Character Portrait Contest Print News | Mail News We received this email, and thought it might be something Horizons players might be interested in.
Restless Vision Graphics is holding a Character Portrait Giveaway Contest which is open to all players of Online Roleplaying games. Details can be found at www.restlessvision.com
The lucky first place winner will recieve free original artwork depicting his or her character, a photograhic quality print of the artwork suitable for framing, as well as a signature graphic based on the portrait. The sencond place player will win a free custom signature graphic featuring original artwork of his/her character. All entries must be submitted on or before October 23rd. Good Luck to all who enter! :)
horizons.istaria.com/Account creation problems Print News | Mail News Hey all,
Due to our hardware transition we are having some difficulties with people being able to access http://horizons.istaria.com and set up an account with us. Please bear with us while we get this problem solved. We are working to get it fixed as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Amadan
Customer Service Lead
Artifact Entertainment
As we had announced, we are in a maintenance period for the North American shards of Blight, Order and Chaos. We had planned on having Blight available again by this time, but have discovered in making the many necessary changes an issue with authentication. Since Blight is the testing shard, we have kept it unavailable to the public while we solve this problem. We are still very much on schedule for tomorrow’s availability of all of the North American shards, but we prefer to work this issue out with Blight remaining unavailable to the public. As soon as it is resolved on Blight, we will once again make Blight available. Thank you for your support of our efforts.
Live Shard Release Notes - 9/28/2004 Print News | Mail News The following changes, fixes and additions were applied to Chaos and Order on 9/28/2004:
Fixes:
• The level 80 platinum golem was set to be harvestable while alive, instead of dead. This has been corrected so that he is only harvestable when dead.
• The Treant School Ability ‘Grasping Roots’ should no longer affect Satyrs. Grasping roots was not recognizing Satyr Freedom.
• The Blood Skulks should now drop the appropriate amount of coin for their level.
• The Expert Platemail Mask formula should now properly make Mithril Masks instead of shoulder pads.
• The Superior Resurrect ability should now revive a player to 100% health.
• Lightning Claws, Vampiric Touch, Fists of Flame, and Freezing Touch should no longer stack. You may only have one of these buffs at a time.
• Static Aura was improperly set up and giving a pulsing augmentation to all players in the group, making each player pulse the augmentation. It has been fixed now so that only the user of the ability ‘Static Aura’ will pulse the effect to the rest of the group.
• Journeyman Formula: Promote Vitality has been corrected to use the appropriate amount of resources for its skill requirement.
• The Royal Scepter hoard drop has had its valued raised to a more appropriate level.
• Expert Formula: Essence Transmutation has had its mismatched requirements fixed.
• The Technique: Junction III has been fixed. It was improperly set up to only go on Ice skill spells; this has been changed to go onto Energy Spells.
• Corrected the Coin and Hoard Values on some potions, some potions were improperly set to sell for 1 copper a piece.
• The Scout ability ‘Spray Arrows’ should now properly work with ranged weapons.
• The Expert Spell Formula used to make Daunting Mist has been corrected to use spell craft instead of smelting.
• The Journeyman Fishing Line formula was asking players to use a Loom process, but was inappropriately set to require a Fabric Distaff. This has been corrected, and Journeyman Fishing Line now requires a Loom to process.
• The Spell Resurrection V should now raise another player with 90% of their health. Previously this was reviving the character with 50% health, making it identical to Resurrection III.
• Glaring Quills will no longer stack with other Damage Shield type augmentations.
• The Pulsing Spectrum line of augmentations now have requirements on them. These requirements will make sure the player is currently in the Wizard school, and of appropriate level to use Pulsing Spectrum. This will not affect any players who play Wizards as their primary school, it will only affect players who join the Wizard school cast the 2 hour augmentation upon themselves then switch schools. Now when they attempt to, they will lose the augmentation upon switching schools.
• Bane Technique corrected to 30 seconds as listed in description.
• Energy Damage I technique damage corrected to +2 instead of +0
• Flame Damage I technique damage corrected to +2 instead of +1
• Ice Damage I technique damage corrected to +2 instead of +1
• Nature Damage I technique damage corrected to +2 instead of +1
• Spirit Damage I technique damage corrected to +2 instead of +1
• Fishing techniques now require fish instead of creature drops
• Strength III now takes Brown Wolf fangs instead of Winter Wolf fangs
• The Hoard value on Techniques has been increased.
• The Coin value on Tier III Techniques has been increased.
• More salt added to Scorpion Island
• Smelter added to Armorer Trainer in Aughundell
• The Icy Brilliant Stone may now be installed into weapon sockets.
• Kirasanct Guard NPC Helaerion says "Welcome to Kirasanct” instead of Feladan
• Expert Hide Tanning produces 2 units
• Fitter Trainers now wear clothing
• Tinkerer Task: Salvage 10 Oak Boards referred to Elm Boards
• Helm of Keen Sight is no longer listed useable by Dragons
• Platinum Fabric Scissors are now capped at 850 skill and there is no skill cap on Mithril Fabric Scissors
• Dragon Task: Kill 20 Brighter Breeder Spiders kill count is now 20 instead of 30
• Dragon Task: Kill 20 Brighter Spider Hatchlings kill count corrected
• Dragon Task: Defeat the Wraith Overseer is now Dragon Task: Defeat the Massive Oak Treant Akron
• Dragon Task: Kill 40 Water Golems kill count corrected
• Dragon Task: Kill 20 Cedar or Massive Cedar Treants kill count corrected
• Dragon Task: Kill 20 Sand Ogres kill count corrected
• Dragon Task: Kill 30 Ferocious Gruoks kill count corrected
• Dragon Task Kill 20 Bone Golems should be Leafy Oastics
• Green Token Task: Collect resources now requires you to go to Kiva, the Tailor Trainer in Kion instead of Huma, the Tailor Trainer that is no longer in Aughundell
• Go Bag 5 Small Ruxus Jaws should now say in the last step “to return to the Trophy Hunters in Dalimond or Chiconis.”
