Latest News:
May 31, 2004
Futographer's Yeesha Page is Complete
Check out the results of a lot of work: Yeesha. Here's the thread: Help with Yeesha Detail Page for Map, Have fun sharing your expertise. His collaborators: Gadren, inki, Kehrin, Alec, Rutland1, BrettM, Uru-Boi, Marein, Eleri, Zardoz, IMForeman, Deius and Animan. Great job, all!

Will There be a Mac Version of Uru?
Mark DeForest, Cyan's Chief Technical Officer, sent a message to The Lyst: "The Mac version of Uru has a different problem. In Uru, we used a commercial library that doesn't have a Mac version (initially we were led to believe there was) and the company that created it doesn't seem to be interested in making a Mac version. Or if they do, not in a timely manner (even after pressure from Apple). Unfortunately, this library is heavily intertwine with our engine code." As for the so called "Something Else" (tm), being Cyan's next project, he says: "The good news with Something Else ™ is that we are using an open source library that is not only free but has a Mac port!"

Today's Update from Sheldon
New coordinates appeared: 4413 45 -78. Being the only person in the forum, (and with my brand-new 2GHz Athlon XP-M with 1GB RAM) I went to the Museum. Inside, the coordinates led me to the podium with the sun and moon relto page, so I found Moon.jpg. All pages and images have been updated. PotS Puzzle, Sheldon's original images not corrected, My adjusted version as a jpg, Sheldon's original images as a psd, My labelled page as a psd and My labelled page as a jpg.

PotS Drop Cards Available
Sorukan posted: "Eric L from the great tree forum made drop cards for PotS at Uru: The Path of the Shell, promotional materials." Spread 'em around.

Uru Demo CD Update
Here's an update from Eleri on her site: "This involves programming and cat herding, you wanted on time? Silly people! I'm waiting on some tidbits from Cyan, and since today is a holiday over here in the states, they aren't at work today. So I can't be a pest and beg them for things until Tuesday, at least. If anyone knows where a high res version of the URU trailer can be found, please contact me!!" Email Eleri.

May 30, 2004
Futographer Needs Your Help
As part of his ongoing attempt to create interactive reference pages for the characters and places in Uru, futographer is now working on a detail page for Yeesha and needs input. Here's the thread: Help with Yeesha Detail Page for Map, Have fun sharing your expertise. Here's ajust a glimpse of the pages he's created: The Zandoni and Professor Jeff Zandi. Follow the thread here.

May 29, 2004
Updated/Improved PotS Pages
In addition to my PotS Puzzle page, I've added a few more, mostly Photoshop images:
Sheldon's Original Images (as a jpg, no adjustments)
My Adjusted Puzzle (as a jpg)
Sheldon's Original Images (as a layered psd)
My Labelled Page (as a psd)
My Labelled Page (as a jpg)

Erithan's "Insider's Guide to Toronto" Mysterium 2004 FAQ
If you're attending Mysterium 2004, be sure to check out Erithan's Insider's Guide.

Great Zero Calibration Markers Help Page
Marckhas created a great one-stop hint page to find the GZCMs in Uru.

Patrick Needs Opinions on Myst IV's Help Map
Pat wrote: " Hi guys, Serious question this time,
As you know, there is a help-system in the game (if you didn't, well... you do now! ). Now people can choose to use it or not (you consult the help-map in the menus, NOT through the game interface), whatever they like.
But we also wanted to allow people NOT to have it at all if they don't want to get tempted at some point during their adventure. Now HERE's the question:
- Should the option of ON or OFF be given:
1) During the installation of the game (ie, BEFORE the main menu)? or
2) In the main menu AFTER pressing NEW GAME (that way, if YOU don't want hints you don't have them because we recognise the saved games associated with this new game, and if your WIFE, COUSIN, SISTER/BROTHER, etc, etc want to start ANOTHER new game WITH help, they can do that without having to REINSTALL the whole game).
What do you think? Your help would be greatly appreciated on this, thank you!" Post here.

Interview with Genevieve Lord
MystWorlds has a great interview with Genevieve Lord, Myst IV Revelation Producer.

New Contest at MystWorlds
"The grassroots movement to get the word out about the upcoming expansion pack "The Path of The Shell" is really awesome. Cyan Worlds and Ubisoft wish to show our appreciation and gratitude by giving away five free copies of The Path of The Shell to the five best ideas. And the Grand Prize (chosen by popular poll)? A copy of Complete Chronicles signed by Rand Miller and the Cyan Worlds development team!" Here's a link to the forum to post your ideas.

New Coordinates
60097 1006 -71. Linkin' Imp found them and BrettM located the image: Egg.jpg as well as locating the image in the puzzle: "I think it goes above Pub, to the left of DRC." Great job, guys!

May 28, 2004
RAWA Speaks Out
RAWA wrote to The Lyst: "Clarification: the expansion packs generate quite a bit less revenue for us than the monthly subscription to Live would have generated, considering that To D'ni and The Path of the Shell have about six months worth of content (as far new real estate to explore that would have been opened gradually over that time period), but instead of paying $60 - $90 over that six months (6 months X $10-$15), you're getting it all for about $20.

"I am fully aware that there's less value for you since you can't visit with people, explore together, participate in the "live" events and stories, etc. I'm not saying that the expansion packs are worth the same as Live would have been. I'm just saying that we have to sell a lot more expansion packs than we would have needed subscriptions in order to break even with them, roughly 4x as many by my semi-educated estimates.

"What made To D'ni and The Path of the Shell feasible is that most of the content in them was well underway (in phases 3, 4 or 5) when Live was cancelled. The story had to be completely changed, the phase 3 and 4 areas had to be completed, and puzzles had to be reworked for the new story and for single player (some a little, some a lot), but it was doable. Path of the Shell uses up what was nearing completion. So any expansion packs after Path of the Shell would take longer, costing more to produce, and therefore are a huge gamble until we have a better idea how well they will sell.

"The powers that be at Ubisoft were not interested in giving us an advance for another expansion pack at this time. To see it from their persepctive: it has not yet been proven that the xpacks will even pay for themselves. Fair enough. If TPOTS sells well enough, I assume that they will change their opinion about that, and we will be happy to oblige them.

"The powers that be at Ubisoft _were_ interested in giving us an advance for a different project. As we wrap up TPOTS, we are heading full force into that project, but don't expect to hear much about it for a while. ;)

"We'll so Something Else (tm) as we wait and see how TPOTS does. But no one, including Rand, knows at this point whether it is the last expansion pack ever. We hope it is not. Time (and TPOTS sales) will tell."

KI Amp - Winamp skin
Nahvah wrote to the D'ni Guild: "I finally got permission from Cyan to work on this, so I thought I'd drop a link on the forums, even if it's still in development... fellow explorers, the KI Amp for Winamp5."

Updated PotS Puzzle Pages
In addition to my html pages, 1600x1200. 900x720 and PotS Puzzle, I've created to Photoshop based pages: pots.jpg and pots.psd. The second file has all of the layers named, so that anyone who has Photoshop can play with the puzzle.

May 27, 2004
CyanBill Speaks Out
In answer to the furor over the word "final" attributed to PotS, Bill Slease wrote to The Lyst: "Not sure who told who that...we've been saying "it depends" and arguing against words like "final" and "complete" (with some but obviously not total success). The short is that at this point in time, no one has money that they think would be wise to invest in another expansion pack given other investment options. The way to change that is to make the investment option more attractive. The way to do that is to sell lots of TPOTS & CC. That's really all there is to it. No conspiracy. No hidden agendas. Just boring old common sense. Bill"

Today's PotS Image Update
Andromeda both noticed the coordinates first and located them in the game! Great job! Here they are: 58093 45 -76, This lead to Kedri.jpg. azador and Andromeda helped place the image in the overall image. Both pages, 1600x1200 and PotS Puzzle, are updated.

