Version 1.99 is now released finishing up The Dagger From The Next Dimension series. This release contains all the updates and bug fixes done to the game in 2023. Here is a recap of the changes:

• Adding mechanics to support a future 3D version of DarkDIRE:
  • Land elevation mechanics.
  • Climbing and falling.
  • Support characters facing 360 degrees. (Not noticeable in the 2d version)
  • If your playing a character that can fly, double tap forward (like your are jumping) to fly up a foot. Double tap back to fly down a foot. If you stop flying in mid-air you may fall to your death.
  • NPCs can now spawn flying high in the air. They will appear as shadows on the ground.
  • Siege hammer can now lower ground elevation when striking dirt. Using dirt on already existing dirt will raise the elevation of the ground.
• A new hint system.
• The Empyreans of Wintenydd will now be seen invading the lands. The Empyreans are from another plane of existence and have a different culture than the current nations of the game. They have a unique character skill system with 5 unique classes.
  • Gallant (Strength-Based Damage Class)
  • Duelist (Dexterity-Based Damage Class)
  • Shield-Bearer (Tank Class)
  • Seer (Magic Class)
  • Oracle (Healing Class)
• Added a new quest line in Swampstone focusing on the Empyreans.
• The game expanded to many new types of Aleya Wisps (one for each damage type) as originally intended.
• Menu text updated.
• Chat bubbles will use different fonts of text depending on the language being spoken.
• Windows client will now be 64-bit (Requires a 64-bit OS).
• Adding different skin colors for races.
• NPC Appearance will always spawn the same.
• Bug fix with boats.
• Reproducing livestock.
• New AI mode that makes character move and talk more. Currently only two characters are in the game using it, Aden the Guard Command and Crazy Pete just outside of the City Clerk's Office in Swampstone.
• Added some insects: butterfly's, dragonfly's and bees. Butterfly spawn in nature biomes. Dragonfly's spawn in swampy biomes. Bees are rare (they like roses).
• Certificates of Pardon are now a thing. This item can be used to be pardoned of your crimes.
• A magic reflecting effect can be added to shields. Time your block just right and you can reflect direct damage spells back at the caster. Doesn't work with AOE spells.

Many ages ago in the heart of a small kingdom, a shadow loomed. A fearsome dragon, known as Zygycrynth, had taken residence in the ancient ruins on the outskirts of the land. Its fiery breath scorched the fields, and its roars echoed through the valleys, striking terror into the hearts of the people. Word of the dragon's reign of terror reached the ears of Lady Pallas, the enigmatic paladin in gleaming plate armor. Known for her skill in battle and unmatched valor, she set forth to put an end to Zygycrynth's reign. Gathering a group of Paladins, each devoted to the teachings of the Goddess Juno, they set out towards the ruins. The moon hung low in the night sky, casting an eerie glow upon the ancient stones. The Paladins followed Lady Pallas with unwavering trust. They admired her unwavering dedication to their shared cause and her fierce determination. As they approached the ruins, the earth trembled beneath their feet, and the ground shook with the dragon's approach. Zygycrynth emerged, scales gleaming like molten gold, eyes burning with fiery intensity. With a commanding voice, Lady Pallas rallied her comrades, urging them to stand firm against the formidable foe. The Paladins drew their swords, their hearts filled with courage, and they charged towards the dragon, their armor clinking with each resolute step. The battle was fierce and unforgiving. Zygycrynth's fiery breath lashed out, scorching the earth, but Lady Pallas and her Paladins fought with unwavering resolve. They moved in unison, striking with precision, exploiting every opportunity to pierce the dragon's scales. Lady Pallas, wielding the magical "Sword of White", danced with grace and power, striking blows that echoed with the strength of a goddess. As the battle raged on, Zygycrynth's roars grew weaker, and its movements sluggish. With a final, mighty blow, Lady Pallas struck true, piercing the heart of the dragon. The once-terrifying Zygycrynth fell to the ground, its breath fading into silence. The Paladins, weary but victorious, gathered around their leader, their hearts filled with gratitude and awe for Lady Pallas's leadership. In the quiet aftermath, Lady Pallas approached the spot where Zygycrynth had met his end. She knelt down, her gauntleted hand pressing against the earth. With a surge of divine energy, she left a rune, glowing with a brilliant light, marking the ground as a symbol of their hard-won victory. As the newly forged rune cast a gentle glow upon the battlefield, one of the Paladins approached Lady Pallas. His eyes locked onto her "Sword of White", and a spark of recognition ignited within him. "Recalibur," he murmured, his voice filled with wonder. "This is Recalibur, the legendary sword forged from the shard of Calibur, the magic spear of The All-Father." The realization spread through the Paladin's eyes, widening with astonishment. He looked up at Lady Pallas, his gaze meeting hers, and in that moment, he understood. No words were spoken, no revelations made, but in that silent exchange, the truth was known. Lady Pallas was Juno, the goddess they had sworn to serve.

PVE Runes:

• Pallas Victory Enchantment of Defense
• Pallas Victory Enchantment of Damage
• Pallas Victory Enchantment of Attack

Version 1.93 The Dagger From The Next Dimension is now available in the alpha build channel for Linux and Windows. This version is for alpha testing. I made lots of changes to the base code of the game, so let me know if you find any bugs.
List of Changes and Updates:

