Tag: Fan Ages

  • July 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    July 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 147th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Mysterium
    2. Town Hall
    3. Summer Festival
    4. Chiso Preniv updates
    5. Cavern Tours
    6. Miscellanea

    Mysterium

    The first guests for this year have been announced, and several more will be announced very soon:

    • Katie “Kha’tie” Postma, a long-time fixture within the Myst and Mysterium community, now the Social Media Manager for the Myst Documentary;
    • Philip Shane, award winning documentary filmmaker, currently working on the Myst Documentary;
    • Ryan “Greydragon” Warzecha, recently promoted to Associate Designer on Firmament, formerly Head of Developer Relations for Cyan Ventures, and Cyan’s resident tiki bar authority.

    For those attending the Meow Wolf event, a reminder was posted to review their light and noise sensitivity warnings.

    The Mysterium prompt for July is “Voltaic Age”; the deadline is July 31. Winners of the “Resilience” prompt for June were Grayson, Harley and Laughingpineapple. Winners of the “Villains” prompt for May were Grayson, Belle, Talashar and Laughingpineapple.

    Town Hall

    The “Storytellers” group recently held the first of several planned monthly Town Hall events, 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. An unedited chatlog can be found on Traveler’s Cavern Log; minutes of these logs are being planned to be posted to a journal in Chiso Preniv, although not before Q3.

    Explorers there voted on three items: first, Eder Naybree was chosen to be released first, with Highgarden second. A second vote was held on the restoration priorities for the Overflow Station area, and the third was on diplomatic relations with an inhabited Age.

    On the storytelling front, some concerns were raised about some ambiguity of rule interactions. A formal post is being drafted for a generic ruleset to address these concerns; most of the rules will be similar to the AGM rules.

    Summer Festival

    PodHopper presented the outline of the MOULa Summer Festival, which will be held on August 1–5, before the next AGM. The number of events made a five-day festival possible, with a variety of events like contests, music, a video event and a marker game.

    For more information, or if you have an idea for an event that you would like to be included, feel free to contact PodHopper on Discord (PodHopper#8133) or in MOULa (#7116825). The events are also listed in our calendar.

      • Monday 1st
        • 12:00–13:30: Cooking Session with Sky (video event)
        • 13:30–15:00: Eternal Evergreens (music event)
      • Tuesday 2
        • 13:00–14:30: Cone Race (contest)
        • 14:30–15:30: Beach Party by the Fountain (music event)
      • Wednesday 3
        • 14:00–16:00: Wall game (contest)
      • Thursday 4
        • 12:00–13:00: A brief history of D’ni (marker game)
        • 15:00–16:30: Door Run (contest)
      • Friday 5
        • 13:00–14:30: Mysterium Concert (music event)

    Minasunda gave a few more details on some of the events. At the “Eternal Evergreens” event – which will take place in the stained glass windows room in Mir-o-Bot’s Elonin (PM “to NDG Elonin” to the bot to get there, KI# 32319) – Eternal Seeker will sing a few songs. A ‘guided dance’ is planned, where avatars will temporarily be taken over for a dance routine. If you do not want to be integrated in the dance, let Mina know so she can put you on the exclusion list for the duration of the event.

    The second event, also taking place in Mir-o-Bot’s Elonin, is a very special, 80 min concert for this year’s Mysterium. Uncle Rebus’ large Persian carpet offers plenty of space for the attendees, so there is no need to climb on the furniture 😉

    The concert is not just a music stream: the Nulp Dance Group will ‘play’ instruments live and will be supported by three backround singers. There will be pieces from Myst, Riven, Exile, Revelation, End of Ages and Uru, plus three artists well known in the Myst/Uru community will play live a few of their pieces: Olivier Maurey aka Piboc, Lillo Moon Minniti aka Lyllus, and Phil Rounds aka Fil.

    A video will be recorded, and excerpts will then be released as a YouTube Premiere during the convention (because of timing constraints, the video cannot be longer than 25 min). The release date will be posted on Facebook and Discord very soon.

