Letter to the Players

[Panzerfaust]

Link to LTTP: http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=396


September 2005 Letter to the Players


SEPTEMBER LETTER TO THE PLAYERS
Welcome to the September Letter to the Players! We've got quite a large event in store for all of you this month. The September Event, "Under Cover of Night" marks some dangerous times for the Dereth, but also includes some new improvements players can use to defeat their adversaries. This event is currently scheduled for Wednesday, September 21st.

COMING SOON
(These are the items we plan to implement for the September Event)

SKILL SELLBACK GEMS: IMPORTANT!
All skill sellback gems in players inventories will be removed when the September event goes live. Any gems picked up after the September event goes live will be on the original 14 day timer.

GLOBAL CHAT
Global Chat marks a significant upgrade to Asheron Call's chat system. The Global Chat system will include four new chat channels – General, Trade, Looking For Group, and Roleplay.

General
The General channel is an all-purpose channel that allows all players of Asheron's Call to chat with each other about any aspect of Asheron's Call.

Trade
The Trade channel exists specifically for players to advertise their wares to each other and to arrange trades.

Looking For Group
This channel exists specifically to help players find others to join them for in-game activities.

Roleplay
The Roleplay channel allows players who enjoy roleplaying their characters a place to chat in-character, arrange roleplaying activities, and meet likeminded individuals. Note that this channel does not receive any special enforcement.

Joining and Leaving the Channel
All channels can be joined and/or left in one of two ways:

Through a checkbox in the Character Settings tab of the Options UI Panel. Note that this change takes effect as soon as the checkbox is used; the Apply button does not need to be pressed before this change takes effect.

Through a text command:

/join
/leave

The text command is just a shortcut to the UI checkbox, and it sets the checkbox as appropriate. The player will see a confirmation message in their chat area when they have entered or left a channel that looks like this:

You have [joinedleft] the [tag] channel.

See the Global Chat Channel Summary below for channel names and tags.

Players are automatically joined to any channels that they have checked when they login, and they will also see the join messages on login.

Talking in the Channel
Players can prefix any text they wish to send to the channel with the command symbol (/ or @) and the channel name. For instance, the following will send the message to the trade channel.

@ct I have Elysa's Crystal that I'm willing to trade for 4 MMDs!

In addition, players can also set their Chat Bar menu so that everything they type without a prefix automatically goes to the selected channel.

You may also join or leave a channel by selecting it from your Character Options panel, under Chat.

Note that players can only send text to a channel if they are currently listening to it. Players who attempt to send text to a channel that they are not listening to will see the message:

You may not speak on that channel because you are not currently listening to it.

When a player receives text from a global channel, that text will be prefixed by a channel tag (detailed below) and the name of the character who sent the text. For instance, other players listening to the trade channel when I sent the text above will see:

[Trade] Mor'gan says, "I have Elysa's Crystal that I'm willing to trade for 4 MMDs!"

All global channels will display in the same text color: a kind of blue-grey.

Squelching
Squelching rules apply to text in global chat channels in the same way that they apply to text sent in open local chat ("says"). That is, if I have a character is explicitly squelched, I will never see anything that that character says. If I have the character's account squelched, I will not see things that other characters on that account say as well.

We will also be increasing the maximum characters/accounts that can be squelched at once from 32 to 64.
Global Chat Channel Summary

Channel


Default


Checkbox Text


Tool Tip


Name


Tag

General


On


Listen to General Chat.


When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global General chat channel. This channel is for general discussions about Asheron's Call.


general, cg


[General]

Trade


On


Listen to Trade Chat.


When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Trade chat channel. This channel is for arranging in-game trades with other players.


trade, ct


[Trade]

LFG


On


Listen to LFG Chat.


When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Looking For Group chat channel. This channel helps you find other players to adventure with.


lfg, clfg


[LFG]

Roleplay


Off


Listen to Roleplay Chat.


When this option is enabled, you can hear and speak on the global Roleplay chat channel. This channel is for in-character roleplaying and for discussions about roleplaying in Asheron's Call.


roleplay, crp


[Roleplay]

Chat Windows
We are also adding some new functionality to the chat window to help players better manage the new chat channels. This new functionality can best be described as: extra floating chat windows and filtering the text that displays in those windows.

