characters on that account I get this message: "Your house has reverted due to non-payment of the maintenance costs. All items stored in the house have been lost." Did I really lose all my stuff?'''</font>
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No! There is a bug broadcasting the wrong message to alternate characters on your account. In fact, you should just be getting the same reminder you would get when you log in with your main character that your rent is due. Nothing is actually touched in your house and we will fix this bug with the November update.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I use the housing object in front of a house, and try to inscribe it, my game seems to crash every time. Am I doing something wrong?'''</font>
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We have discovered a bug that will crash your client if you try to inscribe any housing object (the little crystal standing in front of a house). We advise that players not try to inscribe these objects, the inscription will not work and your client will crash. We expect to fix this bug before Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty arrives in stores.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I love that I can see my extended chat window now when I close my backpack and view AC in the full window, but I noticed that every once in a while my client crashes when I try to extend that window more. What is going on?'''</font>
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We have discovered a bug that if a player extends their chat window and then goes into full screen (i.e., make it so your left panel goes away), they can crash their client if they try to manually extend that window by clicking and dragging the bar up. This bar cannot be raised manually. Players should avoid trying to raise this bar manually as it could result in this crash. The only way to expand the chat window is with the button in the upper right corner of the chat window. There are only two sizes that the chat window can be in.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I do any emote, I crash to my desktop. What am I doing wrong?'''</font>
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We have been able to track the use of emotes, along with some 3rd party applications, to some players' client crashes. Asheron's Call does not officially support 3rd party applications/add-ons. It is advised that you either uninstall or not use these applications.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''The Aerfalle Chest is broken (no scroll/robe), is that intentional?'''</font>
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This a bug tied into a larger tech bug that we are investigating. We hope to have a fix for this soon, but currently have no ETA.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I use Jaizen Tan to get the new advanced title for "Thrown Weapons", I am getting "Ballisteer". Am I doing something wrong?'''</font>
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No, there is a bug that is preventing the correct title of "Projectilist" to be bestowed. We are working on the bug and it should be fixed soon.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Every time I try to get the "Bunny Master" title, I can never find Larry the Bunny Master. Where is he? Did he go on vacation?'''</font>
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Due to an unfortunate bug, Larry fails to regenerate from time to time. We are working on the problem and hope to have a fix in place soon. Thanks for your patience.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I am trying to use the new Component Buyer introduced in the June update but I cannot find any information in the game about how to use it. Am I not looking in the right place?'''</font>
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The help for using the Component Buyer was inadvertently left out of the June update. We apologize for the inconvenience. In the meantime, please go to the [[Microsoft Zone Archive/Asheron's Call Handbook/Details of Component Buying|<font color=#FFFFCC>Details of Component Buying</font>]] article for instructions on how to use the Component Buyer.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I have heard some reference to a mysterious Bach Lien. However, I can find no such person anywhere in the game. Does she really exist?'''</font>
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Although she is mentioned as an extension to the Exploration Society Letters quests, the search for Bach Lien is a bug, as she does not appear in the game. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Perhaps some time in the future the complete iteration of her tale will reach the loremasters of Dereth but for now she remains a mystery.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I am on the mage armor quest (the Thaumaturgic Plate quest), and after giving the Golem the permission note, I go through the portal it creates but all I see is black. Is this some kind of new dungeon?'''</font>
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No; in rare cases, some people are not getting the complete download of the new dungeon. You will need to go into your Asheron's Call directory and replace the "cell.dat" file that is currently there with the one from your Asheron's Call CD. Once you have copied the cell.dat file from your CD into your AC folder, right-click on the cell.dat file and select "Properties." Please make sure that the "Read Only" box is not checked (otherwise you will receive an error message telling you that the cell.dat is corrupt). This procedure should solve your problem. Please note: You will have to download some dungeons over again when you enter them the first time after performing this procedure.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''When I dyed my clothes/armor, I failed and now the Armor Level is worse. What happened?'''</font>
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Be warned: If you try to dye armor or clothes and fail, an Armor Level degradation will occur. Make sure you are high enough in the necessary skills before attempting to dye your armor or clothes.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I gave an item to the collector and he did not return anything to me, including my original item. Is he a thief?'''</font>
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No, he is not a thief. Each collector in the game is different from all others. Each has his own selection of items that he will take and return something else for. If you give a collector something that he does not collect, he may simply keep it and not return anything. You should talk to the collector first to make sure he takes what you are giving him.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I went right to my corpse soon after dying, but my corpse was gone, or it was empty!'''</font>
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Keep in mind that your corpse will not remain in Dereth for very long. It will vanish after a number of minutes equal to five times your character level.
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Also keep in mind that you can only have a limited number of corpses in the world at the same time. If you are over this limit, you will not leave a corpse when you die. Instead, your items will end up on the ground, where they will quickly vanish.
