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The Stargazer Vol 1, Iss 3
THE News for the Dragon Quadrant
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Your UDA news source, quarterly news journal.
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The 12th Day of Septem, Year 3417. | Sponsored by TriTeq Industries, Inc.
Issued on September 30, 1997 RL time.| "When you want the best, get Teq."
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In this issue:
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TOP NEWS
EXPERIENCE RESCALED
UDA News
Full Service Ship Support Available on UDA Spacedock
Cutting Edge
Theory of Magic Research: Ritual Magic
Xenoculture
Space Amphitheatre: Marvels of Design and Technology
On the Wire
First ImpLive! Conference Successful
Inside Fashion
T-Shirts Cool Down Summer Campers
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TOP NEWS
========
EXPERIENCE RESCALED
-------------------
As many mortals may have noticed, the amount of experience needed to join
the ranks of the immortals or to shed their body for a new mortal one has
decreased considerably. All the mortals, from the most powerful veterans
to the lowest of cadets enjoyed a generous boost in their experience,
allowing them higher vital statistics and more powerful spells.
One mortal commented that it made life on Dragons' Star network "more
fun." Others marveled at the wealth of new spells offered them as a result
in their boost in rank. "Yow, I get 140 mana for 70 moves," exclaimed one
Laukhi on his discovery of the mana spell, a spell which coincidentally
was used by his ancestors to eventually end the wars on Khanvar.
"After reviewing the advancement requirements, we all agreed that a
reworking of the system was in order since so few promotions were actually
taking place," commented the immortal Infoteq. The new experience system
is expected to make further advancement of the more powerful players and
advancement of future newbies much easier.
-Mustaine
DDO Newswire
UDA News
========
Full Service Ship Support Available on UDA Spacedock
----------------------------------------------------
Much to the surprise and excitement of many ship owners, the United Dragon
Alliance (UDA) Spacedock opened 2 new stores this past weekend just for
ship owners. Ship owners can now make large ship repairs at TriTeq Ship-
Shape Repairs and change ownership of their vehicles at the Department of
Space Vehicles. "We are extremely excited and pleased that this has
finally happened," remarked Trillian, "and now UDA is finally taking shape
as its original design was meant for." The UDA Spacedock, located up from
Sapphire Dragon Outpost (SDO), has been designed as a one-stop shop for
ship owners to refuel, repair, change ownership, and tow their ships. "It
also has one of the finest restaurants in the galaxy, the Eye of the
Dragon, where the cuisine is absolutely fabulous!" said Trillian.
Infoteq, the primary architect for UDA, explained the function of the 2 new
shops. "The TriTeq Ship-Shape shop will sell you repair kits that you can
then give to an engineer who can make the repairs." Infoteq then explained
the level of kits available and the percentage at which the ship module is
currently functioning to help you decide better what level of kit you
should purchase:
Level of Kit Percentage at which the component is functioning
1 76 - 99% functional
2 51 - 75% functional
3 26 - 50% functional
4 1 - 25% functional
5 0% (requires complete overhaul)
"If the component is functioning below the percent listed, you must buy
the next level kit. 2 level 1 kits will not repair a component that is
functioning at 51%," said Infoteq. "Level 4 and 5 kits can now be
purchased at the spacedock because of the size involved to repair that
much damage. Since you can't exactly cart around a whole ship hull all
over SDO, you can head over to UDA Spacedock, which is a hop away, and
fix your ship hull there." For more information, ship owners can consult
the special help on their PDA's under: help ship repairs.
As for the Department of Space Vehicles, ship owners can now sell their
ships to someone else and transfer the title as the DSV. "If you've ever
heard of the DMV from Earth, you'll know how the DSV works," said
Trillian, adding "unfortunately we couldn't escape the politics and slow
government work from Earth even out here in the Dragon quadrant. Sorry,
folks, Earth government still has their hand in this one." When asked what
she meant, especially these strange terms such as DMV, she replied, "I
come from Earth and in Earth history we used motor vehicles to travel
around. Well, to change ownership, register the vehicles, etc., we had to
go to DMV, an Earth government organization. Unfortunately, they're still
as slow now as they were on Earth many many years ago. Just go there and
you'll see." It has been discovered that there's a simple trick to
changing your position in line, but neither Trillian nor Infoteq
commented on this.