In short, we are adding four buttons to the resize bar of the current (main) chat window. Clicking on each of these buttons will toggle a floating chat window that can be dragged around the 3D area and resized at will. The size and position of each window will be saved for each character. The floating chat windows are translucent; in normal circumstances, items can be selected through the window, and hovering the mouse over the chat window will darken it and cause it to intercept mouse clicks.

By default, all text types are displayed in the main chat window and no chat types are displayed in the floating windows. The player can, however, open the new Chat tab in the Options panel to select which types of chat display in which windows. Players may choose to display the following types of text in any (or no) windows:

-Area Chat (@say, @emote)
-Private Chat (@tell)
-Fellowship
-Allegiance (includes Allegiance Broadcast)
-General
-Trade
-LFG
-Roleplay
-Combat (not including magic)
-Magic

Gameplay (includes Recall, Craft, Advancement, Housing and System Messages, etc – anything which is not communication from another player or Combat/Magic)

The Gameplay category will always display in the main window (unless individual components are filtered by the @filter command). In this way we guarantee that you cannot accidentally miss important system messages more easily than they can now. The Gameplay category can be turned on or off in the floating windows, however.

Note that this functionality is in addition to the existing text filtering capabilities. The UI does not replace the @filter command, because we do not want to remove functionality that many of you rely on. In addition, @filter allows players to filter out subtypes within the "Other" category.

In addition, players can also adjust the active and inactive opacity of the floating chat windows in the new Chat options tab (although note that this slider controls all four floating windows at once; it is not a window-by-window control).

Expanded Chat Commands
In an effort to make the chat system more user-friendly, we are adding a number of new commands for existing chat types that mimic other games. We have added an @w command that maps to private chat (@tell). Note that all of these new and existing commands will be listed by the @help command.

And, to make the system less confusing, we consolidated the format of communication in several channels to better indicate to players how they can respond. The following table illustrates these changes.
Chat Commands Summary

Channel


Existing Commands


Additional Commands


Old Tag or Format


New Tag or Format

Area Chat


say


s


From: You say, ""

To: Name says, ""


No Change

Private Chat


tell, t

(reply, r, rp,

retell, rt)


send, whisper, w


From: You tell Name, ""

To: Name tells you, ""


No Change

Fellowship


f


fellows, fellow, group, g, party


From: You say to your Fellowship, ""

To: Name says to your fellowship, ""


From: [Fellowship] You say, ""

To: [Fellowship] Name says, ""

Allegiance


a


guild, gu


[Allegiance] Name says, ""



No Change

Allegiance Broadcast


allegiance broadcast


ab


From: You say to your Allegiance, ""

To: Your allegiance speaker Name says to you, ""


From: [Allegiance Broadcast] You say, ""

To: [Allegiance Broadcast] Name says, ""

Monarch


m

(mr)


monarch


From: You say to your Monarch, ""

To: Your follower Name says to you, ""


No Change

Patron


p

(pr)


patron


From: You say to your Patron, ""

To: Your vassal Name says to you, ""


No Change

Vassals


v


vassals, vassal


From: You say to your Vassals, ""

To: Your patron Name says to you, ""


No Change

Co-Vassals


c


co-vassals, covassals, covassal


From: You say to your Co-Vassals, ""

To: Your co-vassal Name says to you, ""


From: [Co-Vassals] You say, ""

To: [Co-Vassals] Name says, ""

Click Name to Tell
This feature makes communication easier for players. Players will be able to click on the name of another player when that name appears in the chat window as the originator of communication, and the following will happen:

The chat entry bar will gain focus

The text "@tell , " will appear in the chat entry bar (minus quotes).

The cursor will be at the end of this text, so that the clicking player can immediately continue with a private message to the clicked character.

Note that this system does not currently work in the allegiance, general, trade, looking for group, or roleplay chat channels. We may add this functionality in a future update.

