Category: Cavern Events

  • The Cavern Today 46: Live from Mysterium

    The Cavern Today 46: Live from Mysterium

    “Around the world and across the Ages…” The Cavern Today podcast has been bringing listeners news & views from the Myst fan community since 2005 – and now, for the first time, we’ve recorded a live, in-person podcast from Mysterium 2023 in Spokane! For this, our Summer 2023 edition, join Sh’aeri, Esto, Dalken and Maurus as we discuss:

    • Our trials and tribulations getting to Mysterium
    • The last time TCT members were at a Spokane Mysterium
    • What we’ve loved about Mysterium so far
    • Excitement for tomorrow’s trip to Cyan HQ
    • Audience Q&A

    For the first time ever, you will also be able to WATCH this episode, filmed live at the convention, at Mysterium’s own YouTube page, once it goes live.

    We want to give a HUGE shout-out to all the Mysterium staff for their help making this happen, and for their awesome job putting together the biggest Mysterium to date. You guys rock! We also want to extend a thank you to Justthinktink, who was a huge help to us, and made us awesome TCT-themed gear for the occasion. Thank you so much for your support – we love you!

    The Cavern Today is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & other services – as well as The Cavern Today’s website.

  • June 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    June 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 158th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Firmament
    2. Events in the Cavern
    3. Mysterium
    4. OpenUru
    5. D’ni Language Classes
    6. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    7. Miscellanea

    Firmament

    Firmament has been released on May 18 on Steam and GOG. Discussion forums can be found on Facebook, Discord, Reddit, Steam, and there is also a wiki. Let us know if you find other venues 🙂 Reviews have been posted on (possible spoilers) The Spokesman-Review, GeekWire, Shacknews, Inverse.

    Interestingly, the game includes “AI assisted content” for journals, logs, songs, letters, backer portraits, wallpapers, banners, voiced announces and other speeches.

    Unfortunately, the release was marred by various bugs, mostly related to missing voiceover lines or getting stuck in places. So far three patches have been released, fixing most of the issues; Cyan is hard at work at fixing the remaining ones. Most bugs related to getting stuck can be fixed by pausing the game, select “Settings”, then from the “Controls” menu (the default), move the cursor all the way to the bottom and select “Teleport to safe spot”. This will reset both your position and that of the objects and devices you have interacted with.

    In a post on Facebook, they asked anyone still experiencing issues, to submit an email to support(at)cyan(dot)com with the subject line “Firmament Bugs” and the following information:

    • on Windows PC: attach the dxdiag report, and attach the complete contents of your %LocalAppData%\Firmament\Saved directory, zipped up, to your email;
    • on MacOS: attach screenshots of the “About this Mac” page, and the Hardware and Graphics/Display, and attach the complete contents of your Application Support/Epic/Firmament/Saved folder inside your Home folder to your email;
    • include details of the bug, with any repro steps if possible.

    The system requirements are a minimum of an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X eight-core processor (16 CPUs), ~3.7 GHz or Intel i5 7000 series; 16 GB RAM of memory; AMD Radeon RX 5700XT or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB graphic card; DirectX 11; 20 GB disk space.

    The game will release for PS4, PS5 and PS VR 2 at a later date. PC VR includes free roam and teleport modes and supports Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Rift S, and Quest 2 via Oculus Link.

    Events in the Cavern

    ☛ June is Pride Month; banners are on display in the Guild of Messengers pub.

    ☛ Since Mysterium begins on June 30 (see below for more), the July All Guilds Meeting willl be postponed to July 8.

    ☛ IwonK will host a Wonky Talk (on her Twitch channel) on Friday 16 at 15:00 KIT in the Guild of Cookies’ Hood by the heek table. This month’s topic is child protagonists in video games. Feel free to suggest interesting games she could talk (and draw) about. As always, there will be cookies!

    Mysterium

    The annual Myst convention is less than a month away, on June 30 in Spokane (WA). The schedule is packed, with a visit to Cyan’s headquarters on Saturday, where Rand will answer questions; on top of that, a New Thing from Rium+, a mystery panel, Unwritten sessions and more.

