On Friday, 21 August 2020 (9676 Leetahr 11) a historical event took place in the Cavern. It took a long time, but finally, Ages restored by explorers have been made available to the public!
In a ceremony held in the Watcher’s Pub, which gathered more than 280 explorers (a new record for the Cavern), Patrick Dulebohn unveiled the linking book to Chiso Preniv, the Library Age, after a heartfelt speech, a transcript of which you can read below. Later, Rand Miller showed up in the Kahlo Pub in Ae’gura, to thank and congratulate the explorers.
From Chiso Preniv, available in a new niche in the Pub, explorers can link to two more new Ages, the New Guild of Messengers’ Pub, and Veelay Tsahvahn, the Memorial Age. Hopefully this is only the beginning of many new Ages being opened to the public. The Library Age will function as the gateway to all of them.
CalumTraveler chronicled the event in his blog and filmed it. Twitch too filmed the event, from an ‘unusual’ angle. Other videos from: Minasunda, Dinosgamez, Hummingbird, Easy Allies. Photos were taken by Joe Douglas.
Because of the massive lag caused by all the people in the Watcher’s Pub, many could not make it to the ceremony. Thankfully, a number of explorers streamed the event, allowing those left out to watch it: Alderem, Larry LeDeay, Bogus Meat Factory, Neoghola, Okniwy, Yourbible, Dawnbat, Mazentius. A live audio chat was also available at the Cyan Discord server.
Patrick’s speech (click to expand )
Shorah!
We stand here today to take part in what many of us regard as a truly momentous occasion.
After ten thousand years of history, a catastrophic event that nearly destroyed it, and three halted restoration efforts, D’ni has lain mostly dormant for many years now.
We, as explorers, have held onto the belief that we could, in our own ways, continue to breathe life into the cavern.
In that endeavor, I believe we have been very successful over the years.
You’ve made this place your home away from home and have gone forth on the adventure of understanding the D’ni people, how they lived, and, of course, the worlds they visited via the Art.
We have also forged bonds with one another that have remained strong throughout the often joyous and occasionally troubled times.
Good or bad, we have faced it together, and because of our strength of character, persistence … and most importantly, those aforementioned bonds …
… after almost two *decades* …
… we are still here!
The D’ni Restoration Council admirably led the modern efforts to bring D’ni back to its former glory, and for that and the assistance they have offered over even these last few years, they have our gratitude.
They will always have a seat at the table should they ever choose to return.
But now … finally …
… it’s our turn.
Today, we officially begin a new restoration … *our* restoration … to continue what our predecessors started and to expand our knowledge of the D’ni through their home in the cavern and the incredible Ages contained here.
It is with that in mind that we are here today … to open the door to a new era in D’ni.
A new path … a new chronicle … a new journey.
Chiso Preniv, the Age you’re about to visit, will be the first gateway to a new gathering of Ages and points of interest here in the cavern that have been restored … or in some cases, Written … by us, the explorers of D’ni.
The Books you find there now are just the beginning. I’m hoping, as the months and years pass, fellow explorers will present more of their work to the library, and their contributions will be most welcome there.
This is, and will continue to be, the culmination of years of work by our fellow explorers, all contributing their time, efforts, and talents to making things ready for you all to see.
This is the fruit of their tireless labor. For that, from the bottom of my heart, I thank them. *All* of them.
There are too many names to mention … but each and every one has been an important part of launching this new era.
If they would like to make themselves known … I leave that decision to them, as I would respect any choices of anonymity … but if they do speak up, be sure to give them thanks!
They are often the unsung heroes here in the cavern. They put in untold weeks, months, and even years of labor on an entirely volunteer basis to bring us all the amazing things we will see and experience.
Put simply, we would *not* be here today without them.
There is one more group I’d like to turn our thoughts to today:
Our friends that are no longer with us.
They too are an important part of why we’re all still here today. They are with us now in spirit … and as we go into the future, they will always be with us.
This is as much for them as it is for us.
We’ve all come a long way and experienced much. Yet there is still *so* much more out there for us to explore!
Now, more than ever, these words ring true:
“The ending has not yet been written.”
With all that said … I give you Chiso Preniv … the first step towards a new future in D’ni!
Dpogue offered a temporary fix for a bug related to crackling sounds:
- Download SoundDecompress and unzip it
- Move SoundDecompress.exe into your Uru Live installation folder
- Delete the streamingCache folder inside the sfx folder in your Uru Live installation folder
- Double-click SoundDecompress.exe to run it
If you normally use “Run As Administrator” to run Uru, you’ll probably need to run SoundDecompress.exe the same way.
