[25-08-2006] The Camelot Reporter

Ogrelin

Despite the summer and the Leipzig convention which many people from GOA are currently attending, we haven't stopped working as the progress of the 1.84 version tests have helped us define the time left before its release. However, the Camelot Reporter will focus on the surprise we have for you : a big contest involving a trip for 2 people to the Las Vegas Roundtable organized by EA Mythic, as well as some other great prizes and a wonderful unique roleplay reward ! The background piece will please Midgardian players since it will help them find out how to name their characters according to their race in order to win this great reward.

Big Las Vegas Roundtable Contest
The Mysterious Atlantean Tablet Enigma
A mysterious tablet has just been found in Atlantis. Curious and willing to outstrip the enemy realms in what could become a ground breaking discovery, the sages decide to call upon volunteer adventurers to start solving the tablet enigma and find the mysterious item.

All those who will be able to give Eregos the Scholar the item will be greatly rewarded. And…
To motivate characters to find the item as quickly as possible, the kings promised to erect the statue of the fastest adventurer in the capital city. But this is not all.
The contest, organized by GOA, takes place as Dark Age of Camelot celebrates its 5 year existence in the USA, during the Las Vegas Roundtable organized by EA Mythic on the 29th and 30th of September. GOA and EA Mythic will invite the most efficient adventurer and a friend to the Las Vegas Roundtable !
The fastest players on each server will also be rewarded : one MSI GeForce 7600 GT PCI Express video card for the 2nd to the 6th runners-up, and a Darkness Rising T-shirt for the next 5 places.

Check out the official website on Wednesday August 30th from 8pm when the tablet is unveiled and the contest officially begins. This animation is temporary and may end soon after the winners have solved the enigma.

If you try your luck, be aware that this enigma will appear as a normal quest but its complexity will have nothing to do with a classic one. The hard part of it will not be in facing dangers or fighting as it is not necessary to have a powerful character to succeed, but in clever thinking and spending the necessary time in finding the solution. You will be barely helped so you will need to be perceptive, cunning and patient. However, the prizes will be worth your efforts and the winner will never forget the quest.

The fastest player to find the enigma solution according to the game data will be the grand winner. If the winner cannot go to Las Vegas, he will be given a video card instead, and the trip will be awarded to the next runner-up. The first characters to solve the enigma on each realm in each server after the #1 winner will have their statue erected in the capital in addition to the other great prizes. So don't hesitate to take part in this adventure and test your deduction skills, and maybe your immortalized stone character will be admired by the inhabitants and visitors of the capital, and remain forever legendary in its realm.

Note that you need a valid passport and visa for September 28th to go to Las Vegas. Further information about the Dark Age of Camelot Round Table in Las Vegas can be found here : http://roundtable.darkageofcamelot.com/Sept_06_lasvegas.php

The complete rules of this contest will be published on Wednesday 30th.
A few essential issues must be explained immediately :

- Even though the quest is accessible on all servers, only one prize per player (same name, same address) will be awarded. There will be also only one statue per account.
- Since this reward is a roleplaying event only, GOA reserves the right not to raise a statue for winning characters whose name doesn't match the game's background.
- You must have a valid subscription before August 30th to participate. Accounts which have been penalized with grave sanctions and the 14 day free trial accounts cannot win any prize, nor have a statue raised for their character (if your account was created from the free trial offer and you subscribed afterwards, then you are considered to have a valid subscription ).
- The possibility to gain prizes or have one's statue raised in a capital city is restricted to characters created before the contest's announcement, which means yesterday.
- The contest will be over when there is one winner per each server, or on September 10th at the latest. Once all the winners are known and the verifications are done, GOA reserves the right to remove the quest from the servers at any moment.
- In order to win one of the 11 prizes you must be of legal age on September 10th. The person chosen to accompany the winner to Las Vegas must also be of legal age.
- Clustered servers count as one server since they share the same capital city.
- This animation cannot take place on the Glastonbury, Salisbury and Camlannn servers due to their specific characteristics.
- The information given above is not contractual and can be changed until the complete rules are published.

Good luck to you all !

Version 1.84 on its way
As we announced last week, tests for version 1.84 are under way and no major difficulties have been encountered yet. Following the English version, the tests concerning the French version are well under way and the tests for the other languages are scheduled to begin soon, which enables us to contemplate a release for the second week of September, between the 12th and the 14th. The official date will of course be confirmed in one of the two upcoming Reporters.
In the meantime, you can already download most of the updated files in order to save time on patch day. Remember that as usual, even though you are advised to download these files, you cannot install them before getting a green light on the official website. The files can of course be found in the Download section.

Live from Leipzig
As you can see on the images below which were taken on Thursday, the attendance at the Games Convention is quite high. There is a lot to see at our stand and you can come and visit us there this weekend, the team is waiting for you !

Update your personal information in the Subscription section
The contest announced this week is a good opportunity to remind you to update your personal information in the subscription section each time it changes. Imagine being one of the winners and not knowing about it because you do not receive the email… Apart from that, there are several reasons why you should update your personal information ; should you lose your login and password for example, or so that you may receive an answer from our customer service, or in case any of our teams need to contact you. It improves the security of your account, so hit the Subscription section as soon as possible if you have any doubts.

Background Piece Midgard : Midgard Names
Midgard's Althing is made of various very different people, which generates a huge variety of names and surnames.

The Norse, to start with, are very honour-bound to their clan and they take pride in being able to name several generations of ancestors. As a matter of fact, "Björnríkr Björnsteinnson" means "Björnríkr son of Björnsteinn" and "Alhvít Hringuðrdottir" means "Alhvít daughter of Hringuðr". The composition and meanings of theses names is an issue that goes way beyond this presentation.

A family's honour and the bond its members feel towards it are of even greater importance in the Frostalfar's traditions. They use the same rules to create their names but prefer to compose them with more pompous and noble terms -according to their tastes. It so appears that consonances like 'Frami' (honor), 'Hróð' (glory) or 'Ragn' (power) are thus quite common.

Dwarves are a more pragmatic people : since their numbers are generally low and since they usually live in small clans scattered throughout the mountains, their names are kept simple and practical and use the sounds and consonances of an ancient dwarven language which is seldom spoken nowadays. The Dwarves bear their clan's name proudly as a family name which always pictures their occupations : a miners' clan will be named Rockbreaker or Stonecarver, a fighters' clan Steelaxe, a smiths' clan Forgehammer and a brewers' clan Oldstout.

Where names are concerned, trolls bother even less. They feel no need to name ancestors or family lines or even display heroic talents : a simple name taken from their language is enough to describe their natural 'abilities', be it a ferocious appetite or a certain liking for mindless destruction. It is therefore quite common to come across individuals named Ugruktawa or Mogoagra. One generally does its best not to ask about the origin of these names, for fear that the explanation might prove to be quite painful…

Meanwhile, the… productive kobolds (to say the least) have to make do with a very numerous and very noisy offspring. With time the kobold names became longer and longer, sometimes inspired by their ancient incomprehensible dialect but most often taken from their Norse allies' language. Thus individuals with names like Ofbradrtunga, Allillrmatrkaup or Slyngelitjuvaskurk can be found lurking in the dark alleys of Jordheim.

Finally, the wild Valkyns, for whom a name's only use is to call for the pack, make do with a few hoarse growls. This can result in names like Arrghun or Magndarr for the males, and Sakirr or Marramu for the females. Note that these names never were intended to be written and scholars hesitate to double or triple the Raido rune so that they can improve the Valkyns' special pronunciation.

Prepare for the great contest and see you all on Wednesday for the beginning of the enigma !