    Chiso Preniv updates

    Doobes gave an update on what is coming for the next update to MOULa. The Chiso Preniv library will be greatly expanded, with journals and stories related to the ongoing RP fan stories. All the new content (save a few Ages planned for later release) will be available immediately after the update, but will be somewhat hidden: a hint is to look for the number 18 😉

    If you would like to add a little story-related something, or even just some creative writing related to Myst/Uru for a future update, let Doobes know. Note that you may be asked by testers to work out some ‘wrinkles’ and such.

    With Chiso’s updates out of the way, Doobes will focus solely on the Ae’gura Messengers Pub’s Mysterium decorations. Each of the corner alcoves and the conference room upstairs will be devoted to each Myst game in the series. The main hall and entryway will also have the tables ‘dressed up’ in cliché hotel conference room fashion, for extra authenticity and to give those that could not make it to the convention in-person the same feel as if they were there. There will also be some ‘swag’ to collect 🙂

    If all goes well, the decorations (along with many other goodies and fixes) will appear soon after the update and just in time for Mysterium weekend, August 12–14. The update is planned to be released for the end of July or beginning of August.

    A separate small update will be released in the coming week: an addition was needed for one of the presentations.

    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 are back, on the fourth Saturday of the month, gathering at 11:00 KIT in the Cavern Tour’s Hood.

    Larry LeDeay will reprise his role as the tour guide, r’Tayrtahn will appear as guest guide. Zeke, the original creator of the Cavern Tours, will also be back as host along Susa’n.

    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!

    Miscellanea

    • The Cavern Communications Network has released an episode of its podcast The Water Cooler Show, and will release another one on July 8: the first is an interview to Patrick Dulebohn aka Doobes.
    • The second is an interview to the crew of MystiTech Productions, the group behind the machinima series The Lost Art; episode 14 was released on June 18 on MystiTech’s YouTube channel.

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

    June ended with the CavFunding at 114% (CavCon 4.1) and the reserve at 544%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 44,967 (⇑220), with 1090 unique visits.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, August 6 (Leesahn 28) 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!

  • June 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    June 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 146th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. Cavern Tours
    2. D’ni Language Classes
    3. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    4. Fan Ages Touring Club
    5. Korman
    6. Development news
    7. Miscellanea

    Cavern Tours

    The Cavern Tour are back, on the fourth Saturday of the month, starting on Saturday 25 at 11:00 KIT in the Cavern Tour’s Hood.

    Larry LeDeay will reprise his role as the tour guide, r’Tayrtahn will appear as guest guide. Zeke, the original creator of the Cavern Tours, will also be back as host along Susa’n.

    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); 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 on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday 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 14 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.

    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 May, they started with a quest to recover Quilla’s piano through Elonin, the Beach house, the Cafe and Tsameti. They then visited a few Ahra Pahts shells they missed last time, including the one with the black fortress. They then visited the prison Age of Pakin, the playground of Hayal, the beaches of T’vel, the lake of Ahreeuhtahv, the castle of Chamassa and the memorial of Aquh.

    In June, they will start with the puzzles of Ahrkane, by Ekimmai. Then they will compete in a few Ages with giant board games, mostly by Karkadann; they will get lost in cubic mazes by J’Kla, and close the month with a few Ages by Justintime.

    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 😉
    • 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.

    Korman

    Darryl Pogue announced the release of the Guild of Writers’ Age building tool Korman 0.13a, fixing a couple of crashes.

    In other H’uru news, they are continuing their work on engine improvements, including many quality-of-life fixes by Zaroth and content fixes by Hazado. Work on Linux and macOS ports also continues.

    To learn more about development news, you can join the OpenUru Discord server (channels #hood or #dev).

    Development news

    Argo gave a quick update on the MOULa update plans for the coming months. Work on the lake lighting is going on: the final coding is being worked on, while animations are ready but need a model for automatically switching between states.

    They are also nearing the finalization dates for this next quarters release. The goal is to get the update in-game before August for the Mysterium decorations for the Ae’gura Guild of Messengers Pub.

