Announcements - Asheron's Call Beta

June 1999

Scavenger Hunt

Original Link - http://zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEnewsscavenge.asp

Scavenger Hunt

By +Larn Margot

It had been rumored that there would be a mysterious contest of skill and bravery across the land of Dereth, and I, being a scribe, was naturally interested. Bands of 10 to 20 brave men and women were meeting and forming teams at towns all over the continent. I caught up with "Team Three" in the swamps of Sawato.

As the adventurers easily overwhelmed a red phyntos wasp, the rumbling of thunder could be heard across the swamp. Ichi jin-rai searched the corpse and found a pair of intact wings. "I got a wasp wing. That's worth another point . . ." Ichi jin-rai said, when a mud golem crashed through the bushes, running surprisingly fast for such a large monster. Two more of the creatures soon followed. The rest of Team Three -- Elorian, Aslan the Lionheart, and Jane the Brave -- easily slaughtered the golems, their bodies crumbling to a thousand pieces. Following the battle, the relatively green Aslan jumped with excitement, exclaiming, "I've never seen a golem before!" However, after inspecting the remains of the creatures, the adventurers seemed crestfallen. What were they hoping to find?

During a brief respite from the fighting, I asked the nature of this contest. It happened that Team Three was one of the eight registered bands participating in a six-hour scavenger hunt. The objective was simple, if a bit odd: collect monster body parts, medallions, and armor specified on a public list and turn them over to an advocate for points before time ran out. Of course, different items had different point values, ranging from the one-point Auroch Horn to the thousand-point (not a misprint!) Olthoi Cuirass. Perhaps the advocates needed these ingredients for a special spell. Or perhaps this strange hunt was intended to encourage adventurers to eliminate the evil creatures of Dereth. I do not know. Team Three was trying hard not to get ambushed by golems in the process of collecting one-point wasp wings.

After the event, I discovered from an advocate that Team Four, consisting of Vidorian (the leader), Jon, Draco, Blackthorn, Doremon, Kewlbreeze, and Tobias, had achieved victory with a staggering 171 points. I sought them out and discussed strategy with them. Kewlbreeze originally set his sights high. "I wanted to go for the Olthoi Cuirass at first =)" he told me. However, Jon convinced the team to "stay with the easy stuff." Obviously the strategy worked for Team Four, whose most valuable item was a swamp stone, worth a lowly three points. Slow and steady seemed to be the key to the scavenger hunt. No team brought in an item worth more than four points.

Team Three, the team I was following, finished second. Perhaps their choice of hunting ground had cost them victory. Soon after being attacked by the golems, Ichi jin-rai was ambushed by two swamp gromnies. Jane the Brave summed up the situation best when she exclaimed, "RUN!" This scribe was glad he was not noticed by the gromnies (I bravely hid in the bushes).

Congratulations to Team Four for their astounding success!

Final Team Scores
Supplied by Dave@Turbine

(Team 1 and 5 results not available)

TEAM CRYSLIS

No list of items obtained.

TOTAL 9 POINTS

TEAM #2

No list of items obtained.

TOTAL 7 POINTS

TEAM #3

18 White Rat Tails	18 points
2 Black Rat Tails	2 points
4 Brown Rat Tails	4 point
1 Swamp Stone	3 points
8 Drudge Charms	8 points
6 Banderling Scalps	6 points
3 Red Phyntos Wasp Wings	3 points
8 Blue Phyntos Wasp Wings	8 points
3 Green Phyntos Wasp Wings	3 points
3 Wood Hearts	6 points
2 Gold Tumerok Insignia	8 points

TOTAL 69 POINTS

TEAM #4

1 Blue Phyntos Wasp Wing	1 point
1 Red Phyntos Wasp Wing	1 point
5 Green Phyntos Wasp Wings	5 points
1 Wood Heart	2 points
39 Auroch Horn Spears	78 points
16 Swamp Stones	48 points
12 White Rat Tails	12 point
1 Grey Rat Tail	1 point
5 Drudge Charms	5 points
15 Banderling Scalps	15 points
1 Skeleton Skull	3 points

