##2 ~ The Hurnscald Herald ~ ##3 January 2011 ##0 Reports of bandit raids to the west of Hurnscald ##0 has mobilized the town. Those injured by these ##0 bandits may have a long stay ahead of them in ##0 Hurnscald's hospital. ##0 In other news, Taro is still missing, but Diryn, ##0 an agent of Tulimshar, has establish a connection ##0 with the Kaizei area, making travel to Nivalis ##0 possible again. He still assists the battle ##0 hardened travel distant locations just outside of ##0 Hurnscald. Getting back can be done by finding ##0 Frozenbeard, a Tulimshar pioneer who is mapping ##0 a trade route to get to Nivalis by ship. ##0 Diryn's re-connection with Nivalis came none too ##0 soon. Golbenez, who demanded a half million gold ##0 pieces for building some sort of leisure place, ##0 scrapped the idea and went for good old fashioned ##0 kidnapping to get whatever he wanted from the world ##0 of Mana. He kidnapped Santa Claus. Fearful Santa ##0 may not gift the children of the world, wizards, ##0 warriors and archers rallied to pay the demi-god ##0 his demands. ##0 Shortly after Santa was freed, something more ##0 sinister has come to Kaizei. The yeti. Sightings ##0 of this beast returns with stories of them. Though ##0 aggressive, their behavior seems out of place. ##0 They've never been known as cave dwellers nor to ##0 kidnap people. ##2 ~ The Hurnscald Herald ~ ##3 Countless candy-concerning complaints: council ##3 consequently considers citizen-composed cleanup crew ##3 Eighteenth of November 2010 ##0 Recently, the ancient tradition of Hallowe'en ##0 was celebrated across Argaes, Tonori and other ##0 continents. Estimated tons of sweets were given ##0 out to happy trick-or-treaters, and as with ##0 most other years a lot of this vast total was ##0 dropped on the night. Even a week and a half ##0 after Hallowe'en, many kilograms of sweets ##0 still litter our pleasant woodlands. ##0 After dozens of letters regarding the situation, ##0 the Hurnscald Council has said that the best ##0 solution would be to organise a team of ##0 volunteers to work on collecting dropped sweets ##0 and disposing of them - but it has yet to ##0 organise any such thing. ##0 In the meantime, why not do your bit and collect ##0 some sweets for yourself? If you don't mind them ##0 being a bit old, you could be able to make the ##0 biggest Hallowe'en haul in history. ##0 Additionally, we've been getting some reports of ##0 a rather creepy skeleton hanging around the ##0 woodland. He doesn't appear to be aggressive, ##0 but he chatters unintelligibly at passers-by. ##3 Rollback ##0 2010-11-17 ##0 ##0 Everything should now be running from a ##0 complete save state (including storage, banks, ##0 parties etc) that is even two days more recent ##0 than what we were temporarilyrunning on before. ##0 All credit to Platyna for speedy recovery and ##0 even more recent backups. :) ##0 ##3 Server outage ##0 2010-11-16 ##0 ##0 Things running on the four day old backups, ##0 restricted to account save info and character ##0 save info for now while we try to get other ##0 databases working. ##0 ##0 This means no party data or storage data for ##0 now, we'll try to recover that along with ##0 everything else, as we should be able to get ##0 a full saved state from within the past week. ##0 ##0 The current setup is more to have something ##0 partially up, and so that people know what's ##0 going on while we try to fix things; any ##0 in-game progress made right now ##1will not ##0 persist. ##0 ##3 Server outage ##0 2010-11-16 ##0 ##0 Okay, apparently even that won't work right now. ##0 Servers will remain ##3offline##0 until we figure out ##0 what we can do. ##0 ##3 Server outage ##0 2010-11-16 ##0 ##0 We've just had a serious server crash, and the ##0 databases seem to have been affected here. We're ##0 currently running on some four-day old backups; ##0 whether this will be a temporary measure or ##0 whether newer ones are usable is yet to be ##0 determined. ##0 ##0 Please note that the current state may only ##0 be ##3temporary##0, and that if usable newer backups ##0 are found within the next 24 hours, those will ##0 be used instead, and any character progress ##0 made may be lost. If no usable backups are ##0 found during this time, the four-day rollback ##0 will have to be permanent. ##0 ##0 More news updates will follow once we've ##0 investigated further; we're doing what we can... ##0 ##2 Freeyorp ##0 ##3 Testing server. ##3 2010-09-25 ##0 ##0 As you've probably noticed, we've set up a ##0 testing server accessible from the same ##0 login-server as usual. ##0 ##0 All characters have been copied, so you ##0 should have all levels, money, equipment etc ##0 as normal. ##0 ##0 Changes are far from complete, but it should be ##0 a good start, and the fundamentals should be ##0 there. ##0 ##0 The server will be used for balance efforts; ##0 a number of combat mechanics have been reworked. ##0 ##0 Note that while game mechanics have changed, no ##0 new content has been added to this server, so ##0 you won't have to worry about spoilers. ##0 ##0 Experiment, and remember to give feedback! ##0 Contact us using either: ##0 The forums at ##1forums.themanaworld.org##0, ##0 Our irc server, at ##1irc.themanaworld.org##0. ##0 /join #themanaworld and/or ##0 /join #tmw-dev ##0 The fate of this world's reality lies in your ##0 hands. :) ##0 ##0 ##3 2010-08-29 ##0 Throughout Argaes, new trade regulations from ##0 Tulimshar have concentrated wealth and power ##0 inside Tonori's largest city. The primary ##0 resource of Argaes, iron ore, now must be ##0 refined into ingots within Tulimshar's ##0 imperial capital. ##0 ##0 Argaes miners, in search of new iron deposits, ##0 have discovered a hostile mine north west of ##0 the woodland town of Hurnscald. More details ##0 are coming in about this mine. ##0 ##3 Tulimshar's Power Expands ##3 2010-08-18 ##0 The impact of the Great Earthquake has brought ##0 a rising evil to the land. After much debate ##0 Tulimshar's Wizard Council has begun to expand ##0 its influence in the world to meet the new ##0 challenges presented. ##0 ##0 While still slow to act, Tulimshar has begun ##0 monitoring the changing monster threat in the ##0 sandstorm and sent agents into Argaes. The ##0 landbridge that long united Argaes with Tonori ##0 has fallen into the sea, prompting Tulimshar's ##0 merchants to charge a hefty fee for trade and ##0 travel between the two continents. ##0 ##0 Something sinister has happened to Taro, Nivalis ##0 and the magical connection Kaizei had with ##0 Argaes. Some speculate it has something to do ##0 with the evil while others think Nivalis and the ##0 Sages of Kaizei want to isolate themselves from ##0 Tulimshar's influence. Either way, all portals ##0 to Kaizei have been closed. ##0 ##3 The Candor Challenge ##3 2010-08-18 ##0 ##0 In the lost island of Candor, a skeletal figure ##0 stands, awaiting for fresh blood to wander right ##0 in and pay him for the privilege of being killed ##0 in nasty ways. How long are you and your friends ##0 able to survive in the cave of horrors? ##0 ##0 In other news, you may also have run into an ##0 evil obelisk, trader of strange items, a water ##0 pump, a flood and some new insect life recently! ##0 ##3 The End is not nigh ##3 2010-06-09 ##0 Content and technical development is currently ##0 split between the new server and the current ##0 tmwAthena server. Once the new sever is ready ##0 to be opened for public, you will be able to ##0 create a new character there or keep playing ##0 your old character on tmwAthena - or both! ##0 The tmwAthena server will keep running as ##0 long as there are people who want to play there. ##3 Keep an eye out for temporary events! ##3 2010-06-09 ##0 The Easter 2010 and Christmas 2009 special quests ##0 were enjoyed by many, and we will try to announce ##0 such events more visibly in the future. But though ##0 they are gone now, players are actively organizing ##0 random events: there's quizzes, searches for missing ##0 people, player-vs-player madness, drop parties, you ##0 name it. You do not need any special status to run ##0 an event yourself, just ask for help if you need any. ##3 News backlog continues ##3 2010-06-09 ##0 There were a few quick server crashes last weekend ##0 and on Monday. The server has stabilized for now, ##0 and there's a project to buy more memory for it to ##0 avoid future crashes. Thank you for your donations! ##0 In older news, a month ago there was some data ##0 lost on the Manaworld wiki and bugtracker due to ##0 briefly running out