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In rare cases, you may die in such a tight and crowded place that your corpse cannot be properly placed, in which case your objects will simply drop to the ground (if they can be placed).
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If you are a Player Killer and get killed by another player, that player can loot the items from your corpse. After any items are taken, the corpse will quickly vanish.
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There is also a rare case discovered that involves your old corpses not decaying if you have items left on them, and if you have more than five corpses in the world, your subsequent deaths may not leave another corpse. If you are concerned that this is happening, you should travel to where your old corpse may be, and if it's there, take off all the items. At that point, it will decay normally and you will be able to generate a new corpse. This bug is being addressed soon.
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If you are in auto-run mode and you lose your connection to the server, your character will keep running for some time until you re-connect or the server times out. Until this happens, your character will keep running without your seeing it, and can get killed by monsters. Your corpse will be in the direction you were running when you disconnected, at some distance away.
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Still, all this does not seem to explain some anecdotes we have heard. We are looking carefully into them to assure that there are no bugs. Please use the "Urgent Assistance" option to alert our Online Team if you are sure that your corpse is unjustifiably missing.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''My character is gone/has items missing!'''</font>
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If something strange has happened to your character, such as a location change, missing items, or items having disappeared entirely, you may be the victim of account stealing. This can be done by a few methods, each of which you can prevent. Please refer to our
<font color=#FFFFCC>Security article</font> on the "News" page for more information.
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I am trying to sign into the Zone, but it says I have the wrong password. I know I'm typing it in right!'''
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Those who are the victims of account stealing (see the previous section) may find that they cannot sign in. This is because the thief has changed the password to your Zone account. Please refer to our
<font color=#FFFFCC>Security article</font> on the "News" page for more information.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Attackers that are slower than me are hitting me as I run!'''</font>
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It's easy to mistakenly come to the conclusion that you are faster than a monster, when this may not really be the case. There is a "blip effect" that can contribute to this conclusion when a monster attacks; see below. Also note that there is no way to be sure how fast a monster is just by examining it. A monster has a Run skill as well; Quickness alone does not determine its speed.
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We have done extensive testing (with average Internet latency) and determined that in no case did a monster that is genuinely slower than a player land more than one or two hits before falling and staying behind.
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However, we also found that Internet latency can have a strong effect on how successfully you can run from a monster. If your connection through the Internet is slow or spotty, or if you are downloading more data than your connection can handle, it can allow slower monsters to catch up to you. Also, please realize that when you go from standing still to trying to run from a monster, it takes time for that signal to cross the Internet and reach the server. Until the server knows that you have started running, it thinks you are still standing there. Therefore, to avoid attack, you need to start running before the monster can reach you, and the slower your connection, the sooner you should run.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Monsters that attack me while I am running seem to fall back, then blip right on top of me. Can I get some of that magic?'''</font>
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Currently, there is a less-than-ideal visual effect when monsters attack you while you are running. They appear to fall behind you as they stop their running animation, in preparation for their attack animation. Then, when they do their attack animation, they suddenly appear to be right on top of you.
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It may appear that you are outrunning a monster, which then suddenly gets a free "teleport" on top of you. You may think that you are faster than a monster and that it is cheating with this "teleport." In actuality, the opposite is true: the monster has always been right on top of you, but it erroneously appears to stand still for the few moments it readies its attack animation.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I was in the water in a big river and hit invisible walls.'''</font>
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There are spots in large bodies of water that prevent you from going further, sometimes resulting in a maze of invisible walls. We want to fix this, but it's a bit tricky. Meanwhile, please consider these large bodies of water a hazard. If you hit such an invisible wall, go in the opposite direction -- you cannot "slide" along such a wall.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Why am I not supposed to jump onto steep slopes?'''</font>
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There is currently a bug where certain steep slopes are trapping players. This seems to happen when you jump onto a slope that you cannot naturally walk onto. We have been able to eliminate most areas where this is occurring, but there may still be a few out there we have not found yet. We hope to have all the locations fixed soon. Until we inform you that we have fixed this bug, please avoid jumping onto slopes, particularly steep ones. By doing so, you not only can be trapped but also may take repeated falling damage. If you happen to die on such a slope, you will not be able to recover items from your corpse. Use the "Urgent Assistance" option to request help getting unstuck.
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''I've told you about a bug. Why isn't it fixed?'''</font>
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We do read every single report of bugs, and strive to make AC completely bug-free. However, we will not make changes instantly. We want to group fixes together into major updates to prevent undue inconvenience to players. We also want to maintain a rigorous testing process to assure that our fixes do no harm. We value your reports of bugs, and we are hard at work to fix them as soon as we can.
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Thank you!
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[[Category:Event Announcements]]