Previous
I just want to thank you all for a very unproductive day! I spent the day combing the way back machine - looking at Zepath's den and Tsoran's old listing of maps, scanning things like this:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040204111011/http://www.play.net:80/forums/messages.asp?forum=102&category=1&topic=1
BTW, do you all recall when we had an 'Old Gemstone IV' and 'Gemstone IV' forum? That link, and go to all forums, reminisce. Some good stuff there in 2003 on the GP3 and De-Icing efforts. .
Whee?
Now back to work.
Doug
DOUG
VUWH60A
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:10 PM CDT
>do you all recall when we had an 'Old Gemstone IV' and 'Gemstone IV' forum?
I remember when the forums had an active Marketplace, including a topic for "Items Over 1 Million" for the REALLY pricey stuff.
But heck, back then I was happy to have 1k in my pocket so I could buy a POCKETED cloak on the Mithril Juggernaut.
:D
Askip
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:20 PM CDT
Got it. She was calling it Uman Isle. Uman Island is from the "Journey to the Magic Isle" Shadow World source book from 1989, it was supposed to be rich in volcanic glass. Laen. Which is mein / glaes now. The words "Dwarf" and "Dwarves" do not turn up in a search of that book, and its volcano is dead, so it ended up very loosely based.
12/19/2000 Fawn to Retire from GemStone
(Crossposted from the official GS message board.)
Category Socializing (7)
Topic Thanks and Warm Fuzzies (16)
Message Thank you all for the incredible years! (75)
By GS3-FAWN@PLAY.NET
On Dec 19, 2000 at 17:37
The greatest asset of GemStone III lies in its constant evolution. When I began as an AGM back in 1993, the only town we had was Kelfour's Landing (now Wehnimer's), everyone wore AT-4 (heavy hide), every treasure box was called "a small chest", there were no active guilds, only one society, no Ranger's spell list, no Sorcerer's spell list, and no Closed Channeling (now major elemental) list. The highest level creatures were liches I believe, and the Broken Lands were months away from opening. Uman Isle (now called Teras) was the barest whisper of a thought in Kygar's fertile imagination, no one had dreamed of Ebon's Gate and of the dozen or so GMs on staff at the time, the only other females were Miriani and Reline (now Nova). There was no Krolvin village, no Lake Marliese, no special shrines to any of the gods, no players who had reached level 50. There were no Hosts, no Sages, no Mentors.
We've come a long way together since then. From my first day as a GameMaster back in 1993 to my first day as Product Manager in February of 1994, all the way through today, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by an incredibly diverse, talented, devoted, brilliant, and creative staff. These people, from the newest Host to the most experienced Senior GM, are the ones responsible for bringing the magic alive for all of you on a continuing basis. They create the castles, creatures, forests, and beaches that make GemStone III so textured and rich. They help you with problems, police the troublemakers, run the events, and answer your questions as best they can. They are simply incredible.
For me, GemStone III has always been a labor of love. My life has been enriched by countless friends I'd have never known were it not for GemStone III and Simutronics. Through all the good times and tough times of the past few years, my one constant has been GemStone III. What can we do to make it better? What are we doing right? Where should we expand? How can we reach people? How can we be more fair? How can we grow? What can we do to make it feel more intimate again? On and on and on.
Sure, I've made some mistakes and have kicked myself pretty hard for some of them. Hindsight is always much clearer than foresight - even in Elanthia. ;) Unfortunately, neither GMs nor Producers are the all-knowing creatures we are sometimes thought to be. After all, we're really just mortals in disguise. But I hope that those who know me (or even those who think they know me) understand that everything we've done - the good and the bad - was all done for the right reason. To make GemStone III better.
Now, it's time to move on. Elanthia is in good hands. Llearyn (Melissa) loves it as much as I ever have and will nurture it in her own way. She will bring new energy, new ideas and a fresh viewpoint to every situation. She is one of my very best friends, and thus it is somewhat easier for me to say goodbye than it might have been. I know she will take good care of all the GMs and all the players, because she treasures all of it and them as much as I do. I'll still be here for her if she has questions or wants advice, but over the next couple of weeks my official presence in GemStone III will end as I begin a new project with Simutronics.
To all those I've worked with, cried with, laughed with, created for, played with, confounded, irritated and amused over these past years, I can offer only a few words that seem woefully inadequate to cover it all:
You have changed my life immeasurably. I will always be grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Suz
P.S. Lest you be lulled into thinking otherwise, I will still be expecting to see you all at SimuCon 2001. Don't think this changes anything in that regard! ;)
12/19/2000 Fawn to Retire from GemStone
(Crossposted from the official GS message board.)
Category Socializing (7)
Topic Thanks and Warm Fuzzies (16)
Message Thank you all for the incredible years! (75)
By GS3-FAWN@PLAY.NET
On Dec 19, 2000 at 17:37
The greatest asset of GemStone III lies in its constant evolution. When I began as an AGM back in 1993, the only town we had was Kelfour's Landing (now Wehnimer's), everyone wore AT-4 (heavy hide), every treasure box was called "a small chest", there were no active guilds, only one society, no Ranger's spell list, no Sorcerer's spell list, and no Closed Channeling (now major elemental) list. The highest level creatures were liches I believe, and the Broken Lands were months away from opening. Uman Isle (now called Teras) was the barest whisper of a thought in Kygar's fertile imagination, no one had dreamed of Ebon's Gate and of the dozen or so GMs on staff at the time, the only other females were Miriani and Reline (now Nova). There was no Krolvin village, no Lake Marliese, no special shrines to any of the gods, no players who had reached level 50. There were no Hosts, no Sages, no Mentors.
We've come a long way together since then. From my first day as a GameMaster back in 1993 to my first day as Product Manager in February of 1994, all the way through today, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by an incredibly diverse, talented, devoted, brilliant, and creative staff. These people, from the newest Host to the most experienced Senior GM, are the ones responsible for bringing the magic alive for all of you on a continuing basis. They create the castles, creatures, forests, and beaches that make GemStone III so textured and rich. They help you with problems, police the troublemakers, run the events, and answer your questions as best they can. They are simply incredible.
For me, GemStone III has always been a labor of love. My life has been enriched by countless friends I'd have never known were it not for GemStone III and Simutronics. Through all the good times and tough times of the past few years, my one constant has been GemStone III. What can we do to make it better? What are we doing right? Where should we expand? How can we reach people? How can we be more fair? How can we grow? What can we do to make it feel more intimate again? On and on and on.
Sure, I've made some mistakes and have kicked myself pretty hard for some of them. Hindsight is always much clearer than foresight - even in Elanthia. ;) Unfortunately, neither GMs nor Producers are the all-knowing creatures we are sometimes thought to be. After all, we're really just mortals in disguise. But I hope that those who know me (or even those who think they know me) understand that everything we've done - the good and the bad - was all done for the right reason. To make GemStone III better.
Now, it's time to move on. Elanthia is in good hands. Llearyn (Melissa) loves it as much as I ever have and will nurture it in her own way. She will bring new energy, new ideas and a fresh viewpoint to every situation. She is one of my very best friends, and thus it is somewhat easier for me to say goodbye than it might have been. I know she will take good care of all the GMs and all the players, because she treasures all of it and them as much as I do. I'll still be here for her if she has questions or wants advice, but over the next couple of weeks my official presence in GemStone III will end as I begin a new project with Simutronics.