Upcoming Uru Fan CD
Eleri Hamilton has announced to The Lyst: "On Monday, May 31 this website will contain everything you need to make your own Uru Demo CD. This CD will include:
- The Uru trailer
- The Uru game demo
- The Uru soundtrack sampler
- Screenshots from Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, To D'ni and The Path of the Shell
- Links to both official and fan-run websites sites
- All in an easy to access, graphically appealing form, with lots of supprises in store!
We'll also have several labels and jewel case inserts to print out for enhancing the appearance of your Fan Demo CD. These CDs are for you to burn and distribute freely to anyone you want to introduce to the Uru experience. Check Back Monday!" Here's the link: Uru Fan Advertising.

Transcription of Achenar's Journal from E3 Rev Trailer
As anyone who's seen the trailer knows, quite a bit of text is visible from what appears to be Achenar's journal. Well, earthinvasion has put together his best version of what's visible and he's posted it at Ubi's Myst IV Spoiler forum: Journal Transcibe (HUGE SPOILER!). Thanks, earthinvasion.

An Honor for Pascal Blanche
Pascal, Art Director for Myst IV Revelation, has been named to the Advisory Board of Autodesk's "Elemental" book of Discrete software digital art. This is in recognition of his many accomplishments in the field and with Discrete. Here's a link to Ballistic's page on Pascal, as well as Pascal's own site.

May 26, 2004
A Word from Rand
Ryan Warzecha sent this note from Rand to The Lyst: "Hi all, Sorry for the sudden revelation (via the press release) that TPOTS is the final expansion pack for Uru. Just a quick note to clarify our position on the "end of Uru" issue.
We would be glad to do many more expansion packs for Uru. We're also happy to continue developing other exciting products. To a large extent our direction is governed by money. We can shift our direction to accommodate the needs of whoever pays the bill - in this case Ubisoft. Ubisoft is interested in other exciting products, and we are happy to oblige. And you won't be disappointed.
With that said, I think it's unfortunate that the press release refers to TPOTS as the final expansion pack. I prefer not to close doors, because, as we all know, the future has the tendency to surprise us.
Shorah, Rand."

Coordinates from Sheldon
Here are today's numbers, noticed at about the same time, by tapeduper and Altairien: 3811 45 -78. And Altairien found it: Healers.jpg. Both pages, 1600x1200 and PotS Puzzle, are updated. And, a new smaller version: 900x720.

Interview with Tim Larkin
Peter told The Lyst about an interview of Tim Larkin by Steve Ogden, A Sound Mind. Warning: Article contains spoiler images (including one or two not seen before) and sounds. Note: I've put the images on their own page: PotS Images.

Official Press Release for Path of the Shell Released
Randomos just posted the release, but included an interesting comment: "(NOTE: Although this will apparently be the last of the "Uru" titles, the story of Uru may well be continued, in a new and/or evolved form... We're just as breathless as you are to see where Cyan will take us next...) READ MORE By: randomos" Update:
This just received to The Lyst from randomos (Ron Meiners, Myst Worlds Community Manager, Ubisoft.com): "Quick update to avert confusion- we've been told (by Cyan Worlds) that although the Story of Uru may continue, in a new form, this will be the last of the Uru installments. Apologies of there was a misunderstanding there- and again, I'm not really sure what is coming next... not my department, as it were."

Article at GameInfoWire.com on PotS
A good article just appeared on the web: "Uru: The Path of the Shell Final Expansion Pack For Myst's Uru Adventure Announced." And the official Ubi press release has gone out, as Kha'tie says "Finally!!" The press release has been titled Final Expansion Pack For Uru: Ages Beyond Myst by ign. Final?

Jack Wall Updates His Journal
Jack has posted a new entry, titled Greetings Myst Fans!!! Check it out.

The Path of the Shell Specials at the UK Online Store
Randomos announced specials for UK fans: "Myst Universe: Myst Trilogy + Uru: Ages Beyond Myst + Uru: To D'ni + Uru: the Path of the Shell for only £49.99! 
Uru Special Offer: Ages Beyond Myst + Uru: To D'ni + Uru: the Path of the Shell for only £29.99! 
Uru Add-ons: Uru: To D'ni + Uru : the Path of the Shell for £19.99
Uru : The Complete Chronicles for £29.99
Receive the new Uru add-on the day of the official release!
Free Delivery for any order - Don't wait!
Pre order before May the 31st, 2004 and get £3 immediate discount!
Enter discount coupon : DC-3-042004 when you get to the confirmation of your order 
Click here to find all these exclusive offers :
http://shop.ubi.com/SetLang.asp?LG=ANGLAIS&gotourl=Cat_Browse.asp?id=28"

Myst IV Revelation Will Be On 3 DVDs
Jurg reported at MYSTerium.ch that Kha'tie announced the following: ""Revelation will be sent out on 3 DVDs. Two for the game, and on the third there will be localization and bonus material." Here's Kha'tie's original post.
Thanks, Jurg! Thanks, Kha'tie!
Follow-up: Later in the same thread, Patrick said: "Yeah, 3 DVDs could very well happen (nothing is final for now...) . There are different reasons for this:
1) Double-sided = no graphic on DVD (some people seem to be against this), so single-sided DVDs could allow for a nice logo
2) 3 DVDs = ALL localized versions. Therefore, only 1 MASTER for us to make (instead of U.S. & EMEA), so a bit more time for us to finish the game before sending it to the burned and boxed. All of the localisation (different languages) account for LOTS of space and THAT's the main reason for the multiple DVDs. So 1 box would include english, french, italian, german, spanish, and I forget the other ones...
3) Maybe a bit more space for a making of or something like that? Again, nothing is final, these are just things currently being discussed at Ubi.. " Thanks, Pat.

Vector Art of the Shell Available
Blue Max has created a vector art of the Shell sigil (b&w line art) that can convert to other uses in most graphic programs. He's posted a zip file containing an .ai (for Illustrator) and an eps (general Encapsulation PostScript file) version of the shell on his site for download. Thanks, Blue Max!


May 25, 2004
More to Come at New PotS Site
Feedback on Cyan's new Path of the Shell site has been favorable; most folks just want more content. In reply to this, GreyDragon writes: "The more stuff you are looking for will come. Cyan has been working on this for just a small time. However, if everyone could promote this site by adding links from their website to this one that would be great. More links to "thepathoftheshell.com" means a higher chance google will find it.
Cyan needs your help, you have always supported us in the last 10+ years and we are grateful. Any help you can do to support Uru: The Path of the Shell and Complete Chronicles will help us continue for many years to come. GD
P.s.
Here is a hint of what is going to come on www.thepathoftheshell.com
The story part will have a page for each path of the story. We are trying to make this site for anyone that might hear about Uru and through the site be intrigued with what the game has to offer.
The media section will continue to grow; I’m personally excited for what is coming. All I can say are we hoping to have them up “soon”."

Tweek's Ages of Myst Site
If you haven't already, check out Tweek's Ages of Myst, the successor to D'ni Jazz Club. From Tweek: "Welcome, welcome. You may have noticed that DJC is no longer with us. The site has under gone a massive over haul and what you see now is the result. Ages of Myst.Net. DJC's forums have merged with the new site so those of you who were already members will find your account as you left it last.
Please be patient as we are trying to get everything up and sorted as quick as possible. However some DNS issues have set us back a bit. We hope the site proves helpful to newcomers and older explorers alike."

Today's PotS Coordinates
Andromeda found them: 60218 996 -73. Gadren located the image: Ahyoheek.jpg and placed it correctly next to Canyon. Both of my pages have been updated: 1600x1200 and PotS Puzzle.

Minimum System Requirements for Revelation
As reported by Jurg at Mysterium.ch, the German Ubi site has posted the following: Hybrid DVD MAC/PC, PC: Pentium III 700 MHz, 128 MB RAM, DVD ROM, 16 MB Grafikkarte (graphics card). MAC: noch nicht bekannt (no info yet). Thanks, Jurg.


May 24, 2004
New PotS Stuff from Sheldon
Today is the "Day of The Path of the Shell." New site, last message from LRBolt and new coordinates (and a "free" image) from Sheldon. The coordinates: 0251 997 -71. Melawa figured correctly that Sheldon must have meant 60251, which put it at the Imager, which Azador found: Imager.jpg. The free image: In the source code, the word "Seems." On a lark, I tried Seems.jpg. Gadren correctly placed it to the right of Ferry, on my 1600x1200 page. For comparsion, here's Linkin' Imp's puzzle. Follow Imp Along the Path of the Shell.

