Cyan News – The Guild of Messengers https://guildofmessengers.org See a Need, Fill a Need Mon, 17 Jan 2022 17:39:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.3 https://guildofmessengers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cropped-GoMeLogoAlpha-1-32x32.png Cyan News – The Guild of Messengers https://guildofmessengers.org 32 32 January 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary https://guildofmessengers.org/2022/01/11/january-2022-all-guilds-meeting-summary/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2022/01/11/january-2022-all-guilds-meeting-summary/#respond Tue, 11 Jan 2022 22:38:15 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2984 Here is the summary for the 141st All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents

  1. Mysterium news
  2. Events in the Cavern
  3. A new era in D’ni
  4. The Fall of D’ni Memorial
  5. D’ni Language Classes
  6. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
  7. Cavern Tours
  8. Fan Ages Touring Club
  9. Miscellanea

Mysterium news

Calum Traveler reported some quick news about the convention:

  • early bird registration is available until May 15 at two different rates: Standard ($25) will provide admission to the event and any swag, such as pins; Premium ($40) includes everything from Standard as well as a Mysterium 2022 T-shirt;
  • the T-shirt design has not been chosen yet; if you are planning to submit a design (submissions are open until February 20), the Committee recommend holding off on registering, since your shirt will be free if your design is selected;
  • if you submitted an entry for the Writing & Artwork table for 2020 or 2021, you will need to re-submit it for this year;
  • attendees will likely be required to be up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations (the CDC’s definition of fully vaccinated); staff will provide more details on how to provide proof at a later time.

Events in the Cavern

Minasunda announced the start of MOULa’s XII anniversary week, on February 6, starting with Ghaelen’s opening ceremony. Special events are already planned, in addition to the regular ones, including a fantastic Nulp Dance Show in Gahreesen.

More details will be announced at the February AGM. A preliminary schedule was posted in the #anniversary-planning channel of the MOULa Event Discord server.

If you need help with organising an event (not only for the festivities), or just want to spread the word about it, you can join a Discord server, a Facebook group, or you can contact Minasunda via KImail (#5667000).

A new era in D’ni

Doobes announced he started working on the Myst V Ages: Tahgira, Todelmer, Noloben, Laki’ahn, and Direbo, which were originally meant for MOUL. He came up with a hopefully viable path to bypass the bahro magic and use traditional linking methods, to see all the sights and allow completion of the puzzles. The events of Myst V may be alluded to, but only lightly, so any spoiler should be minor.

All this of course will hinge on Cyan’s approval; they will have an opportunity to see the converted content and give their thoughts. Descent will take a back seat for the time being, until the Myst V Ages are complete.

Doobes also mentioned that the entries for Grandbad and Battlebotsboy, who sadly passed away at the end of 2021, will soon be added to the Veelay Tsahvahn journals, after some testing on the Minkata shard.

Finally, he noted that, with the next MOULa update, Tiam hopefully will be given a linking panel in the Nexus, which will allow linking to Tiam via the Nexus and also allow for KI invites to work. For now, explorers will need to use the Share feature in the linking book in Chiso Preniv.

To keep updated on Doobes’ work, check his blog and his Facebook page.

The Fall of D’ni Memorial

Christopher Therburg announced his Fall of D’ni Memorial project has been moved from its original planned location in the Kings Lookout to a separate small island in the Cavern, the reason being that some believes that Ae’gura is not the right place for it.

The island is a small stalagmite that naturally fractured sometime after the Fall of D’ni; the remains of the upper part, partly underwater, can still be seen. It will be accessed via a boat ride, and there will also be a Nexus terminal.

The Memorial is currently scheduled to be unveiled on the date of the Fall, Leesahn 8, or July 12. Updates will posted on the Beneath IC forums.

D’ni Language Classes

R’Tayrtahn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.

More about the D’ni Language Classes (click to expand)
  • Those who would like to attend the lessons should contact Rehn via PM or KImail (KI# 58324); be sure to include your KI number in the message!
  • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session, currently on MondayFriday starting at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, and on WednesdayFriday starting at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
  • Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

Story Night Europe is starting from the beginning: the D’ni creation myth.

Original Story Night is continuing the bi-annual Bahro Glyph Tour.

R’Tayrtahn has restarted upload recordings of the Nights to his YouTube channel, and is in the process of uploading the backlog of videos from previous sessions. Be careful if you PM r’Tay, as messages will be visible in the videos 😉

More about the Story Nights (click to expand)
  • Story Nights are held in Tsahno’s Hood every Saturday, gathering at the fountain at around 23:00 KIT, with the story starting at about 23:30 KIT.
  • For Story Nights – Europe, the gatherings are on Saturday starting at 13:30 KIT, with the story starting at about 14:00 KIT. On All Guilds Meeting days, the event will begin at 14:00 KIT or 15 minutes after the end of the AGM, whichever is later.
  • The stories are told using voice chat, so you will need to have your speakers, headphones or KI devices on. If you would like a reminder, please send r’Tayrtahn (KI# 58324) a KImail with your KI number included in the text, so that he can add you to his buddies list.
  • Last-minute changes to Story Night times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.
  • Recording of the Stories are available on r’Tayrtahn’s YouTube channel; however some hardware issues are preventing r’Tayrtahn from uploading the latest episodes.