-P.R. Bot 4000
Cutting Edge
============
Theory of Magic Research: Ritual Magic
--------------------------------------
In a Journal of Arcane studies, Infoteq released a dissertation on an
entirely new type of magic. Ritual Magic, a very different kind of magic
from what most people are used to. Instead of a single caster, Ritual
Magic involves multiple casters. The first step is for everyone
participating to channel mana to the primary focus, who then evokes the
magic in a final casting. The results can be quite spectacular and the
Wild Magic spell especially so.
Due to the power of these spells, a person can only cast one every 12hrs.
Those that have tried more have found themselves unable to properly
control the energies involved. Initial trials of this type of magic left
the channelers entirely bereft of the mana they channeled. Further
research has uncovered methods to allow the channelers to begin
recuperating immediately, although they will still be unable to channel
more than twice a day.
When anyone reaches level 20, they may attend a free class offered on RDO
on how to channel, but the information on the actual Rituals themselves
must be purchased with quest points by anyone wishing to be a focus. The
following list shows the skill percent per quest point for each Ritual:
Ritual of the Bitter Rose 9%
Ritual of Cleansing 10%
Ritual of Defense 9%
Ritual of Nature 10%
Ritual of Restoration 9%
Ritual of Slaying 5%
Ritual of Time Distortion 9%
Wild Ritual of Power 5%
Ritual of the Mind 9%
Ritual of Greater Summoning 5%
The dissertation ended with this cautionary note, "While the power of
these spells is unprecedented, care should be used when utilizing them.
If you are not strong enough, the power can consume you." Detailed
information on these spells can be found in the PDA help system under
Ritual Spells and each spell by name.
-Rhys Istaloth
Xenoculture
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Space Amphitheatre: Marvels of Design and Technology
----------------------------------------------------
It isn't often that a rookie reporter gets a big break so quickly, and
when the editor posted my assignment, I almost couldn't believe it was
true. I was to interview Infoteq, Head of TriTeq Industries and cover the
ImpLive! conference. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement.
I met with Infoteq for a guided tour of the newly finished Dragons' Star
Space Amphitheatre a few hours before the doors opened for the big event.
We met backstage in the famous "Green Room". Not really green, this room
is used for preparations for planned events in the amphitheater. Lined
with mirrors on two walls, a rack of costumes and changing screens on yet
another side, the room has plenty of space for costume changes.
"Here is where speakers can wait until it's time to go on stage," Infoteq
said. "We have the instructions for using the stage sound system posted
clearly here and again on the teleprompter actually onstage.
The main stage area is a floating flat black marble dais suspended in
front of two 20-foot tall green malachite columns, each wrapped with a
thick cord of spun gold. It is well lit, but the light sources are so
well-concealed it was impossible to pinpoint a source. Beyond the columns
the pitch black cloth of space sparkled with the light from distant stars,
providing the perfect backdrop for the amphitheater.
There are actually two separate systems available for our speakers while
onstage," said Infoteq, "the PA system and the microphone system. The PA
system is what lets everyone know when it's time to get to their seats.
But for this reporter, the real beauty lay in the custom fitted microphone
system installed in the stage iself. The microphone system not only allows
speakers on the stage to speak to the audience, but has a built in control
for a floating remote microphone in the seating area itself. As members of
the audience pose questions, the microphone system keeps these questions
queued in a list and readily available for both the speakers and the
reminder of the audience.
To conclude the interview, I asked about the topics of the evening.
Infoteq said, "there are three main topics, then an open mic session.
Scheduled topics are disrupt sanctuary, costs of clones, and equipment with
effects generating a message or not."
-Pleasure
On the Wire
===========
First ImpLive! Conference Successful
------------------------------------
A transport takes you quickly to a pocket of space outside of Sapphire
Dragon Outpost where the Space Amphitheater resides. "Welcome to Dragons'
Star's Space Amphitheater," proclaims a bright laser sign as you get your
bearings inside the bubble. The same transteel material used on SDO
surrounds the amphitheater, holding back the pitch black vacuum of space
dotted with white glitters of light. An alarming, yet magnificent sight.