TOTAL 171 POINTS

TEAM #6

12 White Rat Tails	12 points
3 Grey Rat Tails	3 points
2 Red Rat Tails	2 points
9 Black Rat Tails	9 points
30 Banderling Scalps	30 points
2 Green Phyntos Wasp Wings	2 point
1 Red Phyntos Wasp Wing	1 point
7 Drudge Charms	7 points
3 Wood Hearts	6 points
2 Auroch Horns	2 points
1 Auroch Horn Spear	2 points
2 Swamp Stones	6 points
3 Skeleton Skulls	9 points

TOTAL 91 POINTS

TEAM #7

1 Skeleton Skull	3 points
6 Swamp Stones	18 points

TOTAL 21 POINTS

TEAM #8

4 White Rat Tails	4 points
2 Banderling Scalps	2 points
1 Drudge Charm	1 point
2 Green Phyntos Wasp Wings	2 points
1 Grey Rat Tail	1 point
1 Wood Hearts	2 points
1 Auroch Horn Spear	2 points

TOTAL 14 POINTS

July 1999

Call to Arms Teaser

7/4/99 - Call to Arms

"You can hear the murmurs in every tavern and around every lifestone. Tension is building all across the land.

"As old age claims the last heroes who were enslaved to the Olthoi, we grow complacent. We've relaxed our vigilance against threats from afar. And as more people are called to Dereth, our settlements encroach on the territories of other races. How can we not expect the dark denizens to strike back?

"Rumors from the frontiers suggest that more and more creatures are threatening human habitations. How long will it be before they strike here? How long before we must defend our homes?

"And are we prepared?"

--Scribe ibn Tur

All over Osteth, mages have read the signs, and found the following ill-starred towns under imminent threat:
Holtburg
Rithwic
Samsur
Shoushi
Yanshi
Yaraq

We implore adventurers to begin gathering within distant sight of buildings on the evening of Wednesday, July 7th, and guard the countryside and inroads. Do not gather in the towns themselves -- we wish to intercept the foe before they get so far! For political advantage and a mention in the Annals, monarchs are advised to turn out with their allegiances. The hour of trial is at hand; organize now!

Call to Arms Recap

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEnewsarmscall.asp

Call to Arms: An Overview of the Recent Defense on 7/7/99

By Auberon

Screenshots of the Call to Arms

The advance scouts of the encroaching force appeared around 5:30 P.M. Pacific Time, comprising lesser monougas and banderlings, mixed with the occasional drudge pack. Holtburg was the first to encounter banderlings, who made their initial assault near the menhir just outside of town.

Soon other towns were under assault. Shoushi and Yanshi witnessed several hard-fought early battles. Later in the day, Yaraq was attacked by a huge swarm of monougas, who nearly decimated the population. A nearby tumerok raiding band took the opportunity to attack, hoping to pillage and plunder amid the general confusion. Between them and the rampaging monougas, it looked as though monsters might overrun the town. Fortunately, the stalwart citizens managed to regroup and form a defensive line near the beach, thwarting the blitzkrieg invasion. The town of Rithwic seemed at first to have escaped the onslaught, but soon ravenous hordes of monsters descended on their homes as well. Holtburg and Samsur were also struck by the host of invaders.

Citizen defenders gathered their allegiances to defend the towns. Pockets of resistance formed and encountered the enemy on all fronts. Mages and archers used the surrounding terrain, rampart walls, and building terraces to good effect, while stalwart warriors engaged the enemy hand-to-hand.

In Rithwic, a Sho warrior, tired and wounded, spotted a slim figure cutting her way through the ranks of enemies. There was a familiar look to her fighting style. Elegant and precise, she reminded him of the hero of the sacred rock. Could it be? By the gods, it was Ben Ten! Once again, Ben Ten had appeared in Dereth's time of crisis to defend a town, just like she did in Yanshi so many years before. Ben Ten's arrival seemed to lift the spirits of the defenders, and the tide of battle turned in favor of the Derethians. Soon Ben Ten was spotted in other areas of the island. Through some mystical means, she seemed to gust in with the wind, and where her blade shone, it laid waste to her opponents.