To all those I've worked with, cried with, laughed with, created for, played with, confounded, irritated and amused over these past years, I can offer only a few words that seem woefully inadequate to cover it all:
You have changed my life immeasurably. I will always be grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Suz
P.S. Lest you be lulled into thinking otherwise, I will still be expecting to see you all at SimuCon 2001. Don't think this changes anything in that regard! ;)
GS4-VALYRKA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:26 PM CDT
Valyrka was asking about the Seethe Naedel Observatory maybe a couple of years ago. She wanted to know if the unconscious girl was there in the original release or if some event happened later where she turned up. I never saw it at the time, so I did not know. I just know Banthis originally designed it much earlier as a shrine of Valris.
===
I definitely would love any information on this place! I always wanted to flesh it out some more.
~ Valyrka ~
Ta'Illistim
Elves
Dark Elves
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:53 PM CDT
>>Good to see you guys back! Didn't realize you'd returned until just now with the forum posts.
>>I returned May of '13 as a player and came back on staff Sept. of '13, so I was gone for eight years. It's been good to be back, though.
>>A lot hasn't changed, and a lot has. Hope you both enjoy it enough to stick around.
It's great to see you too. Still some familiar faces around here, even if many are gone. :)
I think we are having our midlife crisis and revisiting our youthful stomping grounds (::hides because Banthis is going to throw things at me for saying such::). Also, our son has 2 years of high school left before he leaves for college and we are enduring this whole "ummm we should get back into hobbies again because he's going to leave us soon MESSY CRY" panicky pre-emptively empty nest thing. :D
I created a little just to revisit things again... a lot is the same, but a lot has also changed (I looked over at him when we returned and said "enhanca-what?"). And songs have been tinkered with and updated since then, so Elysia's been fooling around with that. A friend was kind enough to give me a brain dump on his crazy caster mage-bard. (Me: "This new air ranks stuff make heads explode? This is awesome! OMG bwahahahahhaa!" Basically. :D ). I got as many additional songs done as I could when I was on staff (and only crashed the game with a runaway song once I think, cough), but am so happy to see the rest implemented!
>>I returned May of '13 as a player and came back on staff Sept. of '13, so I was gone for eight years. It's been good to be back, though.
>>A lot hasn't changed, and a lot has. Hope you both enjoy it enough to stick around.
It's great to see you too. Still some familiar faces around here, even if many are gone. :)
I think we are having our midlife crisis and revisiting our youthful stomping grounds (::hides because Banthis is going to throw things at me for saying such::). Also, our son has 2 years of high school left before he leaves for college and we are enduring this whole "ummm we should get back into hobbies again because he's going to leave us soon MESSY CRY" panicky pre-emptively empty nest thing. :D
I created a little just to revisit things again... a lot is the same, but a lot has also changed (I looked over at him when we returned and said "enhanca-what?"). And songs have been tinkered with and updated since then, so Elysia's been fooling around with that. A friend was kind enough to give me a brain dump on his crazy caster mage-bard. (Me: "This new air ranks stuff make heads explode? This is awesome! OMG bwahahahahhaa!" Basically. :D ). I got as many additional songs done as I could when I was on staff (and only crashed the game with a runaway song once I think, cough), but am so happy to see the rest implemented!
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:56 PM CDT
>>So, if it helps in reconstructing the histories, I'm fairly sure Thuunk gave the Elven Diplomats a tour of Cavernhold at some point prior to the opening the paths to the Elven nations. I do remember several folks scouting about in the year or two prior trying to figure out what path they had followed to get to the Landing. Somewhere in there, the Caravansery that appeared near the Zetoth mountain (close to Hetoth if I recall well) went with the opening to Solhaven. It confused me as a player when characters spoke about the Caravansery for the longest time because I was getting the dwarven outpost confused with the outpost near Sol, with the caravan that took folks to Phannus.
>>I may have logs still reachable from that, but, its REAL work to dig it all up.
>>Is all good though, we wouldn't be able to have discussions about perspectives on history if everybody saw the same things all the time. That makes it much easier to roleplay it out without worrying too much about conflicting with the 'official' histories. (Them elves, they don't know dwarf history no matter how sophisticated they say it!)
To an elf, elves are the center of pretty much everything. I think some of it comes from being so long-lived, and some of it comes from... well, just plain old fashioned arrogance.
Ambassador Lewthoraen was most definitely arrogant. :D tee hee
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:57 PM CDT
What I like most about the observatory is that when you look through the telescope, Liabo has forests and rivers, which totally contradicts the Elanthian moons document. :)
Uman Isle is located in the southern hemisphere, south of Emer, between Thuul (west) and Falias / Govon (east). That would have been a really long boat ride.
- Xorus' player
(I keep misspelling Zul Logoth. I think my brain substitutes the "u" into it because Lugroki were the orcs.)
Uman Isle is located in the southern hemisphere, south of Emer, between Thuul (west) and Falias / Govon (east). That would have been a really long boat ride.
- Xorus' player
(I keep misspelling Zul Logoth. I think my brain substitutes the "u" into it because Lugroki were the orcs.)
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 08:58 PM CDT
<<Got it. She was calling it Uman Isle. Uman Island is from the "Journey to the Magic Isle" Shadow World source book from 1989, it was supposed to be rich in volcanic glass. Laen. Which is mein / glaes now. The words "Dwarf" and "Dwarves" do not turn up in a search of that book, and its volcano is dead, so it ended up very loosely based.
Yep that's it exactly. Roger (Kygar) and Suz had been working on an island -- it wasn't actually called Uman at the beginning.. Suz had yet another name for it :) -- but the project had been somewhat abandoned for more pressing matters. When I stated talking to her about wanting to build Eidolon, she showed me the work she and Roger had done, and I felt like there was enough there that we could get a team together, fix it up, and open it as a higher level refuge. The idea of the Dwarven airship that had crashed on the island, and resulting town of Kharam Dzu was an added idea just to give it a little bit of added flavor. It was probably one of the largest efforts we'd done as a team. Immediately prior, we had worked on Claedesbrim (Darkstone) Castle, but it was a much smaller team (probably no more than three people). The Gemstone playerbase itself kept expanding way beyond what we ever thought it would, thus we continued to try and spread everyone out in order to relieve pressure and stress of so many people in one place. (Back then we'd have 2,000-2,900 simultaneous players regularly.)
Given the current player count, there's really no need to create such large constructs anymore. If they do get created again, I would hope that artificial means of "time == distance" travel are not similarly re-created. When I look back at all that; it was definitely for a reason, but I think times have changed so much that those reasons are no longer valid. (Granted, I am sure there are a number of players who do LIKE to feel far away and isolated from everyone else, but there's probably an equal number who don't.)
Yep that's it exactly. Roger (Kygar) and Suz had been working on an island -- it wasn't actually called Uman at the beginning.. Suz had yet another name for it :) -- but the project had been somewhat abandoned for more pressing matters. When I stated talking to her about wanting to build Eidolon, she showed me the work she and Roger had done, and I felt like there was enough there that we could get a team together, fix it up, and open it as a higher level refuge. The idea of the Dwarven airship that had crashed on the island, and resulting town of Kharam Dzu was an added idea just to give it a little bit of added flavor. It was probably one of the largest efforts we'd done as a team. Immediately prior, we had worked on Claedesbrim (Darkstone) Castle, but it was a much smaller team (probably no more than three people). The Gemstone playerbase itself kept expanding way beyond what we ever thought it would, thus we continued to try and spread everyone out in order to relieve pressure and stress of so many people in one place. (Back then we'd have 2,000-2,900 simultaneous players regularly.)