To the north you see two black marble columns decorating the entrance to
the amphitheater, but you cannot see through the columns as a huge opaque
forcefield blocks your view and your way north. An usher stands in front
of one of the columns handing out programs there. As you approach, the
usher smiles brightly and says, "Get your programs here!" A quick glance
at your program and you see, "Welcome to ImpLive! Sunday, July 27, 6 pm
Eastern."
The aisle curves around the Space Amphitheater, taking you to rows where
you can sit for the event. You look to your north, but you can't really
see or hear the stage very well from here, but you do see seats though.
Above you the blackness of space sparkles with faraway stars, an
interesting ceiling for the theater. Bright white light from an unseen
source provides you with plenty of light so you can find a seat.
Ten padded leather chairs face toward the stage in this row, giving you a
clear view of the stage and the event. Pitch black space dotted by tiny
needles of light hangs above you like a tall cathedral ceiling, providing
the perfect atmosphere for just about any event. A folded poster in the
pocket of your chair gives you the instructions for how to use the
microphone to direct queries during the event.
You've gotten here just in time for ImpLive! Dragons' Star's live online
conference with Dranor, Infoteq and Trillian.
Infoteq opened the conference by welcoming everyone and moving directly
into the first topic: disrupting sanctuary. Explaining how the
implementation of the disrupt sanctuary spell would affect game balance,
Infoteq said, "On [another] mud, having sanctuary on mobs was pretty much
pointless. As long as you had the [disrupt sanctuary] spell, you could chop
a mobs hit points in half for the duration of the combat. So our question
was, what's the point of putting sanctuary on a mob if players can just
easily remove it. [...]we decided that if an area builder put sanctuary on
a mob, that they did it for a reason and we were going to back that
decision up by making it tough to dispel it and easy for the mob to get it
back if they had it naturally." Infoteq continued, "Now some might say
it's [disrupt sanctuary] completely useless, but I have to disagree.
Possibly now and during the early stages of our development it was useless
because there weren't very many high level players. When we plan stuff for
the mud, we don't plan for a couple weeks in advance, we try to plan months
and years in advance. We don't want to code something just to have to come
back and fiddle with it a few months later. We prefer to move forward on
to other projects."
"Keeping this in mind, one of our goals is to have +3damage for each
equipment position and each align. If you take 21 positions times 3
damage, which is 63 damage, +50 points of maximum damage from a weapon,
we're at 113, then most high level players get two hits (since they use
haste) which brings it to 226 [points of damage total per hit], Infoteq
said. "For a group of about 5 high level players we're looking at 1000
points of damage on an unsancted mob per round. If the average disrupt
lasts 2-4 rounds, that's a heck of a lot of damage." He added, "Granted
that at all times you will not get the maximum amount damage from a hit,
but even so, it's still enough to make a difference."
Although several mortals argued that there were already other
considerations in mob strength and abilities that tipped the balance in the
mob's favor, the implementors seemed firm in leaving the dispel sanctuary
spell as it was. One alternative suggested by Dash was appealing to both
implementors and players. He commented, "Most of the mobs worth dispelling
are very high level, so it would be nice if dispel lasted a minimum length
of time (say 3 combat rounds?)" Infoteq replied, "That might work, go
ahead and post your idea to the idea board so it doesn't get lost." Dranor
said, "Still could be too powerful, possibly something based on level
differential for a minimum duration." The jury is still out on this one
folks. There currently isn't a defined amount of time that dispel
sanctuary lasts; there's a 50/50 chance every 6 seconds that a mob's will
successfully recast the spell.
An interesting side point was raised by our own lovely Goddess of the
Spring, Persephone. She asked, "How large will +ob on some objects be?
Because I know right now my mortal misses about half the time against a
high level mob with an ob of about 250." Infoteq answered, "For a high
level area, if it's the best item, it could have as much as 40 ob an item.
Persephone continued, "Would there be +ob bonuses bringing them comparable
to the db bonuses?" Infoteq requested clarification of the question.