Just as the people of Dereth felt they could breathe a sigh of relief, a new and terrifying threat loomed. The tremendous monougas! Towering over 40 feet tall, these colossal behemoths left a swathe of death behind them. At first they appeared unstoppable, but the Derethians would not be easily defeated. As the battle for Dereth raged, some spotted the true source of the attack, the Virindi, who observed the battle with cold calculation. Shadow Lieutenants were also sighted. Could the presence of these minions of Bael'Zharon signify an unholy alliance between Virindi and Dark Lord? The possible ramifications of such a union are horrifying to say the least.

The battle ended around 8:30 P.M. Pacific Time, with exhausted defenders counting the dead and healing the wounded. Although the toll was terrible, the day had been won, and Dereth was safe for the moment. As the citizenry return to their daily lives, they discuss the Call to Arms as a grim reminder of the dangers of complacency. May we heed this lesson well, for surely this will not be the last time we face the enemy.

Call to Arms Recap - Screenshots

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewsarmscallshot.asp

Screenshots of the Call to Arms Event

Asheron's Call Beta: July 7, 1999

Click on thumbnails for full pictures.

August 1999

September 1999

1999/9/17 Build Notes

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEnewsarmscall.asp

The Latest Upgrade Is Here!

There has been a significant upgrade to Asheron's Call. Here are some important notes:

Please always read the system message that appears when you first start up AC. It may have information that is very important to you!

In order to better support 3D acceleration, DirectX 6 is now required. As a result, Windows NT 4 is no longer supported. Windows 2000 is temporarily unable to play AC, but this will be fixed soon.

If after you click Play in the chat room the game launches and quickly exits itself with no error, or if during the "updating" sequence (the blue tubes filling up) your progress stops entirely, try again. If it still happens, move the file "cell.dat" out of your AC install directory. Try again. If this still does not get you into the game, move the "cell.dat" back to your AC install directory, since removing it should only be done when absolutely necessary.

The following changes have been made:

Health-to-Stamina spells have new icons.
Removed the Lifestone from Lin.
Festival Stones are on the compass now. Same color as vendors.
New request assistance/complaint panel.
Blast spells are now targeted.
Telescopic view with Voodoo3 is fixed.
Players can no longer aid monsters with beneficial spells.
Adjusts all starting spells so they participate in the spell economy.
Your vitae penalty no longer wears off over time. Only earning XP will reduce it.
Damage and value of thrown weapons have been changed.
PK death now is the same as NPK death.
Now, when you back the camera against a wall, you turn translucent.
We've made a fix for client crashes that occurred when resizing with some video cards, including Voodoo Rush.
Researching a valid spell formula on an out-of-range target will never succeed.
We fixed a problem on the Riva128 with the mouse pointer scribbling all over the place.
Unarmed combat speeds have been changed.
Map screen now has glowing "points of interest"
We added a second exit portal to the Virindi Fort.
Loyalty and Leadership costs have been tweaked. Loyalty is automatically trained. Leadership cost is now 4 to train and 2 to specialize.
Added cookbooks and guides on alchemy and fletching. Go find them!
General shopkeepers sell a flaming torch.
Shows full name in vassal box when showing title.
Disabled "wild" (untargeted) swings, to close up abusable holes.
Green Mire Grave updated to prevent camping.
Portals to Direlands have been moved away from towns.
Lou Ka in West Shoushi now accepts Drudge Charms.
Dungeon Nye was fixed. Too many monsters in one room.
Towns of Lin and Tou-Tou are now on map, along with some others.
NPK player corpses are only lootable by the dead player.
PK corpses are only lootable by the dead player and their killer.
Some scribes now sell rumors about the Altar of Asheron.
Treasure at the bottom of Holtburg Dungeon has been changed (less valuable).
Directions to Festival Stones added. Scribes sell the directions.
Makes a deleted character slot "temporarily unavailable" for one hour.
Weird green glow around Magic spell icons on ATI Graphics Pro Turbo PCI (Mach 64) fixed.
The person unlocking a chest now has three-second "dibs" on opening the chest.
Wand of Black Fire reduced in value.
Cow is now not worth as much XP.
More creatures added to the Underground Forest dungeon.
Friends list size increased from 10 to 20.
Generic Collectors now tell players they don't deal in hides from creatures.

