Tag: Fan Ages

May 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary
Here is the summary for the 157th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents
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!
8 May 2023
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.

2 May 2023
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 🙂

18 April 2023
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)
12 April 2023
April 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary
Here is the summary for the 156th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents
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!
2 April 2023
March 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary
Here is the summary for the 155th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents
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!
4 March 2023
February 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary
Here is the summary for the 154th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents
Mysterium

The Committee, always striving to make the convention as welcoming and accessible to as many people as possible, has released an accessibility survey to solicit feedback and ideas. The survey is short and all questions are optional.

The big news was of course that registrations are now open! The Committee is using a new registration software for this year, and possibly into the future: you will need to open an account, and through that you will be able to access the shop section to purchase tickets and swag.

Speaking of swag, there will be plenty this year, such as lanyard charms (Riven dagger, Gehn crest, quab, watermelon), Myst series timeline coffee mugs, and a poster print with awesome artwork! More will be added at future dates as things like pins get settled and finalised.

As for the Covid-19 policy, it will be mostly the same as last year: full vaccination is required (including a bivalent booster) by June 23, and masks (N95 or equivalent) will be required and enforced.
At Cyan’s headquarters the policy will be different and a bit more lax: special guests and Cyan staff will be allowed to remove their masks while presenting or taking part in a panel, and may not be guaranteed to be fully vaccinated.

Hotel registration is also open; pricing is a bit higher than usual, because many unrelated events will be hosted at Spokane at around the same time, and the convention is just before US Independence Day.

A few submission deadlines are still open:
- pin designs are open until February 12;
- events are open until April 29 (if you require special seating arrangements or equipment, you will need to inform the Committee in the submission).
The prompt for February is “Heart”; the deadline is February 28. Entries for the “Beginnings” prompt for January were Calum Traveler, Redwoodrroad, Kefrith, and Talashar.

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

Events in the Cavern

☛ Minasunda presented the schedule for the XIII MOULa Anniversary Celebration Week (see our dedicated post). This year is also the 30th anniversary of the original Myst game, and the 20th anniversary of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst!

If Mir-o-Bot is present for an event, please use it solely for traveling, respect the events and do not use bot commands. Minasunda will release videos of the events some time (13 events will take a while to process!) after the anniversary week, in her YouTube channel.

☛ Dah’mpa presented the Wall competitions. Both will take place at Wally’mpa’s Gahreesen; the meeting point will be the Watcher’s Pub. If Wally’mpa (Dah’mpa’s doppelgänger) is unresponsive, please wait until he gets back to you: entry will be put on hold during matches to minimize chances of bugs.

Player can participate in either or both sessions. The goal is to give players (and spectators) more opportunities to participate. There will be only individual competitions (1 vs 1). This is because in team competitions bugs show up pretty quickly. Devs and testers are working hard to get rid of these issues, but for now it is safer to stick with the simpler mode.

Participants can register until February 4 at midnight, 24:00 KIT, in order to better plan the format of each competition. Only players that really know how to play the game can sign up. That is because explaining how the Wall works during the competition would take too long and is very hard to do without drawings.

☛ IwonK will host a Wonky Talk (on her Twitch channel) on Friday 17 at 15:00 KIT in the Guild of Cookies’ Hood by the heek table. This month’s topic is cooking games. Feel free to suggest more interesting games she could talk (and draw) about. As always, there will be cookies!

OpenUru

The first quarter update testing is underway on Minkata Alpha. Testers are asked to to be discrete about a certain project they can find there until it will be ready to be released, and only report issues on the OpenUru Discord. This quarter has a wide gamut of contributions, from fixing old cold bugs in existing Ages, to (maybe) a couple of new Ages.

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.

Doobes

Doobes gave a few updates. First, he will be attending Mysterium to do a presentation: he will demonstrate Blender for Korman, to show in real time how to build a basic Age, and the ZLZ Age Importer, to show the process of converting Cyan Ages into usable Blender files. If you will not be able to attend, the event will be streamed live and archived to Mysterium’s YouTube channel sometime after.