• Expert Wood Construction Timber now gives 1640 xp min skill and 820 xp at max skill
• Expert Wood Construction Braces now gives 1840 xp at min skill and 920 at max skill
• Expert Stone Construction Block now gives 1640 xp min skill and 820 xp at max skill
• Expert Stone Construction Keystones now gives 1840 xp at min skill and 920 at max skill
• Expert Metal Construction Sheeting now gives 1640 xp min skill and 820 xp at max skill
• Expert Metal Construction Jointing now gives 1840 xp at min skill and 920 at max skill
• Expert Essence Construction Sphere now gives 1640 xp min skill and 820 xp at max skill
• Expert Essence Construction Source now gives 1840 xp at min skill and 920 at max skill
• Expert Fabric Construction Bolt now gives 1640 xp min skill and 820 xp at max skill
• Expert Fabric Construction Tapestries now gives 1840 xp at min skill and 920 at max skill
• Weaponsmiths no longer give out Weaver training equip
• Jeweler Task: Craft 35 Amethyst was expecting Garnet
• Expert Metal Gears, Hinges, Struts, Springs now make 3 per batch
• Monk Task: Rank Test 1 now completes correctly
• Ironsilk Cargo Tunic now has the correct icon
• Karane the Historian now loads properly
• Oversized inventory icons are now sized correctly.
• Ironsilk plants have updated artwork
• Steelsilk Plants have updated artwork
• Grape plants have updated artwork
• Bone Golems and animated marrows are no longer invisible
• Some issues with ambiant and combat sounds are now fixed
• Rebuildable machine structures (i.e. Destroyed Ore Refinery) should be able to be activated to generate their machines when they are completed.
• All Guild Houses are now placed on Guild Plots.
Changes:
• Lava Oastics now have their own school: Lava Oastic.
• Forest Oastics now have their own school: Forest Oastic.
• Leafy Oastics now have their own school: Leafy Oastic.
• The Treant School now has the Skin like series.
• The Treant School now gains Cloak of Thorns V at level 101. All treants that are level 101 will now have this ability.
• The Fire Ogre School will now gain the Scorch line of abilities. Scorch is a mild damage shield.
• The Fire Pygmy School will now gain the Scorch line of abilities. Scorch is a mild damage shield.
• The Ice Beetle School will now gain the Ice Armor line of abilities.
• The Ice Ogre School will now gain the Ice Armor line of abilities.
• The Ice Pygmy School will now gain the Ice Armor line of abilities.
• The Wolf School will now receive the Crippling Bite line of abilities.
• The Wolf School will now receive the Frenzied Bite line of abilities.
• Fiery Dire Wolves are now members of the Fire Wolf School.
• Icy Dire Wolves are now members of the Ice Wolf School.
• Winter Mountain Wolves are now members of the Ice Wolf School.
• The Ice Golem School will now gain the ability Ice Barb.
• Avalanche of Ore now gives the augmentation Overburden. A player suffering from overburden will have their capacity decreased.
• All Beetle schools now gain the ability Harden Shell.
• Brighter Spiders now have their own school: Brighter Spider
• Redbacked Spiders now have their own school: Redbacked Spider
• Shadow Spiders now have their own schooll: Shadow Spider
• Purple Spiders now have their own school: Purple Spider
• The nighttime brightness adjustment range has been increased.
• The image quality on the Survey Map has been improved .
• Tier 5 & 6 Filter buttons have been added to Trade Filter Window
Additions:
• Added Tiers 1 through 5 Techniques into monster treasure tables. Tier 1 monsters will drop Tier 1 techniques, Tier 2 monsters will drop Tier 2 techniques, and so on.
• Distillery added in Mahagra
• Distillery added in Dalimond
• Dire Wolves have moved into the Selen Forest.
• Mountain Wolves have moved into the Oak Forest Northwest of Tazoon.
• Expert Alchemical Dye formulas may now be found on the Vielo, this will create the technique resources needed for the new dye techniques.
• Techniques for Tier 5 dyes will now drop from looted Tier 5 and above monsters. The new dye colors are as follows:
• Blood
• Dark Blue
• Dark Green
• Essence
• Garnet
• Jasper
• Moonlight
• Obsidian
• Purple
• Radiant
• Turquoise
• The Invisible Dye Technique may now be found on Janner Cinderfall in Kion. Please note that only Dryads, Satyrs, Ssliks, and Saris may wear items that have had the Invisible Technique dye applied to them. Another Invisible Technique Dye may come out later for items such as helms, bracers that all races may use.
• Sand now looks like Sand.
• Solve the Hermit’s Riddles - Some of the riddles (and item requirements) have been changed they are as follows:
A frosty box of thoughts but smaller still
The red sees all from fangs and legs
The bite of the desert wind is worse than its howl
The quest was sometimes not giving out the Tapered Sapphire and that has been fixed as well.
• Learning to Change your Form quest requirements has changed from 1 steel rune stylus, 3 bright essence orbs and 1 Sslik Ghost Vapor to 1 steel rune stylus, 3 bright essence orbs and 5 Soul Fragments. Updated quest and NPC dialogue to reflect the change.
• Brinkel the Fitter Trainer is a level 40 Fitter
• Istarian maps have been updated
• Structure Signs identifying trainers have been updated
• Added A Named Monster - Azlac the Lapis Lazuli Golem
• Property Bidding window now implemented. Players can now place bids on plots. There is link from the Plot Survey Window to open the Property Bidding window (Plot Bid button).
• Implemented Auction time in Survey Window
• Structure Selection window can now be opened from the Survey Window. Please note: The footprint of the structure is now compared to the footprint of the plot to see if a structure will actually fit on a plot.
• The Survey Window now shows the time left until the plots auction time. If more than 1 day is left until the Auction Time then the number of days and hours is displayed. If less than one day is left then the hours and minutes are displayed.
• The Survey window also shows the Bid Competition data for each plot as new columns in the list.