Cavern Tours

The Cavern Tour wad held on Saturday 8 at 11:00 KIT (just before the Meeting), starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood. The host, Larry LeDeay, uses his Twitch channel for the presentation, so you will need to keep a browser or the app open in the background. Videos will be available for two weeks after the tour. The stream is simulcasted on Facebook and Youtube.

The tours occasionally visit hard to reach places. Mir-o-Bot (KI# 32319) is often employed for special effects and long-distance travel (and to avoid stairs). If you arrive late, you can PM Susa’n (KI# 9122427) to join the in-progress tour – but do try to arrive in time!

Fan Ages Touring Club

Korov’ev gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT.

In December they visited some fairly complex ages like Jo’nae, Jo’nae Hood, Takla Ma’kan, and investigated the mysteries of Sonavio.

In January, the plan is to visit the entries of the first Rapid Age Development contest: Abysos, a couple of Ahra Pahts shells and Zephyr Cove; then a few assorted ages like Aerie, TINA, Kahntinoy, Fena Barel (a summary of fan-run ‘episodes’ held in 2008); and conclude the month with a few works by Nadnerb and by Andy Legate.

More about the Expeditions (click to expand)
  • The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after. Be careful if you PM Korov’ev, as messages will be visible in the videos 😉
  • After the tour, those who still have the energy are welcome to Korov’ev’s Gahreesehn for some Wall training (feel free to send a message to #194197 for an invite).
  • A gallery of fan ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki. Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.

Miscellanea

  • Minasunda filmed and edited a lovely year end wrap up video for 2021; Calum Traveler also made a video, with more focus on places.
  • A new Age was released in December: Tiam, by Ametist (more info in the dedicated post). New clothing items have also been added: some are immediately available in the Relto wardrobe, others can be found in thematically appropriate locations. There are some unexpected render issues that are being worked on. Note that the second backpack was released by mistake, and may have removed Zandi’s shirt and the field vest; these can be re-collected in their original locations.
  • A story book by Jules Lavisham was also released in Chiso Preniv: “The Painter”. The “Heritage Documents” and “Activity in the Cavern” books have been moved to a different shelf, grouped together, and given numbers on the spines for easier picking up of the correct volume.
  • Serene now has the snow storms from the original version, and a ‘special guest’ during the festivities 🙂
  • The Kirel podium has been enabled: the plan is to get new audio recordings out once every quarter to serve as a recap of recent events. For now there are two tracks: one covering the last few months of activity, recorded by Tyion, and a historical recording from Dr. Watson.
  • Initial testing for reactivating the Gahreesen Wall have begun; more info will be revealed Soon™.

And that was it for this month. Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!

December ended with the CavFunding at 205% (CavCon 4.10) and the reserve at 546%, with 25% extra expenses. Population was at 42,976 (⇑426), with 1588 unique visits. Unbelievable month for donations and updates: two donations accounted for more than 50% of the total amount; the number of new accounts added per month also nearly doubled.

The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, February 5 (Leevosahn 28) at 13:00 KIT.

The role of Moderator is currently vacant; if anyone would like to take the role, it is your chance to step up 😉

Until then!

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December 2021 All Guilds Meeting Summary https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/12/05/december-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/12/05/december-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/#respond Sun, 05 Dec 2021 15:34:57 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2862 Here is the summary for the 140th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents

  1. Events in the Cavern
  2. Door Run Competition
  3. The Fall of D’ni Memorial
  4. Minkata
  5. Cavern Tours
  6. Fan Ages Touring Club
  7. D’ni Language Classes
  8. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
  9. Miscellanea

Events in the Cavern

Minasunda announced a few events for the coming festivities:

  • on December 17 at 13:00 KIT there will be a Christmas Show by the Nulp Dance Group, in Serene: to get there, PM “link” to Mir-o-Bot (#32319). The link-in platform will be the stage, so please leave the platform as soon as you arrive. Pictures will be published on Facebook and Discord. Seeker will provide the music stream, that will start at about 12:30 KIT and continue until around 15:00 KIT.
  • on December 18 at 11:30 KIT there will be a Door Run Competition; the meeting point is in Nosi La’s Hood. If you have any questions, you can contact her on Discord (Nosila#5296) or in the Cavern (#9902277).
  • on December 24 at 13:00 KIT there will be a Magic Christmas Show by Yoda, in a surprise location: to get there, PM “link” to Mir-o-Bot. Seeker will provide the music stream.
  • on December 31 at 13:00 KIT there will be a Magic New Year’s Eve Show by Yoda, in Magic Kadish Tolesa: to get there, PM “link” to Mir-o-Bot. The fireworks will start at 16:00 KI! Seeker will provide the music stream, that will start at 12:45:54 KIT and continue until after 18:00 KIT.
  • Like every years, there is an Uru advent calendar: PM “sendme 8833282” to Mir-o-Bot to get a marker game (you will need to have completed the red and green marker missions). With the marker game you can find 24 numbers hidden all around Ae’gura. In each of these numbers there are two YouTube links, one in English and one in German, filmed in MOULa and Deep Island by Minasunda, Mabe and Eternal Seeker.

