If you didn’t get an invite, don’t fret. Not everyone has been sent one yet. I’m rolling this thing out gradually so that I don’t get overwhelmed by bug reports. ;) Thanks to those who have helped already! Also worthy of noting, Shadowlack now has an IRC channel. If you want to drop in and tell me your ideas and suggestions for the new site, or just hang out, feel free!

IRC Server: irc.darkmyst.org
Channel: #shadowlack

Connect via Mibbit

I’d also like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about the plans I have for the site. As some of you know, I’m building a new gaming framework. It’s been named “Toxo”. Eventually Shadowlack is going to be moved onto this custom framework. I actually plan to start moving forward with this in the next month or so. Here’s a little more information:

• I’m going to be inviting people to join the new site in waves. Probably ~20 people at a time, and at random intervals.
• People who have accounts on Shadowlack will need to re-register, as we’re going to start completely fresh.
• To ensure that only current members can register, you will need to use the same email address that you registered on this site with.
• You will be able to register a new username, if you so desire.
• Importing your old characters will be optional. You can choose to start anew fresh.
• Once sufficient time has passed to get old members settled, we will be re-opening to new joiners.

If you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to voice them. ;]

Additionally, a lot of data is still currently being ported to our new system. New users would only add to this confusion. So please be patient if you’re still interested in creating an account at Shadowlack. In the meantime, guests, please feel free to browse our Wiki to learn more about this user-created world.

Ramath-lehi is divided up into nine unique countries: Dhruv, Ajita, Swaraj, Mansukh, Aurius, Boreios Sudesha, Notios Sudesha, Bhim and Trilok. (Click here to view the geography of the planet.) What I’m looking for are some individuals to take each of these countries, and further develop them. I mean, yes, we all know that Bhim is a shady place – but to what extent? Do they have any special customs? What else are they known for? Dhruv is also known for its high population of Yki, but what else?

The wiki also now possesses several forms to aid in the creation of specific pages.  At the time of writing, these are:

• Character – Add your own characters or a NPC to the wiki. You can even keep image galleries for each of your characters.
• Fauna – Finally a way to start contributing new fauna to the site.
• Flora – Similarly, you can now submit new flora.
• Location – Add a new location to the game, whether it be a bar, club, or what have you. Depending on the country that you choose, it’ll be automatically added to that country’s page.
• Technology – Create some fancy new technology for the world of Ramath-lehi.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Also, don’t be afraid to edit things in the wiki. I know a lot of people are afraid of screwing up. Don’t worry! That’s why we have multiple editors, plus the ability to rollback to a previous version if things get really muddied. So simply have fun with it.

What is one to use the wiki for? World building. If you have a great idea for the site – add it to the wiki. If you want to create additional information about your characters or their families – add it to the wiki. If you want to create some sort of fantastical technology or vehicles… well, you guessed it. The wiki is for ideas of all shapes and sizes (and eventually it is going to replace the entire compendium). I’m hoping that by opening it up to everyone, we can create more informative articles about the world we’re roleplaying in.

One thing that I would like to point out is that a lot of the current articles in the wiki are rather short. If there’s one in particular that strikes your fancy, feel free to “adopt” it and add more detailed information. Click here to visit the wiki and start editing!

Additionally, Shadowlack now has an official deviantArt community. Feel free to join it and submit your art to it! I’m going to be on the look out for people who already have deviantArt accounts in order let them help me moderate the community. So if you’re interested, please let me know. The group also needs an icon created (100px × 50px). Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Recently I was interviewed by Building Browsergames in regards to Shadowlack. Read the article and let me know what you think! Building Browsergames, just as its name implies, is a site dedicated to providing resources and insight into the world of browser based games. It’s a great site to peruse if you’re thinking about starting up your own game.

In other site-related news, I’m slowly working on getting the flora and fauna back up on the site. It’s been a little slow this month because I’m going to be launching an enterprise level web site at the end of the month, and baby, it’s crunch time. Once that’s done though, we’ll be back in business when it comes to creating new flora and fauna for the planet. :)

If you know of a book or graphic novel that you think that other people at Shadowlack would enjoy, please create a thread about it in the Suggestion Box. All member book recommendations will be added and cataloged in Shadowlack’s Amazon Book Store. So come and share your love of reading with other people on the site!

