On December 1st, a new chatroom has opened at Outpost10f - Alder Hill, the Outpost's very own Fantasy chat. It was probably one of OTF's most secret projects, usually referred to as Project X, worked on by a team of dedicated OTF people.

Alder Hill was announced by a mysterious "Town Crier" who posted on the updates board, which resulted in a lively discussion in the OTF Forums. So did the Flash teasers (*bows to Linda*) which his posts lead to. Also, an equally mysterious Old Geezer, Mekaul, made his appearance in the OTF chatrooms. All this lead to the "unveiling of Project X" on December 1st.

The ceremony started in TenForward, with speeches given by VC Andrew Maxwell and the members of the Alder Hill design team. Then it was finally time to give in to the impatient questions and reveal the location of this new chat. Afer a moment of "docking procedures", the moment we've been working for for so long had finally arrived: OTF people started to head into Alder Hill.

After a time of playing around with the new features, like the race/affiliation choices, the avatars, the armoury and bar, things started to take off into the first Alder Hill sim. Our Town Crier, Guy, went missing, and it was up to the chatters to find him. In the end, they had to brave a magickal portal, head into the ruins close to Alder Hill, and defeat an evil Troll who was guarding the cave where poor Guy was kept prisoner.

Many thanks to Dommy (SM, Ent) for helping us out, and many thanks for all participants for a fun and entertaining sim! :) We hope to be able to bring you the next Alder Hill sim in the very near future.

For the past few days, Alder Hill has been running smoothly. A few "teething troubles" were only to be expected, but with the expert help of Henri and Andrew, things have been repaired where neccessary.

Don't forget to visit our Chronicles and the further reading page. These pages explain the basics of what the Alder Hill fantasy world is. This will also give you a few ideas on what to do with and in the world - the current year is 1132, but none of us know what happens next year. That is entirely up to you, so help us build the world! :)

Many of our avatars are as yet nameless. There is a method to that: In the true spirit of interactivity, we are calling on you, the OTF chatters, to give our Avatars names. Let your imagination run free - the more original a name is, the more chances it has to be accepted! Pick your favourite Avatar and give it a name. Send all suggestions to me; the contest ends on December 31st.

A final note: Everything you see in Alder Hill, from the imagery to the avatars and the background story, has been created by members of OTF. We hope that this development continues, and that with the help of you, the chatters, Alder Hill will continue to grow and become a truely unique Fantasy chatroom and world.

Thanks go to everyone who's been involved with this project so far. Good work, peeps! :)

We are all very happy to be able to show you the product of our work, and hope you enjoy playing with it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

To everyone a good December, and happy holidays!

CL 8 Teekay
Mayor of Alder Hill (FY SC)

CL 5 Lorgar þ
Town Scribe of Alder Hill (FY DSC)