User:OranL/Myst Online: Uru Live (Ages)

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Myst Online: Uru Live, also known as Uru Live, Myst Online or MO:UL, was a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) developed by Cyan Worlds. The original version, a CD-ROM standalone game, was published by Ubisoft under the name Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Cyan intended Ages Beyond Myst to eventually become an MMOG and it even started beta service to players who owned the CD-ROM, which included programming specifically meant to make Uru an online game. The most recent, online incarnation of Uru came about through much dedication from both fans and Cyan Worlds itself. It was published by Turner Broadcasting System via TBS’s subscription-based video game service GameTap.

One of the main concepts addressed MO:UL is the idea of Ages, or worlds, that players travel to by linking through specialized linking books. These 'Ages' are the Myst franchise's equivalent of levels, though the term level implies a hierarchal structure to the worlds which is rare in Myst games.

Some of the Ages currently found in MO:UL have been a part of every version of Uru since its original publication. Some Age areas have existed in all of the online versions of Uru, the most notable of these areas being the island of Ae'gura and all of its sub-locations. There are also other Ages and areas which are unique to MO:UL. As of June 2007, Cyan began re-releasing content previously available in the Uru: The Path of the Shell expansion pack. Er'cana was released on June 27 2007.

In addition to already released Ages and Ages present in To D’ni and Path of the Shell, Cyan uses the metafictional organization known as the D'ni Restoration Council (DRC) to release information on upcoming Ages. Status information on various Ages is released through the 'Projects' section of the DRC's website.

Myst Online launch content
Access to many Ages, including all of The Journey Ages, was available upon the game's launch in December 2006. In total, eight Ages were accessible.

Relto
The world on which a player begins his or her journey though MO:UL is named Relto. Its main function is to provide centralized access to all of the game's locations. Relto bears a striking resemblance to Myst island, part of the Age upon which the original Myst game was set. According to Uru's backstory, the Age of Relto was Written by the game's main character Yeesha as a gift to her parents Atrus and Catherine(also known as Katran). The word 'relto' is said to be translated as "the high place" and the 'island' itself is depicted as being more like a flat mountain top, though with a decidedly more ethereal design.

Through the process of playing the original Journey, players learn of Yeesha's unprecedented abilities as a Writer, and how these abilities allowed her to Write Relto, which contradicts many of the Myst franchise's heretofore unbreakable tenets. For example, the linking book which a player uses to transfer him or herself onto Relto follows the player into the Age.

In another "violation" of its world's laws, Cyan has placed Relto Pages (also known as Yeesha Pages) into MO:UL as a sort of reward system. These pages are added to the player's Relto linking book and may be used to toggle various decorations and effects into and out of that player's Relto. Again, Cyan explains these pages via Yeesha's Writing acumen. The pages themselves allow varied additions to the Age including rain, D'ni technology, and various flora.

According to in-game dialogue, Relto is supposed to serve as an avatar of sorts for its owner's personality. It also serves as a trophy case for a player's rewards from finishing the game's Journeys.

Nexus Age
Access to almost every Age present in MO:UL is available from a machine called the Nexus. It allows players to quickly and efficiently access not only their own instances of Ages, but instances which have been shared with them by other players. It also allows players to access various locations in the public instance of Ae'gura and to access the many public neighbourhoods set up by both in-game organizations and individuals. The Nexus system is closely tied into the game's KI system: an avatar must have a KI before the player can use the Nexus and invitations to other players' Age instances must be sent through the KI.

The concept of a Nexus dates back to the development stage of Myst II which eventually became Riven. It was planned that Myst II would start on an Age with Nexus-like access to the Riven island. Eventually this idea was implemented as Gehn's 233rd Age, which serves as the Nexus for Riven Island but was neither the location that the player started on nor anything that closely resembled the Nexus in MO:UL. Uru's Nexus recycles many textures from Riven.

The Journey
Uru's first in-game quest, 'The Journey' involves solving puzzles in five different Ages. Once each level is complete, players gain access to a special area containing four Bahro Pillars. By collecting and returning all four pillars, players complete the quest.

Gahreesen
Gahreesen (sometimes referred to as Garrison) has existed in every release of Uru, dating back to the original CD-ROM. One of its most notable functions is to dispense 'KI's' to players, making Gahreesen a primary target for new players and players who have created new avatars.

