Tag: Ametist

  • 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!

  • Mysterium 2022

    Mysterium 2022

    The XXIII Mysterium was held in Denver, CO on August 12–14, with the panels and presentations streamed to both Twitch and YouTube.

    Minasunda and Civer Gaming made summary videos; Belford wrote a two-part summary ([1], [2]) in his blog, commenting on Cyan’s announcements.

    Friday started at 10:00 KIT with the Opening Announcements and Cyan’s “State of the Union”, with Eric A. Anderson (Creative Director) and Hannah Gamiel (Development Director). They are super busy developing Firmament (they also showed a preview video), so they will combine Myst’s and Riven’s anniversaries next year. They will share something new every month, including challenge coins, Cyan logo shirts, re-releasing the ebook versions of the Myst novels, and digging through Riven’s archives. They are working with members of the community on “special, secret projects”. There are no plans for an official remake of Uru.

    At 11:30 the Walkabout Mini Golf: Myst panel with Don Carson, Henning Koczy, Lucas Martell, Edward McAndrew of Mighty Coconut studio discussed their approach to design for immersive gameplay with realistic physics, in combining their VR mini golf game with Myst’s iconic island.

    At 14:00 the The Last Clockwinder panel with John Austin and Anita Tung of Pontoco studio talked about their game, developed with Cyan Ventures (which has shifted role from publishing arm to development-support group).

    At 15:00 Kefrith’s Cryptic Contraption presentation revealed his surprise Myst-inspired creation, discussing the setbacks he got into in the creative process.

    At 16:00 the full recording of the concert held by the NULP Dance Group in Elonin was released as a YouTube Premiere.

    At 18:00 it was time for the trip to the Meow Wolf: Convergence Station interactive art series.

    Saturday started at 10:00 KIT with the Cyan Q&A, with Eric Anderson, Rand Miller, Ryan “greydragon” Warzecha discussing what is happening at Cyan, their artistic and technical approach to game design, and the rationale behind some decisions on Myst and Uru lore.

    At 11:15 the MOULa Fan Creations: Tech Development panel with Colin “Maccodemonkey” Cornaby, Adam “Hoikas” Johnson, Darryl “Paradox” Pogue, Paul “rarified” Richards presented the latest development news about MOULa, with an update on the process to make the client cross-platform. To get involved, you can contact the OpenUru team (testing) on Discord, or the H’uru team (developing) on GitHub and IRC.

    At 11:45 the MOULa Fan Creations: Ages panel with Ametist, Patrick “Doobes” Dulebohn, Harley “Calum Traveler”, Keith “Tweek” Lord discussed the challenges of creating and modifying environments for MOULa. The current tool for creating ages is Korman for Blender. You can find tutorials in the GoW wiki; Calum Traveler also made a series of videos.

    At 13:45 the Area Man Lives panel with Amy Green, Ryan Green, Mike Perrotto of Numinous Games, and Ryan “greydragon” Warzecha of Cyan, discussed their VR game produced with Cyan Ventures.

    At 14:45 the highlights of the concert held by the NULP Dance Group in Elonin was released as a YouTube Premiere.

    At 16:00 Erik Oberg’s Libraries of Myst presentation analyzed how libraries fit into Myst, both in the explicit sense of literal, in-game libraries and the broader presence of librarian principles and practices in the Myst universe, as well as how Myst fits into real-world libraries.

    At 19:45 the Achenar: Redemption in One Part panel with Guy Sprung, who played Achenar in Myst IV: Revelation, discussed the process behind playing a character who experiences both sides of being the villain and the savior.

    At 20:45 it was time for Cavern Feud, hosted by Dan Binder, in which teams competed against each other to see who best knows how the Myst community responds to various survey questions, like “what would Yeesha name her cat?” or  “which Myst animal would make the best pet?”

    Sunday started at 10:00 KIT with the Myst Documentary Sneak Peek and Q&A, with Elana Bogdan, Katie “Kha’tie” Postma, Joshua Reinstein, Philip Shane, giving insights into the creation of The Myst Documentary, which will cover Myst, Riven and Uru, the near-collapse of Cyan in 2005 and its climb back in the following years, and the new era that started with Obduction. Attendees had an exclusive sneak peak of the documentary, then they showcased the new online Community Vault of Myst Stories.

