News & Server Updates
AnthemRO's eAthena Beta - We Need YOU!
Posted by: GM Haine on March 4, 2010
The eAthena beta is basically a new test server, cleared of everything. You will not have access to your characters, or any items. You will still have access to the warp girls, and there will be a job NPC; however, it does have some restrictions, as soon explained by Schrodinger.
Before I go on with explaining more, I would like to stress on large point.
You will not be losing your characters/items/zeny/anything on the Aegis server. This is purely a testing server. Both the Aegis and eA beta will be running at the same time.
So, the beta is basically a test run to fine tune the mechanics and capabilities of this platform. We will wipe the data on this server whenever we see fit. But rest assured, all your main server data will remain unharmed.
Also keep in mind that there will be no SQIs on the test server either. From time to time, we will add several NPCs to distribute items and cards that you need to test. They'll be announced separately. Also keep in mind cards are also as they appear on the official RO server, and are not customized like some of anthemRO's cards.
Download information can be found in the newly created Open Beta section of the forum.
Server rates: 75/75/75, x1000 for cards
All rules from the main server also apply to the test server.
How to make accounts:
In the login screen, when attempting to create an account, put in your desired username and put _M at the end if you'd like a male character, and _F at the end if you'd like a female character. Also put the password as your desired password.
Example 1: I want a male account named Bob. I go to the login screen, and put the username as: Bob_M
Example 2: I want a female account named Sally. I go to the login screen, and put the username as: Sally_F
After the account is created, you can log into the account normally without the _M or _F at the end.
WoE Information:
Current castles: prtg_cas01 and prtg_cas02
Wednesday WoE: 19:00 - 21:00 (One hour after the main server WoE)
Saturday WoE: 18:00 - 20:00 (Begins three hours before, and ends one hour before main server WoE)
Times based from here: http://www.anthemro.com/woe.php
And now, a small guide a la Schrodinger.
Guide to eAthena renewal for beginners:
One thing to note, if you want to play a specific trans, you must level that specific NON trans, we have a job changer in the usual spot in prontera, as well as the other "luxury" npc's, but the job changer is the official one, so monks trans to champs, etc. Dyes also don't work yet, they will in the future.
Next, where you start, is the basic novice training grounds, it’s pretty self explanatory, walk across the bridge to your right, enter the castle, and talk to the NPC. You can either choose to do the training, or go straight to playing. I'll give you guys some info on the training, I always prefer to do it, just cause it's pretty easy.
Going through the training, gets you a few perks, 350 novice red pots (which work for other classes once you job change, even if not that well.) 2 green pots, 3 butterfly wings, 15 fly wings, a potential weapon for whatever class the survey they have you take spits out, as well as all the novice gear. It also nets you a few job levels and some base levels, I believe 4 base, 3 job if you talk to all the NPC’s.
It's fairly easy to just spam npc’s and talk to them and get through it in about 10 minutes.
Once you finish talking to npc’s, and going through the training battle grounds there, you do a little test, answer whatever you feel like, they say “we think X job is good for you.” If it's what you want, choose it and you get a weapon for it, if you don't, you won't get a weapon for your job, but they're pretty easy to come by.
It'll warp you into whatever town your job you choose changes at, and you can check the job guide from there.
Some things you'll notice right off the bat that are different from our server:
1. Alt+ a, is no longer there, alt+q now combines stats and your armor window.
2. Battle mode is permanently on, in order to type, just hit enter (space bar doesn't seem to work for me, if it does for others, just say so)
3. Battle mode has FOUR lines for you to use
4. “My battle mode only works for f1-9, what gives!?” Battle mode is COMPLETELY customizable now. If you hit esc, you'll notice the esc menu is… much larger, go to BM/Shortcut settings, and have fun.
5. Additions to the skill box, when you use up skill points, you not only have to click whatever skills you want like normal, but you also must click the button on the bottom right that says “Apply” otherwise it doesn't count. (This includes let's say you have 5 skill points, you want blessing as an acolyte, which takes 5 in divine before you can use it, you have to put 5 into divine, hit apply, THEN you can put points into blessing.