Next February will be the 12th anniversary of MOULa. The Nulp Dance Group is already working on a show, but if anyone has ideas for the occasion, let Mina know!

If you need help with organising an event (not only for the festivities), or just want to spread the word about it, you can join a Discord server, a Facebook group, or you can contact Minasunda via KImail (#5667000).

Door Run Competition

PodHopper talked about the Door Run, which will involve teams of 5 players (including the Caller), each running in a different Delin (to avoid bugs). There will also be an oppportunity for teams of 2 if people feel brave enough.

PodHopper also announced his ‘Spiral Door Simulator’, an online tool for learning the symbols on the Garden Age doors and a training tool for those who want to know how to do a Door Run. It has a help section containing information about the tool itself, as well as information and tips about what to do during a Door Run.

The simulator combines 2 independent projects: PodHopper’s own about learning how exactly the timing on the Spiral Door works, and Mabe’s Jalak project that led to Mabe’s Rebus event a few months ago. The pictures from Mabe’s Rebus are the reward for opening the Spiral Door in the simulator.

The Fall of D’ni Memorial

Christopher Therburg announced his Fall of D’ni Memorial project, to erect a memorial that fits the style of the D’ni City, in a visible location, to honor the D’ni who died at the hands of Veovis and A’gaeris.

The plan is to place the memorial at the Kings Lookout, between the Palace and the stairs to the Canyon Mall. There will be a few benches, with vases as decorations, and there will also be a book to summarize the events of the Fall of D’ni.

The Memorial is currently scheduled to be unveiled on the date of the Fall, Leesahn 8, or July 12. Updates will posted on the Beneath IC forums.

Minkata

Rarified gave the quarterly update about the open source client and content development. They are coming to the conclusion of the cycle: the upcoming update is intended to emphasize content and fixes; it is a big one that touches existing areas in D’ni as well as something new.

Testing is still undergoing on the Minkata shard. Almost all of the changes have been assembled; after that, only fixes to the updates will appear on Minkata. A list of fixes and changes is available on the OpenUru forums. The hope is to deliver the updates to Cyan in a couple of weeks; then, after a period on the Cyan beta server for a last check, it will be released to the public.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Minkata shard; Rarified thanked all the volunteers and contributors who over the years have gone through ups, downs, and a lot of strong feelings to get where we are now.

How to be a tester (click to expand)

To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata shard; it is highly recommended to read the Tester’s Guide to understand what is expected. To test the cutting edge additions, you can sign up for the Minkata alpha shard.
To report bugs, you can post on the OpenUru Discord server (channels #hood or #dev); on Discord you can ask to be added to the Testers role to be notified of testing requests, which sometimes need quick response in terms of hours, not days.

Cavern Tours

The Cavern Tour will be held on Saturday 11 at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood. The host, Larry LeDeay, will use his Twitch channel for the presentation, so you will need to keep a browser or the app open in the background. Videos will be available for two weeks after the tour. The stream will be simulcasted on Facebook and Youtube.

The tours occasionally visit hard to reach places. Mir-o-Bot (KI# 32319) is often employed for special effects and long-distance travel (and to avoid stairs). If you arrive late, you can PM Susa’n (KI# 9122427) to join the in-progress tour – but do try to arrive in time!

Fan Ages Touring Club

Korov’ev gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT.

In November they visited the rest of the early Ages made available at the end of 2005: Second Age of Dustin, Kato’s Lab, Setal Gahmarin, Vaiskor Area 1 & 2, Terrati Lab. Then they skated in Pre-Swaltu, explored Tyndior, Prad, the Maze, and outlined the concept behind the Ahra Pahts project. Finally they explored the buildings in Janga, and found their way to its nighttime version, Janga Lela.

In December, the plan is to explore some more complex Ages, like Jo’nae and Jo’nae Hood, Takla Ma’kan, and uncover the secrets of The Company, in Sonavio. They may even manage to visit the entries of the first Rapid Age Development contest.

More about the Expeditions (click to expand)
  • The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after. Be careful if you PM Korov’ev, as messages will be visible in the videos 😉
  • After the tour, those who still have the energy are welcome to Korov’ev’s Gahreesehn for some Wall training (send a message to #194197 for an invite).
  • A gallery of fan ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki. Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.

D’ni Language Classes

R’Tayrtahn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.