Next, he is back to work on Descent. The main focus has been relighting the section already available, just beyond the bottom of the Shaft. The current lighting is a bit unrealistic and too bright. The plan is to give this area a more natural and atmospheric lighting. After that, he will tackle the mechanics of the Great Shaft and all the wiring they will require.

If all goes well, a new version of Descent should be uploaded to Minkata before the end of Q1, with a tentative release after the Q2 update, possibly in time for Mysterium. All this hinges on who difficult the wiring will turn out to be, so as always temper expectations!

A change that should be coming this quarter will be the ability to delete fan Age books via Chiso Preniv. This will be possible due to coding from Hazado and graphical assets provided by Tweek.

Doobes also mentioned Hazado has also been working on squashing more bugs with the Gahreesen Wall, so as many testers as possible are needed at the Minkata shard to give things a proper stress test.

Finally he mentioned the release of Blender for Korman 0.14 (see our dedicated post).

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 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, 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 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.

On February 11 there will be no Story Night, as it would clash with the anniversary celebrations.

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 February, the Fan Ages Expeditions will visit Lonirvan, the second chapter in the ‘Secret of the Rainbow’ journey by John J. Jaguar.
They will then complete the exploration of the Maintainers Gateway by Melvin.
Next will be the Cathedral by DenDwaler; the month will conclude with the first few steps (and swims) in Elsewhere by Denost.

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

January ended with the CavFunding at 240% (CavCon 4.14) and the reserve at 715%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 47,027 (⇑324), with 1220 unique visits.

The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, March 4 (Leevotahr 21) at 13:00 KIT.

Until then!
4 February 2023
MOULa 13th Anniversary Celebrations
On February 8, 2010, Myst Online: Uru Live officially reopened for the third time, in what became its longest-lived, ongoing incarnation.

To celebrate its thirteenth anniversary, a host of events have been planned. Here is the schedule, more details for each event will be posted in their calendar entries.

If Mir-o-Bot is present for an event, please use it solely for traveling, respect the events and do not use bot commands.

Minasunda will release videos of the events some time (13 events will take a while to process!) after the anniversary week, in her YouTube channel.

Monday 6

12:00–13:00 KIT: Opening Ceremony, hosted by Minasunda, in the Entrance Hall of the New Messengers Pub.

13:00–14:00 KIT: Mystical Classics, hosted by Babbel and moderated by Karel, in the New Messengers Pub.

14:00–16:00 KIT: Wall Game 1, hosted by Dah’mpa, meeting point in the Watcher’s Pub. Participants can register until February 4 at midnight, 24:00 KIT (contact Dah’mpa at KI# 11223500). Spectators are welcome, no registration is needed in this case.

17:00–19:00 KIT: Wall Game 2, hosted by Dah’mpa, meeting point in the Watcher’s Pub.

Tuesday 7

12:00–13:00 KIT: Explorer Memorial, hosted by Ghaelen, in Veelay Tsahvahn. We will commemorate our explorers and friends who passed away.

13:00–15:00 KIT: Best of Relaxing Sessions, hosted by PodHopper, starting in Veelay Tsahvahn.

Wednesday 8

12:00–13:00 KIT: Girastock, hosted by Fil, in Mir-o-Bot’s Eder Gira (send “to gira” in a PM to Mir-o-Bot, KI# 32319).

14:00–16:00 KIT: Eddie Competition, hosted by PodHopper, in Podhopper’s Hood.

Thursday 9

13:00–15:00 KIT: Country Special, hosted by Eternal Seeker, in Mir-o-Bot’s Er’cana (send “link” in a PM to Mir-o-Bot). There will be a guided dance; if you do not want to be included, please let Minasunda know at the event.

Friday 10

12:00–14:00 KIT: “Fraud, Trickster, Genius: Guild Master Kadish – a Speculative Look”, lecture by Owly, in Kirel.

14:00–16:00 KIT: Among Friends, hosted by Nosila and Dah’mpa, in the Library Courtyard in Ae’gura.

Saturday 11

12:00–13:00 KIT: Show of the Nulp Dance Group, hosted by Minasunda and the NDG, stream by Seeker, in Fahets Highgarden, around the fish pond. The music is specially made for this show. Lag may delay the stream for some listeners; it is recommend to watch the video that will be released some time after the show at Minasunda’s YouTube channel.