]]>
New barriers have appeared in the Watcher’s Pub outside a partially opened niche. Explorer CalumTraveler has documented two apparitions of Patrick Dulebohn (first, second), and more are expected.
A new introductory video was also added in a recent update to the client.
Be sure to be around on Friday, August 21 at 13:00 KIT!
]]>Contents
- Cavern Tours
- Mysterium news
- D’ni Language Classes
- R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
- Fan Ages Touring Club
- Future opening of Chiso Preniv
Cavern Tours
CT Hostess Susa’n was on stage to announce the ninth Cavern Tour of 2020, which will be held on Saturday 8 (during Mysterium) 22 at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood.
The Nexus is currently malfunctioning, and the neighborhood is not showing up; if the problem persists, you should ask Susa’n for an invite.
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 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!
Mysterium news
Virtual Mysterium is coming on August 7, with a long list of special guests: Eric Anderson, Mike “RIUM+” Ando, Chuck Carter, “Moiety” Jean Fioca, Amy Green, Ryan Green, Eleri Hamilton, Veronica Hamilton, Dan Irish, Michel Kripalani, Tim Larkin, Geneviève Lord, Stephan Martinière, Rand & Robyn Miller, Marty O’Donnell, Mike Perrotto, Katie “Kha’tie” Postma, Phil Saunders, Philip Shane, Bill Slease, Rod Stafford, Jack Wall, Ryan “greydragon” Warzecha.
D’ni Language Classes
Shokhootahn Rehn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.
He is still putting things away after his recent move. As a result there will not be any daytime classes until further notice. They should be able to return sometime in autumn. Night time classes, however, are unaffected. One more student is working on the final exam. Meanwhile, Tehlrov K’hris completed his final exam and passed the D’ni 101 class! Votahret ah’shem khe-bahrtahtahvteeom!
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 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, starting at 20:00 or 21:00 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 Nights and Story Nights – Europe are now at the same stage. Having finished the story arc of the D’ni kings and and learned about the years between king Kerath’s death and the start of the story of the Fall, we are now starting the Fall as told in the book Myst: The Book of Ti’ana.
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 14:30 KIT or 30 minutes after the end of the AGM.
- 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.
Fan Ages Touring Club
Korov’ev then gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT. In August, the Touring Club will visit a few more Ages from early 2009: Wianeroy, Soundgarden, and The Maze.
There will be no expeditions on Sunday 9, 16 & 23; the next one will be on Sunday 30, on Botan and Moysenland, by Ametist. Art Farmer will replace Korov’ev on Sunday 16 & 23. A gallery of fan Ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki.
After the expeditions, the participants will be able to share their observations in dedicated threads in the Guild of Writers’ forums (look for threads that start with “Fan Age expedition”). The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after.
One of the main objectives of the Touring Club, besides getting more explorers to know and appreciate the many Ages created in the last 15 years, is also to give some feedback to the authors, who are very welcome to attend the tours and talk about their works.
Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.
Future opening of Chiso Preniv
Patrick Dulebohn appeared on stage to announce that, after so many years and attempts to bring more Ages to all explorers, the efforts are finally going to pay off! In the next few weeks, a small room in the Cavern housing a new Linking Book will be revealed. For security reasons, the location cannot be divulged yet, but it will soon be obvious.
Once work on the room is complete, a Linking Book to the Age of Chiso Preniv will be unveiled for public access. Chiso was discovered amongst other Books in another library on an Age called Teshafee, and has since housed the vast majority of the work Patrick and others have been doing cataloguing that library’s contents. In time, the hope is also to restore an alternate Nexus system, to accomodate these Ages for easier access and organization.
Any and all explorers who have been restoring their own Ages and Cavern locations – or even Writing their own Ages – are welcome to bring their work to display at this library for all to experience. The DRC and its members are also welcome to return, if they ever choose to do so 
A new era in D’ni will be underway soon!
And that was it for this month.
Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!
The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, September 5 (Leetahr 23, 9676 DE) at 13:00 KIT.
Until then!
]]>Contents
- Cavern Tours
- Korman update released
- State of Minkata
- Fan Ages Touring Club
- D’ni Language Classes
- R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
- Cyan news
- Mysterium news
Cavern Tours
CT Hostess Susa’n was on stage to recap the seventh Cavern Tour of 2020, that took place right before the Meeting. The next one will be either on Saturday 1 or 8 (the latter date would be during Mysterium) at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood. Stay tuned for the definitive date!
