Editing Release 97 (section)

====Release 97 Patch Notes!====
[[Image:creature_lioness.jpg|800px]]

Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 97 (R97). This release is a short release due to the holiday season, but we still managed to provide a considerable amount of new items and changes to keep everyone entertained. Additional content, improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R98 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 97! Happy holidays!

'''World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes:'''
*Big cats have finally made their appearance in Novia: Lions and lionesses and tigers, oh my!
*With the exception of one very rare, very powerful lion, all big cats can be tamed!
:*Lions and lionesses have chances to spawn in these locations:
:[[Image:creature_lion.jpg|400px]]
::*Desert Encounter
::*Plains Encounter
::*Crag Foothills
::*Midras Ruins
::*Sequanna Colossus
::*Oracle Colossus
::*Elysian Ruins
::*Spectral Peaks

:*Tigers have chances to spawn in these locations:
:[[Image:creature_tiger.jpg|400px]]
::*Forest Road Encounter
::*Swamp Road Encounter
::*East Veiled Swamp
::*Far Hinterlands
::*East Longfall Wetland
::*Kas Ruins
::*Twins Foothills
::*The Fall
*Aerie: Improved the logic for “help” responses by both Devotional Caretakers.
*Ardoris: Improved the logic for archiving the “Meet with Khasi” and “Meet with Siranto” tasks for avatars if Min is defeated before these tasks are completed.
*Ardoris: Merchant Guildmaster Cai Lau now always has the “Sheng Lau” keyword available to ensure all localized versions have access to that keyword.
*Blood Bay: Removed the chances that the ebb and flow of lava will block lava fishing at both volcanoes.
*Blood River Outskirts: The “Ask Phineas for Poison” compass marker should never appear after the Phineas Drumplemouth questline is complete.
*Castle Atos: The shrine buff will now work correctly when 1-3 players are in scene.
*Castle Atos: Several stuck spots have been fixed.
*Castle Atos: Player’s should no longer appear to fall when exiting to Novia.
*Castle Atos: The scene has received a number of new decorations, to include a piano in the tavern, toilets, and benches.
*Castle Atos: Now features an interactive well to obtain water.
*Castle Atos: Now features a seasonal Yule tree in the plaza.
*Castle Atos: Mage of Mystery Quang has replaced Divum.
*Castle Atos: Blocked the underside of a staircase from view.
*Castle Atos: The chef daily quest at Castle Atos now provides more varied and increased rewards, to include the very occasional wyvern egg.
*Castle Atos: The Shrine will now grant the blessing again if the buff was cancelled and the shrine reentered.
*Caverns of Skrekk: Added/updated props of some buildings near the palace.
*Central Brittany: Reactivated the Krampus quest given by Kinga and Ronin.
*Central Brittany: Updated some parts of Arabella’s trivial responses.
*Control Points: “Mages of Mystery” in all control points have lowered their teleportation fees. Crossing to the opposite side of the same control point is now 15 gold, while teleporting to a different control point is 50 gold. (Those worthy of being teleported to the Manor of Mystery is still free.)
*Desert Encounter: The sculptor merchants that sometimes spawn in these scenes will now always be humanoid.
*Despair:  Several visual glitches have been fixed.
*Estgard: Improved “safety” logic that archives the “Convince Knight in Estgard” tasks when players complete the Path of Courage.
*Forest Encounters with Unicorns: Fixed an issue that cause the “great threat” message to appear prematurely.
*Graff Gem Mines: Adjusted the location for a skeleton that was spawning halfway into a wall.
*Halls of Artifice: The “spike cage” room mechanics have been updated to include a trigger warning and two very visible locks. One of these locks replaces the hidden pressure plate and it’s disastrous results. The avatar can now make a mildly-informed choice as to which lock to use. Also, two children in a cage in a different room have been replaced by two adults.
*Hills Encounter: Updated the path grid to help stop a certain wolf from leashing sometimes.
*Hilt Fortress: Fixed a stuck spot in the Obsidian Forge area.
*Jaanaford: Updated the logic which displays the compass markers related to the Broken Echoes Silver Mine’s foreman.
*Jotungrund: Assigned lower LOD meshes to rock mesh colliders to allow for easier access to particular resource nodes.
*Jotungrund: Avatars that were told by Wymond about his bone chips quest but didn’t accept it should now be able to do so.
*Jotungrund: Several “stuck” spots have been fixed and several floating boulders fixed.
*K’rul: Fixed a stuck spot in a gazebo.
*K’rul: Moved large automatons out of small rooms. Added props to an empty shed.
*Lord British’s Castle: Fixed an issue where a secret door wasn’t opening.
*[[Manor of Mystery]]: Moved floating mandrake roots to the ground, removed candles on the floor near a building entrance, and shifted the pink-purple cloth on the return teleporter disc to purple.
[[Image:scene_manor_of_mystery.jpg|400px]]
*Manor of Mystery: Removed redundant mages. Moved floating mandrake to the ground. Avatars with the “incorrect reputation” in the manor may find the mages will notice this and teleport them away.
*Manor of Mystery: Some mages of mystery referred to the old price of 500 gold for passage. They now know to only ask for 50 gold.
*Mysterious Swamp: The rare Spawn of Sobek, T15 crocodile is now tameable!
*Nightshade Pass: Moved a small floating rock to the ground.
*Oracle Temple: Improved the logic that dismisses the “Find the Cerulean Lens” compass marker.
*Overworld: The default option for new players will be to show town names in non-runic letters.
*Player-Run Towns: These towns have received a minimal complement of NPCs and crafting stations near their default entrances, and all Player-Run Towns allow for POT only deeds to be utilized:
:*Aldhaven
:*Estercove
:*Greyacre
:*Highiron
:*Holtrot
:*Kingswood
:*Lochfield
:*Northshire
:*Owl’s Wash
:*Port Mirren
:*Ravensend
:*Redmill
:*Righ Inis
:*Shadowmist
:*The Brave Coast
:*Valemark
:*Westhollow
*Player Villages: All “player village” scenes have been reclassified as Player-Run Towns which enables placement of POT only deeds within their borders.
*POT Forest 01b template: Removed anomalous world objects.
*Serpent’s Spine Foothills: Squirrels now have a chance to spawn instead of rabbits.
*Shaminian Hills: Adjusted the mechanics of the magical elevator to help ensure the crystal receptacle stays in the proper state. Added a “Reset Platform” button near the top of the elevator for situations where the receptacle might still go out of sync.
*Skrekk: Added/updated decorations within some buildings.
*Skrekk: Updated the compass marker for “Caverns of Skrekk” to read as such.
*Solace Bridge Outskirts: Avatars cannot use the “skip conversation with merchants” option for Ackerley’s until after they finish his quests.
*Soltown: Stanley now has small quests that point players to Arabella in Soltown and Baozhai the guard in Castle Atos.
*South Majestic Forest: Fixed typos in CBY-60053’s responses about the virtues.
*Spite: Fixed the icons for several compass marker discoveries, including the Moratorium.
*The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed a typo in Miloslava’s “stone” response.
*The Outlaws’ Run: Moved floating roots to the ground.
*The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed typos in “Tell Guard About Mlroslava” journal entries.
*The Rise: Fixed decoration issues in one room.
*Valhold: New avatars who don’t meet the requirements cannot access the interior of Valhold Palace.
*Vertas: Improved the response and journal from Kiakis regarding his suggestion of going through Vertas Pass to Jaanaford.
*Petrified Dragon Eggs on store now come in 3 packs.
*The Saddle and Bags with Stand decoration item is now called Saddlebags with Stand since there is no saddle present on the item.