Our roving reporter Gilean, was wondering around the lands of Meridian when he heard a little noise coming from the South-West. Being the adventurous type, and hoping to gain a little loot to supplement his journalism paycheck, he goes to investigate the source of the noise. Suddenly, out of nowhere comes a huge Shepherd's hook, and yanks him into this room. There, in the corner, sat a troll, the devil, an old man and some Xeo looking creature. He tried to scale the walls, but it was impossible to do so. "Muuuuhahahahaah," laughed the Xeo, "Welcome to OOG."
"Hey! What did I do?" said the reporter.
"It is not what did you do, it's what you are going to do, or suffer eternity in here! Muuuuuhahahahah"
With that, he turns to the motley group at his side and said, "hey guys, free pudding in the next room!"
Everyone rushed to a hidden doorway, and was gone. I was surprised that an old man could actually run so fast, and was just about to try figuring out how to get out of here, when the Xeo returned with a huge bowl of pudding. He sat comfortably at a weather beaten table, and said simply, "Do an interview for Gilroy's or you might as well start making yourself comfortable, cause you'll be here a looooong time."
"Is that it?" replied the reporter. " Well, no way, unless you give me some of that pudding."
"Deal" replied the Xeo. And so it began…

Joking aside (or should that be included), here is an interview with the man of the hour, PC

GG: So, we have a new NDS team member MisterY. He seems quite knowledgeable with this new engine. Give us the lowdown on him and this project. When are y'all gonna post a pic of him?
PC: MisterY is actually a troll that we keep locked in the basement. We were going to kill him to get more hit points, but we noticed he had set up a computer down there. He showed us this cool graphics program he was working on, so we put away the nerudite swords and put him to work. He is a troll, however, and we don't want to scare people off by posting a picture of him.

GG: Can we see more screen shots? Does he have a general ETA of completion?
PC: We hope to show more screenshots soon. He's a very productive troll, and has recently added dynamic lighting to projectiles. It is very nice, because now my smite spell will glow as it sends some unsuspecting target to his or her doom! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!... Er, where was I? Anyway, we hope to have something done this year. It's tough to give a good estimate for this, because 3D engines take a lot of work to make sure they look good on a variety of platforms. We will make sure to post any information on our site and here on Gilroy's site when we know more.

GG: Is he going to take over your or Q's job and build NDS into a multi-billion dollar empire?
PC: I've heard it said that MisterY is a troll of ambition. Maybe he does seek to overthrow Q and myself. We will have to keep our nerudite swords at hand in case he tries anything.

GG: Speaking of Q, are they related? I mean we cant help but notice he is Mister "Y".
PC: All I have to say is, the rumors of Q being half-troll are completely false. Absolutely no basis whatsoever. None.

GG: When is the next Frenzy???
PC: Here's a secret: The frenzies never really stop! Go kill some people!
Or, you can wait until the skies turn red every other weekend. Check the globes for specific times!

GG: We have seen NDS do a lot of positive things to make the game more widespread. Things like the new graphics engine, the sacred heaven server etc. Is there any comprehensive advertising plans in the near future? What can we, as players who enjoy the game, do to increase the public's awareness of this cool game?
PC: We want the game to grow, of course. It is hard to take over the world on the salaries we make!

In all seriousness, everyone can help a lot by talking to his or her friends. Show them the game and get them signed up for an account. Show them the work on the new graphics engine and tell them to start playing now so they will have an advantage over the people that will play later. Each person's actions in drawing new players are much more potent than the ads we buy.
The biggest thing you can do is talk about the exciting parts of the game. Talk about the time you escaped, then hunted a random PKer, or the time your guild got into a fight in Tos with an enemy. These are what interest other people and will want to make them play the game.
You can also tell us of cool sites to advertise, and let us know if your favorite sites have any special advertising rates that we can take advantage of.

GG: What is the name of your mortal(s) and would we get smitten if we KOSed them for not giving us free stuff?
*Gilean looks at PC who gives him the "what? Are you CRAZY, for everyone to start bugging my poor mortal?" look, then he modifies the question* Or perhaps any past mortals? The most recent the better.
PC: I play a variety of characters. I'm not a very fast builder, but I do like to get into PvP fights. I played the character "Donaldson" during Beta and the character "Rune" on 101 after launch. I had a lot of fun joining a guild and making friends. Unfortunately, too many people guessed who I was and I had to retire Rune. Too bad, he had Faren, Kraanan, and Shal'ille all at 5th level. Anyone who wants to know how badly I suck at building a character and how nice a player I am can ask any of the old Templar, especially Artemis, Baggle, or Deception on 101.

I'm currently playing a few mortal characters on the servers when I get the time. Lucky for everyone, I don't cheat on my mortal character. :)

GG: Here is a different type of question one of our readers sent in. He asked "What determines the look your char's statue will have in the hall of heroes and how often do they change?"
PC: Little gnomes go in and build the statues in the split second before someone enters the hall. To save time, they buy surplus statue parts from Moxal. Because they have to build fast, they just put whatever pose they can think of. That's why you see Warriors casting spells, Wizards with armor and a scimitar, etc. We can't afford to pay the gnomes very much, so we really can't criticize them too much.

GG: If you had to pick one specific aspect or feature etc of Meridian as your favorite, what would it be?
PC: This is a completely unfair question. How can I pick only one?

I'm going to cheat and pick three. First is the in-game map. I love exploring areas and revealing the map; when I play single-player games I spend a lot of time filling out the maps or drawing maps on graph paper.
You don't see good in-game maps in other games like Meridian 59 has. True story: I have 2 clients I use one for my mortal characters and one for my administrator. This is so I can reveal the maps with my administrator but I am able to go explore the maps with my mortal characters! It was a very cool experience running through the orc caves the first time as a mortal, knowing I could be killed by an orc while stumbling around.