Persephone rephrased, "Well, right now I can get about 800 db and 250 ob,
I was just wondering if they were going to be more equal or if they are
not supposed to be more equal."
Infoteq said, "At this point in time there are two ways to get db, and one
for ob. One of the two ways for db is the ac_apply which accounts for the
difference you mentioned. Since we don't have an equivalent for ob at this
point the answer is no. However I am open to ideas on how to bring them
closer together." Persephone added, "I see, I'm just a bit worried about
being able to hit the mobs that will usually have to be disrupted to
fight." Infoteq said, "Just as an aside there will be one or two more
ob-oriented spells in the near future."
Eager to hear about new exploration in the galaxy, I asked, "Are there any
areas on the listed starcharts currently inaccessible?" Infoteq said,
'Numerous, but most of them are still in negotiation as to trade routes for
our shuttles." The audience was then stunned to hear Infoteq announce,
"Dragon's Rock has been found, but since no one achieved a level of skill
to survive there, it's location must remain top secret for a while longer."
The second slated topic of the evening was the cost of clones. Infoteq
began by saying, "100k as the cost was a guess. We figured we would
probably have to reevaluate it later. There is one thing that can't change
about clones without some kind of significant tradeoff and that's Pirates
losing clones when they die." This was the most heavily discussed topic of
the evening because the base question is complicated by the Pirate's Guild
which preys on its own members. It appeared that most players favored
some sort of price break on clones for the mid-level players. A vote has
been called to decide the issue.
The last scheduled topic was should equipment with affects generate a
message. There was so much discussion on this topic pro and con that the
immortals decided it would be best to put it to a vote. Mortals will be
able to vote yes or no on the topic, as well as voting yes with the proviso
that there be a toggle to turn the messages off.
Several other ideas were floated to the immortals and each mortal
suggesting one was asked to post it to the idea board. Lornn suggested
putting in an audible ping for ALL shuttle arrivals (when IN appears).
Persephone floated the idea of adding autowear to the light, wield and hold
positions (so you don't need to remove an item before lighting, wielding or
holding another).
I asked the implementors about the possibility of there being an upgrade to
the shuttle service from SDO (can you tell this girl *hates* to ride
coach?) Infoteq said, "We went to a lot of trouble to design the ships, we
don't really want to make them worthless." He added, "You could always
hitch a ride with an existing ship owner."
Also in reference to ships, Persephone asked about trade-in value of ships.
Avid shipwatchers may know that each upgrade in class costs an additional 5
million credits, no small hunk of change even for some of our
megamillionaire pirates. Infoteq answered by saying, "There are some
modifications you can do to the ship you have but to go up a class requires a
trade-in. You can't upgrade a Toyota Tercel to a Izuzu Forerunner. Depends
on age and condition it's in when you trade it in." The audience was abuzz
at the mention of these strange vehicles mentioned by Infoteq though many
concluded that such vehicles might be common on his home planet.
Infoteq closed the conference with, "That's it. Thanks to everyone for
coming. Hopefully we'll have time to make this a regular thing. Hope you
enjoyed it. Good night."
-Lyla Springbow
UDA Newswire
Inside Fashion
==============
T-Shirts Cool Down Summer Campers
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Another quarter, another issue, another fashion column! And what do I have
in store for you this issue? The latest and greatest rage from those crazy
cadets at RDO. This time they're returning from their summer vacations and
summer camps with those perky Camp Millicagoomie t-shirts. "They're so
comfy. I like to kick back in mine at the end of a rough day of training,"
quoted one cadet. "Yeah, those RDO fighting jumpsuits are great for
training," added another cadet, "but there's nothing like a t-shirt and
jeans for true comfort." Jeans? Perhaps this fashion reporter will
investigate further on this odd fashion statement. Until next time,
stay chic!
-T'heelha B.
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Editorial Staff
Editor: Trillian
Publishers: Infoteq, Trillian, Dranor
Reporters: P.R. Bot 4000, Rhys Istaloth, T'heelha B.
Guest Reporters: Mustaine, Pleasure, Lyla Springbow
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Please include a sample of writing over 100 words in length.
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