Announcements - 2000/09 - Twilight's Gleaming

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September 2000 - Patch Page

Teaser

Original Link (now dead) - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/septteaser.asp

Twilight's Gleaming

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August 31, 2000

Ketnan smiled as he looked over bustling Arwic. A year ago, he had arrived in this forsaken land alone and penniless. But now . . .

Now he was a man of stature. Oh, perhaps some would call it infamy rather than fame, but Ketnan couldn't help it if people were willing to give him equipment in trade before they could verify they were receiving anything in return. It was a valuable lesson that Ketnan was teaching Dereth: Do not engage in trade with strangers.

Luckily for Ketnan, there was no way for those eager traders to protect themselves from his machinations.

But while stealing had been the main source of income for Ketnan, it was not the only one. Ketnan had used his wealth to hire a naturalist who had compiled an extensive list of Dereth's fauna; he had then copied it to sell to adventurers. In order to increase sales, Ketnan was offering a money-back guarantee should adventurers encounter a new creature not covered by Ketnan's manual. This hardly posed a risk, as the naturalist assured him that there had been no completely new creatures in Dereth for quite some time.

Ketnan had also discovered the lure of fashion. Adventurers in Dereth had long complained about not being able to match colors for their armor and clothes. Ketnan hated to see an unfilled void, so the first of Ketnan's Emporium of Clothes was being built right in town. Here people would be able to buy clothing of different fashionable colors; they could mix and match to their hearts' content. And even if his clothing cost more, where else would people get such beautifully colored garb?

Life was definitely improving for Ketnan. What could possibly go wrong?

With September's event soon at hand, be sure to look for further news of what's to come. While secure trade has been officially announced, what other secrets lie in wait? What other changes will take place? Take part in this incredible on-going story -- and we'll see you in Dereth!

Teaser 2

Original Link (now dead) - http://classic.zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/septteaser2.asp

Upcoming September Events

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Secure Trading

Summer festivities continue in Dereth, as heroes sample both new footwear and new cooking. And while many have been busy waxing poetic and wishing upon the shooting stars, none should dare grow complacent -- but instead prepare for momentous and impending events. Beginning in September there will be lots of exciting changes for all players to enjoy as we approach our one-year anniversary -- making sure we celebrate AC's first birthday the way it should be done!

As part of this update, a new game feature has been added, one that players have been discussing for quite some time -- secure trading! Players will soon be able to use in-game resources to make transactions fair and safe for all parties involved. There'll be no more need for middlemen, no more chance for outright theft. Instead, players will be able to negotiate trades, whether it be healing kits for gemstones, yoroi sleeves for an ivory tachi, or motes for matty coats! Also, those adventurers with particularly well-developed craft skills will find that secure trading allows them to set up an actual in-game business. Imagine -- alchemists, fletchers, and cooks able to sell their wares with complete security. Player-run pie shops and healing tents can operate with the same legitimacy as any NPC equivalent!

Secure trading has come about in large part due to the expressed wishes of the players. Please note that we are listening, and have been making such appropriate changes when able. For now, we hope you enjoy the new secure trading resource coming soon!

Take part in this incredible on-going story -- and we'll see you in Dereth!

Details of Secure Trade

Original Link (now dead) - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/securetrade.asp

Details of Secure Trade

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File:Secure Trade - pic jeweler.jpg

Secure Trade

Secure trade has been added to the game, a tool allowing players to exchange items in a fair and organized manner. However, before running off to hand people your most valued items, we recommend you take a moment to read exactly how this new tool operates.

How Secure Trade works:

• A player wishing to make a trade opens the Trade Initiation Panel found in the Social Systems Panel (containing fellowship/allegiances).
• That player then selects the person with whom he/she wishes to trade.

Note: Both players must first be in peace mode in order to facilitate a trade. In addition, the person selected to trade with cannot be in the middle of another trade with another player, cannot have turned off his or her trade function, and cannot have a ground container open.

• The Trade Panel will then open in each players' view.
• Players then place items on their respective side of the panel. (There is no limit to the number of items able to be placed or, with certain conditions, traded. Please read the notes below for more information on these conditions.)
• Items cannot be removed from either side of the panel without clearing the entire panel altogether using the Clear All button.
• An entire container full of items can be placed onto the trade panel, which will then display all the contents of the container but not the container itself. To trade an actual container, it must be empty; then the container will appear on the trade panel when placed there.
• When both players agree, they each click the Trade button. This accepts what is currently available on the panel. When both players click the Trade button, after a short period of time, the exchanged items will appear in each player's main backpack inventory. However, if any items are added to either side of the panel or the panel is cleared, the trade will not be allowed to take place. In addition, if one player clicks the Trade button, either player still has the option to cancel the trade, using the Cancel button.
• Once the trade has been completed, the Trade Panel will clear, but will remain open.

