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NEWSLETTER

Hello, Pinecones! It's time for our July newsletter, and your first real introduction to Arc II of The Pines and the story unfolding around our rural abode.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & MINUTIAE

arc ii begins!
July is the kick-off month of the second metaplot arc here in The Pines, and it's doing a whole lot of shaking things up and shuffling things around. More on the actual details of this arc can be found down below ("Introduction to Arc II"), but we wanted to take a second now to thank you guys for all of the excitement and support you've shown us and the game so far, and to apologize for any technical glitches you may run into as we start to switch things over. We'll try to make the transition as smooth as possible, but if you happen to run into any fucky HTML, dead links, etc., please don't hesitate to let us know!

seeking: one new mod
Due to unforeseen real-life circumstances, Lins has made the tough call to step down from the mod team for the indeterminable future. We'd like to take this opportunity to give a massive 'thank you' to Lins for all of the hard work she's done to make this game what it is!

In light this loss, we're putting out tentative feelers for one new mod to join our team and help out with a variety of tasks ranging from maintaining pages to potentially running some expeditions for our players. If you think this might interest you, drop a line on our Mod Contact and we can chat with you about what the job would entail and if it's one you might be interested to take on! Otherwise, we're likely to open mod applications in an official capacity sometime in the next couple of months.

polls: character cooperation & most anticipated themes/genres
On Saturday, we tossed up a couple of important polls to give us an idea of what we should plan for in Arc II. If you haven't tossed your two cents in, we'd love to hear what you have to say on both topics! Be sure to read the info on the linked page to make sure that the data is as accurate a picture of our game as we can feasibly manage.

results: who's that pokemon? event
Essentially? All hell broke loose, people died and respawned (mostly), and the group responsible for maintaining Wayward Pines appointed a liason to finally tell people the truth. Characters were given a couple of days to adjust to what they've learned, then the liason opened the floor for a Q&A with... generally promising results?

INTRODUCTION TO ARC II

arc ii overview
We did it, Pinecones! We made it to the open-world survival stage we teased you about since before the game first opened its gates. From here on out, the landscape of the game will be quite different; while Wayward Pines will continue to be a safe haven for those who seek a peaceful life, many will have the opportunity to venture outside of the fence on expeditions, discovering new resources, locations, and potentially-hazardous wildlife along the way. The emphasis from here on out will indeed be on these expeditions, as well as the efforts made by those inside the fence to protect the population and to work with (or against) Ortech's attempt to coexist in a mutually-beneficial peace.

While thus far our events have been monthly, game-wide events will now occur every 2-3 months on average, and will typically be sparked by an expedition or series of expeditions uncovering a particularly pressing aspect of the overarching plot.

Now sit back and relax as we walk you step by step through everything you need to know to dive into Arc II.

new feature: expeditions
Take a second now to read through our new Expeditions page! This will walk you through most of the 'why' and the 'how' of the expedition process. The first set of expeditions will become available in mid-July, though these will be fairly basic 'introductory' expeditions to ease both players and characters into the process. Beginning sometime in August, characters will also be able to propose and execute their own expeditions. They'll need to be run by the Sheriff or another relevant Ortech representative, but unless it's truly senseless, the odds are pretty high that a proposed expedition will end up approved.

Please note that the first step in the expedition process is for your character to gain clearance to go outside the fence at all. Finally, the Expedition Archive page will act as a hub for all investigations which have been completed or are currently underway. (Pardon the example expeditions already listed at the bottom, that's just to hold the HTML together until we get some real ones.)

new pages: deaths & bestiary
Now that characters are going to be spending some time outside of the fence, it's time to think about our own mortality. If it looks at any point like your character might be headed for death, roll on over to the Deaths page in order to see what needs done in order to make sure they can ultimately be revived.

Currently, all deaths that occur within five miles of the fence stand a decent chance of revival. This radius will increase as time goes on, and is marked in no uncertain terms on all exterior maps that characters receive.

Also relevant to character injury and death is our brand new Bestiary! It's pretty modest so far, but will gradually grow in number of beasts and in informativeness of each beast's blurb as characters encounter more and more of the wildlife outside of the fence.

new pages: npcs & plot interaction
While we initially deliberately left NPC details vague to keep the focus on the player-characters, we've managed to accrue a small cast of individuals who play active role in the characters' day-to-day lives — so now we've created a page for them! Take a peek over at our Cast of NPCs.