6. Holy crap, my skill window is HUGE, yes, and you can't right click to see skill info either, there's a little box at the top that says “view skill info” just click it, you can toggle it on and off.
7. Ctrl+a isn't there anymore.
8. “I’m lost! Help!” WORLD MAP, I find this pretty awesome, hit ctrl+`, and a HUGE world map takes up your whole window, it highlights where you are, and you can actually hover over any section, and the minimap pops up.
Extra info:
Warp girls are in most of their normal spots, I’m not sure if they ALL are, so bring bwings.
176 comments
Wednesday WoE moved to tomorrow
Posted by: GM Haine on March 3, 2010
We're predicting that the server won't be back up for at least another 30 minutes or so. So, to try and help accommodate the Asian/European time zones better, we will be postponing Wednesday, March 3rds WoE to tomorrow, Thursday March 4th.
Same bat time.
Same bat channel.
EDIT: Server is back up, rejoice! A real maintenance will follow soon (within 2 weeks), though, to get rid of the problems once and for all.
350 comments
New Method | Part II
Posted by: Adrift on February 27, 2010
Please excuse my quick post.
Yes, we have a new method up that is just as easy as our previous methods.
The transactions are secured, and encrypted. Our servers do not save your card information. We accept most major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
The previous super rewards (+10% Credits and Items) we gave for the previous Paypal will still apply, and your account will be credited the additional bonus credit automatically.
The super items will be delivered within 48 hours to your account.
If you have any questions, or concerns please fill out a support ticket.
Please do not attempt fraud the system by entering false information. We will revoke your ability to donate if we see you trying to fraud.
EDIT: For donations by using a gift card:
1. Go to the store and check out the gift cards that they have at your local store (Walmart/Grocery Super Market/Pharmacy etc).
2. Look for gift cards which have the Visa or Mastercard logo on them. American Express is NOT accepted.
3. Call the issuer of the gift card. This is generally located on the back of the gift card, or on the casing of the gift card itself.
Each gift card has a different stipulation for online orders. Some will require for you to give them your name and address information in order to make online purchases. The best way to make sure, is to call the people who issued your gift card to find out.
4. Once you've called and verified and/or given your information to them, enter that same exact information that you gave to the customer service representative for the gift card, on the donation page.
95 comments
Small Reboot on 2010/02/21
Posted by: Fidelis on February 21, 2010
Good evening everyone!
I would just like to mention what has been done during this reboot:
- V-Day and Lunar New Year Event ended! Thanks goes to all people who participated, I hope you have some fun with the reward that you got. All event NPCs have been removed, and the towns and monsters are back to normal.
- Status Arrow Quiver NPC has FINALLY been implemented. You'll find him in Payon, south of the warp point, in the building right next to the upgrade NPC.
- Green Iguana Card effect has been fixed as well as its slot. For all those overeager people who already put the card into a headgear, send in a support ticket for a free unslot.
- If you find any other cards that do not work the way they are supposed to be, refer to this topic, please, http://www.anthemro.com/forums/index.php/topic,90820.0.html or depending on the severity, submit a ticket.
Well, I guess that's it. :) Behave, and good things will come soon.
Fidelis - out.
27 comments
Happy V-Day/Lunar New Year!
Posted by: Adrift on February 8, 2010
As most of you are already aware we recently hit a snag with Paypal, because of how [sarcasm]awesome[/sarcasm] they generally have been. A fellow staff member has kindly allowed us access to their Paypal to aid us until ours is restored. While most may be thinking it will just be point and click donating, that is not entirely true, and it is why I am calling it a new method. This is how it is going to work out.
The Kaho Changer will be up soon! Talis has been working on returning the old modules you enjoy dearly, and he also mentions that the unslotter is currently in production, and requires more time as the coding is a bit more complicated which needs to be 100% before it can go live once more.
Old Card Albums have been updated to reflect all of the new cards over the years. I have added an astonishing 200+ cards to the album. I'm sure a lot of you have saved over your OCA's from the previous event, now would probably be a good time to give some of them a whirl.
Status Arrow Quivers have been added, you can create them with the normal quiver NPC in Payon.