• The Bid Manager window is now implemented. There is a link from the main menu or from the Survey Window. It shows the list of bids the player has made, plus some data about the number of bids and bid types and totals made by others.
• Bids can now be changed and removed using the Bid Manager window.
Dragon Crafting Quest Additions, Updates and Changes:
• Dragon Quest: Simulated Tempered Scale now asks for a Nickel Golem Fragment instead of a Steel Golem Fragment
• Dragon Quest: Replica Scale of the Prime has been changed to 1 Jagged Ruxus Teeth and 7 Assorted Grass Beetle Pincers.
• Dragon Quest: Replica Tempered Scale has been changed to 1 Winter Wolf maw and 7 Brighter Spider Stinger tips.
• Jasmine the Miner Trainer is no longer a Blacksmith.
• Miner Trainers now accept coin instead of lore tokens
• Beginner Gust: now takes 3 shards and 5 to 10 orbs
Player Plot Structure Additions:
Consignment Stores (commercial zone)
• Tier 1 Human Consignment Store (17.5% Consignment Fee)
• Tier 2 Human Consignment Store (15% Consignment Fee)
• Tier 3 Human Consignment Store (12.5% Consignment Fee)
• Tier 4 Human Consignment Store (10% Consignment Fee)
• Tier 5 Human Consignment Store (7.5% Consignment Fee)
• Tier 6 Human Consignment Store (5% Consignment Fee)
Pawn Broker Stores (commercial zone)
• Tier 1 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 12.5% of value)
• Tier 2 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 15% of value)
• Tier 3 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 17.5% of value)
• Tier 4 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 20% of value)
• Tier 5 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 22.5% of value)
• Tier 6 Human Pawnbroker Store (Will buy items for 25% of value)
Gambling Dens (commercial zone)
• Small Gambling Den (Slotbot will accept up to 2 Silver bets)
• Medium Gambling Den (Slotbot will accept up to 10 Silver bets)
• Large Gambling Den (Slotbot will accept up to 25 Silver bets)
Taverns (commercial zone)
• Small Tavern (Will consign food for 10% Consignment Fee)
• Medium Tavern (Will consign food for 7.5% Consignment Fee)
• Large Tavern (Will consign food for 5% Consignment Fee)
Vault Storage (commercial zone)
• Human Vault Storage (Will spawn one vault keeper)
• Beginner Confectioner Shop (+25 Brewing, Cooking)
• Journeyman Confectioner Shop (+50 Brewing, Cooking)
• Expert Confectioner Shop (+75 Brewing, Cooking)
-Jason_Murdick
Thanks again, Jason.
Those of you who want to comment on this, may do so here.
Blight Release Notes - 9/28/2004 Print News | Mail News The Following changes, fixes and additions were applied to the Blight testing shard today:
Fixes:
• Ironsilk resource nodes had the wrong skill range associated to them; it now has a Tier 5 skill range instead of a Tier 4 Skill range.
• Level 59 Ice Golems should no longer appear invisible.
• Guardians were inappropriately gaining the Smash X ability at level 80, and Smash IX at level 90. These have been flipped so that Smash IX is gained at 80, and Smash X is gained at 90.
• Beginner/Journeyman/Expert Leatherworking Shops should now grant a bonus to Leatherworking as well.
• Beginner/Journeyman/Expert Scholar Shops should now grant a bonus to Essence Structuring as well.
• Beginner/Journeyman/Expert Blacksmith Shops should now grant a bonus to Fitting as well.
• Beginner/Journeyman/Expert Woodworking Shops should now grant a bonus to Carpentry as well.
• Beginner/Journeyman/Expert Tinkering Shops should now grant a bonus to Fitting as well.
• Alchemy Task: Craft 35 Orbs have been changed to not decline to half in value until the 80th time done.
• Karane the Historain should spawn correctly.
Additions:
• Gemworking Mastery Tasks now go up to 100 and no longer require Blighted Material
• Mining Master Tasks now go up to 100 and no longer require Blighted Material
-Jason_Murdick
Thanks, Jason!
Forum thread may be commented on here.
I promised to get these values out to the public as soon as they were complete. These are the storage values that will be associated the grand fathered Houses and Guild Houses.
These values were calculated based upon the area each structure took up, and the materials used in the structure. While doing this task, I decided that the materials used to build the structure shouldn’t be given as much weight as the area each structure took up. This has resulted in the area of a structure being the main factor in just how much storage it received.
Each of these buildings requires the exact same resources as they did before the merger.
The Grand Fathered Structures will only be available for about a month, give or take a week or two. This means that sometime in the future, these will cease to be an option in the planning window. If you have planned this structure out on your plot PRIOR to the removal of this, you will still be able to finish the structure. There will be –ample- warning before we remove these structures from the planning window.
Below are the values of the Grand Fathered Structures, and below them are the values of the new Tiered Structures for comparison.