Given the current player count, there's really no need to create such large constructs anymore. If they do get created again, I would hope that artificial means of "time == distance" travel are not similarly re-created. When I look back at all that; it was definitely for a reason, but I think times have changed so much that those reasons are no longer valid. (Granted, I am sure there are a number of players who do LIKE to feel far away and isolated from everyone else, but there's probably an equal number who don't.)
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:29 PM CDT
>>all of the comparative mythology and other references I've found buried in the Vvrael quest related areas. Unfortunately, a lot of what I wanted to know was done by the room painters, and he lost his own design notes in a computer crash 10 years ago.
I have a copy of a 9,000+ word story written by "Lady Heathyr Hazelwood" about the vvrael. Do you have this? I see there is an external link to a "full version" of this story on the GS wiki - however that link goes to a site that isn't safe (my AV yells DANGER DANGER anyway, YMMV). I have a "clean copy" of this tale and can put it up if you need it.
I saw some stuff on Seethe Naedel in my notes today. I'll have to re-find it to see if I had anything of interest written down. Banthis remembers it but he isn't sure he actually built it, he thinks it might predate him. He says he recalls no particular backstory for it. Shrines WERE the first thing he worked on as an AGM, so he says "maybe" he did this? I do remember asking him, when planning EN, if we could use his observatory because the telescope was so cool and fit with the elves so nicely. (Now he's telling me he's too old to remember and 20 years is a long time LOLOL). But I will look for you - so many people helped paint rooms for EN. We might also walk our PCs over there and read the rooms because that might ding some bells for us.
GS4-VALYRKA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:36 PM CDT
That would be awesome. The history behind the sleeping girl would be great to know. There are a lot of clues, but I always have been sad about her being left there. I always wondered if she originated there or was put there by some long lost story..
~ Valyrka ~
Ta'Illistim
Elves
Dark Elves
~ Valyrka ~
Ta'Illistim
Elves
Dark Elves
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:36 PM CDT
<< Immediately prior, we had worked on Claedesbrim (Darkstone) Castle, but it was a much smaller team (probably no more than three people).>>
How much were the rooms re-painted in the castle? I've never had any luck trying to figure out any source book basis for the original Claedesbrim Castle (e.g. nothing in the Quellbourne book), but I've also never seen logs of the unmodified original. I just know that Zepath's maps to some extent are still useful for walking around inside it.
The only plot hook that makes any sense is that Kestrel Etrevion had won that area as a hard fought campaign, that only succeeded to the extent he did because his brother intervened and used a lot of dark magic. But there is nothing there that suggests a relationship, and I think the implied idea was a failed invasion of Saralis.
<<If they do get created again, I would hope that artificial means of "time == distance" travel are not similarly re-created. When I look back at all that; it was definitely for a reason, but I think times have changed so much that those reasons are no longer valid. (Granted, I am sure there are a number of players who do LIKE to feel far away and isolated from everyone else, but there's probably an equal number who don't.)>>
Yeah. The transportation review changes are reversing the old time == distance relationship. Gold rings can take you from Solhaven to Mount Aenatumgana now.
<<I have a copy of a 9,000+ word story written by "Lady Heathyr Hazelwood" about the vvrael. Do you have this? >>
Yes. I've read every recap story and probably every log on the Web. The issue is I was looking past the surface to the stuff hidden in the background. There were quotes from Arthurian literature (e.g. Sir Percival whose name means "pierce the veil"), and from the Book of Revelation and a whole bunch of other things all thrown together.
- Xorus' player
How much were the rooms re-painted in the castle? I've never had any luck trying to figure out any source book basis for the original Claedesbrim Castle (e.g. nothing in the Quellbourne book), but I've also never seen logs of the unmodified original. I just know that Zepath's maps to some extent are still useful for walking around inside it.
The only plot hook that makes any sense is that Kestrel Etrevion had won that area as a hard fought campaign, that only succeeded to the extent he did because his brother intervened and used a lot of dark magic. But there is nothing there that suggests a relationship, and I think the implied idea was a failed invasion of Saralis.
<<If they do get created again, I would hope that artificial means of "time == distance" travel are not similarly re-created. When I look back at all that; it was definitely for a reason, but I think times have changed so much that those reasons are no longer valid. (Granted, I am sure there are a number of players who do LIKE to feel far away and isolated from everyone else, but there's probably an equal number who don't.)>>
Yeah. The transportation review changes are reversing the old time == distance relationship. Gold rings can take you from Solhaven to Mount Aenatumgana now.
<<I have a copy of a 9,000+ word story written by "Lady Heathyr Hazelwood" about the vvrael. Do you have this? >>
Yes. I've read every recap story and probably every log on the Web. The issue is I was looking past the surface to the stuff hidden in the background. There were quotes from Arthurian literature (e.g. Sir Percival whose name means "pierce the veil"), and from the Book of Revelation and a whole bunch of other things all thrown together.
- Xorus' player
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:40 PM CDT
>>(Now he's telling me he's too old to remember and 20 years is a long time LOLOL)
Meanie.. I do remember working on an observatory, because I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of the other GMs about constellations. I am thinking that the observatory as a "shrine" never made it to release for any particular Lord (or Lady) of Liabo. Literally the first thing I ever did that made it to production was Charl's shrine, including the scripts and room messaging. I had to get a ton of help from Kygar. :) Once all the shrines were released, I immediately started in on Claedesbrim. (THAT's a whole story though... trapping the CAST verb and re-writing a whole magic system just to make things go wonky with spells... what was I thinking?)
Meanie.. I do remember working on an observatory, because I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of the other GMs about constellations. I am thinking that the observatory as a "shrine" never made it to release for any particular Lord (or Lady) of Liabo. Literally the first thing I ever did that made it to production was Charl's shrine, including the scripts and room messaging. I had to get a ton of help from Kygar. :) Once all the shrines were released, I immediately started in on Claedesbrim. (THAT's a whole story though... trapping the CAST verb and re-writing a whole magic system just to make things go wonky with spells... what was I thinking?)
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:42 PM CDT
>>Tsoran's first map of Old Ta'Faendryl is dated 12/22/2001, and his first "initial version" of the Ta'Vaalor map was 9/30/2001.
>>I mean, Old Ta'Faendryl is technically a hunting ground, but it's also one of the cities. Icemule vs. RR I do not know.
>>- Xorus' player
Yes. We opened multiple hunting areas at different times from the main cities. GM Puzzle oversaw Ta'Faendryl and Old Ta'Faendryl, and the December 2001 opening date sounds plausible to me- I will see if I have actual note about a date.
I have all the opening event info for the Wraithenmist release vent as well - I wrote a ton of messaging and we did an "invasion" of Ta'Illistim and dropped critters on the place. This was done a few days after the opening of the city itself, so people were running around trying to defend a city they barely knew their way around in (I'm not evil, I promise :D ). I'll gather that up and post it as well, sometime in the next few days, for the reading fun.
>>I mean, Old Ta'Faendryl is technically a hunting ground, but it's also one of the cities. Icemule vs. RR I do not know.
