Meshwesh:Meshwesh Times/Archive

September 28, 2019

This weekend is the first official event of Tale 9. The challenge is to gather herbs within a two hour window of time. The event will run three three times to accommodate players in different time zones. You can read the background story here and check your in-game calendar for event times and prizes. Participation is automatic, so when the event starts, be ready to roll.

Meanwhile, Meshwesh is close to unlocking the technology of Casting, which will let us make metal bars and iron cookpots. If you’re eager to start cooking before then, you’re in luck. Our friends in Kush allowed Gabrielnight to make some pots on their equipment, and he brought them home to share. One is installed at the public works in Tanis (890 6840) and others are scattered among the guilds that call Meshwesh home. Gabe says, “To those lucky enough to get a headstart, remember to share your food with friends and neighbours across Meshwesh.”

To begin cooking, you’ll need to pick up the skill from a School of Worship. There are multiple levels that permit the use of more ingredients--and Tale has a lot of potential ingredients. Cooked food is an effective way to modify your stats. However, it’s not a simple process to master at this stage of the game. All the recipes that were mapped in Tale 8 are useless now; we’re starting from scratch! The Good Eats guild (929 -4257 West Kush) has begun gathering data here and is accepting donations of edibles for experimentation. Keep in mind that “sink food” is still important. You can read more about that in this guide.

Last week the Test of Astrological Alignment opened. The challenge is to find groups of players with whom you spiritually align. It’s an excellent way to pick up some talent points. The next alignment party is scheduled for 3PM EST Monday in South Sinai. Check here for more information]. Use Sabuli’s Alignment Tracker tool to find compatible groups. Don’t forget to pick up the test from UNP and to pack a lot of candles.

Politically, factions have remained stable with treaties holding. We’re considering a region-swap with Kush, which will cost us a week with Bahariya Oasis (giving them access to the UWorshes there) but grants us access to some of their research when the region reverts back to us. Contact Gabrielnight if you have questions or concerns.

Other Things That Happened:

Test of the Safari opened and the gazelles are terrified.
No progress in finding an alternative to the obelisk queue problem.
Blacksmithing and Science of Colour were put on timer.
Our faction bonuses this week are trash. (+1 Flax in Bitter Lakes and Cyrene, +1 Wood in Giza and Hamim.)
Sol, KayGee, Vixsin, Bethany, Nee, and Zareen have all been recently recognised for their contributions to research. Thanks guys!

September 22, 2019

Time to talk about everyone’s favourite topic: politics.

Since we elected Gabrielnight as Elder, he’s been busy negotiating with leaders from Kush and Hyksos to settle borders and make plans for unexpected region-claiming. The current deal with Hyksos states that our borders will remain as they are. Things seem likewise stable with Kush. The majority of Meshwesh citizens are dedicated to peaceful relations with our neighbours.

Another responsibility of an Elder is to handle faction invites and bans. I’m happy to say that no one is under consideration for a ban, but more happy to welcome the upcoming new Meshwesh citizens Dusti, Phinter, Hirokache, and Minerva. I hope you all enjoy being Meshwesh as much as we do.

The next big decision we need to make is where to place chanceries. They extend faction-chat into regions that aren’t controlled by us, which means that border fluxuations won’t cut off residents from Meshwesh communication. Each one costs 10 tokens and they can only be built by an Elder. Obviously border regions are at the top of the priority list, but what about non Meshwesh regions where our citizens have settled? Maybe we should also build chanceries in non-Meshwesh lands with Chariot Stops, for the convenience. Contact Gabrielnight, Tortellini, or Coyote if you have requests or questions.

In order to get another Elder for Meshwesh (and more faction invites!) we need at least 50% of the population to go the Great Hall in Tanis and petition for a new election. Right now we’re about half way there so please stop by the next time you’re in Meshwesh Delta.

In local politics, Meshwesh is having a lot of discussion about how to handle the Obelisk Test. Traditionally, a queue on the wiki determined the order in which people build. Obviously, this system favours those lucky enough to find the queue first and leaves others to confront punishing material requirements. Some citizens choose not to follow the queue at all, which upsets the line and drives up the cost.