    At 12:00 the Closing Ceremonies were held, wrapping up this year’s convention, running the prize drawing, and announcing next year’s location: Spokane!

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

    Looking forward to next year!

  • August 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    August 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 148th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

      1. Mysterium
      2. MOULa updates
      3. Town Hall
      4. Summer Festival
      5. Chiso Preniv updates
      6. Cavern Tours
      7. D’ni Language Classes
      8. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
      9. Miscellanea

    Mysterium

    The Cyan Q&A session will not be taking live questions; you can submit your questions until August 7 (today) via the online form.

    If you are attending in person and forgot to submit an artwork or writing submission, you will have to bring it with you, as submissions are now closed.

    The schedule has been finalized, and includes a few Cavern related panels. On Friday night the video for the Mysterium Concert held on Friday 6 will be released on YouTube.

    There will be two MOUL Developer panels, for coding and Age building, half hour each. Among the guests there will be MacCodeMonkey, DPogue, Rarified, Hoikas, Tweek, Doobes, Ametist, and Calum Traveler.

    Most events will be streamed via Twitch, and uploaded to YouTube later; exceptions are noted on the schedule. The Meow Wolf excursion will not be streamed.

    The last round of special guests have been announced:

    • Eric Anderson has been with Cyan for several years, contributing to Uru, Myst V and Obduction;
    • Rand Miller co-founded Cyan and brought Myst, Obduction and all the other Cyan titles that are the very reason for the convention’s existence;
    • Joshua Reinstein is an editor and researcher for The Myst Documentary;
    • Guy Sprung is an accomplished thespian, but Myst fans will know him as Achenar from Myst IV: Revelation.

    The Mysterium prompt for August is “Travel”; the deadline is August 31. Winners of the “Voltaic Age” prompt for July were Talashar, Calum Traveler and Redwoodrroad.

    MOULa updates

    A big update was released on Wednesday 3. Included in this update were a few long requested KI changes: the command /textcolor [color] or /textcolor [colorvaluedata], well known to those familiar with shards like Deep Island, allows to change the chat text color; the change is local to the user.

    When using a custom text color, messages from PM, Buddies, or Neighbors will have prefixes to identify them: instead of  an ambiguous “From [person] in [Age]” it will now have [BUDDIES], [PRIVATE] or [NEIGHBORS] as a prefix. This feature carries into chatlogs regardless of custom color formatting.

    Another important change is related to the way Marker Games can be edited. This is primarily to prevent two related issues: MG’s titles cannot be edited if you are not the owner or not in editing mode; this is to prevent a bug where occasionally an edited title of a MG could cause it to duplicate within KI folders.

    Secondly, if you have a MG and wish to delete it, it will only delete the access node on your KI (as it was intended to be); this allows to delete the MG even if it is stuck in the “Loading Now” state. Hopefully this will also prevent new MGs to get stuck in that state.

    A door to the basement of Chiso Preniv is now available, but you will need to find the hidden button (although the door will likely be already open 🙂 ). A Nexus Terminal has been installed somewhere in Elonin.

    On Wednesday the Watcher’s Pub puzzle room door was open. This was a bug: ways to officially re-open that area [if ever 😛 – Ed.] are still being discussed, and the door will remain sealed until then.

    As for the new Ages, Eder Naybree is scheduled for September 9, while Fahets Highgarden will be released sometime after that depending on Tweek’s personal schedule. Announcements will be made closer to the release date.

    A solo mode has been added to the Gahreesen Wall, so that those who want to train by themselves will no longer have to run from side to side to set up a game.

    Some server issues have cropped up since the update and are being looked into. Some of the major clogs may be tied to the issue of overcrowded neighborhoods. A temporary solution that should help alleviate some of the strain is in the works, but it is strongly advised to move your avatar to a less crowded hood as soon as you can.

    Town Hall

    The “Storytellers” group held their second Town Hall event, designed for players who are interested in keeping tabs on the ongoing RP story to be able to catch up on missed events, as well as be able to provide some input on the future.

    They plan to hold the next ones on either either the last Wednesday of the month (after Fil Live) or during the last weekend of the month.

    Rulesets for the storytellers and a code of conduct for the town halls have been posted on Calum Traveler’s blog, until a more formal website is set up.

    Summer Festival

    Minasunda summarized the MOULa Summer Festival held on the week just prior the AGM. Up to 53 people attended the show, and it went very well, with no unforeseen obstacles.

