Patch Notes: Version 1.14

Dark Age of Camelot Version 1.14 BETA Notes Sep 25, 2001

ANNOUNCEMENT
Citizens of Hibernia and Midgard, prepare for battle!

This Saturday (Sept. 29th.) at 9PM EST, the Customer Service team will gather players from Midgard and Hibernia for an attack on an Albion border gate (Forest Sauvage Main Gate Entry Point). In order to attend, you will need to port into the Albion Frontier zone between 8:30pm and 9pm EST. You will then be summoned to an area just outside the border gate. Once everyone has been brought to the area, a server wide message will be sent out with orders to charge the gate!

The idea behind all this is to test the strength of the border gate. We ask that people attending abide by the following:


 * 1) Attendees will refrain from attacking each other during the event.
 * 2) Albion players are asked to stay on the "Albion Proper" side of the border gate, and should not attack raiding forces.
 * 3) Should anyone make it through the gates and away from the guards, they will become fair game to the Albion forces.

Players who do not abide by the above mentioned rules will be summoned away from the area, and will not be allowed to participate.

We encourage all our high level Midgard and Hibernia testers to come on out and turn this into a grand, large-scale assault. Based on the turnout and cooperation from players, we may attempt similar assaults on other Realm border gates.

Thank you, and hope to see you this Saturday!

CODE CHANGES AND BUG FIXES

 * /follow is now in. You can auto-follow players and NPCs/monsters. Do this by selecting the NPC/monster/player you want to follow and typing "/follow". You will follow your target, matching speed, until you break off by moving in another direction.
 * You can now /send and who /who across regions in a Realm. So, now you can see other same-realm players and communicate with them no matter where they are in your Realm (i.e. in a dungeon or in a city). Please note that this includes guild chat and guild "whos" as well. We will be adding group support and other cross-region commands in the next few days.
 * Footstep sounds have been re-done. They are not yet considered final, but are much better than the old set.
 * Norse "snow" zones now will have more appropriate "cold" sounding ambient sounds (i.e more wind and less crickets).

TRADE SKILL SYSTEM NOTES

 * Minor bug fixes to Tailoring (all realms), Fletching (all), Armorcraft (Midgard) and Metalworking (Midgard).
 * Hibernian Arrows should now use the proper kind of metal bars.
 * Rams should now do their full damage to doors. Please try to test this again, they should make knocking down keep doors substantially easier.

WORLD NOTES

 * Tepok's Mine Tweaks: Reactivated the monsters in the lower levels that were aggroing through the floor and cleaning out the lower level players at the entrance. They have a reduced aggression radius and should no longer be as much of an issue - please test. Also Tuned some monster encounters to provide more "safe areas" to set up in. Hint: It's not the corridors.

3 New Dungeons in need of testing:


 * Coruscating Mines - Hibernia Dungeon located in the Valley of Bri Leith

Level Range: 30 - 40 in full sized groups

Background: In the realms of the Sidhe and faeries, there are two major factions that continuously play against each other. These are the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts. The members of the Seelie Court are generally benign in nature and do not actively seek to harm humans living in their territory. In some cases, they may even befriend humans such as with the Elves and Lurikeen. The Unseelie Court, however, is made up of all the dark and evil faeries, which include goblins, pookas, siabra, and other creatures of magic that may seek to cause harm to humankind. Because common metals, particularly iron, is dangerous to all magical creatures, both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts forge their weapons, armor and artifacts out of magical metals and gems. One of the most precious metals to both groups is true silver, sometimes called Mithril by others. True silver is a light, strong, magical silver that has been coveted by the Sidhe for centuries. One of the ancient kings of Hibernia, Nuada of the Silver Hand, had a hand forged of true silver after his had been severed by an opposing Fomorian king. The silver hand functioned as any normal hand and allowed him to renew his kingship (since no one of his kind was allowed to rule so long as they had a blemish on their body). The Coruscating Mines, located in the heart of the Silvermine Mountains, is completely controlled by the Unseelie Court. Bounty hunters and other members of this evil faction often raid human and firbolg towns and villages to supply a steady workforce. The humans and firbolgs they capture are forced to labor in the mines against their will; some of them are bound by geas, some by magical collars, and others by mind manipulation. Because there is a mild line of respect and code of behavior between the two factions, the Unseelie do not capture members of the Seelie Court. There are rumors that deep within the mines the Silver Hand of Nuada is protected by powerful guardians loyal to the Unseelie, which causes no little amount of unrest among those of the Seelie Court.


 * Keltoi Fogou -Albion Dungeon - Campacorentin Forest

Level Range: 17-22 in 3-4 person groups

Background: The Keltoi are a very spiritual people and often gather in secluded places to live, worship, or practice their spiritualistic arts. These people use the fogou as their spiritual center for ceremony, initiation and teaching. Birth and death rituals are conducted in it as it is seen as a transition zone between this world and the next. Some scholars theorize that it may also be used for initiations involving entombment where the initiates are sealed in for a time to face the underworld in order to over-come fear and so emerge 'reborn'. It is never used for burial. The whole site is considered a sacred space and its design is perhaps not so much to keep invaders out as to keep certain forces in. Those who have journeyed there and have returned claim that it has the feel of a world apart.


 * Catacombs of Carvoda - Albion Dungeon - Cornwall

Level Range: 26-30 in 3-4 person groups

Background: For many years, an unnamed crypt stood alone within a circle of standing stones in the middle of the Cornwall countryside. No one knew who was buried there or how long it had been there. Not much thought was given to this place until recently when a young shepherd chasing his flock found and entrance to something much larger than just the small crypt that it appeared to be on the surface. When the shepherd did not return, the locals searched for him. They found his staff near the entrance of the crypt and his flock wandering about but saw no sign of the boy. They descended into the crypt opening and found themselves within an ancient hallway of smooth stone and tiles and pillars that were clearly Roman in design. According to their known history, the Romans had not reached this far into Cornwall so this catacomb was a complete mystery to them. Further expeditions into the catacombs revealed that this legion was in company of an emperor, an emperor that no one could name. There was no record of a n emperor dying or being buried in Cornwall. One expedition returned with only half their number. The leader of the team claimed that something awoke, something not living and very angry. He said that before he knew it, half of his team was dead and the rest fleeing in terror. Since then, the locals refuse to return to the area, claiming that it is haunted by ancient ghosts.

Quest Changes and Notes:
- All 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th level Midgard epics have been taken offline temporarily for a major overhall.

- Numerous other bug fixes across the realms