GRAND FATHERED STRUCTURES
Fiendish Large House:
Total Item Limit: 60
Total Capacity Limit: 4500
Footprint Area: 600 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 24m x 25m
Dwarven Small House:
Total Item Limit: 30
Total Capacity Limit: 2750
Footprint Area: 216 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 18m x 12m
Dwarven Large House:
Total Item Limit: 55
Total Capacity Limit: 4250
Footprint Area: 550 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 25m x 22m
Sslik Medium House:
Total Item Limit: 50
Total Capacity Limit: 4000
Footprint Area: 525 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 21m x 25m
Saris Tiny Hut:
Total Item Limit: 25
Total Capacity Limit: 2000
Footprint Area: 120 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 12m x 10m
Saris Manor House:
Total Item Limit: 70
Total Capacity Limit: 5250
Footprint Area: 828 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 36m x 23m
Saris Medium House:
Total Item Limit: 50
Total Capacity Limit: 3750
Footprint Area: 486 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 27m x 18m
Human Large House:
Total Item Limit: 60
Total Capacity Limit: 4750
Footprint Area: 667 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 29m x 23m
Human Medium House:
Total Item Limit: 60
Total Capacity Limit: 4750
Footprint Area: 702 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 27m x 26m
Human Hut:
Total Item Limit: 40
Total Capacity Limit: 3250
Footprint Area: 330 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 22m x 15m
Sslik Tiny Hut:
Total Item Limit: 25
Total Capacity Limit: 2500
Footprint Area: 182 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 13m x 14m
Human Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 150
Total Capacity Limit: 11000
Footprint Area: 1054 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 31m x 34m
NEW STRUCTURES
Tier 1 House:
Total Item Limit: 20
Total Capacity Limit: 1500
Footprint Area: 49 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 7m x 7m
Tier 2 House:
Total Item Limit: 40
Total Capacity Limit: 3000
Footprint Area: 294 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 21m x 14m
Tier 3 House:
Total Item Limit: 60
Total Capacity Limit: 4500
Footprint Area: 608 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 32m x 19m
Tier 4 House:
Total Item Limit: 80
Total Capacity Limit: 6000
Footprint Area: 1008 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 42m x 24m
Tier 5 House:
Total Item Limit: 100
Total Capacity Limit: 7500
Footprint Area: 1595 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 55m x 29m
Tier 6 House:
Total Item Limit: 120
Total Capacity Limit: 9000
Footprint Area: 2176 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 68m x 32m
Tier 1 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 60
Total Capacity Limit: 4685
Footprint Area: 256 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 16m x 16m
Tier 2 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 120
Total Capacity Limit: 8375
Footprint Area: 576 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 24m x 24m
Tier 3 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 180
Total Capacity Limit: 14000
Footprint Area: 2500 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 50m by 50m
Tier 4 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 240
Total Capacity Limit: 18750
Footprint Area: 2500 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 50m by 50m
Tier 5 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 300
Total Capacity Limit: 23450
Footprint Area: 5625 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 75m by 75m
Tier 6 Guild House:
Total Item Limit: 360
Total Capacity Limit: 28125
Footprint Area: 5625 Meters
Footprint Dimensions: 75m x 75m
-Ssrydian
Thanks, Ssrydian! The rest of you can also view this, and/or comment on it here.
Order of Plots in Auction - AE Print News | Mail News We would like to take the remainder of today to gather feedback concerning the order of the communities within each section of the Auction. We've been reading various threads and would like to consolidate that specific feedback here.
Within Guild Communities, which communities do you feel should come first?
Within previously available communities, which communities do you feel should come first?
Within new communities, which communities do you feel should come first?
David Bowman
Here's your chance to add your own suggestions, go here!
Horizons bought by Tulga Games Print News | Mail News Today CEO of Artifact Entertainment, David Bowman, announced that an agreement has been made (subject to court approval) with Tulga Games to buy the award winning Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game - Horizons.
Tulga Games is new to the gaming industry, but according to Chris Tulumello is "very committed to Horizons the game and Horizons the brand." This spells good news for the game after recent financial troubles that happend mid summer.
If you would like to view the post about the agreement and what happens next, just click here.
AC2 Vault Re-launch Print News | Mail News The Vault Network and the hard working staff of Asheron's Call 2 Vault are pleased to present the newly redesigned Asheron's Call 2 Vault! With this new updated design and layout comes the latest in web technology to bring the site into the future. The Asheron's Call 2 Vault staff is poised and ready to bring even more dedication in delivering the community the latest news, game information, columns, discussions, and so much more. So, stop what you are doing and go check it out and say hi!
Technique requirements - AE Print News | Mail News We've been listening to player feedback and suggestions about techniques and observing in-game behaviours. Based on this we're going to remove the lower Tier technique requirements entirely and add an additional same Tier creature resource requirement.
A Tier III technique currently requires 4 Tier III essence orbs, 3 Tier III creature resources and 3 Tier II creature resources.
Under the new requirements a Tier III technique would require 4 Tier III essence orbs, 3 Tier III creature resources, and 2 Tier III creature resources (from a different creature).
This would remove the incentive for more powerful players to hunt a full Tier below their abilities.
I'm telling you this in advance of the release of the new requirements in order to gather your responses.
State of the Game Announcement - 9/13/04 Print News | Mail News 13 September 2004
Friends in Horizons:
On July 24th 2004, we announced our plans for Horizons leading up to August 31st. I’d like to provide you with my assessment of what we’ve done, what remains to be done of the announced changes, and what our plans are as we move to the end of the year.
Below are previously posted changes to Horizons: Empire of Istaria and the status of each:
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Due to the low concentrations of players per shard, we have been considering consolidating players to a fewer number of shards for some time now. With the recent Chapter 11 filing, it might become necessary to implement this sooner rather than later. No date has yet been set for this, but with the benefits to the game and the changes to the company it seems both likely and imminent. If this occurs, we will be creating two new shards; one for role-playing characters, and the other for non-role-playing characters. (We will also probably maintain a Blight testing shard.) I’ve listed below some of the issues with which we’ve been dealing and current proposed solutions: The largest single change has been the successful consolidation of all of the North American worlds into three shards. We have accomplished this and are now working through the results of the process.
Complete
We accomplished all of the following steps except where noted.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Moving characters and their belongings from their current shards to the new shards. (This has been solved and should be smoothly done whenever this might occur.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Renaming characters with conflicting names. (Conflicting names would be renamed XXXX of shardname and be marked so players may rename themselves what they wish.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Renaming guilds with conflicting names. (Conflicting names would be renamed XXXX of shardname and can be renamed by the guild steward.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Structures on plots. (Owners would receive “coupons” worth the applied resource values for the structures. These coupons could be redeemed against new structures without the necessity of skill, tools or new resources and would apply that amount of building material to the new structure.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Items in storage on plots. (These would be forced to owner’s vault.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Plots. (Owners would receive a “token” that could be used in the bidding on the new plots in the new shards. It’s important to understand that the two new shards would be entirely new and no player would own plots on these shards prior to the consolidation. These tokens would have priority over coin bids. These tokens would have priority over other tokens when applied toward the same plot from a previous shard. Ties would be resolved by random selection.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Guilds and groups of players that own land together. (Some of the new plots are marked as “Guild”. Guild plots are linked to a single key plot. This plot acts like the Keep plot, unlocking the other guild plots when a Guild Hall is completed on the key plot. We are the least comfortable with this proposal, and are especially interested in constructive debate on this topic.)