of hard disk space - not due ##0 to a new censorship system, as someone seemed to ##0 have thought. ;) ##3 Skill Changes ##3 2009-10-27 ##0 For simplification and realism purposes, the old ##0 basic skill has been removed. Emote, trade, and ##0 party-related abilities are now available in ##0 three completely new and independent skills. To ##0 get these new skills, you'll need to find NPCs ##0 that give them out in Tulimshar. Don't worry, ##0 this won't affect existing parties, and sitting ##0 will always be available from now on. ##3 Undead? ##3 2009-10-27 ##0 Reports of undead south west of Dimond's Cove ##0 been pouring in. More later. ##2 ~ The Hurnscald Herald ~ ##3 Magic Fixes ##3 2009-09-15 ##0 The second tier healing spell no longer works on ##0 yourself, it will still take mana if you try to ##0 cast it on dead players. We're working to fix ##0 that. It will halt health regeneration when used. ##0 Making lifestones now prioritizes bug legs, then ##0 maggot slime, then the herbs. ##3 Technical updates ##3 2009-08-16 ##0 GMs will now have their nicks highlighted in ##0 newer clients. ##0 The automatic bans for spam have been ##0 adjusted. You will no longer be banned for ##0 trade spam, it will just be ignored by the ##0 server. Sit spam is now checked for and extra ##0 packets are ignored. ##3 Has Magic Returned? ##3 2009-05-31 ##0 A string of curious incidents have left Hurnscald ##0 citizens baffled, and raised questions about ##0 whether magic might have made a come-back in ##0 our peaceful province. ##0 Tulimshar healer Elanore reports that a small ##0 group of novice healers have sought to become ##0 her apprentices-- for the first time in years. ##0 Farmer Hinnak, tells us of a mysterious woman ##0 who reportedly bewitched his garden. Also, ##0 someone seems to have moved into the ##0 abandoned hut west of Hurnscald-- repairing it ##0 over night! Can there be any natural explanation ##0 for these events? We do ask our readers to keep ##0 their eyes open! ##2 ~ The Hurnscald Herald ~ ##3 Central Tulimshar ##3 2009-02-11 ##0 Central Tulimshar is now open again. Work ##0 continues on the rest of the city. ##3 Rebalancing ##3 2009-01-19 ##0 The rebalancing done on enigma (our official ##0 test server) is now on our main server. Work is ##0 being done on getting the next testing period ##0 ready. All monsters have been rebalanced and ##0 the desert especially has different monster ##0 positions. Monster exp has been reworked as ##0 well. ##0 The cotton boots are finally available in ##0 certain shops. Also, as most of you have already ##0 seen, hair styles have been reorganized so both ##0 genders can use all styles. Note that only 0.0.27 ##0 can see them all. Older clients will only see the ##0 male styles. New hair colors are in the works as ##0 well. ##3 Open Testing on Official Test Server ##3 2009-01-04 through 2009-01-11 ##0 A testing period on enigma (our official test ##0 server) has started. Experience and drop rates ##0 are 10 times higher than normal during this ##0 period. We're testing new monster placement, ##0 new monster stats, and our new experience ##0 formula. Use of 0.0.27 for this is encouraged, ##0 though all currently supported clients are ##0 welcome. Please direct all feedback to the ##0 appropriate thread on the forums. ##0 To participate in this testing, set your server ##0 to enigma.dy.fi. Enigma shouldn't be used ##0 between open test periods, as the content ##0 may be in an unusable state. Characters and ##0 accounts may be wiped at any time between ##0 testing periods. ##3 Monster Mutations and Experience Point Changes ##3 2008-12-10 ##0 We have rebalanced monster experience points ##0 and added two new mechanisms to make the ##0 game more challenging: monster mutations, by ##0 which monster attributes (and experience points) ##0 are slightly modified for each individual ##0 monster, and increased boni for shared kills: ##0 killing a monster with a group of fighters now ##0 yields significantly more experience points than ##0 killing it alone. To adjust for the latter ##0 increase, we have reduced base experience points ##0 for low and medium-level monsters, though we ##0 expect levelling to be easier overall. ##2 The TMW development team ##3 Mines and weddings! ##3 2008-10-11 ##0 