Official Path of the Shell Website
IMForeman posted about it on the UO Forum: Uru: Complete Chronicles.

The Njaalkemem
A last message from LRBolt: "Vague shapes, blurred outlines, consciousness comes slowly.
It's difficult to bring reality back in line, once you've stepped out of time.
My eyes start to focus, and I become aware of my body, once again. The first thing I do is assess my environment, as would an experienced explorer.
I find that I'm sitting on the ground, leaning back against a large, smooth rock. I see the sun low on the horizon, and note that it's just before sunset. The stone is releasing the warmth it's been absorbing from the sun all day, into my back. The heat soothes my tired aching muscles. One of my shoes is broken, my pants are torn, and as I lift my hands, I see that the pain comes from many cuts and scrapes. Oh, Maker. This was a test that I was barely able to complete. The never-ending decisions, the constant hidden clues. The uncountable blind alleys, leading to retraced steps, each taking me ever closer to complete exhaustion.
Yet, I have never before felt so alive!
I gingerly draw a deep breath around bruised ribs, and look across a small draw in the hillside. My gaze moves over the sky to one of the most glorious sunsets I've ever seen. As the sun touches the horizon, the clouds are set afire with shades of oranges and reds, all set on a background of deep blue. Then I notice that I'm not the only one enjoying nature in all her glory.
The jackal sits gazing at the sunset, unmoving, deep in concentration. The scene has inspired her thoughts. A poem, perhaps, or maybe a tale of some far-away place, is taking shape in her mind. Abruptly she drops her gaze and stands, as if filing the thoughts away to be replaced by other responsibilities.
She turns and circles around behind the base of a large tree, across the draw from me. She sits, and after staring at me for a moment, looks up into the tree to watch a lizard slowly climb down to eye level, which also happens to be staring at me.
They both regard me for a moment, and feeling as if something is required of me, I whisper, "Thank you." After a beat, I hear the jackal's voice in my head, "For what do you thank us?"
"For the opportunity of the riddle," I reply, wondering why she asks.
"But the secret had been revealed," she said. "There was no prize at the end of the riddle. All your labor was in vain."
Well, yes, I thought, but no, that's wrong. That's not the way it feels. I looked down, searching my heart for the answer, all the while feeling their stare, waiting.for something.
When I look up, I tell them, "What you say is not true. The riddle is the prize."
The lizard and the jackal look to each other and appear to come to an agreement. They turn their eyes back to me, and I hear the lizard in my mind, "Congratulations, 'explorer', you have just taken your first step to solving the riddle." Without another word, the lizard hops on the jackal's head, and they turn and walk away.
As the dusk deepens into night, I watch them go and can't help but smile. They know I'll follow them, and I'll happily go. For they have been to D'ni.
And I have the Njaalkemem.
Don't let the Journey end. Tell."

Preview of Revelation at AdventureGamers
Evan Dickens, managing editor of Adventure Gamers, writes a great preview: Myst IV - E3 2004 preview. Here's a glimpse of what he has to say: "Each world is just full of amazing visual elements; there are bugs and birds flying around, the trees sway gently in the wind, and the clouds float above you. All of this is made possible by the cutting-edge A.L.I.V.E. system (Advanced Living Interactive Video Environment), which allows for up to 15 (!) video layers within a single scene. Aptly named, for if one word had to be used to describe any given scene that we saw in the game, it would be "alive.""



May 23, 2004
"The Big Story in Teledahn" Underway
futographer (aka, Pa'trick, Grand Master, Guild of Cartographers) has begun work on naming all of the objects in Teledahn. He's done a great deal of work; check out the results here.

"Then and Now: Computer Graphics in Games" to Feature Rand Miller
Fadookie posted: "...I saw that Rand Miller was going to be discussing the graphics of his games along with Will Wright and Jordan Mechner." Sponsored by NVIDIA, it's Thursday, June 10, 2004, Computer History Museum Hahn Auditorium, Mountain View, California. Read more about it.

The Gathering...
Strange messages began appearing a few days ago, from LRBolt: "It's quiet. Too quiet.Too cliché, they talk about the calm before the storm. Ignore the blue skies and gentle breezes, The storm's comin'. They talk. Will you tell?"
- Followed by: "Still kinda quiet. But the storm's comin'. They talk. They say, "Don't bother." They say, "Be Careful."They say, "It's not your place." Too many words just muddy the true path. If you do nothing,That is precisely what happens. Believe in the storm. They talk. When the time comes.Will you tell?"
- And today: "Over the Gulf of Mexico, a single drop of water meanders on the gentle breeze rising high above the surface. Keeping to itself, it, and millions of other tiny droplets of water, form a light billowy condensation cloud. As it floats over the shoreline, it brings a brief reprieve from the sun for a tired farmer, and a new subject for two youngsters, lying on their back in a field, making cloud animals.
Off the coast of Africa, a similar drop of water gets caught up in a turbulent whirlpool of air. As it speeds through the cloud it collides with another drop of water, which careens into another flinging it into countless other drops. This action builds energy until a dark, angry looking cloud forms, which in turn creates more turbulent whirlpools of air, forming their own energy filled, dark, powerful clouds. These clouds group together, spinning, building energy as they travel across the ocean. Minute by minute, hour by hour the storm builds in strength. And it's getting closer to land.
What began as two drops of water colliding has become a focal point of the public. It's in their paper. It's on their radio. It's on their TV. But more important, it's on their minds.
Real or imagined, it affects them.
The storm's comin'
When it's time.will you tell?"

Bahroglyph Study Group
Domahreh okh Dni writes to The Lyst: "Have you ever wondered what those mysterious glyphs in Eder Kemo mean? Or what the inscribed stone tablet on the neighborhood balcony symbolizes?
Are you a bahro fanatic? Do you salivate over the thought of meeting and chatting with one of those huggable, lovable creatures in Path of the Shell?
Does D'ni history intrigue you? Are you surprised and/or outraged over the apparent slavery and abuses leveled on the book-worlders, the Least?
Then come join the D'ni Linguistic Fellowship's Bahroglyph Study Group! We're a dedicated group of explorers, linguists, and artists pursuing a deeper and more complete understanding of the fascinating bahroglyphs, and the cultures and histories behind them.
Visit our website at http://linguists.bahro.com/domahreh/glyphs or swing by the DLF forums at http://linguists.bahro.com/forums for more information. (The Study Group's forum can be located under the Language Classrooms topic.) And thanks to the Guild of Cartographers for collaborating with us on this exciting project!"


May 21, 2004
Late Night Coordinates from Sheldon
Sheldon just added new coordinates to his Linking Book page: 789 56 -77. Altairien found it:Podium.jpg. I've added to my sites: PotS Puzzle and 1600x1200.

Journey of Healing Contest Winners Announced
dar announced: "Even though we only had six total entries to our first contest, we still had some wonderful entries. You can see the results here - Journey of Healing Contest. Thank you to everyone who participated and to the judges as well."

Hi-Res Revelation E3 Trailer at MystObsession
From Dusante: " I just uploaded a new version of the E3 trailer, it's in Quicktime format, 800 x 450 in resolution and around 50 megs in size. Some people didn't like the compression in the WMV trailer so I sacrificed size for quality and didn't use alot of compression. This version has been slightly tweaked so some scenes may look different and is much higher quality than the previous trailer, also note that some footage is still test footage and some was specially made for the trailer. Download it here: Myst Obsession Movies Page.

Updated PotS Puzzle
With the contribution of Altairien and MystMan on the UO Forum, great progress has been made on the PotS puzzle. I've updated my page and Arowin has updated his page. Now we wait for today's new images!

Pictograms from Uru
futographer, Grand Master of the Guild of Cartographers, has been working on a new project: Analysis of Kemo Pictographs for Map Detail Pages, Have fun with pictographs. It's quite an interesting thread. He's released two pictograms, so far: Gahreesen and Kadish Tolesa. Current discussion is on Teledahn. Great work, guys!



