December 1998 Update

There are a few updates to report this time around. Here goes:

Several changes were made to make the beginning for new players easier. First aid from a doctor was made free to all newbies. Also healing from a doctor was made much cheaper for those who are not scientists themselves. A separate newbie channel was added, with access to all level 0-5 players, coders and special people dedicated as newbie helpers. New players also receive a Newbie Kit, with a little map and some instructions to help them get started.

Data terminals were added to the Rebel and Imperial team rooms. All team members may post permanent information there for everybody to read. A lot of tips about playing have been posted in both terminals so far.

A book store was added to Kwenn space station, where anybody can contribute stories, poems etc. for players to buy and read. A few literary masterpieces have already emerged... : )

Another large addition to Bespin was made with the completion of level two of the Bespin Hotel. The area hosts a range of interesting new monsters and objects.

Almost all of the bounty hunter and diplomat guild skills were coded and added to the game. Discussions were held with players about the future and tasks of the upcoming Player Council, which should add a lot of new interaction to the mud.

The pk arena went through a lot of testing, much to the joy of the players. The arena proved to be very popular and fun to play in. Everybody eagerly awaits that the additions to the arena are made and it can be opened on a permanent basis.

Sluis van Shipyard underwent quite a few changes. Almost all of the ship building code was rewritten to allow for easier expansion and updating. A few new features were also added for easier ship building and ship viewing. Level four was completely rewritten to display ship models' stats in a more accurate way. After all this was done and working, new ship models were added. The number of different models went from 4 to 36, giving everybody a wide range of different kinds of ships to suit their needs better.

A new level was also added to the Shipyards, increasing its size with almost 100 rooms. The level boasts several new objects not before seen on the mud.

A lottery was held at the mud as a one time attraction, with the winning sum being one million credits. Nobody ended up winning it, but the spent money was distributed among the other winners.

A new, nearly 100 room, area was added to Ryloth. The area has some seedy pirates, miners and lethal spiders. And a few surprises.

Five new races were added, raising the amount of races to 17. Considering each of the races have two mostly unique skills, that is not a simple task. Racial inherits were also added, meaning that each race is inherently better at some skills than others due to their racial characteristics. A race change week was held where any player could change their race to one of the newer ones without having to start over first.

A new hidden area was also added to Eichbaum, with some new items to find.