    Thanks go to Mirphak for providing the link to Elonin, and to the special guests who took part in the concert: Piboc, aka Olivier Maurey; Lyllus, aka Lillo Moon Minniti; Fil, aka Phil Rounds.

    The full-length concert will be released as a YouTube Premiere on August 12 at 16:00 KIT. Excerpts from the concert will also be released as a YouTube Premiere on Saturday 13 at 14:45 KIT, with a bonus intro introducing the Nulp Dance Group.

    During the premieres you will be able to chat with the Nulps, and if you will be in the Cavern the gathering will be in the New Messengers Pub, festively decorated for Myterium.

    Chiso Preniv updates

    Doobes gave an outline of his contributions for the latest MOULa update. The work area on the lower floor of Chiso Preniv is now officially opened to the public, giving a peek into the daily life of those working to restore various parts of the Cavern and the Ages they have found so far, and some newly-Written Ages.

    This includes various projects from familiar faces in the Cavern like Dulcamara, Rebus, Kelsei, Tweek, and more. They want this restoration to be as transparent as they can. With luck, you may even find them down there working on or discussing things!

    They will also soon be archiving the older Kirel audios in that location as well. You will be able to replay them from the test pedestal in there.

    On another topic, for those who cannot attend Mysterium, the Cavern gathering location will be the New Messengers Pub. There will be swag to grab, including lots of shirts, and they will remain available for most of the rest of August. Thanks go to Hazado and KellyC for helping organize the event.

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

    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.

    Cavern Tours

    The Cavern Tour will be held on Saturday 27 at 11:00 KIT, starting from the Cavern Tour’s Hood, with Larry LeDeay and r’Tayrtahn as the guides, and Susa’n and Zeke as the hosts.

    The Tours will use a 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!

    D’ni Language Classes

    R’Tayrtahn gave two updates, one for the D’ni Language Classes and one for the Story Nights. Currently, there are two students taking the classes and are at various stages of completion.

    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).
    • The Guild of Instructors’ Hood will be open and public unless a class is in session. Daytime openings are currently on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT; evening openings
    • on Tuesday, Wednesday 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.
    • Shokhootahn Rehn (aka r’Tayrtahn) can be found on Discord as r'Tayrtahn#1317.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are in synch, and are telling the stories of the kings of D’ni, which will go on for the next 7 weeks.

    R’Tayrtahn is in the process of uploading the backlog of videos from previous sessions to his YouTube channel. Be careful if you PM r’Tay during the evennts, 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 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.

    Miscellanea

    • The Cavern Today Podcast is back, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other streaming services. Their first episode for this year features an interview to Patrick Dulebohn.
    • In August, the Fan Ages Expeditions will continue the esploration of Adrael, trying to find out whatever happened to D’ni Research Association member Irena Stromberg, who has gone missing after a vision of a ‘ghost’ with glowing eyes.
      They will then visit some the Uru locations of the Devokan Trust, one of the most elaborate fan-written storylines, spanning various platforms in the Metaverse (the real Metaverse).
      Then they will play some music in Turtle Isle by DenDwaler, and finish the month with two puzzles: Lohdehvis by Takku Petreya and Rahsoo B’ahrotan by Calena.

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

    July ended with the CavFunding at 80% (CavCon 2.9) and the reserve at 527%, with 20% extra expenses. Population was at 45,197 (⇑230), with 1069 unique visits.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, September 3 (Leetar 21) at 13:00 KIT.

    The role of Moderator is currently vacant, with Calum Traveler filling in for the time being; if anyone would like to take the role, it is your chance to step up 😉

    Until then!

  • News Roundup #22

    Cyan news

    ☛ Obduction is currently on 70% sale on Steam, and will be until July 25. The Myst 25th Anniversary Collection and Cyan Children’s Bundle are also on sale, as they often are.

    Mysterium news

    ☛ The schedule for Mysterium 2022 is now live! You can find it on the convention’s dedicated page; the committee is still finalizing one or two events, so it will likely change in the next few weeks, but most of it is ready to go. The events have also been added on our calendar.