May 20, 2004
Unofficial Patcher for Corrupted Uru Saved Games
Deledrius writes: "Since there hasn't been as much feedback as there were requests for a patcher, I'm assuming people aren't seeing it due to it being buried in a long thread. So, here it is: vault_patcher v1.00 is out. Okay, I have an initial release version of the patcher. So far I have seen several successful patching and no complaints. It is available on COBBS right now. Remember, this is an unoffical patch. Neither Ubi nor Cyan support it. Remember to back up all important data. By using it you also agree to not hold myself, Ubi, or Cyan responsible for the outcome. However, feel free to express your happiness if you like the outcome." Thanks, Deledrius.

WarCry Previews Revelation
Ian "Nevir" MacLeod has some very nice things to say, such as: "Myst IV introduces a grand, new concept of actually moving objects in the game world. You can drag objects around, not just click on them, and watch them move to set locations. I was shown a puzzle where the player has to drag several wooden balls around the world in order to trigger… something. I didn’t get a chance to actually solve it, but regardless, this new gameplay element introduces a whole slew of new tricks for the Myst IV designers to torture us with. I’m honestly excited." Read the preview here.

New PotS Coordinates/Image from Sheldon
Sheldon added a new set of coordinates to his Linking Book page: 59916 1041 -102. But with UO down, I had to look to another forum: MystWorlds. I asked for help and Melawa came through: DRC.jpg. I've added it to my PotS Puzzle pages, the reference page and 1600x1200. Thanks, Melawa!

CAGrayWolf's E3 Review Featured at MystWorlds Site
The review that Wolfie wrote (that I referenced earlier) has moved to MystWorlds. This is especially helpful today, as the previous link was to UO, which is having server issues. Great review!

UbiSoft Will Present Revelation at Mysterium, After All
Kha'tie wrote to The Lyst: "Thanks to you (Scraper), and RAWA, for clarifying to us that it seems that Mihshehl misunderstood the committee's position, and that you are allowing a Ubisoft presentation on site, at some point during official proceedings." Great news!

Server Issues at UruObsession/MystObsession
Currently, both sites are not available. As such, they can't tell us what the issues are, so Kha'tie wrote to The Lyst: "UO staff is aware of the difficulties and can't post email to let you know they are working on it. So I did. ~ Kha'tie : )" Thanks, Kha'tie. I'll update the site when everything returns to normal. Update: Dan'ni wrote to The Lyst: "Server went *poof*...We're trying to get the site back up right now... Sorry for the problems :( Dan." Thanks, Dan.


May 19, 2004
Voting on the D'LA Short Story Contest Coming Soon
Pepsi and Maztec announced that the voting will begin May 19th and end May 26th. There are three entries to choose from: Good Lord, My Journal, and The Next Page. The voting will take place in The D'LA Forums. Read, enjoy and vote!

Revelation Demo to be the Same Weekend as Mysterium in Toronto
Even though there will be no demo of Revelation at Mysterium (read Mihshehl's blog for specifics), Kha'tie writes to The Lyst: "I'm writing to inform you all not to worry; there will be a chance to see a demonstration (and personally try it out) in Toronto this year on the same weekend Mysterium is being held. Details of the time and date and location will follow, but trust me when I say I represent not just Ubisoft, but a large portion of the fan community who are there to hear news of upcoming adventures - not just to meet one another, but to meet the incredible minds of the developers (not publishers, developers) behind these amazing worlds." Thanks, Kha'tie.

GameSpy Previews Revelation
Sal Accardo writes a great preview. Here's a few of his comments: "As in previous games, the areas we had a chance to take a look at were nothing short of stunning, with lots of lush forests, intriguing architecture and whimsical gadgets. The level of immersion has been upped a bit, as you can interact with more of the world than ever before, and you'll have the ability to take pictures either as souvenirs or for use later in a search for clues."

Another First Hand Account from E3
Srikandi, who with CAGrayWolf recently attended E3, wrote a wonderful account of her experiences and also posted her photos. Thanks, Sri! (Wolf and Sri are the Mystworlds Community Assistants from Southern California).

A Fan's Perspective of Myst IV: Revelation
CAGrayWolf, or Wolfie as he's lovingly called, was fortunate enough to attend E3, meet the Myst4 team and demo Revelation. He's written a wonderful review of his experiences and it's well worth reading. Wolfie, a longtime fan who's renowned for his Myst collection, was able to get his copy of the D'ni Timeline signed by just about everyone and he's posted a scan of it at UO: Wolfie's E3 Timeline. Thanks, Wolfie!



May 18, 2004
More PotS Stuff
Not just coordinates this time, Sheldon has added graphics and links to his Linking Book page. inkin found the coordinates: 60093 1045 -102, which led Melawa to Watson, because the coordinates are to the Podium in Kirel Community Meeting Room. I noticed the next difference: 2 gifs, Discuss and Progress. Discuss goes to the thread at UO, Progress goes to Arowin's Puzzle Page (Congrats, Arowin! What about my page, Sheldon?).

Fun with Pictograms/Petroglyphs
futographer has started an interesting thread at UO; here's his opening comment: " I am now creating detail pages for the objects in Kemo that will be attached to the Kemo Fountain Map and in this thread will be focusing on the pictographs in Kemo." It's getting to be a very interesting thread. So, if you're interested in deciphering some of the art that you've seen in Kemo, this is the place for you!

New Version of KIRC, the New KI Chat Modification, is Available
LiquorCooChee posts at COBBS that there's a new version (by ycikamookow) available for download. There are three separate builds of version 1.3 to choose from: Live Build, Prime Build and Prime Build with 1.2 patch.

Myst IV: Revelation Available at Amazon.com for Pre-order
As noted by Gehn at MystObsession, Amazon.com is now available to pre-order. They post a price of $34.99, off a list price of $39.99. That price qualifies for free shipping (Note that order will take an additional 3 to 5 days to ship). They also put the release date as September 14th.




May 17, 2004
Four PotS Images from Sheldon!
After receiving two new images yesterday, Sheldon gave us four today! Falii found the two new sets of coordinates, 60275 1000 -71 & 59961 1042 -102, but also discovered two new clues in the source code: <!--Their --><!--With -->. The hunt was on the decipher the clues. inki, however, discovered that they were not clues, but the names of the images themselves. So, here are today's images: Fountain, Nexus, Their, and With. Great job, Falii and inki! (Note: To keep myself from getting any more confused, I've added the names of the images to their image on my PotS Puzzle page)

More Pics from E3
Deg has posted Kha'tie's pix from Day, including shots of CAGreyWolf and Srikandi.

New Path of the Shell Fansite
lincoln imp posts: "I have assembled as many PotS screenshots, concept art pieces, and other related images as I could find, and I have put them here: Path of the Shell pics. There's nothing new on it - it's all stuff that's been seen before - but I just wanted to gather together as many as possible." Great job, linc!

Grand Reopening of the D'ni Guild Forums
Ryan Warzecha writes to The Lyst: "Friends of Cyan, Today we are proud to announce a reopening of the D'ni Guild forums on Cyanworlds.com. If you have an old account your user name and password should work. Stop on by and speculate and question and ponder. D'ni Guild Forums
Thanks, The Cyan Worlds Team"

Screenshot of KI Using KIRC
Ashkar, in the Clockwork Orange BBS H'Uru forum, has posted KIRC MarkerGame KI menu screenshot. Looks exactly like the one UruLive users remember.

Gameplay Footage from E3
AdricTW posted: "Well, I have some gameplay footage from E3. Enjoy." Here's the direct link. Caution: This footage does contain spoilers, including content, gameplay and puzzle solving methods.

E3 Recap from Randomos
Ron writes some of his impressions of E3 in the blog. Here's just one sample from his post: "Really, Revelation stole the show however. I'm not kidding about how consistently people walked away with a smile on their faces. It was just a joy to see and be a (small) part of. And I can't wait to see more of it!"



May 16, 2004
New PotS Images
As Andromeda, who found today's coordinates, says "So he does work during the weekends. Does this apply also for Cyan employees?" Here they are: 59896 56 -78 & 61111 75 -84. Both images were located by Kevin8020. The first is Balcony.jpg. The second Kadish.jpg. Here's the updated page: Pots Puzzle.