• Windows version is now 64-bit, requiring a 64-bit version of Windows. The stand-alone Windows server is also now 64-bit.
• Chat bubbles will use different fonts depending on language being spoken. The game's text was also updated.
• Types of Will-o-the-Wisps have been expanded from 3 to a total of 10: The Old Wisps: Edgealon Aleya: slashing-based lion protective spirit of nature. Massaear Aleya: crushing-based bear protective spirit of nature. Talondor Aleya: piercing-based eagle protective spirit of nature. The New Wisps: Howlaire Aleya: fire-based wolf protective spirit of nature. Fridgalk Aleya: cold-based elk protective spirit of nature. Stormalox Aleya: lightning-based fox protective spirit of nature. Mystialog Aleya: magic-based frog protective spirit of nature. Athenaol Aleya: holy-based owl spirit of nature. Slithenake Aleya: poison-based snake spirit of nature. Pesterod Aleya: disease-based rat spirit of nature.
• A Forgotten Culture added to the game. This will be the story behind the dagger from the next dimension. I will be updating the game to add content/quests for this next.
• Ground elevation added to the game for future 3d version. Up and down arrows will appear to lead the player up or down hills when elevation gets to steep. This arrows will only appear when needed.
• Character facing direction updated to 360 degrees instead of just north/south/west/east for the future 3d version. This won't be obvious in the 2d version of DarkDIRE. But you may notice jumping will now not always be perfectly "up and down" and "left and right" now.
• Push the "U" to go into climbing mode. This is incase you get stuck in a elevation hole and cannot escape. NOTE: For really high climbs, climbing works better when not wearing armor. Can also activate by typing the new "-Climbing" command. (case-sensitive)
• Characters can now choose shading when creating characters to give the appearance of different skin colors, per player request. Admin accounts can do custom shading.
• NPCs will have random shading for different skin colors.
• NPCs will now keep the same armor and clothes when they respawn, per player request.
• BUG FIX: The game will immediately save world map data when it changes, this may fix a bug with ships, per player request.
• New Hints System: The new hint system was originally going to be image-based, but I changed to a text-based hint system. This allows me to quickly make changes to the text if needed (which I seem to have to do a lot) but the trade off is they may not (depending on screen ratio) look as nice.

With version 1.90 currently released, I find that DarkDIRE is getting close to hitting version 2.0. Wanting to do something big with version 2, I decided what could be bigger than making a 3d version of DarkDIRE? This will be no small task, modeling and texturing all the assets of the current game alone is going to be a mammoth undertaking. I already have a rudimentary 3d version running with no 3d assets and characters with no animations. Once I have 1.92 released, I will begin the long process of creating 3d assets and textures for this version. I imagine this will take over a year. The game will be in a low 3d poly style. FYI: The 2d and 3d games will be able to play on the same server. I will continue to maintain the 2d version here as it will receive updates the same time the 3d version does.
I am also working on version 1.92 The Dagger from the Next Dimension. This version will move the game toward 3d by adding elevation to the 2d game. Higher land than the land the character is currently standing on will have an up arrow and land below the character will have a down arrow. Character will not be able to move to ground that is too steep, or they will fall into ground that is too far below. These arrows don't show unless the elevation around the character is steep enough to warrant it.
Other Updates to be added to 1.92: *The game will have a new hint system as shown in a previous update. *The Empyreans of Tartarus will now be seen invading the lands. The Empyreans are from another plane of existance and have a different culture than the current nations of the game. They have a unique character skill system with 5 unique classes. Gallant (Strength-Based Damage Class) Duellist (Dexterity-Based Damage Class) Shield-Bearer (Tank Class) Seer (Magic Class) Oracle (Healing Class) *Added a new quest line in Swampstone focusing on the Empyreans. *The game will expand to many new types of Aleya Wisps (one for each damage type) as originally intended. *Menu text updated. *Chat bubbles will use different fonts of text depending on the language being spoken.






*The game client will now be 64-bit (Requires a 64-bit OS). Updates requested by players: *Adding different skin colors for races. *NPC Armor will always spawn the same. *Bug fix with boats.

I have been busy adding new features for the next update: 1.92 The Dagger from the Next Dimension. One of the new features will be improved in-game hints. No more simple icons floating above objects giving just a few words of information. Here is what I created so far: (Note: These may change before release, and some information may not be correct for the current release)

Version 1.90 is released finishing up The Five Soul-Oath Blades series. This is just a small update mostly focusing on fixing a few bugs that have crept up in the Sword of Torn questline since it was released way back in version 1.19. Also please check out the Sword of Torn Walk Through I just released. List of other changes:

• No reputation enforcement in enemy nations....
• No reputation enforcement by hirelings...
• Trees will now appear as stone blocks when using the phase dagger. (Making your path much clearer.)
• Sword in the Stone (in Blackshield Keep) and Baals' Rising Alter ( in Crystal Sea) will work properly when Protect Premade Cities is switched on.
• God-Level Weapons (like Excalibur and Recalibur) will now properly damage players when used by NPCs.

The kingdom of Union Port long ago built a large stone wall circling the kingdom, but the wall wasn't built to keep out invaders. It was built to seal off the center of the kingdom. Anyone that knows why it was built isn't revealing any secrets. This includes the kingdom's new rulers, the Lin family. The Greencastle Expansion turns the Kingdom of Union Port into a new adventuring zone similar to Swampstone. With new quests, new characters, plenty of new magic weapons and armor, and a challenging dungeon once you advance far enough in the quests. After downloading the expansion pack, rebuild the game world to add the new content. When building the world, a line of text will say that an expansion pack was installed. The Union Port quests begin after completing Anda's Swampstone quests. For anyone not wanting to repeat the Swampstone quests, use this claim code: -ClaimCode Greencastle The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection is required when using a claim code. This code will give you the Seal of Hospitality. The seal will allow you to start the Union Port quests without completing the Swampstone quests. Once you have the seal, use a traveling post to travel to Union Port and talk to Sir Adkins. He will be standing at the Traveling Post. Instructions for adding Greencastle Expansion to a Stand-Alone Server: Requires server version 1.89 or higher. To add the expansion to your server, just copy the 0.DarkDIREExpansion file from the DarkDIRE installation directory to your document folder. When starting the server, it will show the exact location of your document folder.

Version 1.89.259 is now available with the following updates:

• This version is to support the upcoming Greencastle Expansion Pack. Greencastle will be in a Rank 6 zone, so have a character leveled up and ready =) Current release date is 8/15 but may change.
• Dead characters will now display missing body parts. (Per Player Request)
• Oracles will spawn randomly in the world, they will grant buffs.
• New Admin command to change time: for example "-AC Time:1200" will change the time to 12 o'clock pm.
• New oracle can be found in Blackshield Keep. It is quest based so won't buff like the above mentioned oracles.
• Three new randomly spawning maps added. They have a chance to appear in procedural generated kingdoms.
• Human males and females both get a new face graphic for player and NPC characters.
• Many bug fixes.