More about the D’ni Language Classes (click to expand)
  • Those who would like to attend the lessons should contact Rehn via PM or KImail (KI# 58324); be sure to include your KI number in the message!
  • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session, currently on MondayFriday starting at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, and on WednesdayFriday starting at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
  • Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

Story Night Europe is starting the bi-annual Bahro Glyph Tour, visiting all the ages that contain bahro glyphs; some have explanations while others just generate more questions. The first part of the Tour will start in Mir-o-Bot’s Hood (#32319). The tour will take three parts until December 18; after that, SNE will be on hiatus until after the holidays, returning on January 8, 2022.

Original Story Night is continuing with the fan fiction written by Janai, originally posted on the MOUL forums back in 2009. The bi-annual Bahro Glyph Tour will begin on December 18.

After the Tour, Story Night will restart from the very beginning, the D’ni story of creation. R’Tayrtahn can once again upload recordings of the Nights to his YouTube channel, and is in the process of uploading the backlog of videos from previous sessions. Be careful if you PM r’Tay, as messages will be visible in the videos 😉

More about the Story Nights (click to expand)
  • Story Nights are held in Tsahno’s Hood every Saturday, gathering at the fountain at around 23:00 KIT, with the story starting at about 23:30 KIT.
  • For Story Nights – Europe, the gatherings are on Saturday starting at 13:30 KIT, with the story starting at about 14:00 KIT. On All Guilds Meeting days, the event will begin at 14:00 KIT or 15 minutes after the end of the AGM, whichever is later.
  • The stories are told using voice chat, so you will need to have your speakers, headphones or KI devices on. If you would like a reminder, please send r’Tayrtahn (KI# 58324) a KImail with your KI number included in the text, so that he can add you to his buddies list.
  • Last-minute changes to Story Night times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.
  • Recording of the Stories are available on r’Tayrtahn’s YouTube channel; however some hardware issues are preventing r’Tayrtahn from uploading the latest episodes.

Miscellanea

  • A new IC forums for story progression – in the vein of the DRC forums – opened, hosted by Tweek’s Beneath website.
  • Cyan has new items in its store, including notebooks that look like the Myst, Haven, and Spire books. Note that at the time of this writing they already sold out, but they will likely come back at some point.
  • Mysterium’s second Creative Prompt is “Gift Giving”: it can be related to one of the season’s holidays, or just gifts in general; gifts do not even have to be positive ones. The deadline for this prompt is New Year’s Eve, December 31 at 21:00 KIT.
  • Another round of D’ni words will be released this month for Lexember, on Cyan’s Twitter.
  • December 10 is the anniversary of the discovery of the Lost Book of Birenni; the 11 is the anniversary of the Minkata Shard; the 22 is the anniversary of Starry Expanse, now an official Cyan project.

And that was it for this month. Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!

November ended with the CavFunding at 163% (CavCon 4.6) and the reserve at 395%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 42,550 (⇑277), with 1185 unique visits. A very good month with a fan update on the horizon!

The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, January 8 (Leevosahn 6) at 13:00 KIT.

The role of Moderator is currently vacant; if anyone would like to take the role, it is your chance to step up 😉

Until then!

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November 2021 All Guilds Meeting Summary https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/11/06/november-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/11/06/november-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/#respond Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:17:35 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2833 Here is the summary for November’s Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents

  1. Fan Ages Touring Club
  2. Mysterium news
  3. Deep City Lecture
  4. D’ni Language Classes
  5. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
  6. The Waterlogged Relto Book
  7. Minkata
  8. Miscellanea

Fan Ages Touring Club

Korov’ev gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT.

In October they started a new cycle, visiting the very first ages (at least those still around) released in 2005: First Age of Dustin, Eder Rilteh Inaltahv, Galamay, Atlantis Outpost, Niveerah.

In November, the plan is to visit more of these early ages, then Pre-Swaltu, Janga, and outline the concept behind Ahra Pahts.

More about the Expeditions (click to expand)
  • The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after.
  • After the tour, those who still have the energy are welcome to Korov’ev’s Gahreesehn for some Wall training (send a message to #194197 for an invite).
  • A gallery of fan ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki. Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.

Mysterium News

Event submissions are now open: T-shirt designs until February 20, Events until May 22, Writing & Artworks until July 31. There will not be Pins submissions, because the Committee still has those submitted for 2020 and will use those.

They also launched a new section in the Mysterium Discord server called Creativity Prompts: periodically they will post a topic and invite everyone to submit any creative works you can come up with. Music, fanfics, costume designs, etc. are all welcome.

The only requirements are that it must incorporate the posted topic, and somehow be related to Cyan’s games (including Obduction, and Cyan Ventures like Zed).

The inaugural topic is Giving Thanks – not necessarily related to Thanksgiving, any expression of gratitude fits the requirements. The deadline for this Prompt is November 30 at 21:00 KIT.

Deep City Lecture

Former ResEng G.Buddell announced a lecture he and J.D. Barnes will hold on Sunday 7 at 15:00 KIT, to share with the Community some new historical information they have found combing through the DRC archives, about the Mee-Dis War.