Just a reminder, if you see anything interesting in the ads below don't forget to click it! I tried to impress a french girl but all I got was stale bread.
Update. They have done it again and we are unable to receive anything at this time, we will have a new method and you will receive an update once it has been done.
154 comments
Maintenance Tuesday 26 January -- COMPLETED
Posted by: Talis on January 26, 2010
Hey guys.
Since many people went "zomg server is down", i figured I'd make a announcement.
We are currently doing a maintenance.
Things that are being done, in order:
All Spend Requests
All Kaho and PCB Customization
Implementation of the Special Donation Rewards
Itemlogs are moved
Windows Update on all machines
Rebooting all machines
Defragmentation and Cache tweaks
I'm currently on Windows Update part, so I estimate another 10 to 20 minutes downtime.
Afterwards, lag should get much better once again and people who have been waiting for customizations and spend requests will find that the changes have been made.
If you still experience lag after this maintenance, it may very well be your computer or your internet configuration! Check this thread => Link for tips how to boost your computers performance and tweak your internet settings!
We also have received our very first Mail-In donation. It was sent via airmail from canada and arrived here in perfect condition - including the well needed monetary content.
Thank you for keeping the server alive!
I will release more information on the special donation rewards after a few more mail-in donations have arrived here - of course if the donors wish, they may reveal it themselves!
Also, just a reminder: The ads are not just for show! It really helps us if you look for specific ads that are relevant to your interest! They are already doing a good job on helping to fund a part of the outstanding server bills and even if you can't donate any money, you can help us by paying attention to the ads!
Best regards,
Talis
Edit: Server up! Enjoy!
85 comments
End of Christmas Event 2009
Posted by: Fidelis on January 25, 2010
EDIT: Reboot finished! Servers back online!
Hello AnthemRO players!
I would like to announce the end of last year's Christmas event today. Unfortunately, I was not able to disable it on Jan. 21st, since I was pretty much not available on this date. :-X
Either way, I will shortly make a reboot (as soon as I make this announcement ingame, in ~10 - 20 minutes), and then I'll disable all features of the event. I will not do any spend credit requests, or other stuff that would require a reboot! This will be done some other time, during today's reboot, I will solely remove the event, as well as install Windows updates.
Before anyone asks: No, I will not implement a reward NPC (yet in case I will implement one at a later time, I haven't decided on the rewards yet), if you would like to know the reason, feel free to read through the last few pages of the "The After-Christmas Event 2009" topic, and especially because I think that the map itself was a pretty nice reward where you could collect lots of experience, kill several MVPs for nice drops, and farm the Super Candy which is more useful than Piece of Cake, and can also be used outside of the event maps. Events are not always about getting powerful items or lots of zeny in the end~!
The event gear has been rendered useless, all buffs were removed, as well as the sprites for the headgears have been removed upon equipping. If you walk outside of the event maps with the event gear (which should not be the case if you have finished the quest), you can find a Gnome that will remove all event items from you in the following location: Lutie (xmas.gat): 145, 322 (this is right above the entrance to the Toy Factory)
Oh, in case anyone wonders: After talking to the Gnome, it seems as if you still have the items in your inventory. Walk into a random portal, and you'll see that they actually vanished. Don't mind if they're still in your inventory even after talking to the Gnome - if you cannot equip them anymore, they will be gone as soon as you log out or change maps.
So long!
- Fidelis
*crawls back into the depths of the studying hell*
46 comments
New Rule, Ad on Patcher Note
Posted by: Talis on January 18, 2010
- New Rule
We have received some complains about the presence of staff members in PVP rooms, and thus have put a new rule in effect:
Staff members, regardless of position, are forbidden to hang out in PVP. The only exception to this rule is if there is a case which specifically demands the presence of either a High GM or myself in PvP.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Changing any technical, writing and testing PvP related scripts and other programming-related things
- Checking whether the PVP Zone is online
- Active reports about harassment
Under no other circumstances may any staff member interact with people in PvP rooms. This means there will no longer be any events in PVP rooms either.
( DA is of course only partially affected by this. I obviously need to frequent DA myself to test things, and the contestants need to be in there as well ).
If you see any violators, please do take screenshots and file a report.