The Five Soul-Oath Blades

Five monks take an oath to protect. Five master swordsmen rise from the oath. Five deaths come before it is filled. Five souls return to finish the promise. Five swords will be the form. First Iah protect the knowledge. Second Tsuki bring the Hospitable. Third Lleuad free the hostage. Fourth Dal exorcise the criminal. Fifth Luna banish the Eye-Liege.

• Display FPS option for players.
• Now Local Coop play with friendly NPCs.
• Added conjured soul blades and soul-oath blades. They are all a type of Tachi, a swordmastery weapon.
• Fixed a home respawning bug.
• Fixed home door locking/unlocking bug.
• Added a few administrator command shortcuts through chat: [olist]
• teleport target to home: -AC Home
• teleport target to Admin Castle: -AC Castle
• display current server population data: -AC Population
• display current server performance: -AC Performance [/olist]

A large and merry man wearing all red with white trim walks up to you and says, "Merry Yuletide! Let this lead your way." He hands you a fancy staff and quickly departs. Type this code in the chat bar to claim a staff haunted with the holiday spirit. "-ClaimCode MerryChristmas" These codes are available only for a limited time. The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code.

Fixed a bug that may cause the player to earn crime for no reason. Added a Add Fame and Add Crime to Administrator Commands.

Version 1.80 has been released further expanding the Dominion Blade series. Most of these changes are from player requested features: *There seems to be some elite snobbery growing in DarkDIRE. Now every character will have a reputation level. If a character goes into an area higher than their reputation, they will be refused service by merchants and guards will aggressively try to remove them. Improve your reputation by changing classes, not being in combat mode, wearing fancy clothes, cleaning yourself up, and increasing your fame by finishing quests. Theses are the reputation levels: Vagrant(0), Commoner(100), Upper Class/Citizen(250), Noble(500), Elite Noble (1000+). *Some merchants have decided that players should not stay in their stores after they close. They will now throw out the player and lock their doors when they close. The store will reopen in the morning (and after the NPC Spawns.) *Ships can now be boarded and used to sail the world. Defeat the ship's captain and take the ship key to take control of a ship. They can also be converted into airships, but this will require a balloon, airship steam engine, water tank, and airship furnace to be installed on the ship. (This feature added from player's feedback) *Merchants are now selling packs for horses. Once a pack is placed on your horse, it will be able to carry a large number of items. The horse must be in the "mount slot" in your inventory. Horses cannot wear packs and armor at the same time. (This feature added from player's feedback) *Vault deposit screen will scroll your inventory if you select items on the edge of the screen allowing you to reach all of your items. (This feature added from player's feedback) *The people of DarkDIRE decided it would make more sense if sleeves were attached to shirts and jackets. The sleeve slots are now designed for underlayers instead. *Added a new quest type "Leave Item at Location" for future content expansions. *Wand of Digging can now be rarely found in dungeons. They do both magical and physical siege damage to buildings. Requires wizardry or sorcery, depending on the particular wand. *If a player dies in a perma-death zone, another player can take the body part that the dead player drops to a healing store in a non perma-death area and have that player resurrected the next time they log in. (This feature added from player's feedback) *BUG FIX: Using stair cases will no longer randomly return the player back to the previous level.

Version 1.70 has been released expanding The Dominion Blade series with many changes and new features (many of them from player feedback). And more updates are in the works even as this version goes live.

• *Added new monsters: Giant Floating Eyeballs, and Floating Eyeballs. Also these monsters will always be a good target to hit with a dominion blade.
• *Added new monsters: Non Giant versions of Snakes, scorpions, and spiders.
• *Added racial powers for some monsters: Dragons will now have dragons breath (AOE Cloud). Snakes, scorpions, and spiders will each have a unique poison power. Eyeballs have a stun power.
• *Lowered casting time progression: Spells/Powers will now hit 1 second cast at for level 10 spells at 300% skill instead of 450% skill.
• *Spell Balancing: "All-Skill" Spell Buff Rank 10 was +5 is now +20.
• *Spell Balancing: "Single Skill" Spell Bonus Rank 10 was + 10 is now +30.
• *Item Effect Balancing: Jewelry Base Stat Bonus was +5 is now + 10.
• *Casting buffs on items now only requires the spell to be cast on one item for full effect.
• *Wielding a dominion blade will now allow you to rarely increase your dominion even when you have not achieved immortality.
• *All Elementalist's AOE spell is now targetable, and they now have a 5th power "Cloud AOEs" that require action points to cast.
• *More improvements on how server handles NPC spawning and AI.
• *New "fancy" clothing for all nations.
• *All trees (except cave roots) will now sway in the wind. Some trees had to be redrawn. (Tree sway only if the wind is blowing. This changes randomly at midnight. Admins can now use "-AdministratorCommand 14:2" or "-AC 14:2" in chat to make the wind blow immediately if it isn't)
• *Removed some of the extra text when building a new world.
• *Anda will now give you a lamp if you pick dungeon in her first quest.
• *Added "DarkDIRE" name to startup screen and rearranged some text there.
• *Added information to character sheet: Explains young characters receive a decrease in stats until they reach 17 years of age.
• *Added description on lowering which stat will raise another in training screen.
• *Fixed a rare bug with "display.cfg" having garbage data.
• *Wisp dust particles will now properly appear around wisp trees and not desert trees.
• *Notice flags will now always display in red when it is a debuff.
• *Merchants now will randomly sale satchels (new item) and backpacks.
• *Chat from quest conversations will now also appear as chat bubbles.
• *Admin map updated with crafting boss NPCs.
• *Doors on walls running north and should should now line up with the walls of the building.
• *Added give gift feature allowing you to give gifts to other characters/NPCs.
• *NPCs now know how to use healing potions.
• *Healing magics words can be used with wizardry/sorcery if you have the healing skill.
• *When "Protect Premade Cities" is on, NPCs will respawn slower but will reset immediately when player number reaches zero.
• *NPCs caster's casting level will now properly match their rank.
• *BUG FIX: Screen setup will now reset when changing characters.
• *Sailing ships will now appear at least once on every northern shore, per player feedback.
• *Added crafting satchels to hold crafting and world building items, per player feedback.
• *New neutral nation safe mode when changing areas or logging in, per player feedback.
• *Corrected several grammar mistakes, per player feedback.
• *Fixed bug causing characters weapons disappearing when moving, per player feedback.
• *Added buttons to the store selling screen to allow scrolling through your inventory, per player feedback.
• *Stores will now auto junk ruined items that it buys, per player feedback.
• *Added a "Sell All Ruined Items" button in the selling screen, per player feedback.
• *Added a "Take All Items From Ground" in the looting screen, per player feedback.
• *Edit the "server.cfg" file for these new settings (all from player feedback): [olist]
• Overworld Permadeath?
• Dungeon Permadeath?
• Universal PVE to allow PVE players to buff each other even when enemies... [/olist]
• *New black colored heavy armor for the Dark Clan (For future content but may spawn on random dark clan warriors)
• *New epic sword and scabbard, "Honor of the Lady" templar sword and scabbard. (For future content)
• *New world objects that will buff an item when dropped on it. (For future content)
• *New "Tunnel" world objects. (For future content)
• *Items on the ground can be "For Sale" in a store close to the object (for future content).
• *Administrator World Building mode improvements. (For creating future content)