A trade will be canceled or not be allowed to take place if:

• Either player clicks the Cancel button on the top right of the panel.
• Pressing the ESC key twice.
• Walking out of trade range, or by teleporting away.
• Either player enters combat or magic mode.
• Either player dies.
• The trade would overburden either player.
• There is no room in one or both of the players' inventory to accept the items.

Notes and Warnings:

• DO NOT simply place an item on another character and expect the Trade Panel to open; all you will have done then is give the other character an item for free!
• Remember: if you see a container on the secure trade panel, that means the container is empty.
• Once placed in the Trade Panel, the value of items will not be displayed; however, items can be examined as normal by either person.
• Either player involved in the trade cannot cast spells on an item once it has been placed in the Trade Panel. However, a third party can cast spells on the item.
• Once a player places an item in the Trade Panel, he or she cannot then use, drop, or give the item away, and they cannot use another item on that item. The item can still be worn or wielded, however, during the trade.
• Individual items cannot be removed from the Trade Panel; to remove any item, hit the Clear All button, which will remove all items from both sides of the panel.
• Players will have the option to turn on or off their secure trade feature.
• Players will have the option to ignore all trade requests.
• In addition, there will be an option to deny trade with chosen individuals using the @squelch command.

Rollout Article

Original Link (now dead) - No Link Available

Upcoming September Events

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The summer sun has set in Dereth, a new season begun. And while many look fondly back on the events of August -- the competitions of skill, the discovery of chocolate, the adventures in dungeon arenas -- September has inevitably come. And with it, we've opened our latest monthly event, Twilight's Gleaming.

Astronomers, watching the strange shooting stars of late, have long warned of impending events both great and grave. And, as the heroes of Dereth rise from their slumber to greet this fall season, the truth behind these warnings becomes all too quickly realized. News has raced across Dereth, with all the speed and severity of wildfire: widespread destruction has hit the world! Cragstone has suffered a near calamity . . . Arwic and Tufa have been utterly destroyed!

Continuing with our promise to bring you a major event each month, we hope you fully enjoy the experience of September's Twilight's Gleaming. The storyline of Dereth has indeed moved forward, and in catastrophic leaps. New monsters have been added -- not merely altered versions of creatures, but entirely new species altogether, expanding Dereth's horrid bestiary even further. Still recovering from the fires Aerlinthe Isle and the terrors of the Soul Fearing Towers, players will discover additional dungeons and be sent on a major new quest. However heavy the odds, though, not everything that's entered the world seeks to combat Dereth's heroes; in fact, many revisions have been looked forward to for quite some time. Further emotes have been added, as well as the much-anticipated secure trade. A trove of new weapons can be found, including the ability to use certain items as thrown weapons! And for the first time, players will now be able to dye their armor and clothing! With the one-year anniversary of Asheron's Call approaching, September reveals a much-altered Dereth.

Following is a list of the most interesting additions made to the game this update. However, please note that not all changes have been included -- that would spoil the fun of finding out everything that's been added or changed! Also, some changes provide ways for players to drive our evolving story forward, and thus we won't entirely reveal them here. As usual, though, the town criers, barkeeps, and scribes may know the latest news. Also, the trades of crafting and selling are always in flux, so changes to prices and abilities of items are not always listed here in their entirety.

• A huge new quest, involving players of a very wide span of levels, will provide excitement all month. This further develops a plot that has been building for the entire year since AC first went live. Will you heed the call?
• Three brand new species of monsters have been introduced: Grievvers, Ursuins and Niffis . . . Oh my! (For further information, check out the recent Gamecenter.com article.)
• Secure Trade feature introduced. To begin a trade, click on the player, go to the Social panel (green triangular button with the heads), and click “Trade”. Then, select the button marked “Trade securely with--”. (For further information, see the Details of Secure Trade article.)
• The Vestry and High Acolytes in the Soul Fearing Quest are now worth 0 CP and do not drop loot. They were not meant to originally. The spawn rate has been increased, and the problems of crowding and confusion in the Soul Fearing Vestry quest have been worked on as well.
• The command “/friends online” will now show you all the people on your friends list that are online.
• Crystals, Esper Firestorm, Lethe Hellfire, and Tenkarrdun Hellfire did not leave corpses before -- they do now.
• Fun stuff -- pots, bowls, and cups can now be thrown. The better you are at Thrown Weapons, the better your aim will be with them.
• Cookbooks have been updated with the winners from August's Quest for Chocolate event. Also, you can find the writings from the winners of August's writing contest in the game as well. Check your local town vendor to purchase your copy today!
• Color coordinating your outfit in the morning becomes a lot easier. But beware -- don't expect it to be easy! If your skills are not up to the task, you could permanently damage your armor!
• Strange phenomena in the sky are getting more pronounced.
• “/chat” and “/notell” should work as they did before.
• New ambient sounds have been added to Dereth.
• New emotes have been introduced. They are: *curtsey*, *meditate* and *afk* (away from keyboard -- to use when you have to turn away from the screen to take care of real life!)