The Nexus is currently malfunctioning, and the neighborhood is not showing up; if the problem persists, you should ask Susa’n for an invite.
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 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!
Korman update released
Version 0.10 of the Guild of Writers Age creation plugin Korman has been released, with a slew of updates and fixes! In particular, it adds the ability to print dynamic decals, various templates (e.g. linking books), the ability to export the Age and launch Uru directly into the Age from Blender, adds a simplified linking book modifier, and fixes for at least 24 bugs. The release also celebrates the day the first version was released in 2015.
State of Minkata
Rarified gave a quick update about the Minkata testing shard. There is a persistent bug still present – a crash during activities such as seeking markers – he is trying to ger rid of, and a few others that should not have as much of an impact on gameplay.
It has been noted that those issues are not present in fan shards like Gehn. Rarified said the reason is the initially different goals of OpenUru, that was keeping the client closer to the one in use on MOULa. Now that those differences are being ported to MOULa, OpenUru needs to bring in almost ten years of updates from the H’uru client.
On the topic of fan Ages, Rarified stated that the ones on Minkata are ready to be released on MOULa, possibly before August. How they will be released, whether there will be an IC event with DRC members, and how the fan Library will be accessible – currently on Minkata it is a new alcove in the Watcher’s Pub – is still to be decided and agreed upon with Cyan. Rarified said the preferred place to discuss is the OpenUru forum. In any case, it is important that such discussions are kept going and not let unanswered.
Along with fan Ages, modifications to Cyan’s Ages themselves were mentioned, now that they are allowed. The most common are fixes to collisions and improvements to textures. Altered assets will probably be treated the same way as fan Ages.
Fan Ages Touring Club
Korov’ev then gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT. In July, the Touring Club will visit Semjay’s new Age, Tovaht!
Then, it will be the turn of Jamey’s Ages, like Tsoidahl Sheegahtee; after that it will be more Ages from early 2009, like Terrati Lab, Hayal, The Maze, Wianeroy, and Soundgarden. A gallery of fan Ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki.
After the expeditions, the participants will be able to share their observations in dedicated threads in the Guild of Writers’ forums (look for threads that start with “Fan Age expedition”). The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after.
One of the main objectives of the Touring Club, besides getting more explorers to know and appreciate the many Ages created in the last 15 years, is also to give some feedback to the authors, who are very welcome to attend the tours and talk about their works.
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 gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.
He is still putting things away after his recent move. As a result there will not be any daytime classes until further notice. They should be able to return sometime in autumn. Night time classes, however, are unaffected. One more student is working on the final exam.
Details 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 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, starting at 20:00 or 21:00 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 Nights and Story Nights – Europe are now at the same stage. They will be finishing the story arc of the D’ni kings, and learn about the years between king Kerath’s death and the start of the story of the Fall.
Details 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 14:30 KIT or 30 minutes after the end of the AGM.
- 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.
Cyan news
- A recent update about Firmament defined the delivery date of July 2020 as “wildly optimistic”; a more likely date will be sometime in 2022. The update also showcased two concept arts of [REDACTED].
- June ended with a CavFunding of 54% (Cavcon 1.5), a population of 35,478 explorers, and 1210 unique visits. There was no rollover from the last month, so the reserve is now empty. According to Chogon, if every explorer who was online last month donated $1, the Cavern would be funded for over a month.
Mysterium news
- Registration for virtual Mysterium (which will be on August 7–9) is now open! The special guests from last year will all be back – Russell Brower, Chuck Carter, Tim Larkin, Marty O’Donnell, Katie Postma, and Jack Wall – and even more will be announced soon.
And that was it for this month.
Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!
The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, August 1 (Leetahr 1, 9676 DE) at 13:00 KIT.
Until then!
]]>For the first time ever, fan Ages are coming to Cyan’s official shard…and OU needs your help to do it!
You can read all about it in the site’s forum thread. They are requesting testers to identify any bugs or glitches this new content may have so they can be fixed before everything is sent over to Cyan.
Most notably, the Watcher’s Pub has been updated to add a new Book to Doobes’ Chiso Preniv library. From there, you can access the Ae’gura Guild of Messengers Pub and Veelay Tsahvahn. This is just a start, and hopefully more fan Ages will be added once this round of testing is completed and finally added to MOULa.
If you need to sign up for an account, you can click here.
Now would also be a good time to donate to the CAVCON if you can.
Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen.