Version 1.60 has been released with the following updates:

• A notice flag will now notify players of new buffs, new debuffs, expired buffs, expired debuffs, group chat and tells. This can be turned off in the display settings if you choose.
• New hirable NPCs will occasionally spawn close to hireling boards.
• Chat bubbles will now appear over characters when they speak. This can be turned off in the display settings if you choose.
• Character names can be randomly generated if the player wishes during character creation.
• A new type of magic gem have been found in the world that will increase a character's dominion magic and fill wizardry and sorcery bars. These will rarely spawn in chests.
• Click the world on the Administer world building screen to build faster.
• Added a remove world object button on Administrators world building screen.
• The correct biome will now be displayed across a kingdom's border.
• Union Port will now be part of the sea coast and not inside it to prepare for future updates on this city.

We are now rolling out the newest version of DarkDIRE. The windows and linux versions will be available immediately, the mac version will be released sometime within the next few weeks. Update notes: Fixed a bug causing randomly generated seashores to not build in the correct directions. Better syncing of melee timers with server. Fixed a bug: Updates to the world map causing lag on client. Kingdoms with lots of NPCS (aka Swampstone) should spawn these NPCs faster. Characters with fully trained jumping skill will complete a jump instantly as originally intended. Characters will face the correct direction after jumping. Desktop version have a button at startup to switch between full and windowed view. Fixed a bug labeling all character on a admin account as admins.

A strange blue man standing over ten feet appears before you. "Pathetic," he says looking down on you, "but I can see the spark of potential." He waves his hand and a grand sword explodes from the sky and impales into the ground in front of you. "Behold the legendary Arcanenewyn, the eater of magic. This sword may allow you to feed that spark and be more." He laughs, "Just call it a gift from the Djinn. No worries, after you fail you pathetic moral, I will retrieve my sword and all the power you feed it." The blue man fades away.
DarkDIRE's crafting system allows players to make very unique and powerful items. I enjoy crafting items myself and sharing them with other players. Claim this item two-handed sword, Arcanenewyn, by typing in the chat window: "-ClaimCode DominionBlade" (Must match upper and lower case characters.) Arcanenewyn is a dominion blade that will allow you to leach the power from other players and any NPCs that have dominion magic. Don't use two-handed swords? Arcanenewyn can be savaged, allowing you to imbue the magic of this weapon on other weapons.

List of updates and changes:

• Server administrators have the option to allow players to upload local characters to their server.
• To make traveling the world easier, all randomly built ruling castles that are friendly to trade union merchants will have a traveling post.
• Fixed spell economy changing too fast, making it seem spell power didn't increase with training.
• Using skill powers that use magic may slowly increase one of the character's magic dominions.
• Changed the buttons for controlling Titan Crystal to words.
• Removed the period after the question mark on the full inventory message.
• "Adventurers Guild" is now "Adventurer's Guild."
• Backpacks are now no drop on death. Sorry previously made backpacks before this version are still drop on death.
• Compass will now properly point to your last death point when you [USE] your compass.
• Increased NPC's the drop rate of marks and skill books from 5% to 10%.
• Mounts will now be displayed at the correct depth.
• Scrolls that spawn next to donation boxes will now be displayed at the correct depth.
• Shops will now give you full items descriptions on items you are selling.
• Fixed text overs from blinking when power buttons are on timer.
• Large objects like trees will fade so players can see inside of rooms.
• The elven race starting house will no longer be plagued with zombies at night.
• Fixed bodyfat storage display incorrectly when the number should be zero.
• Removed "Leave World" option from Mac version, it may cause a crash. Mac users will only be able to "End World". Server administrators have the option to allow players to upload local characters to their server.

I have updated DarkDIRE to version 1.52 The Dominion Blade. This update is based mostly on the feedback I got from players. *Double tap jumping. (per player feedback) *Coin will now always stack when picked up. (per player feedback) *When dropping coin, you will be asked how much. (per player feedback) *Coins can be deposited into banks as an amount or an item. (per player feedback) *Horses will now always take the last inventory spot. If an item is already there, that item will be moved. (per player feedback) *Open Bags, crates and barrels can be duplicated with the correct workshop. (per player feedback) *Prince/Princess that spawn with your love's name will be the same race as the player. (per player feedback) *Fixed XP Reward amount for the Wastelands Quest. (per player feedback) *Fix scrolls from being used up when casting a spell when the use actually fails. (per player feedback) *Kingdom rulers can turn on/off if their kingdom appears is in the list of cities available for travel at traveling posts. (per player feedback) *Kingdom rulers can now make documents allowing others to travel to their kingdoms for free with traveling posts. (per player feedback) *Fixed a bug with reusing arrows picked up from the ground (per player feedback). *Titan Crystals will be more simple to use (per player feedback). *Scrying added to crystal balls. *Projectiles should now terminate at (or close to) the correct locations (per player feedback). Please keep the ideas coming for future updates.