The other thing is that I have added Google Ads to the patcher.
Unlike on the forums, I have placed the google ads on the top, above the announcements. The reason for this is simply that if I were to put it at the bottom, noone would ever see it. I highly doubt that the majority of people scroll down on the patcher at all.
I did however try and place it in a fashion where it is not annoying, nor a eyesore.
Please do take a minute to take a look at it! Maybe you'll see something you like - find something cool AND support aRO at the same time.
- Talis
82 comments
Post Box Available! Google Ads!
Posted by: Talis on January 15, 2010
GOOGLE ADS!
I have just now implemented google ads in the forums!
They can be found at the bottom of each thread index when reading as well as near the bottom on the forum's index page.
I would like to add that I personally dislike ads.
I decided to implement them just now since we need the additional money they will provide for the server, not just because we felt like it. For over 2 years, we have gone entirely without ads, and even though the situation is dire, I have opted to put the ads in places where they are very easy to ignore and not intrusive at all.
Thus, I ask of you - PLEASE disable your ad-blockers for anthemro.com!
With Ad Block Plus for example, just click the red sign at the top and select "Disable on anthemro.com".
They are really not intrusive at all and your support is going to make a difference!
Also, if you see something that interests you - PLEASE DO go to the website of the advertiser!
Looking at the ads occasionally and finding something that interests you helps us greatly!
Please! Keep in mind that we COULD HAVE put the Ads right at the top AND put several ads in between posts AND have a skyscraper-style banner-ad on the right side - but we didn't - because even though we need money, bringing a high quality experience to the players is still the most important thing to us!
The Post Box is now available.
Rules:
1) Please send only money in the following currencies: $ USD, € EURO. If you live in a country that does not use these currencies, please go to a local bank and have your currency exchanged.
2) Make sure that the money is well concealed. Use letters without a see-through window part and wrap the money in paper. Make sure there is NO WAY to see the money without opening the letter.
3) If you have a sticker at hand, it might be worthwhile to stick it to the opening fold of the letter, to make sure that it has not been opened previously.
4) You MUST include a piece of paper that contains: Your Forum Account Name (e.g. Talis in my case ), Your Account ID ( 1 in my case, can be found here: http://www.anthemro.com/free/sponsors.php ), Your IN-GAME Character Name, and finally your IN-GAME ACCOUNT NAME! This is important so we can give you the extra donation reward!
Make sure you write all this down and make sure that you write clearly. If you feel that we may not be able to read it then it might be a good idea to print it out instead.
5) You should look into getting it insured and getting a tracking number. Many post services offer website-based tracking that allows you to follow the progress of your mail. If you'd like to get your ads faster, you can chose to send the donation through express or priority mail. Faster services sometimes come with free tracking, so it is best to double-check with your post office.
6) At the moment we can only accept pure cash. This is because I am currently not 100% certain that I can redeem foreign money orders and checks easily with my bank. I will most likely talk to my bank soon to find out what can be done about this and if there is a way for me to use money orders and checks. But until that uncertainty is cleared up, we can't accept them.
The mailing address is as follows:
Anthem
Postfach 11 24
61133 Schöneck
GERMANY
Lost Mail Notes
1) Before notifying us about lost mail / not receiving your ad credit, please wait at least 2 weeks! International shipping can take quite a while!
2) In most cases, we won't be able to do much about lost mail. If we don't get anything on our end, then we obviously don't know anything about it. And there is little that we can do, unfortunately. This means that you should take it up with your post service. If you have a tracking number, you will be able to trace and know where exactly it is. With insurance, you will be able to get a reimbursement.
Reward Notes
Until MARCH 15th there will be 2 rewards for donating via snail mail!
1) You will receive a secret gift! The secret gift will have 3 levels: Minor, Major and Elite, the version you get depends on how much you donate!
$20 will net you the Minor reward, $50 the Major reward and $100 the Elite reward! These rewards are just add-ons to the normal ad-credit, so you will receive both - The ad credit and your reward!
The rewards will NEVER BE AVAILABLE IN THE ITEMSTORE, will NOT BE SOULBOUND, can be OBTAINED MULTIPLE TIMES, and WILL BE VERY USEFUL!