Map of Er'cana by Marein
In anticipation of the release of Path of the Shell, much has been said about one of the ages that will presumably be included: Er'cana. It has been featured in concept art, appeared in the Uru trailer and could possibly be what is shown in Sheldon's PotS puzzle.
Marein, in the Guild of Cartographers forum, has begun work on a map of Er'cana. Considering what liitle we've seen of this age, the map looks terrific. His work, in fact, has come to the attention of futographer, Grand Master of the Guild, who invited Marein to join. Great work, Marein!

Guild of Greeters Reunion Chat a Success (With More to Come)
Grand Master LaReh writes: "On Saturday May 15th. The Guild Of Greeters Live Chat held the first Uru Live Reunion Chat. The Chat was tentatively scheduled to begin at 6 pm PST but visitors were seen all throughout the day. Many heartwarming reunions occured and much fun was had by all. The Greeters also were proud to announce the release of a new online game, INDYHO, on their site. Loosely based on the D'ni Heek table game, Indyho was created by Greeters Guild Member INDY who deserves some major "props" for this fun new game. Greeters Guild Master LaReh announced during the day that the Greeter Reunion Gatherings would now be a MONTHLY scheduled event, loosely based on rotating themes. Next up, for June 12th, STAND-UP COMIC NIGHT! So save your jokes and we'll see you there."

Revelation Featured by Apple at E3
I found this blurb at MacCentral: "In addition, Apple is showing off a trailer and interactive demo of Myst IV Revelation, the latest installment of the landmark graphical adventure game franchise. The demo includes a short trailer and several interactive camera screens that show how the game will look when it's released this fall, for Mac and PC." That should make Mac fans happy.

Play Indyho at Guild of Greeters Site
Tijara, Grand Master, writes: "During explorations of the Guild of Greeters neighborhood a small hidden room was discovered.  In this room several old documents were found.  One of these documents describes a multiplayer game, that was probably used to pass the time while the Greeters were waiting to start their Greeter Duty. After much work we were able to reconstruct the game and once again we can play Indyho! You will need the Sun Java Virtual Machine plug-in to play Indyho"

Revealtion Previewed by 1UP.com
Jason Allen has a few nice things to say: 1UP Preview. (Note: There is a spoiler included as well as info on gameplay that some might not want to know in advance).




May 14, 2004
Reminder: Guild of Greeters Live Reunion Tomorrow
Don't forget to attend the Guild of Greeters Live Reunion, Saturday May 15th at 6PM PST. The time announced was to induce as many Cyantists to attend, but Guild Master Lareh tells us "the reunion chat will be available ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT that day as it is every day, actually." Don't forget: "The Guild of Greeters."

From the Show Floor: Part 2
Evan Dickens, managing editor of Adventure Gamers, continues his From the Show Floor: Part 2. He has some nice things to say about Revelation.

Special Animation on Revelation Teaser Page
As mentioned on a previous entry, There's a few hidden treats on the main page. I was able to replicate the first treat, but was working on the second. Well, here it is:
Load the page. Move the cursor to the spot I've shown here:

Now "Tab" through the picture, watching for yellow boxes (it will take several tabs). When a tiny yellow box appears, watch the picture and hit "Enter."

More Info on Revelation from MystObsession Forum
It's been observed that the cursor in Revelation is a hand. In a recent post, Phen1 asked: "will you be able to choose the skin tone of your hand? I know that's a silly question, and I really don't give a... but isn't it possible that some people might get offended if all they can use is a white hand?"
Pat replied "Not a silly question at all. In fact we ARE planning on doing exactly that. In fact, you can also decide on the level of transparency you want for the cursor... along with other things like right or left-handedness... We want the cursor to be a representation of YOUR hand because there are a lot of things to interact with in Revelation and we want players to really feel like they can go out and TOUCH the things they see (which is why there are sound-hotspots everywhere...)"

New PotS Images
Sheldon was early today. Falii found the coordinates: 573 57 -77 & 0 1 -3. The second was easy: Rezeero.jpg. The first one, however, was tough; it was on the Great Stair. Melawa found it: Lunch.jpg. (We're still trying to find out how she got that; lol) Another interesting find; in the source code, BrettM found the following: <!--Blessing--> and <!--Looked-->. Miranda found Blessing: Yeesha.jpg. Great job, guys! Still working on the rest. Check back soon. I've updated my PotS Puzzle. Update:Rutland1 found Looked: Shroomie.jpg. Great job!

Hi-Res Shots from Revelation at MystObsession
Dusante writes: " I just uploaded two images to the gallery, one we've already seen; the lab at night in Tomahna but higher res at 2000 x 1161 px, you can view it here. The other is a beautiful panoramic shot of the age seen at the end of the new E3 trailer, view it here. Thanks Stan!" Thanks, Dusante! (Note: The lab at night picture is the same image we first saw in the first "screenshot" from Myst4)

Kha'tie Sends Pix from E3!
Deg posted Kha'tie's pix to the E3 blog (Note: Patrick asked that we ignore the "personal" pic taken by Kha'tie of Patrick in his BATMAN BOXERS).

Uru Live - Musings on a World Gone"
Zardoz writes to The Lyst: "I know many folks wander over to the Just Adventure+ website, so perhaps
this has been mentioned - I'm still wading through the recent Lystian deluge- There's a great essay over there by Laura McDonald,"Uru Live - Musings on a World Gone". It captures beautifully my own feelings, in that I miss Uru more now that it's gone than I enjoyed it while it was alive. Zardoz." Thanks, Zardoz. Great piece.

E3 Update: Myst 4 from Adventure Gamers
Evan Dickens writes: "Ubisoft Montreal gave us a very nice demo of Myst 4 this afternoon, and I must say it was extremely impressive. Here are some of the key points:- The interface is fantastic and actually very fun to use, assuming all areas will be implemented as well as the demo one.- The game has, and I quote "the same amount of areas as previous Myst games, but much more depth and much more going on in each area."- Here, for some people, is the key: there is "much more character interaction in this game than the first three Myst games combined" and a greater emphasis on story as well. - And, there's lots of puzzles.I, personally, do not gravitate towards Myst style games. But I found Myst 4: Revelation to be surprisingly impressive. Check on Saturday to see where it lands on the E3 Hype-O-Meter, and keep checking in for more E3 updates!"



May 13, 2004
Ubisoft Booth Tour
Take a look at the booth tour (not much more than we've already seen): Ubisoft Booth Tour. There was a larger version of a picture we've already seen, so I'll add it to the gallery.

Two New PotS Images
Sheldon did not let us down; here's today's coordinates: 36821 28 -39 & 59875 78 -79. tapeduper found the first: Concert.jpg. The second one, Sharper.jpg, was found by Kevin8020. I've started a page to explore the images: PotS Puzzle. (Edit: Apologies; I had the wrong coordinates up. It's been corrected)

More Revelation Info Revealed by Patrick Fortier in Forum
In a thread on the Myst IV Revelation Forum, Pat goes into more detail about gameplay, journals and the help system. Contains spoilers.

KI Chat System Developed by Clockwork Orange BBS H'Uru Group
Arowin posts: "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.... The excellent folks over at ClockworkOrange BBS have managed to get a resemblance to a Ki chat system working in Uru." It's called KIRC and it's available here: KIRC, The new KI Chat Modification. This only works on UruLive and UruPrime builds, not X1. (Warning: This software patches Uru. It has not been developed by either Cyan or UbiSoft. As with all "hacked" software, use at your own risk.)

Screen Captures from E3 Trailer
I've created a page where I will be putting up images I captured from the E3 trailer. There are spoilers, so click the link only if you wish to see spoilers. I'll try to add shots as I get them.Thanks. E3 Trailer Captures.

Revelation Trailer Released
From Dan'ni at MystObsession: "The E3 Trailer has been found by fans on the French UBI forum!" Warning: This Windows Media File contains more spoilers, by far, than any other media thus far. But it is beautiful!

