T4 NewsLetter Issue 5, 02/19/2010

Citizens of Egypt,

The new player-paced shard of A Tale in the Desert IV, "Bastet" goes live:

Satuday, February 20, 9:00AM EST (GMT-0500)

I received a great deal of of thoughtful email after last week's newsletter. Certainly "Dunbar's Number" came up a lot, but the most common thread was that perhaps this new shard will be a chance for those that have never been among the "hardcore in-crowd" to excel. I've done a few things to encourage that, and have one favor to ask of everyone to further that goal.

In opening this new shard, I want to create a second A Tale in the Desert community with its own customs, its own laws, and its own personality. I want to discourage people from trying to play both shards at once.

So, although the content is the same, the "master seed" which controls everything from food effects, to ore distribution, to pyramid block patterns has been changed. If you've mastered those things in the main shard, you'll be back to square one on Bastet.

Also, billing is separate on the two shards - having characters on both will cost twice as much!

Finally, for those that insist on trying to play both shards anyway - I'd like to request that if you must do this, please use a different character name on Bastet. Obviously it's not something that I can enforce, so I must simply ask that as a favor.

So with that out of the way, what can you expect on Saturday? With nearly every Test theoretically unlockable on day 1, this should be the most content-dense Tale in the Desert yet. I expect a lower overall population than the main shard, but with fewer regions it should be easier to find people to explore with. Events should be that much more accessible, Test passes a bit less cutthroat, and resources that much more bountiful. I look forward to seeing how this new shard unfolds!

Dawn on the Nile,
Teppy

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