NEW LANDMASS – VISSIDAL ISLAND
The new island for September is called Vissidal, or "Summer Palace" in the Falatacot language. It was once a private island retreat for Falatacot royalty and nobility, before catastrophic events sank it to the ocean floor.

Vissidal Island sits off the northeast coast of Dereth. It is shaped like a long continental shelf, and seems to almost echo the shape of the Derethian coast. In general, the island is close to sea level, but it rises up to a ridge shape along most of its northern and eastern coast. The island, recently re-surfacing after untold years under the sea, features flora and fauna never before seen by Dereth mainlanders, including great forests of coral and anemone.

There is one outpost on the island. Located on the western shore of the island, it is populated by a strange group of Mosswart-like creatures who have been taught language, reasoning, and commerce by a mysterious benefactor that the creatures only know as "Angry Grandfather."

Players will need to be a certain level and complete a quest before gaining entry to the island. Those that venture to the island should beware the Remoran!!

TREASURE
Crowns, Hats, Shoes, and Gloves spawn with much higher Armor Level can now be found.

We've changed elemental wands so they can be tinkered to increase their elemental damage multiplier.

Level 7 spells are now available as loot!

In addition, several types of armor will receive modified base protections.

REFURBISHERS
For those who have trophy items that lost their original art and display in a partially broken state after the release of ToD we have created a new NPC that will accept a number of these items and exchange them for a brand new version of the same item. These NPCs can be found in Holtburg, Shoushi, Yaraq, and outside Sanamar.

The Refurbishers will accept the following items:

-Pack Cow
-Pack Drudge
-Golden Gromnie
-Pack Golem
-Pack Grievver
-Pack Idol
-Pack Lugian
-Pack Mosswart
-Velveteen Olthoi
-Pack Scarecrow
-Plush Tusker
-Pack Ursuin
-Pack Virindi
-Mu-miyah Guise
-Mu-miyah body with a Head
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue
-Decorative Bronze Statue
-Commemorative Bronze Statue
-Oxidized Statue

DUNGEONS
Due to the over crowding of the Path of the Blind hunting dungeon we have created two duplicate Path of the Blind dungeons. In addition, the XP rewards for the Egg Orchard and Dark Design will be adjusted upwards to be comparable to Path of the Blind.

Path of the Blind: Two copies will be made of the original Path of the Blind dungeon. The entrances to these dungeons will be placed on landscape somewhere on the Isle of Ruin

Egg Orchard: Modifications to the Olthoi within will be made so that they are easier to kill. This will bring up the XP over time in line with the Path of the Blind. In addition, we will create two duplicate dungeons similar in design to what will be done with Path of the Blind.

Dark Design: Again the XP earned in this dungeon will be brought more in line with the Path of the We have created versions of the Mosswarts that do not cast and have interspersed these versions among the chain casting versions of the Mosswarts. Also, the chain casting Mosswarts will have their spellbook altered to cast less war spells and debuffs. Base stats will remain the same as they are already fairly easy to kill.

NEW QUESTS
A variety of new quests have been added to the game. Here is just a sampling of what's to come!

Gateway to the Deep - Players level 130 or above can engage in a continent-spanning quest to open the portals to the new island. Once this has been done, the quest serves as an initiation to gain access to the new island. The initial iteration culminates in a group battle against the fearsome creature!

Temple of Xik Minru – Level 130 or higher players can help a grieving widow locate her long-lost husband. Xik Minru sounds a little familiar doesn't it?

Enrico's Betrayal - Level 60 or higher players can help the commander of the Viamontian invasion cover up evidence of his various betrayals.

Marae Lassel Kill Tasks - Level 20-80 players can obtain kill tasks involving the Viamontian invasion of Marae Lassel

Well that just about covers everything. But of course there are many more quests and surprises in store for you in this event! We'll be talking about the October Event in the near future.

See you in Dereth!
- Calandryll

[Ncatyl]

SKILL SELLBACK GEMS: IMPORTANT!
All skill sellback gems in players inventories will be removed when the September event goes live. Any gems picked up after the September event goes live will be on the original 14 day timer.

sunzibiches!

Now I gotta go finish the skillpoint quest post-haste.