Complete
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Relation of plots to resources, transportation, danger, location etc. (We are changing the distribution of many of these but not all. The plots on the new shards will not be auctioned for one week after consolidation. Bids can be placed during that time. At the end of the week, plots, which currently exist on today’s shards, will be auctioned first. This will give players time to evaluate the new lay-of-the-land. New plots will then be auctioned in a rolling availability.)
We are still preparing for the auctions. Blight testing will begin next week, with Chaos and Order to follow upon successful testing. We apologize for the delay in the beginning of bidding, but we want this to go smoothly, and needed the extra time. This has an additional benefit of allowing players to learn more about the new world that they’ve found themselves in.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
European players. (All of these changes in content will be available to the three European shards. We are working with Game Network to avoid any impact on the European players. Negotiations continue.)
Game Network is preparing to apply all of the changes to the worlds next week. This will allow the European players to have access to the new monsters, plots, quests and redistributed resources.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Client Performance: This is an ongoing project for us. The team is continuing the progress on Crashes to Desktop (CTD) errors, frame rate improvement and rendering errors. We have been successful in broadening the number of configurations that do not see these problems, but will continue to hunt down the remaining problems.
The latest version of the Horizons client software performs much better than previous versions. We’ve greatly increased the number of configurations without problems, and improved the frame rate for most players. We will continue to focus our efforts on improving this aspect of Horizons both now, and through the end of the year.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
Tier V and VI Content: We are introducing Monsters through and past level 120. This includes entirely new Monster types. We are creating Quests (and reworking many of the old Quests). We are introducing Resources through Tier VI. We are introducing Techniques through Tier VI. We are introducing Formulae through Tier V. Players will discover new landmasses. The Withered Aegis will have a new agenda and some of their locations in the world will be assailable by the players. This will result in those locations being cleared of Withered Aegis forces.
Due to the impact of the consolidation on our schedule, we have not yet completed this entire portion of our plans. There are many new monster types with schools that function like player schools. The indigenous monsters have been placed throughout Istaria and more will continue to be added. The quests have been renovated, with many new quests now possible due to the work that has been done. We will continue to add new quests through at least the end of the year. Resources have been added through Tier VI, with new sources being added every week based on player feedback. Techniques through Tier VI are now being tested and should become available on the Live worlds within the next two weeks. The Withered Aegis forces have been created and new schools are being assigned to them. The first assaults should begin within the next three weeks.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
New Plots and Communities: We will at least triple the currently available plots. These plots will be added to existing Player Communities, near Empire Communities, and in entirely new locations and newly discovered land. All structures are now tiered through VI and will have a specific purpose. For some, the purpose will be purely aesthetic, but for most the purpose will involve: storage, machines or computer controlled characters such as trainers and consigners. All styles of plots (Industrial, Commercial and Residential) will have structures that have purpose. The first style of architecture that will be complete will be Human. Interior improvements to these structures will become available as they are completed after August 31, 2004. The exterior size and appearance will be final. Other racial styles will be introduced following August 31, 2004 We surpassed our goal of tripling the available plots. The Human structures are available and functionality has been added to the structures. These structures will be available upon completion of the auction in North America, and upon applying the updates in Europe. Additional plots will be added and improvements to the communities will continue through at least the end of the year.
Proposed and Posted Change Status
After the above changes are introduced (and following a consolidation if that occurs), we will continue to provide bug fixes, upgrades, events, new content etc. The following is a list of items we will be working on after August 31, 2004:
• Dragon Lairs
• Ancient Rite of Passage
• Item Decay for Tier VI items
• Item Decay for Blighted Armor, Blighted Weapons and Blighted Tools. (These will be monster dropped.)
• School advancement from 100 to 120. These remain our intended tasks following the completion of the current efforts, responding to player feedback and correcting any errors.
We will continue adding to and improving Horizons. Sometimes, as we make changes, we will make mistakes, but we listen to the broadest possible segment of the players in order to correct those errors. It is our goal to make Horizons more fun, have more things for you to do, and provide an ongoing story that evolves around you. Within this context, we make every effort to allow individual players without great amounts of free time to make progress, while rewarding the efforts of those players who have more time to play. We work hard to provide benefits for cooperation and group effort, while not mandating a group to play. We strive for a game that promotes creation and construction, and rewards the brave and the strong. We continually take steps to reach these goals. You can help us by constructively debating, within the community forums, each change we make. If you let us know what you like and don’t like and, very importantly, why, we will listen and be better informed about your points of view.
Thank you for helping us be here today. Your playing, discussions, and feedback have helped shape Istaria. With your continued support, we will reach our next set of goals and continue to reach new goals for years to come.
Plot Token values and quantities Print News | Mail News I thought it might be helpful for everyone to know the value of the plot tokens they have. Here is the quantity of each token value on the three shards:
You can comment on this -- Deceiver @ Fri 10 Sep 2004
Thu 09 Sep 2004
Redemption: Chapter 6, The Towers of Tazdahl Seb [Post A Comment] - Print News | Mail News Kaldor has blessed us with another of his stories! Here it is:
"The kid? Impossible! The dragon has to be wrong. I mean, look at him," Loras pointed down the hill where Jesh and Bane were packing up the makeshift camp, "he could barely hold his own against an undead, I don't think he is the criminal mastermind type. Unless the dragon means that he can't be trusted in battle, which we already know. Do you really think that Jesh can't be trusted?"