Please be aware that this is a new build with a lot of big changes, and as a result, new bugs and problems may have been introduced. In other words, expect things to be rocky for a few days while we work out the kinks. Things will be getting much better soon.

Thank you for your patience and support during the Asheron's Call Beta!

October 1999

Fire in the Sky Recap

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEtheend.asp

The Fire in the Sky

October 25, 1999

A comet appeared over Dereth last week, clouds raced across a smoky sky, and wanderers discovered devastation in and around many of the major towns, most notably Shoushi, which remained only as scattered wreckage surrounding a large, glowing crater. In Glenden Wood, a volcano had erupted, igniting nearby buildings. Soon after, reports flowed from the Direlands that ghostly elementals of living flame stalked the waste, in the company of magma golems. In the following days, decayed parchment copies of an ancient manuscript blew across the countryside, and canny adventurers began to gather and collate them, deciphering an unsettling prophecy. Fire elementals began increasingly to appear in the settled lands, until, late on Saturday, they poured in a torrent from the skies, attacking everyone they met. Citizens of Dereth rallied to oppose them. Eventually, the tide of fire abated, to be replaced by a hail of black stones. Enigmatic collectors appeared, with whom adventurers could redeem certain stones for powerful magical artifacts. Some sages believed that the collectors tried to work with the stones to somehow forestall the ultimate cataclysm. If so, they failed. Oblivion at last descended on Dereth. However, the brave deeds that went before were not in vain. As the cycle begins again, heroes will recall them in dreams; they will enter the mythology of a vital new world, and inspire even more stirring adventures in the bright years ahead.

Screenshots of the Fire in the Sky

Prophecy Contest

Coverage on Other Sites

Thresh's Firing Squad

The Valor Knights

Fire in the Sky Recap - Screenshots

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEnewsfirewinner.asp

Screenshots of the "Fire in the Sky Event"

End of the Asheron's Call Beta: October 22 - 24, 1999

Shoushi, Before and After

Glenden Wood, Before and After

Yaraq, Before and After

Elsewhere . . .

The Bridge Near Shoushi

The Direlands -- Elementals Regard Their Parent Star

Fire in the Sky Prophecy Contest

Original Link - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEnewsfirewinner.asp

The Lost Prophecy Restored!

Congratulations to the intrepid band led by Saffron Dusk (Caeryn Dryad, Sol the Wanderer, Alun Magus, Aliciana, and DeLT), who were the first to gather the damaged copies of the Fire in the Sky prophecy and assemble the following message:

* * *

In the midst of a terrible fever I had this dream. For four days and nights I sweltered, even as the chill wind scoured my sickbed, and visions appeared before me. As I burned, I saw the same befall the world.

There shall come a time of flame and woe unto the land. There shall be no harbinger of this suffering, no warning that we may escape. We have grown prideful, drawing power from the Earth's bones without thought, and for this she will be avenged.

The Earth shall be in turmoil, with great wounds rent in her flesh, and her blood shall burn like brimstone. Mountains of fire will awaken, and the fruited fields shall blacken. A crimson eye shall open amid the welkin and look down upon the ravaged ground. This bloody Witness shall be wroth to see the pain pent in the Earth, and its tears shall fall burning upon the land, bringing cleansing flame.

But the tears of the Witness shall not be as mortals shed: they shall live, and knowing the wrath of he who gave them birth, shall spread despair upon the earth. Their forms shall be those of men, and their might shall grow with the passing of days. They shall brook no thoughts of pity, but shall know only slaughter, and no woman nor man may enter their sight and not feel their rage. And still they will come, for many terrible nights and days.

When finally the Witness's grief is fully spent, its tears shall fall no more, and dark stones shall rain down in their place. In my dream, men laid hands on these stones, crafting magical wonders from them. Yet they shall be chary to use them, lest the Witness weep again.

* * *

Many sages from across Dereth labored long and hard to compose this message. Alas, there could be only one winner. However, an honorable mention, at least, is due the following adventurers, who also completed the entire text:

The team of Jin Lee, Molarman, and Xipher	Aranac Greyblood
Rwild	Jedismj
Sokharis	PAKRAT
Onicus Battleblade	Kawaii
Mynex II	Ba-Thonga
Knight Who Says Ni	Lord Soth
Atari	Ghaleon Magus