Announcements - 2009/09 - Cogs in the Machine
September 2009 - Patch Page
[?? AC Mystics]
[?? ACvault]
[?? Dereth.info]
[?? Warcry's CoD]
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=496-cogs-in-the-machine
Cogs in the Machine
In a roughly excavated cavern deep beneath the surface of northwestern Osteth, a Virindi ranked Master among the Apostate faction consulted with a group lower-ranked Servants who were bound to its will. The Master had received personal instructions from the shadowy Consul who directed the entire Apostate faction. It sat at the center of a circle of five Servants, turning to each to receive its report.
“The tunneling has been completed,” one of the Servants reported. “The Gotrok diggers breached the final wall at the end of their day cycle. We did not require them to work past their meal hour.”
The Master acknowledged the Servant’s report and turned to another member of its circle of minions. “The Reaving Facility is complete. The Gotrok builders have reinforced the interior walls. We Servants completed the matter transference points and Aetherium storage chambers.”
The third one also reported on a task successfully completed. “The Simulacra have been created. We were able to gain access to the techniques the rogue Aerbax developed in creating its ‘Prodigal Children.’ The Consul itself supervised the creation and development of these variants, which we believe will be far superior to the crude approximations that the renegade Levistras created during its own attempt to create a New Singularity. These Simulacra will be capable of channeling and focusing mana energy. The Simulacra will come through the gate in one hour, after the Consul has finished conditioning them.”
The Master turned to its fourth Servant for a report. “Our Isparian proxies have assembled enough equipment to arm and armor the bodies of the anticipated Simulacra. The weapon shipments have been transferred without Isparian interference, and are stored in the Reaving Facility itself. The improved Simulacra will benefit from improved weaponry as well as improved thaumic combat capabilities.”
The Master felt the nascent twinges of an emotion that could be described as pleasure or pride as it turned to its fifth Servant. “The gate to the Arrival Chamber has been constructed,” it reported. “Our remote sensing indicates that the mechanical beings have responded to our beacon. As the Consul expected, they have been attempting to find their way to this world-nexus since the disappearance of their first delegation. The patterns of Aetheric energy flow indicate the imminent arrival of a small delegation.”
The Master turned to the third Servant. “Bring the Simulacra to the armory when they arrive, make sure they are fully armed and armored, and dispatch them into the Reaving Facility. Notify me when the Simulacra are equipped and in place to intercept the new arrivals.” The Servant dipped in the air and left to carry out its orders.
The Master turned to the second Servant. “Station yourself near the Arrival Chamber to start transferring the mechanical beings through the Gate into the Reaving Facility. Bring through no more than one at a time until we have assured ourselves of the Simulacra’s effectiveness against them. Await further instructions there.” That Servant dipped and departed.
The Master then turned to direct orders to its first Servant. “Prepare the Gotrok in the tunnels to defend the entrance. We will not have Isparians overrunning this facility and ruining our ruse, as has occurred at other facilities.”
With those three Servants gone, the Master issued common orders to the two remaining. “Report to the Reaving Facility and be prepared to support the Simulacra should our calculations of their physical and mental capabilities prove inaccurate. Our calculations are based on potentially obsolete specimens that were last seen on this world hundreds of Isparian year-cycles ago. As we under our Consul are stronger than the renegades that followed Levistras, and the Isparians have surprised us with the developments of their capabilities over time, so too might these mechanical beings surprise us with their own advancements in that time.”
The last two Servants dipped and drifted towards the newly constructed facility. Now alone, the Master sank deep into its own mind to commune with the Consul that had created it and given it sentience. “All preparations are in place. We await the arrival of your Simulacra.”
The Consul responded with a brief, perfunctory acknowledgement. With that, the Master waited in silence to receive a report of readiness from the third Servant.
An hour later, a period which was virtually instantaneous to its own sense of time, the Master received a mental notification from the third Servant. “All Simulacra are conditioned, equipped with Isparian arms and weaponry, and ready for combat.”
The Master contacted the second Servant, the one it had stationed by the gate between the Arrival Chamber and the Reaving Facility. “Have the mechanical beings arrived?” it asked.
The Servant responded, “A delegation has arrived. They have so far only explored the limited space of the Arrival Chamber. They have taken no actions yet, but we sense that they are in communication with their home world. Our analysis of their behavior and physiology indicates that they are of minimal standing within their hierarchy. We judge them to be scouts. No leader has appeared.”
“Notify your counterparts to make ready, and send one through the Gate.”
A short time later, the Master received a report from the Servants stationed with the Simulacra. “One mechanical being came through the Gate. While it possesses great physical strength, its thaumic combat capabilities are limited. It was no match for the massed attacks of the Simulacra. Our intervention was unnecessary. It has been disabled. We are dismantling it and taking its parts to the matter transference points to harvest the Aetherium. Preliminary analysis indicates a great reserve of Aetherium stored within its power core.”
The Master told the Servant at the Gate to start sending more through. It bobbed in the air with idiosyncratic pleasure as reports kept coming of mechanical beings being sent through the Gate and falling to the forces stationed there. Finally, something was going according to plan for at least one Master of the Apostate Virindi…
It was interrupted in its reverie by an urgent report from the Servant at the Gate. “A leader has come into the Arrival Chamber. Behavior analysis indicates it is a sub-commander, well below the rank of a Primus, but much more powerful than projected by the analysis of the older specimens. Its energy emanations are unorthodox, unexpected. We are monitoring it for—“
The message ended abruptly.
At that moment, a message came from one of the Servants stationed with the Simulacra in the Reaving Facility. “The Gate has been closed. It is still active, but we can no longer exert control over it.”
Rollout Article
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Release Notes
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=495-september-2009-release-notes
September 2009: Release Notes
Hello there and welcome to the Release Notes for the September Event, Cogs in the Machine! Festival season is upon us once again, and the chill of fall is on the air. As we fast approach ten years here in Dereth, there is a definite feeling that change is coming. Lets see what else is new and exciting in Asheron’s Call this month!
- Festival Season is upon us. Masks and Guises and Pumpkins, oh my!
- The Arcanum is seeking to learn more about the mysterious clockwork soldiers.
- Also the next stage in the Thug quest will be available. Fiona will still be in her cage due to the problems this month.
- A Scholar has appeared in Eastham who is particularly interested some recent events.
- The monthly kill tasks are updated.
- The monthly Explorer Task has been updated.
- Monster Fights, The Carnezi Race, and Fiona should no longer have problems with locking up or starting.
- Anyone who was stuck on the Apostate Nexus Quest started by Ned the Clever by not being able to pick up the shard will be able to pick up the shard after talking to Ned again.
- The mansion that was having problems with basement access has been fixed.
Letter to the Players
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Developer Comments
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