Dursten shrugged. "I don't know what to think about it, yet." Dursten looked down towards Jesh, who was putting the last of the supplies into his pack. "I can't see him doing anything either, he didn't even want to come along. Still, he did show up in the shop when the fiends were upstairs, could be a coincidence, but it could be part of Salzanar's plan. Get someone on the inside, someone to watch me up close. Someone to get whatever he is looking for easily. It makes perfect sense, and it is definitely something Salzanar would do."
"Wouldn't he have made his move already?" asked Loras, nodding towards Jesh. "Salzanar is not a patient being. If Jesh was working for him then he would have already struck. He guarded the camp last night while we all slept. He could have cut our throats and called the Withered in to destroy us. No, no, I think the dragon is wrong."
"Possibly," said Dursten, "but Helain loves to play these games, as you know. He was very pleased that I would not believe Jesh would betray us. Laughed he did. He seemed surprised that I didn't know he couldn't be trusted. I know Helain fairly well, he wouldn't have told me if he didn't see it to be true, or at least true in some sense. Perhaps he did mean in battle, but let's have you watch him anyway. Just make it discrete."
Dursten reached a hand out, stopping Loras in his tracks. "We can't afford to let Salzanar get the upper hand," Dursten whispered, “if you perceive that Jesh is a threat, you must be ready to strike."
Loras nodded.
**********************************************
"Aleb?" asked Jesh. "You mean he's real?" Dursten had just finished telling Bane and Jesh what their new destination was.
"Of course he's real!" roared Bane. "Didn't Loras tell ya the story! Loras, go on," Bane laughed, “tell him about the time Dursten got stuck to that tree for three days. Go on, tell him!"
"Already did," Loras smiled, winking at Jesh.
"Oh," said Bane, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Well, I could stand to hear it again, could use a good laugh right about now." Bane glanced upwards at the darkening sky.
"No stories!" Dursten shouted. "If you are so interested in the story, Bane, maybe you should have stayed around to help me instead of running off into the wild."
"That was strategy!"
"What! Running off, leaving me to fight fifteen Withered and the most feared zombie since Alisto on my own. Nice strategy that was." Dursten kicked at the ground, face red.
"Yeah, see, the strategy was for me to get away without being stuck to a tree for three days," Bane laughed, "I thought you were running too, I've told you that time and again."
"Hrumph," grunted Dursten. "I believe that when Saris fly."
"I can arrange that, if you like," Bane chuckled.
Dursten reddened.
"Hold up. There they are." Loras pointed a hand towards the west. On the horizon was a series of enormous black towers, each cutting into the low lying haze that filled the Withered sky. Each tower was speckled with orange dots, torches flickering through the many windows each held. The towers formed a rough line to the southwest, seeming to point towards a large, spiraling canyon tearing into the earth. Spiked points jutted from the center of each tower, forming a central crown around them.
"Are those the..." Jesh was interrupted by Loras.
"Towers of Tazhdal Seb," said Loras. "The homes of the first five Withered lords to live in these lands, built over a thousand years ago. They were much less powerful back in those days, but still had enough power to enslave the inhabitants of the area and force them to build those. The slaves worked night and day for a hundred years, carving bricks from the sunken island of Istastu and hauling them back to the towers. Legend has it that the five lords had the bones of the weak or dying slaves ground into the mortar, after the Withered were done feasting on their flesh. The bones of ten thousand men are said to have been used. When the last tower was built, the five had the remaining slaves thrown from the top of the towers. Some of the bones still remain lodged in the spikes. The five lords ruled this land for five hundred years before they began to quarrel amongst themselves. Eventually, one lord emerged victorious and claimed the towers in his own name."
"That's Salzanar, right? I read about these towers back in Tazoon, the five lords were Salzanar, Belar, Yestal, Janok, and Alisto. Salzanar asked them to meet at the Valley of Horns and when they came, he destroyed the entire valley and the four other lords. That is what that spiral valley is, isn't it?" Jesh looked at Loras, anxiously waiting for the answer.
"Yes, that is right," said Loras. "The Valley of Horns used to be there, now it spirals downwards into the very heart of the earth. At the bottom lies the fortress of Aleb, Salzanar's lieutenant and brother of Alisto. Alisto was reluctant to meet there, but his brother advised him to go. Salzanar used Aleb to gain an upper hand on the strongest of the five, and when the moment arose, destroyed him and the others."
"So Aleb betrayed his own brother to Salzanar. Why would he do that? And why wasn't he in the history books I found, seems to be a pretty big oversight?"
"Power," Bane said. "All about power, wouldn't ya think? I mean, Salzanar is pretty powerful, able to grant gifts if he wanted to I'd think. That's probably why Aleb is still around, Salzanar gave him some power or something like that to keep him around."
Dursten nodded. "Aye, you're probably right about that. Aleb couldn't stay alive this long without Salzanar's help. As for history books, the glamour of Salzanar destroying the four alone is much more appealing than Salzanar using a cowardly betrayer to destroy his enemy." Dursten glanced down the path towards a long bridged suspended over a deep chasm. "Let's get across the bridge and set up camp, we will need our rest for the foes that lie in wait in the valley."
The four set off down the road, reaching the bridge within a few minutes. The bridge was suspended by ropes on each end, with several planks missing along the way. It creaked with each gust of wind, swinging and swaying almost on edge. the chasm below was lined with sharp rocks and crags, and cut a few hundred feet into the crust of the earth. Small trees lined the sides of the chasm; others hung uprooted from the edges, hit by falling boulders or torn up by the wind.
"You first," said Bane, nudging Dursten in the back.
"Bah, coward," said Dursten, hopping onto the bridge. It swayed with each step he took, but to the other's delight, Dursten had not plummeted to the chasm's bottom. "Come on, we haven't got all day. Bane, get a move on!"
Jesh, then Loras and finally Bane followed, each testing the first few planks with their weight before moving on. "This isn't so bad," said Bane, bouncing on a sturdy plank. The bridge rippled up and down with each bounce, making it hard for the others to keep their balance.
