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Camelot Campaign
A Dragon's Revenge, the first Camelot Campaign, is going strong. It's not too late to take up
arms and help defend your Realm's towns against the newly discovered Dragonsworn army, help
repair the devastated towns of Ludlow, Vasudheim or Ardee, and unlock the secrets of crafting
the Dragonsworn armaments.
Visit Pondar Cully in the Academy Library in Camelot, Harris McCullogh in the courtyard of Tir
na Nog Castle, or Lailen in the Temple of the Jotuns in Jordheim to start your journey.
You can also keep up to date with the Reports from the Realms and the Writings of Gerik Morrow
with the Camelot Herald and the new
Dragon's Revenge website.
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Free Starting Stat Respecs
Okay, take a deep breath and read it again. Yes, really. Free starting stat respecs.
FREE STARTING STAT RESPECS! Is your sad little Kobold Runemaster hopped up on Empathy?
Do you have a Charismatic Cleric, or a Bard with a bit too much Piety? If so, we've heard
your cries. To take advantage of these stat respecs (yes, we really did say stat respecs),
simply go to the character select screen, select your character and hit the customize button.
Then, select your character's new stats – as many times as you want!
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New Frontiers Updates
We're working on updating keeps, towers and bridges in 1.89a! Updates include new layouts,
pathing and Line of Sight. We know that RvR can be frustrating with the current design, and
so we're especially looking at minimizing issues with pathing and line of sight in these areas.
We have heard your feedback and we have taken all ladders out of keeps towers and bridges and
have replaced them with stairs and ramps. The revamp will result in gorgeous optimized art and
exciting new layouts which will first be available to players in the battlegrounds with the 1.89a patch.
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UI Improvements
Our devs are working hard as we speak on a new, beautiful revamp of the UI,
currently planned to go live early next year. If you can't wait for a sneak
peek of the changes, don't worry! You'll be seeing a taste of what's to come
in 1.89. In this version, we're putting in a new chat window with expanded
docking/customization options, as well as a 'true type' font system. What
is a true type font system, you might ask? Quite simply, it's a font system
that allows the end user to resize and maintain the quality of the text regardless
of the resolution setting chosen for the game. For example, if you use stunningly
high resolution on your monitor, the text of the game can be resized to be larger
so that you aren't squinting to read it. There are other benefits to this type of
font system as well, but many require techno babble too tiresome for a newsletter!
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Music Class Investigation and Changes
With 1.89, improvements to the Bard, Skald and Minstrel classes will be taking place.
Adjustments include shouts, buffs and song/chants. Two examples of this are adding a
group water breathing buff to the music line, and increasing the range of DD shouts
from 700 units to 1000 units. These are all ways to further improve the enjoyment
and desirability of these versatile, unique classes.
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Updated Audio Effects
A variety of spell sound effects and other miscellaneous audio effects will be
updated in 1.89. These new sound effects will further allow players to determine
an audio queue from an enemy realm as well as their own realm. Apart from new
sound effects, many of the older sound effects will receive higher quality updates.
Turn up that volume!
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Clustering of All Trials of Atlantis (ToA) Zones
Do you avoid ToA because it just makes you feel lonesome? Do you shriek with glee when
you see a perfect stranger run by you while hunting in Stygia? QQ no more! We've heard
your laments of solitude and as a result we've been preparing for ToA clustering. Our
goal is to reduce the footprint of the world on clusters, bringing players together in
what were previously areas where groups were difficult to find. Don't worry though;
we're also striving to keep ToA encounters challenging and readily available to those
who venture into these zones. You'll find that many encounters have been tweaked to spawn
monsters and drop rare loot more frequently. They've also been changed so they can be
completed with a single group.
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Camera and Character Movement Improvements
We're currently making changes to camera and character movement that will bring
DAoC into line with the MMO standards of today. This includes the addition of a
"New MMO Default" keybind setting, updated mouse movement changes (pressing both
mouse buttons moves the character forward, while each mouse button used separately
can pan the camera around or change the direction of the character), and we are
also adding in a 'camera snap back' feature that will cause the camera to reset
back to default when the character is moving forward after having panned the camera
around the character. Note that these improvements are on by default only for new
accounts. Existing accounts will need to change camera and keybind settings in order
to take advantage of these improvements.
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Developer Diaries
Lori Hyrup
As a Campaign Producer what are your primary responsibilities?
As Campaign Producer, I oversee a multiple-disciplinary team that writes, creates, develops, and
integrates all of the art, content, and support systems for the new Dark Age of Camelot Campaigns.
My tasks involve planning schedules, setting milestones, ensuring that deadlines are met, facilitating
communication across disciplines (art, content, engineering, etc), conceptualizing future Campaigns,
and fulfilling a number of other day-to-day management responsibilities.
What was your "welcome to the game industry" moment when it hit you that you were really making games
for a living?
Prior to Dark Age of Camelot, we (Mythic) had developed a number of small venue games, none of which ever
came in a box. It was not until after I had been developing games for several years and saw our first
Dark Age of Camelot box on store shelves that I reflected on how cool it was that I was making games for
a living.
What is the status of the game? What are you currently working on?
Dark Age of Camelot has witnessed the evolution of an industry, and though it is advanced in its years,
it continues to generate fun for thousands of game enthusiasts. I am currently working on the
Campaign "A Dragon's Revenge," which is part of a larger initiative to revitalize some select parts of
the game and bring a continuous flow of fun and content to our players.