To Trick o’ Treat someone, simply go to your victim’s profile and click on the “Trick or Treat this player!” link. Then select your treat (or trick!), and hit submit. The next time your victim logs in, they will be notified via Private Message (PM). You will be able to Trick o’ Treat until November 2nd. So have fun while it lasts!

Additionally, Shadowlack now has a Facebook fan page. If you have a Facebook account, feel free to become a fan and show your support for the site!

For many, this was a time of relearning how to do things. Many simple household objects, from toasters to personal vehicles, were deemed unsafe to use. The roaming Fronima anomalies were also making things even more difficult to control. Fear was entrenching itself into the very core of Ramath-lehi.

To the north in Boreios Sudesha, the tips of the Nyonge Mountain Range spontaneously burst into colourful flames. The odd thing about this fire was that even though it looked dangerous as it swirled with various beautiful colours of the rainbow – it was safe to touch and gave off no heat. The flames, as many remarked, appeared to work very much like tail flames did. Which of course meant that even though it was not burning anyone or anything now, it had the potential to burn.

Aurius, which had risen up from the depths of the ocean with minimal incidents, was faced with a similar puzzling plight. Overnight the sea around the city had frozen solid, thus stopping the myriad of electric powered boats that had been making trips back and forth with supplies and passengers.

Inside of the domes it had begun to snow. Pure white snow floated and blew around inside the multiple domes, giving the impression of newly shaken snowglobes. Niotee and adults alike were hesitant at first, but then delighted to have this strange gift of cold. Citizen gathered in the vast streets. It was fun.

Fun until the rumbling started of course. Then things took a turn down a deadly path. Ice spikes shot up from the ground in the south west corner of Aurius. They exploded upwards and smashed through the once protective dome that had once sheilded the massive trade district. In that instant, an estimated 35,000 citizens had their lives snatched away from them.

It was quickly realized that although this was an incident spurred by the flux in Fronima; it was also a purposeful attack. Aurius was being held captive by a madman who was feeding off of the Fronima surges. A call for immediate assistance went out.

It was Hainfor Jinorik, the esteemed councillor of Law and Justice, that rose up to address the dangerous Fronima situation with the implementation of a new law. “Fronima is a violence and death-enabling beast, and at this moment in time, there is no telling what it is fully capable of. There are also those who would abuse such power in these desperate and trying times. From this point on, until we have deemed things safe… All usage of Fronima and magicka as a power source is banned. Those found breaking this law will be taken into custody by the military and dealt with accordingly. Thank you for understanding.”

Why the name change?

Let me start with the biggest change: the site’s URL. You will notice that you have been redirected to shadowlack.com from ramath-lehi.com. Yes, this is entirely intentional. I had been planning on changing the site’s name for quite some time (I actually registered this domain three years ago). The change came about due to the fact that Ramath-lehi is rather difficult to pronounce (and remember if you’re a newcomer). The planet is still called Ramath-lehi. Shadowlack is simply the name of the much bigger picture – the galaxy if you will.

Layout, like whoa.

I am a horrible person at times, and this painting of Ramath-lehi’s three moons (the banner image) has been sitting on my harddrive for months. I hope you like it! I found it fitting to unveil it with the current world wide plot. Which brings me to…

World Wide Plot

Fronima is in a state of flux, which means that all things magical are acting rather haywire at the moment. If you would like to read up on the current plot, you can start from the beginning. There have also been a few questions in regards to people’s characters and I would like to stress that it is your decision in regards to how affected they are by the disastrous events. They can be completely unscathed, maimed, or even killed. It’s up to you. Ideally I’m hoping that people will use this opportunity to fuel roleplaying and get some characters interacting that have never interacted before. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me.

Compendium Content & Resources

There are some new shiny things in the Compendium, as well as a few fancy things featured on the Resources page. One of the cool resources is a random Ramathian-esque name generator. If you’re ever stuck trying to decide on a name for a character or NPC, give it a try.

Polls

You will also now find polls on the right hand side of some pages. Be sure to answer them with new ones pop up.

IC and OOC News

All In Character and Out of Character news will now be posted directly on the home page instead of in the forum. You can still comment on news items if you are logged in. I did this in order to reduce unnecessary clutter in the forum.

Other

It still says bitches on the home page… ha ha ha…