The lecture will be streamed on Twitch and on CyanChat, and will be uploaded to the Guild of Archivists’ YouTube channel at a later time. They plan to hold a lecture every couple of weeks, taking a break in December to help with Lexember.

D’ni Language Classes

R’Tayrtahn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights. There are now three more instructors in the Guild of Instructors: shokhootahn Ana, shokhootahn Jo, and shokhootahn phoenixRisen.

More about the D’ni Language Classes (click to expand)
  • Those who would like to attend the lessons should contact Rehn via PM or KImail (KI# 58324); be sure to include your KI number in the message!
  • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session, currently on MondayFriday starting at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, and on WednesdayFriday starting at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
  • Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

Story Night has started a special, five-part story of fan fiction written by Janai. After the Meeting, Story Night Europe began chapter 3, while Original Story Night began chapter 1.

Then it will be time for the bi-annual Bahro Glyph Tour, visiting all the ages that contain bahro glyphs; some have explanations while others just generate more questions.

After that, the Stories will restart from the very beginning, the D’ni story of creation.

More about the Story Nights (click to expand)
  • Story Nights are held in Tsahno’s Hood every Saturday, gathering at the fountain at around 23:00 KIT, with the story starting at about 23:30 KIT.
  • For Story Nights – Europe, the gatherings are on Saturday starting at 13:30 KIT, with the story starting at about 14:00 KIT. On All Guilds Meeting days, the event will begin at 14:00 KIT or 15 minutes after the end of the AGM, whichever is later.
  • The stories are told using voice chat, so you will need to have your speakers, headphones or KI devices on. If you would like a reminder, please send r’Tayrtahn (KI# 58324) a KImail with your KI number included in the text, so that he can add you to his buddies list.
  • Last-minute changes to Story Night times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.
  • Recording of the Stories are available on r’Tayrtahn’s YouTube channel; however some hardware issues are preventing r’Tayrtahn from uploading the latest episodes.

The Waterlogged Relto Book

Calum Traveler gave an update on the saga of the waterlogged Relto book, found mangled by the Docks in late October. The book belonged to an explorer named Wayne Todd, who went ‘camping’ in an industrial area of the Cavern. He is fine, but did not tell anyone where he was going.

Wayne discovered a facility that appears to be part of one of the D’ni’s ‘safety measures’ to prevent spikes of overfeeding the lake. The feasibility of restoring this particular facility to functionality is currently being debated.

It was also confirmed that lake water samples taken at the area are matching the composition found at the Docks and elsewhere: oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are becoming more consistent, and the lake algae are definitely beginning to glow in sync.

Tis means that the lake light may begin to cycle again quite soon, possibly around December or January, if explorers continue feeding the lake as consistently as they have been.

Minkata

Rarified gave an update about the OpenUru testing shards. Between bug fixes, client improvements and fan ages testing, they will probably release the next set of changes on MOULa in late November or mid December.

A lot of work is still in the pipeline; during the next month, they will need as many visitors as possible on Minkata to help make sure things are safe for release.

The KI bug is next on the list of bugs being worked on from Cyan’s end, but that too appears to be difficult to debug.

How to be a tester (click to expand)

To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata shard; it is highly recommended to read the Tester’s Guide to understand what is expected. To test the cutting edge additions, you can sign up for the Minkata alpha shard.
To report bugs, you can post on the OpenUru Discord server (channels #hood or #dev); on Discord you can ask to be added to the Testers role to be notified of testing requests, which sometimes need quick response in terms of hours, not days.

Miscellanea

  • A new IC forums for story progression, in the vein of the DRC forums, opened; it is hosted by Tweek’s Beneath website.
  • Forecast says Serene will be getting its snowfall again, likely by December.
  • November 11 is the Third Feast of the Maker, and the anniversary of Uru ABM; the 17 is
  • the anniversary of Prologue; the 22 is the anniversary of the coronation of King Kerath.

And that was it for this month. Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!

October ended with the CavFunding at 107% (CavCon 4.1) and the reserve at 346%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 42,273 (⇑284), with 1142 unique visits. Donations are back to normal.

The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, December 4 (Leevobro 7) at 13:00 KIT.

Until then!

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Myst for PC/VR release announced! https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/08/21/myst-for-pc-vr-release-announced/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/08/21/myst-for-pc-vr-release-announced/#respond Sat, 21 Aug 2021 13:50:18 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2710 Cyan has announced the released date for the re-imagined version of Myst for non-Quest VR, PC, MacOS and Xbox: August 26! You can (and should 😉 ) wishlist it on Steam, GOG, Epic, Mac, Xbox or Oculus. A new trailer in HD was also released. ]]> https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/08/21/myst-for-pc-vr-release-announced/feed/ 0 Mysterium 2021 https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/07/20/mysterium-2021/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/07/20/mysterium-2021/#respond Tue, 20 Jul 2021 10:53:52 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2634 Like last year, the XXII Mysterium was held entirely online, on July 16–18, with the panels and presentations streamed to both Twitch and YouTube.

