A New Light

From MYSTlore

A New Light is the sixth (second) Myst Online episode. It was announced on GameTap's website.

[edit] Preview

The next episode, A New Light, begins in June. In it, power is shifting and new leaders begin to emerge while those from the past begin to fade. Amidst all the chaos, the Age of Er'cana is released and Explorers are asked to help feed the darkening lake. Meanwhile, new information is revealed and more begin to fear the coming war. Er'cana features a vast landscape with hours of unique gameplay that can be played single player or with friends.

[edit] Content

The following content has been released during this episode:

• Ages
  • Er'cana
• Clothing
  • tie-dye shirt
• Places
  • The Watcher's Sanctuary
• Relto page
  • Er'cana trees
• Other
  • Marker mission creation
  • Lake Light Meter (in Ae'gura)
  • pellet points (in the KI)

[edit] Story

[edit] June 23

• The population limit in Nexus for Ae'gura is raised to 100.
• The DRC sends out a KI message announcing that explorer-created marker missions can be made using the KI.
• Victor Laxman announces that the recalibration effort is complete, and that the Great Zero will be activated the next day at 4pm Cavern Time.
  • He also mentions that there has been increased Bahro activity in many Ages that explorers do not have access to, but decreased activity in the Cavern. However, the DRC is not delaying the release of any Ages because of this.
• The DRC sends out a KI message announcing that Watcher's Sanctuary is open.
• Cate Alexander addresses explorers in the Watcher's Sanctuary.
  • They have had no word from Michael Engberg.
  • Er'cana will be released in the Sanctuary on Tuesday or Wednesday.
  • They were going to put up a picture of The Watcher, but had technical difficulties.
  • She announced a new age, Jalak, that is about a month away.
  • The DRC still has translated texts they have not released.
  • Cate indicated that there are 'tough questions' ahead relating to the funding of the restoration.

[edit] June 24

• Dr. Kodama visits the Guild of Greeters Bevin to announce the results of the structural analysis of the area of the Kahlo Pub that collapsed.
  • They found that the building was sound before the collapse, and the collapse was not caused by earthquake or seismic activity.
  • He unofficially states that he believes that the Bahro caused the collapse.
  • He confirms that the symbol they discovered when digging for Wheely is similar to the one found in Minkata.
  • Ahnonay is on schedule.
  • The DRC has no plans to release Noloben.
• Victor Laxman turns on the Great Zero.
• Nick White passes on to explorers that Victor Laxman is fixing the KI machine in Descent.
  • He says Jalak is more like an arena than a game area.
  • He confirms that, as far as he knows, Myst V was a good representation of what the DRC knows about the events it depicts.
• Victor Laxman comes to Myss Terrie's Bevin to announce that the KI light machine in Descent is working.
  • The D'ni survivor on Noloben was gone when they returned to the Cavern in 2005.
  • The DRC believes the Bahro are behind the instancing of Ages.
  • He assumes that the character of Esher is based the Noloben-survivor, but he does not know how accurate that depiction is.

[edit] June 25

• The DRC elects Cate Alexander to fill Michael Engberg's spot in the DRC.
• Cate Alexander hints that the funding situation is bad enough that advertisements may be necessary.
  • Marie Sutherland tells explorers that she disagrees with Cate, both on her new position and on her views on advertising.
  • Cate says she's considering all options, including merchandise, billboards and branding.
• Douglas Sharper explains to explorers that he is going to Noloben to observe the Bahro, and will kill one in retaliation for Wheely.
  • Explorers try to talk him out of it, and he leaves in frustration.
• Nick White talks to explorers.
  • Cate Alexander was not happy with Douglas Sharper when she heard about his plans. She told him he's going to find out information, not hunting.
  • Bahro seem to be leaving the pod age alone. Nick says they killed most of the animals there.
  • Nick says 'The D'ni weren't dealing with the same Bahro we are.' and agreed that it might have to do with the Tablet.
  • Sharper seems to think the 'bad' Bahro will kill everyone the first chance they have.
  • He also confirms that another race, not the Bahro, were kept in the slave cages in Teledahn. Then they were hunted in Rebek.
• Marie Sutherland visits the Guild of Greeters's Bevin.
  • In response to concerns about how the upcoming lake lighting will affect the algae in the lake, she says that they have been studying the lake for years.
  • She says they are in a catch-22 regarding funding - they need more explorers, but explorers don't want to visit more at the current state of the restoration.

[edit] June 26

• Er'cana is released in the Watcher's Sanctuary.
• The DRC places a memorial to those who have died.
  • The memorial includes the names of Phil Henderson, Wheely and Rosette, as well as explorers like Pehpsi and Aquila.
• Marie Sutherland tracks down an explorer named Reteltee to talk about a question he asked about Guilds and takes him to a meeting with Cate Alexander.
  • Cate requests that the meeting not be recorded.
  • Reteltee returns and reports that the DRC are considering re-establishing Guilds and ask him for suggestions. He suggested Guilds of Maintainers, Cartographers, Greeters, Helpers, Miners, and Surveyors.
  • He had no further details.
• Nick White chats with explorers in the Watcher's Sanctuary.
  • He gets a KI message from Sydney Austin while there, which he mentions but ignores.
  • He asks if explorers have met a man named J.D. Barnes, who has been 'hanging around with the DRC lately.
  • When asked how long pellets in Er'cana take to cook, he says "depends how long you cook them."
• J.D. Barnes comes to the Guild of Greeters's Bevin, looking for members of the Students of D'ni Knowledge.
  • He says he's an anthropologist and working with them and a 'young lady' on a documentary.
  • He says he does not work for the DRC and has no access to anything 'novel'.

[edit] June 27

• Marie Sutherland announces a new stained-glass contest for the Great Zero.
  • She also says that the chosen Eder Delin and Eder Tsogal pieces will go up next month.
• A Lake Light Meter is placed in the Ferry Terminal by Victor Laxman.
• The DRC sends a KI message explaining how the pellets work in Er'cana.
• Vormaen tries to convince Victor Laxman to have the DRC cancel Douglas Sharper's trip to Noloben.
  • He suggests to Laxman that Yeesha and the 'good' Bahro might have the ability to reverse what happened to Wheely.
• Douglas Sharper stops by the UruObsession neighborhood before he leaves for Noloben.
  • He says he's had two meetings with Cate Alexander because of that neighborhood.
  • He expects to find Bahro killing each other in Noloben.
• The Er'cana plants Relto page appears in Er'cana.
• The tie-dye shirt appears in Teledahn.

[edit] Background

[edit] Cyan, GameTap, etc.

• There were enough people on for the starting of the Great Zero that the authorization server crashed.
• Blake Lewin was in Cavern on the 25th. He indicated to several explorers that the funding issues were both IC and OOC. He also said he was moving on to invest in new projects. The implications of this (both IC and OOC) are unknown.

[edit] MYSTlore

Between June 23rd and 27th (the rough duration of the episode), Google Analytics tracked the following (with best values in parentheses):