Version 1.50 The Dominion Blade Released with the following changes and updates: *Temple of the Prior now has a fifth power: Seraphim Transformation. *Added Sphere Magic, the magic that immortals/gods use. Immortals can use certain words to cast spells without the use of wizardry or sorcery. *Linked all magic words to a magical sphere. *Better client/server sync for NPC movement and this has adjusted NPC movement speeds. *New shape-shifting spell "HEP." *Added Attics, allows buildings to have an upper level. *God-Like-Beings may be of the Seraphim race or Djinn race depending on their starting skills. *A new resource, God's Blood, when added to a weapon allows the wielder to steal other NPC/players sphere magic. *DarkDIRE Console Based server can now be set to output less text. *NPCs when parried/blocked/evaded will be off-balance for a short time and will not be able to jump. *The City of Blackshield Keep is now a hybrid premade/generated city. *Added the last two crafting bosses to the world. A Fletching and Gem Cutting bosses can both be found in Blackshield Keep. *Fixed a bug causing dungeons not to load. *Raids will now move around the continent and will be visible on the map.

DarkDIRE version 1.40.210 has been released with the following updates and changes: Characters that gain immortality will be able to learn extra skills. Added a few new building graphics styles. Added and changed some of the music in-game. NPCs will now drop (5% chance) skill books or runes base on theirclass. Example: Kill wizards NPC to get wizard skill books and intelligence runes. (Per Player Feedback) Added randomly generated map, Circle of Class, this will spawn a lot of the same class NPCs to help with finding skill books and runes of a certain type. (Per Player Feedback) Spell Economy now works. Only one type of each power crystal will spawn in the world. Weapons with bite/exposing/bound effects can change the level of the spell economy of the world when hitting these crystals. Added minor power crystals, they will allow players to see current spell economy levels. Administrators Only: Admin accounts will now have a couple more race options during character creation including one very overpowered race. Added code to better sync the timers between client and server. Improved Melee timers. When building contestable random generated kingdoms, the generator will now attempt to add skill training areas. (Per Player Feedback) Fixed some bugs/play issues with werewolf werebears and wererats. Bug Fix: Coaches not offering all traveling locations. Bug Fix: Limited how much gold and be spawned at one time with Admin Commands. (Per Player Feedback) Bug Fix: Limited how much XP can be granted with Admin Commands. Bug Fix: Corrected the description of Lightning Elementalist Storm Spell. (Per Player Feedback) Bug Fix: When changing characters, there was an issue with the client syncing character data with the server. (Per Player Feedback)

During the time of the First Rising, the undead god Baal plagues the world with undead hordes in an attempt to destroy all life. The great mage Kronus recruits a powerful human wizard named Dryer and together they invent a new form of magic, necromancy. Armed with necromancy the two great mages are able to take control of the undead from Baal and soon ending the plague of the First Rising. But as Dryer grows older he began to fear death. And in secret creates a powerful evil ritual with necromancy. This ritual grants Dryer immortality and converts him into the world's first lich But this isn't the only thing it does to Dryer. Dryer's mind is slowly corrupted by the evil magic. He soon takes on a new name "The Dark Remnant." And in his paranoia begins his own undead rising against the living. It is his Second Rising that we now face today upon our world. Necromancy is one of the more powerful skills in DarkDIRE. It has a damage type that not only damages your enemies but has a chance to leave them with disease status that will cripple them. It can animate dead into zombies (Not controlled by the necromancer once animated) including other player characters. It can build dead bodies from body parts and animate them (is controlled by necromancer once animated). It has access to an ability to read and use "Dead Scripts" that give the necromancer a wide range of abilities even a ritual to become a lich. The first power that can be trained by necromancers is "Touch of the Dead". This allows the necromancer to drain health from his/her enemy thru a melee attack. This becomes useful later on if the necromancer decides to become an undead, who have trouble regaining health. The second power that can be trained by necromancers is "Plague Fever". This casts a magic bolt that does disease damage. Anyone damaged with disease damage has a chance to be diseased if they are hurt (less then max health). Once someone is diseased they can easily spread the disease to others around them. Disease will slowly drain stamina to half and make it difficult to regain it. Remove disease potions are commonly sold by healers. The third power trainable by necromancy is "Necromancer's Animation". This skill can be used in two different ways. The most simple way to use it is to raise fallen allies as zombies. This includes NPCs and other players. NPCs raised with this skill don't become pets but continue on their own AI. Another way to use this skill is to animated skeletons that you have equipped in your off-hand. These skeletons become pets that the necromancer can control. Finding skeletons isn't too difficult but you will need a shovel. Once you have a shovel find graves that have a name. For example "Here lies Baanur". Dig. ("Use" the shovel while already holding a weapon. You cannot dig with an equipped shovel.) There is a good chance you will find a skeleton. Now equip the skeleton in your offhand and cast your animation spell. Skeletons are not very powerful but there is a way to make the skeleton stronger before you animate it. Add body parts. This will take some work. You need a weapon with the "+Hacks" effect. (Spoiler: There is a sword with this effect the far northeast corner of Swampstone.) Start killing enemies with this sword. When you kill with it there will be a random chance that part of the enemy will be hacked off. Find it by "Looting" the dead character. This part can be added to your skeleton. Parts will need to be added in order. Starting with a torso, then a head, etc... One issue you may run into when collecting body parts is a necromancer is an intelligence-based skill and melee skills require strength (or maybe dexterity depending on the weapon.) Also, the skeleton will take the name of the last body part added to it. A body part from "Bob the Hero" will name your skeleton "Bob the Hero". The fourth skill that can be trained by necromancers is "Plague Chills". This skill is simply a resistance debuff against disease damage. Once this is cast on an enemy, your "Plague Fever" bolts will do much more damage. The fifth skill "Read Dead Scripts" requires not only to be trained like the other skills but needs action points to use it. Have the skillfully trained and a total of five action points to use the skill at full power. Gain action points by defeating enemies. There are many dead texts that the player can find:

• Dead Text of Plague Cough: Casts an area of effect of expose to disease and disease damage.
• Dead Text of Plague Fever: Casts an area of effect with pure disease damage.
• Dead Text of Plague Endue: Casts a disease resistance buff on the caster.
• Dead Text of Plague Spreads: Casts a flying buff on the caster.
• Dead Text of Plague Creeps: Casts an invisibility buff on the caster.
• Dead Text of Summon Demon: Summons a demon to serve the caster.
• Dead Text of Summon Ghost: Summons a ghost to serve the caster.
• Dead Text of Summon Vampire: Summons a vampire to serve the caster.
• Book of Soul Trapping (Rare): A ritual to become a lich. Requires an empty bottle to hold the caster's soul. The lich has two forms living and dead. If a living lich falls in battle then they will regain all their health and become undead. Liches make powerful wizards and sorcerers. They will regain magic, unlike normal mages that much cast spells to do so. Breaking the bottle will free the caster from this curse. If you lose the bottle, the caster will forever be a lich.
• Book of Vampire Charm (Rare): Allows the caster to create a necklace that will allow a vampire to appear as a living being to move among them unnoticed.

Its been a long seven months since our last update but it should have been worth the wait. The highlights of this update are the improved world content generator and combat improvements. You will need to train up your jump skill... Update List: *The random world generator has been revamped. The world is now generated on three separate levels: Continent Level. The game world will now be on a single continent. Continents are randomly generated on world creation. Players can re-roll the continent to get exactly what they want. View the continent map in-game by using a compass. Kingdom Level: Kingdoms will now have chains of mountains, rivers, roads, etc. They will link up with surrounding kingdoms. Some kingdoms will have their villages and castles protected by a wall of mountains, rivers, or forests with only one well-protected road in. Closeup level: Maps will now be more open and less maze-like with a variety of environments. Also, a random generator for houses and castles has been added. *Passable borders for kingdoms. You will now be able to see and travel into the next kingdom anywhere along the border. Premade cities will maintain their solid borders since they were designed for this. *Trees have grown quite a bit. Trees around your character will fade to help you see thru them. *Jumping Skill has been implemented. Train up your jumping skill to allow not only jumping past pits and water but also combat jumps. NPCs will also be using these combat jumps so beware. *New characters can now select a defensive skill (Parrying, Blocking, Evasion) along with the normal skill choices during character creation. *New characters now must enter more role-playing information in character creation. *PERMADEATH and HUNGER has been changed. Permadeath and hunger are now always active in dungeons! *Experienced players can now pick PERMADEATH roguelike start for new characters. This will place the character on a forgotten and unfriendly island in the sea. There will be a few starting items and a dungeon entrance for the character to explore. Good luck! *Ships will allow your character to teleport long distances by sea. This is also how your character can reach islands in the sea that aren't attached to the main continent. *Auto Zoom: The world will autozoom when inside a building or in an area that has a lot of buildings. *Combat Zoom: The world will zoom in when in combat. Autozoom and combat zoom can be adjusted in the display menu (Press F7). *Larger view of the world so more tiles can be seen on the screen. You can use the zoom feature in the display settings to zoom back the older zoom if you don't like this larger view. *NPCs will now spawn and aggro at a greater distance from the player and lower rank NPC movement speeds have been increased. *Improve pathfinding for NPCs. *Per Player Feedback: Change movement from arrow keys to WASD keys. Key settings can be customized if you don't like this change. *Now get invites for online servers by just pushing the "Get Invite" button on the server selection screen. *Melee timer has been added to show the player when they can attack again. Two-handed weapons will be slow but deal high damage, while lighter weapons will be fast but deal less damage. *Per Player Feedback: Vampires will now carry Bottles of Vampire Blood which can be used by the player to get the curse of vampirism or if used by vampires as a healing potion. *Werewolves, wererats, and werebears will now drop bloody meat that can be eaten to get this curse as well. *Administrators can now make skill-books with admin commands. *Items dropped on the ground will now disappear faster in premade cities. *Per Player Feedback: Added job board and coin exchange in Grifmae Valley's Trade Union outpost. *Add a new store "Bookstore" which will mostly sell skill-books. Libraries will still give away free skill-books. *"Administrator World Building" screen has been updated. *BUGFIX: Characters with a crime will lose the class Criminal when returning to legal status. *BUGFIX: adding too much gold to a city will no longer flip it into the negative numbers. *BUGFIX: Was unable to destroy trees or other nature owned objects in premade cites when City Protection is active.

An unusual cold wind blows drawing your attention to a glint of light. There is no mistaking the shine of silver. You walk over to it and find an abandoned silver sword and pick it up. It is definitely silver but why doesn't it show any signs of tarnish? Is it magical? Could that be it? You examine the sword closer and a deep chill of cold runs down your spin. The sword is clearly older then you thought, maybe even ancient. And yes it is magic, you can clearly feel a cold power radiating from it. You look around and no one noticed you taking the sword. The cold chill in your spin doesn't fade.
Type this code in the chat bar to claim a cold bite silver sword. "-ClaimCode SilverSword" These codes are available only for a limited time. The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code.