    ☛ Another round of special guests has been announced:

    • Ametist, first started building ages for Uru in 2008;
    • Elana Bell Bogdan, created the soon-to-be-revealed “Vault of Stories” for the Myst Documentary
    • Colin “Maccodemonkey” Cornaby, currently focused on bringing MOULa to MacOS;
    • Patrick “Doobes” Dulebohn, has been creating content for Uru since 2007;
    • Amy Noel Green, has created games with Numinous including That Dragon, Cancer and Area Man Lives;
    • Ryan Green, Creative Director and Head of Narrative for Numinous Games;
    • Harley “Calum Traveler”, writer, artist, and tester for MOULa;
    • Adam “Hoikas” Johnson, developer on the open-source MOULa client;
    • Keith “Tweek” Lord, works on Age development and helps support other developers in MOULa;
    • Mike Perrotto, software developer and producer for Numinous Games;
    • Darryl “Paradox” Pogue, software developer for Uru;
    • Paul “rarified” Richards, fan content coordinator for MOULa.

    ☛ The Cyan update on Friday (not the Saturday Q&A) will be a video: they decided to record it rather than do it live since that way they could get more people; having to find a time when everyone was available would have been more limiting.

    ☛ The Myst Documentary shared an update, going over the film’s most recent progress as well as a glimpse at the sheer amount of work being poured into it; a peek into Cyan’s archival vault (where they found the original Riven greenscreen footage!); a chat with Rand & Robyn’s parents Barbara and Ron; and a view of the Community Vault, where the Myst Stories will be gathered, stored and shared.

    ☛ Social buttons will be available at the convention, signaling the wearer’s comfort level with socialisation:

    • Yes: “I’m comfortable with conversations, come on up and talk to me”
    • Ask: “I’m unsure about my comfort level. Please ask before approaching me”
    • No: “I’m not comfortable with conversations. Please give me space”

    Moreover, the badges will include an optional space for pronouns; if you will avail yourself of it, please use the format “she/her”, “he/him”, “they/them”, etc.

    ☛ Deadlines:

    • Hotel booking at the Mysterium rate will only be available until July 19; after that date there will be no guarantee of availability, as any remaining rooms in the block may be released to the public.
    • The writing & artwork table submissions are open through July 31.
    • Online registration is still open until August 1; after that date, they will sell admission at the door starting Friday morning, but the early badge pickup on Thursday will only be available to those who purchased their badge online.
  • A New Era in D’ni: Elonin

    A New Era in D’ni: Elonin

    On Friday, April 29, 2022 (9678 Leefo 7), in a ceremony held in Chiso Preniv that gathered over 45 explorers and was announced on Cyan’s Twetter feed, Ametist, Dulcamara and Patrick Dulebohn gave a speech (a transcript of which you can read below), then unveiled the linking book to Elonin, by Dulcamara & Ametist. Cyantist Chogon also showed up at the event.

    Originally made available (as ‘the Loft’) on February 14, 2021, Elonin (“elevated” in D’ni) is a cozy residence in a neighborhood by the same name close to the Lake. There are various rooms and a couple of garden domes. If you look closely, you will find clues to unlock a hidden section 😉

    Note than unlike other Ages available in Chiso Preniv, Elonin is a personal instance; visiting it will save a link in your Nexus (this has been fixed for Tiam too). To visit with friends, you will need to go through Chiso Preniv and use the share panel, or send an invite with your KI.

    Kelsei A. Taylor posted a chatlog on the Beneath forums. Calum Traveler posted a postcard in his blog and made a video of the event. Minasunda also made a video of the event.

    Patrick’s and Ametist’s speech (click to expand )

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    Hello one and all, and welcome back to Chiso Preniv!

    As has become a rather lovely tradition now, we’ve congregated here once more to celebrate another fascinating piece added to the historic puzzle that is D’ni.

    While the Ages are a large part of our ongoing restoration efforts, we must not forget the important – and, at times, back-breaking – work being done right at home to re-open locations in the cavern as well.

    With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to the two restoration experts who are responsible for what you will see today.

    Please welcome Dulcamara and ametist!

    Ametist:

    Yet again we are pleased to be able to open up a newly restired area to you all, this time within the cavern!

    Uncle Rebus and his friends restored much of it. Later he gave the linking book to Dulcamara and she continued the restoration. She then called me in to assist with making it ready to be public.

    These last months many friends have been helping us to fix the last things, oiling squeeking door hinges, hammering in spike heads, carrying things back and forth, you know all these little things that take so much time!

    Big, big thanks to you all!!

    There are still a few passages that need some work so those doors are closed off. But work is ongoing there!