Great First Day at E3
Patrick Fortier writes: " We've had a great day. Crowded booths all day (ubi, microsoft & apple), lots of smiles (a bit too much drool though? We have to mop the floor now... ) and lots of happiness all around. Very good reception for the game and lots of great comments. People like the features and the story and the graphics and the sound and the music and the interactions and and and I can finally say what I couldn't say before: MYst comes to life!!!" And, in reply to Magic88889 and BrettM, who would like the hint system in Revelation to be an optional install, Pat replies: "You got it (ie, already planned)"

Mysterium Hotel Announced
Scraper writes to The Lyst: "After much research and negotiation, the Mysterium Committee is pleased to announce that we have locked in a hotel for the Mysterium gathering this year! We have reserved a block of rooms and a Saturday night meeting room at:
Days Hotel
30 Carlton Street
Toronto, ON
M5B 2E9
Tel: 416-977-6655, 1-800-367-9601
Fax: 416-977-0502
http://www.dayshoteltoronto.ca/
If you telephone, press "0" for a hotel representative. You must speak directly with a hotel representative in order to get the special rate.
You can get a special rate if you contact the hotel by June 23, 2004 and identify yourself as a part of the "Mysterium Convention" when you call for your reservation. As Mysterium attendees, we will only have to pay $99 per night per room. This rate is for one or two people in the room. Each additional person will cost $15. All prices are given in the Canadian dollar. If you need to convert to your native currency, you can do so at http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html
As always, all attendees are responsible for making their own reservations and paying their own hotel bills. We look forward to seeing you there!
- Scraper -
- Mysterium Committee -" Thanks, Scraper!
Click here to subscribe to The Lyst.




May 12, 2004
Hidden Surprise on the Revelation Teaser Page
amorgan posted an interesting find on the Revelation teaser page. Follow these steps to see the treat:
Load the page. Click inside the Flash portion of the screen. Hit the "Tab" key, watching for a yellow box to appear around the headings (News, Videos, etc). Keep tabbing through the page, watching carefully for a tiny yellow box to appear on the page (it's location seems to be determined by the position of the cursor). When that box appears, look at the Myst IV Revelation logo, hit "Enter" and enjoy. You can repeat the effect by retabbing through the page again. There's another treat, involving an image appearing on the Flash section, but I'm not sure what the exact steps are to get it. Just "Tab" and "Enter" and you'll never know what might happen.

Major Spoilers in an IGN Insider Preview of Revelation
As mentioned in Dusante's blurb (at MystObsession) announcing this IGN Preview, there are major spoilers in the following article, so be careful. You have been warned :) (Thanks to Farlesis and Dusante)

Two New PotS Images
KnightOwl found the latest coordinates (from Linking Book): 1569 57 -77 and 60285 67 -83. BrettM found the images (again, using the Guild of Cartographers' Map): Canyon.jpg and Takotah.jpg. Here are all the images, so far:

Matches: and
Plus, Pub matches Gallery (Pub's lower right hand corner to Gallery's upper left).

GameSpot Previews Revelation
Spoilers abound in an article written by Bethany Massimilla for GameSpot: Myst IV Revelation E3 2004 Preshow Impressions (Thanks to Baroque and Dusante for bringing this to our attention)

New Image from Path of the Shell appears at German Ubi Site
The site not only includes different box art, but also has a new screenshot. (Correction: That image has been in the UruObsession Gallery for awhile; I had not seen it before)

Lots of Revelation News at MystObsession
Dusante has been very busy; here are the headlines:
- The Myst Reader "A wonderful surprise catering to old, new and future Myst fans alike! Now all the Myst books have been combined into ONE just in time for the release of Revelation!" Amazon.com: The Myst Reader
- Ubi Store spoils us to death AGAIN! "This time the Ubi online store decided to dump a new screenshot and information on Revelations instead of Uru! I'd think it's boarder-lining on uber-spoiler because one screenshot shows a huge part of an age that isn't Tomahna! I added the new screenshot to the gallery here. Another interesting thing in the Ubi store is what looks like possible box art for Revelation, but to me it just looks like a placeholder and will probably change in the future."
- Mac port of the Revelations screensaver! " WWWebmaster was kind enough to port the Revelations screensaver to Mac and we've added it to our downloads section." Myst Obsession Downloads Page
- Here's the full blurb from the Ubi online store:
"Within the visually awe-inspiring world of Myst®, a gripping family drama will slowly unfold. In Myst IV Revelation, you finally learn the fate of Sirrus and Achenar, two villains first introduced in the original Myst. The brothers have remained trapped in separate prison worlds, abandoned by their father for crimes they had committed. Engage in uncovering the mystery surrounding a little girl's disappearance, daring to venture deep inside the intense worlds of the villainous brothers. Understanding their motives is key to the success of the investigation and will be a true "revelation."
Features:
- Escapist Adventure: Escape to discover surreal and riveting Ages of Myst IV Revelation in a quest to save a little girl and uncover the truth.
- Dramatic Storyline Leads the Way: The suspense returns to the forefront of the gameplay experience and answers questions left hanging since both the original Myst® and Myst® III: Exile.
- Decisions Directly Affect Gameplay and Outcomes: Decisions will dramatically affect the various storyline options along the way…including the ending!
- Star-Studded Soundtrack: Peter Gabriel and Jack Wall provide an engaging, ambient, and immersive soundtrack that dynamically adds to the gameplay experience.
- Mind-Bending Puzzles: Understand the twisted minds of the two evil brothers and uncover crucial clues in this captivating story.
- Photo-Realistic Graphics: Compelling and pristine graphics "come to life" through cutting-edge animation programming.
- Live Action: High-quality video with real-life actors is integrated directly into the storyline and gameplay, which only adds to the emotional suspense of the plot.
- Take Pictures: The ability to take pictures and record your findings in a journal will ensure that you don’t miss anything along the way.
- Interact with NPCs: Interacting with characters will help reveal secrets from the past that might lead to the truth you seek."




May 11, 2004
Lazy Guildmaster Contest Winners!
Alahmnat writes: "After a great deal of tabulation, counting, re-counting, re-tabulating, and re-re-tabulating, the three winners for the Lazy Guildmaster Contest have been selected." Click here to read the names of the winners! Congrats, all!

Today's PotS Image Update
A new set of coordinates was found on the Linking Page: 60996 69 -84. BrettM found that (without an Uru install; he used the Guild of Cartographer's map. futographer will be pleased.) those coordinates lead to Gallery.jpg. Here is the image before and after Photoshop (adjustments are +30 Brightness/+50 Contrast for all images):

Here are all seven images (adjustments are +30 Brightness/+50 Contrast for all images):


E3 News: Kha'tie Kisses...Monkey-Bunny-Thing?


Meet the E3 Revelation Team!
Ron posted these on the E3 Rev Blog:

David Laquerre: Game Design	Genevieve Lord: Producer	Martin Sabran: CG Lead Artist (Modelling)
Nicolas Beaudette	Pascal Blanche: Art Director	Patrick Fortier: Creative Director

May 10, 2004
Lower Video Requirements for PotS?
CyanBill wrote to The Lyst: "...it needs to go through compatibility testing, but we've potentially drastically reduced the video card requirement. I might get in trouble for saying even that much yet before it's confirmed. I just want you to
know that when/if that's announced, it's a big deal." mszv noticed what seems to be a lower requirement on the PotS pre-order page: "** Supported Video Cards: 32 MB NVIDIAR GeForceT 1,2,3,4, or FX; ATIR, RadeonT 7000-9800 or better; Intel Extreme video chipset is supported" And mszv comments:"If that's true, and all of Uru will be supported on the Intel Extreme video chipset - that's a really big deal. Wow!"

RAWA Speaks Out
In answer to a query to The Lyst, RAWA explains: "Yes, it is our understanding of the contract that our royalty is based on the amount that Ubi gets from the sale minus all of the costs, fees, taxes, etc. So buying directly from them should, in theory, reduce the costs, increasing our piece of the pie slightly (maybe by as much as a dollar or two)."

Third Restoration Needs Your Screenshots
mikrasov, from Third Restoration (formerly Save Uru Live) posts:"There are so many great screen shots here I was hoping you would help us out with our gallery for URU. This way we can have it in a set gallery. You can also link to the images from the gallery if you need picture hosting. We offer the main site gallery as well as personal galleries for your use. This way instead of just soging on the forums the pictures will always be accessible. We have a comment and rate system but that needs to be slightly redone in the future. Enjoy." Third Restoration Album.