A new mining operation has started north of ##0 town. The company's director has stated that ##0 the mine's output has been sufficient and no ##0 problems have been encountered. ##0 A new wedding officiator has been ##0 commissioned. She has set up shop west of ##0 town. Many couples are rejoicing that a new ##0 officiator is in the region. ##2 ~ Hurnscald Gazette ~ ##3 Volcano erupted! ##3 14/09/2008 ##0 A volcano has erupted east of the city, causing ##0 major damage. Repairs are under way. The guard ##0 has cautioned that the new beach area that was ##0 opened up by the rumbling should be explored ##0 with caution. ##0 In related news, local alchemists have stated ##0 that the ash from the eruption is what caused ##0 many items of clothing to be bleached. ##2 ~ Tulimshar Herald ~ ##3 Strange stones appeared and pass cleared ##3 15/04/2008 ##0 Strange stones appeared in towns all over The ##0 Mana World. No one knows how they appeared ##0 and what they are good for. Can you solve their ##0 riddle? ##0 In other news: The pass to the southeast of the ##0 desert has been cleared and a mountain area ##0 with a lot of snakes has been discovered behind ##0 it. Rumors say that an eremite lives in that ##0 area who is a genius at leatherworks. ##2 The Mana World News ##3 Fast attack bug fixed, gameplay changes ##3 07/04/2008 ##0 This weekend a fix was applied for the bug that ##0 allowed you to attack with light-speed with ##0 several weapons. We understand this changes ##0 gameplay quite a bit, and as a result the game ##0 will probably need to be adjusted. The existence ##0 of this bug has effectively prevented us from ##0 ever being able to balance the gameplay ##0 properly. ##0 Please stay with us and allow us some time to ##0 make the necessary adjustments. Suggestions are ##0 welcome! ##2 TMW Development Team ##3 The Mana World 0.0.24 released ##3 24/12/2007 ##0 Female-specific hairstyles, XP gaining ##0 notification and improved resource caching are ##0 but three examples of the new features in this ##0 release. A lot of bug fixes where also made. ##0 See the full details on the website! ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 Village of Hurnscald released ##3 21/08/2007 ##0 The village of Hurnscald has been released ##0 today. You will find this little village in the ##0 woodland (try to explore paths you found ##0 blocked before). In Hurnscald you will find two ##0 new quests, new items and a lot of little ##0 surprises. Enjoy! ##2 Crush ##3 The Mana World 0.0.23 released ##3 04/06/2007 ##0 A particle engine was added, which allowed us ##0 to add several nice effects to various locations ##0 in the world as well as effects based on hitting ##0 enemies or going level up. A series of bug fixes ##0 was also made. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 The Mana World 0.0.22.2 released ##3 17/02/2007 ##0 Several small fixes have been made and we ##0 hope to have solved some updater problems. ##0 Upgrade whenever you're ready. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 Soulless characters deleted and money cut ##3 21/01/2007 ##0 A long time ago we have allowed characteres to ##0 sell their soul in order to gain additional ##0 powers. They were explicitly warned that they ##0 would be eventually deleted. This time has now ##0 come. ##0 In addition, we have cut the fortune of ##0 anybody who had more than 10.000 GP. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 Server address change! ##3 17/01/2007 ##0 The animesites.de host is no longer available. ##0 We thank Ultramichy for hosting us for so long ##0 at no cost! The new server address is: ##1 server.themanaworld.org ##0 We are now kindly hosted on platinum, thanks ##0 to Platyna. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 The Mana World 0.0.22.1 released ##3 15/01/2007 ##0 A minor update was released based on the new ##0 Guichan 0.6.0. Some small fixes are also ##0 included. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer ##3 The Mana World 0.0.22 released ##3 24/12/2006 ##0 On the edge of Christmas, we've released a ##0 new client version. A Christmas event is ##0 expected to start soon and you'll need the ##0 new client for it, so go get it! Read the ##0 NEWS for file details on what's new. ##2 Bjorn Lindeijer