"Blast it, Bane! Stop that or I'll turn back and throw you off myself!" Dursten darted over the last few planks and jumped onto the ground on the far side. He turned, face red once more, preparing to yell at Bane again, but something caught his eye. In the distance, about where they had stopped to look at the towers, a lone skeleton stood, sword in hand. A second joined it, then another, and another. Within seconds, the hilltop was lined with at least thirty skeletons, swords, axes and hammers at the ready. Dursten shot a look back at the bridge. Jesh was almost to him, Loras right behind, with Bane near the center, still bouncing.
"Run!" shouted Dursten. "We're under attack, run!" Jesh, who was looking at his feet, stopped with a jolt and looked up towards Dursten. He remained still, eyes widening. Loras, meanwhile, had released an arrow, which whizzed past Dursten's ear and landed behind him with a crunch. Dursten turned.
The zombie Aleb stood before Dursten, a rotting smile covering his face.
Blight update 9/9/04 Print News | Mail News The following changes, fixes and additions were applied to Blight on 09/09/04
Fixes:
Fixed a problem causing certain Marble Golems to not be harvestable upon death.
Fixed a problem causing certain Fire Opal Golems to not be harvestable upon death.
Fixed a problem causing certain Emerald Golems to not be harvestable upon death.
Fixed a problem causing certain Peridot Golems to not be harvestable upon death.
All technique resources should now be stackable.
Fixed a problem causing Gold Golems to not be harvestable upon death.
Small Frost Beetles are now…….small!
Level 28 and 29 Slate golems should no longer appear invisible.
Fixed the Barrage V spell coin value changed to “5760” from “325565”
Confectioner Quests now allow you to return completed goods to the new confectioner trainers
Moved Sorcerer Trainer back to Kirasanct
Fixed Reaver Trainer Vasilion's appearance
Confectioner Trainers now give out quests beyond level 10
Gregory Darkstaff quests now refer to NPCs that are in-game
Moved NPC Vrex back to Sslanis (19834, 21597)
Spellcrafter Trainer now gives out quests at proper levels
Expert Leather Tannin now produces 2 units
Fletcher Trainer gives out quests beyond level 10
Monk Trainer will now give out quests
Expert Leather Boots formula now produce boots instead of a Leather Belt
Gatherer Task: Collect 50 Unspun Cotton to refer to Gatherer Trainers and give out correct reward
Gatherer Quests now allow you to return completed goods to the new gatherer trainers
Scout Trainers to give out Scout Story Quests at appropriate levels
Confectioner Trainers now give out quests beyond level 10
Confectioner Quests now allow you to return completed goods to the new confectioner trainers
Moved Sorcerer Trainer back to Kirasanct
Fixed Reaver Trainer Vasilion's appearance
Fixed Spiritist Trainer Akhanis's appearance
Fixed Scout Trainer Kannari's appearance
Corrected constraints on Mage Trainer's to not give out Level 10 quest at Level 1
Miner Trainers will now give out quests beyond level 10
Armorer Trainers will now allow you to join the school
Armorer Trainers will now give out quests beyond level 10
All Alchemist Trainers now have full inventories
Dragon Crafting Trainers join link was broken
Expert Leather Construction Canvas now requires 900 Weaving to scribe
Expert Hide Construction Tarp now requires 800 weaving to scribe
Tailor Trainers will now give out quests above level 10
Blacksmith Trainers will now give out quests above level 10
Outfitter Trainers will now give out quests above level 10
Gatherer Trainer inventories and slots
Fitter Trainer carries beginner construction joints and bars
Knight of Creation will allow you to join the school
Druid Trainer to give out story quest at appropriate level
Spiritist Trainer to give out story quest at appropriate level
Enchanter Quests refer to all Enchanter Trainers
Relocated Llaul Dynray to previous location
Relocated Adn Sereng to previous location
Relocated Iseru to previous location
Golem Hearts of Slate Task now asks for the correct items
Golem Heart of Marble Boulder Task is not the correct level
Golem Heart of Obsidian Task no longer asks for squirrels
Dragon Task: Kill 20 Obsidian or Obsidian Golems kill count is now correct
Dragon Task: Kill 50 Flame Pygmies or Flame Ogres kill count is now correct
Dragon Talks: Kill 15 Citrine Golem has been fixed
Consigners Trade window “Help” button in their dialogue has been correctly linked
Dragon crafting trainer join dialogue has been updated to the correct link
Additions:
79 ‘named’ monsters have been added to the world. These monsters will be used for a variety of things such as quests, and challenging encounters. Sidenote: All previous named monsters should now be lootable.
Added several packs of Brown Wolves near Dalimond and further south.
Added a pack of Winter Mountain Wolves near Mahagra.
Added a herd of Arbotus near Feladan Woods - along the Aughundell Wall.
Changes:
Monsters will now have a chance of dropping up to two items. In addition to this, monsters will also have a chance to drop stacks of 2 technique resources, or trophy items.
Monsters that drop coin have been modified to drop 5 times as much coin now.
Gruoks are now harvestable!
Salvage II now requires Lesser Zombie Fingers
Essence Shaping II now requires Frost Ogre Jawbones
Mining III no longer requires Sandstone Golem Fragments
Nature II no longer requires Bronze Golem Fragments
Nature II now requires Cedar Treant Knots
One Hand Pierce III no longer requires Snow Pygmy Ears
One Hand Pierce III now requires Snow Ogre Jawbones
Spirit III no longer requires Ruxus Skins
Spirit III now requires Rose Quartz Golem Chips
Enchanting II no longer requires Water Golem Droplets
Enchanting II now requires Waterblight Bindings
Stoneworking Pedestal added to New Korelia
Tavu destination pad is no longer called Immons
Genevia Island resources increased
Scorpion Island resources increased
Moved Grady the Ambrosia Vendor into Pawn Broker shop.