>>- Xorus' player
Yes. We opened multiple hunting areas at different times from the main cities. GM Puzzle oversaw Ta'Faendryl and Old Ta'Faendryl, and the December 2001 opening date sounds plausible to me- I will see if I have actual note about a date.
I have all the opening event info for the Wraithenmist release vent as well - I wrote a ton of messaging and we did an "invasion" of Ta'Illistim and dropped critters on the place. This was done a few days after the opening of the city itself, so people were running around trying to defend a city they barely knew their way around in (I'm not evil, I promise :D ). I'll gather that up and post it as well, sometime in the next few days, for the reading fun.
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:43 PM CDT
>>How much were the rooms re-painted in the castle?
Virtually none of them. There were a few minor changes, but most of the rooms were just used as-is. The mood messaging, magic changes, creatures, etc. were all created for the re-opening.
Virtually none of them. There were a few minor changes, but most of the rooms were just used as-is. The mood messaging, magic changes, creatures, etc. were all created for the re-opening.
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:46 PM CDT
>>Yes. I've read every recap story and probably every log on the Web. The issue is I was looking past the surface to the stuff hidden in the background. There were quotes from Arthurian literature (e.g. Sir Percival whose name means "pierce the veil"), and from the Book of Revelation and a whole bunch of other things all thrown together.
Totally sounds like something we would have done. :) Vvrael was not anything I helped with though... and beyond that one story, I don't think I have anything else on it. I don't even know how I ended up with a Word document of it. I'm sorry I can't help more!
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 09:57 PM CDT
>>Meanie.. I do remember working on an observatory, because I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of the other GMs about constellations. I am thinking that the observatory as a "shrine" never made it to release for >>any particular Lord (or Lady) of Liabo.
Am not! You did say just that ver batim word for word mister. You also flailed. :D
Per my notes, the Observatory was created in 1994. And added to the EN project in 2001, with Banthis as the creator/owner of it.
I will drag him over there and see if we can't remember more about the girl... I know he did the telescope for sure, it's why I asked him if we could use his old work in EN because I thought it was just the coolest thing.
I have these vague memories of talking about the girl's story. I'll wait for some more memories to bubble up. We will go read the rooms.
LUXELLE
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 10:30 PM CDT
>> @Elysia: I wish I still had emails from that time. I could nail down more actual date numbers.
You just reminded me I have a very few old emails from the end of GS2 that somehow lived through a zillion Windows crash & burns. I will look for that date!
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
You just reminded me I have a very few old emails from the end of GS2 that somehow lived through a zillion Windows crash & burns. I will look for that date!
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/08/2017 10:55 PM CDT
<<Virtually none of them. There were a few minor changes, but most of the rooms were just used as-is. The mood messaging, magic changes, creatures, etc. were all created for the re-opening.>>
Excellent. That's what I figured, but I could never be sure. Sometimes a castle is just a castle, I guess...
<<(THAT's a whole story though... trapping the CAST verb and re-writing a whole magic system just to make things go wonky with spells... what was I thinking?)>>
I pressed a few years ago on the forums to make flow storms a thing again, and to some extent it happened but without the part where spells go wonky and chaotic.
When the Elemental Confluence was released there were a lot of storms, and rifting would happen and elementals bursting through from other planes.
Here's a 15 year boost memory enhancive about the observatory (Estrion's ghost was summoned in June 2011 to help seal some portals):
Category: Role-Playing
Topic: Topic Tales of the Old Days in Elanthia
Message #: 1312
Author: GS3-BANTHIS
Date: Sep 6, 2002 at 09:42
Subject: Re: Darkstone: Who knows its history?
Amerlise's text is largely correct.
This part...
>"Things went wrong however, as both Estrion and Siarl were very draining, even upon this immortal figure."
... is somewhat innacurate. Essentially, the duo bungled the attempt, which caused the flow storm. Sheru abandoned Estrion (who was more his follower than Siarl) in anger, and let him die rather than giving him further aid. Siarl knew that without Sheru's aid they would not succeed, so he made his escape while Estrion was battling the citizens of Wehnimer's.
Estrion has since made two appearances that I remember, as a ghostly figure or presence. He taunted Starsnuffer at the first Ebon's Gate, but I forget what he did the second time. (Or it could have just been that one time.)
What doesn't exist, is a history of Claedesbrim (Darkstone) Castle itself. I never found that info when I rennovated the original area, but I believe it may have been released as part of a Shadow World module and adapted for GS3. Claedesbrim was my second project as an AGM back in uh... 1993. It took nearly a year to complete the creatures and magic altering systems. (The first project was the Shaal shrine, and a shrine to Vaalris which exists today as the Observatory near Ta'Illistim. I'm glad it finally got to see the light of day, nearly 10 years after I originally wrote it.)
There were several GMs that worked on the project, most of whom are now gone.
As far as why the castle was in ruins to begin with, I couldn't hazard a guess. Obviously there was some siege and war that brought it into ruin, but I don't think any reference exists anywhere stating why.
Excellent. That's what I figured, but I could never be sure. Sometimes a castle is just a castle, I guess...
<<(THAT's a whole story though... trapping the CAST verb and re-writing a whole magic system just to make things go wonky with spells... what was I thinking?)>>
I pressed a few years ago on the forums to make flow storms a thing again, and to some extent it happened but without the part where spells go wonky and chaotic.
When the Elemental Confluence was released there were a lot of storms, and rifting would happen and elementals bursting through from other planes.
Here's a 15 year boost memory enhancive about the observatory (Estrion's ghost was summoned in June 2011 to help seal some portals):
Category: Role-Playing
Topic: Topic Tales of the Old Days in Elanthia
Message #: 1312
Author: GS3-BANTHIS
Date: Sep 6, 2002 at 09:42
Subject: Re: Darkstone: Who knows its history?
Amerlise's text is largely correct.
This part...
>"Things went wrong however, as both Estrion and Siarl were very draining, even upon this immortal figure."
... is somewhat innacurate. Essentially, the duo bungled the attempt, which caused the flow storm. Sheru abandoned Estrion (who was more his follower than Siarl) in anger, and let him die rather than giving him further aid. Siarl knew that without Sheru's aid they would not succeed, so he made his escape while Estrion was battling the citizens of Wehnimer's.
Estrion has since made two appearances that I remember, as a ghostly figure or presence. He taunted Starsnuffer at the first Ebon's Gate, but I forget what he did the second time. (Or it could have just been that one time.)
What doesn't exist, is a history of Claedesbrim (Darkstone) Castle itself. I never found that info when I rennovated the original area, but I believe it may have been released as part of a Shadow World module and adapted for GS3. Claedesbrim was my second project as an AGM back in uh... 1993. It took nearly a year to complete the creatures and magic altering systems. (The first project was the Shaal shrine, and a shrine to Vaalris which exists today as the Observatory near Ta'Illistim. I'm glad it finally got to see the light of day, nearly 10 years after I originally wrote it.)
There were several GMs that worked on the project, most of whom are now gone.
As far as why the castle was in ruins to begin with, I couldn't hazard a guess. Obviously there was some siege and war that brought it into ruin, but I don't think any reference exists anywhere stating why.
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 04:44 AM CDT
<<I pressed a few years ago on the forums to make flow storms a thing again, and to some extent it happened but without the part where spells go wonky and chaotic.