We've also created a Plot Interaction page, as a more permanent stand-in for the similarly-titled top-levels typically found on any given event post. We figure that if we're only having game-wide events every couple of months, we need a more readily-available venue for folks to access the NPCs and interact with the town at large.

update: faq
We've created an updated FAQ for Arc II! We tried to include everything we could think of, but it's entirely possible we've missed a couple of crucial questions, so if any pressing inquiries spring to mind as you peruse this FAQ, please don't hesitate to ask them!

It's worth noting that the Arc I FAQ is still available, just in case either we or our players need to reference it at some point in the future.

update: traditional network (+ complimentary smartphone!)
Now that Wayward Pines no longer has any rational reason to be terminally trapped in the 90's, we're rescuing you from alternative network hell by introducing a single fully-integrated network capable of your typical voice, video, and text conversations, and accessible by smartphone. Don't have a smartphone? Think again! Each individual receives a complimentary smartphone in a package on their doorstep early on the 5th, which upon start-up will give characters the run-down of the new network functionality.

These smartphones can access the network from up to five miles outside of the fence. As exploration outside of the fence increases the reach of Ortech's knowledge and technology, this radius will progressively get wider. (Typically just assume it's the same distance as the revival radius, just for ease of remembering.)

upcoming in the arc ii transition!
This has been a pretty big transition, and while all of the necessities for interacting with Arc II are already in place, a few more changes will be rolled out over the course of July:
The Activity Rewards available to claim will be adjusted to more properly fit the current story arc. This will also feature shift from a sort of arbitrary 'mystery gift' system to one in which characters actively request these reward items from Ortech's Acquisitions liason.

The Plot So Far page will finally be up-to-date.

An interactive page will be created to explore the various possible side effects of being bitten by an aberration. (Or ingesting one, or exchanging fluids with one in any shape or form, but why would you ever-)

Our remaining infopages will be looked-over and updated to reflect the arc change.

JULY IN WAYWARD PINES

an overview
Wayward Pines... is a mess. The fight against the invading abbies may have been won, but with that victory came an incredible amount of collateral damage. The clean-up effort will likely continue through the first half of the month, and that's not even addressing the highly conspicuous elephant in the room.

Gone is the illusion of your average idyllic little mountain 'burb. But what will rise from the ashes?

the weather
It's basically still just very, very hot. The daily high spans from 70 - 98 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average of 85 degrees. It's really just fortunate that nobody frowns on a venture into the woods these days, because the cool, refreshing river is absolutely the place to be.

the town
At current, much of the population is banding together to assist in the cleaning up and rebuilding of the town they know and love. It's honestly heartwarming, how folks seem to be coming together in this time of need. Shops are being tidied and rebuilt while the tearfully grateful owners make absolutely positive each and every worker is hydrated and spends more than enough time resting in the shade. One group seems to be going door to door in the residential area, knocking politely and then asking if the occupants need anything cleaned up or fixed. All in all, this clean-up effort spans most of the first half of the month.

In other news, Independence Day is (obviously) on the 4th, and Wayward Pines never fails to host an annual fireworks show over a watered-down field in one of the local parks. Come early, and you'll be able to enjoy the picnic too!

other things of note
The full moon this month occurs on July 9th.

JULY EVENT OVERVIEW

As will be the case with many months here in Arc II, July doesn't have any outright 'events' to speak of. However, this transitional month does have a few important dates of note, available for your perusal below!

( - ) gaining clearance JULY 11TH
On July 9th, an automated notice arrives on each individual's smartphone requesting that everyone interested in participating in expeditions outside of the safety of the fence should head down to the woods in the western loop to be tested for clearance. They are linked to a page detailing a brief summary of the tests and the requirements for passing each, as well as the chaperone requirements for those who don't or can't gain clearance.

It's worth noting that while this doesn't ICly occur until the 11th, you're welcome to hit up the Clearance page at literally any time. o/

( - ) expeditions available JULY 18TH
Exactly a week after individuals start to test for clearance, the first batch of expeditions becomes available (via a 'job listing'-esque smartphone app) to those who've been cleared. These will be fairly simple 'introductory' expeditions, but they'll still be a taste of the world outside of the fence, and that's more than any resident of Wayward Pines has had so far.

That about should cover it, but if it doesn't, feel free to ask questions! Questions specific to this month's happenings can go in the 'QUESTIONS' top-level, and the FAQ is always open for questions too.