Guard Julian in Dalimond is now a Level 39 Paladin
Guard Heather in Dalimond is now a Level 39 Druid
New smelter at Blacksmith trainer in Dalimond
New stoneworking pedestal and stonecutter at Mason trainer in Sslanis
New Essence Channeler and Cauldron near Enchanter trainer in Sslanis
New Essence Channeler in Dralk
The four socket techniques no longer require creature dropped resources
Black pepper plants, salt deposits, rice, barley, sheep, white grape vines, sugar cane and rye added
Modified Jellerin's conversation and made him a Level 20 Gatherer
Added Grangus Gregor in the lighthouse
Rebuildable machine structures have been added to:
Istaria’s Loom
Copperton
Sandstone Bluffs
Garnet Bay
Genevia
Slate Hills
Ice Island
Elmnic
Scorpion Mountain
Chiconis Mountain
Dralk area
Aughundell-Tazoon road
Central Dalimond Peninsula
North of Heather
Monster schools have been modified in the following ways:
Speed of Attack:
Monsters should now have varying attack speeds. Monsters such as ogres, treants, and golems should have slow hard hits. While monsters such as wolves and spiders will have quick lower damage bites.
Skills:
Monster schools have had their skill gains modified. The rate at which monsters gain skills will now follow the rate at which players gain their skills more closely.
Please keep in mind that all the new monster schools have resistances and vulnerabilities associated to them. For example - if a rating 60 player were fighting a rating 60 beetle - this should be an even fight, but if the player happens to be using a piercing weapon - this gives the beetle an advantage over the player, since the beetle is resistant to pierce. When picking fights in the future, please take factors such as this into account - knowledge of your enemy is just as valuable as any other statistic.
Trophy Hunters will be offering their tasks again.
Trophy Hunter tasks should be constrained to the level that they are given out. For Example: A level 50 gets a Trophy Hunter Task and then switches schools to a lower level school, the task will disable itself until that school is 50. Another change is that if you get Trophy Task at 64 and gain enough experience to make level 65, previously the task would disable itself, now you will have 10 levels of range between getting a task and completing them.
Please be advised that iBill's website and services are currently off-line due to Hurricane Frances in Florida. All data is secure and all transaction processing will proceed as normal.
However, access to www.iBillCS.com and www.iBill.com is unavailable at this time. iBill Customer Service can still be reached at [email protected] regarding transactions or accounts.
- Amon Gwareth
_____________________________
World Master of CHAOS
Horizons: Empire of Istaria
Artifact Entertainment, Inc.
Monsters: Now and the Future Print News | Mail News I apologize for the delay.
Heya Folks,
I've seen many posts regarding monsters - these range from the loot they drop, to the difficulty of the monsters. I am constantly monitoring the monsters in the game and reading all the feedback I can find - I use all the information when I am making modifications to these monsters.
We are introducing a hot fix right now on the Live Shards that will temporarily make the monsters easier.
FIX: Monsters' weapon skills have been reduced, reducing their chance to hit and damage amounts. This is only a temporary sweeping change to improve the situation while we rebalance each monster school individually, so expect further adjustments in future patches.
Right now, the monsters have very high weapon skills, so high in fact that they were ignoring defensive skills such as evade, parry, and block. These values have been lowered to keep monsters from being un-enjoyable over the weekend. I have been working for the past several days on some more permanent solutions that will more monster specific, and less general. I hope this fix does calm down the feelings out there, but I want to make sure everyone knows that monsters are still a work in progress, and you should expect to see changes in them over the next few content updates.
Another problem that has been noted with the monsters is the lack of coin drop. Coin drop will most likely stay off of all monsters that would not typically be carrying coin -- instead I am hoping to get some 'junk' loot put into the treasure tables. This junk loot's only purpose would be to sell, and would drop at a fairly decent rate and players can sell these at the various pawnbrokers around the world to make money. Each monster would have its own type of junk loot that would relate in some way to what the monster was that dropped it - and it would have a coin value related to the difficulty of the monster.
We are also monitoring drops such as Trophy Items, and Technique resources as well, and changes will be made accordingly.
All feedback is welcome, but please keep it constructive. I am always paying attention to these issues.
AD&D; Vault Opens Print News | Mail News The Vault Network is proud once again to launch another brand new site today, DnDVault! Loki, the Site Manager, is extremely thrilled to bring you the latest goodies for all you D&D; fans out there. Here is what Loki had to share...
Welcome all sword swingers, finger wigglers, purse purloiners, and silver tongued ones! On behalf of the Dungeons & Dragons Vault staff, I would like to welcome you to a great beginning for us D&D; fanatics here at IGN. D&D; Vault has been created to provide the community with a look at D&D; gaming. D&D; has been growing ever sine its inception and especially in the computer gaming industry. It is our endeavor to bring you the latest coverage and information on online, PC, and console D&D; games as well as building in tools in the future to allow the sharing of Pen & Paper content with the community. If you have any question, comments, or suggestions, please contact our staff!
Character Log-in Process Print News | Mail News We are aware that some subscribers are having an issue logging in their prime character. The log-in process will stop at the “Receiving Character Information” screen. We are working on the problem and will have it fixed as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Amadan
Customer Service Lead
Artifact Entertainment
Update:
Hey all,
I have an update for you. We have got the issue narrowed down to high level characters having troubles logging into the game. We are close to finding a resolution to this problem. We continue to appreciate your patience while we get this problem solved.
Amadan
Customer Service Lead
Artifact Entertainment
Alchemist Trainer Update Print News | Mail News Standish the Alchemist Trainer has taken a vacation for an undetermined amount of time. If you are in need of an Alchemist Trainer, please seek out Sshranu or Morrigan.
Thanks and good evening,
Amon Gwareth
World Master of Chaos
Artifact Entertainment
Chaos Restart Print News | Mail News Plots were opened up for sale inadvertantly when the bridges leading to various towns were completed by worldmasters. We must bring the server down in order to mark them not for sale. We apologize for this oversight.
However, this should have the beneficial side effect of allowing those who couldn't log in before to do so.
It will be back up as soon as possible.
Thank you, Smeglor!
View this, and/or comment on it here.