For more MOULa and shard news, keep checking back here!
]]>
Young, Gifted & Black
On Monday 15 at 13:00 KIT, Nosila will host a music event; the location will be the Ae’gura plaza, and the stream will be at nosilaradio.caster.fm.
Cavern Tours
CT Hostess Susa’n was on stage to announce the sixth Cavern Tour of 2020, on Saturday 13 at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood. The Nexus is currently malfunctioning, and the neighborhood is not showing up; if the problem persists, you should ask Susa’n for an invite.
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 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!
Future physics update
A recent update to the MOULa client reportedly included a physics update, stirring the longstanding question of the future of ‘skydiving’ (a.k.a. glitching), the practice of jumping on invisible colliders to reach normally out-of-reach places, stemming from an older practice of jumping off high places. Innumerable marker games have been created to map skydiving paths along the Ages, and more recently a robot-assisted training course.
Skydiving, however, depends on broken physics engine (PhysX) implementation, causing an uneven game experience depending on computer and network characteristics, fixing which has been part of the open source roadmap since the beginning in 2011. Perhaps even more importantly, upgrading the physics engine (to at least version 4) will lift a major obstacle to a truly native macOS and Linux clients.
Hoikas and Doobes therefore agreed to illustrate the developer side of the issue, and clarify a few questions and misconceptions regarding the client update roadmap:
- the latest update did not break the bot functioning itself, but the physics that the marker games dispensed by the bots depend on;
- the ‘physics update’ mentioned in the release notes is a bump from PhysX version 2.6.0 to 2.6.4, the same version used in the Gehn shard in the last six years;
- the entire process of updating the MOULa client happens in the clear, on the Writers’ IRC, on GitHub and on the OpenUru Discord server;
- explorers who create content for the game based on bugs are invited to be active participants in the discussion on how development moves forward, as developers cannot be aware otherwise of them.
As for future options, a ‘skydiving client’ was released years ago by Lyrositor – who in the meantime retired from the community – but an update to the KI functioning made it unusable. The source code, and some guidelines on how it could be brought up to date, are publicly available to any coder willing to take up the challenge. However, the long-term solution to preserve skydiving would be a dedicated skydiving shard.
As an addendum, it was noted that another planned update is the transition from the exceedingly obsolete Python 2.3 to 3.8; for robot makers, this will require checking their code for no longer compatible syntax (e.g. from print "string" to print("string") ).
Ages of Doobes
Doobes’ latest releases – Chiso Preniv, Veelay Tsahvahn and the New GoMe Pub – have been ported to the Minkata shards, where the heavy testing will begin. From then, if all goes well, they will be ported to Cyan’ staging server for the last quick checks, and eventually on MOULa, hopefully very soon.
But the big news was the announcement of another, yet unnamed Age in the works! It will be a competitive puzzle Age, based on the Gahreesehn Wall idea, but as a circular maze with configurable (or randomizable) walls. The player or team that will manage to reach the center of the maze, will win.
There will also be a one-in-four chance to remove the walls to gain an advantage, using a control panel beside each wall; but it may also be a disadvantage, so you will need to make a strategic decision! To make things even more challenging, a timer will also be available. During the Q&A, Theo suggested implementing a command to save and load wall configurations.
As for his other Ages in the work, the next release will likely be Kotsahvosahn, a.k.a. the Waystation, the beginning of the journey of D’ni citizen and Messenger Lothias, so it will be more story-heavy than Doobes’ previous Ages.
After that, Doobes has started a new project with AgeExplorer, which promises to be both story and puzzle-heavy.
To keep updated on Doobes’ work, check his blog and his Facebook page.
Fan Ages Touring Club
Korov’ev then gave a quick update on the Fan Ages Expeditions he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT.
- On May 10 the Club adventurers visited TikiBear’s recently updated Ages (Duck Knee Skydiving Club, Sprite Gallery, and Paper Pagodas);
- On May 17 they visited Doobes’ Ages (the New GoMe Pub, Chiso Preniv, and Veelay Tsahvahn), finally released on the shard only a few days before;
- On May 24 they started the 3-part expedition to the Geologica series, by Ametist and Metabasalt, starting in Dragon’s Tooth, but also visiting Ametist’s latest release, Tiam.
In June, the Touring Club will visit Enobmort and Noidrocca by J’Kla, Paah’kweh and Sonavio by Boblishman, and Pre-Swaltu by Tolip Ydop. A gallery of fan Ages with some details is available on the Writers’ wiki.