    A few activities for Mysterium are planned for the Cavern, including possibly a marker game, assuming a fix to prevent them breaking will be implemented by then. No major in-Cavern events to go alongside the missions are planned, however.

    Miscellanea

    • Two VR games published by Cyan Ventures were released in May: Area Man Lives and The Last Clockwinder.
    • Mysterium’s COVID-19 policy has been updated, requiring full vaccination and N95 (or equivalent) masks.
    • Along with the convention registration, you can book an optional excursion to the Meow Wolf: Convergence Station art exhibit for a discounted price until June 30.
    • Mysterium Writing & Artwork submissions are still open until July 31.
    • The Mysterium prompt for June is “Resilience”; the deadline is June 30 at 21:00 KIT.
    • The Lost Art episode 14 is coming out on June 18 at 13:00 KIT, on MystiTech YouTube’s channel.

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

    May ended with the CavFunding at 148% (CavCon 4.5) and the reserve at 541%, with 4% extra expenses. Population was at 44,747 (⇑250), with 1228 unique visits.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, July 2 (Leebro 29) 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: 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.

  • MOULa update OpenUru#205d

    On April 20 MOULa got another big update, with lots of interesting additions! A full list is available at the bottom of this post.

    A new start choice

    New avatars are now given a choice on the starting experience: either in the Cleft (as first experienced in Uru: ABM), aimed at new explorers not familiar with the setting and/or the mechanics; or straight in Relto, aimed at returning players and those who want immediate access to public areas. The Cleft will still be available in the latter case.

    The Gahreesen Wall

    The Wall is a competitive game in the final area of Gahreesen. While it has been available for years on a few shards like The Open Cave and Deep Island, it never did on MOULa – until now! In this implementation, the Wall features audio cues, and spectators can follow the contestants on monitors in the conference rooms.

    For more info on the Wall and how to set up a match, there is a journal in one of the conference room, or you can check the dedicated Guild of Archivists’ wiki page.

    A new Age

    As revealed in a recent AGM, the new Age of Elonin, by Dulcamara and Ametist, will be unveiled on Friday, April 29 at 13:00 KIT in Chiso Preniv, where the new book will be made available.

    On a separate note, the Nexus terminal in the Ae’gura Guild of Messengers’ Pub is now active, and can be used to add it to your list of Cavern Locations.

    Subtitles

    All in-game dialogue is now subtitled (in the chat area). Subtitles will be on by default, but can be turned off in F4 > Audio Settings.

    A note on bugs

    When an update, especially one as large as this one, 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. No addition from Cyan is 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 #205d Build Update (click to expand)

    Client changes:
    – [n] Subtitles {20,1}
    – [n] Wall game {12,1,20,9,13,5,10,3}
    – [f] Client crash linking to Eder Tsogahl {20,7}
    – [f] Fix cursor visiblity issues {20,1}
    – [f] Crashes with new buddy list commands {20,1}
    – [u] Default clothing change notifications {12}
    – [f] Prevent link race conditions {20,1}
    – [f] Memory reserves in client {16}
    – [u] Allow panic linking to be disabled {12,1}
    Content changes:
    – [n] Subtitles for speech audios {20}
    – [n] New emote KI commands (/ok, /rofl, /sad) {20}
    – [n] New area in Cavern (future reveal) {8,2}
    – [n] Gahreesen Wall {12,15,1,20,9,13,5,10,3}
    – [n] KI /addbuddy can now add players in neighbors channel {20}
    – [n] Kirel 2022 Q1 audio recordings {12,6,18,17,19,14,11}
    – [n] Guild of Messengers Pub is a global city instance {9,12,16,1}
    – [n] KI now only highlights name in mentions {20}
    – [n] New Avatars have a choice of game start {12}
    – [n] New KI commands (/age, /buddies, /neighbors) {20}
    – [n] Nexus panels can include fan ages {12}
    – [n] Someone moved the backpack from Er’cana {12}
    – [f] Autumn trees Page {12}
    – [f] Clothing at distance {12}
    – [f] Er’cana Tunnel Roof texture {4}
    – [f] GreatZero beam skipping city arch {12}
    – [f] KI Slot on City Nexus podiums {12}
    – [f] Myst Age rendering problems {12}
    – [f] Formatting of Descent, Phil journals {20}
    – [f] Improved KI /look {20}
    – [f] KI chat now will discard blank messages {20}
    – [f] Er’cana backpack corrections {12}
    – [f] Neighborhood Gahreesen Well second floor window {12}
    – [f] Serene Age decorations, footprints issues {9}
    – [u] Chiso Preniv {9}
    – [u] Tiam Age {2}
    – [u] Veelay journal {9}
    Key:
    [n] new
    [f] fixed
    [u] updated
    Attributions:
    {1} Adam {Hoikas}
    {2} Ametist
    {3} Briggs
    {4} CalumTraveler
    {5} ChristopherS
    {6} DapperAndy
    {7} Deledrius
    {8} Dulcamara
    {9} Doobes
    {10} Filtik
    {11} Fujhoo
    {12} Hazado
    {13} Mystler
    {14} neurovac
    {15} r’Tayrtahn
    {16} rarified
    {17} skyisblu
    {18} Taliana
    {19} Tyion
    {20} Zaroth
    (source)