    Standard registration is hovering around the capacity cap of 250 people. The Committee has opened up an overflow registration queue for attendees who do not wish to go to Cyan, or would like to go if someone cannot attend. There are a total of 275 purchasable tickets for Mysterium this year, which  means there are only 25 overflow spots (likely less, at the time of this writing). The overflow tickets are also discounted.

    If you are planning on attending Cyan on Saturday, a registration ticket has opened on the registration page for a bus ride; there is a limited number of these, and a buy in is required, as bus rental rates are very high right now. There is also a signup spreadsheet on the Mysterium Discord “Looking for People” subforum in the “Cyan Ride Share” thread for anyone who is bringing or renting a car, and would like to offer seats for other attendees.

    ☛ During the “Uru World-Building” panel on Friday 30 at 14:00 KIT, Doobes will hold a 50 min demonstration of Age building, using Blender for Korman. He also plans to show Age import via Sirius’ ZLZ Age Importer, to show how Cyan’s Ages are converted to Blend files for fixing, updating, etc., and what goes into that. There is also a chance that other programmers, Age builders, etc. will be able to join for a roundtable discussion during the demo.

    ☛ The creative prompt for June is “Scream”; the deadline is June 30. Entries for the “Spring” prompt for April were from Redwoodrroad, Laughingpineapple, Calum Traveler, IwonK, Talashar, and Tweek.

    ☛ For the latest info and more details, check the official website of the Mysterium Convention.

    OpenUru

    ☛ Christopher Therburg gave an update on his Fall of D’ni Memorial Island project. The island is almost ready to open, possiblly in July or later in the summer. Christopher wrote and left a journal on the island, which describes the work on the memorial and the island and also tells the motivation for building it in the first place. The official name of the island is Bahntefoonet, D’ni for “Memorial Island”; the original name of the island is unknown.

    Christopher also mentioned the other Age he found: he explored this Age a little more closely and at first glance it might be a watery Garden Age. Restoration for this Age is now at phase 1, and is tentatively planned to be released in 2024 or 2025.

    D’ni Language Classes

    R’Tayrtahn gave two updates, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights. Another student has completed the 101 class and is working on their final exam!

    Visitors are asked to not post pellet points into the hood imager: one of his former students and a close friend, Yutiel Yoshi, who passed away in 2018, is listed there. He has refrained from posting pellets to maintain her name at the top, as a form of memorial.

    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), or on Discord (r’Tayrtahn#1317).
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session. There are daytime openings Monday to Friday, at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, though availability is subject to change with little or no notice;
    • evening openings are on Monday to Friday, at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Daytime availability is subject to change with little or no notice. Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are telling the story of Atrus as told in the book Myst: The Book of Atrus. After that they will begin the story from the game of Myst. Eventually they will cover all of the books and games. as well as the three human attempts at the restoration of D’ni.

    R’Tayrtahn records videos of the sessions (via an avatar named “I’m a bot, do not message”), that he will eventually upload to his YouTube channel. Be careful if you PM r’Tay or the bot during the events, 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 meeting, 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.

    Miscellanea

    ☛ In June, the Fan Ages Expeditions will continue the exploration of Tentsahveet by Jhon J. Jaguar, the third chapter in the The Secret of the Rainbow series about a group of defectors from the Black Ships’ flagship and its cruel captain Krakon. This Age will take one or two more sessions to complete. After that, they will begin the exploration of Semjay’s Ages: Terahgrahm, Zahlto, Tovaht Bay, Ahreesen Melin.

    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 8 (Leesahn 5) at 13:00 KIT.

    Until then!

  • May 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    May 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 157th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Firmament
    2. Mysterium
    3. Events in the Cavern
    4. OpenUru
    5. D’ni Language Classes
    6. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    7. Miscellanea

    Firmament

    Firmament now has a page on Steam and GOG; wishlisting it will help the visibility of the game. A teaser and a trailer have also been released on Cyan’s YouTube channel (possible spoilers); extended preview footage was released back in December.

    In a post on Kickstarter, Cyan recommended backers to double check your survey information via Fangamer to ensure your shipment and delivery settings are up to date; wrong info will lead to delays in getting your digital rewards.