The story of the Age itself is that it served as a sort of police headquarters for the fictional D'ni race. The entire design is meant to cause the player to think philosophically about power and the lengths to which a given society will go to keep its power. Evidence of its previous use and its long history appears through-out the world, with a majority of information centered in an in-game journal that reveals many details about its story to the player.

Graphically, Gahreesen is rendered as two rotating fortresses standing in the middle of a lake which sits in the middle of a forest. Most of the textures used in this Age are stone-like and serve to make up the buildings; however, part the part of the world's forest accessible to the player appears as a vast vista of water, trees, and spire-like rock formations. Progressing from the first fortress to second actually serves as one of the main challenges of the world, alongside the endeavour to navigate each fortress' interior. Players have access to the interiors of both fortresses, and can gain access to a third area (which is needed to complete the level) via a link from another of the original Journey Ages, Teledahn.

Teledahn


Teledahn is depicted as a relatively large area containing ancient D'ni machinery designed for spore harvesting. The main feature of this age are the giant 'mushrooms' which dot the landscape. The mushrooms serve to make up much of the infrastructure of Teledahn, with the largest shown as hollowed out and used as a link-in point, center of operations, and office. It connects to all of the other areas via catwalks. As in Gahreesen, simply progressing from one area to the next acts as the Age's main goal. Passageways, ladders, and walkways are hidden, broken, and obscure making this progression a challenge.

Teledahn's fictional history is twofold. After its initial 'discovery' by the D'ni, it was given to an important Guild Lord (named Hinahsh) on his 250th birthday. When Hinahsh died, control of it passed to his Guild and subsequently to a Guild Captain, Ventus, who began its industrialization. After some amount of time a D'ni named Manesmo bought the island and started dealing in slaves. Teledahn's underground tunnel and prison cells were used for this, and the slaves were transported to an Age named Rebek, where games much like the gladiatorial games of Ancient Rome were played. Major inspections into this slave trade were being performed just prior to the Fall.

Teledahn's fictional in-game history picks up after the DRC began restoring D'ni and its Ages. A fictional explorer named Douglas Sharper discovered the first Teledahn linking book and the DRC eventually allowed him to restore it himself, despite the fact that he was not employed by the organization.

As with all Ages from the initial Journey, the Age of Teledahn serves as an in-depth, immersive critique on D'ni culture and its treatment of 'The Least' (ostensibly the 'Bahro', but also 'other-worlders' and the lower classes of D'ni society). This particular lesson focuses on a slave trade hidden in a society which proclaimed itself to be enlightened. The slave cages shown in the Age serve as a symbol for the way the D'ni 'caged' and enslaved the Bahro race.

Kadish Tolesa
The Age of Kadish Tolesa, or simply Kadish, is depicted as being full of large trees, with a purple hue permeating. Throughout the Age players find ancient looking stone structures, most which appear broken and crumbling. Many of these structures are used in one of the Age's five main puzzles. Yet again, Cyan focuses on progression from one part of the level the next as the main goal of these puzzles; however this technique is much more predominant in this Age. Excluding the starting and ending areas, each area has a puzzle at either side of it. Players must unlock each puzzle to progress to the next, activating check points (called Journey Cloths) along the way. Each area contains at least one Cloth, and all must be activated to complete the level. Each puzzle has a correlating piece of art work located in the Kadish Gallery on Ae'gura (see Kadish Gallery below). These paintings and sculptures serve as the keys to unlocking each puzzle.

The fictional history of the Age is that was owned by a rich D'ni guild master named Kadish (hence the name Kadish Tolesa), who also owned an art gallery located on the affluent Ae'gura island in the Cavern of D'ni. Kadish built the complicated puzzles located on the Age as a way of protecting a vault which he had built, suspended in mid-air, in a large cave located at the end of his path of puzzles. He horded all of his most valuable possessions in this vault and when the great plague which brought about the fall of the D'ni empire made the Cavern of D'ni an unsafe place to be, he hid himself away in the vault desperate to protect his wealth. With no food or water in the vault, he eventually died with his treasure surrounding him. His remains can still be found lying in the vault, near an open linking book, which leads to his gallery.

Upon completion of the level, players are given another speech by the character Yeesha. This speech highlights another D'ni failing: greed. The speech points out how Kadish's greed for his gold, and how his fear of losing it, ended up causing his own slow suicide. However, Cyan has hidden a Bahro stone in the vault which allows explorers to link to an alternate version of the vault where there is no gold and also no skeleton. A small scrap of paper has the words "I have saved his life," can be found on the ground where Kadish's body lies in the first version of the vault. The font used for the note is the font Cyan uses for Yeesha's handwriting.