  • 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!

  • March 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 143rd All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

    1. A new era in D’ni
    2. Cavern Tours
    3. Fan Ages Touring Club
    4. D’ni Language Classes
    5. R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights
    6. International Women’s Day
    7. Miscellanea

    A new era in D’ni

    Kelsei A.T. announced the III Deep City Lecture, about the D’ni legal system, held right after the Meeting 15:00 KIT in the Guild of Archivists’ Hood, and streamed over Twitch and Discord.

    Next, she announced the long-awaited public opening of the Gahreesen Wall, expected for the end of the month! After that, the pipeline includes a neighborhood area called Elonin (by Dulcamara) and a garden Age called Eder Naybree (by CalumTraveler). More info will come soon™.

    Patrick Dulebohn and CalumTraveler are working on restoring the Nexus podium in the Guild of Messengers Pub, so that getting there will be a little easier. They also plan to move the Chiso Preniv book there out of the kitchen.

    The issue with Tiam not showing in the Nexus seems to have been sorted out, the book should appear as expected for invites in the near future. They hope they will be able to avoid similar problems in the future.

    There is a quality of life update to the KI planned in the near future. This update should help folks who have a harder time hearing certain spoken word sources, like the Kirel podium or dialog.

    Tweek then announced they are working on opening an area of Fahets to the public. The area is called Highgarden, a small island off the western coast of Fahets ‘prime’. They are ensuring it is safe after the destablization event on Fahets several years ago.

    To keep updated on Tweek’s work, check his Facebook page.

    Patrick Dulebohn hinted at another Garden Age coming fairly soon. He will need to consult with the DRC, especially Dr. Richard Watson, since he reportedly visited it in the past.

    Cavern Tours

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

    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 January they visited the entries of the first Rapid Age Development contest: Abysos, a couple of Ahra Pahts shells, and Zephyr Cove; then a few assorted ages: Aerie, TINA Testing Area, Kahntinoy, Fena Barel (the last two involved in fan-run ‘episodes’ held in 2008). They finished the month in Tunnel Demo, Soundgarden and Wianeroy.

    In February they visited the entries for the II RAD Contest, a group of Ahra Pahts shells; then a few works by Andy Legate and by Whilyam; the month finished with the III RAD Contest entries, including Tre’bivdil.

    For March, the plan is to visit the entries for the DAWN Contest, two of which also took part in the 3rd RAD; then they will visit SereneTiki’s creations, including the ever-changing Sprite Gallery; then they will tackle a non-trivial fan-made puzzle age, Oolbahnneea. If they can finish that in one session, they will round the month off with the collaborative project Rell-too.