Do note that multiple small donations do not stack up! The reward only accounts for single donations. So if you send in 2 donations for $15 you will not get a reward, if you send in 2 donations for $50, you will get two Major Rewards and no Elite reward. You can get multiple items in a single donation, so if you were to donate $270, you would get 2 Elite, 1 Major and 1 Minor reward.
To get all the rewards in a single donation, you would have to donate $170. ( 100 for the Elite, 50 Major, 20 Minor )
2) All ad credits received from donations will be raised by 20%, so if you send in $100 you will obtain the Elite reward and 120 Ad Credit!
Other Notes
OMG SOMEONE TOLD ME THE SERVER WOULD DIE!!!1111onetwo OH NOZ ARO IS GONNA DIE! FAIL! LETS GO TO THIS GAME! ZOMG! THE WORLD WILL END! Now now, calm your horses. We are not finished or dead yet.
We intend to stay alive and keep aRO up for a long, long time to come. Yes, we need help but that doesn't mean that we are going to die.
We have needed help before and we have gotten the support that we needed, and I have no doubt that it will be the same with this problem.
So instead of panicking and thinking about what to do when aRO is dead, it would be more appropriate to help us out. :)
Finally, yes, mail will be handled by us. As far as sending other things, the Post Box is fairly small, so letter sized things would be best, else it might not fit. Also, we can obviously not reward other things, except with a Thank You! :)
- Talis
311 comments
Donation trouble - Mail In Donations required!
Posted by: Talis on January 13, 2010
Greetings fellow AnthemRO players!
Unfortunately, I have some bad news ( and good news as well, but more about that later! )
Paypal has been blocking access to our money for about 2 months now. For 2 month we have payed the server from our own pockets and alas, I have accumulated quite a sizable amount of debt thanks to this. ( Around $8000, with the upcoming payments for server around $10000 )
During all this time, I was hoping that the account would finally unlock so I could pay of the bills, but so far this has not happened. I have probably called Paypal support a hundred times in the past 2 months, but I can't get through to anyone or find out what the hold-up is. The bottom line is though, that we can't continue operating for much longer. I've reached the threshold where my bills are on the last leg of taking legal action against me ( which would probably result in things like my computer being sold off to cover the bills )
To prevent this and have a chance of getting through all this, I have decided to go set up a PO Box. It's currently in the process of being set-up and will most likely be ready to receive mail in the next few days.
This means I require the help of all of you to send donations in via mail. The Paypal link has been removed as we currently do not know how long it will take until we get access to Paypal again.
To make a long story short: Please donate via mail once the PO Box becomes available. We need the money to survive and you can help make a difference.
For the good news: Since we do need the money, we have 2 added incentives:
We will be giving out special rewards for your donation. I won't reveal the reward just yet - but let me tell you that it will be very good!
The rewards will be tiered by the amount you donate:
$20 will net you the minor reward
$50 will net you the normal reward
$100 will net you the elite reward.
Do note that this won't COST you anything, its just a added bonus. Ontop of that, you can receive multiple ones AND they will NOT be soulbound. They will ONLY be available for 2 month after the PO Box becomes available and ONLY as a bonus to mail-in donations.
So say that you donate $140 - you would receive 1 elite reward and 2 minor rewards AND your 168 ad credit. So you don't loose, you only gain! Again, I promise it will be very useful!
The second thing is that all mail-in donations will receive a 20% bonus on how much ad-credit you get. So 100 will turn into 120. Note that the reward items from the first donation incentive are calculated based on the base value, not the increased 20% value.
That is all, I hope you can spare some money to donate and I hope you can go through the effort of mailing it to us!
Also, I know we haven't made much progress on things like DA and the website, and we are working on that. We have been rather busy and occupied just with getting by without money for such a extended period of time. We have not forgotten about the things like the castle change, DA, and to the website.
My apologies for the inconvenience this has caused for all of you, and for keeping you guys in the dark about all of this. I had high hopes that I could fix things before they became a big issue, but unfortunately, because they cannot be easily fixed, I must now ask for your assistance.
-Talis
656 comments
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