    The system requirements are a bit beefy, with a minimum of an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X eight-core processor (16 CPUs), ~3.7 GHz or Intel i5 7000 series; 16 GB RAM of memory; AMD Radeon RX 5700XT or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB graphic card; DirectX 11; 20 GB disk space.

    The game will release for Windows and MacOS on May 18, and on PS4, PS5 and PS VR 2 at a later date. PC VR will include free roam and teleport modes and will support Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Rift S, and Quest 2 via Oculus Link.

    Mysterium

    The annual Myst convention is only two months away, on June 30 in Spokane (WA)! A few reminders:

    • book your hotel room before the closing date on May 28, since the discount code for the rooms will no longer work after that date;
    • the cut-off date for swag is June 3, any orders not finalized by then will be unavailable (a limited number of swag items will be available at the registration table);
    • online registration ends on June 16; walk-in registration will be possible, but registering before the deadline helps getting an accurate head count for the visit at Cyan’s HQ.

    This year will be the first time Mysterium will be offering assistive listening technology (specifically a Williams Sound PPA 457 Personal Assistive Listening System): if you require one of these, please contact the committee by no later than June 1st so they can compile a headcount. Bear in mind that a deposit or a form of collateral will be required to use the devices.

    The creative prompt for May is “Spring”; the deadline is May 31. Entries for the “You Fool!” prompt for April were from Redwoodrroad, Calum Traveler, and Talashar.

    ☛ For the latest info and more details, check the official website of the Mysterium Convention.

    Events in the Cavern

    ☛ Between April and May two new Ages were made available to explorers: Eder Bahvahnter and Kalamee, the latter based on an Intangibles design by Cyan. Three clothing items have also been added; did you find them all?

    ☛ Maurus thanked everyone who attended the Live The Cavern Today show in the TCT Hood. A recording is available on the TCT website and the podcast feed (and through the streaming app of your choice).

    ☛ IwonK will host a Wonky Talk (on her Twitch channel) on Friday 19 at 15:00 KIT in the Guild of Cookies’ Hood by the heek table. This month’s topic is flying games. Feel free to suggest interesting games she could talk (and draw) about. As always, there will be cookies!

    OpenUru

    Testing for items to be included in the Q2 update has begun. A few areas are in the works, but it is unclear whether they will be ready for a Q2 or a Q3 release.

    ☛ The first part of the expanded Descent has been added to Minkata alpha! So far, things are very roughly working, but a lot of multiplayer functions still need to be addressed, various visual fixes need addressing, and some suggestions and additions are still in the works.

    Descent will certainly not be ready for Mysterium, but Doobes is hopeful to get at least the first leg ready within this year. This expanded version is planned to include elements from Myst V and the DIRT/Descent demo.

    ☛ Christopher Therburg gave an update on his Fall of D’ni Memorial Island project. Surface commitments convinced hit to turn this into a community project; work since then has progressed very quickly, thanks in particular to Tweek.

    The island had already been in use some time prior of the Fall, but it is unclear for what purpose: possibly a wedding place, or more likely a small park overlooking Ae’gura. Another dock was added to the island, and a memorial was placed on the spot where the largest stalagmite once stood. The memorial was initially planned to be placed in Ae’gura, but issues with the two possible locations led to relocate it to this little island, which also offers a nice vista of Ae’gura and the whole Cavern.

    The island has finally reached phase 5. There are still a few things that need to be done before it can be opened, hopefully in time for the anniversary (July 12, Leesahn 8). The island will be accessible via Chiso Preniv first, but in the future it will also be added to the Nexus, and also with a boat from Ae’gura.

    Chris also mentioned he found a new Age somewhere in the Cavern, but it still needs further explorations and mapping before restoration can actually begin.

    How to be a tester (click to expand)

    To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata prime 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.

    D’ni Language Classes

    R’Tayrtahn gave two updates, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights. Another student has completed the 101 class and is working on their final exam!

    Visitors are asked to not post pellet points into the hood imager: one of his former students and a close friend, Yutiel Yoshi, who passed away in 2018, is listed there. He has refrained from posting pellets to maintain her name at the top, as a form of memorial.