Saturday started at 18:00 KIT with Rand Miller playing through Myst and giving some insights in the design process. One highlight was the medallion on the planetarium door.

At 19:00, it was time for the discussion rooms, this year held on the Mysterium Discord server, and for the marker missions in MOULa. You can still get them by PMing Mir-o-Bot (#32319) or MinBot (#9292763) the command “sendme 10800192” for the Red markers or “sendme 10801032” for the Blue ones. While you’re there, make sure to grab the Mysterium shirt in your Relto wardrobe, it won’t be available afterward!


Saturday started at 8:30 KIT with a message from the Committee, giving some info on the organisation of this year’s convention.

The first panel was at 9:00, with some members of the Myst IV: Revelation team: Meinert Hansen (Art Director/Sr. Concept Artist), Brian Wrench (Actor – Sirrus) and Geneviève Lord (Producer), discussing how Myst IV evolved in its looks, styles and immersive design.

At 11:00 it was time for the Myst State of the Union panel, with Eric A. Anderson (Creative Director) and Hannah Gamiel (Development Director) presenting Cyan’s newly re-imagined version of Myst before its release for PC/VR and Mac.

At 12:30 the Cyan Dev Team Q&A panel, with Abner Coimbre, Brandon Collins, Hannah Gamiel, Karl Johnson and Josh Van Veldhuizen discussing what it means to be a developer at Cyan and how they adapted to working from home.

At 13:30 the Cyan Art Team Q&A panel, with Eric Anderson, Blake Bjerke, Jeremiah Castro, Autumn Palfenier and Derrick Robinson talking about how the look of a game is established and what inspiration they draw from in designing worlds.

At 15:00 Vincent Weaver presented his Apple II Myst Demake, talking about the challenges involved with getting a fully playable version of Myst working on an 8-bit system from the 1970s, fitting on a reasonable number of floppy disks. To learn more (or try it yourself!), see Vince’s website.

At 16:00 Chuck Carter (original Myst Artist) presented his reworking of the Selenitic Age for Unreal Engine 5, which will add some new twists (e.g. the maze ship is now destroyed). The redesign will have original music by Conductor/Composer Lucas Richman. You can follow Chuck on his website, Twitter and Instagram.

At 17:00 it was time for the discussion rooms, with two focused chats beside open discussions: “Unwritten Character Workshop”, about creating a character for the Myst RPG, and “Dancing with Annacat”, to get some exercise after sitting and watching streams all day.

Sunday started at 8:30 KIT with a message from the Committee, giving some info and announcing the location of Mysterium 2022, one that will give attendees the true Myst experience 😉

The first panel was at 9:00, with Maxx Hirsch’s honors thesis “Finding Tomahna”, analyzing Myst as a product of American 1990s cultural movements and ideas, considering attitudes towards war, violence, new technology, reading, community, and diversity. You can read the full text here.

At 1o:00 documentary filmmaker Phillip Shane gave an update and a sneak peek of the Myst Documentary, along with his collaborators Elana Bogdan, Will Cavendish, Rachel Kittner, Anais Michel, Katie Postma, Joshua Reinstein and Randy Woods. You can follow and support the development of the documentary on the official website.

At 11:30 the Uru Worldbuilders Panel, with Eric Anderson, Mike Hines, Doug McBride, Steve Ogden and Bill Slease discussed about the original development of Uru, from DIRT and Mudpie up to the GameTap era.

At 12:30 the MOULa Fan Development Panel, with Mark “Chogon” DeForest, Patrick “Doobes” Dulebohn, John “Marten” Johns, Adam “Hoikas” Johnson, Keith “Tweek” Lord, Darryl “dpogue/Paradox” Pogue and Paul “rarified” Richards discussed how fan developers and creators are keeping Uru alive and well, with client bugfixes, QoL improvements and new fan-made ages. To get involved, you can contact the OpenUru team (testing) on Discord, or the H’uru team (developing) on GitHub and IRC.

At 14:00 the Unwritten Update panel with Veronica Hamilton gave some updates on the RPG and its role in Cyan Ventures, discussing the design and how it focuses on non-violent solutions. To learn more, visit the official website.

At 15:00 it was time for Cyan Games Completed Rapidly, a round of speedrunning, with some unusual categories like Myst on the Apple II, and a few races.

At 17:30 it was time for the discussion rooms, with no preset topics, and the Speedrun After Party, in which the speedrunners chatted with the attendees about the runs and racesfrom the panel.


Thanks and kudos to the Mysterium Committee, who did a great job at organising and managing the event.

Looking forward to next year!