New version now available with the following updates and changes: *Slight variety in world object/world terrain coloring. This can be turned off in display settings. *NPCs can now be scripted to have conversations with each other when they met. *NPCs can now be scripted to perform a certain action when reaching a certain point in the world. Example: A summoner could summon a monster to attack the town. *NPCs can now be created to have two different movement types depending on the time of day. *Replace the swaying motion of some world objects with a vibe action. *New world object Listening Stones: they will trigger a door to open when it hears the correct word in the correct language. *The northeast section of Swampstone will get new content around the ruins and graveyard. Requires a world rebuild if upgrading from older versions. *Anda gets a new questline that will feature some of the new NPC scripting listed above. Requires a world rebuild if upgrading from older versions. *Anda will now move south of the town at night and help fight zombies. *Gold awards for Aleya Arenas will be greatly increased. *Aleya Command Rune: "Rune of Healing" will now work properly. *Fixed an issue with "Ritual of the Wight" caused by client/server spell sync issues. *Lowered the recast for "Voodoo Charm" monster charm, "Call of the Wild" animal charm, and "Deceptive Art" charm human spells. *Added more motion to the current "running while on guard" animations. *Added different "running while on guard" animations when a character is below 50% health. *Lycanthropy Improvements: Added Wererats and Werebears. Were-Monsters Horrible rats will now spread rat lycanthropy. Horrible bears will now spread bear lycanthropy. Horrible wolves will continue to spread wolf lycanthropy. Players now infected with lycanthropy will now have a new hybrid humanoid animal form that can be activated anytime with the "Wereform" power: Werewolf Humanoid Form: -Does slashing damage. -Has slash damage shield. -Racial stamina bonus. -Racial stamina recovery bonus. -Racial attack bonus. -Racial damage bonus. -Strength buff. -Health and stamina heal when taking form. Wererat Humanoid Form: -Does piercing damage -Has pierce damage shield. -Racial stamina bonus. -Racial stamina recovery bonus. -Racial defense bonus. -Racial damage bonus. -Dexterity buff. -Health and stamina heal when taking form. Werebear Humanoid Form: -Does slashing damage. -Has slash damage shield. -Racial Health bonus. -Racial Health Recovery bonus. -Racial damage bonus. -Racial physical resists bonus. -Constitution buff. -Health and stamina heal when taking form. *Added new food: "Wolfsbane" -Makes players not infected with lycanthropy immune to lycanthropy. -Players already with lycanthropy when eaten in wereform will be poisoned. -Players already with lycanthropy when eaten in non-wereform will no longer automatically turn into an animal at night. *Silver weapons will now do large amounts of extra damage to anyone infected with lycanthropy.

Wandering alone, a fully armored horse walks up to you and nudges you with its head. You look around and its owner is nowhere to be seen. Examining the horse closer you see it is one of the finest horses you have ever seen. It not only appears very healthy, but it is also wearing high-quality armor with a white flowing surcoat. On the side of the armor is engraved the horses' name, Balius the Charger. As you take the horses' reigns you wonder what happened to Balius' previous owner.
Type this code in the chat bar to claim an amazing steed: "-ClaimCode ChargerHorse" Type this code for the matching surcoat: "-ClaimCode LostSurcoat" These codes are available only for a limited time (Expires July 1st, 2019). The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code.

New version now available with the following new features and changes: *To survive you must now find food and eat:

• Your skills will suffer if you get too hungry or eat too much.
• You will eventually starve to death if you don't eat.
• Eating too much will put you to sleep.
• Swing your melee weapon at vegetable plants or mushrooms for a chance for food.
• Your character can slowly build up body fat to help delay starving to death.
• Foods will now slowly spoil over time.
• Drinking anything including potions will slightly help with hunger.
• Bartender Counters will now sell food.
• Don't like this feature? You can turn off hunger in the local game settings.

• Cow Hoof: Makes imbue: +Defensive. Weapon only. Increase your defense. Cannot be used with +Attack effect. (was cattle hide leather)
• Cattle-Hide Leather: Makes imbue: +Defense. Armor & Cloth only. Increase your defense. Cannot be used with +Assault effect. (was cow hoof)
• Deer-Skin Leather: Makes imbue: +Assault. Armor & Cloth only. Increase your attack. Cannot be used with +Defense effect. (was goat hoof)
• Goat Hoof: Makes imbue: +Damage. Weapon only. Increase your melee damage. (was deer skin leather)

Character Template: The Conqueror Build Build Highlights:

• Strength-Based
• Two-Handed High-Damage Axe
• High Physical Resists

A man hiding his face with a cloak walks up to you, "Where have you been? The Thieves Guild does not like waiting. The mission your temple funded was successful. The guild managed to steal the magic from the elves in Grifmae. We used it to forge this staff. It only works when used on a special magic crystal ball. We have another member that will deliver that to you soon." He hands you a staff wrapped up in a cloth and quickly departs. Type this code in the chat bar to claim the staff made from stolen elven magic: "-ClaimCode DruidsStaff" Type this code for a crystal ball: "-ClaimCode HeavyCrate" These codes are available only for a limited time (Expires May 1st, 2019). The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code.

Finding the crafting resources you need is now much easier. Now you will be able to craft the custom gear you need for your character builds. See the new Offical Crafting Guide for More Information: DarkDIRE's Official Guide To Crafting

Full List of New Features and Updates:

• All cooking pots will now have a low-level food cooked ready to eat.
• Raw foods come in 4 different food groups: Vegetables, Mushrooms, Meat, & Eggs.
• Cooking pots can now be used to cook two types of foods from different food groups together once the old food is dumped or used up.
• Dinnerware is required to take food from cooking pots.
• Dinnerware will spawn on tables that don't already have an item on them during world building.
• Cookingware is used during the cooking process to change the speed certain ingredients cook.
• Forks and spoons can be used to give a rank bonus to food effects when used before eating.
• More animals will drop food.
• Eggs can now be cooked.
• Old farming resources have been replaced with vegetables and mushrooms.
• Vegetables will grow above ground.
• Mushrooms will grow underground.

• Added a portal gem that will teleport the player to the ghost of Knight of Torn.
• Changed the boss battle with the Blood Well in the crystal sea.
• Split the end of the sword of the torn quest into two parts.