What excites you the most about Dark Age of Camelot?
The thing that excites me most about Dark Age of Camelot is that after five and a half years, it is
still heralded as the number one MMO for team-based player-versus-player interaction.
What other titles have you worked on in the past? In what capacity?
In addition to working on Dark Age of Camelot, I have worked on or was involved with, in one capacity
or another, the majority of the titles put out by Mythic, including Dragon's Gate, Rolemaster: Magestorm,
Magestorm: Millennium, Splatterball, Splatterball Plus, Darkness Falls, Darkness Falls: The Crusade,
Starship Troopers: Battlespace, Silent Death Online, Aliens Online, Godzilla Online, Spellbinder:
The Nexus Conflict, ID4 Online, and Imperator.
In my early years at Mythic, I filled multiple capacities simultaneously, including game administration,
forum design, content design, system design, testing, staff management, technical writing, customer service,
technical and billing support, and internet relations. As Dark Age of Camelot stepped on to the scene
and demanded more of my time, my capacity evolved towards content concepts and development, including
the writing of large-scale backstories, developing adventure areas, monsters, items and treasure,
designing maps, building terrain, implementing AI systems and encounters, conceptualizing class and
race names, backstories, and more.
What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? What games are you playing right now? What
game should the reader be playing if he's not?
My favorite computer game of all time is Knights of the Old Republic. I loved the writing, and it is
probably one of the most story-immersive games I have ever played. Another game that has always been
quite dear to my heart was the original Metroid, but that was mostly because it was one of the very first
games that ever portrayed a female as the protagonist. Being 13-years-old at the time, it made a lasting
impression.
At the moment, I am splitting my time between playing World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online.
What music are you listening to right now?
I do not often listen to music. It is not because I don't like music, but rather because once I start
listening to it, I can't seem to get it out of my head. I do, however, tend to listen to the radio on
the way to and from work or to whatever my husband, who also works at Mythic, happens to be playing on
his iPod.
Is there a recent movie you've seen or book/comic you read that you'd recommend to others?
Two movies that I really liked during this past year were both comic book adaptations. The first
one was V for Vendetta and the second one was 300. Though not a movie, I would also recommend the
television series Heroes to anyone who has not yet seen it.
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Developer Diaries
Mike Stone
As a live game Producer what are your primary responsibilities?
My main responsibility is managing day to day tasks for the live team, working with our design team on
future projects while also working closely with other departments such as art, code and class balance.
I also organize and manage each patch version whether it is a Pendragon patch or a live game patch.
The team I manage has many talented people which include artists, content, code and systems. What you
see in-game after each patch is a result of the fine work done by the development team.
What was your "welcome to the game industry" moment when it hit you that you were really making games
for a living?
I would say two weeks before launch day of Dark Age of Camelot occurred, I was just hired and was
sitting in the office playing our game and going, "wow, I am a part of this experience now". Getting
in to the game industry in one fashion or another was something I had been looking forward to since I
was young.
What is the status of the game? What are you currently working on?
I am currently working with the team going over all of the New Frontiers and Battleground changes that
we are going to be releasing in an upcoming patch. I think our players will be excited to see what we
have done to the keeps, towers and bridges. It should make for a more enjoyable RvR playing experience.
What excites you the most about Dark Age of Camelot?
I love the lore and the setting. Growing up on King Arthur stories, books and movies and bringing those
tales to our game is fantastic. The RvR element in DAoC is a fantastic experience and one that has set
the bar. Most of all, the players' dedication and enthusiasm makes me proud. I often host roundtable events
and get a chance to meet the DAoC players. They are all wonderful and all ages.
What other titles have you worked on in the past? In what capacity?
I was hired as the billing and technical support manager 6 years ago and through dedication and self
motivation I aspired to get in to development. My first shot at development was being a content lead on
Imperator. I learned many things throughout that development period and took a lot of that with me when
I was brought on to the DAoC team. My first projects with the DAoC team were managing the building project
of Agramon Island, I revamped each of the starting towns and designed and built Cathal Valley. I would have
to say my biggest development project was the building of the Labyrinth. Let me just tell you, I was getting
lost myself trying to build this zone but in the end, I think it came out well and I am proud of the result.
What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? What games are you playing right now? What
game should the reader be playing if he's not?
Tough question since there are so many, however, I grew up on the Sierra series playing Kings Quest,
Police Quest etc. I also really enjoyed THE DIG, LOOM and Maniac Mansion. Talk about some clever and
imaginative games! My favorite FPS of all time is Battlefield 1942. Being able to fly, drive and pilot
all of the vehicles was truly innovative at the time.
I am currently playing Stalker, God of War 2, and Guitar Hero 2 and I would highly recommend everyone
checks them out.
What music are you listening to right now?
The bands I am currently listening to are Alice in Chains, Helmet, and Anthrax and now and again I throw
on some Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
Is there a recent movie you've seen or book/comic you read that you'd recommend to others?
I highly recommend 300. The visuals are amazing and the movie itself has heart. They really pulled
this off in a fantastic way. My favorite movies would have to be Legend, Braveheart and The Ninth Gate.
Anything else you want to add?
I look forward to my future with EA Mythic and can't wait to see what's next!
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In this issue
Camelot Campaign
Free Respecs
New Frontiers
UI Improvements
Music Class Changes
Updated Audio
ToA Clustering
Movement Changes
Developer Diaries
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