We've primarily been tracking the upcoming Mortal Online's development progress via its online newsletters; one of the most notable was the June edition, from which we reported the newest playable race, the Half Orcs. Yesterday, the October newsletter announced that the newest version of the beta client (release of v.0.8.10.11) had just gone live, introducing a bunch of new features and fixes. One of these features is the first version of the "housing system," which allows you to gather materials like timber and craft your own personal dwelling. The new client also introduced the ability to tame a horse as a mount, finally allowing players a better way to travel.

Additional updates include optimizations to both client performance and server stability, and a new patching software that promises to make upgrading to future versions easier. The developers also direct players to check out new additions to the official site's photos page, and tell users to stay tuned to the front page for upcoming story and lore info in the future. Check out the full announcement after the jump, and visit ZAM's Mortal Online portal site for more news and information.

From the official Mortal Online October newsletter:

New patch info
On Sunday Nov. 1st we have some fantastic things in store for you.
With the release of v.0.8.10.11 on Monday we will introduce some of the greatest features Mortal Online has to offer.
Tired of walking through Myrland on foot? Why not tame yourself a mount and start exploring on horseback? If riding is not for you, get your axe and start gathering resources for your new home. The first version of the housing system will enable you to start getting settled, but choose your construction materials wisely as they directly affect the quality of your house.

Beta event
To entertain you while the patch is being deployed we invite you to join us on a very special in-game event starting around 21.00 GMT+1. You don’t want to miss the action and especially not the reward we have set up for those who prevail. Details about the event will be revealed in this topic on the beta forums, so make sure you keep an eye on it.

Website
All those of you who can’t get enough of the story of Nave, its inhabitants and places, might want to take a look at the homepage. We will start adding new lore on a regular basis now and you will also find more updates and content on the web page. Players who can’t get enough of our dev team will be happy to hear that we are working on a very special section so satisfy your need. A short glimpse of that can be found in the "photo" section.

Server status / Beta
We are happy to announce that the implementation of the MassiveLOD system and other performance updates enabled us to open up another 10.000 slots for the Beta. The overall server stability has been greatly increased and we are of course still working on providing you with further improvements of your gaming experience.

Better patch-hosting
The new patching host is up and running. If you have the latest version of the game client (v.0.7.9.10) you can use the patcher to download future updates from now on. Make sure you have the latest version of the client – older game versions do not have the latest patcher installed.

Ending notes
The NDA is still in effect so please use the beta forums and the beta IRC channel to talk about the game.
If you are a beta tester and can't see the beta forums make sure you link your form account to your game account using the accountlinker.
If you have trouble accessing the beta IRC channel, please join #mo-help and provide an operator with the information mentioned in the channel topic.