The Fletcher tells his apprentice, "Highland rock steel may not hold an edge but it makes the best blunt arrowheads. Then when you dip them into an imbue made from petrified wood it will take out any undead, especially skeletons." Type this code in the chat bar to bring down an undead raid onto the kingdom your currently in, plus you get really nice arrows. "-ClaimCode SkeletonBane" The code is available only for a limited time (Expires March 1st, 2019). The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code. DarkDIRE version 1.24.163 released with these new features: *Added Raids, an aggressive spawn of enemy NPCs. Raids may start with events (10% chance). Raids will always start when activating a rebirth crystal. *Changed color of the water in undead lands so it wouldn't blend so much with everything else. *Redistribution and some renaming of crafting resources to make finding crafting resources easier.

• Example 1: Willow Bark is gained from Weeping Willow Trees.
• Example 2: Forest Stone Diamonds are gained from Forest Stone.
• Example 3: Pig-Skin Leather only comes from killing a pig.

• Combine Wooden Sticks and Feathers = Arrowshafts (Sticks and Feathers can be used many times before running out.)
• Combine Arrowshafts and Arrowheads = Arrows
• Use Fletching Tool on Marbled Steel or Any Iron = Piercing Arrowheads.
• Use Fletching Tool on Highland Rock Steel = Blunt Arrowheads for Crushing Damage.
• Use Fletching Tool on Forest Stone Steel = Broadhead Arrowheads for Slashing Damage.
• Arrowheads can also be dipped into Slayer, Bite, and Bound Imbues for an extra magic effect.

The kingdom of Galbury is under siege by the Pirates of Miir. Lord Audther Lance has sent out a call for help. He seeks adventurers to help clear his kingdom. Type this code in the chat bar to receive a passport to the Rank 2 Kingdom of Galbury: "-ClaimCode HelpForGalbury" The code is available only for a limited time (Expires Feb 1st, 2019). The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code. This passport can be used at a traveling post when there is a coach available for travel. Worlds build in the previous version may need to be rebuilt for this item to work. (After the game starts up select: Local World Settings/Destroy the World) DarkDIRE version 1.23.153 released with these new features: *Added passports to take you to other new adventuring zones thru a traveling post. Look in bookcases for "Passport and Instructions". *Fixed a bug casting wizardry thru scrolls with the on-screen hotkeys. *Added Keyboard hotkeys 0 - 1 that can be set up to use your character's powers. *Clicking wizard or sorcery bars can increase or decrease your current casting level. *Added keyboard keys to control casting level. *PVE player's pets will no longer attack other PVE players when they are in an enemy nation. *Key mapping screen will now display the names of the keys instead of the key's number. *Stores should now *we hope* will always have the correct equipment for sale for the store type. *Updated MAC version to show the name of the game and have a better resolution by default. *Able to use the "-" key with controllers. *Prior and Psion trainers will now always show up in Swampstone. *Vampires can now rest on open coffins to regain health. *Vampire's Charm necklaces can now be made with necklaces with no nation flag. *Vampires Charm necklaces now show the vampire as a count. *Fixed the timer delay on changing nation membership. It may take up to 14 minutes for a character to change nations. *Necromancers in the undead nation will no longer be undead. *Necromancer powerful enough to use Dead Texts can now just click the Use button to activate it. *Knockback will now temporarily remove flight.

The old man tells you, "Don't go down there without a good light. If it is dark you won't see em coming. They will swarm ya." With the latest update of The Druid's Staff, we wish to promote dungeon exploring. And you should never explore a dungeon without a good or rusty lantern. Type this code in the chat bar to receive a Free Rusty Lantern: "-ClaimCode RustyLantern" The code is available only for a limited time (Expires February 1st, 2019). The code is case sensitive so type carefully and make sure you have room in your inventory. Internet connection required when using a claim code. Lantern must be in your character's left hand and there is a on/off button. New Features and Bug Fixes with version 1.22.145: *Testing a MacOS version on STEAM. *Added necromancer trainer in Swampstone. *Added Thieves Guild Quest NPC that will give random quests so players can gain fame to remove crime. *Fixed a bug with PVP players earning crime. *Monuments can now be used to join classes. *Recipes can now have a nation style flag so players can craft armors styles from other nations. *Fixed a bug with letters/books not connected with maps giving false coordinates. Happy Adventuring!

A new beta version of DarkDIRE is available with the following new features and bug fixes: *Add "Rebirth Mode" for kingdoms. When NPCs and resources are spent in a kingdom, the kingdom will go into this mode. A "Rebirth Crystal" will activate and start to spread a different biome with new resources and NPCs. It will be controlled by an enemy nation of the current nation. The new NPCs will start fighting with the old NPCs on sight. Existing buildings will be destroyed. *Add a new series of staffs called "Staffs of Rebirth". They do siege damage and can be used to force a "Rebirth Crystal" to activate regardless of the kingdom's current condition. *Add gathering jobs for player characters. Useful for players that have their own kingdom with heirs, since these "heir" characters are always logged in with your main character, might as well put them to work. Player characters with an active job will automatically move around and collect resources with woodcutting, mining, farming, and treasure hunting. *Creeping vines world object. *Fixed a bug with stacking world building items (Barrels, Crates, and Bags). *World Building Mode will now automatically target world objects when your character moves. *Per player feedback, the library in the elven starting kingdom will now be open during the day. *Kingdom exporting for rulers will now work on steam versions and will properly save all world object data. *Downloading your character from a another world to your world will now also save the characters equipment. *Per player feedback, You will now be able to delete your characters from the character selection menu. *Per player feedback, Added a simple grouping for players can share XP from kills. Target another player and click group. The other player will need to do the same. *Fixed some bugs related to switching between main character and heirs. If you wish to join the beta: Right-click DireDIRE in steam. Select properties. Select the "BETAS" Tab. Opt into "Beta - Test the latest updates"

Welcome to DarkDIRE. I hope you enjoy the game as much as I did creating it. It is rare for a day to go by that I don't work on the game, so I am always open to new suggestions. Let me know if you have any questions. Questions/Suggestions/Bug Reports: DarkDIRE Forums On Steam You can find information on the latest version here: Updates on www.darkdire.com You can find what I am working on for the next version here: Development on www.darkdire.com Thanks, CounterParry