Second is the game mail system. As a wonderful thing for me as an administrator. People are able to send me feedback directly in the game. I have hundreds of messages with ideas that people have contributed. Again, no other game has a gmail system quite as nice as Meridian's system.

Third is the community. The players really make the game, and you can't consider the game separate from the community. I've met some really great people while working on Meridian 59.

All these things together make Meridian 59 the best online RPG.

GG: You said, "I'm going to cheat and pick three." I thought you said you don't cheat!
PC: *Smacks Gilean on the head with a Bonkstick*

GG: OUCH! Ok where was I? Clear up a question for us once and for all please? Does might effect the damage of ALL weapons? Does any other STAT effect the damage of any weapon? (Example, you get more damage with scim if you have more agility).
PC: As I've said before, both stats play a role in determining damage. Might has a more direct effect, but don't ignore the effect the other stat has. As always, this is subject to change in the future.

GG: Have you ever played a PK or PKK with one of your mortals?
PC: Only on the test server so I can learn how they work, write code to detect how they work, and ban cheaters. :)

GG: Always a question on everyone's minds, When is the next patch? And can you feed us a juicy tid bit of something cool that's coming in it?

*drools in anticipation of PC's response*

*hands Gilean a napkin to wipe up the drool*

PC: I'm hoping to have something done within the next few weeks. What's in the patch? Well, here are a few teasers:
- The ability to use a bow when you have a soldier shield.
- Special death messages for people involved in token fights, guild wars, and faction battles.
- Restricted the casting of truce in towns by unguilded characters.
- Changed spells to allow only part of the people in a room to be affected.
For example, if you cast Earthquake with your safety on, you won't damage anyone that would cause you to become an Outlaw or Murderer.
- Various bug fixes, including giving proper messages when Gaze of the Basilisk expires, when trying to recast Kara'hol's Curse on yourself while it's already up, etc.

A few other things, too, which I'll let people explore and find out. :)

GG: Any specific bug fixes coming in the new patch? For example, not being able to cast wall spells with your safety on if someone is on the screen.
PC: Yes, that's fixed. I'm planning on testing these changes thoroughly to make sure no bugs leak through again.

GG: A RL question here, what is your opinion on the war on Iraq?
PC: I know a lot of M59 players are in the military and I hope our soldiers come back home safety.

GG: If I were a completely new soul to meridian, what stats would you suggest I take with my first character?
PC: You could take all 1's for an extreme challenge. Or, you could read Gilroy's FAQs for some good stats here. Arkblade has done a lot of work on setting up what he thinks are good stats.

GG: You have hinted that there is a lot of undiscovered "Easter Eggs" in the game. Some are there for practical reasons, some just for fun; can you give us some hints on where or how to find any of these?
*frowns and watches Gilean crossly knowing he was about to drool again*
PC: If I told you, they wouldn't be secrets, hmm? Well, I gave a hint in the forums which I will repeat here: There are 2 ways to recharge a Chalice of Rain. One way is to pick up a second Chalice. What's the second way?

GG: Two ways?… Give us a tiny hint? pppppppplllleeeaaasssseeee *grins*
PC: Oh that would be telling. :) Okay, a little hint. What does the Chalice do, according to the inscription?

GG: We want Meridian 2! We want Meridian 2!!, Ok, now that I got that out of my system, any long term plans for a sequel?
PC: Yes. :) We need to make Meridian 1 a success first. We're still in the very early planning stages, though.

GG: There has been talk about Bill Gates wanting to buy NDS. Any validity to this rumor? If so how much are you getting and can we at Gilroy's have some?
PC: Shh! You don't want them to overhear you.

*Looks around nervously*

Let's just say that if I ever become a multi-multi-millionaire, there is SO going to be a party at my house. Everyone's invited. Punch and pie are on me.

GG: We recently had a bit of a player "drop-off" in Meridian due to the new second-rate, silly game…UMMmmm… I mean due to the brand new game called ShadowBane. Comments?
PC: It's natural for people to want to look at other games. I have some friends checking out the game. Most people I've heard tell me it's a fun game, but it doesn't have the sense of community Meridian 59 has.

We still have as many active accounts as we had before, so I think most people will come back in a bit. Hopefully they'll bring new friends back with them for more interesting battles. :)

GG: It's been a long time since we have seen our beloved Events Manager on server 101. We miss him, any idea when he will be back or the reasons for his absences?
PC: Sinacul has had some offline problems he's had to focus on. He should be back shortly, so please be patient with him. We've all had troubles in our lives which have demanded our attention, I'm sure. He should be back shortly with more events. Just make sure to show some appreciation when he does come back.

GG: Yeah, I know what you mean. Last week my pet Barracuda was swimming around my pool when…
PC: *Holds the bonkstick threateningly*

GG: Oh yeah, it's an interview I forgot. Ok, Name your personal "best stats" for a quick build PK, PKK, or simply your favorite stats and their advantages.
PC: I don't build quickly. :) I like to take my time. My current favorite stats for a pure mage are: 25, 50, 45, 5, 45, 30. A bit weak in Agility/defense, but Kraanan's Magic Shield and the Princess'' faction should help that. Very balanced, otherwise, with enough Might to carry reagents, especially with Super Strength on. Don't neglect that Aim!

GG: Well I would like to thank you for your time. Any last rites, umm I mean last comments or words of wisdom for us?
PC: Remember to have fun. That's what we're all here for, right?
*PC puts down his bowl of pudding, the 5th one during the interview, and opens the door to OOG, letting the reporter go back to his roving*