Wow, you mean that stuff is turned off? I need to take a walk out there and see the old place (or more accurately, use the Voln portal!). I can see why they'd need to turn off the spellcast mechanics over time. I actually overlayed the whole CAST system in each room of the place, so if you prepped and cast a spell, a copy of the entire magic subsystem would run. That way I could re-write the rules without having to mess with the original system. The problem is of course that over time as the original system changes, you'd have to then go back each time and update the rooms in Darkstone to be compatible. Much easier to just turn it off than have to keep it updated with things like evoke, incant, lore mechanics, etc.. Had I had a few more months/years under my belt I would have probably done it differently, but at the time I knew very little about GSL (Gemstone's Scripting Language) to actually code it with compatibility in mind.
Awesome find with that 2002 post. So I guess poor Vaalris never got a shrine.
Wow, you mean that stuff is turned off? I need to take a walk out there and see the old place (or more accurately, use the Voln portal!). I can see why they'd need to turn off the spellcast mechanics over time. I actually overlayed the whole CAST system in each room of the place, so if you prepped and cast a spell, a copy of the entire magic subsystem would run. That way I could re-write the rules without having to mess with the original system. The problem is of course that over time as the original system changes, you'd have to then go back each time and update the rooms in Darkstone to be compatible. Much easier to just turn it off than have to keep it updated with things like evoke, incant, lore mechanics, etc.. Had I had a few more months/years under my belt I would have probably done it differently, but at the time I knew very little about GSL (Gemstone's Scripting Language) to actually code it with compatibility in mind.
Awesome find with that 2002 post. So I guess poor Vaalris never got a shrine.
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 05:23 AM CDT
The ambient messages are there but all the storm does is randomly dispel / strips a single spell off you. Krakii and I were talking about it on one of these forums maybe last year, I think on a thread that got totally derailed from its original topic, and Wyrom looked at it and said something about there being missing code in it.
- Xorus' player
- Xorus' player
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 05:40 AM CDT
KRAKII
cojone hishigi juji WHAT?!?
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 10:43 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14508
Scalu, and Scalian harbingers. <nod> I thought those were much cooler names, but I already addressed names. :)
.
One thing that I do like better now, is that the Essence Storm over the castle has been toned down A LOT (maybe even off, at this point?). A couple of people died in the days after it opened, from casting light blues on themselves, or Guard1. It was sick. Fighter hey-day, because heck, they weren't casting spells anyhow....
SIMU-WYROM
...still only worth 10mil...
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:19 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14509
[edited out response to something else]
>>(maybe even off, at this point?)
The Essence Storm that dispels? It should still be on. It's just using a lot more modern mechanics.
Thinking about Claedesbrim and Quellbourne just reminds me of the speck of an island that Elanith is based on. So much world to explore!
KRAKII
cojone hishigi juji WHAT?!?
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:27 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14510
That's the point, it didn't used to dispel. It used to do wounds. :)
Is it just set to dispel, now, or can you still get hurt for casting in there?
SIMU-WYROM
...still only worth 10mil...
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:51 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14511
I don't see damage in there. And looks like someone just removed the old code and didn't comment it out. Sadness. Unless there is another mana/essence storm script out there dodging me!
Wyrom, PM
cojone hishigi juji WHAT?!?
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 10:43 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14508
Scalu, and Scalian harbingers. <nod> I thought those were much cooler names, but I already addressed names. :)
.
One thing that I do like better now, is that the Essence Storm over the castle has been toned down A LOT (maybe even off, at this point?). A couple of people died in the days after it opened, from casting light blues on themselves, or Guard1. It was sick. Fighter hey-day, because heck, they weren't casting spells anyhow....
SIMU-WYROM
...still only worth 10mil...
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:19 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14509
[edited out response to something else]
>>(maybe even off, at this point?)
The Essence Storm that dispels? It should still be on. It's just using a lot more modern mechanics.
Thinking about Claedesbrim and Quellbourne just reminds me of the speck of an island that Elanith is based on. So much world to explore!
KRAKII
cojone hishigi juji WHAT?!?
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:27 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14510
That's the point, it didn't used to dispel. It used to do wounds. :)
Is it just set to dispel, now, or can you still get hurt for casting in there?
SIMU-WYROM
...still only worth 10mil...
Ignoreuser Ignore Author
Email Email Author
Re: I Miss Swarms on 09/29/2016 11:51 AM EDT
Links-arrows 14511
I don't see damage in there. And looks like someone just removed the old code and didn't comment it out. Sadness. Unless there is another mana/essence storm script out there dodging me!
Wyrom, PM
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 07:58 AM CDT
Yeah they would have been two different things: A "mood" script in the area that would periodically message and dispel, then a "room" script in each room of the castle that was designed to trap the "CAST" verb any time someone used it. That's the one that could damage people. In a way I am glad it's gone. It limited the viability of the area as a long term hunting ground (and made it less "fun"). It stands to reason that the effects of the storm would have lessened over time anyway, so there's an in-character way of describing it. :)
Someone probably went through the area and removed the room script rather than update the whole system as the overall "magic system" changed. I don't blame them one bit!
(Here I am talking about "enhancing the fun" for players. WHAT HAVE I BECOME???
Someone probably went through the area and removed the room script rather than update the whole system as the overall "magic system" changed. I don't blame them one bit!
(Here I am talking about "enhancing the fun" for players. WHAT HAVE I BECOME???
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 08:53 AM CDT
In the past few years Melgorehn's Reach has been causing magical storm effects. Last year there was a case where it set the forest and town on fire by bursting into flames, and there was a case where a bard was singing Song of Power (1018), and that seemingly made the mana in the room ignite from instability. That's probably the closest I've seen to magic getting violent because of storms, other than elementals emerging into existence. That spell reacts badly to the mana node spell 418 or being sung too long.
I've noticed that the storm effects disappear if you go into the cavern where the harbingers and nightmare steeds generate. I assume that is because the nightmare steeds cast dispel on their own, and things down there can boost their AS by +75 or +150. Sounds like we're all getting spoiled.
<<(Here I am talking about "enhancing the fun" for players. WHAT HAVE I BECOME???>>
T H E F A S C I N A T I O N S H A L L B E C O M E H O R R O...
I've noticed that the storm effects disappear if you go into the cavern where the harbingers and nightmare steeds generate. I assume that is because the nightmare steeds cast dispel on their own, and things down there can boost their AS by +75 or +150. Sounds like we're all getting spoiled.
<<(Here I am talking about "enhancing the fun" for players. WHAT HAVE I BECOME???>>
T H E F A S C I N A T I O N S H A L L B E C O M E H O R R O...
KRAKII
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 09:22 AM CDT
Thanks for the reminder, Xorus! I remember whispering to you about the Lake Marliese story on Saturday evening, but I forgot to go look for it here at work before now.
By: HJ-ERIC
Re: Hey there, Hi there, Ho there.
On: 12/9/2004
At: 12:00:44 AM
##: 145
<<That would be the woman (?) Marliese.>>
That's it. And for trivia, here's the storyline that Suz and I wanted to do. It was devised at a time when we thought we would need to "instance" our IFE games to handle growing loads. The storyline was meant to explain IC why the two Elanthian worlds of GS/DR were instanced. If we'd done the instancing, we'd have simply created multiple copies of the same game world but players could move between these worlds at will.
This was devised years ago, so I'm probably munging the details.