    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), or on Discord (r’Tayrtahn#1317).
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session. There are daytime openings Monday to Friday, at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, though availability is subject to change with little or no notice;
    • evening openings are on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Daytime availability is subject to change with little or no notice. Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are telling the story of Atrus as told in the book Myst: The Book of Atrus. After that they will begin the story from the game of Myst. Eventually they will cover all of the books and games. as well as the three human attempts at the restoration of D’ni.

    R’Tayrtahn records videos of the sessions (via an avatar named “I’m a bot, do not message”), that he will eventually upload to his YouTube channel. Be careful if you PM r’Tay or the bot during the events, 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 meeting, 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.

    Miscellanea

    ☛ In May, the Fan Ages Expeditions will continue the exploration of Alabaster by Dulcamara; another huge Age, with many puzzles, so it will take a couple more sessions. After that, they will begin the exploration of Tentsahveet by Jhon J. Jaguar.

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

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, June 3 (Leebro 6) at 13:00 KIT.

    Until then!

  • A New Era in D’ni: Kalamee

    A New Era in D’ni: Kalamee

    On Monday, May 1st, 2023 (9679 Leefo 8), in a ceremony held in Chiso Preniv that gathered over 100 explorers and was announced on Cyan’s Twetter feed, Semjay and Patrick Dulebohn gave a speech (a transcript of which you can read below), then unveiled the linking book to Kalamee.

    This was originally an unfinished Intangibles age that was picked up by Semjay to complete. You can find more details about the original design (spoiler alert) at The Lost Library of D’ni. The following is a spoiler-free outline of the backstory of the released age:

    Ancient Kalameeans built the stone circles and erected the monoliths. One day, a big storm and catastrophic flood washed the earth mound and its contents away, leaving the stone structure of the quoit as seen today.

    The age was later linked to by the D’ni; the inhabitants were chased away and a curtain wall was built around the valley, but the age was soon abandoned. Many years passed and eventually a father and daughter arrived and occupied the valley.

    Many more years passed, and the age was found by the DRC. They updated the link-in point and constructed landing pads across the valley. In 2022, Semjay found the book, settled in the house and spent many months clearing the pathways, constructing weirs, repairing structures and replanting trees and crops.

    Note than unlike other ages available in Chiso Preniv, Kalamee is a personal instance; visiting it will save a link in your Nexus. To visit with friends, you will need to go through Chiso Preniv and use the share panel, or send an invite with your KI.

    Calum Traveler posted a postcard in his blog and chatlogs on the Beneath forums. Minasunda made a video of the event.

    Speech transcript (click to expand )

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    Welcome to you all. Thank you for joining us today! Once again, we find ourselves here in Chiso Preniv, ready to open up another Age. And again, we will experience the history and majesty of the D’ni mastery of the Art thanks to the hard work of our volunteer restoration experts. Today, we bring you the Age of Kalamee.

    A bit of the modern history of this Age: A little while back, the D’ni Restoration Council, or DRC as we more commonly know them, was gracious enough to open their “vault” to those of us currently restoring and residing in the cavern and its Ages. Needless to say, there was a lot of exciting material they had to show us! It shows they had been extremely busy all the way up until the very end.

    With that in mind, amongst our other goals, we aim to finish the work that they started. Today, we offer the first Age that is part of that continuation of the DRC’s work, and that is Kalamee. The DRC had just discovered the Age and had begun to set up there when the last restoration ended, so there was quite a lot of work to do.

    Still, you’ll soon see why it piqued the DRC’s interest, as well as the interest of the individual who is largely responsible for completing restoration efforts there. It is because of her tireless work that we are here today! That person is Semjay.

    She spearheaded the majority of the time and energy to finish Kalamee’s extensive restoration and the results are truly a sight to see. We are here today because of her; to honor and celebrate her momentous achievement.

    So, all that said; Semjay, anything you’d like to add?

    Semjay:

    Thank you, Patrick. I would like to say a big thank you to all the people who spent time and trouble to help me make the Age the best I possibly could, and to YOU all for being here. You guys keep this whole thing going, that’s for sure!

    I see some of you wearing the t-shirt already! You can get it from the box by my desk downstairs.

    So, are we ready?