    The linking book that has been tucked away in Uncle Rebus’ chest for so long is now going to have its place here in Chiso Preniv! Much better if you ask me 🙂

    A big thanks to Patrick for making room for it, and thank you all that helped Elonin to go ‘all clear’!

    So, those of you that want to explore together with us, Dulcamara will share her book with you; so when she gets to the book, please form a line beside her.

  • April 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 144th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

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

    Events in the Cavern

    Minasunda announced two events for April: the first is the D’ni New Year 9678 celebrations, on Thursday, April 21 at 13:00 KIT. Yoda cannot be available this year, so there will be no Light Show; instead, Seeker will host a Music Show in Mir-o-Bot’s Tiam (to get there PM “to mobtiam” to Mir-o-Bot, KI# 32319).

    The second event is the Mother Earth Day Nulp Dance Show on Friday, April 22 at 13:00 KIT, in Mir-o-Bot’s Er’cana (to get there PM “link” or “meet” to Mir-o-Bot). Seeker will provide the music.

    The show will take place at different locations in Er’cana; to follow the dancers PM “w” to Mir-o-Bot. The first change can be reached on foot (just follow Fog_man) but the following ones cannot be reached through normal means (please do not use ladders or the harvester, they will make you crash). There will be short breaks to give the audience time to regroup.

    A new era in D’ni

    Doobes announced the upcoming big MOULa update, which at the time of this writing was already moved onto Cyan’s staging server, where the final testing is done.

    Doobes has teased some of the features in his Facebook page, including: an option to select either Relto or the Cleft when starting a new avatar; subtitles for all the in-game spoken dialog (including some newly-recorded voiceovers); the reactivation of the Gahreesen Wall; a new Cavern location from Dulcamara and Ametist. A full list of fixes and updates will be posted when the update will go live.

    If you want to help out with testing (especially important this time), you can sign up for an account on Cyan’s staging server; note that this account is separate from your MOULa one, so don’t worry if something is lost, deleted, etc. The use of the staging server will require Cyan to utilize the CavCon reserve funds.

    After testing on the staging server, it is strongly advised to delete your audio.ini file (%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Uru Live\Init) before returning to MOULa.

    In the meantime, work on the next quarter’s update has already begun! We will keep you updated as new features and fixes are announced.

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

    Cavern Tours

    The Cavern Tour will be held on Saturday 9 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.

    This month the Tour will continue the exploration of the Myst V Ages.

    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 March they visited the entries for the DAWN Contest, two of which also took part in the 3rd RAD; they then visited SereneTiki’s creations, including the ever-changing Sprite Gallery; next they tackled the non-trivial puzzle age Oolbahnneea. The month was rounded off with the collaborative project Rell-too.

    For April, the plan is to start with Jamey’s ages, like Tsoidahl Sheegahtee and Writers’ Niche; then they will start the grand tour of Geologica, starting in Dragon’s Tooth and witnessing the changes that occurred through geological eras. They will end the month following uncle Rebus’ steps in Botan and Moysenland.

    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.

    D’ni Language Classes

    R’Tayrtahn gave two updates, 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. Daytime openings are currently on Monday–Friday at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT; evening openings 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.
    • Shokhootahn Rehn (aka r’Tayrtahn) can be found on Discord as r'Tayrtahn#1317.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe and Original Story Night are in synch, and are telling the stories of the kings of D’ni, which will go on for the next 22 weeks.

    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 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.

    Bugged marker games

    Calum Traveler mentioned the issue of marker games stuck in “LOADING”: unfortunately, it seems like they are struck with a bug where, when a player is deleting their access node (the marker game KImail) from their KI, a permanent delete is propagated to the server, erasing the MG pointer and breaking the access nodes for all other players.

    The devs are hard at work on trying to figure out a way to prevent this bug. One known trigger is the presence of duplicated entries of that MG: deleting the duplicate will break the MG. Renaming one of the entries also seems to be a trigger, as well as moving a MG to a folder then getting another copy.

    They are trying to integrate the old Marker Editor client functionality in the H’uru client, possibly even integrating it into the main client, but progress on that has been slow and it was given a lower priority.

