Dark Age Of Camelot: Grab Baguette, Revisited

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Q: What are the system specs for Catacombs?

A: Minimum:
Pentium III 1.4 GHz or AMD equivalent
512 MB RAM
Requires compatible 3D acceleration card with 64 MB video RAM
DirectX© 9.0 or later

Preferred:
Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or AMD equivalent
1 GB RAM
Compatible 3D acceleration card with 128 MB video RAM
DirectX© 9.0 or later

While it is possible to play with a system a touch below the minimum, I really, really wouldn't. However, I do not have a home machine anywhere NEAR that "preferred" set of specs, and I'm doing okay. Take that for what it's worth, meaning my opinion and three bucks gets you a frappucino.

But while we're on the topic:

Q: I have recently bought TOA, and I keep crashing. QQ!

A: (QQ means "so sad I'm crying," for all of you who do not obsessively camp the internet.) In many cases, we have found that crashing people who have recently bought our latest expansion need to upgrade their video card. If you were borderline on the Shrouded Isles specs, TOA will definitely make you QQ.

For more information on what cards go with what expansions, and much, much more, go here: http://support.darkageofcamelot.com/kb/search.php?query=supported+video+cards

For help getting a supported video card to work, one clearly labeled as "supported" for the expansion you're trying to play, go here: http://support.darkageofcamelot.com/help/ (And if the form refuses to cooperate with you, please just email support AT darkageofcamelot.com - I'm sorry for any annoyance.)

Q: What delineates whether or not a weapon can be dyed? For example, in one of the patch notes, it says "The Arcanium Cyclopean Cloud Chaser can now be dyed," but the weapon itself does not have the "This weapon may be dyed with enamels obtained from the denizens of Shrouded Isles, etc." tag when you delve it. Is this tag in the delve window what determines it, or did the devs forget to put the tag on certain weapons, and the patch notes are correct? Also, are more lusters being implemented for alchemists in the future?

A: This was a question for our beloved Item Mistress, and she replied, "When we flag weapons as "able to be dyed with an enamel," we also add the text line indicating what type of enamel can be used. We didn't start adding this line until many weapons were already in the game, and sadly we have missed adding it to some of them. We do however fix these as soon as we find them and any patch notes are accurate. As for new weapon lusters in Alchemy, we have no plans in the immediate future to add more."

No find and replace feature invented by mere mortals can ever hope to compete with the awesome collective power of our players, so if you find a weapon that can be dyed, but the delve says nothing, please report it as a bug.

Q: Why did you make New Frontiers less about the keeps?

A: In response to feedback (and lots of it) asking us to strike a better balance between open field combat and keep taking. I've had many clever ideas from you all on this topic, and I really appreciate the time many of you have poured into your emails. I have the coolest job in the world.

Q: Why does a friar's instant taunt ability interrupt casters when it has no RVR effect?

A: Because (I am told) that is what it was designed to do - interrupt a caster. The thirty second reuse timer is intended to make the user choose his target wisely.

Q: You posted the official MLA page stuff, so I went there, and when I was reading the "Sojorner" section I came across a typo in this spot: "Phase Shift - Self buff that provides nigh-invulnerability..." - did you mean high?

A: Nope; nigh is a rarely used word meaning "near" or "close to." Save an archaic word today - support your local fantasy gamer!

Q: You didn't leave the beta sign up form open long enough.

A: This wasn't a question, exactly, but I sure got a lot of feedback forms with this one. I surely do see your general point, so I want to try and do a better job of explaining mine. I posted on October 1 that the form would be up within the next two weeks. On the 5th, I said it would be up on Friday the 8th. On the 8th, I slapped it up, with a note saying it was coming down on Monday the 11th at 8:00 AM EDT. We didn't actually take it down until noon.

We had 17,000 people sign up.

No matter when the deadline was, someone was going to miss seeing it, and I truly do feel bad for those who missed it. Next beta I'll ask to put it up during the week instead of over the weekend. Meanwhile, since there are 17,000 people in the pool, no one person has any great odds of making it into the test. We really appreciate the interest and excitement.

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Tonight's title is both a nod to the relative brevity of tonight's column, and a reference to our executive producer speaking to players in Europe tomorrow. I look forward to links from our foreign correspondents.

A few fair-minded users have written to gently admonish me about using "he" when I am referring to an unidentified or theoretical player. Believe me, y'all, no one knows better than I do that women play Camelot, too! Your beef is with the English language, where a singular hypothetical person is properly referred to as "he."

Missed the beta sign up form? There will be a number of contests running around the world wide web with beta prizes - check out the Vault's Costume Contest if you'd like to participate.

I appreciate the passionate letters I've received from players writing to express their opinions about the Vampiir name. However, I would like to gently express to you that one opinion per player is all that "counts" on the notepad where I keep score. One passionate email per person, please.

Thanks, everyone, I'll be here next week, don't forget to tip your waitress. Try the salmon!