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    I think they’re about ready, yes. Semjay’s got the honors.

  • Announcing TCT Live!

    Announcing TCT Live!

    The Cavern Today is very excited to announce our first-ever LIVE podcast! Join us Friday, May 5 at 17:00 KI time in The Cavern Today’s Hood. For the audio component, we will be simulcasting to our Twitch channel at https://twitch.tv/thecaverntoday, so tune in!

  • A New Era in D’ni: Eder Bahvahnter

    A New Era in D’ni: Eder Bahvahnter

    On Monday, April 17, 2023 (9678 Leenovoo 27) Eder Bahvahnter, by Ametist and Dulcamara, was officially opened.

    Linked from a book in a place of protection in Elonin, Eder Bahvahnter is a large garden age, originally written by a D’ni man as a gift to his beloved.

    Minasunda made a video of the opening event, while a chatlog of the speech by Patrick Dulebohn and Ametist was posted on the Beneath IC forum.

    Speech transcript (click to expand )

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    Hello everyone! Welcome to Eder Bahvahnter!

    We’re gathered here for what is always one of the most exciting times: to celebrate a newly-restored Age added to our collective body of work. As you can see, given the sheer size, getting this Age ready for everyone to enjoy was NOT a small feat!

    Today, we’ll hear from two familiar faces to this restoration who were directly involved in tending to the grounds and facilities of Eder Bahvahnter. They are also the team that was previously responsible for the fantastic work in Elonin in the cavern.

    My fellow explorers, please welcome back Dulcamara and Ametist!

    Ametist:

    Thank you Patrick! And thank you all who is here, so good to see you all.

    Our hope is that you will find this garden peaceful and relaxing. Here are many places were one can sit down and think a little, or chat with friends, take a little swim in the pond or cool downby just walking in the stream.

    This garden age was written by a D’ni man as a gift for his beloved and that lovely story can be found in the Journal.

    It was hard work to restore it to this state, but we have had great help and assistance from a whole bunch of explorers. Some of them of the adventurous sort, so I have been holding my breath many times when seeing some of them climbing the highest cliffs or jumping downfrom high up branches!

    Unfortunately a little water leak appeared one day, well, that was me that caused it. I was moving the shelf that stands next to the doorway, above the stairs. I thought it would fit better on the other side of the room. Dulcamara was on the surface and I thought I should surprise her.

    But that shelf was to heavy, and when I tried to push it it fell to the floor and I could hear water from beneath the floor. Somehow a water pipe was broken a bit. So I am sorry about that! This happened recently so we had not enough time to try to fix it. We will of course, but probably we have to break open the floor to get to the leak.

    Anyway, if you walk to close to that rightmost shelf and hear water, just go back down the stair one step or two.When you go up again it’s gone. It is like the vibrations from walking moves the pipe in a way that opens the crack or close it.

    Oh, and speaking of water, we have also restored a new set of rooms in Elonin! There was earlier a closed and locked door, now its unlocked and able to open 🙂

  • News Roundup #28

    ☛ As mentioned in the MOULa update post, the Relto start was given a new video, which was premiered on YouTube on the day of the update; you can watch it in English, French and German.

    Eder Bahvahnter will open on April 17 at 12:00 KIT; you can get there via Elonin, or by sending “to Bahvahnter” in PM to Mir-o-Bot (KI# 32319).

    Kalamee will open on May 1 at 13:00 KIT, in Chiso Preniv; Nosila will provide the music.

    ☛ A new update for the Myst Documentary was posted. There has been great progress on several fronts. The film’s treatment is now complete. A new trailer was completed, to be shown to potential partners to gather the additional funds required to finish the documentary; the trailer will be showcased at Mysterium 2023. Two new excerpts are also available in the article. The Vault of Stories so far has gathered more than 90 volumes with 535 pages.

    ☛ Doobes’ work on the Descent path and the possible integration of more Myst V ages was the focus of an article on Massively Overpowered.

    ☛ The Cavern Communications Network has released the 5th episode of its podcast The Water Cooler Show: an interview with Ametist.

    ☛ A few ages have been ported to VRChat, with Cyan’s approval: Bevin, Eder Tsogal, Kadish Gallery, Ahnonay Cathedral, and more. More info is available at the Virtual Reality Guild Discord server and VRC group.