    Miscellanea

    • The Mysterium prompt for March “Discord Stickers” has concluded; entries were “Saav Bonk” by Kefrith, “Riven Pokey” by SqueeFruit, “Airship” by KellyC, “Fallen Cone” and “Bahro Stare” by Laughingpineapple.
    • The new prompt for April is “Atrus Family Roadtrip”.
    • Firmament will release for PS4, PS5 and PS VR 2: backers who selected PS4 as their platform will receive a single key that grants them all three version. Unfortunately it will not be released for PS VR (the first one).
    • Firmament is planned to launch on PC, Mac and PS “later this year”.
    • Cyan’s April Fools’ joke was the very limited Riven Fire Marble Hand and Body Soap. Hurry, they may still have one left! 😀

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

    March ended with the CavFunding at 75% (CavCon 2.8) and the reserve at 530%, with 20% extra expenses. Population was at 44,202 (⇑229), with 1177 unique visits. Extra costs were from the Q1 update.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, May 7 (Leefo 14, 9678) at 13:00 KIT.

    The role of Moderator is currently vacant, with Calum Traveler filling in for the time being; if anyone would like to take the role, it is your chance to step up 😉

    Until then!

  • A New Era in D’ni: Tiam

    A New Era in D’ni: Tiam

    On Monday, December 20, 2021 (9677 Leevobro 20), in a ceremony held in Chiso Preniv that gathered over 150 explorers, Patrick Dulebohn and Ametist gave a speech (a transcript of which you can read below), then unveiled the linking book to Tiam, by Ametist. Rand Miller and Chogon also showed up at the event 🙂

    Originally made available on May 31, 2020, Tiam is an age that was created for a family to relax and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine; there you will be able to unlock and discover how this family spent their time there.

    Note than unlike the other Ages available in Chiso Preniv, Tiam is a personal instance. However visiting it will not save a link in your Nexus. This will be fixed in the future; in the meantime, you will need to always go through Chiso Preniv, using the share panel if you wish to visit Tiam with friends.

    All the doors will close when you link out, but you will need to reenter the code only for the first one. The ball is just for fun 🙂

    CalumTraveler dedicated a post to the event in his blog, along with the full chatlog, and filmed it (pre-show, release). Minasunda made a video summary. Jalind also posted a film of the event. Korov’ev streamed the event (recording of the ceremony, plus a walkthough – spoiler warning for the latter, of course).

    Massively Overpowered dedicated a post to the event.

    Patrick’s and Ametist’s speech (click to expand )

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    Welcome back to Chiso Preniv, everyone!

    Today, we come together once more as we celebrate another fine addition to the collection of Ages featured here as part of our ongoing restoration efforts.

    This one is particularly special as it’s the first contribution from an explorer not affiliated with my particular group and who is currently very active in our community.

    It goes to show that this is truly an interconnected, but not overly-centralized effort in which anyone can participate and contribute.

    I’ll save you all from hearing me get too long-winded yet again and turn things over to the person who is most responsible for bringing us this amazing Age.

    Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big round of applause for … ametist!

    Ametist:

    Ty Patrick!

    Thank you all for coming and welcome to Chiso Preniv, the Age that with the words of Patrick Dulebohn ‘will be the first gateway to a new gathering of Ages and points of interest here in the cavern that have been restored … or even Written … by us, the explorers of D’ni.’

    I would say though, that this Age, Chiso Preniv, isn’t just a ‘gateway’, where you go to chose a linking book, touch it and link. Chiso Preniv has much more to offer, the history of this Age and its restoration can be found in the Journal, there are more books to examine on the shelfs, and not to forget a lovely and calm atmosphere. Something we all need from time to time.

    But the restoration of Ages is continuing and the bookstands before you is being occupied by linking books, one after the other.

    Today yet another book will be placed on one of them. The linking book to Tiam.

    Uncle Rebus once told me the golden rule of Age restoration, or rather the three golden rules:

    1. Is the Age stable?
    2. Is the Age stable over time?
    3. Is the Age stable over a prolonged period of time?

    We can now assure you that Tiam is stable and secure to visit. It has been thoroughly tested for safety. Restoring Tiam to what it is today wouldn’t have been possible without assistance, and for that I thank all of you that have given your time and expertise to this restoration project.

    I wont tell you much more about the Age itself, you have to go there and see what you find. I will just give you the same advice that uncle Rebus always give me – have the words of Anna – ‘what do you see?’ – in your mind and you will do just fine.

    So enjoy!

    Patrick Dulebohn:

    Please form an orderly line now. No shoving!