Eder Gira
The Age of Eder Gira is a volcanic scrap of land, dotted with steam vents, an open magma channel, and a series of waterfalls. The scenery within the game suggests that there is a much larger part of Eder Gira that cannot be reached by players. The focus of this Age is the linking book to its sister, Eder Kemo.

Eder Kemo
Eder Kemo is the sister Age to Eder Gira, and is depicted as a very lush and wet Age, host to a number of alien flora and a couple of strange living creatures. Many of the walls within the Age contain cave-painting type pictures, supposedly depicting the enslavement within the fictitious D'ni.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * Ae'gura
 * Ferry Terminal
 * Great Staircase
 * Kahlo Pub


 * Bahro Caves


 * Bevins


 * The Cleft

Spiral Ages

 * Eder Delin: A garden Age featuring giant trees and quickly changing seasons.
 * Eder Tsogal: A garden Age featuring a large and bright sun and a soggy environment. Pools of water make up much of the age and the land is covered in most spots with tall grass, cat-tails, and other reeds.

These Ages are an attempt by Cyan to foster more co-operative play amongst explorers. They require more than one player; however, the exact number of players required varies depending on how well individuals are able to control their avatars. The puzzle itself has eight 'stations' to be manned, making eight players the most efficient number of people required to finish the puzzle.

The Pod Age

 * Negilahn: D'ni museum pod located in the middle of a lush jungle. Animals surround this pod, though few can be seen.
 * Dereno: D'ni museum pod located at the planet's northern pole. Numerous fish inhabit this pod, which is placed partially underwater. There are also a pair of rays which feature one large compound eye. Various forms of coral are found here as well.
 * Payiferen: D'ni museum pod located in one of the planet's deserts. The pod is buffeted with wind and blowing stones. The landscape consists mainly of sand and mounds.
 * Tetsonot: D'ni museum pod located off the coast of one one of the planet's many land masses. Unlike the other pods, Tetsonot is badly broken. The pod leaks water (as it is submerged deep in the ocean) and only has emergency lights powering it.

Unlike many other Ages in MO:UL, the true purpose of these pods is somewhat unknown. The pods are said to have been once used by the D'ni as zoological exhibits (commonly referred to as a 'Museum Age') but the rest of the Age's plot importance involves fictional events set in time with each Pod's release and the release of MO:UL episodes.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * Spiral Bahro Caves
 * Pod Bahro Caves
 * Balconies
 * Baron's Office
 * Canyon Mall
 * Concert Hall Foyer
 * The Hall of Kings
 * Kadish Gallery
 * The Library
 * The Museum
 * Palace Alcove
 * Tokotah Alley
 * Tokotah Courtyard
 * Tokotah Rooftop
 * The Great Zero
 * Antechamber
 * Courtyard
 * Calibration Centre

Minkata
Minkata is a vast, desert Age used by the D'ni Guild of Surveyors in their training. The Age is very inhospitable with little shelter. High winds kick up sandstorms that cover the explorable area of the Age (possibly the entire planet). In the desert are five holes in the ground once used by the Surveyors either as shelter or as a goal in training exersizes. Near the link-in point is a large cage structure made up of enormous bones and rope with a roof made of thick skin or a similar material. Three suns shine in this age giving anyone on the age three shadows. In contrast, Minkata also has a night "version" accessible by finding and pressing one of the large stones apparently placed in the Age by the Bahro. At night, two large galaxies spin and the sky is filled with stars and constellations.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * The Great Shaft
 * Scar Bahro Caves

Er'cana


Embracing what may have been the original plan for The Path of The Shell Ages, Explorers were given access to the Watcher's Sanctuary (or Watcher's Pub) in June 2007. This relatively small area contains two book pedestals and a notebook from the DRC giving the fictional history of the Sanctuary. one of the book pedestals quickly became occupied by a linking book to Ercana. The layout for the Watcher's Sanctuary has changed considerably: in the offline version of URU, this pub is colored yellow and brown. In MO:UL, the color scheme is blue.

Upon entering Er'cana, players discover a set of canyons which run through what is apparently a desert. Running throughout the canyons is a transit system, which terminates at an industrial facility. The facility serves as a base of operations for the player; the entire structure must be explored and activated to complete either of Er'cana's main functions.

Originally, the Age served as a way to create 'pellets' that created light which the player used to decipher a graph-like puzzle that had no direct connection to the Age itself. The player would link with a pellet created in Er'cana to a specialized Bahro Cave. It would drop through a hole in the floor to another specialized Bahro Cave which could only be reached through a linking stone in Ahnonay.