  • MOULa update OpenUru#211

    MOULa update OpenUru#211

    On April 12 MOULa got another update, with various fixes, improvements and new Ages! A full changelog is available at the bottom of this post.

    You can now add a Chiso book to your Relto. The Relto start got a new intro video. A few more clothing items have been added (you will have to look for them!). The DRC stage has been re-added to the Ae’gura plaza.

    Various fixes have been made to Phil’s Relto books, the Kirel podium audio, the Ahnonay vogondola entry and exit animations, the Wall Game climb region, the rainy Yeesha page holographic, and updates to Serene and Tiam.

    Eder Bahvahnter will be officially opened in a ceremony on Monday 17 at 12:00 KIT, in the public Elonin (you can also get there by sending “to Bahvahnter” in PM to Mir-o-Bot, KI# 32319).

    A note on bugs (click to expand)

    When an update hits MOULa it is almost inevitable that unexpected bugs will show up. For all the testing that can be done, Minkata never sees as many concurrent players as the official server, and not all issues can be catched.

    When the servers have just been restarted, most of the early linking slowness and problems are from the database buffers refilling – and by an overload of concurrent logins 😉

    No additions from Cyan are to be expected for the foreseeable future, apart from server updates, so all improvements and additions will come from fan developers, who dedicate their limited free time to at least try to let MOULa be the best it could potentially be.

    So the best way to deal with bugs is to have patience and report them, mentioning where you were and what you were doing, be it on Cyan’s Discord, OpenUru’s Discord or OpenUru forums.

    If you fancy contributing your work and/or helping with bug fixing, those places are also excellent starting points to be part of the Fourth Restoration 🙂

    OpenUru Build #211d – Quarter 1, 2023
    • [new] Add Age reset into linking books {17}
    • [new] Add Chiso Book to Relto Bookshelf {9}
    • [new] Add Kalamee link panel to Nexus {10}
    • [new] Add Selector to Video GUI {9}
    • [new] Additional Clothing Items {14}
    • [new] Fan Relto Intro replacement for Yeesha intro in Relto start {8}
    • [new] Eder Bahvahnter Age {1}
    • [new] Kalamee Age {16}
    • [new] Restore DRC Stage functionality {2}
    • [update] Add Cannen Filter to Veelay Music {15}
    • [update] Add Updates to Phil’s Relto Book Textures {15}
    • [update] Add Updates to Kirel podium audio for 2023q1 {3}
    • [update] Adjust Ahnonay Vogondola entry/exit animations {9}
    • [update] BlueSpiral improvements and cross-play support {18}
    • [update] Bug fix for Wall Game climb region {9}
    • [update] Chiso Preniv Age {5}
    • [update] Cleft Zandi radio fix {15}
    • [update] Eder Naybree Age {7}
    • [update] Elonin Age {1}
    • [update] Fix Ahnonay waterfall loop {9}
    • [update] Fix Bahro Cave texture issues {12}
    • [update] Fix Incorrect Textures In (Old) Messenger’s Pub {15}
    • [update] Fix rainy Yeesha page holographic {9}
    • [update] Fix shading on the hydrant Cleft book in Relto {6}
    • [update] Force Third person camera when falling out of any Bahro Cave {11}
    • [update] Great Tree Pub {4}
    • [update] Multiplayer cleft windmill fixes {13}
    • [update] New Messengers Pub {4}
    • [update] Reduce flicker of textures when arriving in relto {9}
    • [update] Serene Age {4}
    • [update] Start rain in Phil Relto immediately {9}
    • [update] Tiam Age {1}
    • [update] Wall Game Code fixes {9}
    • [update] [internal] Allow additional Bahro stone style linking GUI {9}
    • [update] [internal] Fix activitiy responder behavior {18}
    • [update] [internal] Refactor SwimDockExit and WallClimb* animations {9}

    Attributions:

    1: ametist
    2: Briggs, Hazado
    3: DapperAndy, Tyion, Zaroth, skyisblu, Taliana, aurora
    4: Doobes
    5: Doobes, Maurus
    6: dpogue
    7: Harley
    8: Harley, Hazado, Maurus, skyisblu, Taliana
    9: Hazado
    10: Hazado, Deledrius
    11: Hazado, Ehren
    12: Hazado, Harley
    13: Hoikas
    14: Hoikas, Maurus, Miles, Korovev, LarryD, Harley, Hazado
    15: Maurus
    16: Semjay
    17: Tweek, Hazado
    18: Zaroth

    (header image by Maurus)

  • April 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    April 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 156th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Mysterium
    2. Events in the Cavern
    3. OpenUru
    4. Ages of Doobes
    5. D’ni Language Classes
    6. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    7. Miscellanea

    Mysterium

    Early bird registration and shirt orders are now closed; regular registration (slightly more expensive) will be open until June 16, and other swag items may still be purchased until June 3.

    The prompt for February is “You Fool!”; the deadline is April 30. Entries for the “Idle Hands” prompt for March were Kefrith, Redwoodrroad, Calum Traveler, Talashar, and Laughingpineapple.

    ☛ For the latest info and more details, check the official website of the Mysterium Convention.

    Events in the Cavern

    ☛IwonK will host a Wonky Talk (on her Twitch channel) on Friday 14 at 15:00 KIT in the Guild of Cookies’ Hood by the heek table. This month’s topic is male protagonists in video games. Feel free to suggest interesting games she could talk (and draw) about. As always, there will be cookies!

    ☛ April 21 is Leefo 1st in the D’ni calendar, the first day of D’ni year 9679. Hahr rahm gah shoraht!

    OpenUru

    ☛ The Q1 update is on its final leg of testing before release, sometime next week. Briggs and Hazado have worked hard to restore the old DRC stage by the Tokotah plaza tent: its intended use will be for things like the story Town Halls or for speaking or music events.

    There will be two versions for it: one is the full DRC build with microphone, which will be reserved for Cyan if they will ever wants to use it; it will have a fully blocked off collision wall. The other, public version will be a generic stage with reduced collisions, letting people get onto the stage and not getting in the way of tent climbing activities 😉

    ☛ Eder Bahvahnter, by Ametist, will be available immediately after the update; the book will be found in Elonin, and it will be a public instance available from all versions of that neighborhood.

    ☛ Another surprise Age will also be included in the update. Details are kept under secret; Doobes stated to be very impressed with it.

    How to be a tester (click to expand)

    To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata prime 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.

    Ages of Doobes

    Doobes announced that phase one of the Descent expansion is likely to be completed in the very near future! If all goes well, he will be able to submit it for the Q2 update testing, and if no major bugs show up, this first phase will be ready in time for Mysterium.

    Phase one consists mostly of the tract from the surface to the bottom of the Great Shaft you may be familiar with from Myst V or the Dirt demo. The biggest difference is that spiral path of the Shaft has been fully repaired, and you will be able to walk up and down the entirety of it (about two hours of continuous running). The elevators will still be there, and you could also try to just jump down if you dare!

    There is a lot of stuff in this build that has never been tested for multiplay, so that is going to be a key item to test when the time comes. Doobes has also worked on a more realistic lighting of the location, while still keeping the mood of the scene.

    Ultimately the goal is to open the full path from the surface to D’ni. Cyan has provided just enough with the Intangibles content for a phase two, but it still needs all the rough edges sanded down, so Doobes opted for a release in stages to keep up interest. Beyond phase two no concept art is available, so unless Cyan will have specific features they want included, the design of the path up to the Cavern will be open to suggestions.

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

    D’ni Language Classes

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

    Visitors are asked to not post pellet points into the hood imager: one of his former students and a close friend, Yutiel Yoshi, who passed away in 2018, is listed there. He has refrained from posting pellets to maintain her name at the top, as a form of memorial.

    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), or on Discord (r’Tayrtahn#1317).
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session. There are daytime openings Monday to Friday, at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, though availability is subject to change with little or no notice;
    • evening openings are on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Daytime availability is subject to change with little or no notice. Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are telling the story of Atrus as told in the book Myst: The Book of Atrus. After that they will begin the story from the game of Myst. Eventually they will cover all of the books and games. as well as the three human attempts at the restoration of D’ni.