Dissatisfaction with the flawed queue system has fueled quite a bit of discussion about alternatives. Although it’s not hard to convince people that the queue system is problematic, it’s very hard to find an alternative. There is a poll (https://atitd.wiki/tale9/Meshwesh_Obelisk_Queue/poll) to gather information on how many people are ready to embrace a new method of determining Obelisk passes.

If Test of the Acrobat is more your speed, there is an acro line at Bernike field on UPDATE Saturday (September 28) 13:00 UTC/9am EST for 12+ hours. /info Augir for details. (Chariot Routes to Bernike: Tanis -> Avaris -> Koptos -> Sharuhen.) We have it from the devs that once you’ve taught 343 facets, you can pick up 3 facets from each teacher; might be time to revisit your masters!

Meanwhile, don’t forget that research needs more hands on deck. Blacksmithing (UArt) needs iron, copper, slay steeped canvas, clay steeped wool, and a ton of water jugs. Casting (UNP) needs iron, lead, clay steeped canvas, clay steeped wool, and heaps of beeswax. Diplomacy (Great Hall) requires bricks, canvas, rope, pulley, lime, and dried flax; that will unlock chanceries. Planning Application (Great Hall) only needs leather and dried papyrus. It will allow us to build faction compounds, though it’s a low priority compared to the others.

Gabrielnight says, “Research is key, and the Great People of Meshwesh are trying their best to keep up with our friends across Egypt. Stay strong everyone and have fun. Together we are family, friends and partners in this place we call home.”

As always, /chat Coyote if you have any ideas or contributions for the newsletter!

Other things that Happened:

Khefre’s Test and Test of the Safari opened at UNP.
Three mysterious chests appeared near the Kush, Hyksos, and Meshwesh Great Halls. The Stranger is up to something.
Ranching unlocked at UWorsh.
Malard fixed the Acrobat UI.
Sol passed Test of the Acrobat! He also made a useful set of spreadsheets (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GscRRWsBXWqgpN7U8Xdn-0XZrSva7QD8RsfAH7m5iA0/edit?usp=sharing) for tracking acrobat partners, pearls, insects, specs, and skills.
Congratulations Telanoc on becoming the new Hyksos Elder.
Pigs were bugged. Now they aren’t. No wait, still bugged.

Meshwesh Times Special Edition: Factions

Factions may be a controversial addition to the game, but they’re here nonetheless. Everyone has to pick a team when they leave the tutorial. If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably picked the right one! Still, faction play can be a bit confusing. As an elder of the Meshwesh Faction Council, I get a lot of questions about what’s happening. Here are some of the answers.

Each faction has four Home Regions that never change hands. They will always have faction-chat, but they will never have bonuses. Ours are East Sinai, Lahun, South Sinai, and Meshwesh Delta. Other regions are contestable and can be controlled by any of the three factions. Take a look at the Atlas to see how things stand.

Claiming a region is a blind-bid system that uses tokens as the currency. Whichever faction places the most tokens at a region’s Tribute Post will gain control of that region when the cycle ends. You can check your in-game calendar to see when the next Day of Tribute is coming up. (Presently we’re in a cycle that began on September 15th and will end September 22nd.) If no tokens are placed on a Tribute Post, that region reverts to neutral. If an equal number of tokens are placed, the defender wins. Factions can only claim regions that are next to ones they already own. For example, Kush or Hyksos could stake a claim on Bahariya Oasis next cycle. Meanwhile, insulated regions like Zau and Cyrene will remain ours as long as we place a single token on them.

There are three benefits to holding regions. 1) The more regions we hold, the lower the cost of researching technology. 2) Regions can provide bonuses to whichever faction holds them. Right now, Timna grants +3 Flax Yield. Other regions are offering bonuses to ore, veggie, and wood yields. 3) Faction-chat only reaches areas we control--unless an Elder spends 10 tokens to build a chancery there.

Meshwesh Tokens are currently only available at the Great Hall in Tanis. One token becomes available each hour. Each player is allowed to pick one up every few hours, depending on how many they’ve collected. There are very few uses for tokens other than claiming regions or building chanceries.