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News roundup #16 https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/25/news-roundup-16/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/25/news-roundup-16/#respond Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:16:09 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2599
  • The latest incarnation of Myst is finally coming to PC and Mac in Q3! Here are the GOG and Steam pages you can add to your wishlist, and the coverage by The Verge, Engadget and NME.
  • Both the GOG and Steam Summer Sales have started; GOG’s will end on June 28, while Steam’s will end on July 8.
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    News roundup #15 https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/18/news-roundup-15/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/18/news-roundup-15/#respond Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:43:52 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2593
  • Registration for the online Mysterium 2021 convention is now open: all events will be streamed, and registration is only required to participate in interactive content.
    • To facilitate question gathering for the Myst IV panel, questions will have to be submitted in advance, using the form by July 15.
    • The usual live marker missions will be replaced by one in MOULa; the Committee set up a dedicated page for instructions.
    • Three more special guests have been announced: Chuck Carter, Rand Miller and Philip Shane.
  • A Pellet Avatar leaderboard was set up by Chogon, that will daily update with the global top thirty scores. The top Neighborhood pellet scores may be added later.
  • Cyan is taking part in GOG’s Summer Sale, with 60% off deals on all their available games; the sale will end on June 28.
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    Early Kahlo test demo released https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/11/early-kahlo-test-demo-released/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/11/early-kahlo-test-demo-released/#respond Fri, 11 Jun 2021 15:30:44 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2584 Just like two years ago, in a series of tweets Eric A. Anderson, Creative Director for Firmament, has released a very early Kahlo test demo, along with a slightly more-refined version from Parable.

    He also re-released the pre-DIRT Nexus and the Hector Cove demos from around 2000.

    Here are the direct links:

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    June 2021 All Guilds Meeting Summary https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/06/june-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/06/june-2021-all-guilds-meeting-summary/#respond Sun, 06 Jun 2021 13:47:21 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2562 Here is the summary for June’s Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Events in the Cavern
    2. Cavern Tours
    3. A new era in D’ni
    4. OpenUru
    5. Fan Ages Touring Club
    6. D’ni Language Classes
    7. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    8. Mysterium news

    Events in the Cavern

    Right before the Meeting, Mystitech released The Lost Art episode 12 “States of Possession” as a Premiere on YouTube.

    Nosila will host a music program, “The Times They Are a-Changin”, about equality, protest and hope. The stream will be on Monday 14 at 13:00 KIT; the main location will be the Ae’gura plaza.

    If you have an idea for an event and need help organising it, there is a Discord server, a Facebook group, or you can contact Minasunda via KImail (#5667000).

    Cavern Tours

    The Cavern Tour will be held on Saturday 12 at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood. The host, Larry LeDeay, will use his Twitch channel for the presentation, so you will need to keep a browser or the app open in the background. Videos will be available for two weeks after the tour. The stream will be simulcasted on Facebook and Youtube.

    The tours occasionally visit hard to reach places. Mir-o-Bot (KI# 32319) is employed for special effects and long-distance travel (and to avoid stairs). If you arrive late, you can PM Susa’n (KI# 9122427) to join the in-progress tour – but do try to arrive in time!

    A new era in D’ni

    Doobes started by announcing the release of Tre’bivdil, by Lontahv, which happened stealthily the day before the Meeting, and relayed a presentation by the author:

    Tre’bivdil is best classified as a modern garden Age. The geometric shapes and primary elements that form its core are described by simple phrases that are shared with a set of phrases from ancient training manuscripts discovered by the modern day Guild of Writers.

    The name, which can be translated roughly to ‘amongst everything’, reflects the combination of these very basic elements together.

    While the weather is generally clement, care must be taken after a rainstorm as the rocks can become slippery.

    Vothol Gallery’s release is not too far away either, and it will also be an unannounced surprise. So keep checking, you could be the first to find out!

    He then discussed the big news that happened just the day before the Meeting: the public release of the Intangible assets by Cyan, under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. The files include concept art, documents, audio and textures as well as 3ds Max files in varying states of completion. For developers, this means free access to complete any of the content; for everyone else, it means places like Descent are very likely be greatly expanded, and ages like Kahlo, Rebek, Katha Island and others could see the light of day, someday!

    It should be noted that the content is very unfinished, so it would take quite a long while to see most of it completed. As always, patience and Cautious Optimism™ are needed, but these locations have just become a little more concrete. Doobes himself has been working for a while on expanding Descent and opening up the rest of the Great Shaft and the path from D’ni to the surface.

    The Guild of Archivists is also taking a more direct role, in relation to compatibility with Uru lore, in the approval process for new fan content on MOULa. Doobes also mentioned that more client improvements and more fan ages will soon be up for testing on Minkata alpha, including works from Ametist and Dulcamara (not Elodea yet, but newer ages).

    To keep updated on Doobes’ work, check his blog and his Facebook page.

    OpenUru

    Rarified mentioned that the Intangible assets have been archived on both the OpenUru and the Guild of Writers repositories.

    There is some new fan content in the pipeline which should be made available on Minkata prime for testing soon. Meanwhile, Marten continues to port the many user experience improvements, that have been in the H’uru fork for a long time, to the Minkata/MOULa client.