    There will be no Story Night on April 8, due to it being Easter weekend and because r’Tay will be traveling.

    R’Tayrtahn records videos of the sessions (via an avatar named “I’m a bot, do not message”), that he will eventually upload to his YouTube channel. Be careful if you PM r’Tay or the bot during the events, 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 meeting, 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.

    Miscellanea

    In April, the Fan Ages Expeditions will complete the expedition to Elsewhere by Denost. It is a huge Age, with a lot of swimming, running and many puzzles, so they have not finished it yet! After that, they will begin the exploration of Alabaster by Dulcamara.

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

    March ended with the CavFunding at 85% (CavCon 2.9) and the reserve at 691%, with 20% extra expenses. Population was at 47,581 (⇑252), with 1174 unique visits.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, May 6 (Leefo 13, 9679) at 13:00 KIT.

    Until then!

  • March 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    March 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 155th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. International Women’s Week
    2. Mysterium
    3. OpenUru
    4. D’ni Language Classes
    5. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    6. Miscellanea

    International Women’s Week

    Skyisblu presented the schedule for the International Women’s Week celebrations starting on Monday 6 (see our dedicated post). A thank goes to Nosila for organizing and sorting it all out, and to everyone who planned the events.

    Mysterium

    Enamel pins and button sets have been added to the Mysterium website for preorder. Designs for the pins are by Katherine “Squeefruit” White, Kelly “Rayne” Coston, redwoodroad, and Avior. Designs for the buttons are by Designs for the and Designs for the . Riven daggers are covered by the lanyard charms.

    Unfortunately, there is no option to ship internationally; the last time that was attempted, it took months to get everything sorted out. An option is to ask someone you know will attend to pick up swag for you and mail it to you afterward.

    Social buttons will be available for free to attendees, staff, and guests. A green “Yes” button implies that you are comfortable with people approaching you and engaging in conversation; a yellow “Ask” button implies that you would prefer people to ask before engaging in conversation; a red “No” button implies simply that you would like some space and to be left alone.
    The buttons must be returned at the end of the convention so that they can be sanitized and used again next year.

    The prompt for February is “Idle Hands”; the deadline is March 31. Entries for the “Heart” prompt for February were Rahshahth (featuring pixel art by Kefrith), Calum Traveler, and Talashar.

    ☛ For the latest info and more details, check the official website of the Mysterium Convention.

    OpenUru

    ☛ The restoration of Eder Bahvahnter, by Ametist, is complete and waiting the final phase 5 reviews. The book to Bahvahnter will be found in Elonin when it will be released, sometime at the end of March or early April.

    ☛ For Eder Naybree, some latency and lag issues have been hammered down, this quarter’s update should bring a significant reduction in load on some lower end machines. This is primarily the reason the beach side has been delayed.

    How to be a tester (click to expand)

    To be a tester, you will need to open an account on the Minkata prime 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.

    D’ni Language Classes

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

    Visitors are asked to not post pellet points into the hood imager: one of his former students and a close friend, Yutiel Yoshi, who passed away in 2018, is listed there. He has refrained from posting pellets to maintain her name at the top, as a form of memorial.

    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), or on Discord (r’Tayrtahn#1317).
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session. There are daytime openings on weekdays at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, though availability is subject to change with little or no notice;
    • evening openings are on Monday through Friday at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Daytime availability is subject to change with little or no notice. Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are telling the story of the Fall as told in the book Myst: The Book of Ti’ana. After that they will begin the story from Myst: The Book of Atrus, followed by the story from the game of Myst. Eventually they will cover all of the books and games. as well as the three human attempts at the restoration of D’ni.

    R’Tayrtahn records videos of the sessions (via an avatar named “I’m a bot, do not message”), that he will eventually upload to his YouTube channel. Be careful if you PM r’Tay or the bot during the events, 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 meeting, 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.

    Miscellanea

    In March, the Fan Ages Expeditions will visit Elsewhere by Denost. It is a huge Age, with a lot of swimming, running and many puzzles; it will keep the explorers busy the whole month!

    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 1st (Leenovoo 14) at 13:00 KIT.

    Until then!