13:00–15:00 KIT: Magic Closing Event, hosted by Magic Yoda, stream by Seeker, in Fahets Highgarden (send “link” in a PM to Mir-o-Bot).

Sunday 12

11:00–12:30 KIT: Fan Age Expedition, hosted by Korov’ev, in the Deep Island shard. Spoilers beware!

13:00–15:00 KIT: Lace and Furs, hosted by Radio Free D’ni, in the Ae’gura plaza.
Websites

Times and events may change at the last minute; you can find the latest updates at:

Facebook group MOULa : Anniversary – Holidays – Events;

Facebook page Myst Online: Uru Live (again);

Discord server MOULa Events, #announcements channel; or

Discord server Official Cyan Chat, #cavern-events channel.
4 February 2023
Guild of Writers Releases Korman 0.14
The Guild of Writers released a new version of the age exporting tool Korman. This update represents 26 commits with approximately 200 lines of code changed since Korman 0.13a.

Changelog:
- Added heuristics for stripping illegal smart characters from journals.
- Added heuristics to prevent the export of flat convex hulls, which are known to crash Plasma.
- Added the ability for the Sitting Modifier to trigger a sitting camera.
- Fixed an issue in which .loc files could be exported in different order on subsequent exports, making diffs difficult to parse.
- Fixed an issue in which too many blend flags could be exported on a layer, causing debug clients to assert.
- Fixed an issue in which the water modifier’s wind object might not be movable from Python scripts.
- Fixed Blend Textures failing to export after the first export in a Blender session.
- Fixed the Grass Shader modifier not being able to copy and paste correctly.
- Removed the ability to export triangle mesh regions to Myst Online: Uru Live. These regions are known to not work reliably.
If you never used Korman, or need a refresher, there are tutorials available on the Guild of Writers wiki. If you need more help, or have comments, the discussion thread is here.
29 January 2023
January 2023 All Guilds Meeting Summary
Here is the summary for the 153rd All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

Contents
Mysterium

Submission deadlines for the 2023 convention are getting closer:
- shirt designs closed on January 7;
- pin designs are open until February 12;
- events are open until April 29 (note that if you require special seating arrangements or equipment, you will need to inform the Committee in the submission).
A few policy changes were also announced, regarding privacy and a few other points.

The prompt for January is “Beginnings”; the deadline is January 31. Entries for the “Endings” prompt for December were Calum Traveler, Redwoodrroad, Talashar and Laughingpineapple.

OpenUru

Issues have been reported with some shirts going invisible at odd distances or reappearing at further ones; the fan devs plan to fix these in the coming quarter.

The Q1-23 update testing is underway on Minkata Alpha. Testers are asked to to be discrete about a certain project they can find there until it will be ready to be released, and only report issues on the OpenUru Discord. Eder Naybree may have its beach expansion locked down in this quarter too.

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.

Storytellers

Calum thanked the participants to the event in Eder Naybree for making it successful. The storytellers will try to telegraph some events a bit more obviously going forwards, but they still want to keep the free-form on-the-moment events. Transcripts are available on the IC discussion forum.

Events in the Cavern

IwonK’s first stream for the year will be about racing games. To attend, tune in to her Twitch channel on January 13 at 15:00 KIT. There will be cookies, as always!

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, 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 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 January, the Fan Ages Expeditions will conclude the exploration of Elodea Schatzkammern by Dulcamara. Then they will examine two new TikiBear restorations, along with Greenwood Cottage, originally by Kierra and salvaged by Melvin. Next they will explore the mysteries of The Maintainers Gateway by Melvin, and conclude the month in Shorah Pahts, the beginning of the ‘Secret of the Rainbow’ journey by Jhon J. Jaguar.

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

December ended with the CavFunding at 143% (CavCon 4.4) and the reserve at 579%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 46,703 (⇑290), with 1250 unique visits.

The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, February 4 (Leevosahn 27) at 13:00 KIT.

Until then!
10 January 2023