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Here's the scoop from Ray regarding the RtK demo:

A demo is currently in the works. It's a big one, all of 'Chapter Zero,' so it's rockin' in a about 200 megs.

It's going to be on Cds in Magazines, and probably available in give always in stores and through other sources.

For those who don't know, RtK has eleven chapters, numbered 0-10. From what Ray has said, Chapter Zero involves James (and others?) Being called to the docks, and on their return they stumble across some sort of child in danger. Should you do the moral thing and help the child(ren)? That is an example of the type of sub-quests in the game - not just fluff.

Ray posted this about the availability of the RtK preview CD in Australian copies of Krondor the Betrayal:

Just found out that about 6,000 discs of the BaK game w/ RtK slideshow were shipped to Oz to be included with Krondor the Betrayal by HarperCollins. They will, however, be exclusive to Angus and Robertsons stores.

In my last news item of the day, an interesting new site on the net focuses on Mara of the Acoma, from the Empire Trilogy. The site has some good information on the three books that most other Feist sites ignore.

The news does not stop. Ray posted to the list that the second book in the Riftwar Legacy will be titled 'Krondor: The Assassins.' Also:

A July release is probably optomistic, and there's some other considerations (about which I can not talk at present) which may make it preferable to reschedule later in the year.

My hunch is that a Krondor television show might begin production, and the book's release would co-incide with the premier. However, that is strictly speculation with only meager factual backing.

I finally checked out a copy of Legends, and will post a review of 'The Wood Boy' in a day or so.

GamePen recently posted apreview of RtK, written by Chris Bailey (Mental4 of Ultima@Scorched for all of you Ultima Online players). Also, Desslock's RPG News moved to Gamespot recently, and their E3 preview of RtK is gone. I updated the URL of the other preview and their interview with Sinjin.

An article about the ingredients of a good RPG, 'The Quill Scroll: The Constitution of Role Playing ,' has been posted to the Adrenaline Vault. It does not mention RtK, but RPG fans might want to take a look.

The Vault Network posted a new preview of RtK yesterday, based on some hands-on work with a beta build.

In (Ray's) Krondorian setting, a strong storyline and characters, a state of the art engine, etc., the major elements are in place to make Return to Krondor a worthy sequel and an excellent game in its own right. However, as in the game's alchemy system, the skill with which those elements are combined will ultimately determine the quality and the success or failure of the final product. Return to Krondor is not yet finished brewing, but from what I have seen, that product could turn out to be very potent indeed.

This is a day to remember the sacrifices of all those who fought for freedom and democracy. They valued their nation over their selves, and achieved the highest level of honor. They are real heroes. Now for the big news... Return to Krondor went gold! Ray's words:

Return to Krondor went Golden at 4 am EST this morning. It is currently on a plane for Seattle, to begin production. Look for it in the stores in roughly two weeks. My personal congratulations went to Pyrotechnix, Sinjin Bain and his crew of maniacs for a job well done.

I want to second that notion. Sinjin and PyroTechnix worked through a great deal of problems during RtK's development to bring us what looks to be the best RPG in a long time. Many projects don't survive a change of companies, financial turmoil (both at 7th Level and at Cendent), and everything else that happened in the last few years. RtK has been a long time coming, but I think it will be worth the wait. Kudos to everyone involved.

Ray posted this about an upcoming RtK contest:

Here's an early alert for those of you who want an autographed book. When Sierra releases RtK, they're going to run a contest (DON'T ASK ME FOR DETAILS, 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY!), and 100 winners will receive an autographed copy of Krondor the Betrayal. When I have more details, I'll post them. Otherwise, check the Sierra board.

Those with a penchant for the... odd... should check out Rip's site, where the date and time at the Royal Rillanon Observatory can be found.

Here is something curious: on the map that was included in a recent PC Gamer and is on the Sierra website (and what I assume will be used throughout the game), neither Sarth nor Land's End, the two closest big towns to Krondor, are shown. If the game is supposed to take place in and around Krondor, this makes one wonder just how close to Krondor the party stays. Certainly, traveling in the region would lead to one of these two places... However, Sinjin's post on the RtK Dev Board says this:

The major areas of the world you will visit; the city of Krondor (including the sewers), the wilderness travelling, Haldon Head, the Black Pearl Temple are as detailed as we could make them within the context of a shippable game.

Added two new links to RtK previews at Computer Games Online and GGC. Also, several mailorder sites are accepting pre-orders for both RtK and the Strategy Guide. Finally, there is a Development Board for RtK up at the Vault Network. Both Sinjin and Ray post there (but haven't said anything about it previously). I just glanced through some of the recent posts, and this popped out at me: RtK will ship with two CD's. What does that mean? There must not be a lot of video footage (the game engine must be used for many of the cut scenes). Also, this post from Sinjin, although three weeks old, details the current status of the game very well.

The Raymond E. Feist Webring is experiencing some difficulties, so please have patience. Also, I downloaded the beta of Internet Explorer 5.0, and it works great. If you like to stay on the edge of technology, check it out.

Sorry for the lack of news this week. Ray posted this to the list recently:

Well, I just finished my (who knows how many times) playing of the beta. We're currently working on 1.02 beta, and should be in production next week. My impression is that it's going to be a fun game to play. Lots of interesting stuff. Certainly the best looking RPG I've seen. I expect you'll see it in the stores around Thanksgiving. And, no, I haven't found out yet when it's reaching Australia.

It is very hard to believe that after all these years, RtK will finally be out soon. Does anyone else remember the old 'Midkemian Monthly' newsletter from 7th Level's site on AOL, shortly after the game was announced? How about the ideas for the game in the interviews in the back of Prima's BaK strategy guide (from before the license went to 7th Level)?

Okay, I'm not 18 yet, but all of you Americans who are need to go exercise your freedom today and vote. In other news, Ray stated yesterday that RtK is on track to go gold this Friday. And the polling booth seems to be working fine, so it will stay on a separate page for now. The topic will change once a week, and will switch between book/game topics and ways of improving this site. If you have any comments, topic suggestions, etc., just mail them to me. Thanks!