New Revelation Info on UbiSoft's Italian Site
Dan'ni posted: "New info about Myst IV: Revelation has appeared on the Ubisoft Italy Website! Kisih was kind enough to translate the text from the website:
Description:
Inside the obscure and visionary world of Myst®, a mysterious family drama will finally unveil. In Myst IV Revelation, the player will finally know the fate of Sirrus and Achenar, the two nasty protagonists of original Myst. The brothers were trapped in two separate worlds, abandoned by their father because of the crimes they committed. Players will be engaged to unveil the obscure plot around the disappearing of a young girl, venturing in the obscure world of the two evil brothers. Understanding their motivation is the key of your success and it will be a real "revelation".
Features:
- An adventure beyond reality: Escape to discover the surreal and enchanting Ages of Myst IV Revelation, in search of a young girl to unveil the truth.
- A dramatic plot toward the truth: The suspense comes back to be the main protagonist and it will answers to the hanging questions left by original Myst® and by its sequel Myst® III: Exile.
- Choose your path... and your ending!: Your decisions will influence the different possibilities of the plot along the path of the truth... included your own possible end!
- Demanding puzzles: Understand the two evil brothers' twisted minds and unveil crucial clues in this enchanting story.
- Photo-realistic graphic: An excellent and fascinating graphic will literally get to "life" with incredible animations.
- Live action: The story will include high-quality videos, with live actors, perfectly integrated in the graphic and highly increasing the suspense of the plot.
- Catch the clues: The chance of catching images and entering your discoveries in a journal will let you to not lose any clues along your journey;
- Interact with the characters: By interacting with the various characters, you will more easily unveil the secrets hidden in the past, that will bring you to uncover the truth you're looking for.
- An original soundtrack: Peter Gabriel and Jack Wall will follow your adventure with an enthralling and exclusive soundtrack." The translation is only a little rough. I'll post the English version once it is released by UbiSoft.

MystObsession Announces a New Library Section
Dan'ni writes: "More and more info is slowly being released and that's why we decided it's time to launch the Library section of the Myst Obsession website. Right now you won't find much info there but slowly, with time, more and more content will be added to the section." The Myst Obsession Library.

New PotS Coordinates
The Linking Book page has been updated: 579900 69 -76 and 61359 80 -93. We're waiting for someone to locate those in-game. Update: TheMarinater has found them: http://www.pathoftheshell.com/linking/Teledahn.jpg and http://www.pathoftheshell.com/linking/Bridge.jpg.
Here are the two images:
After Photoshop:


D'ni Kings Added to Guild of Greeters Library
24 new kings added to their library section, D'ni Kings. Adobe Acrobat is required to read them. Start reading!

Award-winning Screenshot
As I had previously reported, Revelation won at the Into the Pixel @ E3 graphic competition. MYSTerium.ch has the shot, called Haven's Swamp. There are also quite a few other shots in the MYSTerium.ch Revelation Gallery.

Revelation Release Date: September 9!
As reported by Dan'ni at UruObsession, MYSTerium.ch has UbiSoft's release list, showing a date for Revelation of September 9. Question is: Is that the German release date or a general release date?

Interesting Article at WarCry
Bryan Hesters, Senior Editor at WarCry, makes some interesting points in his article The Editor is In - Who knew so many people still played Myst. He decries the complaining and blaming that's been going on since the demise of Live. Here's the final paragraph: "I don’t blame you fans for being bummed out that they cancelled a game that you were excited about. On the other hand, some of you are in desperate need of a strong drink and prescription anti-depressants. Regardless of which category you are in, just don’t lose sight of the big picture. Cancellations like this are becoming more common because there is already a huge competition in that market. There is a huge price tag with a project like this, and there are only so many gamers willing to shell out a few bucks for a game every month. Had it not been Myst, no one would have thought anything about it, and with so many of you out there that are this passionate about the series, you can bet that Cyan Worlds isn't going to just let you wander off."




May 9, 2004
Is Revelation in Danger of Being Overexposed?
Patrick Fortier, Creative Director on the Rev team, wonders in his latest entry in the Rev E3 blog: "I experienced some conflicting feelings today. With the release of the screensaver yesterday, it's great, a lot of people are excited, they're getting to see the game and getting to speculate a lot... But they're also getting to see quite a LOT of things (or it WILL become a lot once it's combined to the E3 stuff) and I'm just :

1) Really happy to read about the excitment it's creating and reading people's reactions to our work!
but
2) Worried at how this will affect the game experience (like seeing a movie-trailer that shows too many cool parts).

There's a lot of material in the game of course, and we DO have to market it, and what we ARE showing isn't that obvious if you don't really know the game too well, so I'm probably just reacting like an overprotective parent... :) But still, one gets a bit worried at times cause there's no denying the power of Surprise AND First Impression."



May 8, 2004
Tweek's PotS Banners at MystWorlds
The banners that Tweek created to help promote Path of the Shell have been added to the MystWorlds site. Congrats, Tweek and thanks!

New Sources for Screensaver and Images
For those not wanting to go through Gamespot for the screensaver, Lincoln Imp has hosted it for us here. Thanks, Linc. And, Kehrin sent a link to The Lyst of a fan who has the individual images seperated out. Spoiler warning for both.



May 7, 2004
More From Grey Dragon
Ryan writes: " "Dragon Uncensored"
I will no longer post any Cyan experiences that I have on this blog. However, for those who have emailed me thanks for wanting to understand the inside story. Many of you have said that you have idolized Cyan for many years and it was good to see that they are "real" too. No worries to the ones who want to hear my Cyan story there will always be a place or a time.
Lately, I have been worried about someone spoofing me on some forums. This is why I will be in read only mode for a while. Now I am just trying to save face.
If anyone does have a concern, question, or query please feel free to email me. I want all Myst fans to be able say whatever they want about; Ubi, Cyan or what have you. Though I might not agree with what you have to say, I am willing to have an honest discussion about what ever offended you. I will never tell you what you should or should not do; however I might try to portray my side of the story to you. However, I will NEVER criticize you for having your opinion.
I just want to have people understand that I am an intelligent individual and not an angry,overworked, young cyantist certain rumors are putting me out to be. Everyone who reads this blog feel free to email me r_warzecha at hotmail.com and tell me what your thoughts are on my comments and commentary of any subject.
Thanks for being there and keep up the good work."

New Revelation Screenshot and a Screensaver!
Randomos posted to the E3 Revelation Blog that there was something to see at Gamespot and was there ever: a new image and a screensaver! I, stuck at home with only my PowerBook, cannot get the screensaver but the screenshot looks great! Thanks, Ron!

Revelation Wins It's First Award!
This just released on the main MystWorlds site: "The quality of the graphics in Myst® IV Revelation has already enticed the industry: a screenshot entitled "Haven's swamp" has just been awarded at the Into the Pixel @ E3 graphic competition. The awarded image - chosen by a jury coming from both the art establishment and the video games world and selected from 120 other submissions - will be on display on 13-14th May in the Concourse Lobby (at the Convention Center), and online at www.e3insider.com"
(Follow-up: Kha'tie explains: "Ron put it up live but the links didn't work due to a server glitch, so he took it down again... LOL! We didn't think anyone had seen it in the 3 minutes it was up! I expect Ron will publish the site live again on Monday." Thanks, Kha'tie)

New Great Tree Desktops!
Daedalus today posted about 2 new Great Tree desktops, 1024x768 and 1280x960. They look great, Daedalus, thanks!

New PotS Image
More coordinates appeared today on the Linking Book site: 58424 44 -76. Slackmum tracked that to the Palace, so the image is at http://www.pathoftheshell.com/linking/Palace.jpg.
Here's the image raw:
After Photoshop:

Recap. Here are the four images released, so far:


Grey Dragon Silenced
For those following the Grey Dragon's Blog story, here's his latest post: "Taken down : I no longer can post in public. everyone who reads this email me. warzecha at cyan.com and tell me what you thought of my comments and commentary."