If you get a token, it’s your choice what to do with it. I recommend checking the Tribute Sheet to see if any regions around you need a token to be maintained for the next cycle. You can also donate your Token to the Faction Council by placing it in the Token Box located in the compound directly behind the Great Hall. Any tokens that land there will be used for maintaining and protecting Meshwesh regions or building chanceries along the border.

A few other points:

An Elder has the ability to invite people into their faction (currently bugged.)
They can also kick people out of faction.
Only paid accounts can pick up tokens.
You cannot learn or acquire supplies from schools or universities in regions that are not controlled by your faction.
You can donate to research at any university within your faction.
Tokens may be used to transfer skills from one player to another at a later point.
Tokens from a different faction currently have no use--a Meshwesh cannot spend a Kush token at all. (Yet.)
Click on a Tribute Post to see what the upcoming bonus will be.
Treaties among all three factions are being negotiated by elders and leaders. Please don’t try to claim regions beyond the ones we currently hold without talking to the Faction Council.
You can settle outside your faction’s regions, though you’ll need to wait for a chancery to have faction chat there. (Let me know if you’re in this situation!)
There’s another great guide to Factions here.
If a university changes hands, it retains knowledge. For example, if Meshwesh take a region with a UArch that has technology we lacked, we can learn from that university while it’s in our control.
If for some mad reason you want to switch out of Meshwesh, Merek is the Elder of Kush and Telanoc or Brucette will be the Elder of Hyksos. (Gabrielnight is the Elder of Meshwesh.)

In summary, Factions really aren’t that big of a deal. It’s lonely to go without faction chat, but once we get chanceries up on the borders that won’t matter. Although the bonuses are fun, they randomly rotate every week, so there’s no way to count on them being available. It’s my hope that we can maintain relative peace between the Factions. I wasn’t around for the wars of T8, but I’m assured they were no fun for anyone at all.

If you have any other questions, suggestions, or additions feel free to /chat Coyote in game or Discord.

September 15, 2019

Welcome to the first issue of the Meshwesh Times!

Tale 9 kicked off two weeks ago, and it’s been a productive time for Meshwesh. We’re keeping up with research, have several Tests open, and are busy working on advancing out of the stone-age. Current census lists 326 Meshwesh citizens.

This week we unlocked the technologies of mining and glasswork, which opens up a lot of opportunities. Folks have been dowsing for ore veins and finding iron, copper, and tin. Once we’re able to cook dowsing food, we’ll be looking for the other 11 types of ore. For now, grilled carrots give a +2 boost to Perception, which is enough to find the basics.

Five Tests are available to start. Some of them are fun and they all provide coveted Talent points. You can find Singing Cicada, Oyster Catcher, Bedouin, and Acrobat at the UBody. Hope you enjoy travel! If UArch’s Obelisk Test is more your style, consider signing up for the queue—or risk the social consequences of cutting in line. Bedouin was broken for the first week, but devs assure us that it’s now fixed.

Meshwesh just finished our first Elder elections, and Gabrielnight passed with 60% of the vote. (And I did quite respectably with 40%!) When asked what he’d like to say to Meshwesh, he responded: “The title may have changed, but the name is still the same. Family, friendship, cooperation and fun, all the important parts that make Meshwesh such a unique and wonderful place to be. Meshwesh continues to be both mine and others home here in Egypt, and I am positive it will stay that way. A great thank you to all of your support so far, I'm very much looking forward to what the future brings to us all here in Meshwesh.”

Please remember to visit the Great Hall and vote for another Elder Election so that Gabe can get some more hands on deck. We need 50% of Meshwesh to request the election, so hop over there when you can!

Other Things that Happened

People have peppers! Seeds remain scarce.
Cabbage and onion seeds have been successfully duped.
Mausolus finally got a camel.
Public mines opened near Tanis. (800 6647)

Please give me a shout (/chat Coyote in game or Discord) if you have guides, ideas for this newsletter, or events you’d like shared. For now, I leave you with an anthem for the advent of mining.