    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, currently on Monday–Friday starting at 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00 KIT, and on Wednesday–Friday starting at 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00 KIT, depending on the student’s schedule.
    • Last-minute changes to class times are posted on the left-hand imager in the hood.

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

    Story Night Europe 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 26 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.
    • Recording of the Stories are available on r’Tayrtahn’s YouTube channel; however some hardware issues are preventing r’Tayrtahn from uploading the latest episodes.

    International Women’s Day

    Aurelias announced a few Cavern events for the International Women’s Day:

    • Monday, March 7
      • 12:30 KIT: From Dusk to Dawn in Mir-o-Bot’s Eder Gira, hosted by Aurelias (stream) (to get there PM “to gira” to Mir-o-Bot, KI# 32319)
    • Tuesday, March 8
      • 11:30 KIT: Long Shall Women Thrive in Ae’gura, hosted by Nosila (stream)
      • 13:00 KIT: Ambient Women in PodHopper’s Hood, hosted by PodHopper (stream)
      • 15:00 KIT: Music by Female Artist in Ae’gura Plaza, hosted by AlanDJ (stream)
    • Wednesday, March 9
      • 14:00 KIT: Escuta as Minas! / Listen to Gals! in Sutherland Point in Ae’gura, hosted by Dah’mpa (stream)
    • Friday, March 11
      • 14:00 KIT: Yeesha – The Broken Bird in Kirel, hosted by owly (stream)
      • 15:00 KIT: Wonky Talk in the Guild of Cookies’ Hood, hosted by IwonK (stream)

    Miscellanea

    • The deadline for the Mysterium T-shirt contest has passed; they will announce the winners in the next few days in the blog.
    • The February prompt “Glass” has concluded; the new prompt is “Stickers for the Mysterium Discord server”.
    • Patrick Dulebohn plans to put something together in the Pub for those that can’t get to Mysterium conventionally or for those that can’t afford it.
    • You can find more info and additional news in our dedicated post.

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

    February ended with the CavFunding at 133% (CavCon 4.3) and the reserve at 555%, with no extra expenses. Population was at 43,973 (⇑332), with 1393 unique visits.

    The next All Guilds Meeting is planned for Saturday, April 2 (Leenovoo 15) at 13:00 KIT.

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

    Until then!

  • January 2022 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 141st All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

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

    Mysterium news

    Calum Traveler reported some quick news about the convention:

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

    Events in the Cavern

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

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

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

    A new era in D’ni

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

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

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

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

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

    The Fall of D’ni Memorial

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

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

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

    D’ni Language Classes

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

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

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

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

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

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

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

    Cavern Tours

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

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

    Fan Ages Touring Club

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

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

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

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

    Miscellanea

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

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

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

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

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

    Until then!

  • 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!

  • The December 2021 update

    The December 2021 update

    On December 15, 2021 MOULa got a big update, with lots of interesting additions; a full list is available at the bottom of this post. Let’s go over some highlights and answer some questions that may have arised:

    A new Age

    The most anticipated addition is probably the Age of Tiam, designed by Ametist. As announced by a post on Cyan’s own Twitter channel, an opening ceremony will be held at the Chiso Preniv library on Monday December 20, 2021 at 13:00 KIT: there will be a short presentation and the new linking book will be made available.

    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. To get there, the direction is going to the Nexus, then the Watcher’ Pub, then to Chiso Preniv using the book in an alcove.

    It will be a good idea to have the client fully updated before the ceremony; to do so, one way is to open the game’s folder and delete TOS.txt; this will enforce a re-check of all the game files.

    New clothing

    Next, if you visit your wardrobe you will find some new items have been added, including some that have been available in the offline game for years. Some of the additions are rewards for completing the Journeys, while others require visiting logically related places 😉

    A special note about the second backpack: it was enabled by accident, as it has a visual bug that was still being worked on; if you have it and lost the old one, you can re-acquire it where you first got it.

    Serene

    The snowfall is back, and an indigenous ‘person’ has appeared for the holiday season 🙂 Both are original to Andy Legate’s design: the snowfall (a type of particle system) could not be handled by the Guild of Writers’ Age building tool Korman until recently, and the ‘indigenous’ was hidden in the Age files.