Additionally, Cyan created a second goal in the on-line version of Er'cana which was not present in Path of the Shell. Players may retrieve half of a reward disk by touching all of the Journey Cloths in the Age and then walking through a portal created by this process. This new task is in keeping with Cyan's current practice of giving these reward disk (or parts thereof) to players when they complete Ages.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * Ashem'en (or Uran)
 * Watcher's Sanctuary
 * Path of the Shell Bahro Caves
 * Hourglass Bahro Caves (upper section)

Jalak
Jalak is an old D'ni arena in the middle of a deep, thick, humid jungle. The playing area is a simple square 5x5 grid of pillars. Pillars can be raised and lowered 20 positions. On the tops of each pillar are four symbols and colors corresponding to the four directions on a compass. On each of the four sides of each pillars are intricate carvings giving the arena a very Aztec/Meso-American theme. A short way away from the arena are four sets of stands for the crowds to watch (on each of the four sides of the arena square). Currently explorers cannot get up to the seats on top of the stands, but the moss-coated lower portions of the stands can be accessed.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * Kirel

Phil's Relto
A Relto belonging to one of URU's main fictional characters, Phil Henderson. Unlike player Reltos, it is night time in this Relto, and the bookshelf is filled with many more books, though none are accessible.

Age of D'ni Areas

 * Guild of Cartographers' Pub
 * Guild of Greeters' Pub
 * Guild of Messengers' Pub
 * Guild of Maintainers' Pub
 * Guild of Writers' Pub

Episode 9: Exodus
The ninth episode of MO:UL began on November 1, 2007. The Age of Ahnonay, Ahnonay Temple Age, and the library on Myst Island were released. The Age of D'ni area K'veer was also made available to explorers.

Ahnonay
Ahnonay was finally released on [[November 2, 2007 allowing players to complete the Path of the Shell which they begun earlier in 2007. Ahnonay's gameplay requires much linking and the assistance of at least one friend. The player begins in what is known as "Water Ahnonay" - an age of islands in a great expanse of water. The player discovers his or her ability to swim for the first time and has to use this to solve a wide range of challenging puzzles. Although present in previous versions of the offline Uru games, the Age has been modified for online muliplayer interaction.

Ahnonay Cathedral
The entirety of the Ahnonay Cathedral Age consists of two rooms separated by a set of doors. The first room appears as a simple foyer whilst the second is depicted as a hallway which ends in a small circular area. This area contains the linking book to Ahnonay.

Myst Island
Myst Island is the setting of the original Myst game. The Myst franchise takes its name from the fictional island. Within the story of the Myst franchise, Myst Island was the home of Atrus, Catherine, and their sons Sirrus and Achenar. It has been depicted in various Myst games, including the original Myst, realMyst, Uru: The Path of the Shell (though only in part), and in Myst V: End of Ages. Its appearance in Myst Online is identical to its appearance in Complete Chronicles, and, like in Complete Chronicles, one can only explore the library. However, unlike in Complete Chronicles, the fireplace is currently inaccessible.

K'veer
K'veer was, in Myst lore, the private island mansion of the family of Veovis, one of the two people responsible for the destruction of the D'ni empire. K'veer was featured in Myst, Riven, and Myst V: End of Ages. Currently, the Book Room, a main "courtyard" with a main focal point of a stained glass overlooking the lake, and the path to it are released. However, Cyan concept art reveals that there is much more of the island to be seen.

Other Areas

 * Hourglass Bahro Cave (lower section)

Unreleased content
Because of the complicated release history of MO:UL, many players were privy to locations prior to their releases in MO:UL. At the time of cancellation, there were only three areas depicted in previous Uru versions that were not present in MO:UL. In addition, and despite the cancellation, the names of Ages and areas that were being considered for future released are listed on the DRC website.


 * Previously Released Content
 * Gahreesen: The Wall (a.k.a. Gahreesen II)
 * Watcher's Pub: the maze
 * Watcher's Pub: The Great Tree
 * Alluded to Content
 * Ae'gura Aquarium
 * Ae'gura Arch Museum
 * Ae'gura City Interiors
 * Ae'gura Guild Hall
 * Ae'gura Palace Courtyard
 * City Proper
 * City Center
 * J'taeri District
 * Neighborhood Game Room
 * Rahtevnee
 * Teledahn II