After the expeditions, the participants will be able to share their observations in dedicated threads in the Guild of Writers’ forums (look for threads that start with “Fan Age expedition”). The expeditions are streamed (without comments), and the videos will be available for two weeks after.
One of the main objectives of the Touring Club, besides getting more explorers to know and appreciate the many Ages created in the last 15 years, is also to give some feedback to the authors, who are very welcome to attend the tours and talk about their works.
Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.
The Lost Art
Korov’ev mentioned that Mystitech Productions released Episode 10 of its The Lost Art machinima, on Saturday 30.
Cyan news
- realMyst: Masterpiece Edition has been released on Thursday 21 for the Nintendo Switch.
- After more than three months, a new update was posted in Thursday about Firmament. Among other news, it mentioned the need to improve on the gameplay and setting aspects of the game, and the official hiring of a member of the Starry Expanse team.
- May ended with a CavFunding of 90% (CavCon 1.9), a population of 35,052 explorers, and 1441 unique visits. The reserve covered 29% of the costs and is now empty. The server costs were the same as last month.
See also the News Roundup #4 and #5.
Mysterium news
The convention will be held virtually, with a combination of Twitch and Zoom for presentations, and Discord for live chatting. The convention dates will be the same as planned, August 7–9, with a possible extended weekend. Refunds will be available, but roll-overs to next year’s in-person convention will too.
The deadline for event submissions has been extended to June 30, with the option to submit pre-recorded presentations. The deadline for the Digital Activity Book is also extended to June 30.
The existing T-shirt design will be used for Mysterium 2021, with altered dates. A store page will be opened soon. The 2020 pin designs will also be rolled over into 2021.
D’ni Language Classes
Shokhootahn Rehn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.
He is still putting things away after his recent move. As a result there will not be any daytime classes until further notice. They should be able to return sometime in autumn. Night time classes, however, are unaffected.
There are currently two students working on lesson 6. Meanwhile, Aqua completed her final exam and passed the D’ni 101 class! Votahret ah’shem khe-bahrtahtahvteeom!
Details 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 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, starting at 20:00 or 21:00 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 Nights and Story Nights – Europe are now at the same stage. They are continuing with the story arc of the D’ni kings, and will continue for the next four weeks.
Rehn hinted at a possible special Story Night on the Gehn shard, in a “certain memorial Age”.
Details 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 14:30 KIT or 30 minutes after the end of the AGM.
- 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.
And that was it for this month.
Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!
The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, July 4 11, 2020 (Leesahn 2, 9676 DE) at 13:00 KIT.
Until then!
]]>- Win10 mouse handling fix
- Increased the avatar step offset by a tenth of a foot (less tripping)
- Panic link fixes
- Lots of internal engine fixes
- Physics update [the client will not close with a stack dump if PhysX Legacy is not installed]
- Build improvements and changes
- Upgraded Database minor release
- One step closer to new fan content!
International Women’s Day
Nosila was first, to announce the music events for the International Women’s Day – just on the day most of the U.S. switches to daylight time, unfortunately!
- 14:00 KIT, Ae’gura Plaza – Root Beer, from Radio Free D’ni, will play tracks played, sung or composed by female musicians (stream1, stream2);
- 15:30 KIT, Ae’gura Plaza – Ghaelen will give a brief talk about two influential women in history;
- 15:35 KIT, Kings’ Lookout – Nosila will play a mix of music by female artists (stream1, stream2).
Cavern Tours
CT Hostess Susa’n was on stage to announce the third Cavern Tour of 2020, on Saturday 14 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. The upcoming tour will also feature special effects from Mir-o-Bot you may not have seen or heard before.
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!
St. Patrick’s Day
Minasunda was back to announce the parades for St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday 17:
- 12:00 KIT – Ghaelen will set the mood with her Relaxing & Balancing Hour;
- 13:00 KIT – first parade, led by Eternal Seeker;
- 17:00 KIT – second parade, no leader has been picked yet; volunteers are welcome.
In between, it will be Irish music dance party time! Last year the public instance of Ae’gura was pushed to the limit of its capacity, some players could not take part in the parade. For this reason, this year the venue will be Mir-o-Bot’s Ae’gura (KI# 32319).
Minasunda regularly posts reminders about Uru events on her Facebook group.
Inauguration of Veelay Tsahvahn
Doobes took the stage to announce the release of version 27 of the Gehn Shard, which came with a year and a half worth of fixes and additions, including an upgraded voice chat that sounds much clearer. A remarkable amount of work behind the scenes goes into these fixes.