    A bit of code makes the latter appear automatically in the PotS version, but on MOULa the code interferes with multiplay and can have the opposite effect of hiding it, so the code was disabled.

    A journal that actually gives some background about the Age has replaced the previous one, hidden somewhere close to the gazebo.

    Graphics and sound improvements

    The Kirel podium has been given a new recording. More may come in the future! A story book (not a Linking Book) has been added to Chiso Preniv, while the Heritage Document and Activity in the Cavern have been moved to another shelf, close together. Various improvements to textures were made in Baron City Office, Teledahn, K’veer, Chiso Preniv and more.

    A note on bugs

    When an update, especially one as large as this one, 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. No addition from Cyan is 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 Restoration Team 🙂

    OpenUru Build #200a Build Update (click to expand)

    Known Issues (that will be fixed in a hotfix):
    – There is a crash when linking to Myst full screen without alt-tabbing while linking.
    – If you wear Catherine’s robes, and then change while another player is in the Age, they will see through your body.
    – Serene Xmas decorations are intermittent
    Client changes:
    – [Fixed]: A lot of under the hood fixes for stability {11}
    – [Fixed]: Fix client audio caching {10}
    – [Fixed]: Fix stack trace popup on error to provide meaningful information {10}
    – [Fixed]: Graphics cleanup for modern graphics cards {11}
    Content changes:
    – [New]: A new age! {1} (Stay tuned for the opening ceremonies!)
    – [New]: Add audio player back to Kirel Auditorium Podium, new recordings {9}
    – [New]: Clothing additions (and updates from CC) {7}
    – [Updated]: Improvements and additions to Chiso Preniv, Guild of Messengers Pub and Veelay Tsahvan {2}
    – [Updated]: Serene journal enhancements {3}
    – [Updated]: SpyRoom updates {5}
    – [Updated]: Upscaled fabric textures in Baron City Office and Teledahn {8}
    – [Fixed]: Ayoheek messages reference Garrison rather than Gahreesen {6}
    – [Fixed]: Er’cana Graphical Fixes {6}
    – [Fixed]: Fix view through telescopes on ultra-wide displays {6}
    – [Fixed]: Graphical updates to K’veer {2}
    – [Fixed]: Improve bad text resolution in Baron City Office Marie note {12}
    – [Fixed]: Prevent Kirel Egg Room Bahro Stones from being active {6}
    – [Fixed]: Repair formatting in many journals and book text {12}
    – [Fixed]: Repair getting stuck in Great Zero Mission GUI {6}
    – [Fixed]: Serene Snowfall Effects {4}
    – [Fixed]: Use correct cover for Negilahn journal {6}
    Attributions:
    {1} Ametist
    {2} Doobes
    {3} Doobes, Dot, CTraveler, Adam{Hoikas}
    {4} Doobes, EhrenCG
    {5} Doobes, Hazado
    {6} Hazado
    {7} Hazado, Adam{Hoikas}, CTraveler, Larry LeDeay
    {8} Hazado, CTraveler, Tweek, Yali
    {9} Hazado, DapperAndy, Tyion, Skyisblu, Neurovac, CP-Dimensions
    {10} Adam {Hoikas}
    {11} Adam {Hoikas}, rarified
    {12} dgelessus

  • December 2021 All Guilds Meeting Summary

    Here is the summary for the 140th All Guilds Meeting, along with the raw and cleansed chatlogs!

    Contents

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

    Events in the Cavern

    Minasunda announced a few events for the coming festivities:

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

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

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

    Door Run Competition

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

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

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

    The Fall of D’ni Memorial

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

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

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

    Minkata

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

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

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

    How to be a tester (click to expand)

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

    Cavern Tours

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

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

    Fan Ages Touring Club

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

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

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

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

    D’ni Language Classes

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

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

    R’Tayrtahn’s Story Nights

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

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

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

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

    Miscellanea

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

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

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

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

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

    Until then!