2010-04-30
The forces of the elements have lain dormant in the world for a long time. But now, fire, ice, dark and light magic is awakening. Those wielding a fire sword will find excellent results when fighting for example an ice elemental, while fire elementals resist fire weapons very well. Likewise, magical defensive items can aid, or can hinder, when fighting magical creatures. A black shield gives extra protection against the dark power of a black death, but is vulnerable to the light magic emanating from an angel.
Military leaders started to question their attack strategies recently, wondering why their troops are never changing target to kill off the weakest enemy first. So, the top military leaders (commanders, generals, and so on) are trialling a system of targetting the weakest enemy first, and even changing attack if a new, weaker enemy is within reach. Sources suggest that this tactic was actually inspired by the dragons and elite creatures, who themselves thought of the idea first. In any case, it is true that dragons and the strongest creatures have also adopted this 'attack the weakest' policy.
The Ados Mayor has been grateful for help with his 'rat problem' - but the situation is getting worse, with more rats invading the city whenever one spots an opportunity. To help Ados just listen out for Mayor Chalmers: he'll surely call when he needs help. He's also sent warriors to investigate the so-called 'Rat City' deep in Or'ril dungeons, who have noticed increased activity there recently, a larger population of the talking rat men and women, and some open doors to reach new dungeons.
As you explore it's good to know what you're looking at and how you can interact with the world. Now your mouse cursor gives you a hint: for enemies it displays a sword representing combat, for other people, or signs to look at, a magnifying glass is shown, for the ground you can walk on, some footprints, and so on. For those already with /clickmode set for single click walking, these actions shown by the mouse are done with a single click, too. This includes attack, look, inspect or loot a corpse, use a portal (even from a distance). There is no change for those with double click /clickmode. Using items from the bag will remain double click for everyone (since you may single click on items to drag and drop them).
There's much more news than can fit here, so to read about the many other changes please check the Stendhal changelog.