Some DR mages were experimenting with moving themselves through time. They had some success by using the souls of various "sensitive" creatures. Marliese proved to be the key in their experiments. However, only Marliese could go through to the past (or future?) through their time spells. However, they could manipulate here while on the other side and kept her trapped in the human body (I believe she was a panther who was forced to be a human woman and the event long ago was to help her get back to herhuman form...not very sure of this however).
On the GS side of things other evil mages realized what was going on (or thought they did) and started working with the DR mages to complete the spells and allow them to travel through time. Unfortunately, they needed Marliese to help them and they refused to release her until she did as they bid. IOW, they were blackmailing her to help them. Marliese would be tormented by her predicament and be and feared both to help and not help her captors. She didn't understand the consequences of what they were doing but she suspected enough.
So, this event would take place at the same time in DR and GSIII. The event would have had GSIII people walking along and suddenly find themselves in DR. Then they walk into a new room and find themselves back in GSIII. THe same would happen in DR. Other strange oddities would take place as well, such as the wrong creatures behaving the "wrong" way showing up, or odd events in the sky, etc.
Marliese would have interacted with players in both games who'd then try to figure out a solution to her predicament. However, the event depended on cooperation with the other game. IE, it could not be "solved" without knowing what was going on in the other game. The hope was that players would try to help her out and if they figured what was going on, convince Marliese to stop helping the mages (which would result in her death) or help the mages and damn the consequences.
The culmination of the event would have introduced the instancing of our games. IE, Marliese would either have helped them or refused to help. The end result would have been the same, except for the end of the event. IC, the difference between her helping or not would have been something which I don't remember, but IC it'd have been better if she'd sacrificed herself (well, better for Elanthia).
But the consequences either way would have been a shatterd time in which Elanthia was split into multiple "phases" between which players could travel.
That's what I remember. Suz probably would have remembered it differently, God rest her soul (If you remember the fawn in the Vuln quests, think of her as well). This was an event that even after we'd decided to not do instancing I wanted to do. Then again, I had a long list of unfinished business in DR when I left.
The reality is that the new Producers finally got together and decided that DR comes long after GS, which in any case is true even in the scenario above. OF course, it would have been equally true to say that DR came before GS since time itself would have been shattered and time had grown almost meaningless in the context of what came before what.
And a final bit of trivia. The original history of DR did have it happening after GS. We'd even planned to eventually build some hints of GS in some areas that players would eventually reach (this was on the western edge of the same continent DR occupied though the current and more correct version of history has the actual location of GS across the ocean on a completely different continent). We'd envisioned an entirely new game experience after lvl 100, but alas, that's another idea never come to fruition...so many ideas :)
So, none of what I said above is official. It's just one of my favorite "didn't have time for" events that in my mind was incorporated into how I and Suz viewed DR and GS.
One of the neat things about our games is their ongoing evolution. Nothing is truly sacred. Nothing is completely clear. There are many histories and viewpoints of history in DR and it lends depth and variety to the story that's really unmatched (except in GS) in any other game out there, period.
When new GMs come in, they bring a new and fresh perspective on the game and its history. They add their perfume to the landscape and enrichen it in ways that one person or a handful of people can't possibly do.
Eric, Director of Development
By: HJ-ERIC
Re: Hey there, Hi there, Ho there.
On: 12/9/2004
At: 12:00:44 AM
##: 145
<<That would be the woman (?) Marliese.>>
That's it. And for trivia, here's the storyline that Suz and I wanted to do. It was devised at a time when we thought we would need to "instance" our IFE games to handle growing loads. The storyline was meant to explain IC why the two Elanthian worlds of GS/DR were instanced. If we'd done the instancing, we'd have simply created multiple copies of the same game world but players could move between these worlds at will.
This was devised years ago, so I'm probably munging the details.
Some DR mages were experimenting with moving themselves through time. They had some success by using the souls of various "sensitive" creatures. Marliese proved to be the key in their experiments. However, only Marliese could go through to the past (or future?) through their time spells. However, they could manipulate here while on the other side and kept her trapped in the human body (I believe she was a panther who was forced to be a human woman and the event long ago was to help her get back to herhuman form...not very sure of this however).
On the GS side of things other evil mages realized what was going on (or thought they did) and started working with the DR mages to complete the spells and allow them to travel through time. Unfortunately, they needed Marliese to help them and they refused to release her until she did as they bid. IOW, they were blackmailing her to help them. Marliese would be tormented by her predicament and be and feared both to help and not help her captors. She didn't understand the consequences of what they were doing but she suspected enough.
So, this event would take place at the same time in DR and GSIII. The event would have had GSIII people walking along and suddenly find themselves in DR. Then they walk into a new room and find themselves back in GSIII. THe same would happen in DR. Other strange oddities would take place as well, such as the wrong creatures behaving the "wrong" way showing up, or odd events in the sky, etc.
Marliese would have interacted with players in both games who'd then try to figure out a solution to her predicament. However, the event depended on cooperation with the other game. IE, it could not be "solved" without knowing what was going on in the other game. The hope was that players would try to help her out and if they figured what was going on, convince Marliese to stop helping the mages (which would result in her death) or help the mages and damn the consequences.
The culmination of the event would have introduced the instancing of our games. IE, Marliese would either have helped them or refused to help. The end result would have been the same, except for the end of the event. IC, the difference between her helping or not would have been something which I don't remember, but IC it'd have been better if she'd sacrificed herself (well, better for Elanthia).
But the consequences either way would have been a shatterd time in which Elanthia was split into multiple "phases" between which players could travel.
That's what I remember. Suz probably would have remembered it differently, God rest her soul (If you remember the fawn in the Vuln quests, think of her as well). This was an event that even after we'd decided to not do instancing I wanted to do. Then again, I had a long list of unfinished business in DR when I left.
The reality is that the new Producers finally got together and decided that DR comes long after GS, which in any case is true even in the scenario above. OF course, it would have been equally true to say that DR came before GS since time itself would have been shattered and time had grown almost meaningless in the context of what came before what.
And a final bit of trivia. The original history of DR did have it happening after GS. We'd even planned to eventually build some hints of GS in some areas that players would eventually reach (this was on the western edge of the same continent DR occupied though the current and more correct version of history has the actual location of GS across the ocean on a completely different continent). We'd envisioned an entirely new game experience after lvl 100, but alas, that's another idea never come to fruition...so many ideas :)
So, none of what I said above is official. It's just one of my favorite "didn't have time for" events that in my mind was incorporated into how I and Suz viewed DR and GS.
One of the neat things about our games is their ongoing evolution. Nothing is truly sacred. Nothing is completely clear. There are many histories and viewpoints of history in DR and it lends depth and variety to the story that's really unmatched (except in GS) in any other game out there, period.
When new GMs come in, they bring a new and fresh perspective on the game and its history. They add their perfume to the landscape and enrichen it in ways that one person or a handful of people can't possibly do.
Eric, Director of Development
KRAKII
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 04:33 PM CDT
"Here I am talking about "enhancing the fun" for players. WHAT HAVE I BECOME???" -- Erek
Clearly, you failed at your training lessons.
By: GS4-STRATHSPEY
Re: At A Glance
On: 11/6/2007
At: 1:48:59 AM
##: 3393
> Hmm.. I bet that's why you took this GM gig, isn't it, to be able to get cute geeky chicks to tell you that sort of thing constantly ;)
Actually, this is all covered in the orientation and training for new GMs.