In order to learn the full scope of September's update, be sure to read the State of the Code and Developer's Notes, September, Take part in this incredible on-going story -- and we'll see you in Dereth!

Release Notes

Original Link (now dead) - http://classic.zone.msn.com/asheronscall/news/septbuild.asp

September Developer's Notes

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September 12, 2000

Here are just some of the additions made in the September 12 game update, Twilight's Gleaming. The following list is comprised of detailed notes straight from the developers themselves. For a summary of things of most interest, be sure to consult the official event roll-out article, Twilight's Gleaming.

Detailed Notes for Builds 2400-2408:

• Added new creature-only weapons.
• Added new logout motion and animation. Now, when a player logs out, they get purple bubbly effects and fade out.
• Fixed some typos in vendor, NPC, and monster death strings, as well as some item descriptions and trade skill strings.
• Cragstone's scribe, grocer, and healer shop strings now match the town spec.
• Crystals now leave corpses.
• The Esper Firestorm, Lethe Hellfire, and Tenkarrdun Hellfire elementals now leave a corpse, guaranteeing that whoever kills them has first dibs at their phat l00t.
• Virindi now cast Drain instead of Health-To-Mana.
• Multiplied the range of the armor/weapon spells by 2.5.
• Added owls and distant wolves to heavy forests as part of our continuing ambient sound buffs.
• General landscape weirdness fixes -- floating trees, inescapable pits, and so on.
• Added "@friends online" option.
• Slashed elemental creatures' particle counts by 2/3! This will improve the frame rate in very advanced, very dangerous areas with these creatures!
• Updated the Tatters Dungeon.
• Updated Folthid's Cellar where players could get trapped.
• Updated the Uziz NPC's -- they have new snazzy clothes!
• Electrical spurt effects in Amperehelion Vault now repeat instead of firing just once, and have a sizzling sound effect.
• SOLL infusions have a better use string now . . . something that shouldn't be so confusing.
• Previously viewed packs/sacks/etc. should now not try to open again upon re-login.
• To lessen the camping of the one good chest in the Soul Fearing Vestry treasure room, the chests have been scattered randomly.
• For some reason the Great Heaume glowed in the dark. It no longer does.
• Lurkers, Stalkers, and Raveners will now always carry weapons. No more “kung fu” drudges.
• Aerfalle's chest is no longer full of cheese and grapes. A couple of nifty new things have been added to make up for the inconvenience.
• Tenkarrdun Hellfire, Lethe Hellfire, Esper Firestorm, and Port Relic Bones had unique stats allowing players to find them easily. They now have the same stats as their brethren.
• Imperil VI has been made resistible.
• Frozen Green Tea's icon is now green.
• The table has been moved in the simple suite dungeon near Yanshi, preventing players from getting stuck on it.
• Shields generated by the treasure system will now be created with Invulnerability spells.

State of the Code

Original Link (now dead) - State of the Code

State of the Code

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September 18, 2000

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 AC.

On Aerlinthe, in the port, the portal that appears when I kill the Relic Bones does not take me anywhere!
A bug was introduced in the September update which has misrouted this portal, preventing entry to Aerfalle's Keep. We will mention when it is fixed, and we do apologize for the error.

State of the Code Archive
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.

Why can I not complete the Soul Fearing quest?
We discovered a bug that is preventing this quest from spawning appropriately, thus preventing it from being completed. We are working on a fix for this, but it may not come until our October event. We apologize for the inconvenience.

When I dyed my clothes/armor, I failed and now the Armor Level is worse. What happened?
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.

I gave an item to the collector and he did not return anything to me, including my original item. Is he a thief?
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.

Why are plates, cups, and related dinnerware appearing in the weapon shops?

In this month's update, certain treasure items were made able to be thrown as missile weapon. Because these objects can now be treated as weapons, they can also be bought and sold as weapons.