Path of the Sheel/Complete Chronicles May Require a Complete Re-install
CyanBill wrote to The Lyst: "The installers are not finalized, but it's very possible that either or both of Complete Chronicles and The Path of the Shell will require a full re-install. We are working to make your previous characters come through unscathed :) Bill"

Show Your Support for PotS With Tweek's Banners
Tweek sent the following to The Lyst: "Show your support. I have banners for you to put on your site if you want to...the link to the site you should have them linking to is on the bottom of the page I'm about to give you.."
Here it is: Tpots Banners. And the site URL to link to: http://store.ubi.com/item.jsp?item=008888682028&category=PC

Over 30% Off of Uru™: Ages Beyond Myst® Game, CD Soundtrack & Strategy Guide!
For those who do not have all three, there's a sale going on at the Ubi store: Now $49.99, was $74.97.




May 6, 2004
Introducing "The Guild of Puzzle Makers"
Dohati Endetan posted: "In that many Myst fans enjoy puzzles, riddles, cryptograms, and other mental exercise;
In that many Uru fans like to participate in groups;
In that many Myst fans want to give to the community through their own content and creations;
In that there is not a Guild currently responsible for creating and publishing puzzles and other diversions:
The Guild of Puzzle Makers is thus chartered, this 12 Leefo 9659, with the following aims and goals:
1) Create and publish high-quality puzzles for enjoyment by the Myst fanbase
2) Use an appropriate amount of D'ni language, history, lore, and culture in general to increase awareness of and attachment to the D'ni legacy
3) Teach and critique puzzle solving and puzzle writing
4) Provide for the solvency and long life of the Guild.
More details on the Guild will be available in this thread until a suitable home is prepared."
Sounds like a great idea, what with all of the Gas-Station-Stan-Sheldon-PotS puzzles we've been dealing with lately. Thanks, Dohati!

Follow-up to GiN Awards
As noted below, GiN (Game Industry News) awarded Uru Best Puzzle Game for 2003. Kha'tie forwarded a note from John Breeden II, GiN Chief Editor, who writes: "Over 140,000 readers of Gameindustry.com voted this year, and picked Uru overwhelmingly." Overwhemingly! Yes!

GreyDragon's Blog Raises Expectations
Animan posted that GreyDragon had updated his blog. Here's the pertinent entry: "Major Blog entry coming tonight: Current topics on my mind,
Uru Expansion packs, Ubisoft marketing, and that "Myst size 2057pt font" box. My trip home, The Great Tree, paintball this weekend, and many photos and pictures for your viewing entertainment."
Followed by: ""Celebration"
Last night I celebrated Cinco de Mayo and didn't get to posting on my blog.
From what I have heard, and what Ubisoft has told us. The marketing plan on The Path of the Shell and/ or Uru: Complete Chronicles is the same as it was for Uru: To D'ni, only online advertising. /shrug"

Save Uru Live Site is Now the Third Restoration
SUL has moved to a new site, http://thirdrestoration.com/, as well as undergoing a lot of design changes. Check it out.

"Beyond Myst: Making Uru" Movie
For those who never saw the longer Beyond Myst: Making Uru movie, CAGrayWolf posted a link to it on the Guild of Greeters forum. It's well worth seeing (or seeing again!). Thanks CA!

Another PotS Image Appears
Sheldon has updated the Linking Book page to include new coordinates: 1425 78 -93. Dohati Endetan immediately checked and found it led to the ferry, so he found this image:
After Photoshop:
My fellow explorers and I are still waiting to see how many pieces there will be. Arowin has created a page called Jigsaw that he will update as new images appear. His page also allows anyone to move the images around themselves. Great job, Arowin!
As a reminder, Korteenea has created a page called The potsWATCH that puts all of the events in a great storyline format (including red herrings!). Thanks, Korteenea.

New Revelation Blog for E3
The folks behind Revelation have introduced a blog designed to allow us to follow the goings-on at E3 Expo 2004. Another fabulous web design by deg. Thanks, guys!

RAWA Chimes in
RAWA sent his input to The Lyst on the discussion of the art for the Path of the Shell box: "While I understand the desire for the marketing folks to connect Uru with Myst, there is no excuse for the word "Myst" to be larger than "Uru" on the Path of the Shell box. I don't know anyone here at Cyan that is happy about it. But considering that they wouldn't listen to us about it, I have to assume it's there to stay. :("

New miniMYSERIUM Site
Tweek writes to The Lyst: "Due to the increased interest in holding mini mysteriums or gatherings as it were. Ive set up a website that will hopefully provide information and updates of whats going on for if people want to join the gatherings
themselves...if you are arranging or know of a gathering please feel free to email the information at the email addy found at the site. This is in addition to his work on the Restorers Guild site. Great work, Tweek.
(Note: If you are not already subscribed to one of The Lysts, click here to join).



May 5, 2004
Myst T-Shirt Sells for $189 on eBay
A great looking Stoneship Age T-Shirt recently sold for $189.00! Here's a note from the seller: "Having been a former employee of Cyan and having worked on realMYST and Uru*, I saw first-hand how devoted and special Cyan fans are, and so I'm hoping this shirt can go to one of those special fans who will wear the shirt but remember far beyond the single image it shows. *Don't believe me? Just look at the Uru or realMYST credits for Mathew Burrack. Or ask someone from the forums that remembers Capt. Neville ;)."

Petition Introduced to Change the Labelling of the Path of the Shell Box
Tweek posted the following: "A Petition has been started about the erm somewhat overly large MYST title on the Uru Expansion boxes. you can sign the petition here -> MystUru. Tweek."

It addresses the apparent change in thinking in marketing Uru; originally, the word Myst was not prominently featured. We were told that Uru was not a continuation of the Myst series, hence it was not called Myst IV. On the Path of the Shell box, however, the word Myst is much larger than the word Uru.

In reply, Kha'tie writes: "Alright, everyone keep your minds open and ready for the reply k? Here goes:

YES they understand very well that Uru is a different tangent from the other Myst games. However, the box art as shown is final, and although you all can distinguish Uru, MANY casual gamers can not. With that in mind, we ARE Selling Myst... think about it... MYST is what is famous. Not Cyan... not Ubisoft. The name will get us the customers, fans and revenues we need to keep this brand alive and well for years to come and that, my dear Myst fans, is the point.

The box art was chosen for that reason and some others and it is final... but I (and Ubi marketing) LOVE to hear what you guys like and don't like. This one isn't about the fans. We KNOW you will buy it no matter what's on the box... it's the potential fan we're reaching here.

Thanks for the design Tweek...."

Revelation to be Featured in Microsoft's "Games for Windows" Booth at E3
This is from a press release sent out today. Also featured will be Auto Assault, Dungeon Siege 2, EverQuest II, Ground Control II: Operation Exodus, Guild Wars, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Shrek 2, Sid Meier's Pirates, Silent Hunter 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed, Star Wars Republic Commando, The Sims 2, Tribes: Vengeance, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, World of Warcraft and Zoo Tycoon 2. Silent Hunter 3 is the only other UbiSoft title mentioned.

Here's the blurb: '"Myst IV Revelation," Ubisoft Entertainment SA, fall 2004, rating pending. The newest installment of the critically acclaimed adventure franchise includes a suspenseful storyline, mind-bending puzzles and a soundtrack featuring world-renowned recording artist Peter Gabriel.'

New Path of the Shell Screenshots Released
Randomos released a series of 4 new screenshots from X2. My favorite is number four.

Maztec's Proposal
For those who have not been following the thread that looks to create a user-hosted UruLive experience, here is maztec's proposal to Cyan/Ubi: Think Happy Thoughts [ok, it's not a hack, it's a hack proposal, no spoilers! i think...]

Jack Wall Answers Your Questions
Kha'tie has posted her interview with Jack Wall, using questions submitted by fans. Great interview. Thanks, Kha'tie and Jack!

New Coordinates Appear
gremlin4128 just alerted everyone that new coordinates have appeared at Linking Book: 1016 57 -86. Now the rush is on, in-game, to see where these coordinates lead. And, grilox discovered a new image:
After Photoshop:
inki found the spot:
Note: Lost link.

Open UruLive Petition
Winston Carter has created a petition, OpenURU Project, that reads:
"To: Cyan Worlds
Dear Cyan Worlds,

We, the players of URU Live, would like the opportunity to improve and operate our own URU Live servers. As such, we request that you release the URU Live server technology source