I cut this section from my old logs:
[N00b Reinforcement]
The rough cinder block walls in this plain room are painted a flat baby blue, although the color is peeling away in places. Harsh flourescent lighting buzzes overhead.
Also here: Scumbag Naos who is chained to the wall, Scumbag Estild who is chained to the wall
>scratch my nose
You struggle against the chains securing your arms to the wall.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig wheels in.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig says to you, "Please let me bear your children someday, Strath!"
You say, "Heh...uhhhh..."
... 30 points of damage!
Horrid jolt of electricity smokes your shoulder blade!
You monotonously exclaim, "Thank you for your comments ma'am we value your input!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig wheels closer to you.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig huskily says to you, "I have an idea for a spell."
You monotonously exclaim, "Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome on the boards!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig jiggles a bit and a strap of its dress falls off its shoulder.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig lays its head on your shoulder.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig asks you, "Am I not beautiful, Strath?"
You say, "Personal...uh, I mean favoritism is not..."
... 20 points of damage!
Nasty jolt to back fuses a few vertebrae. Definitely uncomfortable.
You are stunned!
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig straightens up.
A training dummy wearing a blonde sourly exclaims to you, "I hate you! You have bad customer service!"
You monotonously exclaim, "Please direct complaints about individual staff members to fee..."
You weakly ask Naos, "Feedback?"
You monotonously exclaim, "To feedback!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig ascends into the ceiling with a soft whirr.
A voice on the monitor says, "Excellent, Trainee."
GameMaster Xayle just arrived.
Xayle puts a Desert Eagle on a table.
Xayle puts a pair of acoustic earmuffs on a table.
Xayle says, "Well, I'm done with my trai..."
Xayle glances at you.
Xayle says, "You boys are pathetic."
-Strath
Clearly, you failed at your training lessons.
By: GS4-STRATHSPEY
Re: At A Glance
On: 11/6/2007
At: 1:48:59 AM
##: 3393
> Hmm.. I bet that's why you took this GM gig, isn't it, to be able to get cute geeky chicks to tell you that sort of thing constantly ;)
Actually, this is all covered in the orientation and training for new GMs.
I cut this section from my old logs:
[N00b Reinforcement]
The rough cinder block walls in this plain room are painted a flat baby blue, although the color is peeling away in places. Harsh flourescent lighting buzzes overhead.
Also here: Scumbag Naos who is chained to the wall, Scumbag Estild who is chained to the wall
>scratch my nose
You struggle against the chains securing your arms to the wall.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig wheels in.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig says to you, "Please let me bear your children someday, Strath!"
You say, "Heh...uhhhh..."
... 30 points of damage!
Horrid jolt of electricity smokes your shoulder blade!
You monotonously exclaim, "Thank you for your comments ma'am we value your input!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig wheels closer to you.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig huskily says to you, "I have an idea for a spell."
You monotonously exclaim, "Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome on the boards!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig jiggles a bit and a strap of its dress falls off its shoulder.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig lays its head on your shoulder.
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig asks you, "Am I not beautiful, Strath?"
You say, "Personal...uh, I mean favoritism is not..."
... 20 points of damage!
Nasty jolt to back fuses a few vertebrae. Definitely uncomfortable.
You are stunned!
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig straightens up.
A training dummy wearing a blonde sourly exclaims to you, "I hate you! You have bad customer service!"
You monotonously exclaim, "Please direct complaints about individual staff members to fee..."
You weakly ask Naos, "Feedback?"
You monotonously exclaim, "To feedback!"
A training dummy wearing a blonde wig ascends into the ceiling with a soft whirr.
A voice on the monitor says, "Excellent, Trainee."
GameMaster Xayle just arrived.
Xayle puts a Desert Eagle on a table.
Xayle puts a pair of acoustic earmuffs on a table.
Xayle says, "Well, I'm done with my trai..."
Xayle glances at you.
Xayle says, "You boys are pathetic."
-Strath
CLUNK24963
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/09/2017 05:47 PM CDT
>>How much were the rooms re-painted in the castle? I've never had any luck trying to figure out any source book basis for the original Claedesbrim Castle (e.g. nothing in the Quellbourne book), but I've also never seen logs of the unmodified original. I just know that Zepath's maps to some extent are still useful for walking around inside it.
I know the carvings or markings that essentially say "Sagan was here", "Berr was here", are still there. At least they were about two weeks ago.
Also, at some point, either the Lady Reklawhtur or Lady Sianan showed Clunk how to manipulate some internal teleport system. Not being a magic user, Clunk simply said "that's nice" and promptly forgot it.
Clunk
(Buy your swords at CBD weapons in Zul Logoth.)
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/10/2017 10:18 AM CDT
>> @Luxelle: You just reminded me I have a very few old emails from the end of GS2 that somehow lived through a zillion Windows crash & burns. I will look for that date!
I found FOUR old email PSTs on my archive disk yesterday. From the 1997-2001 time period. One or more may be corrupt, but they are also all several hundred MB and I used to create a new one once a year or so just to keep them opening/running faster on what was a pretty good quality PC for the time. I am going to see if I can wrangle my way into them. :) They are almost certainly going to be a mother lode of info re: dates things happened.
LUXELLE
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/11/2017 12:27 AM CDT
Good Luck!
My end of GS2 era emails predate PSTs even... :)
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
My end of GS2 era emails predate PSTs even... :)
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/12/2017 03:42 PM CDT
The premium-only area is a slightly tricky point. The "Isle of the Four Winds" was roughly March 2004, and was announced as the "Island of Frostacres" in January 2004. This was the new tropical location and it is at least conceivable that some day this could actually be placed somewhere to the south on a wider world map. I'm not sure exactly how far back Frostacres at all goes from my own memory because I've never really done the Premium thing. You guys would know that one better than me just from being in it.
I've found records of a Frostacres Winter Festival from "Winter 2001", whether that means end of 2001 or beginning I'm not sure and that date could be wrong, and I've caught a "four winds club" reference in a forum log from early 1998. The Web transition was July 1997. I assume that means "four winds hall", the town in any case is March 2004.
- Xorus' player
http://www.tinyheroes.com/forums/GemStone%20IV/GemStone%20Promotions/March%20of%20Rhymes/thread/964857
I've found records of a Frostacres Winter Festival from "Winter 2001", whether that means end of 2001 or beginning I'm not sure and that date could be wrong, and I've caught a "four winds club" reference in a forum log from early 1998. The Web transition was July 1997. I assume that means "four winds hall", the town in any case is March 2004.
- Xorus' player
http://www.tinyheroes.com/forums/GemStone%20IV/GemStone%20Promotions/March%20of%20Rhymes/thread/964857
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/12/2017 05:59 PM CDT
This is a longer list including a bunch of the smaller villages and ruins of settlements. The AOL period is mostly vague because it's ill-documented.
https://gswiki.play.net/GemStone_history#Towns
- Xorus' player
https://gswiki.play.net/GemStone_history#Towns
- Xorus' player
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/13/2017 07:28 PM CDT
Okay. For those who asked about the Observatory at Seethe Naedal, here you go.
Banthis and I walked up there tonight and reviewed what we'd done. The interior of the Observatory was built by him back in the early 90s, under Fawn's supervision as his first project, and was never added to the live game.