    The next major update will probably be timed in late July or early August, though there might be an intermediate update before then, for an upcoming special event. Things to look out and test will be: fixes for subworlds (e.g. the Ahnonay gondola chair, the Teledahn bucket, the Gahreesen lift), frame rate unlock, general performance and QoL improvements.

    How to be a tester (click to expand)

    To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata shard; it is highly recommended to read the Tester’s Guide to understand what is expected. To test the cutting edge additions, you can sign up for the Minkata alpha shard.
    To report bugs, you can post on the OpenUru forum or the Discord server (channels #hood or #dev); on Discord you can ask to be added to the @testers role to be notified of testing requests, which sometimes need quick response in terms of hours, not days.

    Fan Ages Touring Club

    Korov’ev gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT. Recently, they visited Lonirvan by Jhon J. Jaguar, Eh’ko by D’eux, The Cathedral by DenDwaler, Ahreesen Melin by Semjay, Kahntinoy by Rich, Fena Barel by Wodan & Hans.

    For June, the plan is to visit Alabaster by Dulcamara, which will take at least 3 sessions. After that, it will be time for Laki’anay and related ages, by the New Age Project.

    More about the Expeditions (click to expand)
    • After the expeditions, the participants will be able to share their observations in dedicated threads in the Guild of Writers’ forums (listed in the index). The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after.
    • After the tour, those who still have the energy are welcome to Korov’ev’s Gahreesehn for some Wall training (send a message to #194197 for an invite).
    • A gallery of fan ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki. Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.

    D’ni Language Classes

    Shokhootahn Rehn (a.k.a. r’Tayrtahn) gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.

    There are daytime openings on Monday through Friday; those interested should contact Rehn (see KI# below). Evening classes are not currently available.

    Seven students are taking the classes at various stages of completion; two of them are new.

    More about the D’ni Language Classes (click to expand)
    • Those who would like to attend the lessons should contact Rehn via PM or KImail (KI# 58324); be sure to include your KI number in the message!
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session, currently on MondayFriday starting at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night – Europe is in synch with original Story Night. They have finished the story from The Book of D’ni; next week they will start with the game Exile.

    R’Tayrtahn has been uploading the Stories on his YouTube channel. The videos are usually uploaded a few days after the live event.

    More about the Story Nights (click to expand)
    • Story Nights are held in Tsahno’s Hood every Saturday, gathering at the fountain at around 23:00 KIT, with the story starting at about 23:30 KIT.
    • For Story Nights – Europe, the gatherings are on Saturday starting at 13:30 KIT, with the story starting at about 14:00 KIT. On All Guilds Meeting days, the event will begin at 14:00 KIT or 30 minutes after the end of the AGM, whichever is later.
    • The stories are told using voice chat, so you will need to have your speakers, headphones or KI devices on. If you would like a reminder, please send r’Tayrtahn (KI# 58324) a KImail with your KI number included in the text, so that he can add you to his buddies list.
    • Last-minute changes to Story Night times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    Mysterium news

    Korov’ev reported some quick news about the convention:

    • Meinert Hansen, Robyn Miller, Brian Wrench are the first 3 special guests announced;
    • event submissions are still open until June 20, if time allows;
    • the Westin Alexandria will not cancel bookings automatically, you will have to do it yourself via the Marriott website or by phone;
    • the location for Mysterium 2022 is not set, the Committee will go through the normal bid review process.

    And that was it for this month. Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!

    May ended with the CavFunding at 94% (CavCon 2.9) and the reserve at 253%. There were no extra expenses. Population was at 40,360 (⇑304), with 1303 unique visits. Donations almost matched expenses.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, July 3 (Leesahn 1) at 13:00 KIT.

    Until then!

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    Intangibles Assets & Unexplored Branches https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/05/intangibles-assets-unexplored-branches/ https://guildofmessengers.org/2021/06/05/intangibles-assets-unexplored-branches/#respond Sat, 05 Jun 2021 11:50:51 +0000 https://guildofmessengers.org/?p=2538 In an surprise move, Cyan has released the Intangibles assets under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. The assets include design documents, textures, audio, and 3D models for ages and Cavern areas – including Kahlo, Rebek and Katha Island – that were in the planned for addition to Uru Live. Some date from 2000 or even earlier!

    The assets are in various stages of development, but most are very unfinished, and never appeared in game for good reasons (some concepts may not ever work with the game engine). So tempering expectations is advisable 😉 For a short time, the assets were previously only available to a select group of fan developers who signed a NDA, and are now open for anyone to dissect or even fully develop.

    The Guild of Writers’ H’uru Team is currently working on bringing the majority of these assets into their version control system to facilitate collaboration. The files are available at the OpenUru Foundry, and at the Guild of Writers (direct link) as initially provided by Cyan.

    It was also announced that Unexplored Branches – the expanded universe of the Myst/Uru franchise, authorized by Cyan while still not fully canon – now includes the announced Intangibles and also any fan-created ages or locations added to MOULa, along with the TRPG Unwritten.

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