Most notably, this release unveiled Doobes’ own Chiso Preniv, the Library Age, available from the Nexus, and a revamped New Guild of Messengers’ Pub; both are the first to be natively exported using the Korman plugin for Blender. The Pub no longer replaces Cyan’s version, but is now reached from Chiso Preniv, which also has books for Tre’bivdil, Vothol Gallery, Fehnir’s House, and any future release from fans.
But yet another Age was unveiled right after the meeting: Veelay Tsahvahn, the Memorial Age, designed as an extension of the Memorial in the Kahlo Pub, by providing more background to the names displayed there. Veelay also features a poignant theme written by Mystler.
For more on Doobes’ Ages, visit his site and Facebook page.
Explorers memorial
In what has become a grim tradition, Korov’ev had to report the passing of yet another explorer: Gary Andrew “Andy” Legate, prolific and respected Age builder, author or contributor of Camp Bravo, Zephyr Cove, Andy’s Nexus, Ahra Pahts shell 315, Serene, Eder Bahvahnin, Neolbah, Eder Tomahn, Eocene. He also wrote many tutorials for 3ds Max and Blender, which taught the basics of modelling to many Age builders.
Fan Age Touring Club
Korov’ev then announced the Fan Age Tours he is hosting on the Deep Island shard, every Sunday at 11:00 KIT (except in March, when they will be at 12:00 KIT), to explore fan-made Ages, share impressions, try to find secrets, and get started with the puzzles if any.
The Ages will be explored in roughly chronological order of release, but occasionally will be based on a theme or an author. After the expeditions, the participants will be able to share their observations in dedicated threads in the Guild of Writers’ forums.
To remember Andy Legate the next tour, Sunday 8 at 12:00 KIT, will visit some of his works: Camp Bravo (day and night), Eder Bahvahnin, Eder Tomahn, Serene.
One of the main objectives of the Touring Club, besides getting more explorers to know and appreciate the many Ages created in the last 15 years, is also to give some feedback to the authors, who are very welcome to attend the tours and talk about their works. Ultimately the hope is also that, by seeing these Ages, more people will be inspired to create their own.
Setting up a Deep Island client can be a bit tricky in some situations; a quick guide is available in our Troubleshooting section.
Somahoglahn
Originally, the destination for the Sunday 8 Fan Age Tour was the fourth episode in the Secret of the Rainbow series by Jhon J. Jaguar, Somahoglahn, which was released on March 1. The Age will be visited on the next tour, on Sunday 15.
Cyan news
The MOULa Launcher got a small update, finally fixing the login screen, with a funding indicator: not the CavCon, but a simple percentage of costs covered.
Early in February, Chogon released some worrying statistics about the Cavcon: donations had not been covering the server costs at least since June 2019. However, by the end of February, donations were again above costs!
Marker games are still disabled, until an issue that is causing the server to crash is fixed. All we can do is be patient until a solution is found.
The Facebook account API, that was used to verify a cell/mobile phone with a text message, was replaced with Amazon’s AWS equivalent.
Meanwhile, a new Cyan Venture has been announced: Area Man Lives, from Numinous Games. An Alternate Reality Game connected to it is ongoing, started with the address to KQV Radio that appears in the teaser. The mystery is being investigated on the #areamanlives channel of the Cyan Chat Discord server.
Mysterium
Registration and hotel reservations for Mysterium 2020 are now open. The hotel will be the Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, VA, with a rate of $100/night for both single and double rooms.
From now until May 31, weekend registrations cost $25, while premium registrations (weekend + shirt) cost $40. Starting June 1, the price will increase and the T-shirts will not be available for pre-order.
This year the T-shirts feature designs from Katherine “Squee” White and Claire “Shoom’lah” Hummel.
Submissions for events, enamel pins, activity book pages, as well as writing and artwork, are still open but will end soon. This year, submission are handled with a new rights policy.
D’ni Language Classes
Shokhootahn Rehn gave two announcements, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights.
Details 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 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, starting at 20:00 or 21:00 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 Nights and Story Nights – Europe are now at roughly the same stage. They are continuing with the story arc of the D’ni kings, and will continue for the next weeks.
Due to traveling, there will be no Story Night – Europe on March 28. Original Story Night is unaffected.
Details 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 14:30 KIT or 30 minutes after the end of the meeting;
- 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.
And that was it for this month. Please consider donating to keep the Cavern open!
The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, April 4, 2020 (Leenovoo 17) at 13:00 KIT.
Until then!
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