When we were building EN I remembered the telescope with its wonderful scripting, and asked if he minded putting it in. It made sense for it to be with the elves. He did very limited editing to the rooms to make them ready to be repurposed, and touched up the telescope script a bit because it was 6-7 years old by then.
I added the trail from the Sapphire Gate up the mountain to the Observatory.
The figure in the bed is explained by a book in the Observatory. Reading that will answer your questions about her. :)
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/13/2017 07:33 PM CDT
By the way, that book will probably cause some havoc on Stormfront front end, depending on if you have any lich scripts creating windows (such as uberbar). It was written with a paginating "book script" that probably isn't used anymore. You'll have to hit "Enter" to paginate through the story, and capture it for offline reading. All the while, your Stormfront will be barking at you.
GS4-VALYRKA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/13/2017 10:31 PM CDT
Thank you for looking.
I did read the book and all the history. What I couldn't find was if she was there when you built the place or if she was added later through a quest that we lost the history to.
I love that place. I will look into updating the book!
Thank you!
~ Valyrka ~
Ta'Illistim
Elves
Dark Elves
I did read the book and all the history. What I couldn't find was if she was there when you built the place or if she was added later through a quest that we lost the history to.
I love that place. I will look into updating the book!
Thank you!
~ Valyrka ~
Ta'Illistim
Elves
Dark Elves
ELYSIA
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 07:47 AM CDT
Hi Valyrka :)
Yes she was there from the start. The journal explains... :D
TSORAN
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 11:12 AM CDT
tl;dr: RR opened no later than June 1996 (most likely May or June); IMT opened sometime later, either in the second half of 1996 or very early 1997.
Long version:
I had to activate the main account to post here. :)
Here's my recollection on the RR and IMT timing.
When I left, in order to prevent any thought of returning, I very thoroughly wiped disks, backups, and whatever of anything GemStone, except for things that might be of use to other players.
I wasn't as thorough as I thought, however. I found a backup of a laptop from my very earliest days here with a bunch of notes and documentation. The earliest of those files was dated in June of 1996, and I'm certain River's Rest was open before I started playing. As far as my GemStone experience is concerned, River's Rest always existed. I never knew a time when it did not exist. So it must have opened no later than June '96. Since someone else stated that it opened after Teras, and Teras opened in May of '96, the really narrows down the time frame when River's Rest must have opened. It must have opened just before I started playing.
I vaguely recall Icemule opening shortly after I started playing, so my best guess is therefore the second half of 1996 or early 1997.
P.S. Hi everyone!
Long version:
I had to activate the main account to post here. :)
Here's my recollection on the RR and IMT timing.
When I left, in order to prevent any thought of returning, I very thoroughly wiped disks, backups, and whatever of anything GemStone, except for things that might be of use to other players.
I wasn't as thorough as I thought, however. I found a backup of a laptop from my very earliest days here with a bunch of notes and documentation. The earliest of those files was dated in June of 1996, and I'm certain River's Rest was open before I started playing. As far as my GemStone experience is concerned, River's Rest always existed. I never knew a time when it did not exist. So it must have opened no later than June '96. Since someone else stated that it opened after Teras, and Teras opened in May of '96, the really narrows down the time frame when River's Rest must have opened. It must have opened just before I started playing.
I vaguely recall Icemule opening shortly after I started playing, so my best guess is therefore the second half of 1996 or early 1997.
P.S. Hi everyone!
LUXELLE
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 01:02 PM CDT
So ... that was as amazing a post as some of the rest of this thread!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyHiIdAdKC/
Welcome home, Tsoran! There's the Quote of the week :)
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyHiIdAdKC/
Welcome home, Tsoran! There's the Quote of the week :)
---
Rohese: "... the TownCrier (tune in if you haven’t, it’s without doubt the best thing to ever happen on LNet)"
;tune towncrier
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 01:40 PM CDT
So, by the way, I emailed Tsoran asking about it and he said... ;)
Wyrom looked into scripts around Icemule and River's Rest for me, I assume their creation dates, and the best he could pin it down was very roughly:
* Spring 1996: Teras Isle
* Summer 1996: River's Rest
* Fall 1996: Icemule Trace
I do not remember if I said it in here off the top of my head, but there was no mention of any of them in the "Spring 1996" newsletter, so you would think Teras maybe could not have been earlier than April. That seems to be sequence and rough timing even if we do not have the exact months the paths opened.
- Xorus' player
Wyrom looked into scripts around Icemule and River's Rest for me, I assume their creation dates, and the best he could pin it down was very roughly:
* Spring 1996: Teras Isle
* Summer 1996: River's Rest
* Fall 1996: Icemule Trace
I do not remember if I said it in here off the top of my head, but there was no mention of any of them in the "Spring 1996" newsletter, so you would think Teras maybe could not have been earlier than April. That seems to be sequence and rough timing even if we do not have the exact months the paths opened.
- Xorus' player
EREK
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 01:55 PM CDT
>>What I couldn't find was if she was there when you built the place or if she was added later through a quest that we lost the history to.\\
Nope, she was built in the initial area creation in '94, which would have been part of the shrine releases. There was no larger backstory beyond what was put in the journal.
I remember now why the area was abandoned prior to release. Back then, Modus Operandi's launch was getting close and Roger (Kygar) needed some help with a "newspaper" system that could be loaded with stories that contained clues for players to assist them in whatever crime/caper they were trying to solve (or give them clues for new cases to pick up). I got the shell of the initial system going but by the time I could turn my attention back to the shrines we had released what was complete and it was full steam ahead with Claedesbrim/Darkstone development, then after THAT it was yet "fuller" steam ahead on Teras Isle.
Nope, she was built in the initial area creation in '94, which would have been part of the shrine releases. There was no larger backstory beyond what was put in the journal.
I remember now why the area was abandoned prior to release. Back then, Modus Operandi's launch was getting close and Roger (Kygar) needed some help with a "newspaper" system that could be loaded with stories that contained clues for players to assist them in whatever crime/caper they were trying to solve (or give them clues for new cases to pick up). I got the shell of the initial system going but by the time I could turn my attention back to the shrines we had released what was complete and it was full steam ahead with Claedesbrim/Darkstone development, then after THAT it was yet "fuller" steam ahead on Teras Isle.
KRAKII
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 01:56 PM CDT
I feel fair confidence in Teras being in the "February-to-mid-April" time frame, because I have a pretty clear memory of Alt+Tabbing over the Wizard window while here at the office (I work for a tax accountant, so I would have been in the office 12+ hours daily in that time frame).
And I know that I was in the office when I acted as tour guide for Kayla a couple of days after it opened, because I came in as the Thief (that was the primary character she knew) rather than Krakii, and she said she kept getting whispers asking if <this character whom nobody recognized but could get to Teras> was a GM or not.
And I know that I was in the office when I acted as tour guide for Kayla a couple of days after it opened, because I came in as the Thief (that was the primary character she knew) rather than Krakii, and she said she kept getting whispers asking if <this character whom nobody recognized but could get to Teras> was a GM or not.
INIQUITY
Re: What came first the chicken or the egg!
08/14/2017 07:53 PM CDT
<<I feel fair confidence in Teras being in the "February-to-mid-April" time frame,>> - Krakii
Actually, the exact phrase Wyrom used was "Early 1996" for Teras, and I do not know the actual month of the Spring newsletter.
Actually, the exact phrase Wyrom used was "Early 1996" for Teras, and I do not know the actual month of the Spring newsletter.
